July 5: Preparing to Celebrate Sunday’s Mass / Preparándonos para Celebrar la Misa Dominical

It is uncanny how many people visit our church and make comments about how beautiful our grounds are – specifically, the gardens surrounding the church, the St. Joseph Garden, and the Hodge St. flower beds. So many people, whether they join us for Baptisms, Weddings, Funerals, or while on their vacations comment that it is obvious that a lot of love has gone into the care of our flowers and other plants. The roses on the south side of the church get special attention from our guests – they attract people by their beauty and fragrance.

Just as Jesus, in this Sunday’s Gospel (Luke 10), gives instructions to the seventy-two missionaries, He also gives each one of us a mission to carry out. There were just a handful of followers in Jesus’ day to preach the Good News, but today there are over one billion Roman Catholics and about a half billion other Christians (in 30,000 denominations!) who accept Jesus as “Lord” and “Savior.” So, there are 1.5 billion missionaries in a world of seven billion people. 

A recent survey asked the question, “Why do adults join the Catholic Church in spite of the scandals publicized in the media?” Seventy-five percent of the new adult converts to the Catholic Church reported that they were attracted by a personal invitation from a Catholic who had a lively relationship with Christ and His Church. Have you ever thought that we, faithful Catholics that we are, can attract others to the Church – just as a rose attracts people by its beauty and fragrance? In fact, that is our “job,” it is our responsibility. Let’s not miss the current opportunities to be “missionaries” in everyday life by our words and our deeds.

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Cada Eucaristía que celebramos, pero de manera especial cuando celebramos el Día del Señor, debe ser un fuerte compromiso para responder al llamado de Jesús a seguirlo viviendo como verdaderos discípulos suyos, cumpliendo sus exigencias.

El Señor nos llama, nos deja su paz, y nos envía a anunciar su presencia salvadora, que es nuestra paz, porque nos llena con su gracia y nos da verdadera felicidad y alegría. Él nos ha elegido como sus discípulos y nos ha convertido en sus misioneros, mensajeros, y “apóstoles” para anunciar al mundo su salvación. También, Él nos pide que oremos para que tengamos  confianza que Él no nos abandonará y que nuestra recompensa será grande, ya que nos promete el Reino de Dios.

En la Misa, expresemos nuestro agradecimiento al Padre, que no sólo que en Cristo nos ha dado la salvación, sino que también ha querido que esa salvación llegara a todos a nuestro alrededor (y hasta los confines de la tierra) con nuestro compromiso y nuestra colaboración.