August 24, 2026
Feast of Saint Bartholomew, Apostle
Lectionary: 629
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."
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/feast-saint-bartholomew-apostle
Commentary on
Revelation 21:9-14; John 1:45-51
The Gospel reading speaks of the calling of Nathanael. Just
before this, Jesus had invited Philip to be a disciple. Philip then went to
find Nathanael and told him:
We have found him about whom Moses in the Law and also
the Prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.
Philip says “we”, which may indicate the two other disciples
Jesus had called earlier, Andrew and an unnamed disciple. ‘We’ perhaps includes
Peter as well, who was brought to Jesus by Andrew, his brother.
Nathanael rather dismissively comments:
Can anything good come out of Nazareth?
He regarded it as a backwater, not likely to produce the
Messiah, the expected King of Israel. But when he meets Jesus, Jesus
immediately greets him with the words:
Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!
It is wonderful praise for anyone and it clearly takes
Nathanael aback. Startled, Nathanael replied:
Where did you get to know me?
Jesus replies:
I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.
The fig tree is a symbol of messianic peace, but it is not
clear how it applies to Nathanael. It is quite clear that Nathanael is
completely won over and, in confirmation of Philip’s words earlier, he
confesses:
Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of
Israel!
The title ‘Son of God’ is probably being used in a messianic
sense, but for the Evangelist, it is to be taken in the fullest sense.
Jesus then goes on to say that Nathanael, if he believes,
will see even greater things:
Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and
the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.
This, of course, is a reference to the dream that Jacob had
of angels going up and down on a ladder between heaven and earth.
Applied to Jesus, it will mean that Nathanael will see God
coming down to earth through the works of Jesus, and glory being given to God
through these works. The final glory will be when Jesus is lifted up on the
Cross and returns to be united with his Father.
Although the reading does not mention the name of
Bartholomew, its content can be applied to him and indeed to any of the
disciples. It is not possible to say whether Nathanael and Bartholomew were one
and the same person.
The First Reading is from the Book of Revelation
(Apocalypse). It is a description of the New Jerusalem, which is the Church
both now and in the future. It is called the Bride of Christ and gleams with
the splendour of God.
At the end of the reading we are told that the wall of the
city had 12 courses of stones for its foundation. On these stones were inscribed
the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb. Their teaching of all that they
heard from Jesus formed the foundation of the Christian community. Among them,
of course, was Bartholomew.
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Monday,
August 24, 2026
St. Bartholomew, Apostle
Opening Prayer
Father,
help us to seek the values that will bring us enduring joy in
this changing world.
In our desire for what you promise, make us one in mind and
heart.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen."
Gospel Reading - John 1: 45-51
The next day,
Philip found Nathanael and said to him, 'We have found him of whom Moses in the
Law and the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.' Nathanael said
to him, 'From Nazareth? Can anything good come from that place?' Philip
replied, 'Come and see.'
When Jesus saw
Nathanael coming he said of him, 'There, truly, is an Israelite in whom there
is no deception.' Nathanael asked, 'How do you know me?' Jesus replied, 'Before
Philip came to call you, I saw you under the fig tree.' Nathanael answered,
'Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the king of Israel.' Jesus replied,
'You believe that just because I said: I saw you under the fig tree. You are
going to see greater things than that.'
And then he added, 'In all truth I tell you, you will see
heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending over the Son of
man.'
Reflection
•
Jesus returned to Galilee. He met Philip and
called him telling him: “Follow me!” The purpose of the call is always the
same: “to follow Jesus”. The first Christians sought to preserve the names of
the first disciples, and of some they even kept their family names and the name
of their place of origin. Philip, Andrew and Peter were from Bethsaida (Jn 1:
44). Nathanael was from Cana. Today many forget the names of the persons who
were at the origin of their communities. To remember the names is a way of
preserving the identity.
•
Philip meets Nathanael and speaks to him about
Jesus: “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and the Prophets wrote,
Jesus, son of Joseph from Nazareth.” Jesus is the one to whom all the history
of the Old Testament refers.
•
Nathanael asks: “From Nazareth? Can anything
good come from that place?” Probably, even in his question there was some of
the rivalry which existed among the small villages of the same region: Cana and
Nazareth. Besides, according to the official teaching of the Scribes, the
Messiah would come from Bethlehem, in Judah. He could not come from Nazareth in
Galilee (Jn 7: 4142). Philip gives the same answer which Jesus had given to the
other two disciples: “Come and see for yourself!” It is not by imposing, but
rather by seeing that persons are convinced. Once again the same way: to meet,
to experience, to share, to witness, to lead toward Jesus!
