NUNTIATORIA

He Remained: Saint Matthias and the Sin of Delay

MASS Mihi autem nimis
LESSON Acts of the Apostles 1. 15-26
GOSPEL St Matthew 11: 25-30
HOMILIST Mt Revd Jerome Lloyd OSJV

Beloved in Christ,

Beloved in Christ,

The Church today sings of princes — but she means penitents.

“Mihi autem nimis honorati sunt amici tui, Deus; nimis confortatus est principatus eorum.”

“To me Thy friends, O God, are made exceedingly honourable; their principality is exceedingly strengthened.”

The Apostle is called a prince because he is first called a friend. Authority in the Church does not begin in power; it begins in intimacy with Christ. Saint Matthias stands before us not as an ecclesiastical functionary, but as a man who remained.

And that is the thesis of this feast: he remained.

After the Ascension, the Upper Room is wounded. The apostolic college is incomplete. Judas has fallen — not merely as a sinner, but as an office-holder. Saint Peter rises and speaks with sober clarity: “His episcopate let another take.” The office abides though the man has perished. Divine constitution does not collapse because of human treachery.

The Church is not an emotional fellowship; she is a structured, visible communion built upon twelve foundations. The number must be whole.

Two are proposed: Joseph called Barsabas, and Matthias. Both had walked with Christ from the baptism of John. Both had seen the Resurrection. Both had endured obscurity. The decisive criterion is not brilliance, not charisma, not self-assertion — but perseverance.

They pray: “Thou, Lord, who knowest the hearts of all men, show which of these Thou hast chosen.”

And the lot falls upon Matthias.

He did not seek the office. He did not construct a vocation. He did not assert an identity. He remained faithful when fidelity seemed unnoticed. And when betrayal hollowed out the apostolic circle, it was the quiet disciple who was elevated.

Judas grasped. Matthias endured.

Judas calculated. Matthias remained.

Judas delayed repentance. Matthias persevered in friendship.

Lent sharpens this contrast.

For the feria we commemorate presses upon us the prophet’s cry: “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found.” Not when convenient. Not when enthusiasm returns. Now.

The spiritual life is rarely undone by dramatic denial. It is undone by postponement. By interior negotiation. By the whisper: “Later.”

Judas did not wake one morning and leap into betrayal. He tolerated small corruptions. He excused minor disobediences. He delayed interior conversion. And delay calcified into treachery.

The demons do not require you to renounce Christ openly. They require only that you postpone Him.

Matthias stands as the refutation of postponement. He did not burn brightly and then fade. He endured. And endurance is what God crowns.

The Tract declares: “Thou hast set upon his head a crown of precious stones.” A crown is not placed upon talent. It is placed upon fidelity tested by time.

And the Communion promises: “You who have followed Me shall sit upon seats judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” The Apostle is not merely comforted; he is constituted as judge. Apostolic dignity is fearful. To be chosen is to be accountable.

Saint Matthias will judge the tribes of Israel. Judas will be judged.

That is not sentiment. That is Scripture.

Now consider the Roman station at the Basilica of Saint Anastasia. Her very name means Resurrection. A Roman noblewoman, compelled into marriage with a pagan, she remained faithful in secret. She sustained imprisoned Christians. She endured torture under Diocletian. The flames did not consume her; she was finally martyred by drowning.

She remained.

The catechumens of Rome gathered at her basilica in Lent to fortify their resolve. They were preparing for baptism. They were preparing for spiritual combat. And the Church placed before them not comfort, but endurance.

Matthias remained in obscurity. Anastasia remained under persecution. Both were elevated — not because they asserted themselves, but because they surrendered themselves.

And then the Proper Last Gospel of the feria confronts us with Christ entering Jerusalem and cleansing the Temple. He overturns tables. He scatters coins. He drives out merchants.

The Temple must be pure.

And so must the temple of the soul.

Many fast from meat. Few fast from pride.

Many abstain from sweetness. Few abstain from resentment.

Many add devotions. Few surrender self-will.

If Christ entered the sanctuary of your heart this morning —

what tables would fall?

what attachments would scatter?

what merchants would resist eviction?

Lent is not theatrical deprivation. It is interior cleansing.

The prophet declares that the rain descends from heaven to soften the earth. Lent is that rain. But if the soil remains hardened by self-justification, it bears nothing. Rain on stone yields no harvest.

“Behold, now is the acceptable time.”

Not tomorrow.

Not after the world has been sampled.

Not when comfort has been secured.

Now.

How many vocations have been lost because someone advised delay?

How many confessions postponed until the heart grew dull?

How many conversions imagined for some later season that never came?

Matthias did not wait for a more convenient moment to be faithful. He remained faithful in every moment. And when the hour of election arrived, he was ready.

The Preface of the Apostles declares that Christ governs His flock through those whom He has set as pastors. Apostolic authority is not self-generated; it is bestowed. And it rests upon men who have first submitted themselves to be governed by Christ.

That is the final lesson.

Before one can be a prince in the Church, one must be a penitent before the altar.

Before one can judge the tribes, one must judge oneself.

Before one can govern souls, one must surrender one’s own.

Judas walked with Christ and postponed conversion.

Matthias walked with Christ and persevered.

One grasped and fell.

One endured and was crowned.

Let this Lent not pass as gesture without transformation.

Let it be the season in which Christ overturns what must fall.

Let it be the season in which we remain.

Remain in prayer.

Remain in repentance.

Remain in fidelity when fervour fades.

Then when Easter dawns, we shall not merely celebrate Resurrection —

we shall participate in it.

Saint Matthias, Apostle and martyr, pray for us.

Saint Anastasia, virgin and witness, strengthen us.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

---

Homilies Archive

Mass Propers

DAILY MASS ONLINE

One of the earliest online apostolates dedicated to the Traditional Latin Mass, Old Roman TV began broadcasting the Holy Sacrifice on the Feast of the Assumption, 15 August 2008. During the COVID-19 pandemic, additional programming — devotions, catechesis, and conferences — was added to support the faithful in prayer and formation.

Support the daily Holy Mass on Old Roman TV by offering a Mass intention — for loved ones, thanksgiving, or the repose of souls. Your intention helps sustain the sacred liturgy and brings grace to those you remember before God’s altar.

Devotional Articles