Silent to all the charges raised by Pilate. Silent when the crowds shouted, Barabbas, give us Barabbas. Silent when the soldiers spit on him Silent when he carried his cross. Silent when he gave up his spirit. Silent when his dead body was placed into the empty tomb.
Silence is seen as weakness.
But the silence of St. Bartholomew reminds us that the Christian faith is not a recipe we can whip up for ourselves. Nor is the work of the pastoral office. Both are a gift from God meant for the salvation of souls and the building up of the Church. Steve you have been called to share the life-saving Gospel to preach the Word in truth and purity and to administer the holy sacraments as they have been given by Christ. You have been called to live the Great Commission.