Jesus…We Love You This Big, Too!

Hometown boy Scotty McCreery from Garner, North Carolina, has made it big time, winning Fox’s ‘American Idol’ Season 10 – down-to-earth simple, dreamy, genuinely modest, likeable, a member at First Baptist, bible-loving, always relying on and thanking God for the journey…words alone cannot describe…the transformation…an awesome testimony of the grace of God!  Truly Scotty loves the Lord this big!  All Glory and Praise to You, Lord!

I know I'm still young

But, I know how I feel

I might not have too much experience

But, I know when love is real.

By the way my heart starts pounding

When I look into your eyes

I might look a little silly

Standing with my arms stretched open wide.

I love you this big

Eyes have never seen... this big

No-one's ever dreamed... this big

And I'll spend the rest of my life

Explaining what words cannot describe but, I'll try

I love you this big

I'll love you to the moon and back

I'll love you all the time

Deeper than the ocean

And higher than the pines.

Cause girl (Lord), you do something to me

Deep down in my heart

I know I look a little crazy

Standing with my arms stretched all apart.

I love you this big

Eyes have never seen... this big

No-one's ever dreamed... this big

And I'll spend the rest of my life

Explaining what words cannot describe but, I'll try

I love you this big

So much bigger than I ever dreamed my heart ever would

I love you this big

And I'd write your name in stars across the sky

If I could, I would

I love you this big

Oh, eyes have never seen... this big

No-one's ever dreamed... this big

And I'll spend the rest of my life

Explaining what words cannot describe but, I'll try

I love you this big

I love you this big

Oh, eyes have never seen... this big

No-one's ever dreamed... this big

And I'll spend the rest of my life

Explaining what words cannot describe but, I'll try

I love you this big...

Nourishment for Your Soul…The Holy Eucharist

The past few days have been simply quiet here.  I spent a fair bit of my time, caught up in the reading and sourcing of good spiritual books; at used and second hand books store.


Echoing the words of Manchester United Boss, Sir Alex Ferguson, on the use of micro blogging websites, “Get yourself down to the library and read a book.  Seriously, it is a waste of time…”

Anyway, over the weekend, I watched my favorite football (or soccer) team, Manchester United clinch the record 19th English Premier League title.

If United can play to true to its form and absolutely get it correct, tactically, they can end the season with both the Premier League trophy and the European Cup.  But first, they would need to overcome, what is currently the best, passing cum potent attacking, team in Europe, if not, the world, Barcelona, at the Wembley Stadium, this Saturday, May 28.  This would surely cement the Old Trafford team’s presence across the continents.

Speaking of presence, I somehow, dreamt of the Eucharist last night. If I recall it correctly, I was holding this larger-than-normal piece of consecrated host and staring at it with a deep sense of the sacred.  Let me simply share my thoughts on this.

As a youth, I use to be fascinated by this and often wondered…how on earth can Jesus break himself into so many million and billion tiny little pieces?

Even worst, I often stared, without blinking, during the Eucharistic consecration when the priest puts his hands over the bread and wine and say some words, hoping to witness a miracle…yet, I don’t see Jesus physically coming down into them at the altar?

Perhaps, I did not possess the saintly eyes of faith to see beyond the physical form of bread and wine.

Do you truly believe in the real physical presence of Jesus in the Eucharist?

Bishop Fulton Sheen shared that when Jesus made the first Eucharistic statement, Judas Iscariot began his corrupt plot to betray the Lord.  Judas (and even many others today) simply could not embrace the doctrine of the Eucharist.  The Eucharist just does not make human sense!



Many cradle Catholics grow up still bound in this Eucharistic controversy.  Many other Christian denominations continue to accuse and influence Catholics of being non-biblical.

The Holy Eucharist is actually the third sacrament of initiation in the Catholic Church; not only a sacramental sacrifice of thanksgiving and praise, but it makes present again, the sacrifice of Christ’s death on the cross in an unbloody manner.  It reminds us, outside of our human senses, by faith of Christ’s everlasting presence.


