Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland)
Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)
Gospel Mark 6:7-13 (English Standard Version, Anglicised)
Jesus
called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them
authority over the unclean spirits. He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a
staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts but
to wear sandals and not put on two tunics.
And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a
house, stay there until you depart from there. And if any place will not receive you and
they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on
your feet as a testimony against them.” So they went out
and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons
and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.
Today's gospel reminds me of experiences as a seminarian while on Peregrinatio pro Christo with the Legion of Mary, in St Anne's Parish, Edge Hill, Liverpool, in 1963, in St Fergus' Parish, Paisley, Scotland in 1965 and in Holy Family Parish, Pewsey, Wiltshire, England, in 1966. Peregrinatio pro Christo, or PPC, is a programme of the Legion of Mary that began in 1958. Legionaries give up a week or two of their summer vacation to do full-time Legion work in another country. The name comes from the motto that inspired St Columban and many Irish missionary monks, Peregrinari pro Christo, 'to be a pilgrim for Christ'. Saint Pope John XXIII quoted this in a letter to the Irish Hierarchy in 1961 on the occasion of the Patrician Year, commemorating 1,500 years of the Catholic faith in Ireland. In the same letter he specifically referred to the involvement in this spirit of the Society of St Columban in Latin America. (Thanks to Shane for the link).
Many of us in the seminary, including some of the priests, used to go for a week or two during our summer break. Like the apostles, we depended on the hospitality of parishioners for board and lodging. In my three experiences I was in parishes and the main work was going from house-to-house in pairs, rather like what the Apostles were sent by Jesus to do in today's gospel. Legionaries never work alone. Occasionally people would close their door once we announced who we were but very few were impolite. Some would give us a warm welcome.
I remember one family we visited in Liverpool. They were lapsed Catholics and the parish records showed they were rather hostile to the Church. However, when the man who opened the door heard our Irish accents he called his wife and began to tell us about their pleasant experiences on visits to Ireland. I suggested that the friendliness and warmth of the Irish people was an expression of their Catholic faith. We had a very friendly conversation with the couple and when we were leaving they seemed to have let go of their hostility to the Church.
As a young priest studying in the USA I had similar experiences in Lancaster, Kentucky, during the summers of 1969 and 1970. The parish priest, Fr Ralph Beiting, had college - and some high schoool - students from other parts of the USA work on various projects in his parish that covered nearly four counties and that had very few Catholics. There was still a lingering prejudice against Catholics.
One of the projects was to visit each home, in
pairs, just as the Legion does, and introduce ourselves as being from the
Catholic Church, and telling the people about our programmes. Again, the
response was generally positive. In some rural homes we'd meet older people
sitting on their rocking chairs on the veranda. They'd invite us to sit down and
relax and would sometimes share a bit about their Bible-based faith. As we'd
leave we'd hear the friendly farewell so common in the area, 'Y'all come back!'
Some of the programmes we invited children to were summer Bible schools and five-day vacations for poor children in a summer camp, boys one week and girls another week. Black and white children would be together at a time when this was rare in that part of the USA.
Only God knows what can result from going from house to house as a way of carrying the mission that Jesus gave to the Twelve and that he gives to us. He doesn't guarantee 'success' but simply sends us out in trust.
One of Father Beiting's summer apostolates for many years was street-preaching, very often with seminarians. On one occasion years ago he was driven out of one town at gunpoint but returned the next day, not to preach but simply to show himself. Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there . . . and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’” (First Reading).
Fr Beiting was eventually not only accepted but welcomed. He, a Catholic priest, was continuing an old tradition in the area, that of the travelling preacher. He was one of the very few left. Fr Beiting, born on 1 January 1924, was ordained in 1949 and up to his late 80s he was still going strong. In the video above he is preaching during the summer of 2011. He died the following summer on 9 August 2012. What a wonderful example he was as a disciple of Jesus and as a Catholic priest!
My experience with Fr Beiting was
similar in many ways to that with the Legion of Mary. The Handbook of
the Legion, written by the Servant of God Frank Duff, who founded the Legion in 1921, states: The object
of the Legion of Mary is the glory of God through the holiness of its members
developed by prayer and active co-operation, under ecclesiastical guidance, in
Mary's and the Church's work of crushing the head of the serpent and advancing
the reign of Christ.
The urgency of such work is highlighted in a letter Frank Duff wrote to my late Columban confrere Fr Aedan McGrath in 1948 where he stated that where the laity did not fulfil its role, the Church would fail. He insisted that 'an inert laity is only two generations removed from non-practice. Non-practice is only two generations away from non-belief'. (Frank Duff, A Life Story by Finola Kennedy, p.8).
That is what has happened in the Western world, including Ireland, in the last 73 years. More than ever each of us needs to joyfully proclaim Christ is there with me . . . Christ has promised me . . . I'll give you myself as the 87-year-old Fr Beiting, with many serious illnesses, was doing in the video above.
The words of the Gospel Acclamation, based on John 6:63, 68, put everything in focus: Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life; you have the message of eternal life.
Spaséñiye, sodélal (Salvation is created)
Russian: Spaséniye sodélal
yesí posredé ziemlí, Bózhe. Allilúiya.
English: Salvation is made in
the midst of the earth, O God. Alleluia.
Please pray for the repose of the soul of Columban Fr Paul Kenny who died peacefully on his 91st birthday.
You will find Father Paul's obituary here.
Solas na bhFlaitheas ar a anam uasal - The Light of Heaven on his noble soul.
Extraordinary Form of the Mass
Traditional Latin Mass (TLM)
Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 7-11-2021 if necessary).
Epistle: Romans 6:19-23. Gospel: Matthew 7:15-21.
Authentic Beauty
Authentic beauty, however, unlocks the yearning of the human heart, the profound desire to know, to love, to go towards the Other, to reach for the Beyond.
