St. Philip and St. James, Apostles
by Fr. Francis Xavier Weninger, 1877
by Fr. Francis Xavier Weninger, 1877
St. Philip was born at
Bethsaida, a city near the Sea of Genesareth. What we know concerning
him is contained in the following words of the Gospel: One day, as
Christ our Lord was going to Galilee, he met Philip and said to him:
"Follow me." Philip unhesitatingly obeyed, and as, after a long
conversation with Christ, he became convinced that He was the true,
long-promised Messiah, he endeavored to lead others also to Him. Among
the first of these was Nathaniel, an upright man and well versed in the
law of God. After some time, Christ appointed Philip an Apostle, and he
was extremely zealous in the fulfilment of his duties. Before the
Saviour fed, with five loaves of bread, the five thousand men in the
desert, he had asked Philip: "Where shall we buy bread that they may
have to eat?" Philip replied: "Bread for two hundred pence is not
sufficient to give each one a small piece." Christ, however, showed that
He did not need so much to feed the assembled multitudes.
After Christ
had raised Lazarus from the dead, and had made His glorious entry into
Jerusalem, some heathens came to Philip and said: " Sir, we would see
Jesus." Philip informed the Apostle Andrew of it, and both acquainted
the Saviour with the request. When Our Lord, in His exhortation after
the last supper, spoke of His heavenly father, Philip said; "Lord, show
us the Father, and it will suffice us."
In addition to the above, tradition gives us the following of the life
and labors of this Saint.
When, after having received the Holy Ghost, the Apostles dispersed into
the world to preach the Gospel, Scythia, still wild and savage, fell to
the lot of Philip, and by his preaching and the wonders he wrought, he
converted almost all its inhabitants. Thence he went to Phrygia, where
he found in the Capital, Hierapolis, an unusually large dragon, which
the blind heathens worshipped as their God, and even cast as sacrifices
living human beings before it, whom it tore in pieces and devoured. The
Saint had deep compassion upon their blindness, and prayed to God upon
bended knees, to destroy the monster by His power, that the people might
recognize how wretched a God they had worshipped until now. What the
Holy Apostle asked for he received. The dragon burst asunder in the
presence of many heathens. The Saint, improving the opportunity,
disclosed to the assembled multitude their error, and preached to them
the true faith, which many readily embraced. The idolatrous priests and
some of the magistrates, much incensed at what had taken place with
their pretended god, gave no respite to Philip, but immediately seized
him, and threw him into a dungeon: then, after having most cruelly
scourged him, they hung him upon a cross with orders to stone him to
death. During his martyrdom, however, there was so terrible an
earthquake, that all the heathens ran away in affright. The Christians
wished to take the Saint from the cross, but he requested to be allowed
to die upon it, after the example of his divine Master. His wish was
complied with, and after he had most fervently recommended himself and
the newly converted Christians to the care of the Almighty, he gave up
the ghost.
The Apostle James, whose festival is also celebrated today, is called the Younger, or the Less, because he was the second of that name who became a follower of Christ. He was related to the Saviour, and therefore is sometimes called a brother of our Lord. His parents had consecrated him to God before his birth, and he therefore led, when grown up, that kind of life which was usual to a Nazarene. He abstained from meat and wine, cast off all sensual desires, and was so devoted to prayer, that the skin of his knees was hard, like the skin of a camel. Moreover, he lived so retired, and so blamelessly, that he obtained the surname of the "just." Christ received him among the number of His Apostles, and it is not to be doubted that he followed the Saviour everywhere, with the others, and shared with them in many of their graces. St. Peter ordained him Bishop of Jerusalem, after they had received the Holy Ghost. This difficult position he occupied during thirty years with unwearied diligence. His zeal in preaching the Gospel, and still more the holiness of his life, and the many wonders God wrought through him, placed him so high in the esteem even of the Jews that many, on meeting him, prostrated themselves before him and kissed the hem of his garment. The greatest comfort, however, that the Saint enjoyed was the conversion of so many persons to the faith of Christ. The number of the faithful increased daily, and also their piety as well as the purity of their life. The Saint insisted on the exercise of good works and avoidance of sin: the beautiful Epistle, which he wrote to the faithful, and which is contained in Holy Writ, is a proof of this. In it he exhorts them to avoid anger, pride, calumny, cursing and other sins, and to obey God and fulfil His commandments, to resist all sensuality, to bridle the tongue, to be patient in suffering, steadfast in persecution, and above all things, kind towards others. The reason he gives for this, is, that faith without good deeds is not sufficient to lead to heaven. "What shall it profit, if a man say he has faith, but hath not works?--shall faith be able to save him? If faith have not works, it is dead in itself." Do you see that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only? "For even as the body without the spirit is dead, so also, faith without works is dead." Thus writes the Holy Apostle, and with it refutes the dogma of the non-Catholics, who say that faith alone secures justification and salvation; while by the same words he gives a brilliant testimonial that the Catholic doctrine, which, to gain salvation, requires good works as well as faith, is the true Apostolic doctrine.
