August 24th – Feast of St. Bartholomew, apostle.

Adam Paige
Aug 23
4 min read

August 24th – Additional Meditation. Feast of St. Bartholomew, apostle.

Summary of the Morrow’s Meditation

We will meditate to-morrow upon this holy apostle, who, after having preached the gospel in the East, sealed his preaching in Armenia with his blood by the most cruel of martyrdoms, for, according to several historians, he was first flayed alive and then crucified. His martyrdom will give us an opportunity to meditate upon two great truths; that is to say:1st, that we ought to despoil ourselves of that portion of us which sin has vitiated and which St. Paul calls the old man; 2d, that this spoliation ought to be entire and without any reserve. We will then make the resolution:1st, to study to-day what it is to which our heart most clings here below, and to make a generous sacrifice of it to God; 2d, often to repeat the words of St. Francis de Sales: “If I knew that there was in my heart the least fibre which was not wholly steeped in the love of my God, I would tear it out immediately.” Our spiritual nosegay shall be the words of St. Paul: “Strip yourselves of the old man, and put on the new” (Coloss. iii. 9, 10).

Meditation for the Morning

Let us adore Our Lord Jesus Christ teaching us:1st, by the mouth of St. Paul, that we must put off the old man and clothe ourselves with the new; 2d, by the example afforded us by St. Bartholomew, that this spoliation ought to be entire and without reserve, seeing that this holy apostle was deprived of his skin from the crown of his head to the sole of his foot, and was crucified. Let us thank Jesus Christ for this double lesson, and let us glorify St. Bartholomew, who had the courage to suffer so much for his Master.

The Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew Teaches us not to Cling to Anything Here Below.

St. Bartholomew, after having quitted everything to follow Jesus Christ, devoted himself to the fatigues and to the dangers of the apostolate, that he might go and evangelize the different countries of Asia; and in his evangelical journeys he enjoyed the triple honor of converting many souls, of being persecuted like his good Master, and, lastly, of being condemned by an impious king to be flayed alive and then crucified. St. Bartholomew submitted lovingly to this last torture, the very idea of which makes us shudder, and felt that, even at such a price as that, it was not buying heaven at too great a cost. Let us represent to ourselves the apostle suffering this horrible martyrdom with the calmness of the most heroic patience, and without uttering a murmur or a complaint. Oh, what good right he has to say to us in this state: “Put off the old man,” that, is to say, your vitiated nature in Adam, the thousand attachments which form an obstacle to grace and prevent you from belonging wholly to God; despoil yourselves, above all, of certain attachments to which you cling the most. For to what does man cling more than to the skin which covers him ? And yet the apostle says to us: I despoiled myself of it for love of my Mas ter. I know what it costs, and I do not ask you for as much as that I only ask you to despoil yourselves of that passionate seeking after your own comfort and after pleasure, which maintains you in an effeminate, sensual life, unworthy of a disciple of the cross; to despoil yourselves of the self-love and pride which make you susceptible, jealous, pretentious, and which will lead you farther into evil than you have any idea of, for it is written, pride is the source of all sin; to despoil yourselves, lastly, of self-love and the caprices which make you lead an ill-regulated life, which are hurtful to the peace of your homes, to a cordial intercourse, to the pleasant relations of charity. Let us listen from the bottom of our hearts to the teaching of St. Bartholomew, and let us be docile to it.

The Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew Teaches us to Give Ourselves to God Entirely and without Reserve.

After having been flayed, St. Bartholomew appeared before heaven as a victim ready for the sacrifice, who waits for nothing but the stroke of death. He was crucified in accordance with the barbarous custom imported from Persia into Armenia. The holy martyr, after having sacrificed his body to suffering, sacrifices even his very life. He expires, gives up his holy soul to the Lord, feeling happy to teach us thereby:1st, that we must have no reserves in regard to the sacrifice and the spoliation which God requires from us. There are men who would willingly give their money, but on condition of keeping their sensuality or their pride; others would willingly give their time and their services, but on condition of keeping their money. God will have none of these reserves; Jesus Christ told us so plainly on Calvary; St. Bartholomew repeats it on his cross. The holy apostle teaches us, 2d, that the sacrifice once made, it must be continued until death. God forbids us from taking back what has once been sacrificed to Him; it would be tantamount to introducing theft into the holocaust, which is a thing He detests, and which His example condemns; for the whole life of Jesus Christ was nothing but a cross and a martyrdom (II. Imit. xii. 7). Ours ought to resemble it; every Christian life ought to be a life of sacrifice and of holocaust. Let us examine if ours is such.

Resolutions and spiritual nosegay as above.

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