Christ wants us to be apostles

THOUGHTS AND VIEWS

Fr. Roy Cimagala

THERE is no doubt we are all meant to be apostles of Christ,
to be his ambassadors. That’s simply because we are meant to be like
Christ, to be ‘another Christ,’ and so we share also in his redemptive
mission which is a continuing affair as long as we are still in this
world.
    No wonder then that Christ would just choose his apostles
seemingly at random. He would just pass by a certain place, and upon
seeing someone, he would just say, “Come, follow me.” And wonder of
wonders also, the person called would just follow him without
question. In fact, it is said that the person called would leave
everything behind (“relictic omnibus”).
    We are all meant to be apostles of Christ with the lifelong
concern for doing apostolate, taking advantage of all the occasions
and situations in life. Vatican II spells it out very clearly. “The
Christian vocation is by its very nature a vocation to the
apostolate.” (Apostolicam actuositatem, 2) So, anyone who wants to be
truly consistent to his Christian identity and calling should realize
ever deeply that he is called to help others get closer to God. This
is what apostolate is all about.
    This duty actually springs first of all from our nature. We
are not only individual persons. We are also a social being. Our
sociability is not an optional feature. It is part of our essence,
violating which would be equivalent to violating our very own nature.
We can never live alone. We need to be with others. And
more, we need to care for one another. We have to be responsible for
one another. And while this caring and loving starts with the most
immediate material human needs like food, clothing, etc., it has to go
all the way to the spiritual and most important and ultimate need of
ours.
    That’s why we need to practice affection, compassion,
understanding, patience and mercy on everyone. We have to understand
though that all these can only take place if they spring and tend
towards God, “the source of all good things” for us.
    We need to be familiar with this Christian duty. We have to
do apostolate, and we need to see to it that the zeal for it is always
nourished, stoked and fanned to its most intense degree.
We have to understand though that in doing apostolate, we
should rely only on Christ’s power. Thus, Christ in commissioning his
apostles, told them to “take nothing for the journey, neither walking
stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money…” (cfr. Lk 9,1-6) He will provide
for everything that we need.
    On our part, we should just be as generous as we can be in
carrying out that responsibility. “Without cost you have received.
Without cost you are to give.” (Mt 10,8) For sure, with these words of
Christ, we are strongly reminded to be generous, to give ourselves
completely to God and to others, sparing and keeping nothing for
ourselves, because God has been generous with us.
    We need to develop a keen sense of generosity and
self-giving that is also a result of detachment. Let’s never forget
that whatever we have comes from God who wants us to work for the
common good. Thus, we hear St. Paul saying, “What do you have that you
did not receive?” (1 Cor 4,7) -- Email: roycimagala@gmail.com