St Matthias, Apostle
"Jn 15:9-17"
"Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends...No longer do I call you servants...but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide."
Matthias was chosen to replace Judas. For a while, Judas was Jesus' friend, but eventually he betrayed Our Lord. "A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter," says Sacred Scripture, "he that has found one has found a treasure" (Sirach 6:14). We need friends and so does God; loyal friends, strong friends, who are ready to do anything for their friends; just as Jesus did: "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends". He then concluded, "You are my friends." Judas didn't accept the 'friend request'. Matthias did.
A little girl named Liza was suffering from a rare disease. Her only chance of recovery was a blood transfusion from her five-year-old brother, who had the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to the little boy, and asked him if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. They saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes, I'll do it if it will save Liza." As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled seeing the colour returning to her cheeks. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "When will I start to die?" Being so young, the boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to give her all his blood. And he was ready to do it because he loved!
"You are my friend," Jesus says. And He could add 'I have poured out all my Blood for you. And now, what kind of friend of mine are you?' Maybe I am not as good a friend as I should be. Am I there when You need me, Lord, at Mass, in my prayer...? Maybe, sometimes, I'm not the most faithful friend, certainly not the most grateful... Mary, my Mother, help me to be a true friend of your Son, through thick and thin, even ready to die for Him if necessary, just as He did for me.
