From Sunday's gospel: "After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: 'This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.'"
De La Salle, Meditation 199.2: "[Jesus Christ] tells his Apostles, I must announce the Gospel of the kingdom of God, because this is why I have been sent. Say this same thing, that this is why Jesus Christ has sent you and why the Church, whose ministers you are, employs you. Bring all the care needed, then, to fulfill this function with as much zeal and success as the saints have had in fulfilling it."
How do I do this? I spent part of my weekend entering progress report grades, and the other part planning lessons for a short week. I've got extracurriculars to work on, students to see before and after school. How do I announce the gospel? How do I proclaim the kingdom of God?
The last line of today's first reading provides the answer: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Leviticus 19:18)
Do you want your students to learn the lessons of the gospel in a political environment in which people shout at each other, but don't listen? Show them how to love. Do you want your students to see the reality of the kingdom of God in an environment in which they worry about school shooters? Show them how to love. Do you want your students to know why you were sent to them when progress reports and grades dominate their thoughts? Bring the conversion of life that repentance supplies, and the zeal that inspired you to teach, by showing them how to love.
Live, Jesus, in our hearts!