Saint James and Saint Philip

Today we celebrate the feast day of St. Philip and St. James

St. James, Son of Alphaeus:

We do not know much about St. James except for his name, and, of course, it is known that St. James was chosen by Jesus to be one of the 12 pillars of the New Israel, his Church.

St. James is not the James of Acts, son of Clopas, “brother” of Jesus and later bishop of Jerusalem and the traditional author of the Letter of James.

St. James, son of Alphaeus, also is widely known as St. James the Lesser to avoid any possible confusion with James the son of Zebedee, also an apostle and he is known as James the Greater.

St. Philip:

St. Philip was born in the same town as St. Peter and St. Andrew. This town is named. Bethsaida in Galilee.

Jesus called St. Philip directly, immediately after he sought out Nathanael and told him of the “one about whom Moses wrote” (Jn 1:45).

Like all of the other apostles, St. Philip took a long time to come to the realization who Jesus truly was.

During one occasion, when Jesus saw the great multitude of people who were following him, he wanted to give them food, he asked St. Philip where they should buy all the bread for the people to eat.

St. John mentions, “Jesus said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do” (Jn 6:6). Philip answered, “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little” (Jn 6:7).

John’s story is not attempting to put down St. Philip. It was very necessary for all these men who were to be the future foundation stones of the Church. John’s story shows how powerful Jesus is, it shows how important it is for us to trust in Jesus regardless of how hard or difficult it may be for us to do. It is important that we remember that Jesus has his best interest in mind for each one of us, even if it may be hard for us to see.

During another event, we get a bit of information on the kind of person St. Philip was. After Thomas had mentioned that they were concerned that they did not know where Jesus was going, Jesus said, “I am the way. If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him” (Jn 14:6, 7). Then Philip replied asking, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us” (Jn 14:8). Enough! Jesus answered, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn 14:9).

St. Philip was said to have been very close to Jesus. On one occasion some gentile proselytes came to St. Philip and asked him to introduce them to Jesus.

St. Philip went to talk to Andrew, and Andrew decided to go to Jesus to talk to him. Jesus’s reply in John’s Gospel was ; that now his “hour” has come, that in a short time he will give his life for all Jews and gentiles alike.

Very similar to the case of the other apostles, it is visible through St. James and St. Philip that humans need to allow Christ into their lives, humans need to repent to Christ so that they may be renewed and be able to strengthen their devotion to Christ.

All power is God’s power, even the power of human freedom to accept his gifts. However, God is not a manipulative God and he allows us to choose whether we decide to accept or decline his gifts.

Jesus told St. Philip and the others “You will be clothed with power from on high.”

Their first mission was to expel unclean spirits, heal diseases, announce the kingdom. They later learned overtime, that these externals were sacraments of an even greater miracle which was the divine power to love like God.

As St. James and St. Philip told us it is important that we repent when we sin, that we pray always, that we respect everyone’s human dignity and that we do God’s will. We must repent and become greater people, we must grow in our devotion, intimacy and love with Christ so that we may be like him.

St. James’ and St. Philip’s feast day is celebrated on May 3, and they are the patron saint of Uruguay.

Prayer to St. James and St. Philip: St. James and St. Philip intercede that we may be able to repent after we sin, so that we may be able to be renewed and be able to do the will of Christ. St. James and St. Philip help us to trust in Jesus’ plan for us and help us to remember that Jesus has his best interest for us and he will help us to spend the rest of eternity with him. We ask this through Christ Our Lord and Mary our Mother in Heaven Amen St. James and St. Philip pray for us St. Joseph pray for us

May we continue to strengthen our journey to sainthood and keep others in our prayers.

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Works cited:

Information (read from, not taken):

Franciscan Media. "Saints Philip and James . ”Saints Philip and James | Franciscan Media. Accessed 3, May 2021.

Images:

Saints Philip and James. May 3, 2021. st. philip and james - Google Search.