Feast of Saint Matthias,
Apostle
Lectionary: 564
Peter stood
up in the midst of the brothers and sisters
(there was a
group of about one hundred and twenty persons
in the one
place).
He said, “My
brothers and sisters,
the Scripture
had to be fulfilled
which the
Holy Spirit spoke beforehand
through the
mouth of David, concerning Judas,
who was the
guide for those who arrested Jesus.
Judas was
numbered among us
and was
allotted a share in this ministry.
For it is
written in the Book of Psalms:
Let his
encampment become desolate,
and may no
one dwell in it.
and:
May another
take his office.
Therefore,
it is necessary that one of the men
who
accompanied us the whole time
the Lord
Jesus came and went among us,
beginning
from the baptism of John
until the
day on which he was taken up from us,
become with
us a witness to his resurrection.”
So they
proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas,
who was also
known as Justus, and Matthias.
Then they
prayed,
“You, Lord,
who know the hearts of all,
show which
one of these two you have chosen
to take the
place in this apostolic ministry
from which
Judas turned away to go to his own place.”
Then they
gave lots to them, and the lot fell upon Matthias,
and he was
counted with the Eleven Apostles.
Responsorial
Psalm PS 113:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
R. (8) The Lord will give him a seat
with the leaders of his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Praise, you
servants of the LORD,
praise the
name of the LORD.
Blessed be
the name of the LORD
both now and
forever.
R. The Lord will give him a seat with
the leaders of his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
From the
rising to the setting of the sun
is the name
of the LORD to be praised.
High above
all nations is the LORD;
above the
heavens is his glory.
R. The Lord will give him a seat with
the leaders of his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Who is like
the LORD, our God, who is enthroned on high
and looks
upon the heavens and the earth below?
R. The Lord will give him a seat with
the leaders of his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He raises up
the lowly from the dust;
from the
dunghill he lifts up the poor
To seat them
with princes,
with the
princes of his own people.
R. The Lord will give him a seat with
the leaders of his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Gospel JN 15:9-17
Jesus said
to his disciples:
“As the
Father loves me, so I also love you.
Remain in my
love.
If you keep
my commandments, you will remain in my love,
just as I
have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain
in his love.
“I have told
you this so that my joy might be in you
and your joy
might be complete.
This is my
commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has
greater love than this,
to lay down
one’s life for one’s friends.
You are my
friends if you do what I command you.
I no longer
call you slaves,
because a
slave does not know what his master is doing.
I have
called you friends,
because I
have told you everything I have heard from my Father.
It was not
you who chose me, but I who chose you
and
appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,
so that
whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.
This I
command you: love one another.”
Meditation: "I have called you friends"
Do you know the love that produces immeasurable joy? Jesus speaks
of the love which the Father and he have for those who belong to him. We can
never outgive God in love, because he has loved us without measure. Our love
for him is a response to his exceeding mercy and kindness towards us. Paul the
Apostle tells us that we can abound in joy and hope because God has poured out
his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us (Romans 5:5).
In God's love we find the fulness of grace, life, peace, and joy. Jesus gives
his disciples a new commandment – a new way of love. We are to love others as
Jesus has loved us. What is the essence of this new commandment? True love is
sacrificial. It gives all to the beloved. And there is no greater proof in love
than the sacrifice of one's life for the sake of another. Jesus proved his love
for his disciples by giving his life for them, even to death on the cross. We
prove our love for God and for one another when we embrace the way of the
cross. What is the cross in my life? When my will crosses with God's will, then
God's will must be done. Do you know the joy and contentment of a life fully
surrendered to God and consumed with his love?Do you know the friendship of God? One of the special marks of favor shown in the scriptures is to be called the friend of God. Abraham is called the friend of God (Isaiah 41:8). God speaks with Moses as a man speaks with his friend (Exodus 33:11). Jesus, the Lord and Master, in turn, calls the disciples his friends rather than his servants. What does it mean to be a friend of God? Friendship with God certainly entails a loving relationship which goes beyond mere duty and obedience. Jesus' discourse on friendship and brotherly love echoes the words of Proverbs: A friend loves at all times; and a brother is born for adversity (Proverbs 17:17). The distinctive feature of Jesus' relationship with his disciples was his personal love for them. He loved his own to the end (John 13:1). His love was unconditional and wholly directed to the good of others. His love was also sacrificial. He gave the best he had and all that he had. He gave his very life for those he loved in order to secure for them everlasting life with the Father.
True love is costly. Those who truly love give the best they can offer and are willing to sacrifice everything they has for the beloved. God willingly paid the price for our redemption – the sacrifice of his only begotten Son. That's the nature of true friendship and love – the willingness to give all for the beloved. True friends will lay down their lives for each other. Jesus tells us that he is our friend and he loves us whole-heartedly and unconditionally. He wants us to love one another just as helove s us, whole-heartedly and without reserve. His love fills our hearts and transforms our minds and frees us to give ourselves in loving service to others. If we open our hearts to his love and obey his command to love our neighbor, then we will bear much fruit in our lives, fruit that will last for eternity. Do you wish to be fruitful and to abound in the love of God?
