“And having called his twelve disciples together, he gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of diseases, and all manner of infirmities. And the names of the twelve apostles are these: The 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 publican, and James the son of Alpheus, and Thaddeus, Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.”
Jesus calls His disciples together, and picks twelve, for three multiplied by four is twelve, and they were to take the message of the love of the Trinity into the four corners of the earth. It is a number seen throughout Sacred Scripture, for “Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God of hosts, all the earth is full of his glory” (Isaias 6:3). The one that will be emphasized here, however, are the twelve stones on Aaron’s breastplate: “Thou shalt make a rational of judgement with embroidered work of divers colours, according to the workmanship of the ephod, of gold, violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen. It shall be foursquare and doubled: it shall be the measure of a span both in length and in breadth. And thou shalt set in it four rows of stones” (Exodus 28:15-17), each of these rows containing precious stones. This denotes the closeness of the followers of Jesus to His Sacred Heart, “Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23), and showing the beauty He sees in each one: “And the foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all manner of precious stones” (Apocalypse 21:19). To those with whom He shares a reciprocal love, He opens the treasures of this same Heart: “And the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man unto profit” (1 Corinthians 12:7), each in their own specific way. To the twelve, they were given, amongst other gifts, power over unclean spirits, and to heal sickness and disease; consider, Theophila, that they had not yet received the gift to love as God loves, and how much greater this gift is! “Be zealous for the better gifts. And I shew unto you yet a more excellent way” (1 Corinthians 12:31); “And there appeared to them parted tongues as it were of fire, and it sat upon every one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:3-4). A loving Lord does not horde His treasures, but distributes them freely, showing His mercy and His love for His people, so too does Jesus give to those who love Him a share in His Spirit and glory: “There are diversities of graces, but the same Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:4). Now, the names of the Apostles show the ideal apostle of His merciful love, for in the case of “Simon Peter,” “Simon” means “obedient:” “He findeth first his brother Simon, and saith to him: ‘We have found the Messias,’ which is, being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus” (John 1:41-42), for the spouse of Jesus is tranquilly obedient to His commandments: “Set before me for a law the way of thy justifications, O Lord: and I will always seek after it” (Psalm 118:33), fulfilling the spirit of the command to love with the artfulness of doing it according to His instruction: “Her ways are beautiful ways, and all her paths are peaceable” (Proverbs 3:17). “Peter” of course means “rock:” “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” (Matthew 16:18), for the love of Jesus is the true foundation that gives stability to life: “For other foundation no man can lay, but that which is laid; which is Christ Jesus” (1 Corinthians 3:11), and in clinging to this rock through all things, you will never be moved: “My soul hath stuck close to thee: thy right hand hath received me” (Psalm 62:9). “Andrew” is interpreted as “manly,” for even the gentle virgin martyrs went forward with heroic bravery to their deaths, and so calls you to stand strong, not fainting under toil, but ruggedly persevering in the command to love: “Behold I command thee, take courage, and be strong” (Josue 1:9); “Be not fainthearted in thy mind” (Ecclesiasticus 7:10), but the Lord will provide for the one that needs this same strength: “It is he that giveth strength to the weary, and increaseth force and might to them that are not. Youths shall faint, and labour, and young men shall fall by infirmity. But they that hope in the Lord shall renew their strength” (Isaias 40:29-31), because they always drink at the fountain of love: “Come to me, all you that labor, and are burdened, and I will refresh you” (Matthew 11:28). “James” is interpreted “the supplanter,” for you are called to supplant that which you once were with Jesus: “And I live, now not I; but Christ liveth in me” (Galatians 2:20); “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30); be this in replacing bad love with good love, vice with virtue, things of the world with things of God, it matters not, all of these will draw you further into beautiful love, for the love and wisdom of God is “the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope” (Ecclesiasticus 24:24). “John” is translated as “the grace of God,” for the spouse of the Lord is not only graceful, “Thou art all fair, O my love, and there is not a spot in thee” (Canticle 4:7), but a reservoir of grace, so bursting with love that it overflows into spontaneous actions of love, holy folly, tears of love, an