Saint of the Day for Thursday

 

St. Matthias

How does one qualify to be an apostle?

The first act of the apostles after the Ascension of Jesus was to find a replacement for Judas. With all the questions, doubts, and dangers facing them, they chose to focus their attention on finding a twelfth apostle. Why was this important? Twelve was a very important number to the Chosen People: twelve was the number of the twelve tribes of Israel. If the new Israel was to come from the disciples of Jesus, a twelfth apostle was needed.

But Jesus had chosen the original twelve. How could they know whom he would choose?

One hundred and twenty people were gathered for prayer and reflection in the upper room, when Peter stood up to propose the way to make the choice.

Peter had one criterion, that, like Andrew, James, John, and himself, the new apostle be someone who had been a disciple from the very beginning, from his baptism by John until the Ascension. The reason for this was simple, the new apostle would must become a witness to Jesus' resurrection. He must have followed Jesus before anyone knew him, stayed with him when he made enemies, and believed in him when he spoke of the cross and of eating his body -- teachings that had made others melt away.

Two men fit this description -- Matthias and Joseph called Barsabbas. They knew that both these men had been with them and with Jesus through his whole ministry. But which one had the heart to become a witness to his resurrection. The apostles knew that only the Lord could know what was in the heart of each. They cast lots in order to discover God's will and Matthias was chosen. He was the twelfth apostle, and the group was whole again as they waited for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

That's the first we hear of Matthias in Scripture, and the last. Legends like the Acts of Andrew and Matthias testify to Matthias' enthusiastic embrace of all that being an apostle meant including evangelization, persecution, and death in the service of the Lord.

How does one qualify to be an apostle?

Clement of Alexandria says that Matthias, like all the other apostles, was not chosen by Jesus for what he already was, but for what Jesus foresaw he would become. He was elected not because he was worthy but because he would become worthy. Jesus chooses all of us in the same way. What does Jesus want you to become?

It's been 40 days since Easter, when do we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord? Depends on where you live!

 

Ascension Thursday or Ascension Sunday?

Find out when the Solemnity of the Ascension is observed in the different Dioceses of the United States.

Throughout the United States the Solemnity of the Ascension has different observances. Depending on what diocese your state is in, the celebration of the feast might actually fall on different days.

So what's the deal? How can a feast day fall on different days?

Traditionally the feast is celebrated exactly 40 days after Easter. That's the origin of "Ascension Thursday."

Following the liturgical reforms begun by the Second Vatican Council, it became possible for the different national conferences of Catholic bishops to transfer the feast. The "General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar" - issued in Rome on February 14, 1969 - states:

"In those places where the solemnities of Epiphany, Ascension, and Corpus Christi are not observed as holydays of obligation, they are assigned to a Sunday, which is then considered their proper day in calendar."

Holy Days of Obligation

In the United States the following six Holy Days of Obligation are observed throughout the country: 1) Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, 2) Ascension of the Lord, 3) Assumption of the Virgin Mary, 4) All Saints' Day, 5) Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, 6) Christmas.

You might be surprised to see Easter Sunday, Palm Sunday, and Ash Wednesday missing from the list. Since Easter and Palm Sunday both fall on Sunday, we're bound by the normal Sunday obligation to attend Mass on those days. The fact that so many people show up for Ash Wednesday without it being "required" is worth further reflection...but we digress.

Decision of the US bishops

In 1991, the US bishops decided to permit different Ecclesiastical Provinces to make the decision to transfer the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord to the Seventh Sunday of Easter or to observe the feast on the customary Thursday. (An Ecclesiastical Province is the grouping of dioceses which are set under an archdiocese; the bishops of these dioceses are "headed" by the archbishop, called a "metropolitan bishop").

In accord with the provisions of canon 1246, §2 of the Code of Canon Law, which states: "... the conference of bishops can abolish certain holy days of obligation or transfer them to a Sunday with prior approval of the Apostolic See," the National Conference of Catholic Bishops of the United States decrees that the Ecclesiastical Provinces of the United States may transfer the Solemnity of the Ascension of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ from Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter to the Seventh Sunday of Easter according to the following procedure.

Ascension on Thursday

Accordingly, these Ecclesiastical Provinces in the United States have chosen to continue to observe the Solemnity of the Ascension on Thursday: Boston, Hartford, New York, Omaha, and Philadelphia. The decision impacts 9 different U.S. states overall.

After several years of transferring the solemnity to Sunday, in March 2022, the bishops of the Ecclesiastical Provinces of New Jersey decided to transfer the solemnity permanently to Sunday in their respective dioceses.

Additionally the Anglican Ordinariate, the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter, observes the feast on Thursday, regardless of the geographic location of their parishes.

Cardinal Fernandez warns SSPX that they must not ordain Bishops this summer

 

Headquarters of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith 

Vatican

• Pope Leo XIV
• cardinals

Cardinal Fernández to Pius X Society: Ordaining new bishops is schismatic act

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, issues a new warning to the Society of St. Pius X against carrying out episcopal ordinations without a pontifical mandate, saying Pope Leo XIV continues to pray the Lefebvrians choose a different path.

