Apr 25 Sat
For a Christian to be an apostle, what does it involve?
Saint Mark did not belong to the group of the Apostles, but he was a disciple of the first hour. Our Lord places in his apostles’ hearts a pure and generous desire to serve, a true zeal that makes them willing to undertake any sacrifice, working quietly for the Church without seeking any earthly compensation.
Apostles are Christians who know that they are grafted onto Christ, identified with Christ, through Baptism; enabled to fight for Christ, through Confirmation; called to serve God with their activity in the world, to guide others to God, to teach them the truth of the Gospel, and to co-redeem them through their prayer and their expiation.
“It's not a matter of doing our own thing, of fulfilling our personal ambitions. Rather, it's a matter of being useful to Christ, so that He may act; and also, being useful to others, because Christ came not to be served but to serve."
“We have to ask God our Lord to increase our hunger to serve."
Once and for all, we need to get rid of whatever separates us from, or even slightly hinders, our way as apostles. We can never forget that only when apostles are ready to sacrifice their own lives, through continuous self-denial in the service of others for God, will they be truly united to Jesus' work of redemption. Only then can their apostolate be fruitful.
“Far from discouraging us, the difficulties we meet have to spur us on to mature as Christians. We must take his advice to heart: If any man has a mind to come my way, let him renounce self, and take up his cross, and follow me."
“Take a nail, for instance. If you meet no resistance when you hammer it into a wall, what can you expect to hang on it? Likewise, if we do not let God toughen us through sacrifice, we will never become our Lord's instruments. On the other hand, if we decide to accept difficulties gladly and make use of them for the love of God, then in the face of what is difficult and unpleasant, when things are hard and uncomfortable, we will be able to exclaim with the Apostles James and John: Yes, we can!"
Jesus had announced that in the world his followers would have tribulation. And they overcame all kinds of difficulties and dangers to carry out the mission entrusted to them by our Lord.
Without personal sacrifice, there will be no fruit. “The Cross is present in everything, and it comes when one least expects it. But don't forget that normally, the Cross comes when you start to be effective."
Even though we are of the earth, we must allow Jesus to raise us to the level of divine life. Then, we shall have a divine way of thinking: our Faith, and a divine way of loving: our Charity. Let us allow him to transform us, while we correspond to his grace.
“Let us serve, then, because apostolate consists of nothing else. Through our own efforts, we cannot achieve anything in the supernatural realm; but by allowing ourselves to become God's instruments, we can do everything."