The Church history is full of testimonies of saints and apostles, such as St. Bartholomew, who show by their lives how to respond to God's call with total dedication and generosity.

One of the twelve chosen by Jesus to announce the Gospel to the world. Nathanael can be a beacon of inspiration for those young men who feel the call to a priestly or religious vocation.

Who was Saint Bartholomew?

St. Bartholomew is one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ, named in the Gospels, although with few explicit mentions in the New Testament. He is traditionally identified with Nathanael, a young Israelite known for his sincerity and deep faith in Jesus. His name, Bartholomew, means son of Tolmai or son of the teacher, and Nathanael, God has given.

Although his figure appears briefly, tradition and history attribute to him a fundamental role in the expansion of Christianity, reaching distant lands to proclaim the Lord and the Gospel.

The call of St. Bartholomew

St. Bartholomew's vocation began in a moment of profound sincerity and search for truth. In the Gospel of John (1:45-51)Philip, one of the first disciples of the Master, meets Nathanael and tells him: "We have found him of whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets: Jesus of Nazareth, son of Joseph". Nathanael, skeptical, replies, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?".

But when he meets Jesus, who surprises him by saying that he had seen him under the fig tree before Philip called him, his heart opens to faith, exclaiming, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel."

This meeting is a precious example for all those who feel the call: a vocation is always born from a personal encounter with Christ, who knows our heart and invites us to follow him with total trust.

A testimony of life

After his encounter with Jesus, St. Bartholomew did not hesitate to leave behind his former life to devote himself fully to the mission of proclaiming the Gospel. According to tradition, he preached in various regions, such as the India, Armenia, Mesopotamia and Ethiopiatransmitting the word of God and often facing great difficulties and persecutions.

His courage and fidelity are an example for those preparing for the priesthood or consecrated life. Unreserved dedication to the mission, courageous witness even in the face of suffering, and trust in God's providence are essential traits that St. Bartholomew transmits to us.

Martyrdom, the culmination of love for Christ

Like many apostles, St. Bartholomew gave his life for love of Christ and the Church. Tradition has it that he was martyred for preaching faith in Jesus. It is said that he was flayed alive, a particularly cruel martyrdom which, however, did not make him lose heart and renounce Love.

This extreme sacrifice reminds us that the priestly and religious vocation is a call to give one's life for the Gospel, not necessarily in a physical way, but with total and unreserved love, willing to give our time, talents and, at times, even face trials for the love of Christ and others.

Why is St. Bartholomew an example for seminarians and priests?

At the CARF Foundation, which promotes the formation of diocesan priestsIn St. Bartholomew we see an exemplary model of faith, dedication and courage. His life invites us to reflect on three fundamental aspects:

• Personal encounter with Christvocation is born from that intimate moment when Jesus touches our heart, calls us by name and invites us to follow him. St. Bartholomew lived that encounter with authenticity and sincerity. Each seminarian must seek and cultivate this personal relationship with Christ as the foundation of his entire mission.
• The courageous evangelizing missionSt. Bartholomew did not remain in comfort, but took the Gospel to difficult places, facing rejection and danger. So too the priest is called to be a bold witness in today's world, with perseverance and hope.
• Total and constant dedication, even to the point of martyrdom.Although today we do not all face physical persecutions, we are asked to give ourselves fully, to make daily sacrifices and renunciations in order to serve God and our neighbor. The example of St. Bartholomew strengthens us to live this dedication with joy and constancy.

The legacy of St. Bartholomew

The mission of the CARF Foundation is support the formation of priests so that they may respond faithfully to God's call, just as St. Bartholomew did. We believe that every seminarian, like the apostle, is called to be a light in the world, the smile of God in the world and a living witness to the love of Christ.

To support a seminarian is to accompany that vocation that springs from a personal encounter with Jesus and is expressed in a life given, often with sacrifices, for the salvation of souls. For this reason, we invite you to learn more about the Foundation's work and to join us in this beautiful mission.

St. Bartholomew, apostle and martyr, teaches us that the true greatness of the Christian life lies in responding to the call of Christ with an open heart, full of faith and love. His example challenges all those who feel the call to the priestly or consecrated life not to fear the obstacles, but to trust fully in God's grace.

May his life and testimony be an inspiration so that more and more young people may discover the beauty of vocation and give their lives to God and to the service to the Church.

The Gospel of the day (Jn 1:45-51)

At that time, Philip found Nathanael and said to him:

- We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and the Prophets wrote: Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. Then Nathanael said to him:

- Can anything good come out of Nazareth?