“I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread that I will give, is my flesh, for the life of the world.” (John 6:51-52, Douay Rheims)

“And taking bread, he gave thanks, and (break); and gave to them, saying: This is my body, which is given for you. Do this for a commemoration of me. In like manner the chalice also, after he had supped, saying: This is the chalice, the new testament in my blood, which shall be shed for you.” (Luke 22:19-20, Douay Rheims)

These words of Jesus are not mere metaphors.  With over 2,000 years of tradition in this belief, the Eucharistic doctrine is actually very scriptural and is the most important truth of our Catholic faith.  This is what distinguishes Catholics from other Christians.

The bread and wine actually becomes the Body and Blood of Christ.  The changing of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ is known as “Transubstantiation” - the very heart of the Mass.

Simplistically, it means that whatever makes the bread to be bread or wine to be wine (the substance) is gone, not present, after consecration.  Only validly ordained priests (not pastors or laymen) can perform this act of consecration.

The Host is Jesus Himself, rather than merely a ‘symbol’.  Catholics were actually given the gift of knowledge of this great mystery of faith – the Eucharist, the heart and summit of the Church’s life (Catechism of the Catholic Church) – the most perfect expression of the worship we owe to God.

“At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Savior instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of His Body and Blood.  This he did in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until He should come again, and so to entrust to…the Church, a memorial of His death and resurrection.” (Vatican Council II, Constitution of the Sacred Liturgy)

In the celebration of the Eucharist, the bread and wine are truly transformed into the Body and Blood of Our Lord, but without any change in their visible outward appearance; together with the soul and divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ.  “…The whole Christ is truly, really and substantially contained.” (Council of Trent, 1545-1563)

“We believe in the everlasting gift of the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist, brought to us each day in miracle form on every altar in the world, at the Consecration of the Mass.” (Bob and Penny Lord, This is My Body, This is My Blood)

The consecrated bread and wine of the Eucharist signify nourishment and are nourishment for the soul.  Our Lord Jesus never leaves us, pilgrims, on this journey through life.  He is always here to help us, to heal us, to carry us.

Through the Holy Eucharist, we continue to feel His strength and power, especially during our times of weakness, doubt, hopelessness, worries, stress, sickness and temptation.

The various Eucharistic Miracles throughout the world today and centuries past, further testifies of His love for us. However, that topic would have to be an interesting sharing for another Blogosphere day.

The Bible…Entrusted to Catholics!

Since my previous posting was on the Bible, perhaps I will continue to share a little more about the same…


Many people, especially evangelical ‘Christians’ have been led to believe that the Roman Catholic traditions and doctrines are opposed to, and contradicted by, the very letter of God’s written Word; the Bible.

Apparently, these Christians believe that Rome embraces and propagates dogmas and traditions which could not stand a moment’s examination if exposed to the Holy Scriptures.  Admittedly, there have been various other ‘invented’ stories of old, about Rome’s prohibition of the reading of the Bible and other attitudes toward the Holy Scriptures.

Why this negative perception against the Roman Catholic Church, the very church founded by Jesus Christ?

Why such ‘ganged-up’ negative Christian perception against the very Church, whose liturgy has been obediently biblical in every way, than any other ‘Christian’ evangelical churches anywhere around the world today?

Sources have it that the Protestant’s initial account of the pre-Reformation Catholicism has been largely a falsification of history.

Thereafter, all the other different, independent breakaway ‘churches’ and ‘denominations’ mushrooming from thereon kept ‘modeling’ and ‘exaggerating’ this misconstrued perception of Rome...as if ‘eliminating’ these Catholics would somehow facilitate the increase in membership of their congregation.

It is important for everyone to remember that, until the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic Bible was the only edition since, obviously, there was no other major Christian denomination till then.

The simple truth, according to Rev Henry Grey Graham, is that the Catholic Church has...

