Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 05-03-05, Feast of Sts Philip and James, Apostles
USCCB.org/New American Bible ^ | 05-03-05 | New American Bible

Posted on 05/03/2005 6:46:53 AM PDT by Salvation

May 3, 2005
Feast of Saints Philip and James, Apostles

Psalm: Tuesday 21

Reading I
1 Cor 15:1-8

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.

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.


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."




TOPICS: Activism; Apologetics; Catholic; Charismatic Christian; Current Events; Eastern Religions; Ecumenism; Evangelical Christian; General Discusssion; History; Islam; Judaism; Mainline Protestant; Ministry/Outreach; Moral Issues; Orthodox Christian; Other Christian; Other non-Christian; Prayer; Religion & Culture; Religion & Politics; Religion & Science; Skeptics/Seekers; Theology; Worship
KEYWORDS: catholiclist; dailymassreadings; easter; stjames; stphilip
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-28 next last
For your reading, reflection, faith-sharing, comments, questions, discussion.

1 posted on 05/03/2005 6:46:54 AM PDT by Salvation
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway; sandyeggo; Siobhan; Lady In Blue; NYer; american colleen; Pyro7480; sinkspur; ...
Alleluia Ping!

Please notify me via FReepmail if you would like to be added to or taken off the Alleluia Ping List.

2 posted on 05/03/2005 6:49:50 AM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Salvation

From: 1 Corinthians 15:1-8


Christ's Resurrection and His Appearances



[1] Now I would remind you, brethren, in what terms I preached to you
the Gospel, which you received, in which you stand, [2] by which you
are saved, if you hold it fast--unless you believed in vain.


[3] For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received,
that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, [4]
that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance
with the Scriptures, [5] and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the
Twelve. [6] Then He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one
time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.
[7] Then He appeared to James, then to all the Apostles. [8] Last of
all, as to one untimely born, He also appeared to me.




Commentary:


1-58. Some of the Corinthian Christians were objecting to the doctrine
of the resurrection of the dead, because this was a belief with which
the Greeks were unfamiliar, even those Greeks who held that the soul
was immortal. Given the great importance of this doctrine, St. Paul
replies at length, pointing first to the historical fact of Christ's
resurrection (verses 1-11) and how it necessarily connects up with the
resurrection of the dead in general (verses 12-34). He then goes on to
discuss what form this resurrection will take (verses 35-58). This
Epistle, which began with an exposition on Jesus Christ crucified, the
power and wisdom of God (cf. 1:18-2:5), ends with a development of
doctrine on the resurrection of Christ and the consequent resurrection
of the members of His Mystical Body.


To understand what St. Paul is saying it is useful to bear in mind that
here he is referring only to the glorious resurrection of the just.
Elsewhere in Sacred Scripture it is clearly stated that all men will
rise from the dead (cf., e.g., John 5:28-29; Acts 24:15).


1-11. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is one of the essential
doctrines of the Catholic faith, explicitly stated in the first creeds
or symbols of the faith. It is in fact the supreme argument in favor
of the divinity of Jesus and His divine mission: our Lord proclaimed it
many times (cf., e.g., Matthew 16:21-28; 17:22-27; 20:17-19), and by
rising from the dead He provided the sign which He had promised those
who did not believe Him (cf. Matthew 12:38-40).


This point is so important that the primary role of the Apostles is to
bear witness to Christ's resurrection (cf. Acts 1:22; 2:32; 3:15;
etc.); the proclamation of the resurrection of the Lord is the very
core of apostolic catechesis (cf., e.g., the discourses of St. Peter
and St. Paul reported in the Acts of the Apostles).


3-8. On the verbs "deliver" and "receive" see the note on 1 Corinthians
11:23-26.


St. Paul reminds the Corinthians of certain basic points in his
preaching--that Jesus Christ died for our sins; "that He was buried,
that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures"
(a statement which has passed directly into the Creed) and was seen by
many people.


It should be pointed out that the Greek verb translated as "appeared"
refers to being seen by the eye. This is relevant to studying the
nature of the appearances of the risen Jesus: St. Paul is speaking of
true, ocular sight; there seems to be no way this can be identified
with imagination or intellectual vision.