It ought not to be passed in silence that this Apostle in the above epistle distinctly makes, mention of, first, the Holy Sacrament of Extreme Unction which should be given to the sick. His own words I shall give somewhere else. Secondly, he speaks of the confession which one man should make to another; that is, to a priest. Both these show that Extreme Unction and Confession were already practised by the early Christians, and were not, as the non-Catholics wrongly and foolishly pretend, instituted or commanded by the Popes. Holy Writ says also that St. James was present at the first Council which was held in Jerusalem, and that he was of the opinion of St. Peter, not to oblige the newly-converted Christians to observe the old Mosaic ceremonies.
Meanwhile, the Scribes and Pharisees noticing the daily growth of the Christian faith in Jerusalem and all Judea, and not knowing how to prevent it, determined to persuade St. James, by flatteries and promises, to renounce the teachings of Christ and go back to the old laws. Ananus, at that time High Priest, summoned him, therefore, to the grand Council. After he had praised his virtue and piety, he requested him to exhort the people, who, on account of the Passover, were assembled at Jerusalem in great numbers, to leave the new heresy and once more return to the right path. St. James promised to show them all publicly the true path to salvation. He was accordingly led upon the battlement of the Temple that his voice might be better heard by the assembled multitude. The Scribes, who were standing among them, called up to him: " Tell us, thou just man, what shall we think of the crucified Christ, because we will believe thy words. Show us the right path wherein we should walk." The Apostle, raising his voice, said; "Hear, my brethren, the proofs which I give of the truth. The Crucified Jesus Christ is the Messiah whom our fathers so long hoped for, so long expected. He is the true Son of God who sits now on His right hand, until He shall return to judge the living and the dead. Whosoever believeth in Him cannot be lost." This and more the Saint fearlessly said in order to preach and defend the teaching of the Gospel. Many of those present applauded him and showed themselves ready to accept the teachings of Christ. The Pharisees, however, running hither and thither among the people, said: "Dear friends, this just man has erred; be not troubled. It is not as he says." At the same time some of them hastened upon the pinnacle of the Temple, whence the Saint had, with such undaunted courage, proclaimed his confession, and precipitated him to the ground. St. James, having raised himself upon his knees, lifted his eyes and hands to heaven, and in imitation of his divine Master, said: "Lord forgive them, for they know not what they do." The Jews, however, threw stones upon him, and one with a heavy club struck him on the head so that he sank dead upon the ground.
Practical ConsiderationsThe Apostle James, whose festival is also celebrated today, is called the Younger, or the Less, because he was the second of that name who became a follower of Christ. He was related to the Saviour, and therefore is sometimes called a brother of our Lord. His parents had consecrated him to God before his birth, and he therefore led, when grown up, that kind of life which was usual to a Nazarene. He abstained from meat and wine, cast off all sensual desires, and was so devoted to prayer, that the skin of his knees was hard, like the skin of a camel. Moreover, he lived so retired, and so blamelessly, that he obtained the surname of the "just." Christ received him among the number of His Apostles, and it is not to be doubted that he followed the Saviour everywhere, with the others, and shared with them in many of their graces. St. Peter ordained him Bishop of Jerusalem, after they had received the Holy Ghost. This difficult position he occupied during thirty years with unwearied diligence. His zeal in preaching the Gospel, and still more the holiness of his life, and the many wonders God wrought through him, placed him so high in the esteem even of the Jews that many, on meeting him, prostrated themselves before him and kissed the hem of his garment. The greatest comfort, however, that the Saint enjoyed was the conversion of so many persons to the faith of Christ. The number of the faithful increased daily, and also their piety as well as the purity of their life. The Saint insisted on the exercise of good works and avoidance of sin: the beautiful Epistle, which he wrote to the faithful, and which is contained in Holy Writ, is a proof of this. In it he exhorts them to avoid anger, pride, calumny, cursing and other sins, and to obey God and fulfil His commandments, to resist all sensuality, to bridle the tongue, to be patient in suffering, steadfast in persecution, and above all things, kind towards others. The reason he gives for this, is, that faith without good deeds is not sufficient to lead to heaven. "What shall it profit, if a man say he has faith, but hath not works?--shall faith be able to save him? If faith have not works, it is dead in itself." Do you see that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only? "For even as the body without the spirit is dead, so also, faith without works is dead." Thus writes the Holy Apostle, and with it refutes the dogma of the non-Catholics, who say that faith alone secures justification and salvation; while by the same words he gives a brilliant testimonial that the Catholic doctrine, which, to gain salvation, requires good works as well as faith, is the true Apostolic doctrine.
