INTRODUCTION
Today, the Feast of St. Bartholomew is my 80th birthday, so much to be thankful, so many blessings. I thought about writing about my story but that would be a book and not a blog so I decided to blog about the Feast Day I was born on, Saint Bartholomew, Martyr, and Apostle.
BACKGROUND
Saint Bartholomew lived in the first century AD. His name means “son of Tolomai” Bartholomew is mentioned in the synoptic gospels and Acts as one of the twelve apostles. He was sometimes called Nathanael which is a Hebrew name meaning “God has given” Philipp was the one who introduced Nathaniel to Jesus John 1:43-51.
Bartholomew was born in Cana in Galilee. In each of the listings of the disciples, the names of Philip and Bartholomew are linked, which could mean they were good friends or even related. St. Bartholomew preached in India and Greater Armenia. He was martyred in Armenia where he was flayed and beheaded.
In art Bartholomew is most commonly depicted with a beard and curly hair at the time of his martyrdom. According to legends he was skinned alive and beheaded so is often depicted holding his flayed skin or the curved flensing knife with which he was skinned.
JOHN 1:44-51
The next day Jesus went into Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow Me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter.
Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael said to Him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And He said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
Scriptural References
After Jesus called Philip to follow Him, Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph” John 1:45
The names of the twelve apostles* are these: first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus;….Matthew 10:2
After the Resurrection-Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. He revealed himself in this way. Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons,* and two others of his disciples. John 21:2
After the Ascension When they entered the city they went to the upper room where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. Acts 1:13
REFLECTION
Come and see! This was Phillip’s call to his friend Nathanael. We too should reach out to bring others to Jesus and Jesus will do the rest. Jesus points out to the others that Nathanael is without deceit. He is who he is. He worships the true and living God without the duplicity and hypocrisy of the religious leaders of his time.
Jesus saw Nathanael under a fig tree before he met him in person. What is that about? Jesus is God, omniscient. He knows Nathanael through and through. This is a righteous man, clearly a son of Abraham probably reading Scriptures under the fig tree.
“Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael/Bartholomew saw the attributes of divine omniscience and calls out, ““Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.” I am struck that Nathanael is the first of the Apostles to call out Jesus’ Divinity!
EPILOGUE
A group of us have been meeting every Saturday for several years to share our faith and explore more deeply what it means to be a disciple of Christ. We call ourselves Pilgrims on the Way.
Here is a prayer we say: Dear Jesus, we are pilgrims on the way, you are the way, the truth, and Life. Help us to persevere on our journey home and bear witness to others so that all will be saved. In Jesus’ name we pray.
We pretty well have every generation covered. We are in our 30s, 50s, 70s, and 80s. I will share just a few of the topics we have covered lately that includes Church teaching, Modern Prophecy, Vatican II, and Scripture.
CHURCH TEACHING
BURIAL VS CREMATION
During the many long centuries when Christians buried their dead, most saw the world through a sacramental lens. They recognized that everything in creation was made by God, loved by God, and had something to tell us about God. They knew that what God made was holy!
Today we live in a world that primarily sees the body as one of two things: a burden or a barrier. People, today, see the body as a burden because it grows sick, it grows old, it dies. What did the body really matter, once it had outlived its usefulness?
The Church considers the burial of the dead one of the “corporal works of mercy,” and that burial both encourages prayers for the dead and is a perpetual reminder of the communion of the saints. Cremation is permitted by the Church but burial is the preferred way for Christians to care for their bodies after death,
Cremation may falsely teach people lessons about the body that are directly contrary to what the Church actually believes. Cremation may teach that the body is disposable– not an integral part of the human person; that the body has no value once the soul is gone; that body has run its course, and there will be nothing more No resurrection. No transformation. No glorification.
A REMARKABLE PROPHECY THAT RINGS TRUE TODAY
FRANCISCAN FATHER MICHAEL SCANLAN’S 1976 PROPHECY
Son of man, do you see that city going bankrupt? Are you willing to see all your cities going bankrupt? Are you willing to see the bankruptcy of the whole economic system you rely on now…?
Son of man, do you see the crime and lawlessness in your city streets, and towns, and institutions? Are you willing to see no law, no order, no protection for you except that which I myself will give you?
The Lord God says, “Hear My Word: What I have not accomplished by blessings and gifts, I will accomplish by judgment and purification. My people, My Church is desperately in need of this judgment. They have continued in an adulterous relationship with the spirit of the world.
They are not only infected with sin, but they teach sin, embrace sin, dismiss sin….Satan goes where he will and infects whom he will. He has free access throughout my people—and I will not stand for this….
So this time is now come upon all of you: a time of judgment and of purification. What has not been accomplished in the baptism and the flooding of gifts of my Spirit will be accomplished in a baptism of fire. The fire will move among you and it will burn out what is chaff….
SOUND FAMILIAR….GOD HAS TRIED TO GET OUR ATTENTION IN POSITIVE WAYS NOW MAYBE MOTHER NATURE WILL GET OUR ATTENTION BUT MAYBE NOT……
VATICAN II
DID VATICAN II FORBID LATIN, GREGORIAN CHANT, PIPE ORGANS, AND AD ORIENTEM WORSHIP IN THE MASS?
No, the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, did not forbid any of these things. .On the contrary, it preserved Latin as the official language of the Latin rite.
The Church acknowledges Gregorian chant as specially suited to the Roman liturgy: therefore, other things being equal, it should be given pride of place in liturgical services.
In the Latin Church the pipe organ is to be held in high esteem, it is the traditional musical instrument which adds a wonderful splendor and powerfully lifts up man’s mind to God and to higher things.
It said nothing about liturgical orientation—that is, whether the priest celebrates the Mass ad orientem (facing the altar) or versus populum (facing the people).
SACRAMENTAL ABUSES DURING THE PANDEMIC
A woman takes pre-packaged Holy Communion out of Pax Christi parish
and consumes it in her car
INSTRUCTIONS AT PAX CHRISTI PARISH To minimize points of contact the ushers will dismiss you to receive Holy Communion at the rear of the worship space starting from the back of the church. In each section you will be directed to leave through the closest exit. The consecrated Communion hosts will be in individual packets on tables at the exit points. Take only one packet per person “
As you leave the worship space please do not linger around. Proceed directly to your vehicle and maintain a safe social distance of 6 to 10 feet keeping your mask on until you are in your car. Once you’re in your vehicle you may consume the host,”
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION
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FEAST OF THE TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR LORD St. Paul views the transfiguration of Moses’ face and the trans figuration of Christ’s face as a sign of the transformation God wants to bring about in all our lives. “And we all with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another…2 Corinthians 3:18 Through Christ’s transforming grace, we are called to live in a way that reflects the glory of God here on earth.
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