Dear brothers and sisters,

The gospel we just have heard is about the sending of the disciples to mission. This gospel is given to us today. Strengthened by this meeting, we also have to go, on the way of mission.

The disciples are called. They don't go from their own initiative. They are called by Jesus. We also, have been called, and are called today, each of us in his or her way : as lay, as friar or as sister. All of us have been touched by the compassion of Dominic, but, like the prophet Jeremaiah, we feel too weak, too fragile, not worthy for such a mission : "Oh Lord, I do not know how to speak". But the Lord has graced us by calling us. There is nothing wrong if we are afraid. How are we going to announce the good news of love and salvation in our world of indifference, of injustice, of violence : how do we announce the love of God to this mother whose third son has died by AIDS in Madrid, 2 days ago; how to preach the fraternity to your neighbours involved in violence in Belfast ? What does God's love mean for those many women and children who are exploited in Asia and Africa ? It is normal to be afraid by the mission of being a preacher of the good news.

This gospel tell us another thing : the disciples don't go alone : they are sent two by two. You know that this is an old tradition in the Dominican Order : Dominic used to send his brothers two by two; we called that a socius. When I travel with Timothy, it is not to carry his luggage. You have seen how he is dressed and can imagine how light is his luggage. If we go together, it is to share the mission, the joys and the sorrows, to be already a small Christian and Dominican community, in which we talk, we pray and we laugh together. For me, during these days, the presence of Yvon has been very important, especially when I was so sad by the death of my friend Pierre, the Dominican bishop of Oran, and unable to attend his funeral. We are not sent alone on the road of the mission. We go together. Today, tomorrow, you are going again together, in your Dominican groups : Kerygma in Malta, DCY in Ireland, Grupo Antorcha in Uruguay, movimiento juvenil italiano.

Jesus sent his disciples empty-handed, but, at the same time, he invites them to achieve great things. What a paradox !

.Like the disciples, we are invited to travel light, like the pilgrims to Compostella who learn that it is much better to travel with a small back pack, and not to be embarrassed by useless things.

. but, at the same moment, Jesus calls them to realise great things : he gives them authority over the unclean spirits. To be a missionary, is not to distribute easy words, superficial speeches, like sometimes we do in the Church; it hasÊto deal with healing, consolation, salvation. We all remember the beautiful end of Solo's story : "You are so preoccupied by the cause of God that you have forgotten to ask them about their wounds". This is what our mission is about : healing and consolation.

If this is our mission, it is not an easy task. It is a adventure, with a lot of risks.

• first, there is the risk of opening our eyes on the reality of the world. Felecissimo spoke about the Dominican spirituality as "an opened eyes spirituality". But, often, it is hard to keep our eyes open. This year, visiting our Dominican sisters in the slums of Bombay, at one stage I got desperate and couldn't take more.
• there is also the risk of discouragement, and we know that Dominic, after starting his mission in Toulouse, went through very tough years, and some discouragement. He was alone, misunderstood. Jesus too, apparently, failed.

So, being a disciple, accepting to be send by Jesus, means finally being ready to give everything.

• We have started this meeting by the sad news of the assassination of our brother Pierre, bishop in Algeria. This death is a tragedy for the church in this country, because he was a reference for everyone, somebody brilliant in the area of inter-religious dialogue. But, in our faith we are called to believe in the fruitfulness of his life. And this is very mysterious. At the end of Pierre's funeral, a young Muslim Algerian women stood up, and said, in front of the crowd, the officials, the press : "Pierre was our bishop ". She is a Muslim. The fruitfulness of a given life.
• We attended here to the solemn profession of Javier, who is going to China. What a gamble! For most human eyes, it may seem a bit crazy.
• Each of us is called to give his or her life, not only in such spectacular ways, but in the ordinary life. During our shakings here, we heard a lot about the challenges that we have to address : the desperation's of the youth in Poland, unemployment in Spain, violence in Ireland, the homeless in Madrid and Paris, exploitation of women in Asia. Each of us is called to give his life, in a way or another.

But let us be clear : being a missionary of Christ doesn't mean being supermen or superwomen, specialist of the social change. It means to be, first of all, men and women, who have been already touched by the mercy and the tenderness of God. We are not to be preachers, if we haven't experienced in our own lives, the mercy of God: Which means that we have to accept, first, our own fragility, our own vulnerability. And this will mean sometimes a lot of tears. But if we dare to live in our own hearts and lives the love and the mercy of God, we will be able to announce it also to the others.

As said, beautifully, Teresa of Avila, and we sang it here several times: "Nada te turbe, nada te espante; quien a Dios tiene, nada le falta". So let us go together for this journey, as disciples of Jesus, children of Dominic, and witnesses of God's love. Amen.