Keywords: apostles, word, cult, prayer, parables, experience, love
Abstract:
The Holy Apostles were the first teachers and spiritual fathers of the Church, being the first preachers and shepherds of the Christians. They gave an authentic and fearless testimony before the whole world concerning all that they had seen and heard from our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 1, 8). They all answered the call of their divine Teacher with an unwavering determination and missionary success. All loved Him, all followed Him and all served Him in the spirit of sacrifice and of sincere devotion; all followed His divine teaching and acted upon it, becoming true examples of spiritual shepherds through the ages due to their zeal, learning, effort and life example. They all were the instruments of Christ in the world, and they all were masters of the word, through prayer and the shining example of their good deeds, to bring the heathen world to the knowledge of the true God (1 Timothy 2, 4). In the places and lands where they went, the pagan altars were shattered, the error of unfaithfulness was shattered, idolatry was wasted, and the world was cleansed through the bath of the second birth and the renewal of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3, 5). The Apostles transfigured the world, embellished the customs and manifestations of men, harmonized and ennobled their relationships and oriented their steps towards the fulfilment of God’s commandments. Their catechetical activity and their tireless work of spiritual formation of the faithful was tiresome and arduous enough, given the context of the slave era and heathen world in which these champions of Christianity lived and worked. Wandering these long roads, facing countless dangers on sea and land, they created Christian communities in numerous cities, where they preached with wisdom and ceaselessly emboldened them with fatherly love, encouraging them to keep „the unity of the Spirit, bonded by peace” (Ephesians 4, 3), through the strength of faith and the work of Christian love. People full of grace, dedicated and moral priests, full of holy zeal and fiery love for our Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Apostles are the bright beacons and the solid stones of Christian pastoral care for the servants of our holy shrines.
Pages: 76-85