🕂 The Holy and All-Praiseworthy Apostle Philip.
Polyeleos Feast. Abstention from meat and foods that contain meat.
1 Corinthians 4:9-16; John 1:43-51.
Read John 1:43-51
The call to know and follow Jesus is directed to each of us individually. When the Lord calls His disciples it is a personal call and each of the disciples responds to this call in their own way. We too have been called in our own personal way to deepen our relationship with the Lord. For the disciples they were able to spend time with and were able to get to know Jesus by being in His presence. We too are expected to spend time with Jesus. The main way in which we spend time with Jesus is through the Church. By attending the liturgical services of the Church, by actively participating in the sacraments of the Church and by studying the teachings of the Church we come to know the Lord. The more familiar we become with the Church the more familiar we become with the Lord. Love is the main attraction that keeps us in relationship with others. When we love someone we want to spend time with them. If we want to love the Lord then we need to spend time with Him and to spend time with Him means spending time with His Church. Let us take some time to reexamine our relationship with the Church and hopefully this will help us to see how we can deepen our relationship with the Lord.