The Apostle MATTHIAS and the Disciple MARY

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March 2014
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T he Sanctuary S eries XV:
The Apostle
Matthias
The Greek Matthias, is a name derived from Mattahias, Hebrew Mattihiah,
signifying “gift of Yahweh”. Matthias, the apostle who took the place of Judas Iscariot,
is not pictured on the sanctuary wall; St. Paul is pictured with the other eleven
apostles instead.
St. Matthias was one of the first to follow Jesus. He was witness to all of Jesus’ divine
actions up to the Ascension of Jesus. He was one of the seventy-two disciples, but Jesus
did not name him as one of the apostles. However, it was because he followed Jesus so
long that he was one of two identified to take the place of Judas Iscariot as documented
in Acts 1, the only place in the Bible where St. Matthias is referenced:
In those days, Peter, rising up in the midst of the brothers, said (now the crowd of men
altogether was about one hundred and twenty): “Noble brothers, the Scripture must be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit predicted
by the mouth of David about Judas, who was the leader of those who apprehended Jesus. He had been numbered among us,
and he was chosen by lot for this ministry. ‘Let another take his episcopate.’ Therefore, it is necessary that, out of these men who
have been assembling with us throughout the entire time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the
baptism of John, until the day when he was taken up from us, one of these be made a witness with us of his Resurrection.” And
they appointed two: Joseph, who was called Barsabbas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And praying, they said: “May
you, O Lord, who knows the heart of everyone, reveal which one of these two you have chosen, to take a place in this ministry
and apostleship, from which Judas prevaricated, so that he might go to his own place.” And they cast lots concerning them, and
the lot fell upon Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven Apostles. (Acts 1:15-17,20b-26)
T
he significance of the choice of Matthias lies in that this is the first example of Apostolic succession.
It also indicates that the choice – by lot – was God’s choice. A number of authors have different ideas of
where St. Matthias evangelized. Matthias first preached the Gospel in Judaea, then in Aethiopia (in modernday Georgia) and was stoned to death in Colchis. The Synopsis of Dorotheus contains this tradition: “Matthias
preached the Gospel to barbarians and meat-eaters in the interior of Ethiopia, where the sea harbor of
Hyssus is, at the mouth of the river Phasis. He died at Sebastopolis, and was buried there, near the Temple
of the Sun.” In The Catholic Source Book, 2007 – tradition states that Matthias was stoned to death then
beheaded and was later buried in St. Peter’s in Rome – thus his symbol of an open Bible with a battle-axe,
with which he is said to have been beheaded.
Matthias is venerated, equally with the other apostles and his name is mentioned in the Canon of the Mass.
The feast of Saint Matthias is May 14. According to old tradition, St. Matthias’s Day is said to be the luckiest day of the
year because Matthias was the saint who was chosen by lot to replace Judas Iscariot.
Sources of Information – 1. The Catholic Encyclopedia; 2. Wikipedia
© 2014 St. Ursula Parish Communications Committee
T he Sanctuary S eries XVI:
TheDisciple
Mary
agdalene
M
A
M ary Magdalene is one of the most appealing characters in the Gospels.
Only a few details about her appear there, yet Christians know her as a woman of great
love, desire, and unwavering loyalty. She was born at Magdala, near Tiberias, in Galilee.
Just as we heard and read of many James’s – there are also a number of Marys and
women’s actions that may be attributed to this Mary of Magdala. Mary followed
Jesus after he cured her of seven demons. Many mistakenly associate her with the
woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her hair – but this story is followed by the reference
in Luke to a Mary Magdala “from whom seven devils had been cast.”
A
n account which first references a woman who feels genuinely close to Jesus
is in Luke 7:36-50 A Sinful Woman Forgiven:
Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And he went to the
Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. And behold, a woman in the city who
was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s
house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and
she began to wash His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. Now when the Pharisee
who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet,
would know what sort of woman this is that touches him – that she is a sinner.” In answer to his
thoughts, Jesus said to him, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water
for My feet, but she washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. You
gave me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. You did
not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. Therefore
I say to you her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much, but to who little is forgiven
the same loves little.” Then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
Unswerving in her devotion, Mary was at the cross and observed Jesus endure this cruel method of
Roman execution. Watching opposite the tomb where Jesus’s body was taken, she witnessed his burial by
Joseph of Arimathea. She saw the Romans roll an enormous stone in front of the tomb, closing off and
sealing the burial place. After leaving the tomb, she maintained a vigil through the Sabbath until the dawn
of the next day and then returned with anointing spices. Atop the stone that had been rolled away from the
entrance of the tomb sat a luminous angel – a truly frightening sight for the Roman guards and for Mary.
John’s Gospel says that Mary saw two other angels inside the tomb who asked her why she was crying. Mary
then turned to see a man she thought was the gardener. She asked him to tell her where he might have
carried Jesus’s body. But when Jesus spoke her name, Mary recognized his voice and called him Rabboni,
meaning My Teacher. After Jesus told her to go tell the disciples what she had heard, Mary immediately ran to
tell them, “I have seen the Lord,” the news of his resurrection and the things Jesus had told her. For further study,
see Mt. 27:56-61; 28:1; Mk 15:40-47; 16:1-9; Lk 8:2; 24:10; Jn 19:25; 20:1-18.
According to Roman Catholic tradition, Mary Magdalene spent the last 30 years of her life in
seclusion in France. Mary Magdalene is the patron saint of the contemplative life, converts, glove makers,
hairstylists, penitent sinners and people ridiculed. Her feast day is celebrated on July 22nd.
– Article submitted by Mrs. Elaine Ashcom
Sources of Information 1. Peter, Paul and Mary Magdalene, BD Ehrman, 2006; 2. The Woman with Alabaster Jar, M Starbird, 1993;
3. The Bible, Luke 7:36-50.; 4. Wikipedia, 2014.; 5. The Book of Saints, V Hoagland, C.P.; 6. Who’s Who in the Bible
© 2014 St. Ursula Parish Communications Committee
Detail of Altarpiece by Carlo Crivelli (1480)
lthough Mary Magdalene is not depicted on the sanctuary wall her importance rests in that
she was a faithful disciple of Jesus even at the cross and was the first witness to His resurrection.