Two women, each, like Matthias, 'a witness to the resurrection'

‘One of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection’ (Acts 1:22). So we heard in today’s Mass for the feast of St Matthias, the one chosen to replace Judas.

The news the last couple of days has shown two women each of whom has been truly ‘a witness to the resurrection’. I had never heard the name of one of them until this morning or of the other until a couple of days ago.

I read this morning of the death of Irena Sendler, under the headline ‘Mother of Warsaw’s holocaust children dies’. You can read her inspiring story here. Irena died in Warsaw on Monday at the age of 98. During World War II the Nazis tortured her and sentenced her to death in her native Poland but she continued to save Jewish children from death.

I wrote about Margaret Mizen yesterday.

Both of these women are surely following in the footsteps of St Matthias, each a powerful 'witness to his resurrection'.

St Thomas More Comprehensive School, which he attended, has a tribute to Jimmy Mizen, Margaret's murdered son, on its website.