Gospel Reflection - 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A




     The Gospel ends on a powerful note today. It could be one way of summing up our entire Christian life. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.

     Jesus entrusts the Apostles with the important mission of spreading the Gospel, the good news of the Kingdom. They are sent out on their own to preach the living Word. The message they are sent to preach will be a call for many: eternity starts now, within the conversion of hearts.

     The Twelve are also bestowed with the power to work miracles. Imagine their astonishment when they realized it was really Jesus working those miracles through them! Perhaps they felt unworthy to “wield” that power; or humbled to recognize they didn’t wield anything at all, but that they had become instruments of God’s holy and perfect will. But the graces they received were not meant to be hidden for their own individual needs. Jesus gave them to His Apostles to enrich the lives of others and to glorify God.

     Similarly, we should not be miserly with our gifts. Taking Our Lord as our model, love becomes our motive and the gift of self becomes our victory. We have done nothing for the amount which we've received, so we should demand nothing for the amount we give.

What gifts has God bestowed upon you? How can you, like the Apostles, use those gifts for the glory of His Kingdom?

It’s easy to become discontented with our lives, especially when there is so much focus on what we don’t have. Remember our very lives are a gift from God…What can you be thankful for today?

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