Go and Make Disciples: Sending Forth - Auspice Maria Ep 17 with Bishop James Ruggieri
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Welcome back to the Auspice Maria podcast. This week our episode is entitled, Go and Make Disciples, Sending Forth.
Before beginning, I always want to invoke the Holy Spirit, Spouse of Mary, just to intercede for us and open our hearts and give us all that we need to benefit from this podcast, but also to inspire the presentation so that, again, the Spirit's work may be done through it. So Holy Spirit, guide us, direct us, open our hearts and minds, and be with us as we listen to this podcast and afterwards as well. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.
So I entitled today's episode, Go and Make Disciples Sending Forth. And I'd like to let the word of God set the pace. Beginning with the great commission that is found in Matthew chapter 28, verses 16 to 20, it's a really important moment in the gospel when the risen Lord speaks his final words. This is St. Matthew now. And I'd like to share with you the heart of it. Jesus says, "All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And behold, I am with you always until the end of the age."
I want to sit with this passage with you for a while and just meditate on the dynamics of the commission. So Matthew notes that the eleven go to a mountain in Galilee and in scripture mountains are places of revelation. They see Jesus, the risen Lord, they worship and yet still some doubt remains we are told. And that is so honest. It's interesting that the Church is born at the intersection of adoration and hesitation. Mission begins right there, not after we feel perfect, not after the disciples were perfectly ready, not after every question is solved, but right there before Jesus who draws near and speaks with authority.
Again, Jesus declares, "all power in heaven and on earth has been given to me." Mission is not the idea of the apostles. It's not our bright idea. Mission flows from the Lord's authority and presence.
Then Jesus offers the imperative. Go. Make disciples. Baptize. Teach. And let's notice the order. We are not sent to accumulate admirers, but to make disciples. We are sent to bring people into a living relationship with the Lord Jesus and his church through baptism in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit through a way of life that observes all that he has commanded. This is deeply Trinitarian. We baptize in the one name of the one God who is three divine persons. Communion is at the heart of God.
Now, here's something I think beautiful that Matthew is doing at the very beginning of the Gospel. Let's recall the angel announces to Joseph that the child to be born of Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit will be called Emmanuel. "God is with us." Matthew chapter one verse 23.
At the very end, Jesus says, again, the very end of Matthew's Gospel, Jesus says, I am with you always until the end of the age. So what Matthew has presented, divinely inspired, is a powerful inclusion, bookends of presence. The Gospel starts and ends with God with us.
And what does this mean for mission? It means that when we go, we never go alone. The risen Lord accompanies his church. He does not send us like a general sending soldiers while he stays behind. He goes with us. He is with us in word and sacrament, in the poor and the little ones, in the communion of the church and in the Holy Spirit who empowers the mission. Recalling that before Pentecost, the Lord promises, "you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth," Acts 1 verse 8.
And then on the day of Pentecost, we hear, "suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit," Acts 2.
The Spirit is not an optional add-on to mission. The Spirit is the one who moves the mission, who opens doors and sometimes closes them. And there is that striking scene when the church in Antioch is praying and fasting and the Holy Spirit says, "set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." Acts 13 verses 2 to 3.
Later when Paul and his companions are traveling scripture says, "The Holy Spirit prevented them from preaching in Asia," and we hear, "the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go into Bithynia."
So the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them, and can not allow them where? To go into Bithynia, Acts 16, verses 6 through 7.
Then comes the vision of the Macedonian who pleads, "Come over to Macedonia and help us," Acts 16.
So do we hear what's the dynamic, what's going on here? The Spirit leads, the Spirit redirects, the Spirit sends. The agent of mission is the Holy Spirit.
So again, let's put this together. The Great Commission gives the what and the how. The what is, make disciples of all nations. How, baptize them into the life of the Trinity in the name of the one true God who is three persons and teach the way of Jesus while trusting in his abiding presence. And Acts of the Apostles shows the who and by whom. The who here, ordinary people like you and I called by grace. By whom? The Holy Spirit who animates the church.
This also tells us something about the catholicity of the Church. Jesus sends us to all nations. That is the small C, Catholicity. The universality, which is inseparable from our identity as the capital C Catholic Church. The gospel is not a "tribal possession." It is a gift for every culture, every language, every family. The good news is for everyone. Salvation is intended for all. The mission is local and universal at once. It begins in Galilee, and reaches the ends of the earth.
Now if we are going to be sent, we must first be disciples. Obviously we cannot give what we do not have. The disciple has encountered Jesus Christ. That encounter can happen in many ways. For some, it is in the family. For others, it happens through a campus ministry community, or maybe through a small group, a retreat, a parish mission, or a quiet moment before the Blessed Sacrament. But the pattern in the New Testament is clear. Encounter leads to conversion, and conversion matures into mission.