“… been the parent, the author and maker, under God, of the Bible; that she has guarded it and defended it all through the ages, and preserved it from error or destruction; that she has ever held it in highest veneration and esteem, and has grounded her doctrines upon it; that she alone has the right to call it her book; that she alone possesses the true Bible and the whole Bible, and that copies of the Scriptures existing outside of her pale are partly incorrect and partly defective, and that whatever in them is true, is true because derived from her who alone possesses the Book in its fullness and its truth.

If they were Catholics, they would love God’s Holy Word more and more; they would understand it better; they would adore the Divine Providence that took such a wise and sure means of preserving and perpetuating it; and they would profoundly admire the Catholic Church for her ceaseless vigilance, untiring zeal and unswerving fidelity to the commission entrusted to her by Almighty God.”

Very simply, the rest of Christendom owes to the Roman Catholic Church, their ‘connection’ to the Bible.  The Bible was not printed in any language till about 1,500 years after the birth of Jesus Christ!

A German named John Gooseflesh or better known as Johann Gutenberg only discovered the art of printing somewhere in the 15th century.

Before that, the Testaments and the Gospels would mostly be read from the handwritten or hand-copying manuscript of monks or friars.  This was how people before the 15th century became familiar with Christianity.

So much for the commonly misunderstood absurd fallacy that the Bible and the Bible alone can save the souls of mankind; the so-called doctrine of sola scriptura!  Our loving and merciful God surely cannot be indifferent to the countless souls for first 1,500 years?


Thus, the Church and Faith existed way before the Bible – many became Christians by hearing the truth of God from the lips of Christ’s missionaries – the living teaching tradition of the Catholic Church.

It is also a fact in history that the Council of Carthage (387AD), mainly through the influence of St Augustine, through her Popes, settled on the precise Canon or Collection of New Testament Scriptures as we have them in Bibles now.

Together with the Old Testament, the Bible, as it stands today, is composed of 73 separate books.  For the next couple of centuries, even if the Church had given a copy of the bible to every Catholic, it would have done little good because the vast majority of the world was illiterate. Besides, the cost of printing would have been tremendous.

 

It is a absurd for people to step in, 1,500 years after the Catholic Church had had possession of the Bible and to pretend that it is theirs and that they alone know what the meaning of it is and that Scripture alone, without the voice of the Catholic Church explaining them, are intended by God to be the sole guide and rule of faith.

Why, some Christian groups did not even appropriate the whole of the Catholic books; casting out some (seven books) from ‘their’ collection.


Today, one can find countless versions of the Bible in bookshops.  Everone seem to fancy translating a copy of their own.  Getting a bible these days can be a daunting task for the uninitiated.

Whilst the King James Version of the bible cannot be faulted for the beauty of its language and majesty of its expression, it contains an incomplete version of the Hebrew Scriptures and is sometimes difficult to understand.


Catholics generally use translation of the Scriptures if it bears the Nihil Obstat (Latin for “nothing hinders”) certifying that it contains nothing contrary to faith or morals and the final Imprimatur (Latin for ‘let it be printed’) of a Catholic Bishop.

Catholics prefers the New American Bible, the New Jerusalem Bible and the New Revised Standard Version, although the older and more beautiful expressed Jerusalem Bible, Douay Rheims and Revised Standard Version is also used.  To appreciate the entire lyrical beauty of the Psalms, try reading the Grail Version.

It is not surprising today that more and more evangelical multi-million dollars mega christian ‘churches’ are mushrooming all over the place; consequence of the audacity of humanity to change, by a stroke of a pen, whatever doctrines that are not ‘applicable’ and adapting new ones to suit a particular community.

‘Individual’ interpretation of scripture continues to mutilate and disfigure the Word of God for their own convenience – these new churches being run more like a business economic entities nowadays - membership into such churches replicate entrance-screening for some exclusive social clubs and parishioners (people who are actually hungry for God) milked of their wealth under the disguised name of ‘tithing’.


