Happy Feast Day of St. Bartholomew, one of the original 12 Apostles, about whom we know very little. In fact, we’re not even certain about his name, as he may have actually been Nathaniel, as written in today’s Gospel.
Either way, he was a good Jew who was introduced to Jesus, who tells him: “Amen, amen, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
The Apostles must have longed for that vision as they followed Christ.
Don’t we all feel that way?
Don’t we feel that if we just follow in His footsteps, read His Word, consume Him body, blood, soul and divinity … that we too will see that beautiful vision?
Perhaps … but as we learn a little more about how Bartholomew finally came to that point, we might not be so eager.
Like many of the Apostles — and many of our saints — Bartholomew suffered for the sake of Christ. He apparently had successfully converted a king of Armenia. The king’s brother was not too happy and ordered the Apostle to be flayed alive and eventually beheaded.
At some point in this ordeal, we pray and trust that our Lord was with him and provided the comfort — perhaps with that beautiful angelic vision — that strengthened Bartholomew to accept his fate.
And we all pray that our Lord will do the same for us.
As a quick side note, you gotta love ancient Catholic artists who produced art works inspired by the manner of death, often quite gruesome by today’s standards. One of the more creepy looking statues is included in this post, showing Bartholomew without skin. He appears to be wrapped in a toga, but it turns out that is his skin.
I do note one thing … the statue that you see on this page was done in 1562 and if you look closely, his face is not crying out in pain, much like I would suspect MY face would look like under similar circumstances.
A more recent version of this statue done in the 2006 is called “Exquisite In Pain” and the facial features show more anguish and less bravery.
Which one is accurate? We don’t know. Probably both, although I believe the artists who created the earlier statues of our saints and martyrs were looking to inspire us to be brave in the face of persecution, suffering and death.
In our current age, dominated by special effects and movies that seem to try and out-gross each other every year, the trend is to show intense suffering and pain … with no vision of heaven provided.
That’s too bad. That vision of angels descending from heaven and our glorious meeting with Jesus is what should keep us going every day.
We may not be suffering the way Bartholomew did. Or … in some places around the globe, that might exactly be what is happening to you. But whether we die in a soft bed surrounded by family, or in a battlefield in the sands of a far away desert, there will be pain. There must be pain in order to pass on to the next life.
As Christians we must fight the urge to dread this pain. To dread dying.
Death is not the end. Death is the beginning. No matter how your final moments are spent.
These are not mere words of comfort. They are Truth. They are our Christian hope!
Bartholomew knew this. So did the great artists of the past, whose images continue to inspire us.
Pray that others will follow the example of our Lord and his Apostles, who continue to show us how to keep our eyes on the prize no matter what may come.
St. Bartholomew … PRAY FOR US!
