July
25Saints of the Day
July
25
Saints of the Day
Son of Zebedee and Salome, brother of Saint
John the Apostle, and Jesus' cousin. He is called "the Greater" simply
because he became an Apostle before Saint
James the Lesser. Apparent disciple of Saint
John
the Baptist.
Fisherman.
Left everything when Christ called him to be a fisher of men. Was present during
most of the recorded miracles of Christ.
Preached
in Samaria, Judea, and
Spain.
First
Apostle
to be
martyred
(Act.12:1-2). Wrote the Letter of James.
James was one of the favored
three who had the privilege of witnessing the Transfiguration, the raising to
life of the daughter of Jairus and the agony in Gethsemane, Peter, John and
James (Santiago).
To each one Jesus commended something special:
- To Peter: His Church
- To John: His mother
- To James (Santiago): Spain
In Spain, St. James,
one of the Sons of Thunder, was seen in the heat of
the battle fighting with the Spanish on a white horse, the Christians were
outnumbered by the Moors, but they won.
The pilgrimage to his relics in
Santiago de Compostela,
Spain, became such a popular devotion that the symbols of
pilgrims
have become his emblems, and he became patron of
pilgrims.
His work in
Spain,
and the housing of his relics there, led to his patronage of the country and all
things
Spanish;
for centuries, the
Spanish
army rode to battle with the cry "Santiago!" ("Saint James!")
In Zaragoza, Spain also Virgin Mary appeared to Santiago while se was still alive, living with St. John. She came with angels bringing a Pillar with her statue. Look at Our Lady of the Pillar, patroness of Spain and of all Hispanics, on Columbus Day.
More in the Bible on James:
Two incidents in the Gospels describe the temperament of this man and his brother John the Evangelist:
1- St. Matthew tells that their mother came (Mark says it
was the brothers themselves) to ask that they have the seats of honor (one on
the right, one on the left of Jesus) in the kingdom. “Jesus said in reply, ‘You
do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am going to
drink?’ They said to him, ‘We can’” (Matthew 20:22). Jesus then told them they
would indeed drink the cup and share his baptism of pain and death, but that
sitting at his right hand or left was not his to give—it “is for those for whom
it has been prepared by my Father” (Matthew 20:23b). It remained to be seen how
long it would take to realize the implications of their confident “We can!”...
James was the first Apostle martyr, John the last.
The other disciples became indignant at the ambition of James
and John. Then Jesus taught them all the lesson of humble service: The purpose
of authority is to serve. They are not to impose their will on others, or lord
it over them. This is the position of Jesus himself. He was the servant of all;
the service imposed on him was the supreme sacrifice of his own life.
2- On another occasion, James and John gave evidence that the nickname Jesus gave them—“sons of thunder”—was an apt one. The Samaritans would not welcome Jesus because he was on his way to hated Jerusalem. “When the disciples James and John saw this they asked, ‘Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?’ Jesus turned and rebuked them...” (Luke 9:54-55).
James was the first of the apostles to be martyred.
“About that time King Herod laid hands upon some members of the church to
harm them. He had James, the brother of John, killed by the sword, and when he
saw that this was pleasing to the Jews he proceeded to arrest Peter also”
(Acts 12:1-3a).
![[Saint Christopher holy card]](saintc05.jpg "13kb jpg holy card of Saint Christopher bearing the Christ Child, artist unknown; if you have information on this image, please email me; plase do not write to ask about the image")
Saints of
July
25:
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