Feast of Saints Philip and James, Apostles
Lectionary: 561
Lectionary: 561
I am reminding you,
brothers and sisters,
of the Gospel I preached to you,
which you indeed received and in which you also stand.
Through it you are also being saved,
if you hold fast to the word I preached to you,
unless you believed in vain.
For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received:
that Christ died for our sins
in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he was buried;
that he was raised on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.
After that, he appeared to more
than five hundred brothers and sisters at once,
most of whom are still living,
though some have fallen asleep.
After that he appeared to James,
then to all the Apostles.
Last of all, as to one born abnormally,
he appeared to me.
of the Gospel I preached to you,
which you indeed received and in which you also stand.
Through it you are also being saved,
if you hold fast to the word I preached to you,
unless you believed in vain.
For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received:
that Christ died for our sins
in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he was buried;
that he was raised on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.
After that, he appeared to more
than five hundred brothers and sisters at once,
most of whom are still living,
though some have fallen asleep.
After that he appeared to James,
then to all the Apostles.
Last of all, as to one born abnormally,
he appeared to me.
Responsorial Psalm PS 19:2-3, 4-5
R. (5) Their message goes out through all the
earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The heavens declare the glory of God;
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day pours out the word to day;
and night to night imparts knowledge.
R. Their message goes out through all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Not a word nor a discourse
whose voice is not heard;
Through all the earth their voice resounds,
and to the ends of the world, their message.
R. Their message goes out through all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The heavens declare the glory of God;
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day pours out the word to day;
and night to night imparts knowledge.
R. Their message goes out through all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Not a word nor a discourse
whose voice is not heard;
Through all the earth their voice resounds,
and to the ends of the world, their message.
R. Their message goes out through all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Gospel JN 14:6-14
Jesus said to
Thomas, “I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you know me, then you will also know my Father.
From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
Philip said to him,
“Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time
and you still do not know me, Philip?
Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own.
The Father who dwells in me is doing his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me,
or else, believe because of the works themselves.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes in me will do the works that I do,
and will do greater ones than these,
because I am going to the Father.
And whatever you ask in my name, I will do,
so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.”
No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you know me, then you will also know my Father.
From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
Philip said to him,
“Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time
and you still do not know me, Philip?
Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own.
The Father who dwells in me is doing his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me,
or else, believe because of the works themselves.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes in me will do the works that I do,
and will do greater ones than these,
because I am going to the Father.
And whatever you ask in my name, I will do,
so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.”
Meditation: "Lord, show us the Father"
What's the greatest thing we can aim for in this life? - To know
God. What is the best thing we can possess in this life, bringing more joy,
contentment, and happiness, than anything else? - Knowledge of God.Thus says
the Lord: "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty
glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who
glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me" (Jeremiah
9:23-24). One of the greatest truths of the Christian faith is that we can know
the living God. Our knowledge of God is not simply limited to knowing something
about God, but we can know God personally. The essence of Christianity, and
what makes it distinct from Judaism and other religions, is the personal
knowledge of God as our Father.
Jesus makes it possible for each of us to personally know God as
our Father. To see Jesus is to see what God is like. In Jesus we see the
perfect love of God - a God who cares intensely and who yearns over men and
women, loving them to the point of laying down his life for them upon the
Cross. Jesus is the revelation of God - a God who loves us unconditionally -
without reservation, unselfishly - for our sake and not his, and perfectly -
without neglecting or forgetting us even for a brief moment. Jesus promises
that God the Father will hear our prayers when we pray in his name. That is why
Jesus taught his followers to pray with confidence, Our Father who art
in heaven ..give us this day our daily bread (Matthew 6:9,11; Luke
11:2-3). Do you pray to your Father in heaven with joy and
confidence in his love and care for you?
"Lord Jesus, you fill us with the joy of your saving
presence and you give us the hope of everlasting life with God our Father in
Heaven. Show me the Father that I may know and glorify him always."
 Seeing God Face to Face |
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Feast of Saint Philip and Saint James,
Apostles
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Father John Bullock, LC
John 14: 6-14
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the
life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will
know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him."
Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied."
Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you
still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you
say, ´Show us the Father´? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the
Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but
the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the
Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of
the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will
also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these,
because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so
that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for
anything, I will do it.
Introductory Prayer: Christ,
I thank you for the gift of faith. You know that I believe, but I want my
faith to grow. In knowing you I find meaning, rest and strength. I need you,
Lord. I trust in your loving mercy. You know what I need the most today. All
I ask is that you remain at my side throughout this day. That is enough for
me. I want to spend this day making you happy, pleasing you with my every
thought, word and action.
