May 14, 2020 Feast of Saint Matthias, Apostle
2020년 5월 14일 목요일 성 마티아 사도 축일
마티아 사도는 열두 사도 가운데 한 사람이었던 배신자 유다의 자리를 메우려고 예수님께서 승천하신 뒤에 사도로 뽑힌 인물이다(사도 1,21-26 참조). 그는 예수님의 공생활 초기부터 다른 제자들과 함께 예수님을 따라다니며 가르침을 받고, 예수님의 수난과 죽음, 부활 그리고 승천까지 목격한 이로 예수님의 일흔두 제자(루카 10,1-2 참조) 가운데 하나로 보고 있다. 마티아 사도의 활동과 죽음에 관해서 확실하게 알려진 것은 없으나, 예루살렘에서 선교 활동을 펼친 데 이어 이방인 지역, 특히 에티오피아에서 선교하였다고 전해진다.
오늘의 복음 : http://info.catholic.or.kr/missa/default.asp
제1독서
사도행전. 1,15-17.20-26
15 그 무렵 베드로가 형제들 한가운데에 서서 말하였다.
그 자리에는 백스무 명가량 되는 무리가 모여 있었다.
16 “형제 여러분, 예수님을 붙잡은 자들의 앞잡이가 된 유다에 관해서는,
성령께서 다윗의 입을 통하여 예언하신 성경 말씀이 이루어져야 했습니다.
17 유다는 우리 가운데 한 사람으로서
우리와 함께 이 직무를 받았습니다.
20 사실 시편에 ‘그의 처소가 황폐해지고 그 안에 사는 자 없게 하소서.’
또 ‘그의 직책을 다른 이가 넘겨받게 하소서.’라고 기록되어 있습니다.
21 그러므로 주 예수님께서 우리와 함께 지내시는 동안
줄곧 우리와 동행한 이들 가운데에서,
22 곧 요한이 세례를 주던 때부터 시작하여
예수님께서 우리를 떠나 승천하신 날까지
그렇게 한 이들 가운데에서 한 사람이 우리와 함께
예수님 부활의 증인이 되어야 합니다.”
23 그래서 그들은 바르사빠스라고도 하고 유스투스라는 별명도 지닌 요셉과
마티아 두 사람을 앞에 세우고, 24 이렇게 기도하였다.
“모든 사람의 마음을 아시는 주님,
이 둘 가운데에서 주님께서 뽑으신 한 사람을 가리키시어,
25 유다가 제 갈 곳으로 가려고 내버린 이 직무,
곧 사도직의 자리를 넘겨받게 해 주십시오.”
26 그러고 나서 그들에게 제비를 뽑게 하니 마티아가 뽑혀,
그가 열한 사도와 함께 사도가 되었다.
복음
요한. 15,9-17
그때에 예수님께서 제자들에게 말씀하셨다.
9 “아버지께서 나를 사랑하신 것처럼 나도 너희를 사랑하였다.
너희는 내 사랑 안에 머물러라.
10 내가 내 아버지의 계명을 지켜 그분의 사랑 안에 머무르는 것처럼,
너희도 내 계명을 지키면 내 사랑 안에 머무를 것이다.
11 내가 너희에게 이 말을 한 이유는,
내 기쁨이 너희 안에 있고 또 너희 기쁨이 충만하게 하려는 것이다.
12 이것이 나의 계명이다.
내가 너희를 사랑한 것처럼 너희도 서로 사랑하여라.
13 친구들을 위하여 목숨을 내놓는 것보다 더 큰 사랑은 없다.
14 내가 너희에게 명령하는 것을 실천하면 너희는 나의 친구가 된다.
15 나는 너희를 더 이상 종이라고 부르지 않는다.
종은 주인이 하는 일을 모르기 때문이다.
나는 너희를 친구라고 불렀다.
내가 내 아버지에게서 들은 것을 너희에게 모두 알려 주었기 때문이다.
16 너희가 나를 뽑은 것이 아니라 내가 너희를 뽑아 세웠다.
너희가 가서 열매를 맺어 너희의 그 열매가 언제나 남아 있게 하려는 것이다.
그리하여 너희가 내 이름으로 아버지께 청하는 것을
그분께서 너희에게 주시게 하려는 것이다.
17 내가 너희에게 명령하는 것은 이것이다.
서로 사랑하여라.”
May 14, 2020
Feast of Saint Matthias, Apostle
Daily Mass : http://www.catholictv.com/shows/daily-mass
Reading 1
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.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (8) The Lord will give him a seat with the leaders of his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Praise, you servants of the LORD,
praise the name of the LORD.
Blessed be the name of the LORD
both now and forever.
R. The Lord will give him a seat with the leaders of his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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.
R. The Lord will give him a seat with the leaders of his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Who is like the LORD, our God, who is enthroned on high
and looks upon the heavens and the earth below?
R. The Lord will give him a seat with the leaders of his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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.
