Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

News and Notes:

The gospel today sounds a bit like survival training for disciples of Christ. Jesus is calling on his followers to become active participants in his mission.  Jesus encouraged all his followers to be humble and grateful for the kindness and generosity they receive from others, and to dust off the rejection and hurt they will encounter from time to time. These instructions were not only a seminar Jesus offered on survival techniques for disciples; they were Jesus’ way of assuring us that we are never alone, we’re never without the grace to be faithful. We have the Lord; we have each other; that is all we need. May the Eucharist help us survive any crisis and carry every cross we are asked to bear!