Petition: Christ,
help me to know you and love you more each day.
1. I Am the Way, the Truth and the
Life: “I am the way, the truth and the life.” Christ is the answer
to our problems. Since he is fully God and fully man, his very reality unites
humanity to God in a way never before hoped. It is in following Christ that
we find our way. It is in believing in Christ that we discover truth. It is
in accepting Christ that we gain life. Christians don’t simply follow a set
of rules or believe in some doctrines, we follow a person: Christ. As
Archbishop Fulton Sheen wrote, Christ’s “doctrine was himself” (Life of
Christ, p. 153).
2. Show Us the Father: “Seeing
is believing”, the saying goes. Yet this seems to go contrary to the faith.
Didn’t Christ tell “doubting” Thomas, “Blessed are those who have not seen
and yet have come to believe” (John 20:29)? Here again, Christ seems to be
chiding Philip for wanting to see. However, Christ isn’t correcting Philip
for wanting to see; rather, he didn’t see in Christ what he was supposed to:
“Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” At the core of the doctrine of the
Incarnation is that now the “face” of God is made visible in the person of
Christ. Answering the man born blind whom he had just healed when asked who
the Son of Man is, Christ said, “You have seen him” (John 9:37). The Second Council
of Nicaea, in the year 787, reaffirmed against the iconoclasts the validity
of using sacred images, linking religious pictures and art to the Incarnation
(cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 476). Man has a need to see God, and
the Incarnation was God’s response.
3. Believe Because of the Works: Christ
helps Philip’s faith by pointing to the works he has done. The faith cannot
be proven in an empirical sense, but there can be many signs which assist our
reason in that act of faith. Christ’s miracles, his moral stature, his words
and ultimately his resurrection are strong arguments in favor of the faith.
Nevertheless we must still decide to believe. Once we decide, then even
greater works than Christ performed in his earthly life can be worked through
us. Don’t wait to understand everything to believe, rather believe and you
will begin to understand.
Conversation with Christ: Lord,
let me see your face in prayer, in the Eucharist and in my neighbor. Be my
way, my truth and my life. Be my model, my point of reference and my
strength. Without you I can do nothing; with you I can do all things.
Resolution: I will
do a conscious act of charity for my neighbor, making an effort to see Christ
in others.
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FEAST OF PHILIP AND JAMES, APOSTLES,
SATURDAY, MAY 3, JOHN 14:6-14
(1 Corinthians 15:1-8; Psalm 19)
(1 Corinthians 15:1-8; Psalm 19)
KEY VERSE: "The one who believes in me will also do the works that I do" (v 12).
READING: Jesus told his disciples that he was the "way" to God's "truth and life" (v 6). When Philip asked for some manifestation of the Father, Jesus told him that if he really understood who he was, he would "see" the Father. Jesus was the flesh and blood revelation of God. His words and works were not his alone; they came from his unity with the Father. If Jesus' disciples could not believe what he told them, than at least they should believe in the deeds that he did. He promised that those who had faith in him would be empowered by the Spirit to do even greater works than he had done. When Jesus returned to the Father, he would continually intercede on their behalf (Ro 8:34; Hb 4:14 - 5:10).
REFLECTING: Do I hand on the faith that I have received, just as the apostles did in their time?
PRAYING: St. Philip and St. James, pray that the Church will have the grace to accomplish Christ's works on earth as you did.
MINUTE MEDITATIONS
My God and My All
We are called to deny ourselves, to take up whatever cross there
is in our lives, whatever kind of pain comes into our lives, and really begin
to follow in Christ’s footsteps.
Their message goes out through all the earth
‘Lord, show us the Father.’It is easy to sympathise with Philip’s question. The mystery of the Incarnation confronts us with a face of God that is contrary to many popular images. There are no bright lights and heavenly choirs. Instead we see a man like us. Jesus reveals to us the desire of the Father to relate to our human predicament. In doing so, he touches those areas of our lives that we prefer to keep hidden. The aim is not to judge but to draw us into the intimacy of the Trinity. The repeated language of indwelling that John employs is an attempt to convey the depth of this intimacy that the Father and Son both share and offer to share with us.
May
3
Sts. Philip and James
Sts. Philip and James
James, Son of Alphaeus: We know nothing of
this man except his name, and of course the fact that Jesus chose him to be one
of the 12 pillars of the New Israel, his Church. He is not the James of Acts,
son of Clopas, “brother” of Jesus and later bishop of Jerusalem and the traditional
author of the Letter of James. James, son of Alphaeus, is also known as James
the Lesser to avoid confusing him with James the son of Zebedee, also an
apostle and known as James the Greater.
