Acts 1:15-17, 20-26 / John 15:9-17
The feast of St. Matthias is placed in the period between the Ascension of the Lord and the feast of Pentecost.
The reason is that in the Acts of the Apostles, it was during this time that St.Matthias was chosen to replace Judas Iscariot.
It was St. Peter who spelt out the requisite - it must be someone who had been with them from the time Jesus was going around with them till He ascended into heaven.
But the most important criterion was that the candidate should also be a witness of the resurrection.
So St. Matthias was not just someone who was with the apostles during all this while; he was also a witness to the resurrection.
He was a witness to the love that God the Father had for Jesus in raising Him from the dead and glorifying Him in the Ascension.
And so after prayer and the drawing of lots, St Matthias was chosen.
But he was not chosen simply to replace Judas. St. Matthias was chosen to witness to the love that Jesus has for all of us.
Eventually St. Matthias would also have to witness to that love by laying down his own life in martyrdom.
In St. Matthias we can see that God will always call and choose persons to witness to His love for us.
Yet by virtue of our baptism we are also called and chosen. May we remain faithful to that call and pray that we also fulfill God's choice of us.