Catholics, as declared by the Second Vatican Council, “venerates” the Scripture – extending many visible signs of this reverence for the Word of God, especially in the liturgy.

These have been adopted for ages, as the Church sees Scriptures as a very special gift of God’s revelation to His people.

Catholics “…know that were it not for the Church, there would be no Bible, for it was the Church that sifted through the many books claiming divine inspiration and came up with the books that now serve as the definitive canon of works regarded as divinely inspired and worthy of incorporation into what is now considered the Bible.” (Father Peter M.J. Stravinkas, The Catholic Answer Book)

Hence, the only Church that is traceable back to the apostles and Jesus Christ, over the course of her long history, has nothing to be ashamed of in her treatment of the Bible, but deserves the praise and thanks of all Christians for so zealously and fearlessly protecting it from corruption and contempt.

The Roman Catholic Church remains the largest church in the world today.  Although the Church has its imperfections, at its heart is the endless stream of God’s mercy and forgiveness.

In the 16th century, Cardinal Robert Bellarmine wrote, “The one and true Church is the community of men brought together by the profession of the same Christian faith and conjoined in the communion of the same sacraments, under the government of the legitimate pastors and especially the one vicar of Christ on earth, the Roman pontiff.”


The Second Vatican Council describes sacred Tradition (the handing on of God’s Word by the successors of the apostles) and sacred Scripture, entrusted to the Catholic Church, as being “like a mirror, in which the Church, during its pilgrim journey on earth, contemplates God.”

For all these treasures, including the gift of the real presence and many more rich traditions, I am simply humbled that God has gifted me the heritage of the Catholic faith!

For the rest out there who wish to come home to discover the real truth and beauty of the Catholic Church, check with either a genuine online Catholic source or your local Catholic Church...

The late Archbishop Fulton Sheen once said that, “There are not even 100 people in this country who hate the Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they think the Catholic Church to be.”

BEWARE...Nigerian KJV Bible Scam...

Pilgrims...Beware...of this “King James Version Giant Print” Bible Scam from syndicates in Nigeria who are constantly on the prowl, worldwide, for innocent victims, especially Christian bloggers.

I have also received these evil emails recently from a “Matthew Zeko” but am thankful not to have sent any bibles to his Black Market syndicate.  These corrupted people operate under different name-disguises.

Be informed...Become aware of these evil instruments of Satan, soul-less people, who use the name of God in vain...

Please check out this blessed blog link to read more about the KJV Bible scam from Nigeria.  This blogger has done justice to outline the whole scam, how the pathetic emails look like...all aimed to con Christians to feed the evil Black Market for Bibles in Nigeria, West Africa.

Please help spread the word and inform others on the Blogosphere so that these good Christians do not become innocent victims.

Let's not deny that Satan continues to prowl the world looking for innocent souls...

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in day of battle, be our safequard against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all evil spirits who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls.  Amen.

Sáncte Míchael Archángele, defénde nos in proélio, cóntra nequítiam et insídias diáboli ésto præsídium. Ímperet ílli Déus, súpplices deprecámur: tuque, prínceps milítiæ cæléstis, Sátanam aliósque spíritus malígnos, qui ad perditiónem animárum pervagántur in múndo, divína virtúte, in inférnum detrúde.  Ámen

Pilgrims Who Struggle With the Journey

“For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe!, plans to give you a future full of hope.”

(Jeremiah 29:11, NAB)

Today my heart feels a little empty, no particular thoughts or worry…just emptiness and quiet…simply from just being human, I guess.


This sort of feeling, I reckon, comes about when we face freedom’s choices and we are not at all certain about what the right course will be, either for ourselves, our families, our children or for others.  This feeling may also come about as a consequence of an earlier choice made.


Uncertainties are a constant part of people and events.  For instance, part of the pain of life, for parents, lies in the fact that they cannot always protect their children from life, nor suffer it in their place.


