He prayed all night.

What do you do, brother or sister, when you have a serious decision to make? Maybe you can’t sleep and keep going back in your thoughts to the events and things before you. It is a matter of course. Even the Lord Jesus knew that the moment had come for Him to step out and begin to teach the multitudes about His Father publicly and explain His mission to them. What was He doing when He was about to choose and select from the crowd His closest associates, the apostles?

The evangelist Luke, who knew this from the apostle Paul, writes: “In those days he went up into a mountain to pray, and spent the whole night in prayer with God” (Luke 6:12). The Lord Jesus, as the second Divine Person, in all things follows the will of His Father, “The Father and I are one” (Jn. 10:30). The Lord Jesus went forth from the Father and, having completed His mission among men, He returned to the Father on the fortieth day after His resurrection. So that His teaching might have spread on earth, He chose a few from among them to entrust them with this solemn task.

Jesus prayed. He talked with his Father all night. After this conversation, Jesus is no longer alone. He chose twelve and called them apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James, the son of Alphaeus; Simon, whom they called the Zealot, Judas, the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who had become a traitor. This naming of the apostles must not tempt us to think it was on the same day. We know that he first called Andrew and Philip. Andrew brought Peter to Jesus, Philip brought Bartholomew, and John and his brother James were called by Jesus as he passed by their boat where the brothers were mending their nets. He called Matthew when he saw him sitting in a tree. Here, Luke wanted to emphasize their namesake – that the Lord Jesus had chosen to build the human Church on them. That is why he writes: “He went down with them and stood on the plain, and a great multitude of his disciples, and a great multitude of people from all Judea…” (Lk. 6:17). This tells us about the future mission of the Church and its structure. The apostles are marked by a certain rank and responsibility to one day lead the Christians.

After the Apostles, this mission is taken over by those who, guided by the Holy Spirit, ordained in their stead. Let us remember the deacons, of whom Stephen died first. In place of Judas, Matthias succeeds Matthias. Paul the Apostle does not come into the number of the Apostles until after Christ’s ascension under exceptional circumstances at the gate of Damascus. It is a fantastic movement. “The Lord Jesus went out from the Father and is returning to the Father. The apostles go out from the Lord Jesus and follow Jesus.

Even today, there is constant movement in the Church after two millennia. The Church has new apostles in the persons of priests and bishops. The Church is growing and is still young. This is a movement that many have tried to stop but have failed. They have failed. Today they are remembered only by historians. But a billion believers in the world, on all continents, countries, and nations, still profess Christ today…

The Gospel warns us not to forget the further flourishing of the Church so that we too may have at heart the future workers in the vineyard of the Lord – the priests. Let us remember this in prayer with the words: Lord, the harvest is excellent, but the laborers are few… The night is not just the time after sunset. The night is often a time of unbelief, indifference, and betrayal of God. Let us pray earnestly that God would send new workers into his vineyard, young men and women who would dedicate their lives to Christ alone.

This is a matter of reflection for you also, dear young friends. Perhaps the Lord Jesus also wants to reach you. Maybe Jesus prayed for you then too. Perhaps you were in his heart. Search your hearts! Ask yourselves if the Lord Jesus is not addressing you.

And this is serious business. And maybe sleep is passing over you, too, and you are wondering: Am I not also? Entrust it into the hands of Our Lady.