-Come and see," Philip replied.

Jesus saw Nathanael approaching and said of him:

- Here is a true Israelite in whom there is no duplicity. Nathanael answered him:

- How do you know me? Jesus answered and said to him:

- Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.

Nathanael replied:

-Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel.

Jesus replied:

-Because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you think? You will see greater things. And he added:

- Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.

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Bibliography:

• OpusDei.org, commentary Gospel.

Every year, the Church celebrates with emotion the feast of St. Mary QueenIt is a date that invites us to contemplate with deep devotion the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary as Queen of heaven and earth. St. Josemaría teaches us his devotion and love for our mother. Her reign is not based on human power, but on the immense love she has for us all; on a surrender to God's will with humility and service, in perfect harmony with her yes from the first moment of the Incarnation of the Son of God.

The Pope Pius XII instituted this feast in 1954.It was later, with the liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council, it was placed within the octave of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, on August 22. Thus, the coronation of Mary as Queen and Mistress of all creation is celebrated just after her glorious entrance into heaven in body and soul.

Holy Mary Queen because she is Mother

The royalty of the Virgin Mary is intimately linked to her role as Mother of God. St. Josemaría Escrivá, a great devotee of our Mother, often meditated on this truth, teaching that Mary was the first woman of the world. exalted by God above every creatureWe have as our Mother the Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and of the World".

On another occasion St. Josemaría wrote in a homily: "If our faith is weak, let us turn to Mary. St. John tells us that through the miracle of the wedding feast at Cana, which Christ performed at the request of his Mother, his disciples believed in him. Our Mother always intercedes before her Son so that he will attend to us and show himself to us in such a way that we can confess: You are the Son of God, Friends of God 285

From the first moment of her conception, Mary was filled with grace. She was preserved from original sin and lived her entire existence perfectly united to the will of God. In the fullness of her self-giving, she accepted to be the Mother of the Savior, and at the foot of the Cross, she also became the Mother of God. Mother of all men and Coredemptrix with her Son.

Therefore, her reign is not symbolic: it is a reflection of her essential role in the plan of salvation, willed by God as intercessor, protector and guide of the Christian people.

Virgin Mary source of peace in the midst of storms

Unlike human reigns marked by power or ambition, Mary's reign is filled with maternal tenderness and compassion. As St. Josemaría points out, she is Queen of Peaceand to turn to her is to find consolation: "Holy Mary is the Queen of Peace. Therefore, when your soul is troubled... do not cease to acclaim her.... Regina pacis, ora pro nobis!".

Our Lady is not distant: she is close, understanding and available. Many Christians experience how, when they turn to her in the midst of difficulties-illness, family worries, vocational doubts-her presence serenades the heart and opens paths of hope.

Queen and Mother of the Apostles

In addition to consoling, Mary encourages. It is Regina ApostolorumQueen of Apostles. St. Josemaría insisted that the Blessed Virgin Mary encourages us to live a life of self-giving and mission:

"Be bold. You can count on the help of Mary, Regina apostolorum. And Our Lady, without ceasing to behave as a Mother, knows how to place her children before their precise responsibilities. (...) Many conversions, many decisions of dedication to the service of God have been preceded by an encounter with Mary. Our Lady has fostered the desire to search, she has maternally activated the anxieties of the soul, she has made us aspire to a change, to a new life. And so the "do what he will tell you" became a reality of loving dedication, a Christian vocation that has since then illuminated our whole personal life.". St. Josemaría, It is Christ who passes by, 149

This apostolic dimension of Mary's reign connects profoundly with the mission of the CARF Foundationwhich promotes the training of seminarians and diocesan priests and religious men and women at the service of the universal Church. Mary, who knew how to welcome and guide the vocation of the first apostles, continues today to accompany those who give their lives to the priesthood or consecrated life.

How to celebrate the feast of Saint Mary Queen?

We propose you to live this day with some simple but profound gestures:

• Pray the RosaryThe fifth Glorious Mystery, the coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven, was especially contemplated.
• Dedicate some time to the eucharistic adorationthanking her Son for giving us such a merciful Mother and Queen.
• Make a work of charity in his honor: accompany someone in need, visit a sick person, or support a cause that builds the Church, such as the formation of priests.