“How do I know I am doing the right thing?”  Under various circumstances, every one of us prays but sometimes, still struggle to understand whether we are being moved by the Spirit or by some inner whirlwind within ourselves.


Throughout our journey through life, we realize that it is a continuing challenge to sift the gold of inspiration from the gravel of impulse.  Nevertheless, as human beings, we must keep on choosing about ourselves and our life.

Ultimately, as most of us will find out, we must answer for ourselves and accept the consequences.  Life will still continue to go on…

Here is a prayer simply taken from the book, ‘Praying Our Goodbyes’ by Sister Joyce Rupp, osm, which I find comforting…


“Pilgrim God, there is an exodus going on in my life – desert stretches, a vast land of questions.  Inside my heart, your promises tumble and turn.  No pillar of cloud by day or fire by night that I can see.

My heart hurts at leaving loved ones and so much of the security I have known.  I try to give in to the stretching and the pain. It is hard, God, and I want to be settled, secure, safe and sure.  And here I am feeling so full of pilgrim’s fear and anxiety.


O God of the journey, lift me up, press me against your cheek.  Let your great love hold me and create a deep trust in me.  Then set me down, God of the journey; take my hand in yours, and guide me ever so gently across the new territory of my life.


God of my life, create in me the heart of a pilgrim.  There is a part of me that fights letting go.  Do not allow me to become so rooted or so accustomed to my daily tasks and inner securities, that I miss your voice calling me to greater growth and deeper maturity in faith.  I want to hoard my blessings, to hang onto my gifts, to hide my talents and the blessings of my life,


I want to take them out, one by one, only when I know that it is safe and I won’t get hurt or emptied.  Stir afire in me such a great love for you and your people that I will constantly celebrate life and appreciate its beauty, even when it is painful.

Allow me to “see visions and dream dreams” so that I can live with your vision and not be overwhelmed by the struggles of the journey.  God of the Exodus, I know you are near.


Grant me the courage to change, whether that change is an inner or outer one.  Deepen my awareness of your faithful presence and bless my pilgrim heart.  Amen.”

Our Humanity…Fighting Against Self-Destruction…

Today, the Fourth Sunday of Easter, is Good Shepherd Sunday.  Jesus, as the Good Shepherd, at Golgotha, freely laid down His life for His sheep…so that we can have access to eternal life.  Only by this voice of Jesus, we must recognize and follow.

In this Easter season, we remember how the blood and death of Christ demonstrates the preciousness of humanity to God.  Jesus' death gives meaning to the lives of all peoples.


As part of the sheepfold of Christ, we now have access to salvation; we are free from fear.  We are called to be ‘shepherds’ to others, especially little children, imitating and radiating the Light of Christ to others.

Back in March 25, 1995, Blessed John Paul II released the encyclical Evangelium Vitae – The Gospel of Life.  This document deals with the most fundamental of all principles of humanity – the value and sacredness of our human life.  As shepherds and part of the one human race, we are called to protect life…a call that is the heart of the message brought about by Jesus Christ to humanity (EV Para. 1).

For centuries, this life, as we know it, is already threatened by the external forces that threaten the sanctity of the human life - human violence, war, terrorism, human trafficking, poverty, hunger, sexual abuse, crimes, corrupt governments, injustice, barbaric political leaders, selective mainstream media reporting, broken marriages, child abuse, worst of all, abortion…each new day, each new development, each new emerging ‘technology advancement’…quickly brings with it new threats to the sacred human life.  Humanity is in such a sad, sad state...the consequence of our own free will...

Correct me if I am wrong, but it is shocking to note that countries like the United States and United Kingdom restrict abortion after the point of fetal viability (whatever that is suppose to mean) and Canada, having removed abortion from the Criminal Code, Australia still having varying degrees of abortion, whereas China and Singapore would allow abortion on request.

In Taiwan, a recent report indicated that 3,000 female babies were aborted from the population due to illegal sex-selective abortion.  Many other Asian countries continue to face similar evil due to traditional cultural norms which value males more than females.  This is the sad fact of humanity around the world today.  Do you know your country’s stand on this crime against the innocent unborn?

