August 24, 2026 // Feast of Saint Bartholomew, Apostle

Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: John 1:45-51

Reflect on the Word // 

There are plenty of days that go by where I feel particularly out of the mind of God. Having a large family, the needs of the children (and the challenges) can sometimes feel like a steady stream. Taxing, trying, tearful. I’ve been there a million times and I’ll be there again. It’s not always easy to see a clear path to the heart of the Father, or His love and care for me. 

Before I saw you under the fig tree, I knew you. 

What consolation. What intimacy. 

I need to remember these words that our Lord spoke to Nathanael, also known as Bartholomew (see John 1:48). He sees me. He knows me. And He is reminding me that even before the struggle, even before I could cry out, He was there—knowing me.

Knowing my needs, knowing my weakness, and knowing just how to reach me. 

We are little Bartholomews too. Brooding, sulking, lost, and alone. Sometimes for good reason, and sometimes not. But Jesus is just as close to us, and He desires for us to hear those words, too—before this current state, before whatever it is that we are facing. 

I see you. I know you. And I cannot abandon you. 

Our Lord is good to us. He is keenly aware of who we are, and He is present here in whatever the current struggle is, looking with love upon our lack of understanding and even upon our lack of hope. He knew us and He knows us.

When we find ourselves under the next fig tree, seemingly fruitless and without purpose, let’s remember these three words—I saw you. 

Relate to the Lord // Imagine yourself in the Gospel today and hear Jesus’ words to Saint Bartholomew directed to you: “I saw you.”