Amos 7:12-15. Lord, show us your mercy and love, and grant us your salvation – Ps 84(85):9-14. Ephesians 1:3-14. Mark 6:7-13.

The richness of the grace which he has showered on us

Isn’t it worthwhile, every now and again, just to stop and be thankful for what we have? There are so many ways we can count our blessings. Yet one gift can sometimes be forgotten: our faith. Today’s reading from Ephesians is one long act of thanksgiving for this ‘richness’ that has come to us through Christ, and it is a beautiful poem of praise. We are blessed because we have been chosen and claimed as God’s own, showered with the Holy Spirit and an inheritance of wisdom, insight and freedom. Such gifts are not much good on our own. Our faith and our blessings are meant to be shared. And so, in the Gospel, the apostles go out with their life-giving mission: healing and turning lives around to God. Let us do likewise today.