STS. PHILLIP AND JAMES.....FROM MY 1ST MASS A PRIEST, TO 100 MASSES TODAY @ SACRED HEART..........

This morning as I celebrated the 8 am Mass at Sacred Heart, on the 23rd Anniversary of my First Mass as an ordained Priest of Jesus Christ, today's Eucharist was the 100th Mass I have celebrated at Sacred Heart during the past 4 months. This on the Feast of Sts. Phiilip and James, Apostles. Phillip who was among the first disciples Jesus called, was from Bethsaida, and is thought according to Sacred Tradition to have gone as an apostle to Phrygia, to preach the Gospel. Phillip died on a cross in Hierapolis, and has two appocryphal writings attributed to him.
James, who is known as the Lesser, was the son of Alphaeus, and a cousin or, "brother of the Lord", who is also known as, "the Just". James was known for his piety, and for being a leader of the Jerusalem Church. He wrote an epistle found in the New Testament. James was supposedy beaten or stoned to death and is the patron of the dying. In the celebration of the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick and Dying, the opening words prayed by the priest, are a quote from the Epistle of James, "Are there people sick among you ? Let them send for the priest of the Church....." In the Word of God on this their feast day, Jesus responds to Phillip by speaking of the communion between the Heavenly Father and Jesus His Son and James experiences as do the other Disciples of the Risen Lord. In the litany of saints included in Eucharistic Prayer I, Phillip and James are included with the other Apostles. Sts. Phillip and James, are also the patrons of Uruguay, in South America. To have St. Athanasius, a great Bishop and Doctor of the Church as my Ordination Day saint, and Sts. Phillip and James, Apostles as my First Mass Day saints, I have also considered a fortutious sign that as a Priest of Jesus Christ, God is caling me to preach, teach, and minister , in and with the spirit of the apostles. From my 1st Mass on this day in 1987, to my 8,487th Mass today, 23 years later, I am happy to have the honor and privilege of presiding, proclaiming, preaching, and perfecting, (consecrating) the sacred mysteries of Word and Eucharist, that permit us to encounter the Risen Christ in the Paschal Mystery..........Peace + Prayers In Jesus The Christ, Fr. Troy