"Mary's divine Maternity is the root of all the perfections and privileges that adorn her. By this title, she was conceived immaculate and is full of grace, she is always a virgin, she ascended body and soul to heaven, she has been crowned Queen of all creation, above the angels and the saints. More than her, only God. The Blessed Virgin, because she is the Mother of God, possesses a dignity that is in a certain sense infinite, of the infinite good that is God. There is no danger of exaggerating. We can never delve deeply enough into this ineffable mystery; we can never thank Our Mother enough for this familiarity she has given us with the Most Blessed Trinity."St. Josemaría. Friends of God, 276

Prayer proposal for August 22

• Homeinvokes Holy Mary Queen with an act of faith: "Holy Mary Queen, trusting mother, I give you today my heart...".
• ContemplationImagine the crown on her head, a sign of her maternal power.
• RequestAsk for peace for a specific area: work, home, your projects.
• OfferingGive your efforts of this day to Jesus, through his Queen and Mother.

That this August 22, when honoring Saint Mary QueenLet us find in her maternal help and reigning presence the peace and the impulse to serve with generous hearts and willing hands.

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Bibliography:

• OpusDei.org Saint Mary Queen

The history of saint Teresa Benedicta of the Crosswhose name was Edith Steinis a luminous testimony of how the sincere search for truth leads, in the end, to an encounter with Christ. Her life, marked by intelligence, dedication and martyrdom, continues today to challenge many women who feel the call to consecrate themselves to God, body and soul.

From the CARF Foundation, which also supports the formation of religious, we remember her example as a model of fidelity, spiritual depth and unconditional love.

A youth marked by the search for

Edith Stein was born on October 12, 1891 in Wroclaw, a city that then belonged to the German Empire. She was the youngest of eleven children in a practicing Jewish family. Her mother, a woman of firm faith and strong character, was for her an example of strength and responsibility. However, during her adolescence, Edith stopped praying and declared herself an atheist. She was a young woman of brilliant intelligence, dissatisfied with easy answers and determined to find the truth for herself.

She moved to Göttingen to study philosophy, where she became a disciple and collaborator of the famous philosopher Edmund Husserl, founder of phenomenology. Her philosophical research was not a mere academic activity: she sought to understand the deep structure of the human being, his dignity, his freedom and his relationship with the world. Edith was also interested in suffering, compassion and the inner experience of people.

Intellectual honesty led her to open herself to the witness of the Christian faith. The example of believing friends, her contact with Thomistic thought and, above all, reading the lives of the saints, began to move her heart. In particular, she was deeply struck by the serenity with which a Christian friend of hers faced the death of her husband, which led her to ask herself where this firm hope came from.

The turning point came in the summer of 1921, during a stay with friends. He randomly picked up a book from the shelf: it was the autobiography of Saint Teresa of Jesus. She read it in one sitting during the night, and when she finished she said: "This is the truth". That encounter with the Spanish Carmelite saint was for Edith an interior revelation. In it she discovered not only the truth of Christianity, but also a spiritual path that filled her thirst for meaning and fulfillment.

Encountering Christ

Shortly after that decisive reading, Edith Stein asked to be baptized. She received the sacrament on January 1, 1922, at the age of 30, in the church of the Dominicans in Speyer. Since then, she lived a deep, serene and coherent faith. He radically changed his way of life: he began to attend Mass every day, to pray with intensity and to place his knowledge at the service of the truth revealed in Christ. A new Edith was born inside her: a free woman, grateful and in love with God.

During the following years, she combined her spiritual life with her intellectual vocation. She worked as a teacher in a Catholic school, translated works of St. Thomas Aquinas into German and wrote philosophical essays with a Christian outlook. Everything that she had previously sought only with reason, she now understood from faith. For her, philosophy and theology were complementary paths to the full truth.

In her intimate relationship with Christ, she began to feel that it was not enough to live "for Him" from the outside: she felt that the Lord was asking her for a total surrender, a consecrated life. Years before, she had expressed the desire to become a Carmelite, but her family and professional commitments had held her back. However, with the arrival of the Nazi regime and the growing persecution of the Jews, she understood that her place was with Christ crucified, interceding for all.

In October 1933, she entered the Carmelite monastery in Cologne. There she took the name of Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. It was a radical step, but a deeply desired one. She had found her definitive place: silence, prayer and sacrifice were now the center of her life. What the world could not offer her, she found in God's love. He had fully responded to his vocation.

Vocation to Carmel

For years, Edith felt growing within her the desire to give her life completely to God. Although she initially continued her activity as a teacher, writer and lecturer, she finally took the step she had matured in prayer: in 1933 she entered the Carmelite monastery in Cologne, where she took the name of Teresa Benedicta of the Cross.

