AMDG
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The original 12
apostles including Judas (bottom row betraying Our Lord with a kiss
by his free
will). He was replaced by St. Matthias
(right corner). St. Paul, often
called
the Apostle of the Gentiles, is also included here, giving a total of 14 in
this
illustration. It was a motley crew of tough rustic men
and fishermen that our Lord
chose, taught and formed for three years at
campfires and walking all over Galilee
and Judea. Only
St. Matthew, a former tax collector, and Judas, a thief, were out of
place. Although the original apostles
had the best teacher of all time, they still didn’t
understand much of our
Lord’s teaching until they were filled with the Holy Spirit at
the first Confirmation
on Pentecost. By virtue of our Baptism and Confirmation, we
are also called and sent to
be apostles in the New Evangelization by prayer and example
(as fearless
witnesses with our lives), by word and deed. We
must continue the work of
the first apostles and should also be ready to accept persecution (be it direct or indirect,
subtle
or blatant……..ridicule, discrimination, verbal attacks, calumny, false
accusations,
being bad mouthed, loss of job or promotion for being politically
incorrect, jail, even
death). The New
Evangelization is critical today since our Society is becoming more and
more
secularized (without God) as even some of our loved ones are drifting away.
Secularization includes not only opposition to
even the mention of God for the sake of
“political correctness”, but also
indifference to His presence (“He might exist but I don’t
care”) and living
like He does not exist. Secularism is
really functional atheism.
At the Ascension Christ gave the apostles their commission to teach all nations. However, they were apprehensive, afraid, and unsure of themselves. They still did not understand much of what the Lord had taught them. Thus they kept a low profile, cooped up in the upper room in a prayerful ten day retreat, preparing themselves spiritually in wait for the Holy Spirit. Pentecost changed all that! Our Lord’s teaching became clear to them and it all made sense! They were on fire for the Lord. Filled with the Holy Spirit, the apostles immediately went out to spread the good news with great zeal. They felt compelled to share what they learned from Jesus and be His instruments to change the world.
Although
concentrating on Judea until the year 42, the apostles eventually spread out
across the known world. It is not well documented
where each apostle went, but there are legends and tradition…….passed down in
the local churches, at meals, camp fires, and living rooms where friends and
family gather. Today story telling and
conversation are becoming lost arts in the age of television, computers, and
i-phones.
St.
Andrew, brother of St. Peter, may have covered Asia Minor,
Armenia, Romania, and Slavic countries such as the Ukraine. Some of his relics were brought to Scotland
and he became its patron saint. St.
James the Greater, brother of St. John, preached in Spain where he is
buried. St. Philip went to Samaria
and Asia Minor. St. Bartholomew (Nathaniel)
worked in Turkey, Armenia, Persia, and India.
St. Thomas is associated with southern India where many
Christians venerate him. He probably
reached Turkey and possibly Indonesia as well.
St. Matthew preached to the Jews in Palestine and wrote a
Gospel directed to them. St.
James the Lesser evangelized in Egypt and Syria. St.
Jude Thaddeus preached the Gospel in Samaria, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Turkey,
and Libya. St. Simon the Zealot
preached in the Middle East, Iran, and Ethiopia. St. Matthias planted the faith in Armenia,
Turkey and Ethiopia.
St.
John the Apostle wrote the fourth Gospel which is the most theological
of the four, three epistles, and finally the Book of Revelation on the island
of Patmos. He took care of Mary in
Ephesus, Turkey while evangelizing in the area.
He was the last apostle to die in 98 A.D. (https://www.catholicireland.net/after-pentecost-what-happened-the-twelve/).
From
the cross before dying, Christ gave His dearest mother to us as our mother in
the care of St. John. The mystic of the
19th Century, Venerable Anne Catherine Emmerich (1784-1824), revealed hidden details in the life of Christ in her book and also the exact location of
Mary’s house in Ephesus in present day Turkey.
Apparently, St. John used Ephesus as his base. It is believed that St. John took Mary to Jerusalem
for a council of the Church and that’s where the dormition and Assumption of
Mary took place. According the Quran,
Mary is the most perfect woman that God ever created. Thus Muslims
revere Mary and visit her house in great numbers.
