Companion

Today’s readings both speak of the value of companionship. In the Gospel, our Lord sends out the seventy-two disciples in pairs, so that each would have a companion in proclaiming the Kingdom of God. In the first reading, St. Paul speaks of how nearly all his companions have gone off to others things, leaving him only with St. Luke (whose feast we celebrate today).

In today’s world of “keeping busy” and “accomplishing things” there would seem to be little value in simple companionship. We feel that we have to do things, give things, make things, or say things. Sometimes we may feel that we would bring little value to a person if we were to be with the person and do nothing. On the other hand, sometimes we might think it boring or even annoying for a friend to come by and “visit” us without really bringing, saying, or doing anything.

Yet people today spend considerable time and money on a great variety of pets that bring, say, and do almost nothing – nothing except provide some semblance of companionship (nothing against pets - I like pets myself - just pointing out the human need for companionship). Others use drugs, alcohol, debauchery, or an obsessive relationship to try to chase away the emptiness they perceive in their lives.

It is important for us to reconnect with the value of companionship: not to be afraid to provide simple companionship to our friends and people we meet, nor afraid to accept simple companionship from others.

However, it is also critically important for us to be ready for times and places in our lives, in which – like St. Paul – we may find ourselves utterly alone and without any hint of companionship. Whether these times be infrequent and short or constant and enduring, we need to be prepared.

But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength...

It is especially at times like these that we should come to realize that we have God himself as our constant companion, through the never-failing presence of his Holy Spirit. Indeed, we should continually strive to feel that consolation, to be deeply aware of God’s presence, whether we are busy in a crowded life or alone in desperate pain.

...the Lord stood by me and gave me strength,
so that through me the proclamation might be completed...

O God,
Who didst instruct the hearts of the faithful
by the light of the Holy Spirit,
grant us in the same Spirit to be truly wise,
and ever to rejoice in His consolation
through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Deus, qui corda fidelium Sancti Spiritus illustratione docuisti: da nobis in eodem Spiritu recta sapere; et de eius semper consolatione gaudere. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.