True Union

Gospel – Feast of St. Philip and St. James the Lesser, Apostles

I – Magnificent Pillars of the Church

The feast of St. Philip and St. James the Lesser reminds us of the glory of Christ’s Apostles, chosen by Him, formed and finally sanctified on the day of Pentecost. On it we celebrate two pillars of the Church of particular brilliance. St. Philip is mentioned four times in St. John’s Gospel. Thanks to the Beloved Disciple, we know that the Apostle came from Bethsaida, the town of his brothers Simon and Andrew. He was invited by Jesus to follow Him (cf. Jn 1:43) and, full of enthusiasm, he told Nathanael that he had found the Messiah announced in the Scriptures (cf. Jn 1:45-46). In the episode of the multiplication of the loaves, the Divine Master questions him, asking where he could find bread to satisfy the crowd (cf. Jn 6:5-7). Later, some Greek proselytes came to him asking to see Jesus (cf. Jn 12:20-22) and, finally, we have the dialogue faithfully transmitted in the Gospel for this feast.

When we speak of union in the human sphere, we think of a bond that joins two people in a communion of ideals or of sentiments

After the Lord’s Resurrection, Philip went to preach in the city of Hierapolis, in the region of Anatolia, where archaeological evidence of his tomb has recently been found. There he was martyred, and with his blood, probably shed on the cross, he won the incorruptible crown of victory. St. James the Lesser, son of Alphaeus, considered by venerable tradition to be a relative of Our Lord and to have a physical resemblance to Him, was Bishop of Jerusalem, the city where he also attained the glory of martyrdom, following in the footsteps of the Divine Victim. These Apostles of the Lamb are the foundations and gates of the heavenly Jerusalem, as the Apocalypse tells us (cf. Rv 21:14), and they shine in the firmament of the Church like stars of unrivalled greatness. They were upright in their works and, moved by the fire of the Holy Spirit, they fearlessly and boldly proclaimed the Name that is above every name, to the point of giving up their lives for Christ. May they serve as an example to the Christians of our times, who are so often asleep or anaesthetised in their faith.

II – The Most Intimate Union

When we talk about a union in the human sphere, we think of a bond, generally of a moral or affective nature, which links two people in a communion of ideals or sentiments. Nevertheless, as strong as such a bond may be it is subject to deterioration and threatened by the risk of possible dissolution. The most solid bond between souls is that of friendship, which consists of doing good to one’s neighbour in a selfless way and being reciprocated in the same way. Friendship conceived in this way is based on acquired virtue and enjoys a certain stability for as long as that virtue lasts; when it fails, the concord is dissolved. Thus, for man, union is something extrinsic to his own being, in a way, and with a note of precariousness, although it is still possible for him to establish relationships with others that are to a greater or lesser extent lasting. This also applies to marriage, the essence of which is that two become as one, although they always remain two distinct beings, who may even have very different eternal destinies.

The Blessed Trinity - Collegiate Church of Santa Maria, Gandia (Spain)

When we rise to the plane of the Holy Trinity, the word union acquires a new meaning for us, because there is nothing the same or even similar in creation. There are three different Persons who share the same Being. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are distinguished by the relationship between them; however, each one fully identifies with the Being of God. We are dealing with a union in the strictest sense of the word, inconceivable to the human mind, and which we know thanks to Revelation. It is not a bond that connects different beings, but a total, intimate, unlimited unity.

Rising to the plane of the most Blessed Trinity, the word “union” acquires a meaning that is new for us: Three distinct Persons who share the same Being

Here, in uplifting and accessible language, the Gospel of the feast of St. Philip and St. James illustrates this truth which is at the centre of our faith: the existence of a Triune God, Three Persons who are One. This is the intimate life of divinity, the communion of infinite happiness, joy and holiness in which we will participate if, by the supplications of our most blessed Mother, Mary, we attain salvation. St. John also shows us the beneficial consequences of the Incarnation of the Son for humanity, of which he himself is the great proclaimer. In fact, the Prologue of his Gospel affirms the existence of the Word in the bosom of the Father and His entry into time to dwell among us, becoming Man in the most pure womb of Holy Mary, ever Virgin. This is another very high mystery of our Faith which, among many gifts, brings us the fact that Jesus Christ Man is the perfect icon of the Father and an infallible intercessor before Him. These truths of the Faith, although they impress us because of their sublimity, should awaken in us the joy of hope. The intimate life of divinity revealed by Our Lord is not an ethereal concept unattainable by us. On the contrary, we are invited by Him to share in His unsurpassable joy for all eternity, as the Book of Revelation proclaims: “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb” (19:9).

