Posted on 07/24/2007 6:06:52 PM PDT by Salvation
JAMES THE APOSTLE, JACOBUS DE VORAGINE, "THE GOLDEN LEGEND"
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Feast: July 25
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This apostle James is called James the son of Zebedee, or James the brother of John, or Boanerges, which means the Son of Thunder, or James the Greater. He is the son of Zebedee not only in the flesh, but in the meaning of the name. Zebedee means giving or given, and the blessed James gave himself to Christ by his martyrdom, and was given to us by God as a spiritual patron.... He is called the son of thunder because of the sonority of his preaching which terrified the wicked, aroused the slothful, and won the admiration of all by its loudness....
James is called the Greater, as the other James is called the Less, firstly, by reason of his calling, because he was called earlier by Christ; secondly, because of his intimacy with Christ, for Our Lord seems to have held this James in closer friendship than the other, admitting him to His secrets, as when he was present at the raising of the daughter of Jairus and at the Transfiguration; thirdly, by reason of his passion because he was the first of the apostles to be put to death. Thus as he is called Greater because he received the grace of the apostolate earlier, so he is called Greater because he was earlier summoned to the glory of eternity. James the Apostle, the son of Zebedee, after Our Lord's Ascension first preached in Judea and Samaria, then went to Spain to sow the word of God. But when he saw that his labours in Spain were unavailing, and that he had been able to garner only nine disciples there, he left two disciples to preach, and returned to Judea with the other seven. Upon his return to Judea, he again began to preach the word of God. Then the Pharisees asked a magician named Hermogenes to send his disciple Philetus to confront James, and to convict him of the falsity for his doctrine before the Jews.... When the Jews saw that Hermogenes was converted, they came in anger to James, and inveighed against him for preaching Christ crucified. And the apostle proved the mission and the Passion of Christ so clearly to them, citing the sacred books, that many were converted. At this, Abiathar, who was the high priest of the year, incited the populace to riot, caused a rope to be thrown about the apostle's neck and dragged him before Herod Agrippa, who condemned him to be beheaded.... This martyrdom took place March 25, the day of the Annunciation; but the Church has decreed that the feast of Saint James be celebrated on the twenty-fifth day of July, this being the day of the translation of his relics to Compostella. John Beleth relates that after the apostle's death, his disciples, in fear of the Jews, placed his body in a boat at night, embarked with him, although the boat had neither rudder not steersman, and set sail, trusting to the providence of God to determine the place of his burial. And the angels guided the boat to the shores of Galicia in Spain, where there was a queen whose name was Lupa, a name which means she-wolf, and which she well deserved by her life. The disciples laid the body of the apostle on a great stone, which immediately softened as if it were wax, and shaped itself into a sarcophagus fitted to his body. The disciples went to Queen Lupa and said to her: "Our Lord Jesus Christ sends thee the body of His disciple, that thou mayest welcome in death him whom thou wouldst not welcome alive!" And they narrated to her the miracle whereby they had come thither without a rudder nor a steersman, and besought her to appoint a place for the burial of the saint. Then, as John Beleth relates, she guilefully sent them to the king of Spain, a most cruel man, with the pretext of seeking his permission for the saint's burial; and the king arrested them and threw them into prison. But in the night, when he had gone to rest, an angel opened the prison doors and set them free. As soon as he learned this, the king sent soldiers in pursuit of them; but just as these soldiers were crossing a bridge, the bridge collapsed and the soldiers were drowned. At this report, the king feared for himself and his people, and repented. He sent other men to search for James's disciples, and to say to them that if they would return, he would refuse them nothing that they asked. They therefore went back, and converted the whole city to the faith of Christ. Then they returned to Lupa, to make known to her the kings assent. The queen was sore distraught at these tidings, and answered: "I have oxen in a mountain place. Take them and yoke them, and carry your master's body whither you will, and build him a tomb!" All this she said in wolfish cunning, for she knew that the oxen were really untamed and savage bulls, and thus she thought that they could not be yoked or harnessed, or if they were harnessed, they would run away, and destroy the car and throw the body to the ground, and kill the disciples. But no guile avails against God. The disciples, unaware of the queen's ruse, went up into the mountain, where first they encountered a dragon which belched fire; but they held a cross before him, and he was cloven asunder. Then they made the sign of the cross over the bulls, and they became as meek as lambs, allowed themselves to be yoked, and although no man guide them, they drew the saint's body, with the stone in which it was laid, straight into the middle of the queen's palace. Seeing this, the queen was dismayed, believed in Christ, transformed her palace into a church of Saint James, and endowed it munificently. And she passed the rest of her life in doing good works. Jacobus de Voragine. <The Golden Legend>. Transl. Granger Ryan and Helmut Ripperger. New York: Arno Press, 1969. Pp. 368-73. |
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July 25, 2007
St. James the Greater
This James is the brother of John the Evangelist. The two were called by Jesus as they worked with their father in a fishing boat on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus had already called another pair of brothers from a similar occupation: Peter and Andrew. He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets. Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him (Mark 1:19-20).
