Friday, October 28, 2016
The Feast of Saints Simon and Jude
Both of these saints relatively
obscure, and according to legend, they were martyred on the same day. This is
probably why they were linked together in the calendar. And so we know nothing
about what they actually accomplished in their lives except for the fact that
they gained enough attention that they were finally put to death by the enemies
of the new faith.
Note this: As I said, the
important thing was not what they accomplished, or any notoriety, fame, tales
of success, or how they even managed to spread the Gospel. The important thing
is that they saints in the Kingdom of Heaven. That is the only thing
that matters to us. The same fact might be true of your own life, of your own
time here in space and time. What matters is that you are destined for heaven,
and that any good you do for others becomes part of the treasure you have
stored up for yourself in heaven.
We might also consider that in
this violent and hate-filled world, even those of us who consider ourselves to
be in “safe” circumstances might actually one day be called to martyrdom. Never
forget that new martyrs to the faith are being created on a daily basis in some
parts of the world, right here in 2016. We need pray for the grace and the
miraculous strength and determination that so often is evident in the lives of
the martyrs we know about in our history. May that grace be ours when it is
needed.
The Gospel for the Mass
today is about how Jesus, after a night of prayer to His Father, chose the
twelve apostles out of a group of his followers. I think the most interesting
part of this Gospel passage (Luke 6:12-16) is what it says about the 12th
apostle to be chosen: “Judas Iscariot,
who became a traitor.”
The seed for the death of Jesus
is sown at the beginning of His ministry as He names the twelve apostles.
We might think that after a
night of prayer, Jesus would have been more successful at naming 12 men who
would be faithful to him right up to the end. We might also wonder whether or
not Jesus knew what He was doing when he chose the ill-fated Judas. These are
matters for speculation which we will only have answered on the other side of
the grave.
But notice this: in every great
and important work done in the Kingdom and in the Church, there is some flaw,
some imperfection, some unwitting mistake or some inadequacy. I hope that if
you think about these things, you might learn to have more patience with your
own less-than-perfect attempts at doing good, helpful, insightful or creative
works.
God bless you!
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