"They came to Philip...and asked him,
'Sir, we would like to see Jesus.'"
John 12:21
'Sir, we would like to see Jesus.'"
John 12:21
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March 9, 2016This week, we begin the closing phrases of our Building Prayer:“Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.Mother of the Church,St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church,And St. Philip, our parish patron…”This probably sounds familiar, because it is something we do in almost all the prayers we say: we ask the Saints to intercede for us with God. This is not a dry formality, it is the realization of one of the articles of our Faith, which we repeat in the Creed every week: “I believe in… the Communion of Saints.” As members of the Church, the Body of Christ, we are in communion with the other members, even those who have entered eternal bliss with God: the Saints. The Saints, however, have a special ability to intercede with God on our behalf: “Being more closely united to Christ, those who dwell in heaven fix the whole Church more firmly in holiness...[T]hey do not cease to intercede with the Father for us, as they proffer the merits which they acquired on earth through the one mediator between God and men, Christ Jesus" ( Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, 49). And so when we pray, we entrust our needs to them; they are our mutual friends with God.Let us consider the particular Saints we have invoked in our Prayer:The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the ChurchOur Lady “occupies a place in the Church which is the highest after Christ and yet very close to us” (Bl. Pope Paul VI, Said in Council, 4 December, 1963). She is the Mother of God, but also our Mother in grace, given to us by Christ Himself. She is thus an intercessor we can turn to in our every need.St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal ChurchIf Mary is the Mother of the Church, St. Joseph, her husband and foster-father of Jesus, is then most fittingly called the Patron of the Universal Church. We look to St. Joseph to care for our parish and community just as he cared for the Holy Family.St. Philip, our parish patronAt the beginning of our parish, the Apostle Philip was chosen as our special patron and guardian; he is the particular intercessor for our community, the one to whom we look for help at this and every time in the life of our parish. His image, as imagined by the artist Peter Paul Rubens, is on the front of our Building Prayer Card. We now ask him to assist us in our parish mission, which is the same as the one given him personally by Jesus Christ. To Philip, and to us, Our Lord issues the same call: “Follow me” (Jn 1:43).