Feast of Saint Bartholomew, Apostle
Reading 1
The angel spoke to me, saying,
« Come here.
I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb. »
He took me in spirit to a great, high mountain
and showed me the holy city Jerusalem
coming down out of heaven from God.
It gleamed with the splendor of God.
Its radiance was like that of a precious stone,
like jasper, clear as crystal.
It had a massive, high wall,
with twelve gates where twelve angels were stationed
and on which names were inscribed,
the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.
There were three gates facing east,
three north, three south, and three west.
The wall of the city had twelve courses of stones as its foundation,
on which were inscribed the twelve names
of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (12) Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom
and speak of your might.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Making known to men your might
and the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
The LORD is just in all his ways
and holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Rabbi, you are the Son of God;
you are the King of Israel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Philip found Nathanael and told him,
« We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law,
and also the prophets, Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth. »
But Nathanael said to him,
« Can anything good come from Nazareth? »
Philip said to him, « Come and see. »
Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him,
« Here is a true child of Israel.
There is no duplicity in him. »
Nathanael said to him, « How do you know me? »
Jesus answered and said to him,
« Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree. »
Nathanael answered him,
« Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel. »
Jesus answered and said to him,
« Do you believe
because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree?
You will see greater things than this. »
And he said to him, « Amen, amen, I say to you,
you will see heaven opened and the angels of God
ascending and descending on the Son of Man. »
Meditation
Dearly beloved brothers and sisters, let us give thanks to our God for this new day He has given us to live. Today, as the Church celebrates the feast of Saint Bartholomew, she invites us to reflect on our faith. Is our faith stagnant? Is it regressing? Or is it growing and evolving?
To do this, we are invited to contemplate the faith of the Apostle Bartholomew, better known as Nathanael in the Gospel. What is striking about his journey of faith is how he moves from scepticism to faith in Jesus. The Gospel tells us that when Philip spoke to him about Jesus, he was sceptical. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” he asked. The idea that the Messiah could come from Nazareth seemed unlikely to him because of the expectations that the Jews, including Nathanael himself, had concerning the Messiah’s origins. They all thought that the Lord would surely come from a great royal family, and it was inconceivable to them that He could be the son of a carpenter.
Yet Jesus says of Nathanael that there is no deceit in him, that he is a true Israelite. This means that, despite his scepticism, Nathanael believed in God. But the God in whom he believed was the God he had come to know through the Scriptures. He had not yet personally experienced this God. He knew that there was a Creator, above all things, but he had not encountered Him personally. When he decided to follow Philip, he encountered Christ and had a personal experience of Him. He encountered a God who knew him by name and who knew aspects of his life that he thought only he knew. This encounter opened his heart to true faith.
Beloved, our life of faith must not be static or regressive. Every day, we must seek to encounter Christ personally in order to grow in our Christian life. We must avoid simply believing on the basis of what we read in books or hear through the testimonies of others. We must have our own personal experience of God. We must taste the goodness of the Lord, His mercy, and His power. It is through these experiences that true faith is born. If we remain superficial, without concrete experiences of God’s love, it will be difficult to stand firm at all times and in all circumstances.
Generally, when we find ourselves in distress and remember what the Lord has already done for us, we receive the strength to rise again and continue our journey. But if we have no personal experience with Him, how can we remain steadfast? You may certainly ask: Where can we encounter Him? Christ is present deep within our hearts. By remaining silent, we can encounter Him in our daily meditation, in His Word, and in each of our moments of prayer. He is also present in the tabernacles and in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar. If we regularly go to Eucharistic adoration and open our hearts to Him, we will surely encounter Him.
Let us pray: God our Father, grant us the grace to encounter Christ in each of our moments of prayer. Grant us also the grace to recognize His action in our lives, so that we may experience His goodness and His presence by our side and remain firm in our faith.
Intercession: Lord Jesus, we pray for those who still refuse to believe in You today. Reveal Yourself to them and grant them the grace to believe in You.
Mother Mary, pray for us.
Spiritual Exercise: Today, I will make a greater effort to remain silent during my moments of prayer so that I may encounter Christ, who is present in my heart. I also plan to go and adore Him in a chapel sometime this week.
Minette MIAFO
Community of the Disciples of the Living Christ
