In today’s Gospel, St Matthew relates the call of the twelve apostles: ‘And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every infirmity. The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him’.

Jesus called them ‘to Him’. That is, and must always be, the core of every service and ministry.

The call is personal; it is from the Lord to an individual soul, then and now. May we hear His call deep within us, listening intently ‘with the ear of the heart’ as St Benedict says, faithfully putting it into practice in the humble circumstances of our own lives. May God bless you.