It ought not to be passed in silence that this Apostle in the above epistle distinctly makes, mention of, first, the Holy Sacrament of Extreme Unction which should be given to the sick. His own words I shall give somewhere else. Secondly, he speaks of the confession which one man should make to another; that is, to a priest. Both these show that Extreme Unction and Confession were already practised by the early Christians, and were not, as the non-Catholics wrongly and foolishly pretend, instituted or commanded by the Popes. Holy Writ says also that St. James was present at the first Council which was held in Jerusalem, and that he was of the opinion of St. Peter, not to oblige the newly-converted Christians to observe the old Mosaic ceremonies.
Meanwhile, the Scribes and Pharisees noticing the daily growth of the Christian faith in Jerusalem and all Judea, and not knowing how to prevent it, determined to persuade St. James, by flatteries and promises, to renounce the teachings of Christ and go back to the old laws. Ananus, at that time High Priest, summoned him, therefore, to the grand Council. After he had praised his virtue and piety, he requested him to exhort the people, who, on account of the Passover, were assembled at Jerusalem in great numbers, to leave the new heresy and once more return to the right path. St. James promised to show them all publicly the true path to salvation. He was accordingly led upon the battlement of the Temple that his voice might be better heard by the assembled multitude. The Scribes, who were standing among them, called up to him: " Tell us, thou just man, what shall we think of the crucified Christ, because we will believe thy words. Show us the right path wherein we should walk." The Apostle, raising his voice, said; "Hear, my brethren, the proofs which I give of the truth. The Crucified Jesus Christ is the Messiah whom our fathers so long hoped for, so long expected. He is the true Son of God who sits now on His right hand, until He shall return to judge the living and the dead. Whosoever believeth in Him cannot be lost." This and more the Saint fearlessly said in order to preach and defend the teaching of the Gospel. Many of those present applauded him and showed themselves ready to accept the teachings of Christ. The Pharisees, however, running hither and thither among the people, said: "Dear friends, this just man has erred; be not troubled. It is not as he says." At the same time some of them hastened upon the pinnacle of the Temple, whence the Saint had, with such undaunted courage, proclaimed his confession, and precipitated him to the ground. St. James, having raised himself upon his knees, lifted his eyes and hands to heaven, and in imitation of his divine Master, said: "Lord forgive them, for they know not what they do." The Jews, however, threw stones upon him, and one with a heavy club struck him on the head so that he sank dead upon the ground.
As soon as Philip had
come to the knowledge that Christ was the true Messiah, he endeavored to
bring others to Him and make them also acquainted with His word. Have
you, at any time during your life, brought any one to Christ, or to the
knowledge of His word and to His love? Or, have you not on the contrary,
led many a one to Satan and persuaded him to serve the Evil One. The
first took place when you, by your good example or kind words, converted
any one to the true faith, or moved him to repentance, or confession,
or to hear holy Mass, and the word of God, or to have patience under
adversity, or to any other Christian virtue. The second happened when
you, by word or deed, enticed others to evil, or confirmed them in evil
doing. If you have been guilty of the last, oh, repent, as long as you
live, of the wickedness that you have caused, and leave nothing untried
to bring the soul, which you delivered to Satan, back to Christ. Should
it, however, be too late, endeavor earnestly to lead other souls to
Christ by your pious life, devout conversation, and fervent prayer. You
can do nothing more pleasing to God, nothing of greater service to
yourself and your neighbor.
"If any of you err from the truth, and one convert him, he must know
that he who causeth a sinner to be converted from the error of his way
shall save his soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins"
(James vi.).
Thus speaks St. James. But what says the Eternal Truth of those who prevent others from the knowledge of Christ and try to strengthen them in their errors as did the Pharisees? "But woe unto you Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites: because you shut the kingdom of heaven against men: for you yourselves do not enter in, and those that are going in, you suffer not to enter" (Matt, xxiii.). A still greater woe awaits those who lead others away from Christ and heaven, and bring them to Satan and hell.
