Gospel (Mk 16:15-18)

At that time, Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them:

“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Commentary

On the feast of the conversion of Saint Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, the Church invites us to consider anew the missionary mandate our Lord gave to his disciples before ascending to heaven.

Preaching the Gospel means, above all, announcing the good news of Salvation to all mankind. We see our Lord using two imperative verbs here (“go” and “preach”), making it clear to the apostles that it is impossible to consider oneself his follower unless they strive to transmit to others, with their example and words, what they themselves have received.

Saint Josemaría said that authentic apostolate is “the overflow of your life ‘within’” (The Way, no. 961), a vital need that arises spontaneously in those who are aware of the gift received and the call to live “through Christ, with Him and in Him,” as the final words of the Eucharistic prayers of the Holy Mass state.

Thus, by embodying Jesus’ message in our own lives, we come to understand the meaning of our Lord's imperative command to undertake the apostolic mission addressed to all men and women.