Tuesday in the Seventh Week of Easter, May 14, 2024

The Feast of St. Matthias

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.

From the words of St. Peter we see the Church’s concern for procedure and order, which flow from the example of the Lord Jesus, ascended into heaven, and through the grace of the Holy Spirit, “For God is not the God of dissension, but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14, 33).  We notice that it is Peter, on whom the Lord Jesus said that he would build his church, who speaks.  There is not an open discussion or a dispute.  Now, Peter decided that the place of Judas should be filled.  He could have decided not to fill it but leave it empty.  He chose that it be filled following his discernment of the Lord’s will.  He then seeks nominations for the post, not insisting on his own candidate for possibly human motives, but asking for those most qualified.  The qualifications are strict, and only two men are named.  With Peter presiding, prayers are offered and lots are cast.  This, again, to show that the decision is not made for profit or anything else — as was indeed true at this time for the naming of the Jewish high priest.  The lot falls on Matthias, and he is accepted as one of the Twelve.  (Joseph Barsabbas became a missionary and the Church celebrates his feast day on July 20).

The procedure and order in the Church demonstrates the desire of the Lord for her to be a bright lamp shining in the chaotic murk of this world.  Her leadership, her doctrines, her worship is all traceable back to the time of the Apostles.  Her teachings are clear and unchanging even as languages flourish, fail, and are replaced, and the meanings of words change.  These things remain constant even when some of her clergy and laity sin and twist  the words of the Scriptures to their liking.  The exception, as the saying goes, proves the rule.

We can surmise that St. Matthias was, like several of the Apostles, a follower of St. John the Baptist who went to follow Jesus.  Not at first call to be an Apostle, he nevertheless clung to the words of the Lord even when many of his disciples left him because they could not accept them.  He would have been present when the Holy Spirit came upon the one hundred and twenty persons in the house the Apostles were using for their headquarters in Jerusalem.  He is said to have preached mainly in Israel.  Other traditions placing him in Ethiopia seem to confuse him with St. Matthew.  St. Hippolytus (d. 235) says that he was stoned and beheaded in Jerusalem.  

The thirty-fourth article in our continuing series on the Holy Mass: The Orientation of the Priest at the Altar

For nearly two thousand years the priest offered the Sacrifice of the Mass facing East with the people so that he appeared as the head of a long procession.  When speaking to the people during the Mass, the priest would turn around to do so and then return to the work at the altar.  This arrangement reflected the dynamic of the Mass in which the priest, the choir or server, and the people each had their part in the worship of God: the priest said the prayers written in the Missal to which the choir or server replied.  The people in the congregation were free to pray quietly in their own way in union with the priest at whose hands the Sacrifice was being offered.  

Various reasons for both priest and congregation facing East together were given, such as to face the direction of Jerusalem, outside of which Christ was crucified, and where the Lord was thought to come when he returned to judge the living and the dead.  It was also true that this followed the custom of the Jews and the Gentiles of both priests and people “facing” God (or the gods) together.  That is, when the priest was visible and not within the Temple praying while the people stood outside (cf. Luke 1, 21-22 where Zechariah “comes out” of the Temple to the people).

Since the 1960’s, the custom has taken hold so that the priest faces the people across the altar at Holy Mass.  This has come about through the admonition of the Second Vatican Council that the altar be situated so that the priest could walk around it, instead of the altar standing against a wall — so that the priest could incense the altar from all sides.  With the altar moved, priests began to offer the Mass facing the people. This allowed the people to see what the priest was doing at Mass, and so seems to fulfill the Council’s desire for the increase of fuller participation in the Mass by the laity.  At the same time, it changes the appearance of the Mass from a priest offering a Sacrifice for a congregation to an MC engaging with an audience.  Both the priest and the congregation must work hard st Mass to focus on their particular work, which in fact remains the same.