The appearances of the risen Christ are a direct proof of the
historical fact of His resurrection. This argument gains special force
when one remembers that at the time this Letter was written many people
who had seen the risen Lord were still alive (verse 6). Some of the
appearances referred to by St. Paul are also mentioned in the Gospels
and in Acts--that to Peter (cf. Luke 24:34), those to the Apostles
(cf., e.g., Luke 24:36-49; John 20:19-29), that to St. Paul himself
(cf. Acts 9:1-6); others--that to James and to the five hundred
brethren--are mentioned only here.


The importance of this passage is enhanced by the fact that it is the
earliest documentary record--earlier than the Gospels--of our Lord's
resurrection, which had taken place scarcely twenty years earlier.


4. "Was buried": in recounting the death of Christ, all four
Evangelists expressly mention that His body was buried (cf. Matthew
27:57-61 and paragraph). St. Paul also confirms the fact in this
Letter, written very soon after the time, thereby confirming a
tradition which had come down from the beginning (verse 3). The fact
that Christ's body was buried eliminates any doubt about His death, and
underlines the miracle of the Resurrection: Jesus Christ rose by His
own power, rejoining His soul with His body, and leaving the tomb with
the same human body (not merely the appearance of a body) as died and
was buried, although now that body was glorified and had certain
special properties (cf. note on 15:42-44). The Resurrection, therefore
is an objective, physical event, witnessed to by the empty tomb (cf.
Matthew 28:1ff and paragraph) and by Christ's appearances.


"He was raised on the third day": Jesus died and was buried on the
evening of Good Friday; His body lay in the tomb the entire Sabbath,
and rose on Sunday. It is correct to say that He rose on the third day
after His death, even though it was not a full seventy-two hours
later.


"According to the Scriptures": St. Paul may be referring to certain
passages of the Old Testament which--AFTER the event--were seen to
foreshadow the Resurrection--for example, the episode of Jonah
(Chapters 1-2), which Jesus in fact applied to Himself (cf. Matthew
12:39-40; cf. also Hosea 6:1-2 and Psalm 16:9-10).



Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.


3 posted on 05/03/2005 6:52:48 AM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: All

From: John 14:6-14


Jesus Reveals the Father (Continuation)



(Jesus said to Thomas), [6] "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the
Life; no one comes to the Father, but by Me." [7] "If you had known
Me, you would have known My Father also; henceforth you know Him and
have seen Him.


[8] Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be
satisfied." [9] Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and
yet you do not know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the
Father; how can you say, `Show us the Father?' [10] Do you not believe
that I am in the Father and the Father in Me? The words that I say to
you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me
does His works. [11] Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father
in Me; or else believe Me for the sake of the words themselves.


[12] "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me will also do
the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I
go to the Father. [13] Whatever you ask in My name, I will do it, that
the Father may be glorified in the Son; [14] if you ask anything in My
name, I will do it."




Commentary:


4-7. The Apostles did not really understand what Jesus was telling
them: hence Thomas' question. The Lord explains that He is the way to
the Father. "It was necessary for Him to say `I am the Way' to show
them that they really knew what they thought they were ignorant of,
because they knew Him" (St. Augustine, "In. Ioann. Evang.", 66, 2).


Jesus is the way to the Father--through what He teaches, for by keeping
to His teaching we will reach Heaven; through faith, which He inspires,
because He came to this world so "that whoever believes in Him may have
eternal life" (John 3:15); through His example, since no one can go to
the Father without imitating the Son; through His merits, which make it
possible for us to enter our Heavenly home; and above all He is the way
because He reveals the Father, with whom He is one because of His
divine nature.


"Just as children by listening to their mothers, and prattling with
them, learn to speak their language, so we, by keeping close to the
Savior in meditation, and observing His words, His actions, and His
affections, shall learn, with the help of His grace, to speak, to act,
and to will like Him.


