Posted by The WORD in other words (2018) by Fr Francisco Estepa SVD – Holy Name University, Tagbilaran City
Feast of Saints Philip and James, the Apostles – May 3
Today we celebrate the feast day of two saints: Sts. Philip and James – both were among the first apostles of the Lord. Even though they had the privilege of having lived with the Lord, they too struggled with their faith in Jesus.
In the gospel passage for today, Philip, in spite of Jesus’ teaching that “He is the Way,” still asked the Lord to show him the way to the Father. He did not see in Jesus then what he was supposed to see – “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”
But Philip and James were eventually martyred and had given witness to Jesus who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Even with their initial questions and doubts, they stuck it out with the Lord.
Faith is a journey. It has ups and downs. Pope Francis in his talk with students of Jesuit schools from Italy and Albany said that: “Journeying is an art of looking toward the horizon, thinking where I want to go but also enduring the fatigue of the journey which is sometimes difficult… There are dark days, even days when we fail, even days when we fall … but always think of this: Don’t be afraid of failures. Don’t be afraid of falling. What matters in the art of journeying isn’t not falling but not staying down. Get up right away and continue going forward.”
Yes, faith is a dynamic journey towards God. As we celebrate the feast day of these two great saints, let us be reminded to follow the path of Jesus and put our trust in Him who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
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