Yesterday, a reader (Smiley) was kind enough to remind me of the greatest crime against humanity…the conscious attack of the defenseless….the crime of ABORTION!

Abortion, very simply, is the conscious and intentional termination of a pregnancy.  It originates from the Latin word aboriri, meaning “to perish”.

Today, many so-called ‘developed’ and ‘civilized’ countries around the world continue to ‘allow’ or ‘promote’ this insane killing of the precious defenseless unborn child.


According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, “…at the very time of conception, or fecundation, the embryo begins to live a distinct individual life…the soul of every new human being begins to exist when the cell which generation has provided is ready to receive it as its principle of life.  In the normal course of nature the living embryo carries on its work of, self-evolution within the maternal womb, deriving its nourishment from the placenta through the vital cord, till, on reaching maturity, it is by the contraction of the uterus issued to lead its separate life.  Abortion is a fatal termination of this process.”

The Roman Catholic Church has always condemned abortion as a grave form of evil.  The Bible forbids abortion just as it forbids murder.


Just to illustrate the extreme cruelty of this brutal act…we must become aware of this simple fetal development timeline…


Day 1 - conception takes place.


7 days - tiny human implants in mother’s uterus.


18 days - heart begins to beat.


21 days - pumps own blood through separate closed circulatory system with own blood type.


28 days - eye, ear and respiratory system begin to form.


42 days - brain waves recorded, skeleton complete, reflexes present.


7 weeks - photo of thumb sucking.


8 weeks - all body systems present.


9 weeks - squints, swallows, moves tongue, makes fist.


11 weeks - spontaneous breathing movements, has fingernails, all body systems working.


16 weeks - genital organs clearly differentiated, grasps with hands, swims, kicks, turns, somersaults, (still not felt by the mother.)


18 weeks - vocal cords work – can cry.


20 weeks - has hair on head, weighs one pound, 12 inches long...

The cry of Evangelium Vitae echoes ever so loudly today to remind us that we have been entrusted to defend and promote, love and revere life.  There is simply no moment of human life - from the unborn to those nearing death - that should not be protected.

As Christians, we are called to love God and one another - God's law commands us to follow his commandments including the prohibition on killing.

No reasons, however serious and tragic, “can ever justify the deliberate killing of an innocent human being.” (EV Para. 59)

As chosen pilgrim “people of life”, we are continuously called to preach the good news of Jesus Christ and the Gospel of Life to the whole of human society.


In this Easter season, Evangelium Vitae seeks to rescue the human race from self-destruction by calling us to our true identity and greatness:

“God has granted to man a dignity which is near to divine. In every child which is born and In every person who lives or dies we see the image of God's glory ... an icon of Jesus Christ” (EV Para. 84).

We continue to pray fervently that the Good Shepherd will bring about a great awakening to the senses and hearts of humanity...and for God's abundant blessings upon the many courageous pilgrims of all ages, who actively continue to ‘March for Life’, standing up in protest against this evil crime of ABORTION.

Please connect to this link, amongst many others, (http://nationalmarch4life.blogspot.com/)  to witness and be in solidarity with other pilgrims at the 2011 Pro-Life Rally in Ottawa, Canada.

St Matthias...A Gift of God...

“…whether we live, or whether we die, we are the Lord's.” (Romans 14:8, Douay Rheims)

Today, I find it most appropriate to simply reflect on Saint Matthias, who was the first apostle chosen after the crucifixion of Jesus on Golgotha.  By the grace of God, Matthias, out of 120 disciples, became the twelfth Apostle, replacing Judas Iscariot, following the latter’s suicide after betraying Jesus (Acts 1:26).  While the Twelve 'apostles' were 'disciples' (pupil, followers), not all 'disciples' are 'apostles' (disciple on mission).  The feast day of St Matthias is on May 14.

