Liturgical Colour : Red
Ephesians 2 : 19-22
Now you are no longer strangers or guests, but fellow citizens of the holy people : you are of the household of God. You are the house whose foundations are the Apostles and prophets, and whose cornerstone is Christ Jesus. In Him the whole structure is joined together and rises to be a Holy Temple in the Lord.
In Him you too are being built to become the spiritual sanctuary of God.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Luke 6 : 12-19
At that time, Jesus went out into the hills to pray, spending the whole night in prayer with God. When day came, He called His disciples to Him, and chose twelve of them, whom He called ‘Apostles’ : Simon, whom He named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James son of Alpheus and Simon called the Zealot; Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who would be the traitor.
Coming down the hill with them, Jesus stood in an open plain. Many of His disciples were there and a large crowd of people, who had come from all parts of Judea and Jerusalem, and from the coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon. They gathered to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases. And people troubled by unclean spirits were cured.
The entire crowd tried to touch Him, because of the power that went our from Him and healed them all.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Revelations 21 : 9b-14
One of those seven Angels with the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I am going to show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” He took me up in a spiritual vision to a very high mountain and He showed me the Holy City Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shines with the glory of God, like a precious jewel with the colour of crystal-clear jasper.
Its wall, large and high, has twelve gates; stationed at them are twelve Angels. Over the gates are written the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. Three gates face the east; three gates face the north; three gates face the south and three face the west.
The city wall stands on twelve foundation stones on which are written the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the feast day of one of the great Twelve Apostles, the chief disciples and servants of our Lord Jesus Christ. Today is the feast of St. James the Apostle, also known as St. James the Greater, the brother of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist. They were featured in today’s Gospel as their mother came up to Jesus with them and asked Him to grant a great favour to her sons, that is to sit at the sides of the Lord in His triumph.
The attitude of the mother of the two Apostles, as well as the two Apostles themselves would serve to highlight the misunderstanding that the world often have with regards to power, influence, fame and all the things which we mankind often link together with greatness and success. But St. Paul in his letter to the faithful in Corinth reminded them all that the true treasure we have in us is in reality, the treasure of Christ, by sharing in His death and resurrection.
The people of this world by its nature are looking for good and happy things, putting their trust in accumulating and gathering more and more of what would satisfy their desires, all the temptation of power, of pleasure and debauchery, of fame and human praise, the glorification of the ego and the person above that of the suffering that others may endure due to our endless pursuits for those things.
But to be a disciple of Christ, we have to heed what the Lord Himself had said to St. James and St. John, that they would drink from the same cup of suffering and persecution that the Lord would drink, and they would share in the same persecution and opposition which He had endured from the world. To be a follower of Christ, it also means that we may be ridiculed and be rejected by the world, as our ways may then come into conflict with what the world considers as a norm.
Indeed, our Lord Himself showed by the examples He Himself had done. That by rejecting human pride and desire, He came into the world not to boast of His own power and majesty, but instead to serve and care with love a people whom He had claimed for Himself. He told His disciples, that while the way and the norm of this world is for the strong to oppress the weak with their power, it should not be so for those who follow Him.
And St. James took this advice to the heart and committed himself to the service of God with zeal and devotion. He ministered to the people of God and worked hard to establish the foundations of the early Church. He proclaimed the Gospel and the Good News to the world, telling the people about their Lord and Saviour, going even as far as the land of Hispania, now in Spain, to evangelise to the people there, where now a great Cathedral is standing for his honour, the renowned Cathedral of St. James of Compostela, Santiago de Compostela.
Lastly, as the fulfilment of what Christ our Lord Himself had told both St. James and St. John, indeed, St. James would share in the suffering of the Lord, by being imprisoned on the order of king Herod of Galilee. He was suffering in prison, and for the pride and greed of the wicked and unfaithful king, he was martyred, one of the first among the Twelve Apostles to suffer martyrdom for their faith in God.