True God and true Man

With these words, Our Lord declares that He is both the perfect mediator and the final term of mediation. In fact, as Man, He is the Way for us to reach the Father and have access to glory. For this reason, in His earthly life Jesus invited His disciples to follow in His footsteps, renouncing themselves and carrying their own cross. In addition, through His most holy humanity we receive superabundant help to travel the path of salvation in an excellent way, especially through the grace distributed in the Sacraments, instituted by virtue of the infinite merits of His Passion. Through His divinity, Jesus is also the goal to be reached: the Truth and the Life. Our prize will be to attain the grace of union with Him, and in Him with the Father, for all eternity: “I in them, and Thou [Father] in Me, that they may become perfectly one” (Jn 17:23). The Son is the Truth, that is, the perfect knowledge of God, as St. Paul says: “He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of His nature” (Heb 1:3); and He is the Life, that is, the source of all grace and glory distributed on earth and in Heaven to men, making them blessed: “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (Jn 1:4). We should look to Jesus as our infinitely great reward and consolation.

The image of the invisible God

In its wording, this passage contains a hint of mystery. We know that seeing the essence of God, as He is, is the reward reserved for us in Heaven, a joy and exultation without limits. Some Saints, such as St. Thomas Aquinas,¹ believe that it is possible to participate in a spark of this grace, in a fleeting way, while still on earth. However, the stable and unrivalled vision will only be attained in eternity. So what is the Divine Master alluding to when He says that the disciples, having known Him, have already known and seen the Father? Was it a mention of the beatific vision? It does not seem likely. He may have been referring to certain splendours of the divinity which, through grace, His disciples were able to admire on various occasions.

Those who saw the Son with a pure inner gaze were raised supernaturally to the level of the Trinity, and thus also knew the Father and the Holy Spirit

The culmination of this theophany took place at the Transfiguration, but only three Apostles witnessed this episode. It is certain, therefore, that at certain moments during their time with Jesus, His closest followers saw with the eyes of their hearts certain intense and evident glimmers of His divine nature, which led them to reach the pinnacle of the virtue of faith. It must have been clear to them that He was “the image of the invisible God, the First-born of all creation” (Col 1:15), so that all the Apostles, including St. Philip and St. James, could affirm with St. John in the Prologue to his Gospel: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father” (1:14).

“The Transfiguration”, by Duccio di Buoninsegna - National Gallery, London

In this sense, those who saw the Son with a pure inner gaze were elevated by a supernatural action to the heights of the Trinity, and somehow, given the equality of the Divine Persons, in knowing the Word they also knew the Father and the Holy Spirit.

The divine reproach

Philip, however, did not seem to grasp the meaning of the Master’s words, no doubt because he had not yet fixed in his soul the supernatural impressions left by the actual graces granted by living with the Son. This superficiality of spirit, so typical of men bowed down by the weight of original sin, was the great enemy of Jesus’ evangelization. He had to send the Holy Spirit to remind His disciples of what they had seen and heard, “dusting off” these sacrosanct memories and restoring them to their full lustre. Our Lord lovingly reproves the disciple for his inopportune and not very delicate request, which seems to contradict the teaching He had just formulated. Discreetly expressing His disappointment at the unfaithfulness of His disciples, the Divine Master charges them with not having valued the time spent with Him, letting so much divine enlightenment and communication fall by the wayside. The man who does not value the divine action in his soul ends up like a bird without wings, always frustrated by the fact that he cannot take flight. Thus, let us accustom ourselves to treating the motions of grace that the Holy Spirit gives us with veneration, respect and affection. We need to remember them, be grateful for having received them and, because of them, grow increasingly in our love of God. If not, on the day of our judgement these heavenly gifts will weigh against us like talents that made no profit, and we will be reproached for bad stewardship. There is no gift more precious, amiable and splendid than grace; let us make it our sole treasure.

