Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 5-03-02, Feast, St. Philip & St. James, Apostles

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."

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.

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.

FEAST OF THE DAY

Little is known about the life of St. Philip other than what is
mentioned in the Gospel of John. Philip was one of the first apostles
called by Jesus and called the town of Bethsaida home. After
receiving his call to follow the Lord, Philip went to Nathaniel to
proclaim the Good News that the Messiah had come. St. Philip is
mentioned throughout the life of Jesus and the early Church. It was
Philip who answered Jesus when the Apostles were questioned on
how to feed the multitudes, it was Philip who, at the Last Supper,
asked the Lord to show the Father, and it was Philip who converted
the Ethiopian eunuch.

As the Church began to spread throughout the world, Philip traveled
to Phyrigia. While he was preaching in the city of Hierapolis, Philip
was arrested and sentenced to death by crucifixion. After following
Christ even to death, Philip's body was taken away by the faithful
and buried. His relics were translated to Rome and placed in the
church of Sts. Peter and Paul in the year 590.

James the Lesser, also known as "the Just" for his piety, was the
second of the two James called by the Lord to be an Apostle. There
is very little known about the life of St. James, and he receives light
treatment in the gospels. The Church ascribes an Epistle of the New
Testament to his authorship. It is supposed that James was a close
relative of Jesus and thought to perhaps even be a cousin. St. Paul
describes James as a "pillar" of the Church.

After the Resurrection of the Lord, James was made leader of the
Christians in Jerusalem and faced constant threats upon his life.
Jews took various actions against the early Christians to stop the
movement and it was one of these actions that killed St. James. After
being summoned to appear before the Sanhedrin James was
condemned and forced to renounce the name of Jesus from a high
tower. When at the top of the tower, instead of denying Jesus' name,
James proclaimed it loudly. He was thrown to the ground and then
stoned to death for this profession of Faith.

St. Philip and St. James together are the patrons of Uruguay and St.
James is the patron of the dying.

-----

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Thomas said to him, "Master, we do not know where you are going;
how can we know the way?" 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, 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 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. -Jn 14:5-14

-----

TODAY IN HISTORY

1512 The Fifth Lateran Council opens

-----

TODAY'S TIDBIT

The Fifth Lateran Council was the eighteenth ecumenical council of
the Church. It was convened by Pope Julius II and closed by Pope
Leo X. In the twelve sessions between 1512 and 1517 the council,
among other things, condemned erroneous teachings concerning the
nature of the human soul and stated doctrine concerning
indulgences. The council reflected concern for abuses in the Church
and the need for reforms but failed to take decisive action in the
years immediately preceding the Reformation.

-----

INTENTION FOR THE DAY

As the school year begins to come to a close for students across the
United States and around the world, pleas pray that these people
may use the summer months to deepen their relationship with God.

The Word Among Us

Saturday, May 03, 2003

Meditation
John 14:6-14

Sts. Philip and James

The gospels tell us nothing about the apostle James, the son of Alphaeus—whose feast we celebrate today together with St. Philip—other than his name and that of his father (Matthew 10:3). The early church called him James “the Lesser” to distinguish him from James the son of Zebedee. While some traditions consider him to be the same James who led the early Jerusalem community, that James seems to have been a different man, a relative of Jesus’ (Galatians 1:19; 2:9). Thus James the son of Alphaeus remains obscure.

Philip, on the other hand, appears several times in the gospels. St. John lists him as one of Jesus’ earliest disciples. When Jesus called him, Philip immediately sought out Nathanael, saying, “We have found him of whom Moses wrote.” And when Nathanael wondered whether any good could come out of tiny Nazareth, Philip simply replied, “Come and see” (John 1:43-46). Later, when some Greeks approached Philip with a request to meet Jesus, he told Jesus right away. Most likely, Philip invited these inquirers also to “come and see” his beloved master (12:21-22).

Philip played a part with the other apostles at the miraculous feeding of the five thousand (John 6:5-7), at Jesus’ farewell discourse (John 14:8-9), and in the Upper Room during the days before Pentecost (Acts 1:12-14). A tradition has it that he became the apostle to Phrygia (in modern Turkey), where he continued his mission of leading others to Jesus.