"We must pause here...; we can reach God the Father by no other
route...; the Divinity could not be well contemplated by us in this
world below if it were not united to the sacred humanity of the Savior,
whose life and death are the most appropriate, sweet, delicious and
profitable subjects which we can choose for our ordinary meditations"
(St. Francis de Sales, "Introduction to the Devout Life", Part II,
Chapter 1, 2).


"I am the way": He is the only path linking Heaven and Earth. "He is
speaking to all men, but in a special way He is thinking of people who,
like you and me, are determined to take our Christian vocation
seriously: He wants God to be forever in our thoughts, on our lips and
in everything we do, including our most ordinary and routine actions.


"Jesus is the way. Behind Him on this Earth of ours He has left the
clear outlines of His footprints. They are indelible signs which
neither the erosion of time nor the treachery of the Evil One have been
able to erase" ([St] J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 127).


Jesus' words do much more than provide an answer to Thomas' question;
He tells us: "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life". Being the
Truth and the Life is something proper to the Son of God become man,
who St. John says in the prologue of his Gospel is "full of grace and
truth" (1:14). He is the Truth because by coming to this world He
shows that God is faithful to His promises, and because He teaches the
truth about who God is and tells us that true worship must be "in
spirit and truth" (John 4:23). He is Life because from all eternity He
has divine life with His Father (cf. John 1:4), and because He makes
us, through grace, sharers in that divine life. This is why the Gospel
says: "This is eternal life, that they know Thee, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom Thou has sent" (John 17:3).


By His reply Jesus is, "as it were, saying, By which route do you want
to go? I am the Way. To where do you want to go? I am the Truth.
Where do you want to remain? I am the Life. Every man can attain an
understanding of the Truth and the Life; but not all find the Way. The
wise of this world realize that God is eternal life and knowable truth;
but the Word of God, who is Truth and Life joined to the Father, has
become the Way by taking a human nature. Make your way contemplating
His humility and you will reach God" (St. Augustine, "De Verbis Domini
Sermones", 54).


8-11. The Apostles still find our Lord's words very mysterious, because
they cannot understand the oneness of the Father and the Son. Hence
Philip's persistence. Then Jesus "upbraids the Apostle for not yet
knowing Him, even though His works are proper to God--walking on the
water, controlling the wind, forgiving sins, raising the dead. This is
why He reproves him: for not recognizing His divine condition through
His human nature" (St. Augustine, "De Trinitate", Book 7).


Obviously the sight of the Father which Jesus refers to in this passage
is a vision through faith, for no one has ever seen God as He is (cf.
John 1:18; 6:46). All manifestations of God, or "theophanies", have
been through some medium; they are only a reflection of God's
greatness. The highest _expression which we have of God our Father is
in Christ Jesus, the Son of God sent among men. "He did this by the
total fact of His presence and self-manifestation--by words and works,
signs and miracles, but above all by His death and glorious
resurrection from the dead, and finally by sending the Spirit of
truth. He revealed that God was with us, to deliver us from the
darkness of sin and death, and to raise us up to eternal life" (Vatican
II, "Dei Verbum", 4).


12-14. Before leaving this world, the Lord promises His Apostles to
make them sharers in His power so that God's salvation may be
manifested through them. These "works" are the miracles they will work
in the name of Jesus Christ (cf. Acts 3:1-10; 5:15-16; etc.), and
especially the conversion of people to the Christian faith and their
sanctification by preaching and the ministry of the sacraments. They
can be considered greater works than Jesus' own insofar as, by the
Apostles' ministry, the Gospel was not only preached in Palestine but
was spread to the ends of the earth; but this extraordinary power of
apostolic preaching proceeds from Christ, who has ascended to the
Father: after undergoing the humiliation of the cross Jesus has been
glorified and from Heaven He manifests His power by acting through His
Apostles.


The Apostles' power, therefore, derives from Christ glorified. Christ
our Lord says as much: "Whatever you ask in My name, I will do it".
"It is not that he who believes in Me will be greater than Me, but that
only that I shall then do greater works than now; greater, by him who
believes in Me, than I now do by myself without Him" (St. Augustine,
"In Ioann. Evang.", 72, 1).