"Lord Jesus, may I abound in hope, joy, and love. Inflame my heart with love for you and your ways and with charity and compassion for my neighbor. May there be nothing in my life which keeps me from your love."
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Intimacy with God |
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Feast of Saint Matthias, Apostle
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Father John Doyle, LC John 15:9-17 Jesus said to his disciples: "As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father´s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one´s life for one´s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you: love one another." Introductory Prayer:Lord, as I begin this prayer I offer you my whole self: my thoughts, desires, decisions, actions, hopes, fears, weaknesses, failures and petty successes. I open my entire being to you, aware that you know everything already. I’m certain of your mercy and of the purifying power of your penetrating, loving gaze. Petition:Jesus, let me fulfill your command of charity. 1. The Greatest Love: Jesus makes a startling comparison: He likens his love for his disciples with the immense love his Father has for him. Before even the world came to be, the Father and the Son were immersed in boundless, mutual love. The Holy Spirit is this bond of love. The intimacy of the union and self-giving of the Blessed Trinity surpasses any human comparison, and yet Our Lord tells his disciples he loves them in a like manner. Do I realize how deeply my Savior loves me? Does the truth of Christ’s personal love for me, proven from the height of the cross, fill me with awe and find an ever more generous response in my spiritual life? 2. The Greatest Treasure: The circumstances and timing surrounding Jesus’ designation of his disciples as friends reiterates the authenticity of the title. Jesus is just a few hours away from being abandoned and betrayed by those he now calls friends. Still, Our Lord is so moved by love that he looks beyond his followers’ betrayal, to the victory he is about to win for them. Jesus also offers me his friendship. He invites me to “remain in his love.” I am not called to be a spectator, but to discover the joy found in accompanying him. To follow the “Crucified One” will always be demanding, but his friendship is a treasure which far surpasses the weight of the cross. 3. Written on Our Hearts: The mutual love of the Father and the Son, which Jesus gratuitously extends to us as his friends, should bear fruit in charity. The first Christians took very seriously Christ’s command of charity. It was their distinctive mark. It set them apart from the peoples among whom they lived. It was the magnetic force that attracted so many to join their ranks. The command to love each other is the logical result of our personal worth as people loved by the Lord. If Jesus loves my brother or sister so much that he gave his life for him or her, can there be any excuse for me not to show respect and deference on their behalf? Charity is the badge of every true Christian. How can I better live Christ’s commandment of love, starting within my own family? Conversation with Christ: Jesus, I pray that I will never cease to be astonished by the depths of your personal love for me. You call me your friend even though I have not always lived up to the demands of this calling. I want to be a better and truer friend of yours.
Resolution:I will show a simple
act of kindness to a member of my family today.
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TUESDAY, MAY 14
FEAST OF MATTHIAS, APOSTLE
JOHN 15:9-17
(Acts 1:15-17, 20-26; Psalm 113)
KEY VERSE: "As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love" (v 9).
REFLECTING: Have I shown sacrificial love to my friends?
PRAYING: Risen Lord, help your Church to hand on the faith that we have received, just as the apostles did in their time.
FEAST OF MATTHIAS, APOSTLE
After the ascension of Jesus, the first thing the apostles did was to find a replacement for Judas Iscariot. Why was this necessary? Twelve was a very important number to the Chosen People as it was the number of the twelve tribes of
"The [apostles] prayed and said, 'Show us which one of these
two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from
which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.' And they cast lots for them,
and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles" (Acts 1:24-26).
The
Lord will give him a seat with the leaders of his people.
These words of Jesus to his disciples were a timely reminder to them. As modern-day disciples of Jesus, they are just as timely a reminder for us. Once chosen, there is a job to be done. Then and now, those who are chosen are commissioned to go out and lead others to God the Father through following Jesus’ teaching.
Anyone chosen can fail, just as Judas failed. The love passed down to Judas from the Father through the Son was replaced in Judas’ case by a love of money. For us today, the choice, put simply, is between God and the ‘me society’. Let us pray for the grace to love as Jesus loved and for the strength to remain true to his teachings.
May 14
St. Matthias
St. Matthias
According to Acts 1:15-26, during the
days after the Ascension, Peter stood up in the midst of the brothers (about
120 of Jesus’ followers). Now that Judas had betrayed his ministry, it was
necessary, Peter said, to fulfill the scriptural recommendation
that another should take his office. “Therefore, it is necessary that one
of the men who accompanied us the whole time the Lord Jesus came and went among
us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day on which he was taken up
from us, become with us a witness to his resurrection” (Acts 1:21-22).
They
nominated two men: Joseph Barsabbas and Matthias. They prayed and drew lots.
The choice fell upon Matthias, who was added to the Eleven.Matthias is not mentioned by name anywhere else in the New Testament.
Comment:
What was the holiness of Matthias? Obviously he was suited for apostleship by the experience of being with Jesus from his baptism to his ascension. He must also have been suited personally, or he would not have been nominated for so great a responsibility. Must we not remind ourselves that the fundamental holiness of Matthias was his receiving gladly the relationship with the Father offered him by Jesus and completed by the Holy Spirit? If the apostles are the foundations of our faith by their witness, they must also be reminders, if only implicitly, that holiness is entirely a matter of God’s giving, and it is offered to all, in the everyday circumstances of life. We receive, and even for this God supplies the power of freedom.
