August 24

St. Bartholomew, Apostle

Preparation. - “In My name they shall cast our devils” (Mark 16. 17). We shall verify the truth of our Lord’s promise, by meditating, first, on the great power of St. Bartholomew over hell, and secondly, on the prodigies which occasioned his martyrdom. We shall then encourage ourselves thereby to place our trust in God against the enemies of our salvation, and especially to invoke the all-powerful names of Jesus and Mary. “In My name they shall cast out devils.”

I. St. Bartholomew’s Power Over The Devils

If our Saviour imparted to all His disciples the power to cast out devils, how much more did He do so the apostles, His chosen disciples, the intimate friends of His sacred Person! For they, more especially than others, received the spirit of power and truth to overthrow the father of lies. When St. Bartholomew entered the capital of Armenia, his mere presence paralyzed the action of Satan speaking through the idol Astaroth. God, to glorify His servant, compelled another idol to acknowledge the apostle’s power, saying, that he was always accompanied by tutelary angels, and that his sojourn in the city was the sole cause of the silence of the oracles.

Bartholomew was soon recognized by the people, for he delivered those who were possessed by the devil, and converted them to the Gospel. With a sovereign authority he cast out, in presence of the whole court, a furious devil that was tormenting the king’s daughter. Whence did he derive that power? Satan himself was compelled to acknowledge it through an idol. “This apostle bends his knees a hundred times a day and a hundred times at night in prayer.” It was then the spirit of prayer that made our saint so formidable against the prince of darkness.

And, in fact, how great a power does not mental prayer impart to us against our spiritual foes! It awakens our faith, enables us better to understand the malice of sin and inspires us with a horror of it. Thence comes that strength in temptation, which gives us the power to reject all the suggestions of Satan. Moreover, in meditating we feel more convinced of our weakness, and are consequently resolved to watch more carefully over ourselves, to have oftener recourse to Jesus and Mary, so as to triumph over the assaults of hell. Our intimate relations with the Almighty train us for combating, so that we can say with St. Teresa: “I do not fear the devils any more than flies.”

O my God, give me the courage to renounce this life of distraction, which keeps me away from Thee, and all those idle conversations which deprive me of time to meditate and pray, exercises that are so necessary for me. Through the merits of Thy apostle St. Bartholomew, keep me always united to Thee, in spite of the rage and assaults of the devils. “In My name they shall cast out devils.”

II. The Prodigies Which Occasioned St. Bartholomew’s Martyrdom

Astonished at his daughter’s cure, Polimius, king of Armenia, offered our saint rich presents; but he generously refused them, and besought the king to become worthy of the eternal treasures. “To convince you of the truth of the Gospel,” he said, “I will compel the idol Astaroth to acknowledge it.” Polimius accepted his proposition, betook himself with the saint to the temple, where Bartholomew compelled the devil to acknowledge his impostures, and then ordered him solemnly to break all the idols in the temple, and to leave it forever. The devil at once obeyed, and the sudden destruction of all those idols made so great an impression on the king and the people of the city, that they were converted to Jesus Christ, and asked for baptism. Twelve cities of the kingdom followed this example. And Bartholomew had the happiness to instruct them himself, and baptize them and provide them with priests.

But this was the principal cause of his martyrdom. Having been arrested by the king’s brother, who ruled over a part of the country, the holy apostle was most barbarously flayed alive, and then beheaded. O death so much the more glorious as it was most cruel! It procured Christ’s apostle the eternal glory and the garment God reserves for His dearest friends.

Thus shall we also be rewarded according to our generosity in overcoming ourselves and shaking off the yoke of our passions, which are the bonds the devil uses to draw us to sin; the more we mortify them, the less the power hell will exert over us. In fact, how could it make us the slaves of pride, impatience, anger, covetousness and envy, if we always carefully combat these vices in us to their very roots? How could hell ever deprive us of the lily of the angelic virtues, if we surround it with a hedge of thorns, composed of self-diffidence, modesty in looks, temperance in eating and drinking, and frequent recourse to God? Let us, therefore, resolve, first, to watch over our senses, our thoughts and affections; and secondly, to regulate our whole interior by mortification and recollection, and we shall thus become all-powerful against the demons.

O my God, as St. Bartholomew was flayed alive, strip me of the old man, and of his maxims and evil propensities. I will henceforth deny myself, especially when I feel a repugnance in fulfilling a duty. Enable me then to have recourse to Jesus and Mary, so that I may always gain the victory.