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Memory of the apostles
Word of god every day

Memory of the apostles

Memory of St. Matthias the Apostle Read more

Libretto DEL GIORNO
Memory of the apostles
Tuesday, May 14

Memory of St. Matthias 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, 21-26

'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 so as to re-establish the 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 the Gospel that could not be stifled or suppressed. This is how it was then, and this is how it is even today: in Jesus’ eyes, all men and women must receive the announcement of salvation. This is why the Apostles had to elect the “twelfth”: no nation and no person are foreign to love of the Church and her caring concern. The Gospel needs to be communicated to all. The universal spirit of Jesus is an integral part of the mission of the Christian faith. Certainly, it was not a matter of electing just any person. As noted, a criterion was immediately established: the candidate had to be someone who was with Jesus: someone who heard, saw, touched and followed him. In sum, the person had to be a true witness. Tradition places Matthias among Jesus’ seventy-two disciples. The preface of the Ambrosian liturgy sings, “So that the number of the apostles would be fulfilled, You turned a special gaze of love on Matthias, who was initiated to following Your Christ and understanding his mysteries. His voice was added to the ones of the eleven witnesses of the Lord and he brought to the world the proclamation that Jesus of Nazareth was truly risen and that the kingdom of heaven was opened to men and women.” In Matthias we can see the name of the disciples of every time. Those, to whom the responsibility of caring about the community is entrusted, must live out the Gospel for themselves, in the first person. Only those who live out the Gospel in their lives are able to communicate it to others. The choice of the twelfth apostle means that each one of us can be a faithful witness of Jesus to others.

WORD OF GOD EVERY DAY: THE CALENDAR

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!

WORD OF GOD EVERY DAY: THE CALENDAR