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.

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: 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.

Jesus is constantly praying in the gospels, especially before major events in his ministry. In this way, he gives us an example of how we should pray to him before making big decisions in our lives or when facing great tasks. He goes off by himself and prays on a mountain. We might not have a mountain nearby, but we too should make a point to retreat from the world from time to time in order to focus on God and pray to Him without distractions. He also spends the entire night praying to God. How many of us have done the same? Have we even prayed one hour to God? Perhaps we should find time each day to spend with God. It could be early in the morning before work, during a break in the afternoon, or even right before we go to bed. All we have to do is make the time for God and keep it holy and without distractions. Once we do this, we will be refreshed in the spirit and be able to make better decisions about our lives and become more like the Twelve Apostles.

Do we make time to pray to God, especially in the midst of our daily decisions? When we do pray, do we try to go to a deserted place so that we are not distracted? How much time do we spend with God each day?

O Lord, teach us how to pray.

Amen.