This Monday we celebrate the feast of St Bartholomew, one of the original twelve Apostles. Being a close friend of Christ, being transformed by Him, faithful to Him, and later evangelizing and giving up his life for Him, we look up to St Bartholomew as an example of holiness.
“We have no special information about Bartholomew; indeed, his name always and only appears in the lists of the Twelve mentioned above and is therefore never central to any narrative. However, it has traditionally been identified with Nathanael: a name that means ‘God has given’ … [Bartholomew-Nathanael’s] heart is moved by Jesus’ words, he feels understood and he understands: ‘This man knows everything about me, he knows and is familiar with the road of life; I can truly trust this man’. And so he answers with a clear and beautiful confession of faith: ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ (Jn 1: 49). In this confession is conveyed a first important step in the journey of attachment to Jesus.”
Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience, St Peter’s Square, 4 October 2006.