R. The Lord will give him a seat with the leaders of his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Gospel
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.”
http://evangeli.net/gospel/tomorrow
«I have told you all this, that my own joy may be in you and your joy may be complete»
+ Fr. Josep VALL i Mundó
(Barcelona, Spain)
Today, the Church remembers the day when the Apostles chose the disciple of Jesus who was to replace Judas Iscariot. In one of his homilies St. John Crisostom quite rightly says: «When we are to opt for persons who must have a certain responsibility we may have to face certain rivalries or discussions». This is why St. Peter «simply ignores the envy that it might have arisen», and leaves it up to chance and divine inspiration, thus, avoiding such possibility. And this Father of the Church goes on saying: «And it just so happens that quite often important decisions may be very upsetting».
In today's Gospel, our Lord speaks to the Apostles of the joy they should have: that «my own joy may be in you and your joy may be complete» (Jn 15:11). And, sure enough, a Christian, like Matthias, will happily live with a quiet joy if he assumes the various events of life from the grace of divine filiation; otherwise, he is bound to be carried away by false annoyances, foolish jealousies or some kind of prejudice or other. Joy and peace are always fruit of the exuberance of our apostolic commitment and of our struggle to become saints. It is the logic and supernatural outcome of love for God and of a spirit of service towards our fellowmen.
Romano Guardini wrote: «The source of joy is to be found in a person's deeper intimacy (...). It is there where God resides. Then, joy widens and makes us glitter. And all that is beautiful can be perceived by us in all its brilliance». When we feel unhappy we must know how to pray along with St. Thomas More: «Lord, give me a sense of humor and I will find happiness in life and profit for others». And, let us not forget St. Teresa of Avila also begged: «O Lord, save me from these sullen-faced saints, for a sad saint is a sorry saint».
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
What is it about the number 12 that was so important to the apostles? The fact that eleven of the original Twelve remained faithful to Jesus seems a pretty good survival rate. Could they not carry on the mission with that inner core of eleven? Well, the importance of the number Twelve goes back to Jesus’ choice. And it was clearly a deliberate choice on his part.
The best explanation is easy to figure. The Jewish expectation regarding the Messianic age involved the restoration of the twelve tribes of Israel, now scattered around the Mediterranean. Jesus was proclaiming the end time coming of the Reign of God. To illustrate that he was planting the seeds for that ingathering of the tribes, he selected twelve males-- twelve, to remind people of the twelve tribes; and males, to remind people of the patriarchs. So choosing twelve men was a prophetic symbolic action. Jesus was saying, in effect, “The Reign of God is at hand, and these twelve men will be at the heart of the restored Israel that will manifest and help implement this new divine intervention.
After the resurrection and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, the first Christian community emerges in response to Peter’s preaching. In writing this history, Luke makes a point of emphasizing that the Jerusalem Christian community is drawn from that crowd of Jewish pilgrims gathered for the Jewish feast of Pentecost from every corner of the diaspora (Acts 2:5-11). At the center of that community stand the primary witnesses the resurrection of Jesus—the new Twelve, the Eleven plus Matthias, who was with the early disciples since the baptism of John (Acts 1:21-22).
The New Testament tells no more about Matthias, but there is no doubt that, as one who had been following Jesus from the beginning, his sense of himself and his purpose matched that address of Jesus in today’s gospel: 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. Jesus is addressing not just the original Twelve but all disciples, which includes you and me. The mission is simple: bear fruit! And the means: Love one another and continue the mission! In the midst of our global experience of the COVID-19 virus, I am moved to pray:
Gracious God, in this Fifth week of Easter season, our thoughts continue to apply the Scriptures to our mission of following our Risen Lord in our own day. And now as we celebrate the feast of Saint Matthias, we are given the special readings of the feast. At this moment, when we are thrown off balance by the current pandemic, we have new reasons to cry out for help. Just when we are already disturbed by various kinds of political unrest and even divisions within our Church, along comes this unexpected challenge of the coronavirus. Lord, give us the gift of solidarity with all the victims of this disease. And just as Matthias was surprised by the call of Peter and the first 12 members of the church, yet found himself readied by your Holy Spirit, give us the generosity and courage to respond to his fresh call to follow your Son in the new ways you call us to live the apostolic mission of your renewed People. Teach us to imitate Jesus’ profound trust in you, incarnate as he was in our kind of flesh. Help us bear fruit by dying to sin and the fear of death and by leaning on the power and promise of his resurrection.
http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp
broken down vehicles on the road
"Then they prayed, 'O Lord, You read the hearts of men. Make known to us which of these two You choose for this apostolic ministry, replacing Judas, who deserted the cause and went the way he was destined to go.' " —Acts 1:24-25
Things break. People break and cry, and they break down and die. So many things and people break that we may give up fixing all the broken things, even the broken people. While we may take our time to fix broken things, we need to take broken people, broken hearts, broken relationships, and broken lives to the Lord immediately. He has fixed every person's brokenness through His death and Resurrection, and He wants to show His love for the broken right away (see Ps 34:19).
After Jesus' death, the apostles were broken. Judas had sold and betrayed Christ. Then he committed suicide. Peter denied Christ three times. All the apostles abandoned Christ. They all had sinned grievously. They were so broken that they refused to face their brokenness. But they began to turn to the Lord and pick up the pieces of their ruined lives when they sought the Lord's will in replacing Judas. Matthias, Judas' replacement, was the focal point of the apostles' repenting of their lethargy and bringing their brokenness to the Lord.
