“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.” John 15:16
After Judas betrayed our Lord, the Apostles gathered together to
pick someone to succeed him. They decided it should be someone who
had been with them from the beginning. They prayed for guidance and
cast lots “and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was counted with
the Eleven Apostles” (Acts 1:26).
Little is known about the ministry of Saint Matthias. Being chosen
as one of the Twelve makes him a bishop of the early Church.
Various traditions state that he preached in the territory of
either modern-day Ethiopia, Turkey or Georgia—perhaps all of these
territories. He is thought to have been killed for his faith,
either by stoning or by beheading or both, which is why he is today
honored as a martyr.
As we honor Saint Matthias, we honor more than just a man who
became an Apostle and preached the Gospel with His life, we also
honor the divine plan by which God has chosen to use weak and
humble instruments to further His Kingdom. The Gospel passage above
certainly applies to Saint Matthias, as well as to all of us to one
extent or another. It was God who “chose” Saint Matthias, as well
as each and every one of us, for the purpose of going forth to
“bear fruit that will remain.” But this form of good fruit, the
fruit that has eternal consequences, can only be produced when we
ask for it from the Father in the name of His Son Jesus.
Asking the Father to produce good fruit through us in the name
of Jesus His Son does not mean that we get to choose what we
ask of the Father. Rather, asking “in Jesus’ name” must be
understood to mean that we ask the Father only what the Son has
asked. We choose to share in the one eternal prayer of the Son that
the will of the Father be fulfilled. And in praying this way, we
commit ourselves to unity with His holy will.
Sometimes we can all find ourselves asking God for this favor or
that. We can place before Him our preference and our will. But if
we want to be used by God, to become an instrument of His grace so
as to bear an abundance of good fruit, then we must humbly set
aside our own will and allow God to be the one Who chooses our
mission and appoints us to His holy task. Detachment from our own
will and humble submission to the will of God is the only way to
bring forth God’s Kingdom.
Reflect, today, upon God's choice to call you to share in His
divine mission. How He calls is up to God, but you can be certain
that He does call you and invites you to share in His mission. Be
open to any way that God appoints you to bear good fruit and humbly
seek to conform your will to the Father’s plan as you pray in
Jesus’ holy name.
Lord Jesus, You have perfectly fulfilled the will of the Father
in all things, and You have chosen me and appointed me to share in
Your divine mission. Help me to open my mind and will to all that
You call me to do, so that I, too, may be an instrument of the
Kingdom of Your Father in Heaven. I make this prayer in Your most
holy name. Jesus, I trust in You.
Source of content:
catholic-daily-reflections.com
Copyright 2024 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved.
Used with permission via RSS feed.
Featured image above: St. Matthias By Robert van der Hoecke,
via Wikimedia Commons
Kommentare (0)
Melde dich an, um einen Kommentar zu schreiben.