Wednesday 24 th august 2022
St. Bartholomew,
Apostle
He was born in Cana and brought by the Apostle Philip to meet Jesus. Nothing further is known for certain. Eusebius speaks of him in India, but the Roman Martyrology has him martyred in Armenia, skinned alive according to the Persian custom. He is a patron saint of the sick.
Entrance Antiphon : Cf. Ps 95: 2-3
Proclaim the salvation of God day by day; tell among the nations his glory.
Collect
Strengthen in us, O Lord, the faith, by which the blessed Apostle Bartholomew clung wholeheartedly to your Son, and grant that through the help of his prayers, your Church may become for all the nations, the sacrament of salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading : Apocalypse 21:9-14
The angel came to speak to me, and said, ‘Come here and I will show you the bride that the Lamb has married.’ In the spirit, he took me to the top of an enormous high mountain and showed me Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down from God out of heaven. It had all the radiant glory of God and glittered like some precious jewel of crystal-clear diamond. The walls of it were of a great height, and had twelve gates; at each of the twelve gates there was an angel, and over the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel; on the east there were three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. The city walls stood on twelve foundation stones, each one of which bore the name of one of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
Psalm 144:10-13,17-18
R/ Your friends, O Lord, make known the glorious splendour of your reign.
- All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord, and your friends shall repeat their blessing. They shall speak of the glory of your reign and declare your might, O God.
- They make known to men your mighty deeds and the glorious splendour of your reign. Yours is an everlasting kingdom; your rule lasts from age to age.
- The Lord is just in all his ways and loving in all his deeds. He is close to all who call him, who call on him from their hearts.
Gospel Acclamation : Jn1:49
Alleluia, alleluia! Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel. Alleluia!
Gospel : John 1:45-51
Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, the one about whom the prophets wrote: he is Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.’ ‘From Nazareth?’ said Nathanael ‘Can anything good come from that place?’ ‘Come and see’ replied Philip. When Jesus saw Nathanael coming he said of him, ‘There is an Israelite who deserves the name, incapable of deceit.’ ‘How do you know me?’ said Nathanael ‘Before Philip came to call you,’ said Jesus ‘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. so You will see greater things than that.’ And then he added ‘I tell you most solemnly, you will see heaven laid open and, above the Son of Man, the angels of God ascending and descending.’
Prayer over the Offerings
As we celebrate anew the feast day of Saint Bartholomew, O Lord, we pray that we may obtain your help through the intercession of the Apostle, in whose honour we bring you this sacrifice of praise. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon : Lk 22: 29-30
I confer a kingdom on you, just as my Father has conferred one on me, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, says the Lord.
Prayer after Communion
As we celebrate the feast day of the blessed Apostle Bartholomew, we have received the pledge of eternal salvation, O Lord, and we pray that it may be of help to us, both now and for the life to come. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Bartholomew or Nathnael, he gives us an example of the deep and original relationship between the disciple and the teacher. It manifests itself to us with great modesty, by a simple suggestion. It manifests itself to us through a reciprocal recognition, that of two people who have known each other, who have loved each other, who have sought each other out. Jesus is the first to recognise his disciple: “There is an Israelite who deserves the name, incapable of deceit.” The disciple is taken aback. He immediately felt challenged: “How do you know me?” Jesus then discreetly gave him a clue; – he evoked a shared moment: “I saw you under the fig tree.” Nathanael’s reaction is immediate: “Rabbi, you are the Son of God”. He recognises the Lord. The apostle recognises the one he met under the fig tree, that is, the one who revealed himself to him during his meditation on Scripture.