This Thursday is celebrated as the Ascension in many part of the Catholic world, but in our diocese and in most dioceses in the United States, we celebrate the Ascension in place of the 7th Sunday in Easter season. Today, on May 14, we celebrate the feast of St Matthias the Apostle.
Through our reading today from the Acts of the
Apostles, we learn that Matthias was chosen to replace Judas as one of the
apostles. He was chosen before the descent of the Holy
Spirit, but this choice was not made by the risen Christ, but by the other 11
apostles. Tradition has it that the apostles were sent to
different parts of the world to spread the Good News. We hold that James went to Spain and Thomas
went to India and that Matthias was sent to spread the Gospel in Ethiopia and
that he died a martyr there. Just as pilgrims believe that James remains are
laid to rest in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain, it is
believed that the remains of Matthias are located at the Abbey of St Matthias
in Trier, Germany, having been brought there by Helena, the mother of the
Emperor Constantine. Just as the remains of St James were rediscovered
by a hermit in the 9th century in Spain, the remains of St Matthias
were rediscovered there in the 13th century, at which time the abbey became a
popular place of pilgrimage.
Pope Benedict and Pope Francis have challenged us
as modern believers to undertake a new evangelization in the world. We hear this term “new evangelization” so often,
that one Catholic blogger feared that it would become a cliché or simply a
slogan. As I understand it, Benedict and Francis see this
new evangelization as an attempt to evangelize our own corner of the world,
especially those of us who live in the traditionally Christian countries were
our faith is coming under attack by the secular elements of our society and
where a lot of people have left the faith. Pope Francis sees all Christians called to this
new evangelization, as he states: “Every Christian is challenged, here and now,
to be actively engaged in evangelization; indeed, anyone who has truly
experienced God’s saving love does not need much time or lengthy training to go
out and proclaim that love.”
Paul and the Apostles like St Matthias faced many
unknowns and many challenges as they preached the Gospel. We are faced with many challenges as well as
we bring the message of the Gospel to our world. May we be inspired to live in the spirit of
the Early Church and to energetically witness to our world.
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