We are all Apostles!

We are all Apostles!

1. Feast: St. Simon and St. Jude Apostles (First Century)

Of all the original twelve apostles, St. Jude is perhaps the most commonly invoked in prayer. He enjoys widespread popularity as the "patron of hopeless cases."

Both of these saints have long been celebrated together---- possibly owing to the legend that they were martyred in Persia on the same day.

2. From the Magnificat---- a reading they used for morning Prayers--- one of my favorites.
James 1: 22-25

BE DOERS OF THE WORD, and not hearers only, deluding yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a DOER, he is like a man who looks at his own face in a mirror. He sees himself, then goes off and promptly forgets what he looked like. But the one who peers into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres, and is not a hearer who forgets but a DOER WHO ACTS, SUCH A ONE SHALL BE BLESSED FOR WHAT HE DOES.

3. From "Saint of the Day"

"As in the case of all the apostles except Peter, James and John, we are faced with men who are really unknown, and we are struck by the fact that their holiness is simply taken  to be a GIFT FROM CHRIST. He chose some unlikely people; a former Zealot, a former (crooked) tax collector, an impetuous fisherman, two "sons of thunder" and a man named Judas Iscariot.

It is a reminder that we cannot receive too often. Holiness does not depend on human merit, culture, personality, effort or achievement. It is entirely God's creation and gift. God needs no zealots to bring about the kingdom by force. Jude, like all the saints, is the saint of the impossible; Only God can create his divine life in human beings. And God wills to do so, for all of us.

"Just as Christ was sent by the Father, so also he sent the apostles, FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT."

4.From Father Burke Masters
"The Apostles were regular men like me and you. The Lord DID NOT CALL THE EQUIPPED, BUT HE EQUIPS THE CALLED. Jesus turned these twelve ordinary men into a group of super-evangelists with the help of His grace. The Holy Spirit descended upon these men on that first Pentecost and the world would never be the same .

The Lord also calls me and you, despite our weakness and sinfulness . The Lord's call is not just for the apostles, but it is for every single  one of us. He sets high ideals for all of us. He calls us to be holy as our heavenly Father is holy. He calls us to be merciful as the Lord is merciful to us. He loves us more than we can possibly imagine. And He gives us the grace to live out this life of discipleship.

How are you responding to God's call in your life?"

Let's All be Apostles!
Grandpazach