As an ambassador, an apostle not only bears a message but also represents the person who sent him. Philip and James knew Jesus well, both before and after his resurrection. Commissioned then to “go into all the world and preach the gospel” (Mark 16:15), they and the other apostles represented Jesus and passed on his message to others. Two thousand years later, we have come to know the risen Lord in part through their witness. Now we are called to continue their mission. So let’s pray as Philip and James did for the boldness to speak out—and ask the Spirit to prepare the hearts of everyone to whom he sends us.

“Thank you, Jesus, for giving me your Spirit so that I can be your witness. Give me courage to invite others to come and see you.”

One Bread, One Body

<< Saturday, May 3, 2003 >>

Sts. Philip & James

1 Corinthians 15:1-8

Psalm 19

John 14:6-14

View Readings

ON SPEAKING TERMS WITH YOUR ENEMIES

“Day pours out the word to day, and night to night imparts knowledge.” —Psalm 19:3

To the man who would later be called “doubting Thomas,” Jesus gave one of the greatest revelations in the history of the human race. Jesus told Thomas: “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father but through Me” (Jn 14:6).

Jesus was profoundly disappointed in Philip, who did not know Jesus or His Father after “all this time” (Jn 14:9). Nonetheless, Jesus gave to Philip this awesome revelation: “I solemnly say to you, whoever believes in Me will do the works that I do, and greater than these” (Jn 14:12, our transl).

Because Jesus is forgiving and merciful, He sometimes gives the greatest revelations to people who are weak and sinful. When people disappoint us, we naturally are reluctant to open up to them. But Jesus stretches out His arms to people who may even nail His arms to a cross rather than embrace Him. Jesus may reveal Himself to us even when we are at our worst.

Let us follow in Jesus’ footsteps by:

forgiving and loving our enemies,
reaching out to them, and
giving them mercy, that is, treating them better than they deserve.

We will suffer when we love as Jesus loves. Nevertheless, the purpose of life in Christ is not to minimize suffering but to maximize love. Follow the crucified Christ in thought, deed, and word.

Prayer: Father, make me not defensive, but merciful.

Promise: “Brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and in which you stand firm. You are being saved by it at this very moment if you hold fast to it as I preached it to you.” —1 Cor 15:1-2

Praise: St. Philip is said to have been crucified and St. James stoned to death for speaking the Good News to their enemies.

St. James the Lesser
Feastday: May 3
Patron of Hatmmakers

St. James the Less, the author of the first Catholic Epistle, was the son of Alphaeus of Cleophas. His mother Mary was either a sister or a close relative of the Blessed Virgin, and for that reason, according to Jewish custom, he was sometimes called the brother of the Lord. The Apostle held a distinguished position in the early Christian community of Jerusalem. St. Paul tells us he was a witness of the Resurrection of Christ; he is also a "pillar" of the Church, whom St. Paul consulted about the Gospel.

According to tradition, he was the first Bishop of Jerusalem, and was at the Council of Jerusalem about the year 50. The historians Eusebius and Hegesippus relayed that St. James was martyred for the Faith by the Jews in the Spring of the year 62, although they greatly esteemed his person and had given him the surname of "James the Just."

Tradition has always recognized him as the author of the Epistle that bears his name. Internal evidence based on the language, style, and teaching of the Epistle reveals its author as a Jew familiar with the Old Testament, and a Christian thoroughly grounded in the teachings of the Gospel. External evidence from the early Fathers and Councils of the Church confirmed its authenticity and canonicity.

The date of its writing cannot be determined exactly. According to some scholars it was written about the year 49 A.D. Others, however, claim it was written after St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans (composed during the winter of 57-58 A.D.). It was probably written between the years 60 and 62 A.D.

St. James addresses himself to the "twelve tribes that are in the Dispersion," that is, to Christians outside Palestine; but nothing in the Epistle indicates that he is thinking only of Jewish Christians. St. James realizes full well the temptations and difficulties they encounter in the midst of paganism, and as a spiritual father, he endeavors to guide and direct them in the faith. Therefore, the burden of his discourse is an exhortation to practical Christian living.

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.