The mystery of true union

Returning to the introductory comment, we must say that any union that exists between men, and even between Angels, is only a pale figure, rather imperfect, of the true union between the Persons of the Trinity. This was something new for the disciples. If Our Lord had not revealed it, no man could have grasped such a sublime reality. “The Father who dwells in Me is doing His works,” which would be tantamount to saying: “He is in Me and I am completely in Him, in an ontological way and not in a figurative or symbolic way.” This is the true union, of which we will participate in some way when we are in Heaven and God is all in all (cf. 1 Cor 15:28).

St. Philip works a miracle, by Spinello Aretino - Basilica of St. Dominic, Arezzo (Italy)

The evidence of miracles

The Divine Master appeals to the evidence of works. If the Apostles had failed to carefully preserve the glimmers of the divine, and as a result has become blind to the brilliance of divinity, at least the great signs they had witnessed with unusual frequency should have given them the certainty of the Father’s permanence in the Son.

The disciples will do greater works than the Master, for He is going to the Father, and at the right hand of the Divine Majesty, Jesus will show even greater power through His followers

In fact, no prophet in Israel’s centuries-old tradition had ever accomplished the feats of Our Lord, in terms of either quantity or quality. The mightiest waterfalls give a pale idea of the unprecedented wonders that came from His bountiful hands. No illness, not even death, could resist the force of His invincible benevolence. “Were every one of them [His works] to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written” (Jn 21:25), the Beloved Disciple well summarized.

Even greater works

This verse contains a marvellous promise: those who have faith will obtain the grace to do even greater works than those of Our Lord himself. Does this mean that the Master will be surpassed? No. His disciples will do greater works because He is going to the Father, that is, because, victorious and seated at the right hand of the Divine Majesty in Heaven, Jesus will show even greater power through the hands of His disciples. And it is safe to assume that He will manifest an ever-increasing power as the consummation of the ages draws near.

The weapon of prayer

In order for this divine power to manifest itself more and more, through the working of new wonders and prodigies, we need to use the weapon of prayer. Faith, increased by the certainty of Christ’s Resurrection and His glorification, must be transformed into holy audacity, which leads the disciples to boldly and confidently implore difficult and even impossible graces that will glorify our Good God in an extraordinary way. In this way, the Father will be glorified in the Son who, using His faithful as instruments, will perform increasingly greater feats.

St. James blesses the beggars, by Spinello Aretino - Basilica of St. Dominic, Arezzo (Italy)

Applying this teaching to our times, we need to become convinced of our duty to implore with tenacity and steadfastness the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary over the forces of darkness that threaten to completely ruin the Church and the world. With our prayers, we will give the Divine Victor the opportunity to fulfil the request made in the Our Father: “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” This will be the Holy Trinity’s most éclatante, imposing and shining rebuttal to its enemies in the troubled and glorious history of mankind.

III – We Are Called to Participate in this Union!

During this Easter season, we rejoice in the fact that the secret of the great King has been revealed to us, that is, the intimate life of the Most Holy Trinity. The fact that the Divine Persons – spiritual, diaphanous and holy – abide in one another, sharing in the fullness of God’s being, speaks to us of the perfect, unsurpassable and glorious union that our heart dreams of, even if not explicitly.

Through the intercession of St. Philip and St. James, let us implore the grace to pray and work in this life with a soul full of faith, so as to attain union with Him who created us for himself

Yes, because man is called to this union and created to participate in it. Are not romantic illusions a spurious way of giving vent to this superior sentiment, which impels him to look for someone to unite with completely? And if the puerile and superficial idealizations of sentimentality are nothing more than a crass deception, is the inner longing in the human soul for absolute union with someone who can bring happiness due to chance? No. Just as there is a natural desire for God, about which illustrious theologians have spoken, there is also a very strong and dominant inclination in the human heart towards complete union with the Holy Trinity, a union that constitutes the unalloyed happiness that he so desperately longs for. This union was achieved in an exquisite and unsurpassable way by Mary Most Holy, Daughter of the Father, Mother of the Son and Spouse of the Paraclete. Let us raise our trusting gaze to her and ask, through the intercession of St. Philip and St. James, for the grace to pray, work and struggle in this life with a soul brimming with faith, in order to attain in Heaven the most perfect union possible with the One who created us for himself and wants to become one with us, surpassing our greatest expectations. ◊  

Notes

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¹ Cf. ST. THOMAS AQUINAS. De veritate, q.2, a.9.