Feast of St James the Great - July 25th

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Lord God,

you accepted the sacrifice of Saint James,

the first of your apostles to give his life for your sake.

May your Church find strength in his martyrdom

and support in his constant prayer.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

Amen

Today is the liturgical feast day of St James know as James the Greater and this year Sacred Space 102fm has a greater than particular attention to this feast day as of course St James is the blog patron for 2012. St James is also the patron of Spain and at this difficult time, we remember the people of Spain and ask for the intercession of their great patron.

From CatholicCulture:

St. James, known as the Greater, in order to distinguish him from the other Apostle St. James, our Lord's cousin, was St. John's brother. With Peter and John he was one of the witnesses of the Transfiguration, as later he was also of the agony in the garden. He was beheaded in Jerusalem in 42 or 43 on the orders of Herod Agrippa. Since the ninth century Spain has claimed the honour of possessing his relics, though it must be said that actual proof is far less in evidence than the devotion of the faithful.

Of course on this programme, some of our regular listeners will know of our interest in the Camino de Santiago - The Way of St James.

From Catholic Culture:

The pilgrimage to St. James of Compostella in the Middle Ages attracted immense crowds; after the pilgrimage to Rome or the Holy Land, it was the most famous and the most frequented pilgrimage in Christendom. The pilgrim paths to Compostella form a network over Europe; they are dotted with pilgrims' hospices and chapels, some of which still exist.

We did a programme on the Camino which you can check out HERE.

Over at Blue Eyed Ennis, Phil has a round up of reflections and a few other pieces on St James including some nifty video links.

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The second reading from the Office of Readings today:

From a homily on Matthew by Saint John Chrysostom, bishop
Sharers in the suffering of Christ

The sons of Zebedee press Christ: Promise that one may sit at your right side and the other at your left. What does he do? He wants to show them that it is not a spiritual gift for which they are asking, and that if they knew what their request involved, they would never dare make it. So he says: You do not know what you are asking, that is, what a great and splendid thing it is and how much beyond the reach even of the heavenly powers. Then he continues: Can you drink the cup which I must drink and be baptized with the baptism which I must undergo? He is saying: “You talk of sharing honors and rewards with me, but I must talk of struggle and toil. Now is not the time for rewards or the time for my glory to be revealed. Earthly life is the time for bloodshed, war and danger.”

Consider how by his manner of questioning he exhorts and draws them. He does not say: “Can you face being slaughtered? Can you shed your blood?” How does he put his question? Can you drink the cup? Then he makes it attractive by adding: which I must drink, so that the prospect of sharing it with him may make them more eager. He also calls his suffering a baptism, to show that it will effect a great cleansing of the entire world. The disciples answer him: We can! Fervor makes them answer promptly, though they really do not know what they are saying but still think they will receive what they ask for.

How does Christ reply? You will indeed drink my cup and be baptized with my baptism. He is really prophesying a great blessing for them, since he is telling them: “You will be found worthy of martyrdom; you will suffer what I suffer and end your life with a violent death, thus sharing all with me. But seats at my right and left are not mine to give; they belong to those for whom the Father has prepared them.” Thus, after lifting their minds to higher goals and preparing them to meet and overcome all that will make them desolate, he sets them straight on their request.

Then the other ten became angry at the two brothers. See how imperfect they all are: the two who tried to get ahead of the other ten, and the ten who were jealous of the two! But, as I said before, show them to me at a later date in their lives, and you will see that all these impulses and feelings have disappeared. Read how John, the very man who here asks for the first place, will always yield to Peter when it comes to preaching and performing miracles in the Acts of the Apostles. James, for his part, was not to live very much longer; for from the beginning he was inspired by great fervor and, setting aside all purely human goals, rose to such splendid heights that he straightway suffered martyrdom.

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Other interesting links about today's feast day and associations with St James - in particular the Camino de Santiago:

• Rocco over at Whispers has a post; make sure you check out the botafumeiro which is used at the cathedral
• Digitalnun has a reflection on St James, Spain and anger management
• iWitness - The Long and Winding Road
• iWitness - The Way of St James
• Word on Fire - St James
• Over at Witness - Webster Bull recently walked the Camino with his daughter and has reflections and photos of the journey.
• Thinking Faith Review of the film about The Way

 

 

Martin Sheen and his son, The Way writer/director Emilio Estevez, were on campus at Georgetown University for a special screening of the movie about the journey of a man making a pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago or Way of St. James. The event was co-sponsored by the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies at Georgetown University and The College of William and Mary.