15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Every time we come to Mass, when it ends neither the priest nor the deacon will ever end with a simple “goodbye,” rather they will say “go forth, the Mass is ended,” or “Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord,” or any of the other choices they have been given.

And the reason is because when the Mass used to be in Latin, the priest would say “Ite, (e-tay) missa est,” which means “Go, it is sent forth.” It is a way of underscoring the fact that what occurs upon the altar is not ended, but, rather, continues in us, so that, having received Christ at the altar, we are instructed, like the disciples, to bring Him to the entire world.    

So that the moment we leave this church, we leave with all that we need, and nothing else is necessary. Jesus told His disciples to go forth and spread the message of the Gospel, showing its power not just by word but by action, by healing the sick, freeing the possessed, and preaching repentance. And, to do so, with as little as possible, with a walking stick and sandals and nothing more, no money, no food, or anything else.

It is the equivalent of Jesus telling us to leave our house without our cell phones, our wallets, our keys, our purses and the like. And, to only rely upon God Himself, to only give what we have, and to only preach what we believe and know.

It is an instruction that has become timeless in its command and has inspired countless saints to do the same. In fact, a group of hermits, seeking this simplicity of life in solitude and contemplation, built a monastery on Mount Carmel in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is why we celebrate her feast as Our Lady of Mt. Carmel tomorrow.

And, St. Francis of Assisi, after hearing this Gospel, was so inspired by this Gospel to leave everything behind, he did so to such a radical degree, that he renounced his wealth, his father, even his clothes.

In fact, as one biographer notes, St. Francis said: “Pietro Bernardone is no longer my father. From now on I can say with complete freedom, 'Our Father who art in heaven.” Wearing nothing but castoff rags, he went off into the freezing woods -- singing. And when robbers beat him later and took his clothes, he climbed out of the ditch and went off singing again. From then on Francis had nothing...and everything.”

And, it was only because he had nothing that he realized the wealth that he truly did have, that, indeed, what was in his pockets mattered very little to what was in his heart, his zeal was kindled by the fire of this Gospel and his life was rich because he had the treasure that never fades, a treasure that we, too, have ourselves, the treasure of redemption, the treasure of adoption, the wealth of being called children of God.

This Gospel reminds us of that fundamental truth, that all that we have and all that we are, in the end, is not ours, it has all been purchased because we have been purchased with the blood of Christ. For, as St. Paul beautifully puts it, in our second reading: “In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ… In him we have redemption by his blood.”

That is why the disciples were sent, physically, with nothing, because they didn’t need anything, all they needed was Christ within them; all they needed was their trust in Him.

And, we too are called to the same, to be sent, by that same spirit of adoption, to go forth and bring the message of Christ to others, because, we, too have been covered by that same blood, given that same gift, and instilled with that same trust, to bring that healing message of the Gospel to those who need it most.

So that, just like those disciples, we too don’t need to take anything with us, just our witness as Christians and the love of Christ in our hearts.