REFLECTION FOR SIXTH WEEK EASTERTIDE: FRIDAY

Feast of St.  Matthias.


TODAY'S WORD

By


Fr. Aloysius Santiago sdb
Rector and Parish Priest
Don Bosco Shrine
Lingarajapuram, Bangalore

John: 15:16 "You did not choose me but I chose you.  And I appointed you to go and bear fruit;"

On this feast of Saint Matthias, the two readings are linked by the use of the verb ‘to choose’.


FIRST READING REFLECTION

In the first reading, the early disciples gather to complete the number of the twelve apostles after the betrayal and death of Judas.

Having nominated two candidates, Barsabbas and Matthias, they turn in prayer to the Lord and ask him, ‘show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this ministry and apostolate, which Judas abandoned’.

They used their judgement to narrow the field down to two, but they needed the Lord’s guidance to make the final choice.

They wanted their choice to be in harmony with the Lord’s choice.

Their question was not just ‘Who should we choose?’ but ‘Who is the Lord choosing?’


GOSPEL REFLECTION

In the gospel reading, Jesus says to his disciples, ‘You did not choose me, but I chose you and I commissioned you to go out and to bear fruit’.

Again the Lord’s choice of his disciples takes priority over their choice of him. .

What Jesus says to his disciples there, he says to all of us, ‘I chose you’.

The Lord’s choice of us is prior to all else. Yes, we have to choose the Lord for ourselves, but our choice of the Lord is always in response to his choice of us.

To express it in another way, the Lord is always seeking us out, and our seeking of him is a response to his seeking us.

The Lord loves us first and our love of him is in response to his love of us.

The Lord’s initiative towards us is there before our initiative towards him.

In our dealings with each other, we may choose someone as a friend, but we cannot be sure that they will choose us.

However, in our dealings with the Lord, we know that the Lord has already chosen us as a friend, ‘I call you friends’, he says to his disciples.

He cannot be sure that we will choose him as he has chosen us, but he earnestly desires us to do so.

May St. Matthias pray for us that we too be open to God's plan for us especially when He makes changes in our lives.


RESOLUTION

Lets resolve  to live out the calling that the Lord has given faithfully and worthily as St. Matthias did.


GOD BLESS YOU 

Good morning. Have a nice safe day.

HAPPY FEAST OF ST. MATHIAS THE APOSTLE