Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles

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.

Before Jesus made the decision about whom he would name Apostles, he went off by himself and spent the night in prayer. This is how we should pray before making our own decisions, great and small. We should ask God for guidance and trust He will lead us to the best decision. We cannot secure salvation on our own, and we would do well to understand our dependency on God for this and for many other graces that get us through each day. It is by God's Love and Mercy that we are saved and we should recognize this in our prayer lives. We cannot become good and faithful servants without turning our lives over to God and allowing Him to lead us where we need to be and not necessarily where we want to go.

Do we turn to God in prayer before we make important decisions great and small? Do we allow God to lead us where we need to be? How can we make our lives more open to prayer and its fruits?

O Lord, call us to you and make us your good and faithful servants.

Amen.