Blog Template Theology of the Body: Saint James of Jerusalem, Apostle of Our Lord and Martyr, AD 62

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Saint James of Jerusalem, Apostle of Our Lord and Martyr, AD 62




Tradition honors his "fervor" and "generosity," even to carrying the Gospel from Jerusalem to Spain. Sripture honors his election by Jesus to be a witness of His glory on Mount Tabor, and of His agony in Gethsemane. To the Church his name is a symbol of warfare and victory, a source of strength and consolation in the unending warfare of this life. Having constantly and generously followed Jesus, may we too be victors in sin's strife and receive the victor's crown in heaven...

On the last journey to Jerusalem, their mother Salome came to the Lord and said to Him: "Say that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left, in thy kingdom" (Matthew 20:21). And the two brothers, still ignorant of the spiritual nature of the Messianic Kingdom, joined with their mother in this eager ambition (Mark 10:37). And on their assertion that they are willing to drink the chalice that He drinks of, and to be baptized with the baptism of His sufferings, Jesus assured them that they will share His sufferings (Mark 5:38-39).

Has anyone here ever walked or run or jogged or driven along the Camino de Santiago in Spain? The image above left shows the church built in honor of St. James at Santiago de Compostela. That sort of thing is very much flagged on my list of things to do...But more importantly, who loves the Book of James? -I do! 'Gospel of Straw,' my foot. What is everyone's favorite passage in James?