•
Jesus sees Nathanael and says: “Truly, he is an
Israelite in whom there is no deception”. And affirms that he already knew him
when he was under the fig tree. How could Nathanael be an “authentic or true
Israelite” if he did not accept Jesus as the Messiah? Nathanael “was under the
fig tree”. The fig tree was the symbol of Israel (cf. Mi 4: 4; Zc 3:
10; 1 Kg 5: 5). An authentic Israelite is the one who knows how to
detach himself from his own ideas when he perceives that they are not in
agreement with God’s project. The Israelite who is not ready to bring about
this conversion is neither authentic nor honest. Nathanael is authentic. He was
waiting for the Messiah according to the official teaching of the time (Jn 7:
41-42, 52). This is why at the beginning, he did not accept a Messiah coming
from Nazareth. But the encounter with Jesus helped him to understand that God’s
project is not always as people imagine or desire that it be. He recognizes,
acknowledges his deception or mistake, he changes his idea, accepts God as
Messiah and confesses: “Rabi, you are the Son of God: you are the King of
Israel!” The confession of Nathanael is only at the beginning: The one who will
be faithful will see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending
over the Son of man. He will experience that Jesus is the new bond of union
between God and us, human beings. It is the dream of Jacob which has become a
reality (Gen 28: 10-22).
Personal Questions
•
Which is the title of Jesus that pleases you the
most? Why?
•
Have you had an intermediary between you and
Jesus?
Concluding Prayer
Upright in all that he does, Yahweh acts only in faithful
love. (Ps 145: 17) faithful love. (Ps 145: 17)
Bartholomew was one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus. The
name in Aramaic, bar-Tôlmay (תולמי-בר), means ‘son of
Tolmay’ (Ptolemy) or ‘son of the furrows’ (perhaps a ploughman). Hence
it has been suggested that it is the family name and not his given name. Talmai or Tolmay was
an ancient Hebrew name, borne, for example, by the King of Geshur whose
daughter was a wife of David (see 2 Sam 3:3). It shows that Bartholomew was of
Hebrew descent.
Apart from this, nothing is known of his origins. He is
listed among the Twelve Apostles in the Synoptic Gospels (Matt 10:3; Mark 3:18;
Luke 6:14) and appears as a witness of the Ascension in the Acts of the
Apostles (Acts 1:13).
It was not until about the 9th century AD that Bartholomew began
to be linked with Nathanael, a disciple of Jesus only mentioned in John’s
Gospel, and it was suggested that they were one and the same person. In the
Synoptic Gospels, Philip and Bartholomew are always mentioned together, while
Nathanael is never mentioned. In John’s Gospel, on the other hand, Philip and
Nathanael are mentioned together, but the name of Bartholomew does not appear.
Still, many biblical commentators reject this hypothesis.
In the Gospel of John (1:45-51), Nathanael is introduced as
a friend of Philip. He is described as initially being sceptical about Jesus as
Messiah with the dismissive comment:
Can anything good come out of Nazareth? (John
1:46)
Nevertheless, he accepts Philip’s invitation and goes to see
Jesus, who on seeing him, says:
Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!
(John 1:47)
This is a remark, which in view of what Nathanael has just
said about Jesus, bowls him over. Jesus continues by saying cryptically that,
before Philip had called him, Jesus had seen Nathanael “under the fig tree”.
There is speculation among scholars on the exact meaning of this statement, but
it causes Nathanael to address the man from Nazareth as “the Son of God” and
“King of Israel”.
Nathanael reappears at the end of John’s Gospel (21:2) as
one of seven disciples to whom the Risen Jesus appeared at the Sea of Tiberias.
All in all, even if Bartholomew and Nathanael are one and the same, we are left
with only a very small amount of information about this Apostle.
There are, of course, as with all the very early figures in
the Church’s history, many legends about Bartholomew. According to a Syriac
tradition, his original name was Jesus, which made him adopt another name.
Eusebius of Caesarea’s Ecclesiastical History says
that, after the Ascension, Bartholomew went on a missionary tour to India,
where he left behind a copy of the Gospel of Matthew. Other traditions have him
as a missionary in Ethiopia, Mesopotamia, Parthia, and Lycaonia.
Then, along with his fellow Apostle Jude, he is said to have
brought Christianity to Armenia. Both saints are now considered patron saints
of the Armenian Apostolic Church. There is also a local tradition that he was
martyred at the site of the Maiden Tower in Baku, Azerbaijan, by being skinned
alive and then (like Peter) crucified head down.
His dead body is said to have been washed to Lipari, a small
island off the coast of Sicily, where a large piece of his skin and many bones
are kept in the Cathedral of St Bartholomew the Apostle. In 983, Holy Roman
Emperor Otto II brought his relics to the basilica of San Bartolomeo all’Isola
in Rome. Because this church later took over an old pagan medical centre,
Bartholomew’s name came to be associated with medicine and hospitals.
Some of his skull was said to have been transferred to
Frankfurt in Germany, while an arm is venerated in Canterbury Cathedral. In
works of art he is often represented with a large knife, or, as in
Michelangelo’s Last Judgment, with his own skin hanging over his arm. His being
skinned alive led to his being adopted as the patron saint of tanners and
leather workers.
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