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 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B - 15/7/2012 - Gospel: Mk 6, 7-13
Unchanged Mission
Jesus sent the twelve Apostles out to serve the community after giving them instructions on what to take for their mission and how to behave when difficulties occurred.  The Apostles were ordinary people sent out with the authority of Jesus to carry on the preaching and healing.  They travelled light and depended on the hospitality of the people whom they served.  This was a sign of total trust in God's providence and also in the hospitality of people of good will.  Apart from the essential needs for survival, namely food and shelter, the primary purpose of the Apostles was to give, not to receive.  They offered people the message of God's love and God's kingdom.

Jesus established the Church with the same purpose, the same mission:
Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Good News to all creation.  Mark 16:15

The universal Church received this mission and has been faithful to the teaching of Jesus.  The Church's mission has been to preach the same message of God's love and God's kingdom.  The healing ministry has been carried out through the celebration of  the Sacraments, the Prayers of the Faithful and Pastoral Care.

The essence of the message of God's love and the service nature of the mission has not changed.  However, the structures and methods to carry out the mission has been changed to better serve the different cultures and lifestyles.

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