Jesus Christ is our intercessor in Heaven; therefore, He promises us
that everything we ask for in His name, He will do. Asking in His name
(cf. 15:7, 16; 16:23-24) means appealing to the power of the risen
Christ, believing that He is all-powerful and merciful because He is
true God; and it also means asking for what is conducive to our
salvation, for Jesus is our Savior. Thus, by "whatever you ask" we
must understand what is for the good of the asker. When our Lord does
not give what we ask for, the reason is that it would not make for our
salvation. In this way we can see that He is our Savior both when He
refuses us what we ask and when He grants it.



Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.


4 posted on 05/03/2005 6:54:43 AM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: All

Just found this quote:

"It is not enough to discover Christ--you must bring Him to others!
The world today is one great mission land, even in countries of
long-standing Christian tradition." (Pope John Paul II)


5 posted on 05/03/2005 6:56:34 AM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: All
Easter Reflections -- 50 Days of the Easter Season
6 posted on 05/03/2005 6:57:25 AM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: All
At First Public Audience, Pope Benedict Explains Name
 
Pope Makes First Window Appearance

7 posted on 05/03/2005 7:00:49 AM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: All
Tuesday, May 3, 2005
Saints Philip and James, Apostles (Feast)
First Reading:
Psalm:
Gospel:
1 Corinthians 15:1-8
Psalm 19:2-5
John 14:6-14

Extend your mercy towards others, so that there can be no one in need whom you meet without helping. For what hope is there for us if God should withdraw His Mercy from us?

-- St Vincent de Paul


8 posted on 05/03/2005 7:02:49 AM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: All
Catholic Culture

Collect:
God our Father, every year you give us joy on the festival of the apostles Philip and James. By the help of their prayers may we share in the suffering, death, and resurrection of your only Son and come to the eternal vision of your glory. 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.

May 03, 2005 Month Year Season

Feast of Sts. Philip and James, apostles

Old Calendar: Finding of the Holy Cross; Saints Alexander I, pope; Eventius and Theodulus, martyrs and Juvenal, bishop and confessor

Today's Mass tells us that the example of the Apostles is the most certain and direct path to heaven. They suffered and were persecuted, but they placed their confidence in God and now they rejoice in heaven. We too must have confidence in God and not be troubled in our adversities. In our Father's house there are many mansions, and if we follow the way indicated by Him, Christ will come at the end of our life and take us to Himself.

Before the reform of the General Roman Calendar the Feast of Sts. Philip and James was celebrated on May 11 and the Finding of the Holy Cross and the commemoration of Sts. Alexander I, Eventius and Theodulus and St. Juvenal were celebrated. None of these feasts remain on the calendar in the United States.


St. Philip
The Apostle Philip was one of Christ's first disciples, called soon after his Master's baptism in the Jordan. The fourth Gospel gives the following detail: "The next day Jesus was about to leave for Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him: Follow Me. Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael, and said to him: We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and the Prophets wrote, Jesus the Son of Joseph of Nazareth. And Nathanael said to him: Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Philip said to him: Come and see" (John 1:43ff). — The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Patron: Hatters; Luxembourg; pastry chefs; Uruguay.

Symbols: Elderly bearded man holding a basket of loaves and a cross which is often t-shaped; elderly man casting a devil from the idol of Mars; elderly man crucified on a tall cross; elderly man holding loaves and fishes; elderly man with a dragon nearby; elderly man with a loaf and book; elderly man with a snake nearby; loaves of bread; man baptizing the Ethiopian eunuch; man holding a book or scroll reading descendit ad inferna; tall cross; with Saint Andrew.


