Saint Matthias

Saint Matthias . He is considered the patron of Arcos de Canasí (Santa Cruz del Norte) . Many Canasians feel identified with him. His image is found in the town of Arcos de Canasí (Santa Cruz del Norte) ; in the province of Mayabeque , where every year, on February 24, he is honored.

Also known as Matthias the Apostle, he was one of the followers of Jesus of Nazareth. According to the Acts of the Apostles, he was elected an apostle after the death of Jesus Christ to replace Judas Iscariot. His choice was made by lottery.

Summary

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• 1 Name
• 2 Election as an Apostle
• 3 Matías activity
• 4 Death
• 5 Prayer
• 6 Arco de Canasí Catholic Church
• 7 Sources

Name

Disciple of Jesus who, due to the defection of Judas Iscariot, entered, at his death, to form part of the apostolic group. His name means gift from Yahweh, the same as that of Mattathias (1 Mach 2,1) and Matthew. All of them are derived from a Hebrew diction to which the apocopada form of Yahweh’s name is added, resulting in mattityanu (Matthias), which in turn is abbreviated in two ways: mattay (Matthew) and mattiyctn (Matías). The philological connection and the meaning of the last two names caused confusion among the various individuals of this name, it replaced Judas Iscariate

Matthias appears in the New Testament when he entered the group of the Twelve (Acts 1,21-26). According to the requirements demanded in this text, Matías must have been a disciple of the first hour and, in general terms, follow, in the company of the Twelve, the incidents of the life and ministry of Jesus, of whose facts and doctrines he had to give testimony; which gives certain credibility to the news of Eusebius (Hist. Eccl., 1,12.3: PG 20,117) about the possibility that Matthias was one of the “Seventy” (Lk 10,1). Perhaps he was a witness to the Resurrection of Jesus, and was able to witness some appearance of it.

Election as an Apostle

Matías was incorporated into the Apostolic College to occupy the place that the perfidious Judas had left empty.

After the apostasy of Judas, the Apostolic College was incomplete. According to the provisions of the divine Savior, it was necessary to reestablish the number of twelve and, therefore, that another apostle should enter to replace the renegade. For this reason, after Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven, Saint Peter, who was the prince of the Apostles and the visible head of the entire nascent Church, having about one hundred and twenty disciples and followers of the most sweet Master gathered in the Upper Room, manifested the thought to them that he had to choose from among all those who had been with the Savior the one who was to be Judas’s successor, proposing, in addition, two candidates, both of excellent gifts: José, called Barsabas and by nickname the Just, and Matías. Before the prestige of the two, to get rid of perplexity, without prejudice to the most worthy,

It was immediately decided that the election should be bypassed. And written the names of Matías and José in small cédulas, the lot fell to Matías, who, since then, was counted among the Apostles.

Thus, therefore, Saint Matthias was not praised by human influence or considerations, but by the express and clear will of God. The Lord wanted to show that this man was worthy, due to his qualities and virtues, to be elevated to one of the most eminent heights of his Church. Certainly. Matías had exceptional dispositions, brilliant gifts of virtue and wisdom, which were to shine greatly in the exercise of his apostolic ministry. He was highly learned in Sacred Scripture, easy to speak and eloquent, prudent and mature in his advice, resourceful and talented in solving the most arduous questions and in sustaining the most complicated controversies with Jews and Gentiles. And as for the sanctity of life, he was most pure of heart and most upright in intention, model of all Christian virtues.

Matías activity

Just as the brightness and beauty of an object stand out more if we contrast it with another dark and ugly object, in the same way we can best praise Saint Matthias by putting his virtues and merits in contrast to the malice of Judas, his renegade predecessor in the apostolate. Judas abandoned the school of the divine Master and sold it with the blackest hypocrisy. Saint Matthias entered the glorious school of Jesus Christ with great humility and enthusiasm, suffering in his defense a thousand reproaches and torments until his blood was shed and his life was sacrificed. The new disciple reverently accepted the heavenly graces and made himself worthy of them for his loyalty and earnest correspondence. Matías filled the post abandoned by Judas. Matías received the favors that Judas had desecrated, Matías died for Jesus Christ,

In the distribution of the countries that the Apostles made to undertake the preaching, it fell to Saint Matthias the Ethiopia and the Judea. It is true that all the Apostles preached for some time in Judea until they were dispersed everywhere, throughout the world; but San Matías remained there as in his battlefield, evangelizing those people so clinging to their prejudices and ancient traditions. This is why he was repeatedly persecuted by some influential and malicious Hebrews, who would have wanted to exterminate at one blow the seed of the new Church. But the Apostle defended the doctrine of the Cross with such vigor and preached it with such constancy and continuous sacrifice, that he achieved the conversion of a large part of that people.

If the apostolic tasks of Saint Matthias were great, and his tireless labors, and his ardently intrepid zeal and fervor, his longings to die for Jesus Christ were no less generous. All his life he had yearned for martyrdom.

Death

Despite having filled the whole of Judea with his wonders and favors, restoring health to innumerable sick people, sight to many blind, movement to many crippled, comfort to the afflicted and life to some dead, a great tumult arose. against the Apostle. The princes of the Pharisees conspired against him, as they had once conspired against Jesus Christ himself; The wicked wolves surrounded the innocent lamb, stained his honor by attributing false crimes to him, and raised their cry declaring him guilty of death. Without proof of any kind, the High Pontiff of the Jews, as Caiaphas in other times, pronounced the criminal sentence: Matthias had to be stoned as a troublemaker, and then ignominiously beheaded. Thus it was executed. And while the head of the heroic disciple of Christ fell to the blow of the safety,

It is said that the relics of Matías were, commissioned by Santa Elena, taken to Trier, the city of which he is Patron, and where his tomb is venerated in the abbey dedicated to the Saint. There are also relics in Rome (Santa María Mayor) and in Padua (Santa Justina), also in the Church of San Pedro in Lima, Peru . He is also the patron of butchers and architects. At one time it was popular in various parts of Germany .

His feast is celebrated in the Latin Church on May 14, in the Balearic Islands and Aragon on February 24; in the Greek, on August 9.

Sentence

O God, who have placed Saint Matthias in the number of your Apostles, do, through his intercession, that we ceaselessly experience the effects of your inexhaustible mercy.

Arco de Canasí Catholic Church

Bishop Juan José Díaz de Espada y Londa, in 1813 directed the construction of the church in the town of Arcos de Canasí. Its construction was made of wood and guano located in front of the square.

In 1853 the church was rebuilt as Bishop of Havana Don Francisco Fleix y Solanas, being declared a parish.

Being destroyed by different storms and repaired several times. In 1870 it was completely destroyed by the passage of a storm and its construction began that same year of masonry, inaugurating 2 years later in 1872.

The cyclone of 1926 caused enormous damage to the church, being repaired with the help of its faithful and parish priests, with the Cuban priest Don Severino Saiz y Bencomo as bishop.

The image of Saint Matthias the Apostle is venerated, carved in a jocuma from the mount of the white cyprus, its builder or architect was an Italian named Pedro Matias.

Its main altar is beautiful as well as the secondary ones, its carving very artistic (art connoisseurs have celebrated its carving).

It has a large audience and within it the different organizations: “The Infant Jesus of Prague”, “The Catholic Knights”, “Young Catholics” and a group of young catechists. In addition to its main hall, it has a sacristy, patio and dwelling house.

The feast of the patron saint takes place on February 24 .

Myth: In times of drought the image was taken out and before returning to their seat of honor the devotees came back drenched.