Today, the Church honors the Apostles, Philip and James the Less as well as two little known saints of the third centruy, Timothy and Maura, his wife. At one time Philip and James were among the disciples who abandonded Jesus to the troops in the Garden of Gethsemane and who were not present at Calvary. From scared and cowering candidates for eventual sainthood, under the power of the Holy Spirit, they went on to be great witnesses and martyrs for the sake of Jesus and the Good News. The only things we know about this James is that he is the son of Alpheus, and was chosen by Jesus to be an apostle. He is not to be confused with James "The Greater", son of Zebedee, always linked to Peter and John, and later Bishop of Jerusalem and traditionally considered the author of the Letter of James. Philip appears several times in the Gospel and is credited with bringing the faith to Greece and Phrygia, where he suffered martyrdom.
Sts. Timothy and Maura were a young couple, married only 20 days, when they were called before the courts for being Christians. They remained steadfast in their faith, and for this, red hot pokers were plunged into their ears and afterwards, they were nailed to a wall where they suffered a slow and excruciating death, hangning there for nine days.
These proclaimers remind us that no matter how weak or imperfect we might think ourselves, we too have the power to proclaim the Good News and our faith in Jesus by remaining faithful to him.
Bro. Rene
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