Subj : May 14th - St. Matthias, Apostle To : All From : rich Date : Thu May 13 2021 10:19:42 From: rich May 14th - St. Matthias, Apostle (died 63) After our Blessed Lord's Ascension His disciples came together, with Mary His mother and the 11 Apostles, in an upper room at Jerusalem. The little company numbered no more than one hundred and twenty souls. They were waiting for the promised coming of the Holy Ghost, and they persevered in prayer. Meanwhile there was a solemn act to be performed on the part of the Church, which could not be postponed. The place of the fallen Judas had to be filled, that the number of the Apostles might be complete. Saint Peter, therefore, as Vicar of Christ, arose to announce the divine decree. What the Holy Ghost had spoken by the mouth of David concerning Judas, he said, must be fulfilled. Of him it had been written, "His bishopric let another take." A choice, therefore, was needed of one among those who had been their companions from the beginning, who could bear witness to the Resurrection of Jesus. Two were named of equal merit, Joseph called Barsabas, and Matthias. After praying to God, who knows the hearts of all men, to show which of these He had chosen, they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Matthias, who was thereby numbered with the Apostles. It is recorded of the Saint, wonderfully elected to so high a vocation, that he was remarkable for his mortification of the flesh. It was thus that he made his election sure. He preached in Judea where he was persecuted by both Jews and Gentiles, and died by stoning, a victim of their pursuits, in the year 63. His body was taken to Rome by Saint Helena, mother of Constantine, some 250 years later. A church there bears his name. Reflection. Our ignorance of many points in Saint Matthias's life serves to fix the attention all the more firmly upon these two -- the occasion of his call to the apostolate, and the fact of his perseverance. We then naturally turn in thought to our own vocation and our own end: may it be like his, a holy death in reward for our fidelity. Source: Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, a compilation based on Butler's Lives of the Saints and other sources by John Gilmary Shea (Benziger Brothers: New York, 1894). Saint Quote: "As to ... the avoidance of sin, there is no more efficacious means of subduing the passions [desires], of resisting temptations, and consequently of avoiding sin, than the remembrance of God's presence." --St. Alphonsus de Liguori (Useful Doctor, 1696-1787) Bible Quotes: "Because he hath looked forth from his high sanctuary: from heaven the Lord hath looked upon the earth"=C2 (Psalm 101:20) "And say not: The mercy of the Lord is great, he will have mercy on the multitude of my sins. For mercy and wrath quickly come from him, and his wrath looketh upon sinners. Delay not to be converted to the Lord, and defer it not from day to day. For his wrath shall come on a sudden, and in the time of vengeance he will destroy thee" (Ecclesiasticus 5:69) <><><><> Flowers of the rarest "Bring flowers of the rarest, Bring blossoms of the fairest, From garden and woodland and hillside and dale, Our full hearts are swelling. Our glad voices telling The praise of the loveliest Flower of the Vale. "O Mary, we crown thee with blossoms today Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May. Their lady they name thee, Their mistress proclaim thee, Ah! grant that thy children on earth be as true;" 56. St. Joseph of Cupertino (Monk, 1603-63) - 'Miniature Lives Of The Saints" -- (Fr. H. Bowden, Burns & Oates, 1959 p. 422) This Saint accepting no present but flowers, with which he adorned his picture of the Madonna, once said: "My Mother is hard to please: I bring her flowers and fruit, and she does not care for them and will not accept them. I ask her what she wants, and she answers, 'It is the heart which I care for' ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE: And what then shall we give Her now, all our wills? It's easier said than done? Then why not resolve to learn to do it? =C2 How? By going through the "Marian Exercises" for emptying ourselves =C2 of the 'spirit of the world', and Solemnly Consecrating ourselves =C2 as slaves to Our Lord through Our Lady, by St. Louis Marie de Montfort (Founder, 1673-1716)--needs four weeks of hard work on self--worth an eternity --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .