The Apostle James/Santiago Apóstol
Dear Parishioners,
Happy feast of St. James. Sunday, we celebrate with our traditional festival and Thursday we will join the whole Church in celebrating one of the greatest followers of Christ on His feast day. According to a venerable tradition, St. James is known as the first evangelizer of the peoples of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) which, at the time, was considered the edge of the world. Jesus had told His apostles to go out into the whole world to preach the good news and His apostles took that literally.
James was a normal person. In a weak moment he and his brother, John, sought places of honor from Jesus who quickly reminded them that the only path to His Kingdom is through drinking the same chalice that He would drink and travelling along a path of suffering and sorrow, the path of the cross. The other apostles were indignant at the request of the brothers because they, too, wanted positions of honor. But Jesus teaches them all a lesson saying, “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give His life for the ransom of many.” This sums up the true desire of every apostle – service to others even to the point of death. James learned his lesson well that day, it seems since he eventually became the first of the apostles to drink Christ’s chalice as the first martyred apostle. I am so sorry that I will not be in Belvidere on the 25th. I had already made vacation arrangements before knowing that I was going to be named pastor here. Nevertheless, I will celebrate Mass on that day for all of you and all your intentions. Have a wonderful feast!
Fr. Timothy
Saint James Catholic Church 