Sunday July 18, 2021 - Sixteenth week in Ordinary Time - My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord; I know them, and they follow me - Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 6, 30-34

We are a ewe flock under the direction of God, this is the theme that exhorts us on this day of the Lord. There are many lessons we can learn from this gospel passage so that we can best act as disciples of Christ. Among these teachings, let us raise the prayer time necessary to be with God, in order to bring before him the mission that we have just accomplished, to share with him the experience of the mission. This moment of intimacy with God strongly marked the whole of Jesus' life (Cf. Mk 1, 35; Mk 5, 46; Mk 9, 2 ...) and he is fully aware of the importance of these moments. This is the reason why he calls these disciples to isolate themselves in quiet places when they return from their missions. Prayer is the source from which one draws strength, insight and knowledge to submit to the will of God.

Dear Christians, we, the baptized, are the apostles of our century. Thus, all the places where we are, whether in family, in the workplace or in school, and even in public places ... are all places where Jesus sends us to proclaim the Gospel and bear witness to it. By witnessing to the Gospel in our daily life, Jesus also exhorts us to have a moment of prayer: a time of meditation, personal or collective meditation such as participation in Mass, in recollections or spiritual retreats.