Gospel (Lk 10,1-12) - At that time, the Lord designated seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him in every city and place where he was about to go. He told them: «The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few! Therefore pray to the Lord of the harvest to send workers into his harvest! Go: behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves; do not carry a purse, bag or sandals and do not stop to greet anyone along the way. Whatever house you enter, first say: “Peace be to this house!”. If there is a child of peace, your peace will come upon him, otherwise it will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking from what they have, because whoever works has a right to his reward. Don't go from one house to another. When you enter a city and they welcome you, eat what is offered to you, heal the sick who are there, and say to them: “The kingdom of God is near you”. But when you enter a city and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say: 'Even the dust of your city, which has clung to our feet, we shake off against you; but know that the kingdom of God is near." I tell you that on that day Sodom will be treated less harshly than that city."

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

In this passage we find the second missionary discourse of Jesus reported in the Gospel of Luke. If the first was aimed at the Twelve, as if to gather the whole of Israel, now the reason is the mission of the seventy-two disciples whose number (see Gen 10) symbolizes all the peoples of the earth. Luke places it at the beginning of Jesus' journey towards Jerusalem. The universality of preaching is not a further addition to the evangelical message, it is an integral part of the mission that Jesus entrusted to his disciples from the beginning. In fact, he himself notes that "the harvest is abundant", that is, really large, and the workers are few. Jesus says to them: "I send you out like lambs among wolves." The disciples must be aware of the dangers they run. Blindness towards the dangers facing the flock is a sign of insensitivity as well as little intelligence on the part of the shepherd. And this is important, given the task entrusted to them. Jesus urges them not to stay in their usual places or to manage their usual habits, even if they are religious. The Church, the Christian community - and therefore every single disciple - is by its nature missionary, that is, sent by the Lord to communicate the Gospel everywhere in the world, to prepare the hearts of men and women to welcome Jesus as the savior of their lives. The encounter with Jesus is the gift of peace that the disciples are called to bring into every home. The love of the Lord is strong and overcomes the "wolves" of this world, as Francis of Assisi experienced with the "wolf" of Gubbio. The strength of Jesus' disciples does not lie in their equipment: they must not bring anything with them except, in fact, the Gospel and the love of the Lord. With this baggage, which is both weak and strong, they can travel the paths of the world, bearing witness to "the one who sent them".