St James the Great & St James the Less or the Just

25 July

SAINT JAMES, Apostle

Feast Born at Berhsaida, the son of Zebedee and the brother of the apostle John. He was present when Christ performed his more important miracles. He was killed by King Herod about the year 42, and is venerated especially at Compostella in Spain where there is a magnificent church dedicated in his honour. 

St. James the Apostle also
known as St James the Great
St. James the Great July 25th   

St. James the Less also
known as Saint James the Just
 of St. James the Less, May 3rd

It can be puzzling about which of the James Apostles. James is my Baptismal name. My God-parents may not have been sure either. Perhaps they found the date of St James the Great was within a month of my birthday. .

  http://www.stjames.webhero.com/st-james-feast.htm   

Feast of St. James the Great Feast of St. James the Less

Saint James Greater the Apostle • Saint James Lesser the Just • St. James Medals • Feast Day of St. James • Patronage of St. James • St. James Cathedral • About Me

The Feast Day for Both St. James the Greater and St. James the Lesser Feast Day of Saint James the Greater July 25th Western Church April 30th Eastern Church Feast Day of St. James the lesser May 3rd Western Church October 9th Eastern Church Both St. James the Great and St. James the less have a St. James Feast Day that is dedicated to honoring each man. St. James the Greater has a Feast Day dedicated to him on July 25th of each year for the Western church, and April 30th for the Eastern church. St. James the Lesser has Feast Days dedicated to him on May 3rd in the Western church since 1969, and October 9th for the Eastern church. St. James the Lesser also shares a Feast Day with St. Philip. Part of the legend states that a Portuguese man was riding his horse on the beach and the horse plunged into the sea with the man still on the horse's back. The man suddenly emerged from the sea with scallops shells all over him, which is one of the symbols for St. James the Great. St. James the Great was a fisherman by trade, which is where Jesus met up with him and instructed James and his brother John to follow him. St. James the Great is the Patron Saint of Spain, blacksmiths, tanners, veterinarians, as well as equestrians. His depiction consists of James on horseback with cockleshells, a sword, and a pilgrim hat. Saint James Feast Day in Spain is a national holiday where the Spanish celebrate in St. James' honor. There are many different traditions that have been formed in some of the countries. For instance, in England, it is customary to eat oysters, and proclaim that anyone who eats the oyster will not want for anything. In France, they eat scallops instead of an oyster. While St. James the Great was handpicked by Jesus himself to follow him, St. James the Less was related to Jesus in that St. James' mother, Mary, was Jesus' mother's sister, Mary. It is also thought that St. James' mother, Mary, was at the crucifix when Jesus died. St. James the Less was called to the apostleship during Jesus' second year of preaching. St. James the Less was the first Bishop of Jerusalem and served the church for 30 years. He was so devoted to prayer that his knees and forehead were hardened, such as that of a camel's hoofs. He was martyred in the name of God in 62 A.D. and prayed up to God for the forgiveness of his murderers while he was being stoned to death. The last hit that actually killed him was from a club, which is now used in his depiction. A Feast of St. James the Less, or as he's sometimes referred to as James the Just, due to his abstinence from drinking wine, eating meat, never cut his hair and did not anoint himself. The last act to respecting St. James the Less in the church was that he was a Jewish Christian put to death by the Jews.

Saint James, Apostle 
Feast

Gospel                       Matthew 20:20-28 

From a homily on Matthew by Saint John Chrysostom, bishop

Sharers in the suffering of Christ

• The sons of Zebedee press Christ: Promise that one may sit at your right side and the other at your left. What does he do? He wants to show them that it is not a spiritual gift for which they are asking, and that if they knew what their request involved, they would never dare make it. So he says: You do not know what you are asking, that is, what a great and splendid thing it is and how much beyond the reach even of the heavenly powers. Then he continues: Can you drink the cup which I must drink and be baptised with the baptism which I must undergo? He is saying: “You talk of sharing honours and rewards with me, but I must talk of struggle and toil. Now is not the time for rewards or the time for my glory to be revealed. Earthly life is the time for bloodshed, war and danger.”     
•   Consider how by his manner of questioning he exhorts and draws them. He does not say: “Can you face being slaughtered? Can you shed your blood?” How does he put his question? Can you drink the cup? Then he makes it attractive by adding: which I must drink, so that the prospect of sharing it with him may make them more eager. He also calls his suffering a baptism, to show that it will effect a great cleansing of the entire world. The disciples answer him: We can! Fervour makes them answer promptly, though they really do not know what they are saying but still think they will receive what they ask for.
•   How does Christ reply? You will indeed drink my cup and be baptised with my baptism. He is really prophesying a great blessing for them, since he is telling them: “You will be found worthy of martyrdom; you will suffer what I suffer and end your life with a violent death, thus sharing all with me. But seats at my right and left are not mine to give; they belong to those for whom the Father has prepared them.” Thus, after lifting their minds to higher goals and preparing them to meet and overcome all that will make them desolate, he sets them straight on their request.
•   Then the other ten became angry at the two brothers. See how imperfect they all are: the two who tried to get ahead of the other ten, and the ten who were jealous of the two! But, as I said before, show them to me at a later date in their lives, and you will see that all these impulses and feelings have disappeared. Read how John, the very man who here asks for the first place, will always yield to Peter when it comes to preaching and performing miracles in the Acts of the Apostles. James, for his part, was not to live very much longer; for from the beginning he was inspired by great fervour and, setting aside all purely human goals, rose to such splendid heights that he straightway suffered martyrdom.