So you know the names of all the apostles. Okay, who was St. Philip and what did he do? How about St. James the Less? We know about these two only because they are mentioned in the Gospels as two of the twelve apostles. We know that Philip was from the same town as Peter and Andrew and that he brought Nathanael to Jesus, but other than that we have only a few stories about Philip; one when Jesus asked him where they should buy enough food to feed the 5000. Philip responded, "Two hundred days' wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little [bit]" (Jn 6:7). This would seem to indicate that Philip had some knowledge of logistics and supplies. Beyond those few stories, we have from legend that he was stoned to death after preaching the Gospel.
Of St. James, son of Alphaeus, also known as James the Less to distinguish him from James, the brother of John, we only know his name and the fact that he was an apostle. That's it! However as an apostle, he was chosen by Jesus to go forth and spread the Good News. His anonymity did not prevent him from doing God's will once he was filled with the Holy Spirit. According to legend, he also died a martyr's death.
What can we learn from these two apostles? Don't worry about fame. Don't worry about prestige. Don't worry about worldly success. Be faithful to the mission that we have been given. Be faithful to our calling as disciples. Be faithful to our faith. Sts. Philip and James, pray for us.
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