Saints Phillip and James, Friday, May 3, 2024
1 Cor 15:1-8; Ps 19:2-5; Jn 14:6-14
On this feast day of St. Phillip and St. James, we hear almost the same readings from Friday of last week. In the first reading, Paul preaches the Gospel of Jesus. In this case, he is reminding the Christians in Corinth of the message they received of the good news and to be faithful to that message. Their faith rests on the testimony of the apostles who were eyewitnesses to Jesus’ death and resurrection. In the Gospel, we have Jesus stating his clear divinity by saying, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” We are once again reminded that our own faith is based on the truths, and that we must rely, in faith, on God to provide for our needs.
As I said, today is the feast day of Saint Phillip and Saint James The Lesser, who was a cousin to Jesus and brother to the apostle, Jude. St. Phillip was crucified at Hierapolis in Phrygia, and St. James was hurled down the steps at the temple and was clubbed to death. Why are their deaths so important? Because it was through their faith, and boldness, that they spread the message through all the earth. And it was also through their faith and the graces they received from God, that they were able to spread the good news and be martyred for it. Without these graces and their faith, they would not have been able to endure the punishments they received at their ultimate martyrdom. They are a great example for us to emulate when living out our own faith.
So where are you today? Are we asking Jesus the same question Phillip did? “Show us the Father.” Are we in need of being reminded of the Gospel of Jesus like the Corinthians needed? Or are we standing in faith like Phillip and James, willing to sacrifice ourselves for the sake of Jesus?
What better way to do this than by participating in and receiving the sacraments of the Church? Those things that the Church says allow us to receive the graces Jesus gives us through our human experience. It is the way that we allow the Holy Spirit to be a material participant in our lives so we can be a material participant in Jesus’ life. It is the way through which we can go to the Father through Jesus Christ. The greatest of these sacraments is the Eucharist. We call it the heart and summit of the Church’s life. It is where we receive Jesus, His body, and His blood, so we can be one with Him and receive the eternal life promised to us. Jesus asked Phillip, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?” If we truly believe that, and truly believe we receive Jesus through the Eucharist, then we will be one with Jesus and one with the Father. And our faith will carry us through with all that we need.
Saint James Catholic Church 