The New Testament relates much about the apostles known as the sons of Zebedee, James and John. So writes Father Gordon Reigle, pictured above, the new pastor of the Catholic Community of Saints James in Mason and Cornelius & Cypria in Bunker Hill Township, upon the Feast of Saint James the Apostle, known as the Greater.
They were clearly part of Jesus’ inner circle and privy to some of the most intimate encounters with our Lord such as the Transfiguration, the raising of Jairus’ daughter, and Jesus’ agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. In their early years, they were a bit boisterous – asking to call down fire upon the Samaritans (Luke 9:54) or seeking more power and authority among the apostolic band (Matt. 20:20-28), even with their mother’s help. But, in time, both James and John would prove to be great apostles and servants of our Lord Jesus Christ.
John lived a long life as an evangelist and cared for the Blessed Mother after Jesus’ passion and death. James the Greater (to distinguish him from James, Son of Alphaeus) lived a short life and was the first of the apostles to be martyred, around 44AD by King Herod Agrippa I in Jerusalem (Acts 12:1-2). But that very short missionary life in no way makes Saint James any less interesting.
By tradition, Saint James the Greater went off to Spain and preached the Good News but without great success. Our Lady appeared to him in 40AD near Zaragoza, Spain, on a pillar of jasper and asked for a church to be built on this site. This first Marian apparition is a bilocation, as Our Lady was still alive and living with Jame’s brother, Saint John the Apostle.
Our Lady left a wooden statue of herself and the pillar of jasper as a sign, and this shrine has yielded many conversions over the centuries, contributing to the Christianization of Spain. The Blessed Mother also promised that the church on this site would last until the End of Time, and her motherly protection over this site has been obvious. During the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s, three bombs were dropped on the church to destroy it but none of them detonated!
After his martyrdom, various traditions speak of the body of Saint James being placed in a boat and guided back to Spain for burial by the Lord’s providence. This grave was re-discovered in the 9th century when Spain had been under Moorish control for a century. Saint James was invoked for the reconquest of Spain to return it to Christian rule.
The name ‘Compostela’ or ‘field of stars’ refers to the re-discovery of the grave of Saint James by a hermit who was guided by a field of bright stars to the tomb. A church was built over the grave, and now the Cathedral of Saint James draws pilgrims from all over the world. There are many pilgrim routes across Europe that lead to Saint James’ shrine. The clam shell is used as a symbol for this pilgrimage because the ridges of the clam shell represent the many various pilgrim paths all converging on this holy destination.
When you reach the Cathedral of Saint James, you may pay your respects to this great apostle, whose remains are now held in a silver sarcophagus. And, if you’re fortunate, you just may see the cathedral staff swing the giant barrel-shaped thurible (or Botafumiero) through the transept of the church (right up to the ceiling from side to side) after Mass.
I once had the pleasure of placing incense in the Botafumiero and then safely stepping back behind the altar as a team of men swung the giant thurible at terrifying speeds. As this is an ancient pilgrimage destination for crowds of pilgrims who may not have showered in weeks, the regular incensing of the church freshens the air and keeps our focus on the Lord, and not on the body odor.
Our spiritual lives are pilgrim journeys with Christ to the promised land of Heaven. Like Saint Paul, we are asked to live in the world but not be of it. So may we travel light, humble ourselves and always seek first the Kingdom of God over our own earthly interests. And may Saint James the Greater intercede for us and for our conversion!
Saint James the Greater, pray for us!
