Since we are travellers and pilgrims in the world, let us ever ponder on the end of the road, that is of our life, for the end of our roadway is our home (St Columban, 8th sermon).
For thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip, and bounced upon her knees. 13 As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
GospelLuke 10:1-12, 17-20 or 10:1-9 (English Standard Version, Anglicised)
At that time:
The Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by
two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. And he said to
them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few. Therefore pray
earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. Go
your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry
no money bag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. Whatever
house you enter, first say, “Peace be to this house!” And if a son of peace is
there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. And
remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the
labourer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. Whenever you enter
a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it
and say to them, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.”
[But whenever you enter a
town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, “Even the dust
of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know
this, that the kingdom of God has come near.” I tell you, it will be more
bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.’
The seventy-two returned
with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!’ And
he said to them, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have
given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power
of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this,
that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in
heaven.’]
The July 2019 issue of Magnificat, a pocket-sized monthly magazine that is a prayer book and Missal that I highly recommend, has this story of St Justin Martyr who died c.165. He was a philosopher who attached himself to philosophical schools in different places.
One day, while walking along the beach in Ephesus, Justin met an old man who told him of the teachings of the Hebrew prophets and their fufilment in the person of Jesus Christ. 'My spirit was immediately set on fire,' Justin wrote later.
I remember the late Columban Fr Cyril Hally, a New Zealander, pointing out to us in the seminary that when the Apostles went to their different mission fields they found some Christians there before them. Christians who travelled, such as merchants, who spoke about Jesus Christ to those they met and many a spirit was immediately set on fire.
Columban Fr Joseph Hogan from Dublin, where the Legion of Mary was born, introduced the movement to China, where it later produced many martyrs. He died in Shanghai on 6 July 1946. And Columban Fr Seán Savage who died on 7 July 1994 is credited with introducing the Legion to Korea. May they both rest in peace.
During some summer vacations in my seminary years I went onPeregrinatio Pro Christo- Pilgrimage For Christ - with theLegion of Mary. 'PPC', as Legionaries usually call it, was partly inspired by the spirit of Irish monks such as St Columbanus (Columban) and St Columcille (Columba) who left Ireland in the Sixth Century for other countries, Columban to the European mainland and Columba to Iona, Scotland, in the modern Diocese of Argyll and the Isles where I spent two months in parish work during the summer of 2013. I also spent two short periods working there in the summer of 1997 in the Gaelic-speaking islands of Barra and South Uist.
Legionaries go to another country or to another region in their own country for at least a week, usually at the invitation of a particular parish. In 1963 I was in St Anne's Parish, Edge Hill, near the centre of Liverpool, around the time The Beatles, from that city, were becoming world famous. Two years later I was in St Fergus's Parish, Ferguslie, Paisley, very near Glasgow, and in 1966 in Pewsey, a lovely village in rural Wiltshire in England's beautiful West Country. I arrived there on the day England won the World Cup in football against West Germany and watched the game in a cafe in Bristol.
On PPC most of the Legionaries have never met each other before but they establish a close bond very quickly. Instead of a weekly meeting, as they have in their own praesidium, as a branch is called (the Legion takes its terminology from the ancient Roman Legions), they meet daily. Each meeting includes prayers at the beginning, including the Rosary, the middle and the end, a reading from the Handbook, reporting by each member on work done, a short talk or allocutio from the spiritual director, and assignments for the coming week, two hours for senior members.
On PPC this takes place every day, as does the work. And it is usually much longer than two hours. Most of those taking part give up part of their own vacations and pay their own way, though they are usually hosted by local families, just like the 72 in the gospel.
Just like the disciples in today's Gospel, Legionaries work in pairs. They may never work alone. If one doesn't turn up the assigned work can't be done. One of the central works of the Legion of Mary is to visit homes. In Liverpool the parish priest asked us to do a parish census. This served two purposes. It helped the parish update its list but, more importantly, it was an opportunity for personal contact with parishioners, especially with those who had lapsed.
I remember one particular home that I visited with my assigned partner. The parish index card noted that the family who lived there had become quite bitter towards the Church, why, I didn't know. But I felt nervous when I pressed the doorbell. A man opened the door and one of us said that we were from the Legion of Mary and that we were visiting on behalf of the local parish.
Instead of speaking angry words or slamming the door in our faces, the man gave us a big smile and said, 'O, you're from Ireland!' He then told us of vacations that he and his family had spent there and that they had received a warm welcome wherever they went.
I took this as a cue to speak of the hospitality and friendliness of the Irish people as an expression of their Catholic faith. We had a long chat in which the man who had, as I recall, called his wife to meet us, expressed no bitterness at all towards the Church and it was clear when we were leaving that he was very grateful for the visit. As the Gospel today says: Whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace be to this house!” And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him.
I don't know if he and his family went back to the Church but he had experienced a welcoming Church through our visit. In a very real way we had done what Jesus had asked the 72 (or 70) to do: Cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you' The sickness in question wasn't a physical one but a spiritual one.
Our faith is a precious gift from God that must be shared. Otherwise it will die. In the gospel the 72 are given a specific mission. That is what happens on PPC. But we're on mission all the time and we may never know how we lead others to the faith.
The young future martyr Justin learned of Jesus Christ from an old man he met while walking on a beach.
Whether we're 'on duty' as missionaries, as the 72 were and as I was on PPC, or 'off duty' the lives we lead can truly remind others that the kingdom of God has come near to you. The people that the Liverpool family met in Ireland, bus drivers and conductors, waiters, waitresses, newspaper vendors, so many others, probably weren't aware that they were gentle reminders of God's love to them. When we honestly try to follow Jesus despite our sinfulness and weakness we can take heart in the words he spoke to the 72 as they reported what had happened during their mission, rejoice that your names are written in heaven.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Major Archbishop of Kyiv, leads Greek Catholic pilgrims from Ukraine in singing the Our Father in St Peter's on 28 June.
Traditional Latin Mass
Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 07-06-2025 if necessary).
Madonna and Child
