"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."[John 6:68]
Saint Bartholomew, apostle - Feast
Saints of the day:
St. Bartholomew, Apostle - Feast
Saint Bartholomew, apostle - Feast
The Book of Revelation 21:9 One of the seven angels having the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues approached me and said, “Come! I will show you the Bride, the Wife of the Lamb.” 10 He carried me off in the Spirit to the top of a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city, Yerushalayim, coming down out of heaven from God. 11 It had the Sh’khinah of God, so that its brilliance was like that of a priceless jewel, like a crystal-clear diamond. 12 It had a great, high wall with twelve gates; at the gates were twelve angels; and inscribed on the gates were the names of the twelve tribes of Isra’el. 13 There were three gates to the east, three gates to the north, three gates to the south and three gates to the west. 14 The wall of the city was built on twelve foundation-stones, and on these were the twelve names of the twelve emissaries of the Lamb.
Psalm 145:10 All your creatures will thank you, Adonai,
and your faithful servants will bless you.
11 They will speak of the glory of your kingship,
and they will tell about your might;
12 to let everyone know of your mighty acts
and the glorious majesty of your kingship.
13 Your kingship is an everlasting kingship,
your reign continues through all generations.
17 Adonai is righteous in all his ways,
full of grace in all he does.
18 Adonai is close to all who call on him,
to all who sincerely call on him.
The Holy Gosple of Yeshua the Messiah according to Saint John 1:45 Philip found Natan’el and told him, “We’ve found the one that Moshe wrote about in the Torah, also the Prophets — it’s Yeshua Ben-Yosef from Natzeret!” 46 Natan’el answered him, “Natzeret? Can anything good come from there?” “Come and see,” Philip said to him. 47 Yeshua saw Natan’el coming toward him and remarked about him, “Here’s a true son of Isra’el — nothing false in him!” 48 Natan’el said to him, “How do you know me?” Yeshua answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Natan’el said, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Isra’el!” 50 Yeshua answered him, “you believe all this just because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than that!” 51 Then he said to him, “Yes indeed! I tell you that you will see heaven opened and the angels of God going up and coming down[John 1:51 Genesis 28:12] on the Son of Man!”
Saint Bartholomew, apostle - Feast
Commentary of the day:
Benedict XVI, pope from 2005 to 2013
General Audience of 04/10/06 (© Libreria Editrice Vaticana)
Nathaniel-Bartholomew recognises the Messiah, the Son of God
The Evangelist John tells us that when Jesus sees Nathaniel approaching, he exclaims: "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile!" (Jn 1,47). This is praise reminiscent of the text of a Psalm: "Blessed is the man... in whose spirit there is no deceit" (Ps 32[31],2), but provokes the curiosity of Nathaniel who answers in amazement: "How do you know me?". Jesus' reply cannot immediately be understood. He says: "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you". We do not know what had happened under this fig tree. It is obvious that it had to do with a decisive moment in Nathaniel's life. His heart is moved by Jesus' words, he feels understood and he understands: "This man knows everything about me, he knows and is familiar with the road of life; I can truly trust this man". And so he answers with a clear and beautiful confession of faith: "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"
SAINT BARTHOLOMEW
Apostle
Feast
Apostle
Feast
St. Bartholomew was one of the twelve who were called to the apostolate by our blessed Lord Himself. Several learned interpreters of the Holy Scripture take this apostle to have been the same as Nathaniel, a native of Cana, in Galilee, a doctor in the Jewish law, and one of the seventy-two disciples of Christ, to whom he was conducted by St. Philip, and whose innocence and simplicity of heart deserved to be celebrated with the highest eulogium by the divine mouth of Our Redeemer.
He is mentioned among the disciples who were met together in prayer after Christ's ascension, and he received the Holy Ghost with the rest. Being eminently qualified by the divine grace to discharge the functions of an apostle, he carried the Gospel through the most barbarous countries of the East, penetrating into the remoter Indies. He then returned again into the northwest part of Asia, and met St. Philip, at Hierapolis, in Phrygia. Hence he travelled into Lycaonia, where he instructed the people in the Christian Faith; but we know not even the names of many of the countries in which he preached.
St. Bartholomew's last removal was into Great Armenia, where, preaching in a place obstinately addicted to the worship of idols, he was crowned with a glorious martyrdom. The modern Greek historians say that he was condemned by the governor of Albanopolis to be crucified. Others affirm that he was flayed alive, which might well enough consist with his crucifixion, this double punishment being in use not only in Egypt, but also among the Persians.
Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]Saint Bartholomew, apostle - Feast
The Book of Revelation 21:9 One of the seven angels having the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues approached me and said, “Come! I will show you the Bride, the Wife of the Lamb.” 10 He carried me off in the Spirit to the top of a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city, Yerushalayim, coming down out of heaven from God. 11 It had the Sh’khinah of God, so that its brilliance was like that of a priceless jewel, like a crystal-clear diamond. 12 It had a great, high wall with twelve gates; at the gates were twelve angels; and inscribed on the gates were the names of the twelve tribes of Isra’el. 13 There were three gates to the east, three gates to the north, three gates to the south and three gates to the west. 14 The wall of the city was built on twelve foundation-stones, and on these were the twelve names of the twelve emissaries of the Lamb.
Psalm 145:10 All your creatures will thank you, Adonai,
and your faithful servants will bless you.
11 They will speak of the glory of your kingship,
and they will tell about your might;
12 to let everyone know of your mighty acts
and the glorious majesty of your kingship.
13 Your kingship is an everlasting kingship,
your reign continues through all generations.
17 Adonai is righteous in all his ways,
full of grace in all he does.
18 Adonai is close to all who call on him,
to all who sincerely call on him.
The Holy Gosple of Yeshua the Messiah according to Saint John 1:45 Philip found Natan’el and told him, “We’ve found the one that Moshe wrote about in the Torah, also the Prophets — it’s Yeshua Ben-Yosef from Natzeret!” 46 Natan’el answered him, “Natzeret? Can anything good come from there?” “Come and see,” Philip said to him. 47 Yeshua saw Natan’el coming toward him and remarked about him, “Here’s a true son of Isra’el — nothing false in him!” 48 Natan’el said to him, “How do you know me?” Yeshua answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Natan’el said, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Isra’el!” 50 Yeshua answered him, “you believe all this just because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than that!” 51 Then he said to him, “Yes indeed! I tell you that you will see heaven opened and the angels of God going up and coming down[John 1:51 Genesis 28:12] on the Son of Man!”
Saint Bartholomew, apostle - Feast
Commentary of the day:
Benedict XVI, pope from 2005 to 2013
General Audience of 04/10/06 (© Libreria Editrice Vaticana)
In this confession is conveyed a first important step in the journey of attachment to Jesus. Nathaniel's words shed light on a twofold, complementary aspect of Jesus' identity: he is recognized both in his special relationship with God the Father, of whom he is the Only-begotten Son, and in his relationship with the People of Israel, of whom he is the declared King, precisely the description of the awaited Messiah. We must never lose sight of either of these two elements because if we only proclaim Jesus' heavenly dimension, we risk making him an ethereal and evanescent being; and if, on the contrary, we recognize only his concrete place in history, we end by neglecting the divine dimension that properly qualifies him.
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