St. James the Less
St. James the Less, a brother of the Apostle Jude, was of Cana of Galilee. He is the author of one of the Catholic Epistles in the New Testament. He was favored by an appearance of the Risen Christ (I Cor. 15:7). After the dispersion of the Apostles he was made Bishop of Jerusalem. Here he was visited by St. Paul (Gal. 1:19). Here he spoke after Peter at the meeting of the Apostles (Acts 15:13). When he refused to deny the Divinity of Christ, the Jews cast him down from the terrace of the temple and clubbed him to death. The Breviary contains a very moving description of his death. "When he was ninety-six years old and had governed the Church for thirty years in a most holy manner, the Jews sought to stone him, then took him to the pinnacle of the temple and cast him off headlong. As he lay there half dead, with legs broken by the fall, he lifted his hands toward heaven and prayed to God for the salvation of his enemies, saying: Lord, forgive them for they know not what they do! While the apostle was still praying, a fuller struck his head a mortal blow." His relics now rest next to those of St. Philip in the church of the Holy Apostles in Rome, and their names are mentioned in the first list in the Canon of the Mass. — The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Patron: Apothecaries, druggists, dying people, fullers, hatmakers, hatters, milliners, pharmacists, Uruguay.

Symbols: Fuller's club; man holding a book.

Things to Do:

  • Read the Epistle of St. James, a book that is devout and edifying as well as highly practical.

  • St. James is referred to as "the brother of Jesus", learn how to prove that Mary did not have any other children but remained ever a virgin.

The Finding of the Holy Cross
After the victory Constantine gained through the power of the Cross which he had seen in the heavens, and whose sign he reproduced in the Labarum, St. Helena, his mother, went to Jerusalem to try to find the true Cross. At the beginning of the second century, Hadrian had Calvary and the Holy Sepulchre covered over with earth, the top of which became a terrace of 100 feet in length, where were erected a statue of Jupiter and a temple of Venus. The Empress had them razed to the ground, and dug up. The laborers found the nails and three crosses. The miraculous cure of a woman authenticated the sacred tree, to which we owe "life, salvation and resurrection".

St. Helena divided the precious wood in three. One part was deposited in Rome in the church of Holy Cross in Jerusalem. The second in Constantinople and the third in Jerusalem. This last relic having been carried off by the Persians and recovered by Heraclius, this emperor solemnly brought it back to Jerusalem on May 3rd, 628. — Saint Andrew Daily Missal


Sts. Alexander I , Eventius and Theodulus
Alexander governed the Church under the Emperor Hadrian. His name is inscribed in the Canon of the Mass. He was martyred at the same time as the priests Eventius and Theodulus, in 117, and their bodies rest in Rome, in the church of St. Sabina, where the Station is held on Ash Wednesday. — Saint Andrew Daily Missal

Symbols: With his chest pierced with nails or spikes.


St. Juvenal
A priest and physician from the East, he immigrated to Narni, Italy, and was named first bishop of that See by Pope Damasus. Juvenal is reported to have saved Narni from destruction by invading Ligurians and Sarmatians when thousands of the invaders were drowned in a downpour reputedly brought on by his prayers. He was noted for his eloquent preaching, which converted many, and is the patron of Narni. — Dictionary of Saints, John J. Delaney

9 posted on 05/03/2005 7:16:48 AM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: All
American Cathlic's Saint of the Day


May 3, 2005
Sts. Philip and James

James, Son of Alphaeus: We know nothing of this man but 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.

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...” (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, 19).



10 posted on 05/03/2005 8:54:53 AM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: Salvation

God is a good worker but loves to be helped. -- Basque Proverb

 

11 posted on 05/03/2005 11:01:52 AM PDT by Smartass (Si vis pacem, para bellum - Por el dedo de Dios se escribió)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Salvation
The Lutheran lectionary is almost identical, but adds an Old Testament First Lesson as all Apostles' Days are treated as though a Sunday with First Lesson, Psalm, Epistle, and Gospel:

FIRST LESSON
• Isaiah 30:18-21
Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you;
therefore he will raise you up to show mercy to you.
For the LORD is a God of justice;
blessed are all those who wait for him.
Truly, O people in Zion, inhabitants of Jerusalem, you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when he hears it, he will answer you. Though the LORD may give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself any more, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, you ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
12 posted on 05/03/2005 1:57:34 PM PDT by lightman (The Office of the Keys should be exercised as some ministry needs to be exorcised.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: All
St. James the Lesser, Apostle
13 posted on 05/03/2005 5:40:57 PM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: All
Homily of the Day


Homily of the Day

Title:   Are You a Policeman or a Liberator?
Author:   Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Date:   Monday, May 3, 2005
 


1 Cor 15:1-8; Jn 14:6-14

There's something of the policeman in most of us. Perhaps it comes from being given so many rules as children — and so many little "talks" from parents, teachers, and others about the importance of keeping those rules. The fact is, of course, that laws and rules can be liberating. They can make life more safe and more secure, and they can free us from having to think much about lots of ordinary things. But they can also be spirit-killers.

