CSVF Blog

Whoever wishes to be great among you must the your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you must be the slave of all.

Today the Church honors St. James the Greater, one of the closer confidants of Our Lord and the first of the apostles to suffer martyrdom.  His courageous death is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles (12:1-2).

From Éditions Magnificat:

Among the twelve Apostles, three were chosen to be the close companions of our Blessed Lord, and of these James was one. He, with Peter and John, was admitted to the house of Jairus when his dead child was raised to life (Luke 8:40 ff.); only these three were taken up to the high mountain of Thabor and beheld the face of Jesus shining as the sun, and His garments white as snow (Mark 9:2-7). These three alone witnessed the fearful agony in Gethsemane. (Luke 22:39-45)

What was it that won James a place among the favorite three? Faith, burning, impetuous and outspoken, the straightforwardness of the true Israelite, were visible in him; but these qualities needed purifying before the “Son of Thunder” could proclaim the Gospel of peace. It was James who suggested fire from heaven to consume the inhospitable Samaritans, and who sought a place of honor beside Christ in His kingdom. Yet Our Lord, in rebuking his presumption, prophesied his faithfulness unto death. (Mark 10:38-40) He went to Spain after the death of Our Lord, and remained there for nine years, according to tradition. The famous Basilica of Saint James of Compostello, one of the most frequented pilgrimage sites of Europe, the site also of countless miracles, commemorates the memory of the nation’s beloved Apostle.

In the year 44 Saint James, who was at that time in Jerusalem, was brought before King Herod Agrippa. The Apostle had been preaching fearlessly there, curing the sick and the blind, and delivering possessed persons. Two magicians were sent by the authorities to stop his doings by their charms, but both were converted. His enemies were not defeated by that, however, and paid two Roman captains to incite a sedition during the Apostle’s preaching, then seize him as its author. A certain Josias, a scribe among the Pharisees, put a cord around his neck and took him before the third Herod, grandson of the first, murderer of the Innocents, and nephew of the second, who had the Baptist decapitated. This new sycophant of the Roman Emperors, desiring to conciliate the Jews and make them forget his non-Jewish origins, decided to do so by persecuting the Christians. Without delay he condemned Saint James to die by the sword. The Apostle’s fearless confession of Jesus crucified so moved the scribe Josias, that he too confessed Christ and begged pardon of the Saint. He was taken with the Apostle to the place of execution, where Saint James and his convert died together.

The Apostle won the three crowns of heroism: he is a Doctor par excellence of the Faith, he was the first Apostle to be martyred, and according to Saint Epiphanus and other historians, he always conserved his virginity. He is the patron of Spain.

Tradition has it that the relics of St. James are enshrined in the cathedral of Compostela, Spain, which in the Middle Ages was Europe’s most popular place of pilgrimage.  Today, hikers and bikers still follow the old Camino de Santiago.

Besides the physical and spiritual benefits it offers, the successful camino also grants pilgrims the grace of beholding the cathedral’s famous botafumeiro, which is the world’s largest thurible.  Click below to see it in action.  (St. Vincent’s definitely needs one of these.)

For more on the life and legend of St. James, the “son of thunder,” click here and here.

Almighty Father,
by the martyrdom of Saint James
you blessed the work of the early Church.
May his profession of faith give us courage
and his prayers bring us strength.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit
one God, forever and ever.  Amen.