It was the destiny of many of the Twelve Apostles to be little more than a name, unknown for much more than simply being one of the Twelve. It was the destiny of Bartholomew to be little more than a surname: Son of Tholomew. In choosing today's passage from the Gospel of John about Nathaniel, the Church is giving some support to an educated guess, that the full name of today's Apostle was Nathanaiel Bar Tholomew.

In the end it does not really matter. For what made Bartholomew great and worthy of remembrance was neither his person nor his deeds. His importance consisted in being chosen by Jesus, called by name to be one of the foundation stones of the new Jersualem.

Our own greatness also consists in this: we are called out of nothingness into being, called by name and called through love. We are further called to recognize Jesus as the Son of God and to follow Him. As we celebrate the feast of one of the lesser known of the Apostles, let us take to heart the divine wisdom which chooses those whom the world does not know.