II. St. James, in imitation of the Saviour, prayed even for his bitterest enemies. Shall the noble example of your Saviour make less impression upon you? Consider it well. Your Saviour prayed aloud upon the holy Cross for those who caused him infinitely more suffering than your enemies have caused you, and will you hesitate to pray for them? Shame on you! Cast at once all hesitation aside, and offer today all your prayers to God for those who have ever done you any harm. At the same time promise your Omniscient God that you will forgive all, without any exception, for anything by which they have wronged you. This is one of the surest means to gain from God remission of your own sins. "If you desire that God would forgive you your sin, forgive your enemies," says St. Chrysostom. Christ our Lord says Himself: "For if you will forgive men their offences, your heavenly Father will forgive you also your offences" (Matt. vi.). Comforting words! But terrible those which he adds: " But if you will not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive you your offences " (Matt. vi.). Now consider. You doubtless wish that God would forgive you, if you forgive others, but He will not forgive you if you do not forgive others: hence you will have to forgive your enemies, or go into everlasting fire. Which is the easier of the two? What do you resolve to do? You daily say, in the Lord's prayer: "Forgive us our trespasses." With these words you beg God to forgive your sins. But you add, following Christ's teaching: "As we forgive them that trespass against us," which means: as you forgive others the wrongs they have done to you, so you wish God may forgive you your sins. Pay attention: if you do not forgive your enemy, you yourself ask that God may also not forgive you your sins, but condemn you to endless punishment; you yourself prevent the forgiveness of your sins, and with it, eternal happiness.
Should not your hair stand on end if you consider this rightly? "How can you," says St. Chrysostom, "raise your hands to heaven, and open your lips to ask forgiveness of your sins? Because if God were willing to pardon your offences, you prevent him from doing so, as long as you nourish bitter feeling towards your neighbor." And St. Anastasius says: "If you do not forgive the wrong done to you, you do not say a prayer for yourself, but draw the curse of God on your head when you say : Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us." You will now easily understand your duty on this point.
Thus speaks St. James. But what says the Eternal Truth of those who prevent others from the knowledge of Christ and try to strengthen them in their errors as did the Pharisees? "But woe unto you Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites: because you shut the kingdom of heaven against men: for you yourselves do not enter in, and those that are going in, you suffer not to enter" (Matt, xxiii.). A still greater woe awaits those who lead others away from Christ and heaven, and bring them to Satan and hell.
II. St. James, in imitation of the Saviour, prayed even for his bitterest enemies. Shall the noble example of your Saviour make less impression upon you? Consider it well. Your Saviour prayed aloud upon the holy Cross for those who caused him infinitely more suffering than your enemies have caused you, and will you hesitate to pray for them? Shame on you! Cast at once all hesitation aside, and offer today all your prayers to God for those who have ever done you any harm. At the same time promise your Omniscient God that you will forgive all, without any exception, for anything by which they have wronged you. This is one of the surest means to gain from God remission of your own sins. "If you desire that God would forgive you your sin, forgive your enemies," says St. Chrysostom. Christ our Lord says Himself: "For if you will forgive men their offences, your heavenly Father will forgive you also your offences" (Matt. vi.). Comforting words! But terrible those which he adds: " But if you will not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive you your offences " (Matt. vi.). Now consider. You doubtless wish that God would forgive you, if you forgive others, but He will not forgive you if you do not forgive others: hence you will have to forgive your enemies, or go into everlasting fire. Which is the easier of the two? What do you resolve to do? You daily say, in the Lord's prayer: "Forgive us our trespasses." With these words you beg God to forgive your sins. But you add, following Christ's teaching: "As we forgive them that trespass against us," which means: as you forgive others the wrongs they have done to you, so you wish God may forgive you your sins. Pay attention: if you do not forgive your enemy, you yourself ask that God may also not forgive you your sins, but condemn you to endless punishment; you yourself prevent the forgiveness of your sins, and with it, eternal happiness.
Should not your hair stand on end if you consider this rightly? "How can you," says St. Chrysostom, "raise your hands to heaven, and open your lips to ask forgiveness of your sins? Because if God were willing to pardon your offences, you prevent him from doing so, as long as you nourish bitter feeling towards your neighbor." And St. Anastasius says: "If you do not forgive the wrong done to you, you do not say a prayer for yourself, but draw the curse of God on your head when you say : Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us." You will now easily understand your duty on this point.
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Hymn: Aeterna Christi munera
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St. Philip and St. James The Less, Apostles
by Father Prosper Gueranger 1870
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Prayer to St. Philip, Apostle
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Prayer to St. James the Lesser, Apostle
Th' eternal gifts of Christ the King,
The Apostles' glory, let us sing;
And all with hearts of gladness raise
Due hymns of thankful love and praise.
For they the Church's princes are,
Triumphant leaders in the war,
The heavenly King's own warrior band,
True lights to lighten every land.
Theirs was the steadfast faith of Saints,
The hope that never yields nor faints,
The love of Christ in perfect flow,
That lay the prince of this world low.
In them the Father's glory shone,
In them the Spirit's will was done,
The Son Himself exults in them;
Joy fills the new Jerusalem.
Praise to the Father, with the Son,
And Holy spirit, Three in One;
As ever was in ages past,
And so shall be while ages last.
The Apostles' glory, let us sing;
And all with hearts of gladness raise
Due hymns of thankful love and praise.
