FEAST OF OUR LADY, HEALTH OF THE SICK AND SAINT BARTHOLOMEW, APOSTLE ~ FEAST DAY – AUGUST 24TH: Today, we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady, Health of the Sick, and Saint Bartholomew, Apostle. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, Health of the Sick and Saint Bartholomew on this feast day, we humbly pray for the sick and dying, especially those who are suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We pray for the repose of the souls of the faithful departed, and we pray for those who mourn. We also pray for the poor and needy and for peace, love, and unity in our marriages, our families, and our world. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, the Bishops, the Clergy, for vocations to the priesthood and religious life, for the Church, for persecuted christians, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world.🙏
OUR LADY, HEALTH OF THE SICK: Our Lady, Health of the Sick, embrace all who are emotionally and physically ill, that they may return to good health under her tender care. Our Lady was well used to the sick-bed, the deathbed. During the 17th century, the Church started to highlight Mary’s role as an intercessor for all the sick, invoking her under the title of “Health of the Sick.” This was in direct connection to the plague in Europe and how many people turned to her in their time of need. August 24th is the feast day of Our Lady, Health of the Sick, but it should go without saying that a prayer to the Blessed Mother under this title can be said any day. As part of the Traditional Missal, the Feast of our Lady Help of the Sick falls on Saturday before the last Sunday in August. This Feastday is kept by various religious orders in the Church as one of the Masses said in some places. Make an effort today to say 3 Our Fathers and 3 Hail Marys for the repose of the soul of all of the sick who will die today and appear before Christ in Judgment.
In biblical times: The origin of referring to Mary as “Health of the Sick” makes its first appearance in Mary’s care of St. Joseph, who was enveloped by a most “happy death” in the literal sense, being in the arms of both our Lady and our Lord Jesus Christ during his final hours. Because of this grace, St. Joseph is now commonly referred to as Patron Saint of the dying. Such a title could not be more accurate, as what greater love could one receive at the time of physical suffering than their Heavenly presence?
In later times: Similar titles for our Blessed Mother, such as “Hospital of sinners” and “the Joy of the sick,” originated from the words of Saint Ephrem, who lived in the 4th century and was more recently declared a Doctor of the church. “Health of the Sick,” however, continued to be another title, one which would become used in the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or Litany of Loreto, comprised during the Middle Ages. Subsequently, in modern times, the oldest hospital in North America is thought to be the Immaculate Conception Hospital, built as a tribute to Our Lady as “Health of the Sick” in 1524. Later, St. Camillus de Lellis founded a confraternity invoking the use of the black scapular of “Our Lady, Help of the Sick,” approved by Pius IX in 1860.
Today: Our Blessed Mother continues to care for Her children not just in times of physical suffering, but in caring for our spiritual health through eternal salvation. As Christ is the Divine Physician, sharing his Divine Mercy for souls that would otherwise be lost, so She is eternally present by his side, particularly by His passion and sorrowful mysteries. How fitting that during our most difficult trials, we can turn to Our Lady, Health of the Sick, for Her everlasting comfort and healing.
POPE FRANCIS PRAYER TO OUR LADY, HEALTH OF THE SICK: Pope Francis placed his hope in Our Lady, Health of the Sick, he composed a prayer asking her intercession to her most precious son, Jesus Christ, for healing across our world. Here is the prayer recited by Pope Francis in March 2020 invoking our Blessed Mother Mary under this title, during the coronavirus pandemic.
“O Mary, you shine continuously on our journey as a sign of salvation and hope. We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick. At the foot of the Cross you participated in Jesus’ pain with steadfast faith.
You, Salvation of the Roman People, know what we need. We are certain that you will provide, so that as you did at Cana of Galilee, joy and feasting might return after this moment of trial.
