“Maybe it’s true that I can’t live without you, and maybe two is better than one…”

Today’s readings remind us of the many things that we should live out in our journey as a missionary prophet and as a Church. One of which is being sent “two by two” by our Lord Jesus.

Have you ever wondered who went out with whom among the twelve? Is it James and John together? How about who went with Peter or with Judas? It doesn’t really matter with whom we partner; what the gospel says is that we should have companions.

In the Church, we are composed of smaller communities and families that we could call. The problem is, do we treat them as such? We must admit that sometimes we tend to work as brilliant soloists but poor teammates or sisters in the community. But we must keep in mind that we are not alone in the mission. Since we don’t have all the talents, we are taught to work together. Our differences are what make us live with one another, making things possible to work out for the mission, for the glory of God, not for ourselves. Our spiritual father, St. John of the Cross, said it very well: “A coal that burns alone will soon die out!” Companionship is an important thing so as to avoid the many temptations that will come along our way.

Another meaning behind being sent out in pairs, which the gospel wants to remind us of, is that we are always accompanied by the Holy Spirit. It’s not literally being sent out with another individual, but being sent out with the Spirit of God, especially if we are being sent to a foreign land. His gifts are what make us keep moving forward despite the challenges we encounter on the journey. These are what identify us as a true follower of Christ, the one who goes out to the mission and proclaims his message of love, a missionary prophet.

One more thing that the readings tell us clearly is the instruction of our Lord Jesus not to take anything for the journey. If we compare the life of Jesus with ours today, we are thinking that it’s not that possible not to bring anything. Human as we are, we want to be ‘secured’ all the time, but we must remember that it is actually one of the demands of following Jesus—to become poor not only materially but also spiritually so that we may be able to depend only on Him. That’s why St. Teresa of Avila said, “God alone suffices.” Jesus tells us to ‘trust’ Him fully and not to worry about our basic needs because He will provide them. Our father, Bl. Francisco Palau tells us too, “Let us adore God’s design and providence (Letter 38, 5).” We don’t need anything more than to trust in Him. We must keep in mind that the simpler we are and the lighter we pack on a mission, the better we can serve others as He has served, to attract people to turn to Him and gaze at Him too.

Last but not least, the readings point out that doubts and persecution will always be there. Like the prophet Amos, we will doubt our abilities and our unworthiness of being chosen to be sent off, but if we think that it’s truly God’s will, we will do as He says. If we look back to the stories of the other prophets, especially of our great ancestor in the Carmelite family, the prophet Elijah, we can see that he got afraid too; he escaped out of fear, but he ended up turning back to God, who is the Almighty, because he knew that it is God who we must fear alone. Our immediate objective is to bring God to the people wherever we are sent. This is what will make us true missionary prophets. If people reject us, it doesn’t matter. Already, the one who is sending us has been rejected. A simple smile and a sincere offer of help to people in need will be a good start. We were sent as missionary prophets not only to the people in the mission but also to the people closest to us, our sisters in the community.