Philip: Philip
came from the same town as Peter and Andrew, Bethsaida in Galilee. Jesus called
him directly, whereupon he sought out Nathanael and told him of the “one about
whom Moses wrote” (John 1:45).
Like the
other apostles, Philip took a long time coming to realize who Jesus was. On one
occasion, when Jesus saw the great multitude following him and wanted to give
them food, he asked Philip where they should buy bread for the people to eat.
St. John comments, “[Jesus] said this to test him, because he himself knew what
he was going to do” (John 6:6). Philip answered, “Two hundred days’ wages worth
of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little [bit]” (John
6:7).
John’s
story is not a put-down of Philip. It was simply necessary for these men who
were to be the foundation stones of the Church to see the clear distinction
between humanity’s total helplessness apart from God and the human ability to
be a bearer of divine power by God’s gift.
On
another occasion, we can almost hear the exasperation in Jesus’ voice. After
Thomas had complained that they did not know where Jesus was going, Jesus said,
“I am the way...If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on
you do know him and have seen him” (John 14:6a, 7). Then Philip said, “Master,
show us the Father, and that will be enough for us” (John 14:8). Enough! Jesus
answered, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know
me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9a).
Possibly
because Philip bore a Greek name or because he was thought to be close to Jesus,
some Gentile proselytes came to him and asked him to introduce them to Jesus.
Philip went to Andrew, and Andrew went to Jesus. Jesus’ reply in John’s Gospel
is indirect; Jesus says that now his “hour” has come, that in a short time he
will give his life for Jew and Gentile alike.
Comment:
As in the case of the other apostles, we see in James and Philip human men who became foundation stones of the Church, and we are reminded again that holiness and its consequent apostolate are entirely the gift of God, not a matter of human achieving. All power is God’s power, even the power of human freedom to accept his gifts. “You will be clothed with power from on high,” Jesus told Philip and the others. Their first commission had been to expel unclean spirits, heal diseases, announce the kingdom. They learned, gradually, that these externals were sacraments of an even greater miracle inside their persons—the divine power to love like God.
As in the case of the other apostles, we see in James and Philip human men who became foundation stones of the Church, and we are reminded again that holiness and its consequent apostolate are entirely the gift of God, not a matter of human achieving. All power is God’s power, even the power of human freedom to accept his gifts. “You will be clothed with power from on high,” Jesus told Philip and the others. Their first commission had been to expel unclean spirits, heal diseases, announce the kingdom. They learned, gradually, that these externals were sacraments of an even greater miracle inside their persons—the divine power to love like God.
Quote:
“He sent them...so that as sharers in his power they might make all peoples his disciples, sanctifying and governing them.... They were fully confirmed in this mission on the day of Pentecost (cf. Acts 2:1–26) in accordance with the Lord’s promise: ‘You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be witnesses for me...even to the very ends of the earth’ (Acts 1:8). By everywhere preaching the gospel (cf. Mark 16:20), which was accepted by their hearers under the influence of the Holy Spirit, the apostles gathered together the universal Church, which the Lord established on the apostles and built upon blessed Peter, their chief, Christ Jesus himself remaining the supreme cornerstone...” (Vatican II, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, 19).
“He sent them...so that as sharers in his power they might make all peoples his disciples, sanctifying and governing them.... They were fully confirmed in this mission on the day of Pentecost (cf. Acts 2:1–26) in accordance with the Lord’s promise: ‘You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be witnesses for me...even to the very ends of the earth’ (Acts 1:8). By everywhere preaching the gospel (cf. Mark 16:20), which was accepted by their hearers under the influence of the Holy Spirit, the apostles gathered together the universal Church, which the Lord established on the apostles and built upon blessed Peter, their chief, Christ Jesus himself remaining the supreme cornerstone...” (Vatican II, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, 19).
Patron Saint of:
Uruguay
Uruguay
LECTIO DIVINA:
STS. PHILIP AND JAMES, APOSTLES
Lectio:
Saturday, May 3, 2014
1)
OPENING PRAYER
Lord our God,
we praise and thank you on the feast
of your apostles Philip and James.
Through them many have come to know
that Jesus is alive and risen.
May we too be good witnesses
to the risen Jesus
by the way we live his risen life,
even though we are flawed and weak,
that people may find through us
the way to the Father of Jesus our Lord.
we praise and thank you on the feast
of your apostles Philip and James.
Through them many have come to know
that Jesus is alive and risen.
