Saturday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Today's Mass Readings

So much about the post-Resurrection Christian community has been lost to history except for those snapshots of situations and responses captured in the collective memory of the early Church. How did the people closest to Jesus deal with the ongoing shock of his death and resurrection? How did they handle their practical questions about their own future and their doubts? What about the people who knew and were closely related to the chosen twelve? Were these men and women being carried by the personal enthusiasm of those close to Jesus? It is comforting for us to wonder what it was like to know and be close to Mary, the Mother of Jesus, during those difficult days.

This feast day of the Apostle Matthias gives us a kind of keyhole view of the struggling new community. We see Peter, the rough-cut and impulsive fisherman, rise to the challenge of helping the community fill the vacancy left by the death of Judas. Peter indicated that their choice had to have had an extended period of contact with Jesus during his ministry. The community also turned to fervent prayer asking the Holy Spirit to guide them in making the best choice.

Our needs today are not all that different from those of the early Church. We also must rely on the faith and generosity of the faith community and also trust in the power of the Holy Spirit to lead us.

Reflection by Fr. Daniel Petsche, OSB