That was the case in the first generation of Christians, when converts from paganism to Christianity were also required to observe all the religious rules and regulations of orthodox Jews as well. It was a huge burden, under which most of Jesus' contemporaries had been spiritually crushed or had simply given up. And it was so unnecessary, so utterly beside the point of Jesus' teaching, which was to bond to the Lord and to one's neighbors in self-giving love — to love as one wants to be loved.

But old habits die hard, whether they make any sense or not, and it took the Apostles awhile to see the truth. When they did see, they set out to set the people free. Isn't that what we really want to do for one another — set one another free from the things that don't matter, the things that can't give us life?

Be like Jesus and His Apostles. Be a liberator, not a policeman!

 


14 posted on 05/03/2005 6:05:31 PM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: Salvation
St. Philip, Apostle
15 posted on 05/03/2005 6:11:58 PM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: Salvation

"Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life" bump.


16 posted on 05/03/2005 8:05:39 PM PDT by Ciexyz (Let us always remember, the Lord is in control.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: lightman

Bible study bump.


17 posted on 05/03/2005 8:10:52 PM PDT by Ciexyz (Let us always remember, the Lord is in control.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: Salvation

Homily of the Day bump.


18 posted on 05/03/2005 8:17:33 PM PDT by Ciexyz (Let us always remember, the Lord is in control.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: Smartass

Prayers offered up for personal concerns.


19 posted on 05/03/2005 8:28:12 PM PDT by Ciexyz (Let us always remember, the Lord is in control.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: Salvation
Jn 14:6-14
# Douay-Rheims Vulgate
6 Jesus saith to him: I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father, but by me. dicit ei Iesus ego sum via et veritas et vita nemo venit ad Patrem nisi per me
7 If you had known me, you would without doubt have known my Father also: and from henceforth you shall know him. And you have seen him. si cognovissetis me et Patrem meum utique cognovissetis et amodo cognoscitis eum et vidistis eum
8 Philip saith to him: Lord, shew us the Father; and it is enough for us. dicit ei Philippus Domine ostende nobis Patrem et sufficit nobis
9 Jesus saith to him: Have I been so long a time with you and have you not known me? Philip, he that seeth me seeth the Father also. How sayest thou: Shew us the Father? dicit ei Iesus tanto tempore vobiscum sum et non cognovistis me Philippe qui vidit me vidit et Patrem quomodo tu dicis ostende nobis Patrem
10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me? The words that I speak to you, I speak not of myself. But the Father who abideth in me, he doth the works. non credis quia ego in Patre et Pater in me est verba quae ego loquor vobis a me ipso non loquor Pater autem in me manens ipse facit opera
11 Believe you not that I am in the Father and the Father in me? non creditis quia ego in Patre et Pater in me est
12 Otherwise believe for the very works' sake. Amen, amen, I say to you, he that believeth in me, the works that I do, he also shall do: and greater than these shall he do. alioquin propter opera ipsa credite amen amen dico vobis qui credit in me opera quae ego facio et ipse faciet et maiora horum faciet quia ego ad Patrem vado
13 Because I go to the Father: and whatsoever you shall ask the Father in my name, that will I do: that the Father may be glorified in the Son. et quodcumque petieritis in nomine meo hoc faciam ut glorificetur Pater in Filio
14 If you shall ask me any thing in my name, that I will do. si quid petieritis me in nomine meo hoc faciam

20 posted on 05/03/2005 9:45:21 PM PDT by annalex
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-28 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson