July 25th
St. James the Apostle
St. James, son of Zebedee, also called James the Greater, was born in Galilee and died in Jerusalem in 44 A.D. He is called "the Greater" to distinguish him from "James the Less," but the terms great and less reference age rather than importance. He is one of the Twelve Apostles, the brother of St. John the Apostle. James and John are together designated "Boanerges" (from the Greek boanerges), or “Sons of Thunder." James was the first Apostle to be martyred. He was exclusively chosen by Jesus to be a witness of the greatest works of His power.
"Among the twelve, three were chosen as the familiar companions of our blessed Lord, and of these James was one. He alone, with Peter and John, was admitted to the house of Jairus when the dead maiden was raised to life. They alone were taken up to the high mountain apart, and saw the face of Jesus shining as the sun, and His garments white as snow; and these three alone witnessed the fearful agony in Gethsemane. What was it that won James a place among the favorite three? Faith, burning, impetuous, and outspoken, but which needed. purifying before the "Son of Thunder" could proclaim the gospel of peace. It was James who demanded fire from heaven to consume the inhospitable Samaritans, and who sought the place of honor by Christ in His Kingdom. Yet Our Lord, in rebuking his presumption, prophesied his faithfulness to death. " - Alban Butler, Lives of the Saints
The words consecrated by the Church in honor of St. James:
"James, the son of Zebedee, and brother of John the Apostle, was a Galilean. He was one of the first to be called to the apostolate together with his brother, and, leaving his father and his nets, he followed the Lord. Jesus called them both Boanerges, That is to say, sons of Thunder. He was one of the three apostles whom our Savior loved the most, and whom he chose as witnesses of his transfiguration, and of the miracle by which he raised to life the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue, and whom he wished to be present when he retired to the Mount of Olives, to pray to his father, before being taken prison by the Jews."
"After the ascension of Jesus Christ into Heaven, James preached his divinity in Judea and Samaria, and led many to the Christian faith. Soon, however, he set out for Spain, and there made some converts to Christianity; among these were the 7 men who were afterwards consecrated bishops by St Peter, and were the first sent by him into Spain. James returned to Jerusalem and, among others, instructed Hermogenes, the magician, in the truths of the faith."
"Herod Agrippa, who had been raised to the throne under the Emperor Claudius, wished to curry favor with the Jews; he therefore condemned the Apostle to death for openly proclaiming Jesus Christ to be God. When the man who had brought him to the tribunal saw the courage with which he went to martyrdom, he declared that he too was a Christian. As they were being hurried to execution, he implored James's forgiveness. The Apostle kissed him, saying: “peace be with you." Thus, both of them were beheaded; James having a little before cured a paralytic. "
"His body was afterwards translated to Compostella, where it is honored with the highest veneration; Pilgrims flock feather from every part of the world, to satisfy their devotion or pay their vows. The memory of his natalis is celebrated by the Church today, which is the day of the translation. But it was near the feast of the Pasch that, first of all the Apostles, he shed his blood at Jerusalem as a witness to Jesus Christ."
When I was looking for artistic depictions of St. James, I noticed that an overwhelming number of paintings portrayed him with a seashell, either strapped to his chest, fastening his cloak, or even on his hat. Curious as to why, I researched the origins of this symbol in relation to James.
1. After James's death, his body was transported by a ship back to the Iberian Peninsula to be buried in what is now Santiago. There is a certain legend surrounding the arrival of St. James’s body in Spain that says, as the ship approached land, a wedding was taking place on shore. The young groom was on horseback, and, upon seeing the ship's approach, his horse got spooked, and horse and rider plunged into the sea. Through miraculous intervention, the horse and rider emerged from the water alive, covered in seashells.
2. There is a famous pilgrimage called Camino de Santiago, known in English as the Way of St. James, that leads to James' shrine in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, where his remains are. The Way of St James was one of the most important pilgrimages during the later Middle Ages - and a pilgrimage route on which a plenary indulgence could be earned. For pilgrims in the Middle Ages, the journey was often done to fulfill a penance given by a priest. In order to verify that the pilgrim reached the destination, a souvenir was brought back. Scallop shells are naturally found on the coast of Galicia, and over time, pilgrims began to take the scallop shells they found and then presented them as proof when they returned home. From its connection to the Camino, the scallop shell came to represent pilgrimage.
Since the scallop shell represents pilgrimages, and St. James is the patron of pilgrims, the association makes sense, as does the fact that the scallop shells are found at the site of his burial, which is the destination of a very popular pilgrimage.
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