What was the holiness of Matthias? Obviously he was suited for apostleship by the experience of being with Jesus from his baptism to his ascension. He must also have been suited personally, or he would not have been nominated for so great a responsibility. Must we not remind ourselves that the fundamental holiness of Matthias was his receiving gladly the relationship with the Father offered him by Jesus and completed by the Holy Spirit? If the apostles are the foundations of our faith by their witness, they must also be reminders, if only implicitly, that holiness is entirely a matter of God’s giving, and it is offered to all, in the everyday circumstances of life. We receive, and even for this God supplies the power of freedom.
Quote:
Jesus speaks of the apostles’ function of being judges, that is, rulers. He said, “Amen, I say to you that you who have followed me, in the new age, when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory, will yourselves sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19:28).
Jesus speaks of the apostles’ function of being judges, that is, rulers. He said, “Amen, I say to you that you who have followed me, in the new age, when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory, will yourselves sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19:28).
LECTIO: ST. MATTHIAS, APOSTLE - JN 15:9-17
Lectio:
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
1) Opening prayer
Lord God,
your apostle Matthias was a witness
to the life and death of Jesus Christ
and to his glorious resurrection.
May also today your people bear witness
to the life of your Son
by living his life as best as they can,
and radiating the joy
of people who are rising with him
to a new and deeper life.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
your apostle Matthias was a witness
to the life and death of Jesus Christ
and to his glorious resurrection.
May also today your people bear witness
to the life of your Son
by living his life as best as they can,
and radiating the joy
of people who are rising with him
to a new and deeper life.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
2)
Gospel Reading
Jesus said to his
disciples. I have loved you just as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my
Father's commandments and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my
own joy may be in you and your joy be complete.
This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved you. No one can have greater love than to lay down his life for his friends.
You are my friends, if you do what I command you. I shall no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know the master's business; I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my Father.
You did not choose me, no, I chose you; and I commissioned you to go out and to bear fruit, fruit that will last; so that the Father will give you anything you ask him in my name. My command to you is to love one another.
This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved you. No one can have greater love than to lay down his life for his friends.
You are my friends, if you do what I command you. I shall no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know the master's business; I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my Father.
You did not choose me, no, I chose you; and I commissioned you to go out and to bear fruit, fruit that will last; so that the Father will give you anything you ask him in my name. My command to you is to love one another.
3) Reflection
• Today is the Feast
of the Apostle Mathias. The Gospel of John 15, 9-17 has already been meditated
in April. Let us take some of the points which were considered that day.
• John 15, 9-11: Remain in my love, the source of perfect joy. Jesus remains in the love of the Father observing the commandments that he received from him. We remain in the love of Jesus observing the commandments that he has left for us. And we should observe them in the same measure in which he observed the commandments of the Father: “If you keep my commandments you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. And in this union of love of the Father and of Jesus is found the source of true joy: “I have told you this so that my own joy may be in you and your joy be complete”.
• John 15, 12-13: To love one another as he has loved us. The commandment of Jesus is only one: “to love one another as he has loved us!” (Jn 15, 12) Jesus exceeds the Old Testament. The ancient criterion was the following: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself” (Lv 18, 19). The new criterion is: “Love one another as I have loved you”. It is the phrase that we sing even today and which says: “There is no greater love than to give one’s life for one’s brother!”
• John 15, 14-15: Friends and not servants. You are my friends if you do what I command you”, that is, the practise of love up to the point of the total gift of oneself! Immediately Jesus presents a very high ideal for the life of his disciples. He says: “I shall no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. I call you friends because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my Father!” Jesus no longer had any secrets for his disciples. He tells us everything that he has heard from the Father! Behold the wonderful ideal of life in community: to reach a total transparency, to the point of not having any secrets among us and to have full trust with one another, to be able to speak about the experience of God that we have and of life, and thus, be able to mutually enrich one another. The first Christians succeeded to reach this ideal after many years: “they had one only heart and one only soul” (Ac 4, 32; 1, 14; 2, 42-46).
• John 15, 16-17: Jesus has chosen us. We have not chosen Jesus. He met us, called us and entrusted a mission to us to go and bear fruit, and a fruit which lasts. We need him, but he also wants to need us and our work in order to be able to continue to do today, for the people what he did for the people of
4) For Personal
Confrontation
• To love our
neighbour as Jesus has loved us. This is the ideal of every Christian. How do I
live it?
• All that I have heard from the Father I make it known to you. This is the ideal of the community: to attain total transparency. How do I live this in my community?
• All that I have heard from the Father I make it known to you. This is the ideal of the community: to attain total transparency. How do I live this in my community?
5) Concluding Prayer
Praise, servants of
Yahweh,
praise the name of Yahweh.
Blessed be the name of Yahweh,
henceforth and for ever. (Ps 113,1-2)
praise the name of Yahweh.
Blessed be the name of Yahweh,
henceforth and for ever. (Ps 113,1-2)
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