Bible Diary

Daily Reading

Feast of Saint Matthias, Apostle

LECTIONARY
564

FIRST READING

ACTS 1:15-17, 20-26

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.

PSALM

PS 113:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8

Response:

Praise, you servants of the LORD,
praise the name of the LORD.
Blessed be the name of the LORD
both now and forever.

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.

Who is like the LORD, our God, who is enthroned on high
and looks upon the heavens and the earth below?

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.

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.”

Daily Reflection

Today, the Church honours the memory of St Mathias, the Apostle and martyr. What we know of him comes solely from the Acts of the Apostles, from where we learn that he was a disciple of Jesus after witnessing the Lord’s Baptism in the Jordan.

It is amazing how the words of Jesus in today’s Gospel are so relevant to the life and mission of this Apostle. “You did not choose me, I chose you…”: Mathias was not among the initial 12 Apostles. He was chosen after the Ascension, by lot, following the prayer of discernment by the rest of the Apostles. “I have commissioned you to go out and bear fruit...”: It is believed that Mathias preached the Good News in Judea and Ethiopia, converting many. “A man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends...”: That Mathias was martyred is certain, but the accounts of his death vary.

We believe that those who were among the first to follow Christ were truly privileged. But are we prepared to undergo the same sacrifice and martyrdom?