Memorial of Saint Peter Claver, Priest
Luke 6:12-19
Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured. Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because power came forth from him and healed them all.
Opening Prayer: Come, Holy Spirit, open my heart and mind to encounter your truth. Imprint your truth and love into my heart so that I can continue the work of your Apostles in your Kingdom here on earth.
Encountering Christ:
- Called to Be Apostles: Jesus had been gone all night long, and when he returned in the morning, he “called his disciples to himself.” Jesus invited all who were there to hear the decisions he had made in prayer. Then he called each of the Twelve to apostleship by name. One by one they stepped forward, accepting the offer to build up the Kingdom of God in a unique and powerful way. These were called to a great service, a service of apostleship, to leadership. Like the Apostles, each of us has a unique vocation to follow him as his apostle of peace, his ambassador in the world today (cf. 2 Cor 5:20).
- The Twelve: The number twelve has a major significance in our Judeo-Christian tradition. For example, there were twelve tribes of Israel, symbolizing God’s power and the completeness of Israel’s government (1 Kgs 4:7). Speaking of the Twelve Apostles, St. Augustine wrote, “Twelve is a sacred number…These twelve were to make known the Trinity [three persons] throughout the whole world—that is throughout the four corners of the world. That is the reason of the three times four” (Tractates on the Gospel of John). This Gospel verse contains foreshadowing of Judas’s betrayal, which for a time reduced the Twelve to the Eleven. But even then, Peter knew that one would need to replace him to complete the Twelve, and the Holy Spirit directed them to choose Matthias to replace Judas (cf. Acts 1:12-26). The government in Christ’s Kingdom had to become complete again. Do we see ourselves as subjects of Christ the King, or are we self-reliant? How can we grow in trust and submission to Our Lord, who governs us through his Church?
- Kingdom of Mercy: In this Gospel passage, Luke is showing that the Kingdom of Christ has come. Christ established his majestic government of Apostles, then he went out to encounter the world filled with sickness and tormented souls. He brought the people his peace and healing through his power and glory. The world thinks of status and prestige as its marks of royalty, but Christ turned that idea upside down and showed that real power and majesty are manifested through works of mercy. This is how his Kingdom shall come: full of hesed, God’s merciful love. We are called to share God’s merciful love with whomever we meet.
Conversing with Christ: Jesus, I adore you as my Lord, my God, and my King. I am sorry for the times when I have rejected your authority through my sins. Thank you for establishing your Kingdom here on earth. Please give me the fortitude to be your apostle and extend your reign of mercy, compassion, and love. Christ our King, thy Kingdom come!
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will pray this scriptural decade of the rosary, focusing on the Proclamation of the Kingdom: USCCB Third Luminous Mystery.
Carey Boyzuck, MTS, is a wife, mother, freelance writer, pastoral assistant, and lay member of Regnum Christi. She blogs at www.word-life-light.com.
