by Fr. Jeff Loseke
When Jesus established the apostolic ministry among His own Apostles, He commanded them to continue His mission of reconciliation in the world. We see this most clearly 
expressed by Jesus in His appearances to the Apostles after the Resurrection (e.g., Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 24:46-49; John 20:21-23). Not only did He command them to preach “repentance, for the forgiveness of sins” (cf. Luke 24:47) but also He gave them a share in His very power so as to effect it. The Apostles, once filled with the Holy Spirit, went out and began building up the Church, the Body of Christ on earth.
Saint Paul reminds us that, “It was he [Christ] who gave some to be apostles… to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God…” (Ephesians 4:11-13). As Jesus’ disciples today, we have benefited from the witness of the Apostles and have been gathered together in virtue of our common baptism. Our mandate is clear: we must be active in “works of service.” Anyone who has heard the Gospel and has been taught how to live as a disciple cannot ignore the prompting of the Spirit to put his or her faith into action. Through our works of charity, we participate with the Apostles in transforming the world and communicating Christ’s presence wherever we go. As agents of Christ in the world, our approach to the world around us ought to be different than that of an unbeliever. The way we conduct our business, participate in our communities, and raise our families ought to show others how Christ Himself would do such things. Living more like Christ will draw us more and more together and overcome the divisions our sins have caused.
As Catholics, we recognize that the apostolic ministry itself has been shared with the Apostles and their successors, the Bishops today, through the laying on of hands and the invocation of the Holy Spirit (cf. 2 Timothy 1:1-2,6). We are confident that the Apostolic line has remained unbroken for 2,000 years and that Christ’s ministry remains present and active in His Church today. All of us who have benefited from the Apostolic ministry—especially through the preaching of the Word and the reception of the Sacraments—must take up our own part in the Church’s apostolate. Through our works of charity, we reveal to the world that Jesus Christ is indeed risen from the dead and that He desires to draw the whole world to Himself for salvation.
The Reverend Jeffery S. Loseke is a Priest of the Archdiocese of Omaha and is currently the pastor of St. Charl
es Borromeo Parish in Gretna, Nebraska. Ordained in 2000, Fr. Loseke holds a Licentiate in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.) from the Pontifical Athenaeum of St. Anselm in Rome and is working to complete his doctoral degree (Ed.D.) in interdisciplinary leadership through Creighton University in Omaha. In addition to parish ministry, Fr. Loseke has served as a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force, taught high school theology and college-level philosophy, and has been a presenter for various missions, retreats, and diocesan formation days across the country.
Art: Saint Luke Catholic Church (Danville, Ohio) – tympanum painting – Immaculate Heart, Charity, 2016 (Wikimedia Commons)
situation further, I discovered that some of the very shelves that once held the tomes of Christianity and Judaism had given way to an increasing repertoire of books organized in categories such as “Magical Studies,” “Inspiration,” and “Spirituality”. This shift in the popular demand for these kind of books does not indicate necessarily that people are becoming less spiritual. Rather, it seems that our society today is becoming far less Christian or, at least, less religious than it used to be.
not merely an emotion, a thought, or an ideal. Rather, the love of God is His very self. To stand before the love of God is to stand before Him who made us and who knows us better than we could ever know ourselves. Despite our complete inadequacy before God, we know that He desires that we open up ourselves in order to give ourselves to Him to the best of our abilities—even if it falls short. Love requires an openness that makes one vulnerable.
many people across our globe who yearn to be able to live in peace and to pursue happiness in their own homelands, and there are countless others who would risk even their own lives to come to America to experience it. As we approach our nation’s Independence Day, we have much for which to be grateful. Fundamentally, our gratitude stems from the recognition that the blessings we enjoy in this country do not come from ourselves. It was someone else’s sacrifice, someone else’s struggle that won the independence we so cherish. As Christians, we can give thanks further for the ultimate gift of freedom that was purchased for us by Jesus’ one Sacrifice on the Cross. His Sacrifice fulfills all others, and, moreover, it infuses all other sacrifices with the power to defeat evil. Not only are we given the gift of freedom, but we are invested with its responsibility as well. All those who have been baptized are now sharers in the work of Christ in bringing this freedom of salvation to the whole world (cf. Col 1:24).
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