The Feast of Saint Philip and Saint James the Less

Apostles (First Century)

Their story

+ Philip was born in the town of Bethsaida in Galilee.

+ According to the Gospel of John, Philip was called by Jesus the day after he called Peter and Andrew and he responded immediately, believing Jesus to be the Messiah.

+ Philip is also the one who approached Nathaniel with the news that he had found “the one of whom Moses and the prophets spoke” (John 12:20-22).

+ Following the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, Jesus said to Philip, “He who sees me sees the Father” (John 14:8-11).

+ According to legend, Philip preached the Gospel in Greece after Pentecost and is said to have been crucified in Hierapolis.

+ James was the son of Alphaeus and is called the “brother of the Lord” (Mark 15:40).

+ After the Ascension of Jesus, James served as the head of the Church in Jerusalem and supported Saint Peter’s decision regarding Gentile converts and the observance of Jewish laws.

+ Ancient tradition relates that James was martyred in Jerusalem around the year 62.

+ The New Testament Letter of James is attributed to James the Less.

For prayer and reflection

“What was handed on by the Apostles comprises everything that serves to make the People of God live their lives in holiness and increase their faith. In this way the Church, in her doctrine, life and worship, perpetuates and transmits to every generation all that she herself is, all that she believes.”—Second Vatican Council, Dei Verbum (no. 8)

Spiritual bonus

On May 3 we also remember the Blessed Ramon Oromi Sullà. A priest in the Sons of the Holy Family, he served as a catechist and spiritual director for young people, working closely with those who were discerning religious life. He was martyred on May 3, 1937, in Montcada, Barcelona, Spain, during the anti-Catholic violence of the Spanish Civil War. Blessed Ramon was beatified with other martyrs in 2013.

Prayer

O God, who gladden us each year
with the feast day of the Apostles Philip and James,
grant us, through their prayers,
a share in the Passion and Resurrection
of your Only Begotten Son,
so that we may merit to behold you for eternity.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(from The Roman Missal)

Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.