St. Mark recounts in gospel of this Sunday, July 14: "He called the Twelve and began to send them out two by two, giving them power over unclean spirits. And he commanded them to take nothing for the journey, neither bread, nor bag, nor money in their purses, but only a staff; and that they should wear sandals and not two tunics".
The Pope has taken up this message of Jesus in the AngelusHe encouraged us to carry out an evangelizing mission "in communion, harmony among all, and sobriety in our Christian life. For example, the Holy Father asked himself: "Do I feel the joy of proclaiming the Gospel, of bringing, where I live, the joy and the light that flow from the encounter with the Lord? To this end, do I commit myself to walk alongside others, sharing with them ideas and skills, with an open mind and a generous heart? And finally, do I cultivate a sober lifestyle, attentive to the needs of my brothers and sisters?
The Pontiff began by directly following the Gospel son of Jesus' sending the disciples out, two by two, carrying "only what is necessary and not going alone, but together, as a community", "in order to be free", because otherwise we will fall into slavery.
He also invited the Romans and pilgrims present in St. Peter's Square to ask the Mother of God, Queen of Apostles, to "help us to be true missionary disciples, in communion and sobriety of life", and to grant peace to the martyred Ukraine, to Palestine, to Israel, to Myanmar....
Sober lifestyle
Pope Francis has reiterated on more than one occasion that in the proclamation of the Gospel it is important to know how to maintain sobriety. "Knowing how to be sober in the use of things," he stressed, "sharing resources, abilities and gifts, and dispensing with the superfluous, so as to be free and so that all may have what is necessary to live in dignity and actively contribute to the mission."
Somewhat later, Francis added that we must know how to "be sober in our thoughts and feelings, abandoning partial visions, prejudices and rigidities which, like useless baggage, weigh down and hinder the journey, in order to favor instead discussion and listening, and thus make witnessing more effective".
In the same way, the Holy Father encouraged us to observe what happens in our families or in our communities, above all, "when we are satisfied with what is necessary, even if it is little, with God's help, we manage to get along and get along, sharing what we have, giving up something and supporting one another". And this "is already a missionary proclamation, before and more than words, because it embodies the beauty of the message of Jesus" in the concreteness of life. "A family or community that lives in this way, in fact, creates around it an environment rich in love, in which it is easier to open oneself to faith and to the newness of the Gospel, and from which to begin again better, more serene".
If instead, everyone goes his or her own way, if what matters are only things - which are never enough - if we do not listen to each other, "if individualism and envy prevail, the air becomes heavy, life becomes difficult and meetings become more a cause for anxiety, sadness and discouragement than for joy," he concluded, before praying the Marian prayer of the Angelus.
