Remain in His love

St. Matthias whose feast we celebrate today is not so popular as the other Apostles.

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We read in the First Reading today how he has been chosen to replace Judas Iscariot.

In the “eligibility list” outlined in the reading, we learn that Matthias was among those who accompanied the group of disciples the whole time the Lord Jesus came and went among them, “beginning from the baptism of John until the day on which [Jesus] was taken up” (v 22).

One thing is sure: Matthias was a witness to the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord. He was among those who “remained in his love”; he became one of Jesus’ friends (Jn 15:15).

This love, shared to him by his Master and fellow disciples, was the source of his courage in accepting the call to be an Apostle after Jesus’ resurrection. It is a love powerful enough to move him to “lay down his life for others” as the Lord Jesus did.

Two traditions speak of the martyrdom of Matthias: one in Ethiopia after preaching to the pagans, and the other in Jerusalem where he was stoned and then beheaded.