Memory of St. Mathias the Apostle Read more
Memory of St. Mathias the Apostle
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If we die with him, we shall live with him,
if with him we endure, with him we shall reign.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Acts 1, 15-17.20-26
One day Peter stood up to speak to the brothers -- there were about a hundred and twenty people in the congregation,
'Brothers,' he said, 'the passage of scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit, speaking through David, foretells the fate of Judas, who acted as guide to the men who arrested Jesus-
after being one of our number and sharing our ministry.
Now in the Book of Psalms it says: Reduce his encampment to ruin and leave his tent unoccupied. And again: Let someone else take over his office.
'Out of the men who have been with us the whole time that the Lord Jesus was living with us,
from the time when John was baptising until the day when he was taken up from us, one must be appointed to serve with us as a witness to his resurrection.'
Having nominated two candidates, Joseph known as Barsabbas, whose surname was Justus, and Matthias,
they prayed, 'Lord, you can read everyone's heart; show us therefore which of these two you have chosen
to take over this ministry and apostolate, which Judas abandoned to go to his proper place.'
They then drew lots for them, and as the lot fell to Matthias, he was listed as one of the twelve apostles.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If we die with him, we shall live with him,
if with him we endure, with him we shall reign.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Today we remember the apostle Matthias. He was elected to re-establish the complete number of the twelve apostles, which corresponds to the twelve tribes of Israel, that is, to the entire chosen people. In that number, we see a longing for completeness, for the universality of salvation. This vocation to universality could not be stifled or even suppressed. This is how it was at the beginning, and this is how it is even more today: in Jesus’ eyes, all men and women have the right to receive the announcement of salvation. This is why the Church has the duty to communicate it to the ends of the earth. This is why it was necessary to elect the "twelfth" apostle: no people, no nation and no individual person are foreign to the love and care of the Church. The Gospel must be proclaimed to all. The universal spirit of Jesus is an integral part of Christian faith. Certainly, it was not a matter of electing just any person. Indeed, a criterion was immediately established: the candidate had to be someone who lived with Jesus; someone who heard, saw, touched and followed him. In sum, the person had to be a true witness. The tradition, in fact, makes Matthias one of Jesus’ seventy-two disciples. The preface of the Ambrosian liturgy sings: "So that the number of apostles was complete, you turned a unique look of love to Matthias, who was initiated into following and into the mysteries of your Christ. His voice is joined to that of the other eleven witnesses of the Lord and brought to the world the announcement that Jesus of Nazareth had truly risen and that the kingdom of heaven was now opened to humankind." In Matthias we can discern the name of the disciples of every age. All those who are entrusted with the care of the community are themselves asked to be the first to live the Gospel. In fact, only the one who hears and puts into practice the Word of God can communicate it to others. The choice of the twelfth suggests to each one of us that we receive the Gospel in our heart so as to be a faithful witness of Jesus among humanity.
Prayer is the heart of the life of the Community of Sant'Egidio and is its absolute priority. At the end of the day, every the Community of Sant'Egidio, large or small, gathers around the Lord to listen to his Word. The Word of God and the prayer are, in fact, the very basis of the whole life of the Community. The disciples cannot do other than remain at the feet of Jesus, as did Mary of Bethany, to receive his love and learn his ways (Phil. 2:5).
So every evening, when the Community returns to the feet of the Lord, it repeats the words of the anonymous disciple: " Lord, teach us how to pray". Jesus, Master of prayer, continues to answer: "When you pray, say: Abba, Father". It is not a simple exhortation, it is much more. With these words Jesus lets the disciples participate in his own relationship with the Father. Therefore in prayer, the fact of being children of the Father who is in heaven, comes before the words we may say. So praying is above all a way of being! That is to say we are children who turn with faith to the Father, certain that they will be heard.
Jesus teaches us to call God "Our Father". And not simply "Father" or "My Father". Disciples, even when they pray on their own, are never isolated nor they are orphans; they are always members of the Lord's family.
In praying together, beside the mystery of being children of God, there is also the mystery of brotherhood, as the Father of the Church said: "You cannot have God as father without having the church as mother". When praying together, the Holy Spirit assembles the disciples in the upper room together with Mary, the Lord's mother, so that they may direct their gaze towards the Lord's face and learn from Him the secret of his Heart.
The Communities of Sant'Egidio all over the world gather in the various places of prayer and lay before the Lord the hopes and the sufferings of the tired, exhausted crowds of which the Gospel speaks ( Mat. 9: 3-7 ), In these ancient crowds we can see the huge masses of the modern cities, the millions of refugees who continue to flee their countries, the poor, relegated to the very fringe of life and all those who are waiting for someone to take care of them. Praying together includes the cry, the invocation, the aspiration, the desire for peace, the healing and salvation of the men and women of this world. Prayer is never in vain; it rises ceaselessly to the Lord so that anguish is turned into hope, tears into joy, despair into happiness, and solitude into communion. May the Kingdom of God come soon among people!
For the sick, in memory of the dead, for peace
