Today we celebrate the feast of St Matthias the apostle who was chosen to take the place of Judas. Our Lord is reminding us that it is not we who chose him, but he that has chosen us. He called us to be his chosen even before we were formed in our mother’s womb (Jeremiah 1:5). The reason behind it is to connect us to the Father in heaven and give us the power to bear fruits that last forever. To do this we have to remain in his love and love one another as he loves us. It is only then that we find the true joy of living. Without love we are empty vessels. Jesus says that he does not call us slaves, but friends. What a privilege to have God as our friend. However, in our broken nature we often live as slaves. We obey his commandments out of fear or obligation, instead of seeing his beautiful plan for our lives. Let us take some time to reflect on our relation- ship with Jesus. Could we be more honest in our prayer times? Could we trust in his goodness? Let us hold onto him in faith, for he cares for us.

PRAYER: Abba Father, thank you for the invitation given to us through Jesus. Help us to love others as you love us. Amen.