FEAST OF SAINTS SIMON AND JUDE, APOSTLES - Gospel (Luke 6:12-19) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

“Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God.” (Lk 6:12)

FIRST READING - Eph 2:19-22

"You are built upon the foundation of the apostles."

A reading from the Letter to the Ephesians

¹⁹ So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, ²⁰ built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.^{[a] 21} Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; ²² in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Lk 6:12-19

"He called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve."

✠From the Gospel according to Luke

¹² In those days he departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer^[a] to God. ¹³ When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve,^[b] whom he also named apostles: ¹⁴ Simon, whom he named Peter,^[c] and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, ¹⁵ Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot,^{[d] 16} and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot,^[e] who became a traitor.

^17 [f]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 ¹⁸ came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured. ¹⁹ Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because power came forth from him and healed them all.

FEAST OF SAINTS SIMON AND JUDE APOSTLES - Gospel (Luke 6:12-19)

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Dear People of God,

Today's Word of God recounts that Jesus stayed awake all night in prayer to God the Father before choosing the twelve apostles.

Today's Word of God calls on everyone, especially God's disciples to follow Jesus' example: When doing anything, they must pray and have an intimate union with God, so that the Spirit of the Holy Spirit will instruct, enlighten, and guide them on what to do.

For if people do not pray, do not have an intimate union with God, and do not have the guidance of the Holy Spirit, their actions will not be in accordance with God’s will and His teaching for humanity.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came into the world as a human being; Though He knows all things, He never acted according to His own will; instead, He always remained in intimate union with God the Father, listening to and acting in accordance with God the Father's divine will.

Through this, He also calls His disciples to absolutely follow His divine will when they follow Him; they must act in accordance with what He has taught, and not follow their own will, for He knows that human beings are still proud and imperfect.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles. God calls His apostles to follow the example of Jesus Christ, living always in intimate union with God the Father and never departing from Him.

For if humanity does not have God dwelling within, bestowing grace, supporting, and assisting, then humanity cannot accomplish the works God entrusts, nor does it have the strength to fight against the power of Satan or to help the sick and sinful.

Therefore, today's Word of God emphasizes that to become a disciple of Jesus, one must always live in intimate union with God the Father and act faithfully according to His teachings, only then can one help others escape the captivity of Satan; for Satan is very cunning, and it is not easy to drive him out.

In the distant past, the Son of God came down to earth and became man, suffering death to redeem all humanity. Today, through His calling of the apostles, Jesus invites all who wish to be His disciples to follow His example — to live a life of sacrifice, renunciation, self-emptying and to walk the path of the Cross.

Whoever courageously carries the Cross with Him, whoever has the courage to sacrifice and die with Him, is truly worthy to be His disciple and to enjoy the happiness of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Therefore, today’s Word of God calls on His apostles and all who wish to follow the path of Jesus Christ to become one with Him, to be conformed to Him, and to live according to the path He walked — a path that calls us to renounce all things of this world, to carry the Cross after Him up to Calvary, and to die with Him, so as to glorify God the Father and bring sinful souls back to Him.

Thanks be to God. Amen.