Daily Gospel Reflection for October 28, 2019

Today's Gospel: Luke 6:12-16 - Feast of Sts. Simon & Jude Luke 6: 12-16 – “Jesus went to the mountain to pray….” Even though Jesus has been successful in gaining many hundreds of followers to this point, He knows that He needs to make sure that all people for all generations need to have a relationship with God. How can this happen without choosing others who can teach this message after He is gone? He begins by praying, because prayer is His and our source of power. He then chose twelve Apostles to help Him, Because Jesus knows He will need these men to help establish His Church. These were ordinary men in many ways, prone to making mistakes, misstatements, failures of faith and even bitter towards each other at times. The message here is that Jesus knows that every follower of His will fail, make mistakes, make bad decisions, but He will work powerfully through them. He chooses Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He brought his brother to Christ as his first task. James and John were sons of Zebedee. Although well-off, they left all this behind to follow Jesus. The next was John, James’ youngest brother. He is known as the Beloved Disciple. He learned from Jesus to balance truth and love. Philip was the facts-and-figures guy who told his best friend Nathaniel they had found the true Messiah. It is through friends and family that we know the importance of spreading the story of Jesus. Bartholomew (Nathaniel), Matthew (Levi), Thomas, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon the Zealot, Judas the son of Jemes, and Judas Iscariot (known as the traitor); all the apostles had their roles, and they were all human, just like us. God was able to glorify himself through these men. He wants to do the same with us.

Ponder:

Am I willing to answer Jesus' call to be His disciple?

Pray:

Jesus, You taught us the importance of prayer. I know I was brought in this world to be a disciple for You. Please help me complete this most important role in my life.