Christ reigns forever, yet there’s been a high rate of turnover in the service to his kingdom. Jesus chose the Twelve to be his apostles, the foundation stones for the New Jerusalem (Rev 21:9-14). These men would have an office, an official responsibility in preaching the Kingdom—but only for a time. In the case of Judas, this time was short and ended in tragedy. For the other apostles, this time was longer, and it ended in glory. But it still ended, because each of the Twelve would eventually die. You can visit their homes. You can pray at their tombs. But you cannot hear them preach or join them for Mass.

The apostles all died—but it could have been otherwise.

God could have chosen to keep the original apostles around until the Second Coming (see John 21:20–23). That would have been impressive. But he did not do so. Even by the first chapter of Acts, the Apostles have to find someone to replace Judas, raising to their ranks St. Matthias (Acts 1:15–25). After a time, Christ chose to have others take their place as well. Why?

One reason was so that the grace of apostolic service would be shared with many. Saint Matthias, who took the place of Judas, is only one in a great line of holy bishops whom Jesus would choose to be his apostles and his friends. We can think of St. Timothy in Ephesus and Sts. Linus, Cletus, and Clement in Rome. We can think of St. Augustine, St. Thomas Becket, St. John Neumann, and St. John Paul II. Jesus chose each of these men to be successors of the apostles on earth, and he chose each of them to join the host of the saints in heaven. He said to each of them, “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you” (John 15:16).

Through the sacrament of Holy Orders, Jesus today chooses men to continue his priestly ministry on earth. Every Christian receives a share in the apostolic mission through baptism and confirmation. Through ordination, however, the man himself becomes a sign of Jesus’s desire to be with his Church, even “until the end of the age” (Matt 28:20). As a priest recently told me, “Ordinations are a sign that God wants the Church to continue.” That is a message of hope for every Christian.

As the month of May continues, many men in our country are preparing for priestly ordination. May we support them in prayer, so that, like St. Matthias, they may worthily take the place of those who have gone before, and may “go and bear fruit that will remain” (John 15:16).

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Image: Lawrence Lew, St. Augustine Ordained a Bishop (used with permission)