First Reading: Acts 1:15-17,20-26;
Psalm 113
Gospel: John: 15:9-17

The number 12 seems to have been important to the apostles. Why? Eleven out of twelve remaining with Jesus seems to be a “success story”. Why couldn’t they just carry on the mission with this core of eleven? The importance of the number Twelve goes back to Jesus’ deliberate choice.
Here’s a plausible explanation. The Jews expected the Messianic age to be the restoration of the twelve tribes of Israel.  And Jesus was proclaiming the coming of the kingdom of God. So, to show that he was planting the seeds for the gathering of the tribes, he selected twelve males--  twelve, to remind people of the twelve tribes; and probably males, to remind people of the patriarchs. Choosing twelve was a prophetic symbol. Jesus was basically saying, “The Reign of God is at hand, and these twelve will be at the heart of the restored Israel that will help implement this new divine plan.
After the resurrection and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, the first Christian community emerges in response to Peter’s preaching. Acts of the Apostles emphasizes that the Jerusalem Christian community is drawn from that crowd of Jewish pilgrims gathered for the Jewish feast of Pentecost from every corner of the “diaspora”, from where they were dispersed.  (Acts 2:5-11). The resurrection of Jesus is at the center of that community — and the new Twelfth, Matthias, was a follower of Jesus from the beginning. (Acts 1:21-22). They need witnesses, not just good leaders.
Although the New Testament says nothing more about Matthias, we can imagine that, being a follower Jesus from the beginning, he had a good sense of discipleship and could identify with the words of Jesus in the Gospel today: “ It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that fruit that will remain… This I command you: love one another”.  Jesus is addressing not just the original Twelve but all  disciples, including you and me. The mission is simple: bear fruit: that means: Love one another and continue the mission - yes, even and especially, in the midst of our experience of the coronavirus pandemic.
Blessings.
Fr. Brian