For they the Church's princes are,
Triumphant leaders in the war,
The heavenly King's own warrior band,
True lights to lighten every land.
Theirs was the steadfast faith of Saints,
The hope that never yields nor faints,
The love of Christ in perfect flow,
That lay the prince of this world low.
In them the Father's glory shone,
In them the Spirit's will was done,
The Son Himself exults in them;
Joy fills the new Jerusalem.
Praise to the Father, with the Son,
And Holy spirit, Three in One;
As ever was in ages past,
And so shall be while ages last.
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St. Philip and St. James The Less, Apostles
by Father Prosper Gueranger 1870
Two of the favoured
witnesses of our beloved Jesus' Resurrection come before us on this
first day of May. Philip and James are here, bearing testimony to us,
that their Master is truly risen from the dead, that they have seen Him,
that they have touched Him, that they have conversed with Him (I. St.
John, i. 1), during these forty days. And, that we may have no doubt as
to the truth of their testimony, they hold in their hands the
instruments of the martyrdom they underwent for asserting that Jesus,
after having suffered death, came to life again and rose from the grave.
Philip is leaning upon the cross to which he was fastened, as Jesus had
been; James is holding the club wherewith he was struck dead.
Philip preached the Gospel in the two Phrygias, and his martyrdom took place at Hierapolis. James is better known than Philip. He is called, in the sacred Scripture, Brother of the Lord (Gal. i. 19, and elsewhere), on account of the close relationship that existed between his own mother and the Blessed Mother of Jesus. He claims our veneration, during Paschal Time, inasmuch as he was favoured with a special visit from our Risen Lord, as we learn from St. Paul (I. Cor. xv. 7). There can be no doubt, but what he had done something to deserve this mark of Jesus' predilection. St. Jerome and St. Epiphanius tell us, that our Saviour, when ascending into heaven, recommended to St. James' care the Church of Jerusalem, and that he was accordingly appointed the first Bishop of that City. The Christians of Jerusalem, in the 4th Century, had possession of the chair on which St. James used to sit, when he assisted at the assemblies of the faithful. St. Epiphanius also tells us, that the holy Apostle used to wear a lamina of gold upon his forehead, as the badge of his dignity. His garment was a tunic made of linen.
He was held in such high repute for virtue, that the people of Jerusalem called him "The Just;" and when the time of the siege came, instead of attributing the frightful punishment, they then endured, to the deicide they or their fathers had committed, they would have it to be a consequence of the murder of James, who, when dying, prayed for his people. The admirable Epistle he has left us bears testimony to the gentleness and uprightness of his character. He there teaches us, with an eloquence of an inspired writer, that works must go along with our Faith, if we would be Just with that Justice, which makes us like our Risen Lord.
The bodies of Saints Philip and James repose in the Basilica of the Holy Apostles, at Rome. These Relics are counted as one of the richest treasures of the Holy City, and there is reason to believe that this first of May is the real anniversary of their Translation. For a long period, the Church of Rome kept special Feasts in honour of four only of the Apostles: SS. Peter and Paul, St. John the Evangelist, and St. Andrew (Peter's Brother): the rest were united in the solemnity of the 29th of June, and a vestige of this is still to be found in the Office of that day, as we shall see later on. The reception of the bodies of SS. Philip and James, which were brought from the East, somewhere about the 6th Century, gave rise to the institution of today's Feast; and this led gradually to the insertion into the calendar of the special Feasts for the other Apostles and Evangelists.
Let us now read the brief account given of St. Philip in the Liturgy.
Philip was born at Bethsaida, and was one of the twelve Apostles that were first called by Christ our Lord. It was from Philip that Nathanael learned that the Messias had come who was promised in the Law; and by him also he was led to our Lord. We have a clear proof of the familiarity wherewith Philip was treated by Christ, in the fact of the Gentiles addressing themselves to this Apostle, when they wished to see the Saviour. Again, when our Lord was about to feed the multitude in the desert, he spoke to Philip, and said: "Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?" Having received the Holy Ghost, he went into Scythia, which was the country allotted to him, wherein to preach the Gospel; and he converted almost its entire people to the Christian Faith. Having, finally, reached Hierapolis, in Phrygia, he was crucified there for the name of Christ, and then stoned to death on the Kalends of May (May 1st). The Christians buried his body in the same place; but it was afterwards taken to Rome, and, together with the body of the Apostle St. James, was placed in the Basilica of the Twelve Apostles.
The Breviary then gives the two following Lessons upon St. James.