abundance of love and grace: “Give, and it shall be given to you: good measure and pressed down and shaken together and running over shall they give into your bosom” (Luke 6:38). “Philip” is “of lamps,” for “you are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14) and are called to bring the light of Christ to all you encounter, which is an inevitable result of being this reservoir of love. Love has a glow to it, a radiance that is unmistakable: “And when Moses came down from the mount Sinai, he held the two tables of the testimony, and he knew not that his face was [shining] from the conversation of the Lord” (Exodus 34:29). “Bartholomew” is “the son of him that raiseth water,” for the heat of the sun evaporates water and brings it becoming a cloud that then rains water on the dry earth, and the love of Jesus melts the heart: “My soul melted when he spoke” (Canticle 5:6), drawing the beloved into heavenly realities: “But our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20), which then rains down spiritual fruit on those who thirst for love and truth: “Stay me up with flowers, compass me about with apples: because I languish with love” (Canticle 2:5), like a tree laden with heavy branches. “Thomas” has two meanings: “abyss,” or “a twin,” which in Greek is “Didymus:” “Now Thomas, one of the twelve, who is called Didymus” (John 20:24), both of which are appropriate for a spouse of God. The first is that you are to be an endless abyss of love and mercy, loving constantly, with nothing held back: “A new commandment I give unto you: That you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (John 15:34), forgiving without thought, overwhelming sin with mercy: “And be ye kind one to another; merciful, forgiving one another, even as God hath forgiven you in Christ” (Ephesians 4:32). It can also mean “twin,” for like a twin of Jesus has everything of God been given to you; He is your brother: “For both he that sanctifieth, and they who are sanctified, are all of one> For which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren” (Hebrews 2:11). From the love of the Father: “You have received the spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we cry: ‘Abba (Father)’” (Romans 8:15) to the perfect motherhood of Mary: “And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Luke 1:43), to the companionship of the saints: “You are fellow citizens with the saints, and the domestics of God” (Ephesians 2:19), the love that was open to Jesus is open to you. “Matthew,” the only one to refer to himself as a publican, for the other writers out of love for their brother did not desire to bring to mind his former life, so too is it loving to look at the magnificence of the person as they are rather than to prick them with reminders of their past, is translated as “given,” for you are given to the Lord in a singular way, and should turn your eyes to making Him happy: “If I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10); “As the eyes of the handmaid are on the hands of her mistress: so are our eyes unto the Lord our God, until he have mercy on us” (Psalm 122:2). James the son of Alpheus is, once again “the supplanter,” but also “of the learned,” for binding yourself to a spiritual and learned person that you may learn from them and imitate them is a water of life: “Humble thy soul to the ancient, and bow thy head to a great man” (Ecclesiasticus 4:7); “If thou see a man of understanding, go to him early in the morning, and let thy foot wear the steps of his doors” (Ecclesiasticus 6:36), that can help uproot imperfections that nip at your heels. “Thaddeus” is interpreted as “little heart,” for in having a heart of a child, laying upon your Abba in persona Christi, warm with the love of the Holy Spirit, you are in deep prayer, thus does He invite you: “Whosoever is a little one, let him come to me” (Proverbs 9:4). “Simon” again is “obedient,” but the surname of this Simon indicates “zeal,” for a zeal for spiritual things shows a burning heart, one captivated with love, and to be obedient to your neighbor with zeal, eagerly giving when they bid something of you shows a beautiful humility, leaping at the opportunity to spread love and compassion. Finally, “Judas” means “praise,” whereas “Iscariot” means “the memory of the Lord,” for the lover of God should be filled with rejoicing and praise at the memory of the Beloved, “What manner of one is thy beloved of the beloved, O thou most beautiful among women? What manner of one is thy beloved of the beloved, that thou hast so adjured us?” (Canticle 5:9). While all of these men fell short of their names during their lives: “Then Jesus saith to them: ‘All of you shall be scandalized in me this night’” (Matthew 26:31), those that rose again to be embraced by the mercy of Jesus saw their love stories through to the end. Jesus chose Judas aptly, that the Church may learn to acknowledge scandal within her walls, the truth to overcome even the knife of betrayal, and finally for you, for Jesus loved even one of His closest members that betrayed Him, that you may do the same. Consider, Theophila, that this is you. All of these graces are gifts to which you are called, that you may show forth wonderfully the unfathomable love of God through your own love.