This name also carries a special meaning in my heart because my late father lived by the same name.  In this journey through life, God gifted him to us.  For this, I simply cannot be thankful enough.

Though poor (but he always gave enough) and lacking in higher education (he attended night classes), my dear father would somehow provide more than enough for us, to feed us, to school us, to raise us up in faith and naturally, to always keep us (discipline) on the right path.  His nature was a lot on the calm, quiet side but for me, he remains the simplest and humblest of a companion, one who worked hard, loved us so much more than himself, even to his very last breath.  He was a cradle Catholic and this gift of trusting faith, packaged with a peaceful silence, is the most precious gift given to us.  He passed on peacefully (despite the pains of cancer) back to the Father, more than seven years ago, in the company of prayers, family, priest, bishop and angels.  God has truly been gracious and merciful to his faithful servant.

Now, coming back to St Matthias, at a glance, it seems that he is more like an afterthought, a latecomer of sorts but nevertheless, he was a disciple from the very beginning; from the baptism by John until the Ascension (Acts 1:22).  One hardly ever hears of Matthias in the Gospels or anywhere else in the New Testament.  The name Matthias means “gift of God”.


St. Matthias received the Holy Spirit, in the Upper Room, with the rest of the apostles soon after his appointment as one of the Twelve.  Subsequently, Matthias committed himself with great zeal to the functions of his apostleship; in converting nations to the faith in Jesus Christ.  Some scholars seem uncertain about Matthias’ exact activities following his appointment.

Like the rest of the apostles, Matthias was probably of a simple, quiet, meditative and humble demeanor.  Understanding this simply helps me to better appreciate my late father, perhaps a little too late.  Truly, when a person carries the name of a particular Saint, his or her life then becomes united in imitation of that great Saint and the latter will constantly intercede on your behalf.


God poured out His grace and mercy, through the remaining Eleven, upon Matthias to witness and preach for Christ.  Matthias may also have written an account of his experiences as a disciple.


Unfortunately, this piece of document has been lost to history, except for a fragment quoted by St Clement of Alexandria, “We must combat our flesh, set no value upon it...but rather increase the growth of our soul by faith and knowledge.”


Matthias represented the brightening of the darkness, the gloom, the bridging of an abyss, most of all, the beginning of a new epoch.  Matthias became the source of new joy for the dazed and depressed Eleven following the criminal and corrupted face of Judas and especially the brutal death of their Rabbi and Master, Jesus Christ.


The light of Judas, the traitor had burned out, and it had to be lighted once again by Matthias.  The dead branch of Judas had to be broken away from the living vine of Christ so that Matthias might be grafted in its place.

St Augustine shed light to the great significance that there were exactly twelve apostles.  He found a profound significance in this number, which was highly esteemed as a holy number at that time: three was the holy number of God; four, of the world.  Thus, three times four symbolically signified the work of God in the world and with the world.  The four directions of the world, east, west, north and south were called into the Trinity by baptizing in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.


Medieval Greek historians claim that Matthias was crucified but tradition claims that he suffered martyrdom in present day Ethiopia, where he was stoned, and then beheaded.  His relics were taken to Jerusalem by a devoted follower, Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, when she went to the Holy Land to find the true cross of Christ.  Many believe that she also had a church built to house the remains of Matthias.


St Matthias is the patron saint for carpenters, tailors and against both smallpox and alcoholism.

Today, as we ponder this, let us ask St Matthias to intercede for us and give us humility, loyalty, honesty, detachment and equilibrium in the face of the sufferings and pleasures of life’s journey.

“O Glorious Saint Matthias, in God’s design it fell upon you to take the place of the unfortunate Judas who betrayed his Master. You were selected by the twofold sign of the uprightness of your life and the call of the Holy Spirit. Obtain for us the grace to practice the same uprightness of life and to be called by the same Spirit to wholehearted service of the Church. Then after a life of zeal and good works, let us be ushered into your company in heaven to sing forever the praises of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.”