May 14: ST. MATTHIAS, APOSTLE.
MASS PRAYERS AND READINGS.
GOSPEL AND VIDEO COMMENTARY,
2ND READING OF LITURGY OF THE HOURS.

After the ascension of our Lord, St. Peter proposed that the disciples select an apostle in the place of Judas. The choice was Matthias, who joined the eleven apostles. According to Nicephorus, St. Matthias first preached the Gospel in Judaea, then in Aethiopia (in modern-day Georgia) and was crucified in Colchis. Another tradition says that he worked for the Faith in Palestine, and later was stoned at Jerusalem by the Jews, and then beheaded (d.64).

FEAST OF ST. MATTHIAS, APOSTLE
MASS PRAYERS AND READINGS

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON
Non vos me elegístis, sed ego elégi vos, ut eátis, et fructum afferátis, et fructus vester máneat, (T.P. allelúia).
It was not you who chose me, says the Lord, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will remain (E.T.alleluia).

The Gloria in excelsis (Glory to God in the highest) is said.

COLLECT
O God, who added Saint Matthias to the college of Apostles, grant us, through his intercession, that rejoicing at how your love has been allotted to us, we may merit to be numbered among the elect. Through our Lord.

Proper Readings

READING I
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. The Lord will give him a seat with the leaders of his people.
Or: Alleluia.
Collocávit eum Dóminus cum príncipibus pópuli sui.
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: Alleluia.
Collocávit eum Dóminus cum príncipibus pópuli sui.
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: Alleluia.
Collocávit eum Dóminus cum príncipibus pópuli sui.
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: Alleluia.
Collocávit eum Dóminus cum príncipibus pópuli sui.
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: Alleluia.
Collocávit eum Dóminus cum príncipibus pópuli sui.
 
ALLELUIA
Ego vos elégi de mundo, ut eátis et fructum afferátis, et fructus vester máneat, dicit Dóminus.
I chose you from the world, to go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord.
 
GOSPEL
Jn 15:9–17
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.”

PRAYER OVER THE OFFERINGS
Receive, O Lord, the offerings of your Church, reverently offered for the Feast of Saint Matthias, and through them strengthen us by the power of your grace. Through Christ our Lord.
[–» Eucharistic Prayer]
[–» Preface of the Apostles]
 

COMMUNION ANTIPHON
Hoc est præcéptum meum, ut diligátis ínvicem, sicut diléxi vos, dicit Dóminus, allelúia.
This is my commandment: love one another as I love you, says the Lord, alleluia.
[–» Communion]

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Never cease, O Lord, to fill your family with divine gifts, and, through blessed Matthias’s intercession for us, graciously admit us to a share in the lot of the Saints in light. Through Christ our Lord.

GOSPEL VIDEO COMMENTARY
“Do you love enough?”

In today’s gospel reading, the word “Love” appears 11 times. In verses 9 and 10 alone, 5 times already.
Love is never out of season for there’s always a reason to love. You never ask for it for it is the product of the love you have received. Reese Witherspoon put it aptly – “You always gain by giving love.”
Take advantage of this time of Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) to show your love for your family through an Enhanced Communication Quality.

SECOND READING OF THE OFFICE OF READINGS

Make known to us, Lord, the one you choose
A homily of St. John Chrysostom on the Acts of the Apostles.

In those days, Peter, stood up in the midst of the disciples and said… As the fiery spirit to whom the flock was entrusted by Christ and as the leader in the band of the apostles, Peter always took the initiative in speaking: My brothers, we must choose from among our number. He left the decision to the whole body, at once augmenting the honour of those elected and avoiding any suspicion of partiality. For such great occasions can easily lead to trouble.  

Did not Peter then have the right to make the choice himself? Certainly he had the right, but he did not want to give the appearance of showing special favour to anyone. Besides he was not yet endowed with the Spirit. And they nominated two, we read, Joseph, who was called Barsabbas and surnamed Justus, and Matthias. He himself did not nominate them; all present did. But it was he who brought the issue forward, pointing out that it was not his own idea but had been suggested to him by a scriptural prophecy. So he was speaking not as a teacher but as an interpreter.  

So, he goes on, we must choose from those men who lived in our company. Notice how insistent he is that they should be eyewitnesses. Even though the Spirit would come to ratify the choice, Peter regards this prior qualification as most important.  

Those who lived in our company, he continued, all through the time when the Lord Jesus came and went among us. He refers to those who had dwelt with Jesus, not just those who had been his disciples. For of course from the very beginning many had followed him. Notice how it is written that Peter himself was one of the two who had listened to John, and followed Jesus.All through the time when the Lord Jesus came and went among us, beginning with the baptism of John – rightly so, because no one knew what had happened before that time, although they were to know of it later through the Spirit.  

Up to the day, Peter added, on which he was taken up from us – one of these must be made a witness along with us of his resurrection. He did not say “a witness of the rest of his actions” but only a witness of the resurrection. That witness would be more believable who could declare that he who ate and drank and was crucified also rose from the dead. He needed to be a witness not of the times before or after that event, and not of the signs and wonders, but only of the resurrection itself. For the rest happened by general admission, openly; but the resurrection took place secretly, and was known to these men only.  

And they all prayed together, saying: You, Lord, know the hearts of men; make your choice known to us. “You,” not “we.” Appropriately they said that he knew the hearts of men, because the choice was to be made by him, not by others.  

They spoke with such confidence, because someone had to be appointed. They did not say “choose” but make known to us the chosen one; the one you choose, they said, fully aware that everything was pre-ordained by God. They then drew lots. For they did not think themselves worthy to make the choice of their own accord, and therefore they wanted some sign for their instruction.

Stay updated: subscribe by email for free TO OUR NEW WEBSITE www.catholicsstrivingforholiness.org (PUT YOUR EMAIL IN THE SUBSCRIBE WIDGET).
We are also in www.fb.com/Catholicsstrivingforholiness. Kindly help more people in their Christian life by liking our page and inviting your family, friends and relatives to do so as well. Thanks in advance and God bless you and your loved ones! Fr. Rolly Arjonillo