This is awesome.  I am very happy and I get a lot of encouragement when I am chosen for a special part to play in some project or programme.   I get a lot of satisfaction when my boss sees in me something special to invites me to take up more responsibilities or to play a leading role in some important assignment.  How much more do I feel powerful and contented when I remember that God has chosen me, before even the creation of the world, to continue the work that Jesus initiated?  The exact words of Paul are these, "Before the world was made, He chose us, chose us in Christ, to be holy and spotless, and to live through love in his presence, determining that we should become his adopted son, through Jesus Christ, for his own kind purposes, to make us praise the glory of his grace". (4-6)  In simple language this means that you and I have been chosen by God to be empowered by His presence in order to continue the mission that Jesus initiated of giving the true meaning of our existence.  This is an awesome call.  This is our identity.

There is more to all this.  Like a good shepherd and guide, God does not only give us His call but He also gives us the tools to accomplish this mission with power and confidence.  We already know what the result of our mission is going to be.  We are destined for victory and for success.  I let Paul talk again about this.  "He has let us know the mystery of his purpose, the hidden plan he so kindly made in Christ from the beginning to act upon when the time had run their course to the end: that he would bring everything together under Christ, as head, everything in the heavens, and everything on earth". (9-10)

Now I might ask.  What does this mission entail in practice?  The gospel of today gives us a very clear picture.  Here we have Jesus sending out his disciples with very specific instructions what to do.  "So they set off to preach repentance, and they case out many devils, and anointed many sick people with oil and cured them". (Mt 6:13)  Our mission entails two very important elements.  First of all, we are called to promote and proclaim boldly what Jesus stands for.  This has a price attached to it because very often what the majority of people believe and think is dramatically opposite to what Jesus has proclaimed and died for.  It needs a constant close and personal relationship with our God to promote peace amidst hatred, hope in the midst of sadness, perseverance in the midst of discouragement, forgiveness in the midst of confusion and justice in the midst of so much corruption and dishonesty and turning to God in the midst of seemingly self sufficiency and self indulgence and egoism.  These are some of the ways in which repentance is preached.

There is also another way in which we continue the work of Jesus.  One of the common characteristics of the mission of Jesus was his healing ministry.  We read about this in today's gospel and in so many other parts of the four gospels.  As believers in Jesus Christ we are asked to pray for the emotional, physical, psychological and spiritual healing of ourselves and of others.  We need to understand two very important factors in praying for healing.  In the first place such prayers are part and parcel of our Catholic faith. We have been taught since we were little to pray for anything that we might need and to have faith in our prayers.  Prayers for healing is not simply something that has been discovered recently but it is an important element in the life of the Christian.  It therefore follows that everybody who believes in Jesus Christ can pray for healing.  Prayers for healing are not the prerogative of a few selected special people but are for everyone who believes and follows Jesus Christ.

How do you pray for healing?  Very simply.  I give you an example.  If you are talking with someone who shares with you that they suffer from depression, pray like this or in a similar fashion. "Lord Jesus, my friend whom you love is suffering from depression.  I ask you to come upon him with your gentle touch.  Heal the cause of this depression.  Help my friend to experience your gentle presence at this very moment.  Put your hands around my friend and fill him with your tender care.  Lord turn this depression into serenity.  We believe that you are here with us and I know that you will do what is best for my friend. Amen"

You don't need to be a professor to pray for healing.  You do not need to have done a lot of studies to bring Jesus into the lives of those who you encounter every day. What is needed is a heart that is convinced that Jesus is dwelling within us, a heart that believes that we have been specially chosen before the creating of the world to continue the work of Jesus and a heart which is ready to make the necessary steps of letting Jesus take care of the anxieties, fears, and sickness of those around us.

Always remember who we are in God as Catholic Christians.

God bless.