†Saint Quote of the Day
"A soul which does not practise the exercise of prayer is very like a paralyzed body which, though possessing feet and hands, makes no use of them."
–St. Alphonsus Liguori †Today's Meditation
"Oh, what awesome mysteries take place during Mass! One day we will know what God is doing for us in each Mass, and what sort of gift He is preparing in it for us. Only His divine love could permit that such a gift be provided for us. O Jesus, my Jesus, with what great pain is my soul pierced when I see this fountain of life gushing forth with such sweetness and power for each soul, while at the same time I see souls withering away and drying up through their own fault. O Jesus, grant that the power of mercy embrace these souls."
—St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, An Excerpt From †Daily Verse
"But for thee, O Lord, do I wait; it is thou, O Lord my God, who wilt answer."
–Psalm 38:15 |  click to read more | | St. Bartholomew St. Bartholomew (1st c.) is one of Jesus' Twelve Apostles who, together with his friend and fellow Apostle Philip, came from Cana in Galilee. All we know of St. Bartholomew (also called Nathaniel) is what is mentioned of him in the synoptic Gospels and the book of Acts. Philip told Bartholomew that he had found the Messiah, and, despite Bartholomew's incredulity, the two went together to see Jesus. When Jesus saw Bartholomew he exclaimed, "Here is a true Israelite. There is no duplicity in him!", indicating that Bartholomew possessed great purity of heart. Bartholomew then asked Jesus how he knew him, and Jesus explained that he saw Bartholomew sitting under the fig tree. This secret between Jesus and Bartholomew caused Bartholomew to immediately exclaim that Jesus was the Messiah and the Son of God. According to the Roman Martyrology, Bartholomew became a missionary in the East, preaching and evangelizing in Asia Minor, Ethiopia, India, and finally Armenia, where he was flayed alive and beheaded by King Astyages. St. Bartholomew is the patron saint of nervous and neurological diseases, butchers, leather workers, tanners, cobblers, trappers, and shoemakers. His feast day is August 24th. | Feast of Saint Bartholomew, Apostle Reading 1 Rv 21:9b-14 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 Ps 145:10-11, 12-13, 17-18 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 Jn 1:49b R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Rabbi, you are the Son of God;
you are the King of Israel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 1:45-51 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."
| Daily Meditation: John 1:45-51 Come and see. (John 1:46) Nathanael was not going to be duped. The promise of the long-expected Messiah was too important for him to be led astray by false claims. He was especially skeptical when he heard that Jesus was from an insignificant village like Nazareth (John 1:46). So when Philip told Nathanael that Jesus was the Messiah, Nathanael was doubtful. But rather than trying to convince his friend, Philip simply said, "Come and see" (John 1:46). Nathanael, whom the Church identifies as Bartholomew and whose feast we celebrate today, accepted Philip's invitation. And when he met Jesus, his heart was set on fire. Jesus really was the Messiah he had been longing for! Of course, this was just the beginning of Nathanael's journey. Through multiple encounters, he became not only a faithful disciple but also one of the Twelve. According to tradition, after Jesus' resurrection and ascension, Nathanael went to India, Armenia, and possibly as far as Azerbaijan to preach the good news. We don't know what words he used, but we can imagine him relying on the same approach that Philip had used with him: inviting people to encounter Jesus so that they could understand for themselves who he is. Who invited you to "come and see" Jesus? We can often trace our initial encounter with the Lord back to someone—or multiple people—who urged us to discover the Messiah for ourselves. And as followers of Jesus, we can do the same for other people. How? Perhaps you could ask someone to come to a parish Bible study or to Adoration or Mass. Or you could give them a spiritual book that has meant a lot to you. Maybe it will take more than one invitation or more than one point of contact before they encounter Jesus in a personal way. But remember, you're not responsible for what happens next. Once they've accepted your invitation, Jesus will reveal himself to them and speak to their hearts in his own time and way. So whom will you invite to encounter the Lord today? "Jesus, open my eyes to all the ways I can invite people to 'come and see' you." Revelation 21:9-14
Psalm 145:10-13, 17-18 |  click to hear 2cents | audio link
Reflections with Brother Adrian: | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"Come here.