James, the brother of our Lord, was called "the Just." From his childhood, he never drank wine or strong drink; he abstained from flesh-meat; he never cut his hair, or used oil to anoint his limbs, or took a bath. He was the only one permitted to enter the Holy of Holies. His garments were of linen. So assiduous was he in prayer, that the skin of his knees was as hard as that of a camel. After Christ's Ascension, the Apostles made him Bishop of Jerusalem; and it was to him that the Prince of the Apostles sent the news of his being delivered out of prison by an Angel. A dispute having arisen in the Council of Jerusalem concerning the Mosaic Law and Circumcision, James sided with Peter, and, in a speech which he made to the Brethren, proved the Vocation of the Gentiles, and said that the absent Brethren were to be written to, and told not to impose the yoke of the Mosaic Law upon the Gentiles. It is of him that the Apostle speaks in his Epistle to the Galatians, when he says: But other of the Apostles I saw none, saving James, the brother of the Lord.
Such was James' holy life, that people used to strive with each other to touch the hem of his garment. At the age of ninety-six years, of which he had spent thirty governing the Church of Jerusalem in the most saintly manner, as he was one day preaching, with great courage, Christ the Son of God, he was attacked by stones being thrown at him; after which, he was taken to the highest part of the Temple, and cast headlong down. His legs were broken by the fall; and, as he was lying half dead upon the ground, he raised up his hands towards heaven, and thus prayed for his executioners: "Forgive them, O Lord! for they know not what they do." Whilst thus praying, he received a blow on the head with a fuller's club, and gave up his soul to his God, in the seventh year of Nero's reign. He was buried near the Temple, from which he had been thrown down. He wrote a Letter, which is one of the seven Catholic Epistles.
PrayerPhilip preached the Gospel in the two Phrygias, and his martyrdom took place at Hierapolis. James is better known than Philip. He is called, in the sacred Scripture, Brother of the Lord (Gal. i. 19, and elsewhere), on account of the close relationship that existed between his own mother and the Blessed Mother of Jesus. He claims our veneration, during Paschal Time, inasmuch as he was favoured with a special visit from our Risen Lord, as we learn from St. Paul (I. Cor. xv. 7). There can be no doubt, but what he had done something to deserve this mark of Jesus' predilection. St. Jerome and St. Epiphanius tell us, that our Saviour, when ascending into heaven, recommended to St. James' care the Church of Jerusalem, and that he was accordingly appointed the first Bishop of that City. The Christians of Jerusalem, in the 4th Century, had possession of the chair on which St. James used to sit, when he assisted at the assemblies of the faithful. St. Epiphanius also tells us, that the holy Apostle used to wear a lamina of gold upon his forehead, as the badge of his dignity. His garment was a tunic made of linen.
He was held in such high repute for virtue, that the people of Jerusalem called him "The Just;" and when the time of the siege came, instead of attributing the frightful punishment, they then endured, to the deicide they or their fathers had committed, they would have it to be a consequence of the murder of James, who, when dying, prayed for his people. The admirable Epistle he has left us bears testimony to the gentleness and uprightness of his character. He there teaches us, with an eloquence of an inspired writer, that works must go along with our Faith, if we would be Just with that Justice, which makes us like our Risen Lord.
The bodies of Saints Philip and James repose in the Basilica of the Holy Apostles, at Rome. These Relics are counted as one of the richest treasures of the Holy City, and there is reason to believe that this first of May is the real anniversary of their Translation. For a long period, the Church of Rome kept special Feasts in honour of four only of the Apostles: SS. Peter and Paul, St. John the Evangelist, and St. Andrew (Peter's Brother): the rest were united in the solemnity of the 29th of June, and a vestige of this is still to be found in the Office of that day, as we shall see later on. The reception of the bodies of SS. Philip and James, which were brought from the East, somewhere about the 6th Century, gave rise to the institution of today's Feast; and this led gradually to the insertion into the calendar of the special Feasts for the other Apostles and Evangelists.
Let us now read the brief account given of St. Philip in the Liturgy.
Philip was born at Bethsaida, and was one of the twelve Apostles that were first called by Christ our Lord. It was from Philip that Nathanael learned that the Messias had come who was promised in the Law; and by him also he was led to our Lord. We have a clear proof of the familiarity wherewith Philip was treated by Christ, in the fact of the Gentiles addressing themselves to this Apostle, when they wished to see the Saviour. Again, when our Lord was about to feed the multitude in the desert, he spoke to Philip, and said: "Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?" Having received the Holy Ghost, he went into Scythia, which was the country allotted to him, wherein to preach the Gospel; and he converted almost its entire people to the Christian Faith. Having, finally, reached Hierapolis, in Phrygia, he was crucified there for the name of Christ, and then stoned to death on the Kalends of May (May 1st). The Christians buried his body in the same place; but it was afterwards taken to Rome, and, together with the body of the Apostle St. James, was placed in the Basilica of the Twelve Apostles.
The Breviary then gives the two following Lessons upon St. James.