There he lived in silence, prayer and penance, intensifying his union with Christ and offering his life for the salvation of souls. He was aware of the danger he was in for being of Jewish origin in the midst of Nazi persecution, but he did not retreat. He knew that his place was at the foot of the cross.

A life offered

In her Carmelite cell, Teresa Benedicta wrote some of her most profound works. In them, she spoke of the cross as a school of love, as a place where the soul is united to Christ in his redemptive self-giving. "To accept the cross," she wrote, "means to find Christ in it.

His vocation was not an escape from the world, but a radical immersion in the mystery of human suffering, based on love. In Carmel, he prayed for his people, for the Church, for the whole world. His consecration was not isolation, but intercession.

In 1942, she was arrested together with her sister Rosa, also a convert. On August 9, both were murdered in Auschwitz. She had fulfilled her desire: to offer her life, as an oblation of love, for Christ and for humanity.

An example for female vocations

The life of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross is a source of inspiration for many women today who feel called to religious life. She teaches that vocation is nothing other than a response of love to a Love that calls first. And that it is worth leaving everything when the treasure is Christ.

Edith Stein was not a saint of easy life or instant answers. She searched, doubted, suffered, was formed, worked, thought... and in the midst of all that, she heard a voice that told her: "Come and follow me". And he left everything for Him.

Their testimony encourages many young women who, from different corners of the world, ask themselves if God is calling them to consecrate themselves, to serve Him in a community, to live in prayer, to give themselves completely. These are women who today form part of religious congregations and whom the CARF Foundation helps to form so that they can respond with generosity and preparation to this divine call.

A saint for our times

Canonized in 1998 by St. John Paul IIand proclaimed co-patroness of Europe the following year, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross is a profoundly contemporary saint. A woman who did not renounce reason, but placed it at the service of faith. A martyr who did not hate, but forgave. A nun who did not hide, but offered herself.

Her life is a hymn to truth, love and dedication. And she continues to remind us, even today, that God continues to call. That there are brave women who leave everything for Him. And that it is worth supporting them.

From the CARF Foundation: thanks to those who say "yes".

At the CARF Foundation we support with joy and hope women's vocations like St. Teresa Benedicta's. We know that their dedication changes the world, even if they do it in silence. We know that their dedication changes the world, even if they do it in silence. That their prayer sustains the Church. That their consecration is fruitful.

Therefore, we want many more women to follow the path that Edith Stein walked. May they listen to that voice that calls. May they respond. And may they find, like her, fullness in the total gift of themselves.

The August 6the Church solemnly celebrates the Transfiguration of the Lordone of the many illuminating moments of the Gospels. Jesus goes up, accompanied by his disciples Peter, James and John, to a "high mountain", and there his face becomes resplendent "like the sun", and his garments, "white as the light". At that moment, Moses and Elijah, representatives of the Law and the Prophets, are presented to them, in dialogue with Christ, reviewing how the Salvation of the whole human race will be. The scene culminates with a voice from a cloud: "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him" (Matthew 17:5).

This scene is key because it configures the moment when heaven and earth meet in a tangible way. The evangelists Matthew, Mark and Luke, the synoptic gospels, relate the episode, each with their own nuances, but all reveal the importance of this Christian mystery.

Historical origin of the holiday

The Transfiguration was initially celebrated by the consecration of a basilica at the Mount TaborThe traditional place of the event. Since the ninth century it began to be celebrated in the West and, between the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the feast was established in Rome. Finally in 1457the pope Calixto III elevated it to a solemnity in the Roman calendar to commemorate the victory in the battle of Belgrade (1456), a victory considered a sign of divine intervention.

In the oriental tradition, the Transfiguration is part of the twelve great solemnitiesIt is considered a theological pillar, together with Christmas, Easter and the Exaltation of the Cross, because it expounds the divinization of man by divine grace.

Mount Tabor: the encounter between heaven and earth

Mount Tabor, located in Lower Galilee about 17 km. west of the Sea of Galilee, rises to an altitude of about 575 meters and dominates the surrounding landscape. It is also known as Yabel at-Tur o Mount of the Transfiguration, traditionally considered the high mountain to which Jesus and the apostles climbed.

At its summit stands a Franciscan basilicaThe building, designed by the architect Antonio Barluzzi, was inaugurated in 1924 on the ruins of Byzantine and earlier structures from the time of the Crusades.

Its interior contains a multitude of mosaics and a gilded apse, where the glorified Christ occupies the center, flanked by Moses and Elijah, and a dove symbolizes the Spirit. This iconography seeks to translate with beauty the passage of the Gospels.

