The scripture readings on this Memorial of St. Agnes can be found at Memorial of Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr | USCCB
In our
gospel for today we hear Jesus appointing the 12 apostles to be his followers
and to go forth to preach and to drive out demons. It is from these 12 apostles
that we have the foundation of our church: one holy, Catholic, and apostolic.
The Catholic Church traces her roots back to Jesus and to these 12 men.
They were
appointed to work with Jesus to bring the Good News of God’s salvation to the
world. They were involved in every aspect of Jesus’ ministry of preaching and
healing. They were 12 ordinary men, mainly fishermen, with no real formal
education. But these were the ones that Jesus chose to bring the good news of
salvation to the world. As we hear throughout the Gospels, they weren’t
perfect. They were just ordinary men with the shortcomings that we all have.
Peter, the
first among them, was known to have a short temper. James and John, the sons of
Thunder, were looking for ways to move up in importance among the apostles. At
one point they turned to Jesus and asked to sit at His left and right hands
when He came into His kingdom. Then we have Judas who turned out to be traitor
and turned Jesus into the authorities for 30 pieces of silver. These were the
men that Jesus turned to for help in order to bring salvation into the world.
Regular, everyday people with flaws and problems.
Jesus loved
them all and was always ready to forgive them for their sinfulness and
shortcomings. After His resurrection, Our Lord forgave Peter for his three-fold
denial of knowing Jesus. Further, our Lord would have even forgiven Judas for
his betrayal had Judas really understood the love Jesus had for him.
Like the
apostles, Jesus is calling all of us to bring the good news of His salvation to
those in our lives, even when we fall short and are sinful. We are to turn to Jesus
for forgiveness and then we are to share this good news of Jesus’ love and
forgiveness with our families and friends. We are to share this good news by
either talking about our faith with those in our lives, or by simply being good
examples of what it means to be a Christian living in a sinful world. This is
how the good news of Jesus Christ is shared in our world: by simple, everyday
people attempting to live out our lives as followers of Jesus Christ for the
whole world to see. Lord Jesus, help us
in our journey of faith in you and help us to keep you as the center of all we
do. Amen.
Amen. YES, Our LORD called very human people who had flaws & weaknesses & who would have seemed unremarkable without the power & grace imparted to them through the Holy Spirit. Our LORD still calls us--not as apostles,but He calls men, women & children as disciples--to follow Him & build up His Kingdom here on earth. We, too, have our individual flaws & weaknesses as well as our gifts. Most of us would appear unremarkable. But although by ourselves we can do nothing, we, too, have received His Holy Spirit at Baptism & Confirmation & can & should allow the Holy Spirit to work in us so we can help build up the Kingdom of GOD on earth by following GOD'S calling on our lives & using our GOD-given gifts & talents in the context of our everyday lives by our service & the witness of our example & our words.
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