He appointed Twelve, whom he also named Apostles.

 

Scripture readings for this reflection can be found at Friday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB

In our continuation of the gospel of St. Mark, we hear of the 12 men the Lord chose to be His apostles. 12 regular men with no formal education to go and help him bring his Gospel to the world. These men, with no experience in public speaking or even spiritual training to deal with the effects of casting out demons, were chosen to bring His message to the world.

From the point of view of the world, people may have thought that these choices of Jesus were probably not the best. Peter was very outspoken and often spoke before thinking. James and John, also known as Sons of Thunder, had aspirations of greatness and were anxious to be sitting at the right and left of Jesus when He came in glory. Then there was Judas who betrayed the Lord. All these disciples were week men that the Lord entrusted His message to.

Through it all, the Lord used these men as the foundation of what will become His church. It is through the power of the Holy Spirit that these men, once Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, would lead his church forward. The Holy Spirit guided them in finding a replacement for Judas, the betrayer, and the Holy Spirit continued to be with them every step of the way after Pentecost. It is through these men that Jesus chose to bring his message of salvation to the world, even to the point, in many cases, in facing persecution and death. It is through the power and inspiration of the Holy Spirit that the Apostles were successful in bringing this message of the Lord’s Salvation to the whole world.

The Holy Spirit continues to guide the Lord’s church in those that have followed since the Apostles, working through every Pope since Peter and every bishop since the Apostles. We, in the Catholic Church, can claim that we believe in One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. The Church has survived over 2,000 years because of the Holy Spirit working through all the popes and bishops since the time the Lord chose these apostles.

Further, he’s calling each one of us, like the apostles, to go and preach the good news of salvation to all we meet in our lives by simply living out lives in obedience to God’s commandments as understood in the Catholic Church. We may not be called to be in the pulpit preaching the gospel, but we are called to preach the gospel in how we live. As St. Francis is credited as saying, “Preach the Gospel always, and when necessary, use words.”