Saint James the Greater, called greater because it is believed that he was taller than the other Apostle named James, was one of the son’s of Zebedee, a Jewish fisherman on the Sea of Galilee.
He, along with Peter and his brother John, was among the first to be called by Jesus to follow Him.
Peter, James, and John came to form an inner circle, or sorts, for Jesus. Often they were the privileged witnesses to many of the miracles Jesus conferred, including the raising of Jairus’s Daughter and the Transfiguration.
After the Ascension, James would take His love for the Lord west. We made it as far as Spain, where He spread the Word of God and built a church in honor of the Virgin Mary. His route to Spain became known as the Camino de Santiago (or the Way of Saint James). Few of our parishioners recently completed a pilgrimage on the final leg of this famous route.
James would later return to Jerusalem, where he was executed by Herod by decapitation. James the Greater is thought to be the first apostle to be martyred.
His remains can now be found in the Cathedral of Santiago, Spain. They were moved there in the ninth century upon their discovery in Jerusalem.
The discourse between Jesus, James, and John in our reading today, reminds us of the importance of drinking from the Chalice of Jesus Christ….the Chalice of Hallel (the fourth Passover cup from the Last Supper) that Jesus drank from on the cross, the Chalice that is made available to us through the Mass.
James came to understand the importance of picking up our cross and following Jesus to Calvary. The importance of the Mass which is to sacramentally take the cross we carry to Calvary in order to participate in the once and for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and in turn drink of the Chalice from which Jesus drank, the cup of salvation.
During the Euchristic prayer, can you hear Jesus asking you, “Can you drink the chalice I am to drink?” Can you hold this treasure of grace in your earthen vessel. Holding it not for your own benefit, but to share with others in that they may also pick up their cross and follow the Lord to Calvary in order to also drink from the Chalice at Mass. Can you do this, like Saint James did?
When we drink from the Chalice from which Jesus drank with the correct intention and disposition, we participate in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Through the paschal mystery, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, made present to us through the Mass, the life and grace of Jesus Christ is made manifest in our life and in our mortal flesh.
Through our active participation in the paschal mystery, like Saint James, may grace be bestowed on more and more people so that the Thanksgiving (the Eucharist) may overflow for the glory of God.
Thanks be to God!
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