St Bartholomew, Apostle
"Jn 1:45-51"
Philip found Nathanael, and said to him, "We have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!"...Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"
We know little about Philip's friend, Nathanael, or Bartholomew ('son of Tolmai') as he was later known, but Jesus gave him a great compliment: in him there was no "guile." There was no deception in him. Jesus could see right away that he was forthright, honest, open, plainspoken, straightforward, upfront, earnest, unpretentious. Jesus loved that and appointed him an Apostle. Nathanael found it difficult to believe that the Messiah could come from Nazareth but, once he saw Him, he accepted it plainly.
We need to cultivate human virtues. They are the foundation on which supernatural virtues rest. Grace builds on top of virtue. It can't build anything if there are no human virtues. As Peter Kreeft said, "Great saints have often been made out of great sinners, but not one was ever made out of a wimp." They may have had faults, but they also had virtues. Saul of Tarsus was a zealous man. He wasn't a coward or a lukewarm Jew. He was studious, diligent, brave... but he was wrong to be persecuting Christians. However as soon as he realized he was wrong, he had the honesty to change his ways. Saints follow the truth, even if that means changing their minds or complicating their lives.
God 'counted on' the zeal of Saul, transforming it into a great instrument for evangelisation - just as he counted on the loyalty of Peter, the boldness of James and John, the obedience of Abraham, the firmness of Moses, the tenacity of Francis of Assisi, the humility of John Vianney... the honesty of Nathanael. God also counts on our virtue to pour His grace into our souls and change the world.
Mary, my Mother, you possess all the virtues. Help me learn from you so that God can build with His grace on top of my virtuous life.
