The Apostolic Church

Jesus went up into the hills and summoned those he wanted. So they came to him and he appointed twelve; they were to be his companions and to be sent out to preach, with power to cast out devils. And so he appointed the Twelve: Simon to whom he gave the name Peter, James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom he gave the name Boanerges or ‘Sons of Thunder’; then Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, the man who was to betray him. (Mark 3, 13-19)

The twelve apostles, were the first to be sent on a mission by Jesus to preach the gospel to others. The Son of God entrusts Himself to a few select men to continue His work of preaching and conversion. Even the first apostles were initially weak and had their faults. The list begins with Peter denying Jesus during the Passion and ends with Judas betraying Him, while the others abandoned Him. Yet, after the Resurrection and Pentecost, the power of the Holy Spirit transformed these men from within to become the generous and courageous witnesses that we Christians still depend on today. Indeed, the Church is apostolic and could not be otherwise.