Vatican News

The Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X (FSSPX), founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, has announced that it intends to carry out its plan to ordain new bishops without the pontifical mandate in July 2026, despite the Pope’s appeals.

On Wednesday, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued a statement to clarify several questions received, after bringing it to the attention of Pope Leo XIV.

The Pope wished to explicitly confirm his desire to continue praying that this new schismatic act may be avoided.

“I reiterate what has already been communicated,” stated Cardinal Fernández. “The episcopal ordinations announced by the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X do not have the corresponding pontifical mandate. This action will constitute ‘a schismatic act’ (Pope St. John Paul II, Ecclesia Dei, no. 3), and ‘formal adherence to the schism constitutes a grave offense against God and entails the excommunication established by the law of the Church’ (ibid., 5c; cf. Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, Explanatory Note, 24 August 1996).”

“The Holy Father,” concluded the Cardinal Prefect, “continues in his prayers to ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten the leaders of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X, so that they may retrace their steps regarding the extremely grave decision they have taken.”

Pope Leo at the Wednesday General Audience 05.13.2026

 

Pope

• catechesis
• virgin mary
• Second Vatican Council
• church

Pope: Virgin Mary is perfect model of what the Church is called to be

During his weekly General Audience, and on the feast day of Our Lady of Fatima, Pope Leo XIV emphasizes how the Blessed Virgin Mary is the perfect model, member and mother of the Church.

By Isabella H. de Carvalho

On the feast day of Our Lady of Fatima, May 13, Pope Leo XIV highlighted how the Blessed Virgin Mary is a model, member and mother of the ecclesial community and she teaches all the faithful to love and serve the Church.

“The mystery of the Church is also reflected in the Virgin Mary: in Her, the people of God find the representation of their origin, their model and their homeland,” he said in his catechesis during the Wednesday General Audience in St. Peter’s Square.

“In the Mother of the Lord, the Church contemplates her own mystery, not only because she finds in Her the model of virginal faith, maternal charity and the spousal covenant to which she is called, but also and above all because in Her she recognizes her own archetype, the ideal figure of what she is called to be.”

Pope Leo XIV continued his catechesis series on the Documents of the Second Vatican Council, reflecting again on the 1964 Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen gentium, whose last chapter focuses on the Virgin Mary.

Do I ask Mary for help?

In emphasizing how Our Lady can be a model for the Church, the Pope called the faithful to “ask Her to help us, through Her intercession, to respond to what is asked of us through Her example.”

In this regard he asked a series of questions to help us reflect:

“Do I live my participation of the Church with humble and active faith? Do I recognize in her the community of the covenant that God has given me to respond to His infinite love? Do I feel that I am a living part of the Church, in obedience to the pastors given by God? Do I look to Mary as a model, an outstanding member and Mother of the Church, and ask Her to help me be a faithful disciple of her Son?”

Pope Leo during the General Audience (@Vatican Media)

Model, member and mother of the Church

Citing Lumen gentium, the Pope pointed out how it invites us to recognize in Mary “the model and the pre-eminent member and mother of the entire ecclesial community.”

Shaped by God’s grace and by welcoming Jesus through her faith and “virginal love,” Mary is the “perfect model of what the Church is called to be: a creature of the Word of the Lord and mother of the children of God, begotten in docility to the action of the Holy Spirit,” the Pope explained.

He also emphasized how she is “an excellent member of the ecclesial community” as she is the “believer par excellence” and was unconditionally open to the divine mystery.

Then the Pope highlighted that she is “the mother of the whole Church” as she “ brings forth children” in Christ and all the faithful can “turn to her with filial confidence, in the certainty of being heard, protected and loved.”

A woman icon of the Mystery

The Pope then explained how these three characteristics can be summarized by defining the Virgin Mary as “a woman who is the icon of the Mystery.”  

He underlined how the word “woman highlights the historical reality of this young daughter of Israel,” to whom it was granted to become the mother of Jesus.

Then the word icon shows how “in Her, both God’s gratuitous election and Her free consent of faith in Him shine forth.”

“Mary is therefore the woman who is the icon of the Mystery, that is, of the divine plan of salvation, once hidden and now revealed in its fullness in Jesus Christ,” he said.

May the love for the Church grow in all of us

The Pope also noted that the “Council has left us clear teaching on the unique place reserved to the Virgin Mary in the work of Redemption.”

The “sole mediator of salvation is Jesus Christ” and his mother “fosters the immediate union of the faithful” with Him, Pope Leo explained, citing Lumen gentium.

Lastly the Pope invoked the Holy Spirit so that it may grant to all the grace to live fully in the Church.

“Having reflected deeply on the Constitution Lumen gentium, let us ask the Virgin to obtain this gift for us: that love for the Holy Mother Church may grow in all of us,” he concluded.