If we think of Levi, the tax collector, who rises from his tax table and follows the Lord in Mark chapter two. Think of the Samaritan woman at the well who meets Jesus at noon and then runs to her own town and says, come see a man who told me everything I have done. Could he possibly be the Messiah? As a result, many came to believe because of her word, John chapter four. Encounter sets the heart on fire and moves the feet.
Saint Paul speaks very directly about proclamation. He says, how can they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? And then elsewhere, that was Romans, Romans 10, and now elsewhere in 1 Corinthians 9, he says, woe to me if I do not preach the gospel. Some of us hear the word preach and obviously we think of a pulpit. But Paul is talking about a whole way of life that announces Jesus in word and deed.
Now, how do we proclaim? We proclaim with authenticity. The Church reminds us that hearts are not won by pressure, but by the attraction of truth and love.
Pope Francis says this beautifully in Evangelium Gaudium paragraph section 14, writing, "It is not by proselytizing that the Church grows, but by attraction."
He's referring to Pope Benedict. The point is that missionary outreach is our first task, and it advances by witness that invites rather than coerces. So we speak the name of Jesus, we offer reasons for our hope, and we live the gospel in such a way that it rings true.
I'd like to speak for a moment about how people enter the church. Many of our listeners are already Catholic, but maybe you know someone who is searching, seeking, looking for something more.
In the United States, we now commonly refer to the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults as OCIA, the process by which adults and older children are guided toward baptism, confirmation, and Eucharist, or toward full communion with the Catholic Church. It is not a class that one completes and moves on. It is a journey of encounter, conversion, and discernment in community, culminating in the sacraments of initiation and a life of discipleship.
If you are listening and you feel a tug perhaps toward the Lord and His Church, I would humbly invite you to reach out to your parish or the local parish. The door is open. The Lord is already obviously at work in you.
So mission is never solitary. Jesus sends the disciples two by two. Mark tells us "He summoned the twelve and began to send them out two by two." Mark six verse seven. And Luke says "The Lord appointed seventy two and sent them ahead of him two by two to every town and place he intended to visit." Luke chapter 10 verse 1.
This is not a mere strategy. It is really a sign of communion. We do not carry Christ into the world as freelancers. We carry him as members of a body with the church and in the church.
Allow me now to turn to building the kingdom of God. Jesus announces, "The kingdom of God is at hand," Mark 1 verse 15.
The kingdom is the Father's loving rule, breaking into our world through Jesus in the Spirit. We do not build it as if it were our project, yet we are cooperators in this construction. We are cooperators who make space for the king and his life.
So what does that look like? I would like to offer some, I would call them, deep dives and then some practical steps.
So the first deep dive, I'd like to talk about a culture of life. How do we build a culture of life? A parish that embodies a culture of life does more than argue about issues. It accompanies mothers and fathers in crisis with concrete help and abiding friendship. It provides mentoring for young parents. It offers healing for those who carry the wounds of abortion, abuse, or neglect. It tells the truth about the dignity of every human life from conception to natural death, and then backs up that truth with time, resources, and love.
Imagine parish families who quietly commit to being sponsor families for mothers or fathers who need support for a full year. Imagine business owners in a parish who work together to hire and train people coming out of difficult situations. Imagine the St. Vincent de Paul Society local conference or parish social action group or parish coalition partnering with local agencies to create a web of care. That is how a culture of life takes root and becomes visible in the neighborhood.
The second deep dive is building a culture of peace. The peace of Christ is not the absence of conflict. It is reconciliation through the cross. A parish that lives this culture teaches people how to forgive, how to speak the truth in love, how to settle disputes justly, and how to pray for enemies. Imagine a regular parish evening called "Blessed are the Peacemakers" where parishioners learn skills of Christian reconciliation and intercede for those in conflict, including families who are divided. Imagine public acts of prayer in local neighborhoods where there is fear, bearing witness that Christ's peace is stronger than darkness. That lets the light of the kingdom shine.
A third deep dive, building a culture of authentic justice. Justice is giving God and neighbor their due. The prophets cried out when the poor were trampled, wages were withheld, and the widow and orphan were forgotten. A parish that lives this culture invites parishioners to examine how they use money and influence. It forms consciences around Catholic social teaching. It does not align the gospel with any ideology, and it addresses concrete needs right where we live.
Think of a parish initiative that mentors teenagers in job skills and virtue, connects them with trades, and surrounds them with spiritual friendship. Think of legal clinics hosted by the parish for those who are lost in confusing systems. Think of intercessory holy hours for workers and employers, asking the Lord to purify what is unjust and raise up what is good.