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 Gethsemani. Two incidents in the Gospels describe the temperament of this man and his brother. 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 giveit 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! 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. On another occasion, James and John gave evidence that the nickname Jesus gave themsons of thunderwas 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 apparently 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). This James, sometimes called James the Greater, is not to be confused with the author of the Letter of James and the leader of the Jerusalem community. Quote:
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Of course, in the 1962 calendar, it’s also St Christopher’s day, who, when he was released by the Vatican in 1969, was picked up on waivers by the Mets.
Saint James the Greater, Apostle
Feast Day
July 25th
Apostle Saint James the Greater
Domenikos Theotocopoulos ("El Greco")
1606
Museo del Greco, Toledo
Collect:
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, for ever and ever. Amen.First Reading: 2 Corinthians 4: 7-15
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For while we live we are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.
Since we have the same spirit of faith as he had who wrote, "I believed, and so I spoke," we too believe, and so we speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.Gospel Reading: Matthew 20:20-28
Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him, with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. And he said to her, "What do you want?" She said to him, "Command that these two sons of mine may sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom." But Jesus answered, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?" They said to him, "We are able." He said to them, "You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father."
And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave; even as the Son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Family Activity - from A Continual Feast by Evelyn Birge Vitz, originally published by Harper & Row in 1995, now available in paperback from Ignatius Press.
Saint James is known to have died around A.D. 42, by he sword, at the command of Herod Agrippa. According to legend, he first spent seven years in Spain, traveling throughout the land and preaching Christianity. After he was put to death, his followers are said to have brought his body back to Spain for burial. In the ninth century, a star miraculously revealed what was claimed to be his tomb. A great shrine was build at Compostela ("Star of the Sea"), and by the eleventh century great flocks of pilgrims were visiting it. From then on, only Jerusalem and Rome attracted more pilgrims than "Santiago" (Iago is Spanish for James).
The festival in his honor in Compostela is a week-long affair, celebrated with dramatic liturgy and with beautiful local costumes, Galician bagpipe music, dancing, and of course wonderful, special food.
One of the traditional dishes is a scallop-filled empanada, or little pie. Nothing could be more appropriate, for the scallop shell has been, for hundreds of years, the symbol of Santiago. This shell was worn as an emblem by all pilgrims to the shrine at Compostella. (In French, scallops are called "St. James cockles": coquilles St. Jacques.)
Let's put these tasty little creatures back on their symbolic shells. This dish is lovely with rice and a green vegetable, and a good white wine.
Scallops on the "pilgrim" shell
1 teaspoon each: Finely chopped chervil, chives, parsley, tarragon
1 cup white wine
2 pounds of scallops
Flour for dredging
Salt
White pepper
3 tablespoons of butter
1 tablespoon olive oil or peanut oil
A little lemon (optional)
6 large (4-5 inch) scallop shells
1/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons melted butter
For garnish: Chopped parsley and lemon wedges
A few minutes (better yet, an hour) before beginning to cook, put the herbs to steep in the wine.
Rinse the scallops, and dry them. If using large sea scallops, cut them into halves or quarters. Coat them with flour that has been seasoned with salt and white pepper. Shake off excess flour before cooking.
Heat 3 tablespoons of butter and the oil in a large frying pan. When the butter and oil are bubbling, add the scallops to the pan. It is important that hte scallops not be crowded, and that the pan be hot. (You may need to cook the scallops in several batches.) Sauté the scallops, adding butter and oil as necessary, until they are nicely browned on all sides. Remove to a warm dish.
Pour the herb-steeped wine into the frying pan, boiling the liquid down slightly, and stirring in all the delicious little bits left in the pan.
Stir the wine into the scallops. Taste for seasoning.
Optional: squeeze in a little lemon juice.
Fill the scallop shells with the mixture. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and moisten the tops with a little melted butter. Run briefly under a preheated broiler to brown the crumbs.
Garnish with chopped parsley, and lemon wedges.
Yield: 6 servings
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