Saint Philip was one of the Twelve Apostles. He was most likely a follower of Saint John the Baptist.

After Pentecost, James became the first bishop of the Church in Jerusalem.

…he was thrown from the pinnacle of the temple, and was beaten to death with a club.”

What we know for certain about these two disciples,

They were uniquely chosen by the Savior to continue His divine mission of evangelizing the world.

 

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊      　

1 Corinthians 15:1-8

Let me remind you,

 We have been grafted to Jesus by virtue of our baptism.

Separated from Jesus, we are not able to bear fruit.

“Apart from me, you can do nothing.”

When we abide in him, it is Christ who abides in us all the way.

This is what impelled Paul to say, “It is no longer I who live,

but Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20)

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Acts 9:26-31

When Saul came to Jerusalem,

 Saint Athanasius, whom we honor today.

Athanasius was born in Alexandria, in northern Egypt, in 293.

The fourth century bishop is known as “the father of orthodoxy” for his absolute dedication to the doctrine of Christ's divinity.

Arius taught that the Father created the Son, making the Son subordinate to the Father and neither co-eternal nor co-equal with Him.

Finally, at a Church council in Nicaea, called by the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great.

The Nicene Creed got it right, and today’s saint made sure of it.

 

  

St. Athanasius, bishop & doctor

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Acts 15:7-21

As the discussions

Thomas had asked: “Lord we do not know where You are going, how can we know the way?”

Jesus answers: “I am the Way, I am Truth and Life! No one can come to the Father except through Me.”

Because it was the life of the Father which appeared in all that He said and did.

 

 ＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊    

Acts 13:44-52

The following Sabbath

The townspeople were quite amazed to hear the local carpenter’s son speaking as he did:

Where did he get his wisdom and his miraculous powers?

The rejection of Jesus even in his hometown of Nazareth.

Assumptions and prejudices can blind us to truth.

Behind of Jesus was the life of the Trinity, and the mission of his Father.

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊      

Genesis 1:26b-2:3

God said, "Let us

 The Church refers to Jesus as the “desire of the nations” .

--- lead us from untruth to truth.

--- from darkness to light.

--- from death to eternal life.

Jesus assures His followers,

All they have to do is hold on to His teachings

until the end and their future is secure.

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊      　

Acts 13:26-33

Brothers, children and descendants

Saint Pius V’s

Pius V was elected in 1566

Saint Pius V (born Jan. 17, 1504, Bosco, duchy of Milan

--- died May 1, 1572, Rome, Papal States [Italy]

canonized May 22, 1712; was an Italian ascetic, reformer, and relentless persecutor of heretics, whose papacy

(1566–72) marked one of the most austere periods in Roman Catholic church history.

He published a new missal, a new breviary, a new catechism

During his reign, the Inquisition was successful in eliminating Protestantism in Italy,

and the decrees of the Council of Trent (1545–63) were put into effect.

  

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊      　

Acts 14:19-28

Then some Jews arrived

 Mark the Evangelist is traditionally ascribed to be the author of the Gospel of Mark.

His symbol is the winged lion, is most often depicted writing or holding his gospel.

As a teenager, Mark might have been nearby when Jesus was arrested.

“Now a young man followed him wearing nothing but a linen cloth about his body.

They seized him, but he left the cloth behind and ran off naked” (Mark 14:51–52).

Many scholars believe that this young man is Mark.

 

  ＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

1 Peter 5:5b-14

All of you must clothe yourselves with humility,

 

 

Jesus said," They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me;

and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them."

 

St. Catherine of Siena, virgin & doctor

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Acts 14:5-18

A move was made by pagans and Jews,

Jesus himself speaks of being sent by the Father and speaking on the Father’s behalf.

All things are rooted in the Father’s will, just as the Father sent Jesus, and Jesus sent his disciples.

I may receive light from God and that I may pass it on to the world around me.

In the dark, with darkness comes fear because we don’t know what is going on.

With the light, I could see everything in my room, there is nothing to be afraid of.

Without Jesus, we too are in the dark.

 

St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen, priest & martyr

 ＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊   

Acts 12:24-13:5a

Meanwhile the word of God