The
apostles were so convinced of Christ’s teachings and His resurrection, to which
they are witnesses, that they were willing to face any obstacle, face scourging,
and even die for the faith. All the
apostles were martyred except St. John, who was banished to the Greek island of
Patmos after miraculously surviving immersion in boiling oil. All of this gives greater credence to what
they taught since they had nothing to gain and everything to lose materially.
Early
Trials in Jerusalem. In the name of Christ the apostles healed the sick and
those disturbed by unclean spirits (Acts 5).
In Acts 10 Peter restored Tabitha to life. These works or signs gave credence to their
teaching. Acts 5 also describes how the
apostles were imprisoned, but that night were freed by an angel, who ordered
them to go back and preach in the temple area.
Again they were seized and brought to the Sanhedrin.
In defense Peter said: “We must obey God rather than men”. But a Pharisee in the Sanhedrin named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, respected by all the people……said to them, "Fellow Israelites, be careful what you are about to do to these men……So now I tell you, have nothing to do with these men, and let them go. For if this endeavor or this activity is of human origin, it will destroy itself. But if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them; you may even find yourselves fighting against God." They were persuaded by him. After recalling the apostles, they had them flogged, ordered them to stop speaking in the name of Jesus…….So they left the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name. And all day long, both at the temple and in their homes, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the Messiah, Jesus. Nothing could stop them.
The
Church grew rapidly. The apostles were
unable to both preach and serve the material needs of the people without
neglecting their prayer life. Thus they
delegated the charitable works to others as St. Stephen, ordaining them by praying
and laying hands over them. This was the
beginning of an organizational structure under the overall leadership of St.
Peter (Acts 6).
The bronze statue of
St. Peter in his basilica in Vatican City.
His toe is worn down by so many people kissing it.
St.
Peter. Christ Himself ordained Peter (and implicitly his
265 successors) as His vicar on earth, the first Pope when He said: “And I
say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my Church,
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the
keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth it shall
be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be
loosed also in heaven.” (Matthew 16:18-19). Accordingly, the other apostles and new
Christians deferred to him as the head of the Church as described in Acts (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Peter
and http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12260a.htm).
Under the leadership of St. Peter and
guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Church evangelized non-Jews and did not
require Christians to observe old Jewish norms and laws as to food,
circumcision, etc. since gentiles also received the Holy Spirit (Acts 10, 11, & 11).
Two epistles are attributed to St. Peter. He had considerable influence on the Gospel
of Mark since the evangelist accompanied him in many of his apostolic
endeavors.
St. Peter went on a preaching tour of
Asia Minor. He taught in Rome and took
charge as Bishop there before being martyred under Nero on June 29 in the year
67. He spent nine months chained to a
column in a filthy dungeon. According to
tradition he was fleeing Rome during a violent persecution. Outside the city Peter confronted the risen
Christ who was walking toward Rome.
Peter asked the Lord: “Quo Vadis?” (Where are you going?). Jesus answered: "I am going to Rome to be crucified
again". This gave Peter the courage
to return and continue His mission there.
The Polish writer Henryk
Sienkiewicz authored the novel “Quo Vadis” which won the 1905 Nobel Prize for
Literature. It was made into a movie
which was nominated for eight academy awards in 1951. It is available on Amazon.com and probably
Netflix and video stores.
His statue in front
of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome.
St. Paul,
originally a well educated Pharisee and a zealous persecutor of Christians who
oversaw the martyrdom of St. Stephen (Acts 7), was converted by Christ Himself
on the Road to Damascus (Acts 9). The
energy and zeal of St. Paul was a great stimulus to the Church as described in
much of the Acts of the Apostles where he is very prominent. Since St. Luke accompanied him, the
evangelist was an eye witness to much of what St. Paul did and recorded it in the Acts of the
Apostles. Thus St. Paul is better documented
than all of the saints of the first 15 centuries after Christ. The great majority of the Epistles are
attributed to St. Paul. They are letters
to Christian groups after teaching them and moving on. He is known as the apostle of the gentiles,
preaching through much of the Roman Empire.
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