“The Lord loves His People.” (Ps 149:4)
The night before choosing the twelve apostles, Jesus “departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God.” (Lk 6:12) We certainly have a privileged glimpse here to see Christ in prayer as He prepares for this uniquely important moment of selecting those twelve particular disciples who He will send into all the world. Yet, might we also consider this vigil of prayer as an example of the deep unity between Jesus and the Father out of which each of our callings has come? Can we consider the seriousness with which Christ prayed, the love with which He entered into deep conversation with the Father, in anticipation of choosing each of us?
It is into this divine union of Father and Son and Holy Spirit that Jesus calls the apostles in entrusting them with the mission which the Father had entrusted Him. It is in that night of Christ’s prayer on the mountain that we should linger, and to which we should return. As we consider the love of the Son for the Father, then we will come to know a little more about the love that God has for us. Let us make time this evening to pray, to share some of Jesus’ night of prayer, and so come to know how the Father loves the Son, and the Son shares that Spirit of love with us.