The Chosen Twelve

OCTOBER 28, 2021, Thursday
FEAST OF SAINTS SIMON AND JUDE, APOSTLES (Red)
CYCLE B - YEAR I
Lectionary: 666

Reading I
Eph 2:19-22

Brothers and sisters:

You are no longer strangers and sojourners,

but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones

and members of the household of God, 

built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets,

with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.

Through him the whole structure is held together

and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord;

in him you also are being built together

into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Responsorial Psalm
19:2-3, 4-5

R.    (5a) Their message goes out through all the earth.

The heavens declare the glory of God,

    and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.

Day pours out the word to day,

    and night to night imparts knowledge.

R.    Their message goes out through all the earth.

Not a word nor a discourse

    whose voice is not heard;

Through all the earth their voice resounds,

    and to the ends of the world, their message.

R.    Their message goes out through all the earth.

Alleluia
See Te Deum

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

We praise you, O God,

we acclaim you as Lord;

the glorious company of Apostles praise you.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GOSPEL
Lk 6:12-16

Jesus went up 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.

REFLECTION:

Choosing a team is agonizing. It always means leaving out some who are worthy. Jesus had come to know his disciples, and prayed that he would make a good choice. He still could not guarantee that Judas would not become a traitor, or that Simon would not deny him three times. Jesus is at the mercy of our human frailty.

PRAYER:

I am not one of the twelve apostles, but I am a disciple, a learner. Lord, may I go on learning, and not let you down.