"Jesus chose twelve apostles"

Scripture: Luke 6:12-19  (alternate reading: Luke 13:10-17) - In these days he went out to the mountain to pray; and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called his disciples, and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles; Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea  and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came forth from him and healed them all.

 

Meditation: What is God's call on your life? When Jesus embarked on his mission he chose twelve men to be his friends and apostles. In the choice of the twelve, we see a characteristic feature of God's work: Jesus chose very ordinary people. They were non-professionals, who had no wealth or position. They were chosen from the common people who did ordinary things, had no special education, and no social advantages. Jesus wanted ordinary people who could take an assignment and do it extraordinarily well. He chose these men, not for what they were, but for what they would be capable of becoming under his direction and power. When the Lord calls us to serve, we must not shrug back because we think that we have little or nothing to offer. The Lord takes what ordinary people, like us, can offer and uses it for greatness in his kingdom. Is there anything holding you back from giving yourself unreservedly to God?

Wherever Jesus went the people came to him because they had heard all the things he did. They were hungry for God and desired healing from their afflictions. In faith they pressed upon Jesus to touch him. As they did so power came from Jesus and they were healed. Even demons trembled in the presence of Jesus and left at his rebuke. Jesus offers freedom from the power of sin and oppression to all who seek him with expectant faith.

 

Reflection question: When you hear God's word and consider all that Jesus did, how do you respond? With doubt or with expectant faith? With skepticism or with confident trust? Ask the Lord to increase your faith in his saving power and grace.

Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, you are the Son of God and the Savior of the world. Inflame my heart with a burning love for you and with an expectant faith in your saving power. Take my life and all that I have as an offering of love for you, who are my All." Amen.

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Prayer intentions:

For the Tau House community meeting in New Orleans today.

For Sister Ann Roddy, SSND

For the poor and needy

For doctors and nurses

For children as they celebrate Halloween this week 

Daily Reflection

A spirituality of work understands that God comes through the institutional environment

 we have created. All of life is sacred.

 

News

Sister Ann Roddy, SSND I spoke to Sister Ruth, SSND the house leader at St. Mary of the Pines Retreat and Convent, Chatawa, MS, and she reports that Ann is resting, taking some water, very little food. She continues to need our prayers. Sister Ruth thanks everyone for the many prayers and well wishes from all over the country for Sister Ann.

The Tau House community in NOLA meet for a prayer and fellowship meeting this past Sunday, October 25, 2013 at Billy Edwards.

The Tau House community of Quincy, IL meet for a readers theater at the Woodland Cemetery Mausoleum for prayer, songs and reading reflecting the season of Autumn.

The Tau House community in Joliet, IL will be meeting this Friday night at "The Coffee House" in Willowbrook, IL, then on Saturday they will be doing an "All Souls Day" tour of several cemeteries in the Archdiocese of Chicago and the Diocese of Joliet, IL.

Please keep our Father Johnpaul, OFM (Sacred Heart Province) in prayer. He lost his mom and dad the last two months and now we found out that his brother Dennis was killed in a mountain climbing accident today.

Daily Prayer This Week - All Saints / All Souls

This week guides us deep into our faith in several ways. With the Solemnity of All Saints, we are reminded of all the women and men whose faithful living of the Gospel is so clear that we are sure we can imitate their lives. These are all the named saints. It would be great to name the saints whose example we desire to shape our lives. All Souls day gives us the opportunity to remember and pray for all our brothers and sisters who have died. We confidently hope and pray that they may be embraced by the love and mercy of God, poured forth in the life giving death and resurrection of Jesus. This is a wonderful day to name all those we want to pray for, and to include in our prayer those who have no one to pray for them.

As we go about our very busy lives this week, we can continue to practice focusing our attention on an ongoing conversation with our Lord throughout the day. Our desires - for union with our Lord, to know God's love for us, to become more aware of our failings, to become more generous with our family and friends, to be more patient and forgiving, to love as we have been loved - can be expressed in these simple expressions. These expressed desires will naturally interact with the real events of our day.

The gospels this week will draw us into desiring to be more merciful and to not let money or pride dominate our behavior. We won't be “unprepared” if we keep making openings for our Lord to enter the ordinary moments of our days. In repeated moments, we can simply open our hearts and ask God for the desire to have our lives focus on God's desires for us, rather than what our culture wants us to focus on so constantly.

Each night, let's look back over the day briefly, and give thanks for a God who listens to our desires.

Peace and all good,
Brother Ed, OFM