May we too be good witnesses
to the risen Jesus
by the way we live his risen life,
even though we are flawed and weak,
that people may find through us
the way to the Father of Jesus our Lord.
2)
GOSPEL READING - JOHN 14,6-14
Jesus said: I am the Way; I am Truth and Life. No one can come
to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father too.
From this moment you know him and have seen him.
Philip said, 'Lord, show us the Father and then we shall be
satisfied.' Jesus said to him, 'Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and
you still do not know me? 'Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father, so how
can you say, "Show us the Father"? Do you not believe that I am in
the Father and the Father is in me?
What I say to you I do not speak of my own accord: it is the
Father, living in me, who is doing his works. You must believe me when I say
that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe it on the
evidence of these works. In all truth I tell you, whoever believes in me will
perform the same works as I do myself, and will perform even greater works,
because I am going to the Father.
Whatever you ask in my name I will do, so that the Father may be
glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
3)
REFLECTION
• Today’s Gospel, the Feast of the Apostles Philip and James, is
the same one as we meditated on during the 4th week of Easter,
and narrates the request of the Apostle Philip to Jesus: “Show us the Father,
and that is enough for us”.
• John 14, 6: I am the way, I am Truth and Life: Thomas
had addressed a question to Jesus: “Lord, we do not know where you are going.
How can we know the way?” (Jn 14, 5). Jesus answers: “I am the way, I am
Truth and Life. No one can come to the Father except through me”. Three
important words. Without the way, we cannot walk. Without the truth one cannot
make a good choice. Without life, there is only death! Jesus explains the
sense. He is the way, because no one “comes to the Father except through me”.
And he is the gate through which the sheep go in and out (Jn 10, 9). Jesus is
the Truth because looking at him, we are seeing the image of the Father. “If
you know me, you will know my Father too!” Jesus is Life, because walking like
Jesus we will be united to the Father and will have life in us!
• John 14, 7: To know Jesus is to know the Father. Thomas
had asked: “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”
Jesus answers: “I am the way, I am Truth and Life! No one comes to the
Father except through me”. And he adds: “If you know me, you
will know my Father too. From this moment you have known him and have seen
him”. This is the first phrase of today’s Gospel. Jesus always speaks
about the Father, because it was the life of the Father that appeared in
everything that he said and did. This continuous reference to the Father causes
Philip to ask the question.
• John 14, 8-11: Philip asks: “Show us the
Father and then we will be satisfied!” It was the desire of the disciples,
the desire of many persons of the communities of the Beloved Disciple and it is
the desire of many people today. What do people do to see the Father of whom
Jesus speaks so much? Jesus’ answer is very beautiful and it is valid even
today: “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do
not know me? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!”People should not
think that God is far away from us, at a distance and unknown. Anyone who wants
to know how and who is God the Father, it suffices for him to look at Jesus. He
has revealed him in the words and gestures of his life! “The Father is in me
and I am in the Father!” Through his obedience, Jesus has totally identified
himself with the Father. At every moment he did what the Father told him to do
(Jn 5, 30; 8, 28-29.38). This is why in Jesus, everything is the revelation of
the Father! And the signs or works are the works of the Father! As people say:
“The son is the face of the father!” This is why in Jesus and for Jesus, God is
in our midst.
• John 14, 12-14: The Promise of Jesus. Jesus
makes a promise to say that his intimacy with the Father is not a privilege
only for him, but it is possible for all those who believe in him. We also,
through Jesus, can be able to do beautiful things for others as Jesus did for
the people of his time. He intercedes for us. Everything that people ask from
him, he asks the Father and obtains it, always if it is to serve. Jesus is our
defender. He leaves but he does not leave us without defence. He promises that
he will ask the Father and the Father will send another defender and consoler,
the Holy Spirit. Jesus even said that it is necessary that he leaves, because
otherwise the Holy Spirit will not come (Jn 16, 7). And the Holy Spirit will
fulfil the things of Jesus in us, if we act in the name of Jesus and observe
the great commandment of the practice of love.
4)
FOR PERSONAL CONFRONTATION
• Jesus is the way, the Truth and the Life. Without the way,
without Truth and without life we cannot live. Try to make this enter your
conscience.
• Two important questions: who is Jesus for me? Who am I for
Jesus?
5)
CONCLUDING PRAYER
The heavens declare the glory of God,
the vault of heaven proclaims his handiwork,
day discourses of it to day,
night to night hands on the knowledge. (Ps 19,1-2)
the vault of heaven proclaims his handiwork,
day discourses of it to day,
night to night hands on the knowledge. (Ps 19,1-2)
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