July15 - Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Called and Sent

 

First Reading   Amos 7:12-15

The prophet Amos is sent from Bethel.

 

Responsorial Psalm  Psalm 85:9-10,11-12,13-14

A prayer for the Lord's salvation

 

Second Reading  Ephesians 1:3-14 ( shorter form Ephesians 1:3-10)

Paul teaches that we were chosen for Christ before the creation of the world.

 

Gospel Reading Mark 6:7-13

 

We see in the first reading how Amos was chosen from the South to go to the North to be the “mouth piece of God”. In the same way Jesus “summoned the Twelve and began to send them out in pairs” (Mk 6:7). One important aspect of the three-year earthly ministry of Jesus was that he formed a community of disciples. All the gospels mention the Twelve apostles, and the gospel of Luke even talks about a larger community of 72 others (Lk 10:1). We have been brought to life with a purpose. We are “called” in order to be “sent out” for a special mission which we need to discover as we mature in our faith. Blessed John Henry Newman says that “God has created me to do Him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another”. Let us ask God’s grace to discover our mission.