Friends, welcome to Word on Fire Catholic Ministries. Word on Fire is an

apostolate dedicated to the mission of evangelization using media both old and

new to share the faith on every continent and to facilitate an encounter with

Christ and His Church. The efforts of Word on Fire engage the culture and bring

the transformative power of God's Word where it is most needed. Today we invite

you to join Bishop Robert Barron as he preaches the gospel and shares the

warmth and light of Christ with each one of us.

Peace be with you. Friends, last week we had a wonderful portrait of discipleship.

You might say the cost of discipleship was on clear display. As we continue now

our reading of the gospel of Luke, we have today a great, I would say,

portrait of the church. What the church looks like, what its central concerns are,

what the demands upon it are. And the setting is Jesus sending out 72 disciples.

So just put yourself in that position. So all of us baptized people are disciples

of the Lord and we're in this relationship with him. He's going to send us out.

So let's just kind of walk through this passage. It'll teach us very important

lessons about the church. So we hear the Lord appointed a further 72, sent them

in pairs before him to every town and place he intended to visit. First we

learn. We are a missionary church. Christianity is not so much a quiet sit in

place spirituality. I mean, there's room for the whole monastic contemplative

dimension. Of course there is. But the basic thrust of Christianity is toward

mission. Mid-array Latin to send and mission just comes from that word. We are

sent out. The gospel is not for us simply to savor for our own edification.

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