Friday, May 14, 2021 - Saint Matthias, Apostle - It is I who have chosen you from the midst of the world, that you will go and bear fruit, and your fruit may endure, says the Lord - Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 15, 9-17

Today we celebrate the feast of Saint Matthias, the apostle. Reading the book of Acts of the Apostles tells us how he was elected to replace Judas, Iscariot. Luke, the author of this book, situates this episode in the waiting time between Ascension and Pentecost. From his way of telling, we can understand that he wants to present to us the identity of the apostle in the Church. In his speech, Peter, the apostle, defines the apostle as the guarantor of the historical tradition of Jesus and the witness of his resurrection (Acts 1, 21-22) and the election of Matthias means that this is part of God's plan because he himself wants the group of twelve to be recomposed, not out of simple organizational necessity of the group. Here are the characteristics of an apostle:

• He must be one of the first disciples, that is to say he is one of those who shared the public activity of Jesus, so that he can be the guarantor of the historical tradition: "(... ) men who have accompanied us during the time when the Lord Jesus lived among us, from his baptism by John until the day he was taken up ".
• He must be among those who have experienced the risen Lord. That is, he had to meet Jesus at his resurrection, he had to see it and hear it in order to be able to announce it.

Matthias was chosen by the Lord Himself and the prayer made before his election expresses this divine initiative.

We too can be among the elect of God, according to the initial prayer. We must therefore become familiar with Jesus Christ, have his experience, share his destiny (the mission and the cross) in order to be able to announce it to others that he is alive and that he lives in each of us, the Pope tells us Francis in his Apostolic Exhortation dedicated especially to young people.