Daily Catholic Lectio
Tue, 9 September ‘25
Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday
Saint Peter Claver, Priest – Memoria
Colossians 2:6-15. Luke 6:12-19
Chosen, Rooted, and Sent
1. Rooted in Christ
Scripture: Paul exhorts the Colossians: “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith” (Col 2:6–7).
Church’s Teaching: The Catechism (CCC 426) insists that the heart of catechesis and Christian life is a living relationship with Christ.
Reflection: Before we can be sent as apostles, we must be rooted. Roots give stability and nourishment; without them, the tree falls. An apostle’s strength is not in eloquence, skill, or charisma, but in being anchored in Christ.
Pastoral Application: How deep are my roots? Do I draw from Christ in prayer, Eucharist, and Scripture, or do I live only on surface-level faith?
2. Chosen in Prayer
Scripture: Before choosing the Twelve, Jesus “went out to the mountain to pray, and He spent the night in prayer to God” (Lk 6:12). Apostles are not randomly picked—they are chosen in the intimacy of prayer.
Church’s Teaching: Christus Vivit (no. 250) emphasizes that every vocation is born from God’s loving choice, discerned in prayer.
Reflection: The night of prayer shows us that mission begins not in activity but in communion with the Father. Apostles are chosen not because they are perfect, but because God knows their hearts and has a purpose for them.
Pastoral Application: When we pray, we discover that we too are chosen—whether as parents, teachers, priests, religious, or servants of the poor. Prayer opens us to hear God’s call.
3. Sent for Healing and Service
Scripture: After the call, the apostles are sent with Jesus, and “power came out from Him and healed them all” (Lk 6:19). To be an apostle is to share Christ’s healing presence.
Church’s Teaching: Ad Gentes (no. 2) declares that the Church is missionary by nature—every disciple is sent to bear witness to Christ.
Reflection: Apostles are not spectators but servants—called to carry Christ’s mercy into the wounds of the world.
Pastoral Application: Where is Christ sending me today? To comfort a friend, reconcile a family, stand for justice, or heal divisions? Apostleship is not a title but a task.
Note on St. Peter Claver (1580–1654)
Today the Church honours St. Peter Claver, Jesuit missionary in Cartagena, Colombia. Known as the “Slave of the Slaves,” he ministered to enslaved Africans brought to the Americas, caring for their wounds, baptizing more than 300,000, and defending their dignity. His life mirrors today’s Gospel: chosen in Christ, rooted in prayer, and sent to bring healing. Like him, may we recognize Christ in the most abandoned and serve with love that costs.
Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi
Archdiocese of Madurai
Missionary of Mercy
Yesu Karunanidhi 
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