The time Jesus spent in prayer - in communion with Father God prepared him to choose the Twelve. This intimate relationship with His Father and in prayer gave Jesus the light to do His Father's will - in this instance, in the choice of the Twelve Apostles.

This reminds us of our call to discipleship in Christ. This discipleship commissions us to continue Jesus' mission on earth. Yet, this mission has to be embraced with the personal conviction borne out of the intimate experience of the Risen Lord in our life.

This is well expressed in the first reading, wherein Paul spelt out the dimensions of discipleship. Paul declared that discipleship is complete only in Christ. This completeness includes the putting off of the sinful nature (v.11), resurrection from sinful death (vs 12 & 13), forgiveness and deliverance from legalistic requirements (v.14) and the evil spirit (v.15).

After the appointment of the Twelve, we see how the crowd's desire to hear Jesus' words seems to have increased, which was followed by the Sermon on the Mount. This crowd came from all over Judea, Jerusalem the Gentile territories of Tyre and Sidon. These suggest to us that the Good News is to be shared wherever we are.

The crowd is also the usual scene wherever Pope Francis travels out of Rome. Such crowds wanted to see Pope Francis - A Man for Others!