I've been meaning to enter this homily we heard back in North Carolina while at Belmont Abbey. I asked the priest (a Benedictine Monk) for a copy of it because it was such a confirmation of what we are doing. I was so pumped up after hearing because it reminded me that the more things change the more they stay the same when it comes to the mission of evangelization:
"In today's Gospel (Mark 4:1-20), we find Jesus changing his modus operandi--his method of procedure. He no longer is teaching in the synagogue but by the lakeside because he is no longer welcome at synagogues. So, using different methods--to take religious preaching and teaching out of its conventional setting--the synagogue--into the open air and among crowds of ordinary men and women. There msut have been orthodox Jews who regarded his different procedure stunting and sensational but Jesus was wise enough to know when different methods where necessary and he was adventurous enough to use them. As campus minister at our College some time ago, students and I would go on retreats to North Carolina beaches and mountains and celebrate Mass outdoors in the beautiful God given settings of a beach or a mountain and our seasoned Christian students would themselves prepare and deliver inspirational talks for the retreat about thier own spiritual journeys towards the Kingdom of God for the edification of other retreatants."
Wow! This was such an amazing realization. Much of what we aim to do with Catholic Youth Expeditions is so very similar. This old Benedictine had been doing it for years and it was humbling to hear the words of an old master share the secrets of Jesus' ministry. I hope we can do a little bit of this as well during our AD GENTES Missionary Road Trip!
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