23rd Week in Ordinary Time 2021 - Tuesday - Restoration through Christ and His Apostles

 Making our way through the Gospel of Luke at these weekday Masses, one of the themes that has been evident from the start is that of restoration. The Lord has come to restore what was lost through sin, what has been damaged through mankind’s involvement with evil. 

We’ve seen the Lord cast out a demon in the synagogue of Capernaum, restoring him to freedom, bringing a sort of restoration to the synagogue community itself, whose prayer and gathering had been thrown into chaos by this demonic activity. The Lord has worked many healing miracles so far, restoring many to health. He is restoring man’s conscience—his moral and religious conscience—a conscience weakened and clouded by error and sin—in his call to repentance and belief in His Gospel.

The theme of restoration is also at work in today’s Gospel about the establishment of the Twelve as the Apostles of his Church. The number Twelve of course has profound biblical significance—through the twelve apostles, the Lord Jesus is regathering the twelve tribes of Israel in fulfillment of Israel’s hope for ultimate restoration. Israel, scattered, oppressed by the political powers of the world, and inundated with sin hoped to be restored by God as a holy nation, a royal priesthood, through the ministration of the Messiah. 

In building his Church on the twelve Apostles, Jesus was fulfilling Israel’s hopes of restoration and ushering in the final stage of human history. This is the era of the Church—the New Israel in which all humanity is gathered in union with God through Christ and restored through his teaching and grace.

In the Church we see individual restoration—in the call to conversion from sin and a healing of our vices, a personal restoration of our estrangement from God. We also see the communal restoration—foreshadowed by uniting of the Twelve Tribes of Israel into a united people—humanity divided is reconciled with each other through Christ.

As Catholics, we know well that the bishops, the successors of the apostles continue to exercise a very important role in the life of the Church—to help us remain united in faith, hope, and love throughout all the challenges faced in our modern world. Sadly, disunity and division continue to occur when we stray from the apostolic faith, when individuals and groups stray from apostolic unity and also when the apostles are negligent in their duties.

So we pray for the Church and pray for the bishops that the Lord may continue to restore us through the Gospel—to restore our humanity, to restore the unity God designed for humanity from the beginning, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

 

For Pope Francis, successor to the apostle Peter, our diocesan Bishop Edward Malesic, and all the Bishops and Clergy, that they may lead the Church in Spirit and Truth and in faithfulness to all that Christ teaches. 

For those who have strayed from the flock of Christ, for those who have fallen to the empty, seductive philosophies of the world, for their return to the life of grace.

For the sick and afflicted, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, for victims of natural disaster and inclement weather, those who suffer from war, violence, and terrorism, for the mentally ill, those with addictions, the imprisoned, the unchaste, for the comfort of the dying and the consolation of their families. 

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased priests and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom. We pray.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord.