Jesus speaks about
life: “Live in my love; keep my commandments.”
Three people were discussing some recent translations of the
Bible.
How faithful are we in translating the Bible into
action? Our greatest need is not to gain more knowledge, but to put into
practice what we already know.
****
The feast of St. Matthias is placed in the period between
the Ascension of the Lord and the feast of Pentecost. The reason is that in the
Acts of the Apostles, it was during this time that St.Matthias was chosen to
replace Judas Iscariot. It was St. Peter who spelt out the requisite - it must
be someone who had been with them from the time Jesus was going around with
them till He ascended into heaven.
But the most important criterion was that the candidate should also be a witness of the resurrection. So, St. Matthias was not just someone who was with the apostles during all this while; he was also a witness to the resurrection. He was a witness to the love that God the Father had for Jesus in raising Him from the dead and glorifying Him in the Ascension. And so after prayer and the drawing of lots, St Matthias was chosen.
But he was not chosen simply to replace Judas. St. Matthias was chosen to
witness to the love that Jesus has for all of us. Eventually St. Matthias would
also have to witness to that love by laying down his own life in martyrdom. In
St. Matthias we can see that God will always call and choose persons to witness
to His love for us. Yet by virtue of our baptism we are also called and chosen.
May we remain faithful to that call and pray that we also fulfill God's choice
of us.
****
ST. MATTHIAS, APOSTLE
(FEAST) - Liturgy
Introduction
Matthias was elected by the apostles to replace Judas, the
traitor, because he had been a disciple of Jesus from the very beginning, from
the time when Jesus was baptized by John until the ascension. His qualification
was, then, that he could witness to the risen Christ. And so should we.
Penitential Rite
-Lord, you call us to remain in your love, beyond our
indifference, LHM
-Lord, you want us to be people of joy, beyond our coldness,
CHM
-Lord, you want us to keep your commandments to show our
love and receive your joy, beyond our lethargy, LHM
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.
Intercessions
– That in the name of the risen Lord the Church may raise up
its members and even outsiders to a new and better life, we pray:
– That the risen Lord may give us peace and serenity
of heart, that in him we may have someone to live for and to make our lives
meaningful, we pray:
– That the risen Lord my give peace to our Christians
communities in the certainty that he stays with us and breaks for us the bread
of the Eucharist, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God, with bread and wine we celebrate the presence
of the Lord Jesus among us. Let this be an assurance for us that he wants to
raise us up from our lethargy and to make us vigorous and eager to be a leaven
in our communities towards a life of service and a road to deeper justice and
love. Grant us this through Jesus Christ our Lord
Prayer after
Communion
Lord God, our Father, Jesus has spoken to us here in
our Eucharist his words of good news. Let these words become in us deeds of
good news, and may we ourselves become good news and a blessing to all we
encounter by our spirit of joy and forgiveness, of service and generosity. This
we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing
In the gospel of today, Jesus told us: “I appointed
you to bear fruit, fruit that must endure.” Be fruitful in your words and
deeds, with the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy
Spirit. Amen.
