May 1, 2026
Summary of the Morrow’s Meditation
We will meditate to-morrow, 1st, upon the virtues of St. Philip; 2d, on those of St. James. We will then make the resolution: 1st, to imitate the detachment of these two apostles, who left all to follow Jesus Christ; 2d, to endeavor to be, like them, men of work and of prayer, always usefully occupied, and always by our prayers calling down the blessing of God upon our labors. Our spiritual nosegay shall be the words of the Gospel, “Leaving all things, they followed Him” (Luke v. 11).
Meditation for the Morning
Let us adore Our Lord Jesus Christ choosing for the apostolate St. Philip and St. James, and making of them two suns, with which to illuminate the universe (Ecclus. xvii. 16). Let us thank Him for the beautiful present made to His Church, and let us congratulate these two apostles on having been the objects of the choice of the Saviour, for it is not they who chose Him; but He Himself who chose them (John xv. 16). Honor, praise, and glory be to Jesus Christ!
FIRST POINT
The Virtues of St. Philip
I observe in him, 1st, promptitude in obeying grace: he no sooner knew Christ than he left everything which could attach him to this world, and gave himself unreservedly to his Divine Master in order to follow Him. I observe, 2d, his zeal in making Jesus Christ to be known by others; he preaches to every one, and gains, amongst others, Nathaniel, a precious conquest which the Saviour deemed to be worthy of eulogium. I observe, 3d, his intimacy with Jesus Christ; it is to him that the people address themselves in order to be presented to the Saviour, and it is he also whom the Saviour consults upon the means of feeding the great multitude who had followed Him to the desert. I observe, 4th, the supreme love which draws from his heart these beautiful words: “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us” (John xiv. 8). Alas! how few there are, even amongst Christians, who, like St. Philip, desire nothing but God alone, and are able to say with perfect truth like him, I desire only God; provided that I love Him in this life, and that I see Him in the next, that suffices me; I am content. I observe, 5th, the generosity of His love, which joyfully accepts the portion which falls to him after the resurrection, that is to say, to go and preach the Gospel under the icy skies of Scythia. He goes there without hesitation, and evangelizes these countries with a zeal which wins for him the glory of martyrdom. Let us compare our conduct and our sentiments with the conduct and sentiments of the holy apostle. What a contrast, and what matter for making generous resolutions!
SECOND POINT
The Virtues of St. James
St. James had this special characteristic, that he so greatly resembled in his face the Son of God that Judas, fearing lest the Jews might take him for Jesus Christ, gave them as a signal the cruel kiss by which he betrayed Him. There was a better resemblance still between him and the Saviour: the resemblance of holiness and of innocence. During his whole life he kept the flower of his virginity. He was so mortified that he never ate flesh, lived upon vegetables only, and never drank wine. He possessed the spirit of prayer in so great a degree that he was almost always in the temple, he alone having the right to enter within the sanctuary, where he prayed so constantly, with his face on the ground, that on his forehead and on his knees, according to what historians relate of him, the skin became as hard as that of a camel. Therefore the people held him in such veneration that they gathered around him to touch the hem of his garment, and that they gave him the surname of the Just, in consideration of his great zeal for the salvation of souls through the preaching of the Gospel and of his charity towards the poor. He crowned all these virtues by martyrdom, being thrown from the summit of the temple by his enemies, and stoned whilst, like St. Stephen, he was praying for men. My God! how far are we from possessing the holiness of this apostle! What have we in common with this innocence of life, this perfect mortification, this spirit of prayer, this zeal for souls, this charity which pardons everything, which renders good for evil, which prays for its enemies; this perfect love which accepts martyrdom joyfully, and offers up to God the sacrifice of its life?
Resolutions and spiritual nosegay as above.