Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.— Psalm 145:12

Mass Readings: Revelation 21:9-14 / John 1:45-51 

Friends Helping Friends 

In today’s Gospel, Philip comes to his friend Nathaniel, also known as Bartholomew, and tells him about Jesus. A friend introduces his friend to the Lord. The responsorial psalm today is, “Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.” As Christians, we are friends of Jesus, and good friends introduce their friends to each other. 

Evangelization can mean knocking on a stranger’s door, but Philip gives us another model — inviting a friend to accompany us to Jesus. We can do this in a variety of ways, for example, by bringing a friend with us to Mass, sharing spiritual reading we’ve enjoyed, and praying together. We can ask a friend, “Have you ever thought of becoming a Catholic?” Sometimes, as Philip showed, an invitation is all that is needed. 

Prayer: Dear God, may my friendship with others increase their friendship with You.