24th Friday in Ordinary Time - Year A

Hi, this is Father Nick Smith, pastor of St. Patrick's in Perry.

We see in today's gospel a snapshot of Jesus' day-to-day life as he journeys from town and village one to another, preaching and proclaiming the kingdom.

Accompanying him were his closest friends whom he had chosen personally.

He has invested in each of them personally, teaching them the ways of the kingdom so that they could go out and preach the kingdom as well.

We also see that there were women who accompanied him and ministered to his needs, as well as the needs of the twelve.

In other words, it seems that the way that Jesus liked to minister was through a kind of family atmosphere.

Those who were his friends, his close friends, and those who were part of his team.

We might say they were in his corner.

For us too, our greatest sphere of influence, especially in the work of evangelization, will be those who are already in our corner, on our team.

This might be those in our family, those whom we work with day in and day out, those with whom we share a special connection at our parish and who we pursue the knowledge and love of God with together.

In these small circles, we will be the most effective.

This is the model that our Lord gives us.

small groups, family atmosphere, walking together as friends and family towards the kingdom of God, helping each other to grow in knowledge and love of our Father.

May God bless you and let us continue praying for each other.