As you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.
A Gospel Enquiry
Introduction
Fr Joseph Cardijn encouraged the young leaders of the Young Christian Workers Movement (YCW) to think of themselves as apostles and to act as apostles. He delivered his Godinne Lectures on The Young Worker Faces Life in 1949 and in his third lecture, which was about the mystery of vocation, he commented on the apostolic mission of the working class:
The working class will rise again, because it has apostles who, with and by Christ, by their sufferings and prayers, and even by their death on the Cross, merit with Christ this resurrection of working-class youth and of the working class of the world.
The war had ended when Cardijn uttered these words and he knew that some of his leaders and chaplains had been martyred because of their faith in Christ.
Now, more than eighty years later, the Church celebrates the faith of Jocist martyrs. The July, 2025 edition of the Australian Cardijn Institute Newsletter features an article announcing the beatification of more than twenty French jocist lay leaders, chaplains and seminarians linked to the YCW.
Let us pray that we never forget the power of witness to the faith we are called to embrace and to live and that we remember their commitment to Christ, especially when our faith is challenged by the forces of evil in the world.
The Gospel
Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: ‘As you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils. You received without charge, give without charge. Provide yourselves with no gold or silver, not even with a few coppers for your purses, with no haversack for the journey or spare tunic or footwear or a staff, for the workman deserves his keep.
‘Whatever town or village you go into, ask for someone trustworthy and stay with him until you leave. As you enter his house, salute it, and if the house deserves it, let your peace descend upon it; if it does not, let your peace come back to you. And if anyone does not welcome you or listen to what you have to say, as you walk out of the house or town shake the dust from your feet. I tell you solemnly, on the day of Judgement it will not go as hard with the land of Sodom and Gomorrah as with that town.’ (Matthew 10:7-15)
The Enquiry
See
Jesus briefs his Apostles before sending them out on mission. What are the elements of his instructions? Have you ever been briefed by Jesus? Have you ever heard of anyone being given similar instructions to the ones Jesus gave his Apostles?
Did Jesus’ Apostles carry out his instructions? What happens to those who respond to Jesus’ invitation to follow him and to be his apostles?
Why do many people reject the Good News (“Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils”) and those who proclaim it?
Judge
What do you think about the instructions Jesus gave to his Apostles?
How would you know if people have been sent by God to proclaim the Good News?
What is there in Jesus’ words and actions that challenges your faith?
Act
What do you want to change in the world so that the Good News can be proclaimed and celebrated?
What small action can you carry that will contribute to the change you want to see?
Who can you involve in your action, when, where and how often?
Image Source: Fr Lawrence Lew (Creator), This mosaic from the old papal triclinium of the Lateran Palace dates to c.800 and was installed during the reign of Pope Leo III. Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Worth Reading: Cardijn, J. (2020). Challenge to Action: Forming Leaders for Transformation. This is a collection of Cardijn’s lectures, originally translated into English by Fr Eugene Langdale and updated by Dr Stefan Gigacz. You may obtain a copy here. If you choose to download it, please consider making a donation to the Joseph Cardijn Digital Library to support its further development.