Saturday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time (October 28, 2017): Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles

Thứ Sáu, 27-10-2017 | 15:43:41

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 6:12-16)

In those days Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.


Good News Reflection: We Follow the Apostles

Introductory Prayer: Lord be with me today. Open my eyes to your presence. Increase my faith. I long for your presence. Without you, I am nothing. In you I find light and hope, a sure and steady hand in the midst of any storm. You are always with me. You are my peace. Thank you Lord. Help me to be faithful to your will.

Petition: Lord, increase my love for the Church.

1. Jesus Speaks with His Father.On this feast of Saints Simon and Jude we reflect on the moment of Christ’s choice of the Twelve. Jesus climbs up a mountain and spends the night in prayer with his Father. The scene is a marvel to contemplate. What does he speak about? How does he address his Father? What is his tone of voice, his choice of words or expressions? What he shares with his Father from all eternity is now expressed in human words, in a human way. Surely he speaks about his mission and his followers. He speaks about Peter, Simon and Jude, and the other apostles. Perhaps he speaks about us, about those who will follow the Twelve down through the ages. 

2. Chosen to Be Missionaries.Jesus chose whom he willed. None of the apostles applied for the job. They weren’t voted into office. None ran campaigns or bought advertising. They were chosen because God loved them and wanted to involve them in his mission: to continue Christ’s work of saving souls. These twelve men were the first. They received Christ’s message and his mandate to go out into the whole world and make disciples of all nations. Because they were faithful, Christ’s message has come down to us. The faith we have received is for others as well. We receive it to pass it on. The faith is something to be shared with others. We are all missionaries. We all have been chosen to pass the faith we have received on to others.

3. The Mission Continues in Us.God continues to call people to follow him and continue his work. We are part of an unbroken chain of faith, and so we have the responsibility to pass it on intact to the next generation. Jesus commissioned his disciples to teach all that he taught. It is not for us to pick and choose which elements to pass on. Each of us needs to return often to the mountain where Jesus speaks with his Father. There he is praying for all the collaborators in his mission, those who will continue the work. He is praying for us and our fidelity. 

Dialogue with Christ: Lord, thank you for calling me to follow you. You are the way, the truth, and the life. You are the way to the Father. Help me to be faithful to your call and to the Gospel. Help me to pass on everything you taught. Help me to live my faith authentically with enthusiasm so that I can be a faithful witness to others. Let others see you in me.

Resolution: I will offer some sacrifice for my bishop and his intentions, asking God to bless him in his vocation as a successor to the apostles.

Fr. Marcial Maciel, LC

 

 

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