Feast of Saint Bartholomew, Apostle
For centuries there were discussions about the identity of Saint Bartholomew, which in the ninth century led the Church to accept that Bartholomew was mentioned next to Philip (also in the Roman Canon appears "Philip and Bartholomew") in the synoptic Gospels and Nathanael, mentioned in the Gospel of John are one and the same person. Earlier, for example, Augustine and Gregory the Great claimed otherwise, attempts were also made to look for answers in the apocrypha, the earliest of which arose two centuries after the death of the Apostle. The fact remains that both the New Testament and Tradition give little information about it.
Nathanael in Hebrew means "God gave" (Latin Deusdedit, while bar-Tolmay is simply the "son of Tolmay”, or farmer, "son of the furrows"- hence the hypothesis that the full name of the saint was Nathanael Bartholomaîos. This interpretation is also supported by the fact that Saint John mentions that the apostle Nathanael was a friend of Philip. He came, according to John the Evangelist, from Cana of Galilee.
It was the previously called disciple of the Lord, Philip, who announced to him that the Messiah, foretold in the Scriptures, had come to earth and that his name is Jesus. At first Bartholomew was distrustful when he asked: "What can be good with Nazareth?", As the opinion that this town had was not the best in the neighboring lands. Such a reaction probably resulted from ordinary neighborly prejudices, but it has a broader meaning. For it highlights the teaching that the Savior wanted to give by choosing for Himself places, activities and a way of life to which the world treats with contempt, so that the splendor of His Divinity would shine even more before the eyes of the humble.
The first meeting with the Savior was a source of even greater astonishment for the future apostle, because the Lord Jesus said about him: " Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him," although he had never seen him before. Bartholomew asked: "How do you know me?" - Jesus replied: " Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.", and then grace flowed into the heart of the new disciple of Christ and he recognized the true God in him, as testified by the confession: " Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel"
From then on, Bartholomew faithfully accompanied the Messiah, and after his death and resurrection, he probably proclaimed his Word, although it is not certain in which parts of the world. There is no mention of it in Acts or in the Epistles, as with other Gospel writers. One of the presumptions points to India, because a Hebrew copy of the Gospel of Matthew was found there, as Eusebius of Caesarea writes about, recalling that in the Acts of the Apostles the activity of Bartholomew is connected with the person of Saint Matthew. Other tradition says that he worked in Arabia or even Ethiopia.
We learn from tradition that he suffered a martyr's death, which is described in the apocryphal text The Passion of Bartholomew the Apostle. It is not certain what kind of death he died, but it is commonly assumed that he was murdered in an extremely cruel way - he was to be skinned alive, then crucified or beheaded. That is why he is sometimes depicted with the skin stripped off or with a butcher's knife.
Good patron of man
This is remarkable. It sometimes happens that we discover God's presence in difficult, mysterious or joyful events only after many years. God relies on experience to win a man's heart. Not necessarily on emotions.
Information on Bartholomew's activities after Pentecost is divergent and unclear. We know for sure that he became a martyr, but we can say more about him from the Gospel. We know the peculiar scene of his calling; we know that he became one of the twelve and that he was at the miraculous catch of fish after Jesus’ resurrection (Jn. 21: 1-14).
Bartholomew is a good patron for a modern man - little emotions, reserved, but also maximum commitment even until martyrdom, when he genuinely got to know and experienced that Jesus is the Messiah. Today we do not die for faith, but we can "kill" the old man in us, give our lives to our relatives in simple daily service. Bartholomew was not a leading figure, he did not expect praise, he did not follow his emotions, but he did his job. It is worth praying for such attitudes through his intercession.
Until Tomorrow
fr. george