Help us, Mother of Divine Love, to conform ourselves to the Father’s will and to do what Jesus tells us: He who took our sufferings upon Himself, and bore our sorrows to bring us through the Cross to the joy of the Resurrection…Amen🙏
We seek refuge under your protection, O Holy Mother of God. Do not despise our pleas – we who are put to the test – and deliver us from every danger, O glorious and blessed Virgin.”🙏
PRAYER TO OUR LADY, HEALTH OF THE SICK: Virgin, most holy, Mother of the Word Incarnate, Treasurer of graces, and Refuge of sinners, I fly top your motherly affection with lively faith, and I beg of you the grace ever to do the will of God. Into your most holy hands I commit the keeping of my heart, asking you for health of soul and body, in the certain hope that you, my most loving Mother, will hear my prayer. Into the bosom of your tender mercy, this day, every day of my life, and at the hour of my death, I commend my soul and body. To you I entrust all my hopes and consolations, all my trials and miseries, my life and the end of my life, that all my actions may be ordered and disposed according to your will and that of your Divine Son. Amen 🙏
Our Lady, Health of the Sick, I look to you for the comfort of a mother’s love, I pray to you on behalf of those who are suffering and for my own healing needs. Mary, your love strengthens me and brings me peace. Our Lady, Health of the Sick, embrace all who are emotionally and physically ill that they may return to good health under your tender care. And please intercede for my very special needs. (mention your needs here). Mary, your love strengthens me and brings me peace. Our Lady, Health of the Sick, pray for us. Amen 🙏
SAINT BARTHOLOMEW, APOSTLE: St. Bartholomew (1st c.) is one of Jesus’ Twelve Apostles who, together with his friend and fellow Apostle Philip, came from Cana in Galilee. St. Bartholomew was a doctor in Jewish law. All we know of St. Bartholomew (also called Nathaniel) is what is mentioned of him in the synoptic Gospels and the book of Acts. Saint Bartholomew is mentioned sixth in the three Gospel lists (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14), and seventh in the list of Acts (1:13). The name (Bartholomaios) means “son of Talmai” which was an ancient Hebrew name and it was given to the Saint in the same sense that “Bar Jonah” was attached to St. Peter. He was chosen by our Lord Himself to be one of the Twelve Apostles. Besides being listed as an Apostle, he is not otherwise mentioned in the New Testament, at least not under the name Bartholomew: many ancient writers, and Catholic tradition have identified St. Bartholomew as Nathaniel in the Gospel of John (John 1:45-51, and 21:2). The Gospel passage read at Mass on the feast of Saint Bartholomew is precisely this passage from John (1:45-51) where Nathaniel is introduced to Jesus by his friend Phillip, and Jesus says of him “Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him (1:47).” We are presented with the Apostle’s character in this brief and beautiful dialogue with the Lord Jesus. He is a good Jew, honest and innocent, a just man, who devotes much time to quiet reflection and prayer – “under the fig tree (1:48)” – and has been awaiting the Messiah, the Holy One of God. At Jesus’ mention that “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you (1:48),” Nathaniel responded “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel (1:49)!” Being “a true child of Israel,” Nathaniel was a man well-read in the Scriptures and knew what they said of the Messiah and where he would come from. This is why he is skeptical of Phillip’s claim that Jesus is the Messiah, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth (1:46)?” But Nathaniel was lacking “duplicity” – that is, his heart was undivided, his intentions pure – his openness to reality was always ready to recognize and surrender to the truth when he encountered it. He remained open to his friend Phillip’s invitation to “Come and see (1:46).” In encountering Jesus and hearing His words, he found himself face to face with the Truth Himself, and, like John the Baptist’s leap in his mother’s womb at the Lord’s presence, Nathaniel’s words lept out of his own heart in a clear and simple confession of faith, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
Jesus, in Matthew 5:8, says, “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.” In Nathaniel we have an example of the pure man who sees – recognizes – God when confronted with Him, and on seeing Him believes in Him, and upon believing in Him, follows Him. After the Resurrection of Jesus he was favored by becoming one of the few apostles who witnessed the appearance of the risen Savior on the sea of Galilee (John 21:2). Nothing is known for sure about the life of Nathaniel/Bartholomew after the Ascension of Jesus, but tradition holds that he preached in the East and died a martyr’s death in Armenia, being flayed alive for having won converts to the Lord Jesus. According to Eusebius and other ancient writers, following the Ascension of Jesus he preached the Gospel in the most barbarous countries of the East, penetrating as far as India. Eusebius relates that when St. Pantaenus, in 3rd century, went to India, he still found the knowledge of Christ in that country, and copy of the Gospel of St. Matthew in Hebrew was shown to him, which he was told had been brought there by St. Bartholomew. St. John Chrysostom declares that St. Bartholomew brought the faith to the people of Lycaonia. According to St. Gregory of Tours, the last field of his labors was Great Armenia, where, preaching in a place obstinately addicted to the worship of idols, he suffered martyrdom. By some it is said that he was flayed alive, his skin was torn from his body while still alive for having won converts to the Lord Jesus. The Armenians honor him as the apostle of their nation. According to other accounts that he suffered crucifixion—both these opinions being reconcilable. The relics of the Saint are preserved in the church of St. Bartholomew on the island in the Tiber River near Rome. He’s Patron Saint of bookbinders; butchers; cobblers; Forentine cheese merchants; Forentine salt merchants; leather workers; nervous diseases; neurological diseases; plasterers; shoemakers; tanners; trappers; twitching; whiteners; Gambatesa, Italy; Armenia.
PRAYER: God, strengthen in us that faith by which your Apostle St. Bartholomew adhered to Your Son with sincerity of mind. Through his intercession, grant that Your Church may become a sacrament of salvation for all nations. Amen🙏