14 July, 2023 | Friday in the Fourtheenth Week in Ordinary Time

 Gospel Mt 10:16-23

Jesus said to his Apostles:

"Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves;

so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.

But beware of men,

for they will hand you over to courts

and scourge you in their synagogues,

and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake

as a witness before them and the pagans.

When they hand you over,

do not worry about how you are to speak

or what you are to say.

You will be given at that moment what you are to say.

For it will not be you who speak

but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

Brother will hand over brother to death,

and the father his child;

children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.

You will be hated by all because of my name,

but whoever endures to the end will be saved.

When they persecute you in one town, flee to another.

Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel

before the Son of Man comes."

Reflection:

The followers of Jesus met with opposition and rejection. The persecution was caused not only by kings and religious authorities but also from one’s own family members—brother against brother, father against son. The suffering caused by persecutions are sure to come, but what is highly consoling is that we need not get anxious and worried as to what and how to speak because the God will put the words into our mouth, if we trust fully. In the ministry of the proclamation of the Gospel, we are certain that the Lord himself will give us inner strength to bear the cross joyfully. The holy men and women never wavered at the face of oppositions and untold sufferings. Rather, their face shone like the sun as they experienced deep joy in suffering for Christ.

Activity: 

I will boldly speak about Jesus to my colleagues and friends.

Books to Encounter Jesus