“Being inspired by St Philip and St James to be His True Apostles and thus live to a saintly life!”
(Based on the Feast of St Philip and St James)
A story is told of a lady who was very much zealous in telling about Jesus Christ to the world.
This lady was blind and illiterate…
… and yet found different ways to spread the Gospel.
One day, she went to a Missionary Priest and asked for a copy of the Bible in French.
When she got it, she asked the missionary to underline John 3:16, in red, and mark the page, so that she could find it.
(Jn 3:16 = “For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only Son…that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have Eternal Life!”)
The missionary wanted to see what she would do with this Bible that was marked with red…
… and so he followed her.
The lady went in the late afternoon to a school…
… and made her way to the entrance.
As the school children came out, she would stop one of them and ask if he knew how to read French.
If the boy would say “Yes” she would ask him to read the verse that was marked in red.
Then she would ask, “Do you know what this means?”…
… and then go on to tell him more about Jesus Christ and living a Life in the Lord!
The missionary priest would later testify that this lady led nearly a couple of dozen boys to become missionaries of the Lord!
As followers of Christ, each of us are bound to tell the world about the Precious Life of “Living in God!”
How well are we doing our Duty of Proclaiming God to the world?
Am I a Faithful Apostle?
Today Holy Mother the Church celebrates the Feast of two Apostles St Philip and St James…
They lived a faithful and courageous life as followers of Jesus…
… and made Jesus more known to the world by their faithful life!
The Apostle St Philip was a native of Bethsaida, on Lake Gennesaret.
He was among the first disciples of Jesus (Jn 1:43)
(a) At the miraculous feeding of the multitude, it was to Philip that Jesus asked, “Where shall we buy bread that these may eat?” to which Philip replied, “Two hundred denarii worth food will not be enough for them to have a little” (Jn 6:5)
(b) When through Greeks came to meet Jesus, it was Philip whom they met and it was he who reported to Andrew and they both went to Jesus (Jn 12: 21-22)
(c) It was Philip who told Jesus, in the Upper Room, “Lord, show us the Father and it is enough for us” (Jn 14: 8)
The Apostle St James is called as the Younger or the Less, because he was the second of that name who was an apostle of Jesus – distinguishing him from James the Greater, the son of Zebedee
St James the Less was also called as James the Just and is sometimes also called as the “Brother of the Lord”
(a) He is the author of one of the Epistles in the New Testament
(b) He was also ordained as the Bishop of Jerusalem.
The Gospel of the Day (Jn 14: 6-14) presents Jesus declaring Himself as “The Way, the Truth and The Life” (Jn 14: 6)
These two Apostles, St Philip and St James by their life, gave a faithful witness to Jesus – “The Way, The Truth and The Life!”
We are called and challenged, by these Apostles to do the same as well…
Being ready…
to embrace Jesus as The Way…
… seeking to follow only His paths and doing His Will
… being bold to stand firm in the face of hardships, while walking on the Way
Being ready…
to embrace Jesus as The Truth…
… wanting to let go a life of dishonesty and hypocrisy in our actions of life
… determined in the conviction to live for Christ and His virtues in day-to-day life
Being ready…
to embrace Jesus as The Life…
… willing to utilize all our talents, gifts, resources in life for the glory of God and His Kingdom
… being brave to let go off anything which prevents us from living a life for the Lord
The Apostles St Philip and St James…
… were greatly purified in their following of the Lord, through various persecutions and hardships
And finally, gave their life in martyrdom to the Lord and His Kingdom!
When there is determination and passion for God, we look for ways and means, to preach about God and His Love to the world!
No blindness can prevent us from showing people “the vision of Divine Life”
No illiteracy can stop us from declaring to people “the Word of Life!”
Let us wait at the “entrances of people’s life” and…
… point the “the red and passionate Love of the Lord” to the world!
Wish you a Happy Feast of the Apostles – St Philip and St James!
May we too, seek and work to be His True Apostles and thus live to be a Saint!
God Bless! Live Jesus!
Discovering the beauty of the Catholic Church through the Catechism:
THE ANGELS IN THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH
The whole life of the Church benefits from the mysterious and powerful help of angels.
In her liturgy, the Church joins with the angels to adore the thrice-holy God
From infancy to death human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession.
“Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life.”
Reflection Capsules 