James, the brother of our Lord, was called "the Just." From his childhood, he never drank wine or strong drink; he abstained from flesh-meat; he never cut his hair, or used oil to anoint his limbs, or took a bath. He was the only one permitted to enter the Holy of Holies. His garments were of linen. So assiduous was he in prayer, that the skin of his knees was as hard as that of a camel. After Christ's Ascension, the Apostles made him Bishop of Jerusalem; and it was to him that the Prince of the Apostles sent the news of his being delivered out of prison by an Angel. A dispute having arisen in the Council of Jerusalem concerning the Mosaic Law and Circumcision, James sided with Peter, and, in a speech which he made to the Brethren, proved the Vocation of the Gentiles, and said that the absent Brethren were to be written to, and told not to impose the yoke of the Mosaic Law upon the Gentiles. It is of him that the Apostle speaks in his Epistle to the Galatians, when he says: But other of the Apostles I saw none, saving James, the brother of the Lord.
Such was James' holy life, that people used to strive with each other to touch the hem of his garment. At the age of ninety-six years, of which he had spent thirty governing the Church of Jerusalem in the most saintly manner, as he was one day preaching, with great courage, Christ the Son of God, he was attacked by stones being thrown at him; after which, he was taken to the highest part of the Temple, and cast headlong down. His legs were broken by the fall; and, as he was lying half dead upon the ground, he raised up his hands towards heaven, and thus prayed for his executioners: "Forgive them, O Lord! for they know not what they do." Whilst thus praying, he received a blow on the head with a fuller's club, and gave up his soul to his God, in the seventh year of Nero's reign. He was buried near the Temple, from which he had been thrown down. He wrote a Letter, which is one of the seven Catholic Epistles.
Holy Apostles! you
saw our Risen Jesus in all his glory. He said to you on the evening of
that great Sunday: Peace be to you! He appeared to you during the forty
days following, that he might make you certain of His Resurrection.
Great indeed must have been your joy at seeing, once more, that dear
Master, Who had admitted you into the number of his chosen Twelve; and
his return made your love of him more than ever fervent. We address
ourselves to you as our special patrons during this holy Season, and
most earnestly do we beseech you to teach .us how to know and love the
great mystery of our Lord's Resurrection. May our hearts glow with
Paschal joy, and may we never lose the New Life that our Jesus has now
given unto us.
Thou, O Philip! wast all devoted to him, even from the first day of His calling thee. Scarcely hadst thou come to know Him as the Messias, than thou announcedst the great tidings to thy friend Nathanael. Jesus treated thee with affectionate familiarity. When about to work the great miracle of the multiplication of the loaves, it was to thee that He addressed Himself, and said to thee: Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat (St. John, vi. 5)? A few days before the Passion of thy Divine Master, some of the Gentiles wished to see this great Prophet, of Whom they had heard such wonderful things, and it was to thee they applied. How fervently didst thou not ask Him, at the Last Supper, to show thee the Father! Thy soul longed for the divine Light; and when the rays of the Holy Ghost had inflamed thy spirit, nothing could daunt thy courage. As a reward of thy labours, Jesus gave thee to share with him the honours of the Cross. O holy Apostle! intercede for us, that we may imitate thy devotedness to Jesus; and that, when He deigns to send us the Cross, we may reverence and love it.
We also honour thy love of Jesus, O thou that art called the Brother of the Lord, and on whose venerable features was stamped the likeness of this our Redeemer. If, like the rest of the Apostles, thou didst abandon Him in His Passion, thy repentance was speedy and earnest, for thou wast the first, after Peter, to whom He appeared after His Resurrection. We affectionately congratulate thee, O James, for the honour thus conferred upon thee; do thou, in return, obtain for us, that we may taste and see how sweet is our Risen Lord (Ps. xxxiii. 9). Thy ambition was to give Him every possible proof of thy gratitude; and the last testimony thou didst bear, in the faithless City, to the Divinity of thy dear Master, (when the Jews took thee to the top of the Temple,) opened to thee, by Martyrdom, the way that was to unite thee to Him for eternity. Pray for us, O thou generous Apostle, that we, also, may confess His holy Name, with the firmness becoming His disciples; and that we may ever be brave and loyal in proclaiming His rights as King over all creatures.
Thou, O Philip! wast all devoted to him, even from the first day of His calling thee. Scarcely hadst thou come to know Him as the Messias, than thou announcedst the great tidings to thy friend Nathanael. Jesus treated thee with affectionate familiarity. When about to work the great miracle of the multiplication of the loaves, it was to thee that He addressed Himself, and said to thee: Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat (St. John, vi. 5)? A few days before the Passion of thy Divine Master, some of the Gentiles wished to see this great Prophet, of Whom they had heard such wonderful things, and it was to thee they applied. How fervently didst thou not ask Him, at the Last Supper, to show thee the Father! Thy soul longed for the divine Light; and when the rays of the Holy Ghost had inflamed thy spirit, nothing could daunt thy courage. As a reward of thy labours, Jesus gave thee to share with him the honours of the Cross. O holy Apostle! intercede for us, that we may imitate thy devotedness to Jesus; and that, when He deigns to send us the Cross, we may reverence and love it.
