Catholic Calendar
and Daily Meditation
Monday, May 14, 2012
Feast of Saint Matthias, apostle
Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:
http://new.usccb.org/bible/readings/051412.cfm
Acts 1:15-17, 20-26
Psalm 113:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
John 15:9-17
A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:
Today we celebrate the feast of St. Matthias. We simply do not know much about this saint. He is not mentioned at all in the gospels, but he was obviously one of the disciples who were with the Lord through His ministry as this was one of the conditions for his selection to replace Judas. After this selection, we hear nothing of him in scripture.
So, why are he and his succession to Judas mentioned at all? Well, it appears that a successor to Judas had to be selected to restore the number of Apostles to 12 which mirrors the twelve tribes of Israel. Further, the 12 apostles are representative of the restored 12 tribes of Israel brought together by Christ, the Messiah. To the Jewish apostles it was essential that the fullness of the symbolic number be restored since the 12 tribes were the source of the great nation and faith of Israel, so the 12 apostles were the beginnings of the church of all peoples.
Legends are many about what happened with Matthias, and the early church fathers mentioned him in some of their writings. For us the important thing is to realize our faith is rooted in centuries of tradition and is built on the foundations laid down all those years ago before Christ, and even Moses.
::: Don Claunch, SFO | email: dlclaunch (at) bresnan.net
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