Do you have a breakdown of communication, discipline, freedom, love, or hope in your life? How long have you let your brokenness sit there untouched? Deal with your Judases by calling on the Lord. The Lord will send you Matthiases of healing and hope. Then with all the brokenness of your life in the healing hands of the Lord, you can receive the Holy Spirit in a new Pentecost.
Prayer: Father, may we make straight the way of the Holy Spirit.
Promise: "I no longer speak of you as slaves, for a slave does not know what his master is about. Instead, I call you friends, since I have made known to you all that I heard from My Father." —Jn 15:15
Praise: St. Matthias' appointment heralded the advent of apostolic succession (see Eph 2:20; Rv 21:14).
http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/
Receive the fullness of God's love and joy
How can love lead to immeasurable joy? Jesus tells his disciples that he is united with his Father in heaven in a perfect bond of mutual love, honor, and joy in one another. Their love is inseparable and unbreakable. That is why the Son delights in obeying the eternal Father who loves him with infinite love. The Father and Son invite all to join in their eternal bond of love and friendship. How can we enter into that unbreakable bond of love and friendship? Jesus, the Word of God who became flesh for us, shows us the way - keep my word, keep my commandments. If you abide in my word you will know my love and that love will fill you with immense joy - a joy which is unsurpassing, exalted, and unfading (2 Peter 1:3,8).
A new command of love
Jesus' commands are not hard or burdensome for those who know his love and mercy. The Lord fills us with his Spirit and transforms our hearts to be like his heart. Paul the Apostle reminds us that "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us" (Romans 5:5). Jesus gave his disciples a new commandment - a new way of love and fruitful service which is empowered by his Holy Spirit. We are called to love and serve others just as Jesus has loved us with heartfelt compassion, kindness, and mercy. Jesus proved his love for us by laying down his life for us, even to death on the cross. Our love for God is a response to his exceeding love for us through the gift of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
How do we prove our love for God and grow in the knowledge and depth of his unfathomable love? The same way Jesus did - by embracing the way of the cross each and every day. What is the cross in my life? When my will crosses with God's will, then his will must be done. If we accept God's way of love, truth, and wisdom, then we will discover the joy and freedom of loving, serving, and laying down our lives for others, just as Jesus freely laid down his life for each and every one of us. Do you know the joy of being united with the Lord Jesus in a bond of unbreakable love and peace?
A Friend of God
one of the special marks of favor shown in the Scriptures is to be called the friend of God. God called Abraham his friend (Isaiah 41:8), and God spoke with Moses as a "man speaks with his friend" (Exodus 33:11). Jesus, the Lord and Master, calls the disciples his friends rather than his servants (John 15:15). What does it mean to be a friend of God? Friendship certainly entails a relationship of love which goes beyond mere duty or loyalty. Scripture tells us that "a friend loves at all times; and a brother is born for adversity" (Proverbs 17:17).
The distinctive feature of Jesus' relationship with his disciples was his personal and unconditional love and care for them. He loved his own to the very end (John 13:1). He loved his disciples selflessly and generously because his love was wholly directed to their good. His love was costly and sacrificial - he gave not only the best he had, but all that he had. He gave his very own life in order to bring the abundant everlasting life of the eternal Father to those who believed in him.
The fire of Christ's love purifies and transforms
The love of Jesus Christ compels us to give our best not only to God but to our neighbor who is created in the image and likeness of God. God's love purifies and transforms us into the likeness of Christ. The Lord Jesus promises that those who abide in his love will bear much fruit for the kingdom of God - fruit that will last for eternity as well (John 15:16). If you seek to unite your heart with the heart of Jesus, your life will bear abundant fruit - the fruit which comes from the Holy Spirit who dwells within us - the fruit of love, joy, peace, goodness, and friendship which lasts forever (Galatians 5:22-23).
"Lord Jesus, fill me with your Holy Spirit and make me fruitful in your love, mercy, kindness, and compassion. May there be nothing in my life which keeps me from your love and joy."
Psalm 113:1-8
1 Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD!
2 Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and for evermore!
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the LORD is to be praised!
4 The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens!
5 Who is like the LORD our God, who is seated on high,
6 who looks far down upon the heavens and the earth?
7 He raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8 to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people.
Daily Quote from the early church fathers: Love your enemy and make a friend, by Gregory the Great, 540-604 A.D.
"The unique, the highest proof of love is this, to love the person who is against us. This is why Truth himself bore the suffering of the cross and yet bestowed his love on his persecutors, saying, 'Father, forgive them for they know not what they do' (Luke 23:34). Why should we wonder that his living disciples loved their enemies, when their dying master loved his? He expressed the depth of his love when he said, 'No one has greater love that this, than that he lay down his life for his friends' (John 15:13).' The Lord had come to die even for his enemies, and yet he said he would lay down his life for his friends to show us that when we are able to win over our enemies by loving them, even our persecutors are our friends." (excerpt from FORTY GOSPEL HOMILIES 27)
More Homilies
