It’s always good to get to know a lesser-known saint, and this week opens with one such, Saint Apollinaris, said to be a disciple of Saint Peter (we find his story on p 290). Like many early saints, he was responsible for many healings, a reliable sign of sanctity. Yet the Gospel for Monday reminds us that even Our Lord’s ability to heal and work other miracles did not suffice to convince his sceptical contemporaries.
At that time: Some of the scribes and Pharisees answered Jesus, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great sea creature, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
