Feast of St. Bartholomew: Come and See!

I've always loved St. Nathaniel, (son of Tholomew, hence Bartholomew). After Philip invites Nathaniel to "Come and see," because he has found the Messiah, he takes him to Jesus. Nathaniel is a bit skeptical. "Can anything good come from Nazareth?"Jesus greets Nathaniel saying, "Here is a true Israelite; there is no duplicity in him." What a compliment. Wouldn't you want others to say that about you?

A Man Without Guile: A Patron for Politicians

Today is the feast of St. Nathaniel also known as Bartholomew for "son of Tolomai." I love Jesus' description of Nathaniel, a real Israelite, a man "without guile." You know all that talk about openness and transparency from politicians who are neither open nor transparent? Well, Nathaniel is their foil. They are filled with "guile," i.e., insidious cunning in attaining a goal, slyness shown in a crafty way, artful deception, duplicity. (Synonyms for guile are wile, deceit, ruse, craftiness, trick, deception.) Sounds like a quality that belongs to the Father of lies, eh?

Nathaniel, on the other hand, is honest, open, transparent. Basically, what you see is who he is. Wouldn't it be a wonderful world if all of us were more like that "true Israelite, Nathaniel, especially politicians? And wouldn't he be a great model for a politician trying to live according to God's laws?

St. Nathaniel, on your feast day, please pray for our candidates in the upcoming elections that they might aspire to honesty. Please intercede for our voters that they might be enlightedned and see the truth about those running for public office. And please intercede for our poor country.

St. Nathaniel, pray for us.