PRAYER: “ALMIGHTY EVER-LIVING GOD, WHO CONSECRATED THE FIRST FRUITS OF YOUR APOSTLES BY THE BLOOD OF SAINT JAMES, GRANT, WE PRAY, YOUR CHURCH MAY BE STRENGTHENED BY HIS CONFESSION OF FAITH AND CONSTANTLY SUSTAINED BY HIS PROTECTION. THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, YOUR SON, WHO LIVES AND REIGNS WITH YOU IN THE UNITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, GOD FOR EVER AND EVER. AMEN”.
2Cor 4:7-15; Ps 125:1-6 and Mt 20:20-28
James was born in Bethsaida in Galilee. He was the son of Zebedee. His brother was John the Evangelist and Apostle. Both were prosperous fishermen of the Lake of Galilee and were in fishing partnership with Simon Peter and his brother Andrew. The four were called by the Lord at the Lake of Galilee while they were fishing, to be fishers of men. They seemed to have enjoyed a privileged position among the Apostles, which probably accounted for Salome, the mother of James and John, to request that the Lord should assign her sons the chief places in his Kingdom (Cf. Mt 20:20ff). According to Mark’s Gospel, this request was, however, made by James and John themselves and not by their mother (Cf. Mk 10:35-45). Peter, James and John (often taken to symbolise faith, hope and charity respectively) were the closest companions of the Lord. They were the only ones who witnessed the Lord’s raising to life of the daughter of Jairus, the Lord’s Transfiguration, and finally, his Agony in the Garden. St. James was the first Apostle to be murdered or martyred by King Herod Agrippa I. Thus, he became the first Christian martyr. St. James is the Patron Saint of druggists, pilgrims and porters. He is also invoked in times of war and against rheumatism.
One St. Peter Julian Eymard once said that: “If I love Jesus, I ought to resemble him. If I love Jesus, I ought to love what he loves, what he prefers to all else: humility”. This is aptly applicable to St. James the Apostle, whose feast we celebrate today. The demands or costs of discipleship are dear and expensive, not in a monetary sense, of course. There are difficulties, hardships, problems or challenges, persecutions, sacrifices, murder and death/martyrdom at the end. But in all these, the life of Jesus will always be seen in our lives and bodies, for the one “who raised the Lord Jesus to life will raise us with Jesus in our turn, and put us by his side…” (Cf. 2Cor 4:7-15). Indeed, James drank the Lord's chalice of suffering, culminating in his martyrdom at the hands of King Agrippa I.
Today, James and the rest of the Apostles are no longer physically present with us in the world. By our baptism and confirmation, we have taken the place of the Apostles. Our baptism and confirmation imply that we should love Jesus, ought to love what he loves, we ought to resemble him and prefer what he prefers to all else: humility. Let us pray that we may always acknowledge our Christian calling and always be aware of our identity as Christians, as well as always identify who we are in our individual vocations. We pray that the Holy Spirit, together with the help of St. James the Great, may lead us to fight and overcome the evil things, carnal desires and vices, as well as the ‘modern-day King Herod Agrippas’ that wage war on our lives as Christians and believers. May St. James the Great Apostle intercede for us. Stay blessed and happy feast to all who bear the name James.
WE MEDITATE TODAY, SATURDAY, ON THE JOYFUL MYSTERIES: ‘THE ANNUNCIATION, THE VISITATION, THE BIRTH OF JESUS, THE PRESENTATION IN THE TEMPLE AND THE FINDING OF THE CHILD JESUS IN THE TEMPLE’. (LET US PRAY FOR HUMILITY, LOVE OF NEIGHBOUR, POVERTY IN SPIRIT, OBEDIENCE AND JOY IN FINDING JESUS) “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus: Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us, sinners, now and at the hour of our death, Amen”.
PRAYER: “HELP US, O LORD, WE PRAY, THROUGH THE INTERCESSION OF THE BLESSED APOSTLE JAMES, ON WHOSE FEASTDAY WE HAVE RECEIVED WITH JOY YOUR HOLY GIFTS. THROUGH CHRIST OUR LORD. AMEN.”
Rev. Fr. Aloysius Kpiebaya, Catholic Diocese of Wa, UW/R, Ghana. (00233) 0207867239/0545462863. Email: aloybaya20@yahoo.com.
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