15th Sunday of Ordinary time

Mark 6:7-13 He said to them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there.

Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them."

Our Lord sends His apostles out to preach the Gospel calling people to repentance, to convert the world. What do we mean by conversion? Conversion comes from the latin ‘convertere’ meaning: to turn around, to change direction. Why did Our Lord send His apostles to convert the world? He sent His apostle to convert the world because the world was on a road to damnation, on the road which leads away from God.

An important point to remember: We are not saved because we are good people and do good things. Psalm 37:39-40; “The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their stronghold in time of trouble. The LORD helps and delivers them; He rescues and saves them from the wicked, because they take refuge in Him.” We read in the apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, Salvation is the "work of [God's] mercy" and "no human efforts, however good they may be, can enable us to merit so great a gift" (Evangelii Gaudium, 112).

To think that we have a right to heaven because I think I am GOOD, is to have fallen for the devil’s delusion. We are sinners and are in need of saving and Our Lord Jesus is the one offering that salvation. He tells us to believe and follow Him. Jn 14:6 “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”” Hence the need for conversion, to turn away from worldly pursuits, the road which leads to death, and turn toward God by follow Our Lord Jesus, the Way to eternal life.

Our Lord offers the world salvation. How does the world respond? Jn 3:19 “And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil.”

The world has rejected and continues to reject God. It even seems that numerous governments around the world are actively pushing God out of their lands and enthroning sin in His place.

In today’s Gospel Our Lord sent His apostles to the places He was personally going to visit, to herald His coming and to prepare for His visit through repentance. For those who rejected His apostles, Our Lord says in Mt 10:14-15; a parallel Gospel “[I]f anyone will not welcome you or heed your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgement than for that town.”

Do not judge things as the world judges them, for it was the world that judged Our Lord and crucified Him. The judgement of the world is influenced by the devil. In the present age the Church seems to be either sleeping or is only speaking quietly. I think the church speaks quietly because it has lost the courage of the children of God. The church teaching is clear and does not change because the world wants it to change. If the Church spoke up, her priest and bishops would probably follow our Lord to Calvary to the cross.

God has given such wonderfully great power to His Church, the power and “authority over unclean spirits”. “[The apostle] went off and preached repentance. They drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.”

They drove our demons and heal the sick not by human power or human wit but by turning people to God, converting them from their sinful life to a life pleasing to God.

St. Augustine of Hippo, one of the great Doctors of the Church, is a famous story of conversion. As a young man, he lived a hedonistic (pleasure seeking) lifestyle and struggled with desires and passions that were in conflict with the virtues of the Christian faith.

His prayer, famously quoted as, "Lord, give me chastity and continence, but not yet!", reflects this inner turmoil. It shows his recognition of the virtuous path, yet also his fear of the demanding struggle against human urges and passions. This prayer is seen as a candid admission of his struggle with his desires and his hesitation to fully commit to a life of chastity. Augustine evenly fully embraced the faith and its virtues, including chastity. His journey from a life of excess sin to alife of virtue. His writings, including his prayers and confessions, continue to inspire and guide many people around the world.

This world is tormented by demons which perverts God’s great gifts enslaving souls to sin. Only in Christ do we have salvation and true freedom. Only in Christ can we have heaven. And so the necessity of conversion and repentance.

Make your heart ready to receive Our Lord through frequent prayer. Follow not the world but Christ.