We also honour thy love of Jesus, O thou that art called the Brother of the Lord, and on whose venerable features was stamped the likeness of this our Redeemer. If, like the rest of the Apostles, thou didst abandon Him in His Passion, thy repentance was speedy and earnest, for thou wast the first, after Peter, to whom He appeared after His Resurrection. We affectionately congratulate thee, O James, for the honour thus conferred upon thee; do thou, in return, obtain for us, that we may taste and see how sweet is our Risen Lord (Ps. xxxiii. 9). Thy ambition was to give Him every possible proof of thy gratitude; and the last testimony thou didst bear, in the faithless City, to the Divinity of thy dear Master, (when the Jews took thee to the top of the Temple,) opened to thee, by Martyrdom, the way that was to unite thee to Him for eternity. Pray for us, O thou generous Apostle, that we, also, may confess His holy Name, with the firmness becoming His disciples; and that we may ever be brave and loyal in proclaiming His rights as King over all creatures.
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Prayer to St. Philip, Apostle
Look down from heaven, holy father, from the loftiness
of that mountain to the lowliness of this valley; from that harbor of quietness and tranquillity to this calamitous sea. And
now that the darkness of this world hinders no more those
benignant eyes of thine from looking clearly into all things,
look down and visit, O most diligent keeper, that vineyard
which thy right hand planted with so much labor, anxiety and
peril. To thee, then, we fly; from thee we seek for aid; to thee
we give our whole selves unreservedly; thee we adopt for our
patron and defender. Undertake the cause of our salvation,
protect thy clients; to thee, kindest of rulers, we give up the
rudder of our lives; steer this little ship of thine, and, placed
as thou art on high, keep us off all the rocks of evil desires,
and with thee for our pilot and our guide we may safely come to the port of eternal bliss. Amen
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Prayer to St. James the Lesser, Apostle
Thou, O James, wisely teachest us that every best gift,
and every perfect gift comes down upon mankind from the
Father of lights. Beg of Him, we beseech thee, that they who
celebrate thy memory may partake of those gifts.
Thou wast Jesus' cousin according to the flesh, and wast favored with His holy friendship. Thou didst communicate to all men the grace of the divine light and knowledge, and didst root up the error of idols. Therefore did the false princes of darkness unjustly slay thee, whilst thou wast preaching the divinity of the Savior.
The Only Begotten Son of the Father, God, the Word, Who dwelt among us during this last age, appointed thee, O holy James, as the first pastor of Jerusalem; He willed thee to be her master, and faithful dispenser of the divine mysteries. Therefore do we venerate thee, O Apostle!
The choir of the Apostles chose thee to be the first who, on holy Sion, should minister as priest to their great benefactor Christ; for thou wast His cousin according to the flesh, and the faithful companion of His journeys.
Resplendent with the bright light of the Holy Spirit, thou, O James, cousin of our Lord, wast the zealous minister of the divine goodness. Like unto Aaron of old, thou didst therefore receive from the Lord, Who, in His mercy, admitted thee into the Brotherhood of His Apostles, a garment more sacred than that of the priesthood of the Law. Beseech Him, O glorious Apostle, that He mercifully save our souls!
Thou wast Jesus' cousin according to the flesh, and wast favored with His holy friendship. Thou didst communicate to all men the grace of the divine light and knowledge, and didst root up the error of idols. Therefore did the false princes of darkness unjustly slay thee, whilst thou wast preaching the divinity of the Savior.
The Only Begotten Son of the Father, God, the Word, Who dwelt among us during this last age, appointed thee, O holy James, as the first pastor of Jerusalem; He willed thee to be her master, and faithful dispenser of the divine mysteries. Therefore do we venerate thee, O Apostle!
The choir of the Apostles chose thee to be the first who, on holy Sion, should minister as priest to their great benefactor Christ; for thou wast His cousin according to the flesh, and the faithful companion of His journeys.
Resplendent with the bright light of the Holy Spirit, thou, O James, cousin of our Lord, wast the zealous minister of the divine goodness. Like unto Aaron of old, thou didst therefore receive from the Lord, Who, in His mercy, admitted thee into the Brotherhood of His Apostles, a garment more sacred than that of the priesthood of the Law. Beseech Him, O glorious Apostle, that He mercifully save our souls!