THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Her Doctrine and Morals Feast of Sts Philip and James, Apostles 11 May 2014

The Sunday Sermon

Dear Friend,

Today, we find the Mass for the third Sunday after Easter has been set aside in favor of the Mass for the feast of Saints Philip and James. This simple fact should remind us of how important our Holy Mother the Church considers today's feast. There are occasions when one feast will outrank another and the outranked feast will be commemorated (like today) and there are other occasions, when the outranked feast is completely suppressed or transferred to another date. The Catholic calendar is not a haphazard collection of anniversaries of people and events; it is a serious and deliberate work for our instruction, growth, and sanctification. We would do well to consult the calendar every day. In this manner we can unite (at least in spirit) with the sentiments and celebrations of the Church. We can fast and do penance with the Church, and we can rejoice and celebrate with Her as well — each in its own proper season and place. Today we celebrate the solemn translation of the bodies of these saints to their current resting place in the church of these Apostles in Rome. 

St. Philip came from Bethsaida in Galilee. It was to St. Philip that Jesus addressed Himself before He multiplied bread and fish for the multitude. In today's gospel (John 14, 1-13) we see that Saint Philip enjoyed a certain familiarity with Jesus as he asked: "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." He frequently acted as an intermediary for the Gentiles who wished to speak to Jesus. According to ancient traditions, after Pentecost he preached in Phrygia and died on a cross a Hierapolis. 

St. James is surnamed the Less to distinguish him from James the brother of John. He was a native of Cana in Galilee and was a cousin of Jesus. He became the first bishop of Jerusalem. The High Priest called on him to deny Jesus; on his refusal, he was thrown down from the terrace of the Temple, and his head broken with a club. The names of Saints Philip and James are mentioned in the Canon of the Mass. 

"In My Father's house there are many mansions." Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us. The desire of God from all of eternity is to have heaven filled with the sons of men. He has called each and every one of us. It is His will that we all join Him in Heaven. But, He will not force us into Heaven nor will He force us to love Him. We are told that there is a place in Heaven for us. It is ours, if only we enter in there. Before Jesus came and sacrificed Himself Heaven was closed to us. Now since Jesus' death on the Cross and His daily unbloody sacrifice of the Mass Heaven is open to us. The only thing that prevents us from entering in there is sin or our own perverted wills. 

We all cannot be virgins like so many of the saints on our calendars; nor can we all be martyrs; apostles; doctors; or confessors. We all can, however, be penitents. We are all sinners and in need of penance. However, no matter what we are here and now, there is a place for us in Heaven. We are all called upon to be saints. There each of us will be rewarded according to the degree of our charity. Those with the greater love of God will obviously be nearer to Him than the others. 

Sadly, there are also many levels in Hell. The devils have imitated (mocked) God by preparing a place for us there too. In this place of eternal suffering, there are degrees also relating to the distance one has placed between himself and God. 

There is, therefore, a war going on for our souls. God wants us and seeks to draw us near Him with love; the devils want us and seek to draw us near to them with hatred of God. The choice is our own. No doubt that God has done and will continue to do all He can to help us to choose Him and love rightly and thus end well; but the demons are likewise doing all that they can to undermine the grace of God in us so that we will turn away further and further from God. 

Seeing this, like St. Philip did, we are inclined to say to Jesus also, "Show us the Father." We want to see, and touch and thus know — rather than believe. This however, is not really for our benefit. Jesus tells us that we see the Father in Him, and Him in the Father. We see the Divinity hidden in the humanity of Jesus. We see God hidden in the Sacred Species of the Altar. With the eyes of faith we can see God; and so it is with the eyes of faith that we advance in the degrees of charity. When the faith is turned away from or denied, then we see less and less clearly the Divinity; and charity grows colder and colder in us until we are so far removed from true faith and charity that we give up all hope and cast ourselves into Hell with the devils that have gone before us.

If we cooperate with the grace of God, we will gradually see more and more clearly the Father in the Son. We will see the Divinity in humanity. We will see God in the Holy Eucharist. The understanding of these things began with Faith, and will increase with Faith. This Faith will give us Hope and Charity. Of course, it is Charity that instills in us the first desire to see the Father. These three virtues work continually; each increasing in us the others. The beginning comes from God, and it is God who works in us the accomplishment of these virtues; but it is our cooperation that allows Divine Providence to move forward with the salvation of our souls. 

Let us listen to the words of Our Lord as He speaks to us with the same words He spoke to Saint Philip. "He that seeth Me seeth the Father." When we adore the Holy Eucharist we adore Jesus; we adore God! Unless, through Faith, Hope, and, Charity, we recognize this, we will never enter the place in Heaven God has prepared for us.