St. Matthias, Apostle (February 24)

This is what the Lord says.

The heavens are my throne,

and the earth is a footstool under my feet.

Where, then, is the house that you could build for me?

Where, then, is a place that could serve as my resting place?

²For my hand made all these things,

so all these things came into existence,

declares the Lord.

Yet this is the person I will watch over:

the one who is afflicted and whose spirit is crushed,

the one who trembles at my word.

¹⁵In those days, when the group there numbered about 120 people, Peter stood up among the brothers and said, ¹⁶“Gentlemen, brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David about Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus. ¹⁷Judas was counted as one of us and was given a share in this ministry.

¹⁸“Now this man acquired a field with what he was paid for his wicked act. When he fell headfirst, his middle burst open, and all his intestines spilled out. ¹⁹This became known to all the residents of Jerusalem, and so in their own language that field was called Akeldema, which means Field of Blood. ²⁰Indeed, it is written in the book of Psalms:

May his residence be deserted.

Let there be no one dwelling in it.

And,

let someone else take his position.

²¹“Therefore it is necessary that one of the men who accompanied us during the entire time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, ²²beginning from his baptism by John until the day Jesus was taken up from us, become a witness with us of his resurrection.”

²³They proposed two: Joseph called Barsabbas (who was also called Justus) and Matthias. ²⁴Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen ²⁵to take the place in this apostolic ministry from which Judas turned away to go to his own place.”

²⁶Then they assigned lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias. So he was counted with the eleven apostles.

¹²It happened in those days that Jesus went up on the mountain to pray, and he spent all night in prayer to God. ¹³When it was day, he summoned his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also called apostles: ¹⁴Simon, whom he also named Peter, and his brother Andrew; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; ¹⁵Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, also Simon, who was called the Zealot; ¹⁶Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.