There is not much known about the saint we celebrate today, Bartholomew. We read about him in the book In Caelo et in Terra, but most of the devotional thought is speculation. Even the Franciscan media thought is meager: read it here.
We do know that he was one of the twelve disciples who followed Jesus. He went to India and shared the gospel there, and was eventually martyred by being skinned alive. While I do hope for the honor of being martyred for Jesus, I really hope I don't follow Bartholomew's example. I don't do well with torture. A quick firing squad would be nice.
The seeds planted by the original twelve disciples, all of whom were martyred (even John was actually martyred by being boiled in oil... he just didn't die from it or even suffer injury, and so was sent to die a natural death on Patmos!), grew to become the church. The church that created a world of peace and the spread of the gospel throughout the whole world for the next thousand years.
What is God calling us to today? There is a great darkness in the world - but take heart: He has overcome the world. Ask Him what part you will play in His plan today.
God, thanks for the work that this follower of Jesus did, most of which we don't know about. St Bartholomew, pray for us.
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