At that time the Lord appointed seventy-two others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, “…say to them, ‘The kingdom of God is at hand for you.’” (Luke 10)

When Jesus sent the disciples out to prepare the way for his arrival, he gave them power to preach, to heal the sick, and to cast out unclean spirits…. All this is before he even got there! How many more awesome things will happen when he arrives?! This is a reminder to all of us in various forms of ministry in our parish that what we do is really only preparing the way for Jesus to come more deeply into the lives of others and do awesome things. A good example of that is the e-mail I shared with you two weeks ago, “Encounters with Christ at the 9:30 AM Mass.”

We see the joy the disciples had in the success of their mission. We, too, experience joy by involving ourselves in the mission of Jesus, serving others here in the parish, in our homes, and other environments. The Knights of Columbus, who were here last week to start a council in our parish, also exhibit that joy as they dedicate themselves to serving the church. We thank all those who have signed up to be members, and encourage other men to consider joining.

While we find joy in serving God and others here on earth, Jesus also tells the disciples and us that our deepest joy is rooted in the trust we have that our names are written in heaven.