I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb."......." end of verse.
. . . Did you get the image of the wife of the Lamb of God?
It was a beautiful Jerusalem, right?
The crown jewels of Mother Mary are 12 stars. The 12 gates of the wife of the Lamb are 12 apostles guarded by angels.
There is a world of meaning. Much of what we see with our earthly senses can seem meaningless. But everything has a meaning. For instance, what does the name of Bartholomew mean?
A quick look up says:
"The name Bartholomew is an Aramaic name that is written as בר תלמי (bar talmey). The Aramaic word בר (bar, Strong's #1247) means "son of..," so bar talmey means "Son of Talmey." תלמי (talmey, Strong's #8526) is a Biblical Hebrew name derived from the noun תלם (telem, Strong's #8525) meaning "furrow." In the book of John Bartholomew is identified as Nathanael. In Hebrew this name is written as נתנאל (natanel, Strong's #5417), which is a combination of the verb נתן (N.T.N, Strong's #5414) meaning "give," and the noun אל (el, Strong's #410) meaning "mighty one" or "god." It is likely that Bartholomew's full Hebrew name is נתנאל בר תלמי (natanel bar talmey / Nathanel son of Talmey). " Give God is the meaning. The wife is to give to God, to open to God, to be open to Him and to let Him in and let Him produce fruit that He desires. This is God's world! And it is better that way. Not our way, but His. | We pray today:
" 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.
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......."_ end of Psalm." | In the Gospel today we heard:
" "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."..." end of Gospel verse. | From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, in a conversation with Jesus in today's Gospel, Nathaniel (usually identified with the Apostle Bartholomew) makes the earliest New Testament profession of faith in Christ's divinity: "Rabbi, you are the Son of God." Faith is the virtue upon which Christianity rests and is the capacity to see beyond the senses to a deeper or higher reality.
There is an anticipation of faith in Plato's parable of the cave, in which a man escapes from a cavern where he had been forced to see only flickering shadows on the wall. When he emerges from the darkness, he is blinded by the intensity of the sunlight. When his eyes adjust, he surveys a new world of depth and color.
In a similar way, Christianity holds that God's revelation draws us beyond what we can know and introduces us to a dimension of being vibrating at a higher pitch. To be a person of faith is to know that the universe of the senses is but the tip of the iceberg, a gateway. And it is to resist the idolatry of Enlightenment rationalism, which tells us that only superstition and obscurantism lie beyond what we human beings can measure.
...."_ end quote Bishop Barron.
Our Lord Jesus told Nathanael he saw him under a fig tree. And he picked him as a fruit for the Kingdom, didn't he? What is the deal with the fig tree, and wouldn't you like to be picked by Jesus too?
If you are chosen, get ready to lay down your life! He picked Nathanael, who we say is Bartholomew, and we heard that he was being fruitful in Asia where he was martyred, that is, killed for the faith, for giving witness to the faith.
How precious is your faith? Faith is precious in of itself. It is a gift. God praises those with faith all throughout the gospels. Everything hinges on faith. The whole purpose of this message to you is so that you may have faith, an increase in faith. For those who have little faith, even that can be used, and given more, but for those who do not? Nothing. The faithless have nothing.
I write to you so that you may have faith. Faith hopes! Faith lives! Faith gives hope and life. Faith gives us a reason to live, and to live forever.
Why would God need pointless things?
There is nothing pointless to Him. What we consider useless, He sees reason and value, like the birds of the sky, or the hairs on your head.
So how much more are you meaning to Him? Had you meant nothing, He wouldn't have created the world for you to live in. Had you meant nothing, He wouldn't have created a whole other world that awaits us. The world we travel through now is but a gateway to the next. Which gate will you pass through? Today we pray we enter through the door of truth, where there is no duplicity, choosing the door that Nathanael was, a true disciple of Christ. ........
Let us pray:
St. Bartholomew, Nathanael pray for us! I pray too for the women's cursillos, especially the one starting today, for faith and conversion to grow and flourish more in our world! |  Click To Hear | Random Bible Verse 1
Proverbs 13:20 20 "Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm." | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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