A fourth deep dive, building a culture of joy and holiness. The kingdom shines where Christians live the Beatitudes. Joy is not noise and it is not naivete. It is the quiet confidence that we are known and loved by the Lord who is with us. When a parish celebrates the sacraments with reverence, welcomes the stranger with warmth, teaches the faith with clarity, and serves the poor with tenderness, then people see Jesus. People who would never have walked into a church begin to wonder. They begin to come and see. This is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church calls the missionary mandate of the church, which is universal by nature.
Now I'd like to offer some practical mission steps for each of us. Begin each day with the Lord. Before the phone, before the flood of tasks, place your day under the presence of Jesus who says, I am with you always. A simple morning offering, a psalm, a brief gospel passage, and a concrete resolution to witness to him today.
Another practical mission step, name one person to accompany. Mission starts with names and faces. Ask the Lord, who are you sending me today? A colleague, a neighbor, a family member? Pray for that person. Look for a natural moment to invite them to coffee perhaps, to share a meal, to listen, to tell your story of faith, to invite them to mass or to a parish gathering. Proclamation often begins with simple friendship.
A third practical step of mission, go two by two. Find a mission companion. Maybe a friend at the parish. Decide together to take on a small mission. Maybe visiting nursing homes. Invite a few people to read the Sunday Gospel with you each week. Offer to lead a brief prayer in a sports league or at the start of a staff meeting when appropriate. Together, you will be bolder and steadier.
Another suggestion, connect with OCIA. If someone is searching, walk with them to the parish and introduce them to the OCIA team. Be present, maybe even attend the sessions with them when possible. Stay near them when they reach the decisive moments of asking for the sacraments.
Lastly, a practical mission step, let the Spirit lead. Sometimes the Spirit opens doors and sometimes the Spirit says, not here, not now. Pay attention. We heard how Paul was redirected by the Spirit and then sent to Macedonia. Do not be discouraged when something does not unfold as you planned. The Lord is with you and the spirit will lead if you let the spirit lead.
Let me now speak directly to young people, especially students back in school. Dear young people, you have a mission every single day. You carry Christ into classrooms, cafeterias, sports fields, buses, and hallways. You are sent in Jesus' name to bring truth and kindness, to refuse cruelty, to notice the student who eats alone, to speak respectfully even when you disagree, to be honest when cheating is easy, to step forward when someone is mocked.
And you may wonder, "do I matter in a big world?" Yes, the spirit delights to work through your courage and your joy.
St. Paul told Timothy in this famous words, "let no one have contempt for your youth, but set an example for those who believe." 1 Timothy 4 verse 12.
The late Pope Francis loved to say that the whole church is missionary. And he has a special, he had, and please God from heaven, he still has a special hope for the young who bring the gospel to the streets with joy. You are not alone, my dear young people. The Lord is with you. Your parish is with you. Go two by two. Invite a friend to pray with you before a test. Invite someone to mass. If you fall, get up. Keep going.
Before I close, I just want to circle back to the heart. The missionary life is not first a plan, it is a person. It is Jesus Christ who says, come follow me, and then says, go make disciples. It is his presence that steadies the heart. It is his spirit that equips us. It is his church that carries us. The Lord's strategy is still the same. He changes the world by changing hearts and he changes hearts through disciples who live the gospel with simplicity and joy.
I would like to simply leave you with a mission examined for this week. Just three questions for your prayer.
Where did I notice the Lord with me today who promises I am with you always? Where did I notice the Lord with me today who promises I am with you always?
Whom is the Spirit sending me to accompany right now in my family? And what is one concrete step I can take? Again, whom is the spirit sending me to accompany right now in my family? And what is one concrete step I can take?
Lastly, where am I being invited to go two by two, to step out with a brother or sister in a small work of mercy or a word of witness? Again, where am I being invited to go two by two to step out with a brother or sister in a small work of mercy or in a word of witness?
My friends, take courage. The risen Lord sends us to all nations and to our next door neighbor as well. And actually to our own family, those that we live with every day. He sends us to baptize, to teach, to invite, to heal, to forgive, to rejoice. He sends us not as experts who have arrived, but as disciples who have been loved. And he is with us. He is with you always.
I'd like to conclude with a prayer and then offer a Hail Mary asking Our Lady to intercede for us.
Lord Jesus Christ, you have all authority in heaven and on earth. You send us to make disciples of all nations. Pour out your Holy Spirit upon us, upon our diocese. Give us the love to invite, the courage to speak, the patience to listen, and the joy to persevere. Draw many into your church through baptism and a life of holiness. Make our parishes living signs of your kingdom, cultures of life, peace, justice, and joy. And keep your promise to be with us always until the end of the age. Amen.
And again, before ending this and trusting it to Our Lady, I'd like to thank you for listening. Thank you for joining us this week. Special thanks to my producer Jake and for all his hard work in these podcasts. And we conclude simply by trusting everything to our Blessed Mother as we pray. Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
