The Lord chose these holy men for their unfeigned love, and gave them eternal glory. Their message goes out through all the earth. Through all the earth their voice resounds, and to the end of the world, their message. We praise you, O God, we acclaim you as Lord; the glorious company of Apostles praise you. Alleluia, alleluia.

Jesus went up to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer with God. When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Jesus Christ chose the twelve Apostles. He chooses us too to a sacred calling. His mystical body, His Church, which consists of all members of the human race, albeit, two-thirds of the population of the world are not officially Catholics, are part of His Church through the power of the Holy Spirit. That implies that through divine providence, that God permits each of us to experience, we receive the direct means and cause of our calling and vocation. All are called by God to be holy by the Holy Spirit regardless of religion, race or creed. We are all God's children, created and called to be sanctified.

The Apostles started the process from an established ecclesical perspective and we are a continuation of that same process and calling. Sanctification in itself had no beginning for God is holy from eternity and has always been sanctifying all creation outside of himself starting with the angels to humankind.

Let us listen to one of the Doctors of the Church, St John Chrysostom, who was called the "golden-mouthed" and listen to what he has to say about the Apostles.

"I wish that it were possible to meet with one who could deliver to us the history of the Apostles, not only all they wrote and spoke of, but of the rest of their daily life, even what they ate, when they walked, and where they sat, what they did every day, in what parts they were... where they lodge-to relate everything with minute exactness".

With prayer and the Holy Spirit, God will inform us everything we need to know about the holy Apostles that will enable us to do God's holy will. There is plentiful information and depth in the sacred scripture and especially in the holy gospels that will flood our minds and hearts to the fullest possible degree.

The gospels will tell us very little about the Apostles except perhaps Peter, Paul and John from a surface level. However, the Holy Spirit will enable us to plumb the depths of God. The below is taken from "The Twelve" by C. Bernard Ruffin

From the writings of Eusebius, however, we are able to glean a small amount of information about the lives of the apostles. Moreover, other writers from the second, third and fourth centuries yield further tidbits of information. Among these were Papias(A.D.60-135A), bishop of Hierapolis (in what is now Turkey), a disciple of St John, whose works, no longer extant, were quoted in fragments by Eusebius and other writers; St Clement of Rome (A.D.30-97), a disciple of Peter and Paul who reigned as pope between A.D.92-101; Iranaeus (c.A.D.120-202), bishop of Lyon (in what is now France); Clement of Alexandria (c. A.D.153-217), an eminent Greek theologian and hymnist; Hippolytus (c.A.D.170-236), a pupil of Irenaeus and author of a number of theological works; Tertullian (c.A.D. 145-221), a Latin-speaking African theologian; Origen (c.A.D.185-254), a celebrated Egyptian teacher, theologian, and ascetic; and St Jerome (c 342-420), the celebrated Italian scholar and translator. The information these first-class scholars were able to gather is, alas, in bits and pieces, but it is all that we have that is reliable.

St Paul is included in the twelve Apostle's website because he made a great contribution to the early Church as we too can make a tremendous input to the Church today when we allow God to lead us and be guided by the same Holy Spirit.

St Matthias was a chosen apostle inasmuch as he was Judas Iscariot replacement. Judas will be mentioned on this site for he was an original Apostle of Jesus, but he will not receive prominence. The information on Judas will focus on the temptation and sin of Judas and his despair and fall. Lastly Judas' information will cover the price and punishment of his betrayal of Christ and this information will follow after his replacement, St Matthias.

In keeping with the spirit of the gospels that Jesus gave to the Apostles, and to us too, who are likewise called- for all have been sent by the Father, as Jesus- to share that same Holy Spirit to lead and guide all to imitate Jesus' words and works according to our own unique ability, calling and the grace of God.

"The Apostles" by Otto Hophan, O.F.M.Cap and translated from the German by L. Edward Wasserman, will be used exclusively. It was published by The Newman Press, Westminister, Maryland 1962. The below is a Foreword by Father Hophan.

Awakening the minds and hearts of Christians to an awareness of the apostles is a very pleasant and important task, but it is also somewhat difficult. At baptism we were infused with a latent sympathy for these beloved men who were the first followers, believers in, and proclaimers of Christ. Every aspect and era of Christendom must be evaluated and examined in the light of the message brought by these first witnesses of Jesus. The "apostolic tradition" was placed, from the very beginning, upon a lofty and superior foundation.

The difficulties encountered in writing a book about the apostles lie in the lack of reliable source material. The apostles preached Christ, not themselves; therefore what Scripture records concerning them is often incidental, and is always presented in connection with Christ. Information from tradition concerning the lives and destines of the apostles is also scarce. Even though the apocryphal-spurious-acts have much to offer about the geographic scenes and national characteristics of the apostolic labors, these lack the necessary reliability. In view of the great importance of the apostles, this state of affairs explains the errors, so striking in themselves, in books on the lives of these men. Comprehensive and coherent portrayals of the apostles are few and far between.

This book represents an effort to bring the apostles out of their humble obscurity. Its goal is to reconstruct the personality of each one of these men, each so different, yet all of them so generally unknown to us; to form a concept of these living, dynamic personalities from the more or less numerous mosaic stones scattared throughout Scripture.

Even with all the restraint of the sacred texts concerning the personal importance and affairs of the apostles, there are, nevertheless, a few words about most of them which, after they are carefully and meticulously scrutinized, often say more than is at first apparent. In addition, the whole of the New Testament, the milieu in which the apostles lived, and tradition provide a powerful and informative background for even the most modest portrayal of an apostle. Making use of the literary license, the author has sought to bridge the remaining gaps in information about the individual apostles by following his own conjectures. Even in this respect, however, his depictions stand the test of comparison with historical and, above all, scriptural evidence. Although apocryphal testimony was at times made use of in order to present a more complete study of a particular apostle, it is never cited as the sole and finally persuasive proof. The reader interested in studing the apocryphal acts in more detail will find more through studies in other works.

This book could very well serve as an introduction to the study of the New Testament. It would be unpardonable if a work which depends so completely upon the Scriptures for information did not provide some degree of commentary upon them.

These texts, even when written in the form of a modest letter of instruction, provide insights into the personalities of the apostles who wrote them... The substance and sense of the Holy Books must be entrusted to the reader in a study based on solid, scientific, biblical scholarship, yet unencumbered with scientific ballast. This work is intended to be not only instructive and informative, but also constructive and formative. The personalities of the apostles, as well as their words and deeds, should have an immediate significance for, and influence on, the active and practical Christian. The work is not a long-winded moral, but a concrete application of the message of the apostles to our own time and lives.

There is another line of thought to be found in this book: the Church. It is in light of the Church that the first two purposes of the book had to be considered, not as apologetics and even less as polemics, but in the spirit of the Gospels; for it is in the Gospels that the Church has her home.

The contract for this book was concluded on the vigil of Pentecost, a date rich in promise and quite symbolic for a work about the apostles. Under the influence of the Holy Spirit it should reach out to an age anxious about the new world, proudly and forcibly to proclaim with Peter and Paul: Christ is " 'the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the corner stone. Neither is there salvation in any other'"(Acts 4:11-12). For another foundation no one can lay, except Him who has already been established: Jesus Christ!

The hour of the apostles is at hand. To all who earnestly seek the perfection of Christ, this book is dedicated. Christo laborantibus!

To return to the list of the Aposles click the below link:

The Twelve Apostles



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