FRIDAY of the 2nd WEEK, uneven year“Jesus went up on the mountain and summoned those he wanted. So they came to him and he appointed twelve; they were to be his companions and to be sent out to proclaim the message with power to drive out devils.”The Lord Jesus, after having prayed to the Father, called those he wanted and named twelve who would go with him and whom he would send to preach the Kingdom of God; this is how he constituted the “body” united to the head where he placed Peter,who had been chosen amongst them. In memory of the twelve tribes of Israel he sent them first of all to the children of Israel and then to all nations. Clothed with his authority, with the power to chase demons, they would make disciples out of all peoples, sanctifying and governing them. This is how the Church was born and was lead by the Lord Jesus. In this diversity and with these new faces, God will bring about marvelous unity in the Holy Spirit who can do this.“The Spirit of Truth introduces you into the whole truth.”
“And so he appointed the twelve, Simon to whom he gave the name Peter, then James the Son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom he gave the name Boanerges, or”Sons of Thunder“, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the Son of Alpheus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the man who was to betray him.” These apostles are ministers and pastors, and there will be such men until the end of time. They will be confirmed in this mission on the day of Pentecost according to the Promise of Our Lord Jesus :“You will receive a strength, that of the Holy Spirit who will come upon you, and you will be my witnesses as far as Jerusalem, in the whole of Judaea and Samaria, and as far as the ends of the earth.” He will choose the people who will collaborate with him through the Holy Spirit.
“Jesus went up on the mountain”. He is the new Moses who calls to him those he wishes and they come to him to be his companions and he sends them out to preach. The Word of God takes us before the Mystery of God, into a humble attitude where we see others in the light of this humility. In our own lives and in the life of the Church we need to have our gaze turned towards God, the author of all things, and to be astonished at all these marvelous aspects of life! God is alive, he is Present in the Lord Jesus. From now on, thanks to him, when we turn towards the human countenance created in the image and resemblance of God, we move towards Jesus.
We ask God for over abundant humility before His Greatness and also before the treasure of the other person we encounter, for he is saved by Jesus. Jesus, the Eternal Pastor, has edified the Church by sending out his apostles just as he had been sent by the Father! He wanted their successors, the Bishops, to be in the Church until the end of time.