Some keys to the scene

1. Confirmation of Christ's Divinity

The moment of the Transfiguration reaffirms that Jesus is truly the Son of the living God. According to the Catechism, it expresses the divine glory, confirms Peter's confession, and anticipates the glory that would come after the Passion and Resurrection.

2. Continuity with the Law and the Prophets

The presence of Moses and Elijah is not accidental: they represent the Old Testament and its mission in the History of Salvation. But Jesus has come to fulfill it perfectly and must be heard.

3. Revelation of the Trinity

The cloud-visions the presence of the Father and the Holy Spirit-and the voice that defines Jesus as Son, manifest the reality of the Trinity and is exposed before the eyes of the disciples.

4. Prelude to the Paschal Mystery

The Transfiguration prepares the disciples for the Cross. It tries to make them understand the scandal of the Cross and to strengthen them for the coming Passion and Resurrection. Moreover, the forty-day period between August 6 and the Exaltation of the Cross is likened to a second Lent.

5. Anticipation of the Resurrection

Origins of Alexandria and medieval theologians affirmed that the glory of the glorified body after the Resurrection is anticipated here. The very light that envelops them on the mountain foreshadows the light of the new creation.

The call to contemplate

St. Josemaría Escrivá emphasizes that we are called to be contemplatives in the middle of the worldWhere interior silence allows us to listen to the voice of Jesus: "Our Lord, here we are ready to listen to whatever you want to tell us... May your conversation, falling into our soul, inflame our will so that it fervently throws itself into obeying you".

One of his works, Friends of Godencourages the reader to turn each daily task into a loving dialogue with the Lord, transforming routine into service and contemplation. In this way we seek God's presence in the ordinary.

Characterized by its solemnity, the liturgy of the day of the Transfiguration is clothed with whitesymbol of the glorious light of Christ. We leave you the Gospel of the day to meditate on it.

Gospel of St. Matthew, Mt 17:1-9

"Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter, James and John. his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, so that his face became radiant like the sun, and his garments white as the light. And there appeared to them Moses and Elijah talking with him. Peter, taking the word, said to Jesus:

-Lord, how good it is here; if you wish, I will make three tents here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. He was still speaking, when a cloud of light overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said:

-This is my Son, the Beloved, in whom I am well pleased: listen to him.

When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces in fear. Then Jesus came and touched them and said to them:

-Get up and don't be afraid.

When they raised their eyes, they saw no one. Only Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them:

-Do not tell anyone about the vision until the Son of Man has risen from the dead".

Meditate, contemplate, pray in silence (if you can before a Tabernacle where Our Lord is present); relive the scene and decide with Jesus some purpose and commitment to improve this day.

St. Josemaría invites us to this contemplation in Holy Rosary, Appendix, 4th mystery of Light.

"And he was transfigured before them, so that his face became radiant like the sun, and his garments white as the light (Mt 17:2). Jesus, to see you, to speak to you! To remain thus, contemplating you, absorbed in the immensity of your beauty and never, never cease in this contemplation! Oh, Christ, who could see you! Who could see you, to be wounded with love for you!

And a voice out of the cloud said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him" (Mt 17:5). Our Lord, here we are ready to listen to what you want to tell us. Speak to us; we are attentive to your voice. May your conversation, falling into our soul, inflame our will so that it may throw itself fervently into obeying you.

"Vultum tuum, Domine, requiram" (Ps. 26:8), I will seek, Lord, your face. It excites me to close my eyes, and to think that the time will come, when God wills, when I will be able to see him, not as in a mirror, and under dark images... but face to face (I Cor. 13:12). Yes, my heart thirsts for God, for the living God: when shall I come and see the face of God (Ps. 41:3)?".

Climbing Mount Tabor should not be a flight from the world in which we live; in your daily life raise your heart to meet Christ, Jesus "light of the world", sustained and strengthened to embrace his cross and, in it, discover the promise of future glory.

Is the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord a holy day of obligation?

No, it is not obligatory to attend Mass on the day of the Transfiguration of the Lord.. Although it is an important feast in the Catholic Church, it is not a day of obligation, which means that it is not obligatory to attend Mass as on Sundays and other holy days of obligation. 

The CARF Foundation invites all those who wish to attend Mass on this day to pray and ask for vocations. prieststhat there may be many of them, and that they may be very holy vocations.

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Bibliography:

• OpusDei.org, Meditate on the Transfiguration.