And while his brother, St. John the Apostle and Evangelist was known to be the only one among the Twelve Apostles not to face martyrdom, but St. John also suffered greatly in his many years of life and service to the Church. St. John was imprisoned many times, and had to run for fear of his life many times, but remained faithful to the Lord to the end.
All of these showed us, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we rejoice in the glory of God’s holy saints and Apostles, that being a follower of Christ require commitment, hard work and perseverance. It will not be an easy path for us to follow if we choose to be faithful to God. If we think it has been easy so far, then we have to remember what Christ had said, that we ought to follow Him by taking up our own crosses in life and walk in His path.
Perhaps in many occasions we have allowed ourselves to let go of the many obligations of being Christians. Perhaps we have allowed ourselves to be swayed by the arguments and judgments of this world that led us into confusion and inability to discern and decide what it is like to be a Christian, that is to be truly faithful and to be committed to our calling to be one of God’s chosen ones.
Let us discern this and reflect on this matter as we celebrate the feast of the great Apostle St. James. Let us all follow in his footsteps and reinvigorate our effort to live ever more faithfully as those whom God had called and chosen. Let us all be fearful no more, but instead renew our faith in Him and be ever closer to Him and be faithful to all of His ways. God bless us all. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Matthew 20 : 20-28
At that time, the mother of James and John came to Jesus with her sons, and she knelt down, to ask a favour. Jesus said to her, “What do you want?” And she answered, “Here You have my two sons. Grant that they may sit, one at Your right hand and one at Your left, when You are in Your kingdom.”
Jesus said to the brothers, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They answered, “We can.” Jesus replied, “You will indeed drink My cup, but to sit at My right or at My left is not for Me to grant. That will be for those, for whom My Father has prepared it.”
The other ten heard all this, and were angry with the two brothers. Then Jesus called them to Him and said, “You know that the rulers of the nations act as tyrants over them, and the powerful oppress them. It shall not be so among you : whoever wants to be more important in your community shall make himself your servant.”
“And if you want to be the first of all, make yourself the servant of all. Be like the Son of Man Who has come, not to be served but to serve, and to give His life to redeem many.”
Liturgical Colour : Red
Psalm 125 : 1-2ab, 2cd-3, 4-5, 6
When the Lord brought the exiles back to Zion, we were like those moving in a dream. Then our mouths were filled with laughter, and our tongues with songs of joy.
Among the nations it was said, “The Lord has done great things for them.” The Lord had done great things for us, and we were glad indeed.
Bring back our exiles, o Lord, like fresh streams in the desert. Those who sow in tears will reap with songs and shouts of joy.
They went forth weeping, bearing the seeds for sowing, they will come home with joyful shouts, bringing their harvested sheaves.
Liturgical Colour : Red
2 Corinthians 4 : 7-15
However, we carry this treasure in vessels of clay, so that this all-surpassing power may not be seen as ours but as God’s. Trials of every sort come to us, but we are not discouraged. We are left without answer, but do not despair; persecuted but not abandoned, knocked down but not crushed.
At any moment we carry in our person the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in us. For we, the living, are given up continually to death for the sake of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may appear in our mortal existence. And as death is at work in us, life comes to you.
We have received the same spirit of faith referred to in Scripture that says : I believed and so I spoke. We also believe and so we speak. We know that He Who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and bring us, with you, into His presence. Finally, everything is for your good, so that grace will come more abundantly upon you and great will be the thanksgiving for the glory of God.
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)
Matthew 10 : 1-7
At that time, Jesus called His twelve disciples to Him, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits, to drive them and to heal every disease and sickness.
These are the names of the Twelve Apostles : first Simon, called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew, the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon, the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, the man who would betray Him.
Jesus sent these twelve on mission with these instructions : “Do not visit pagan territory and do not enter a Samaritan town. Go instead to the lost sheep of the people of Israel. Go and proclaim this message : The kingdom of heaven is near.”
Liturgical Colour : Green
Galatians 1 : 11-19
Let me remind you, brothers and sisters, that the Gospel we preached to you is not a human message, nor did I receive it from anyone, I was not taught of it but it came to me as a revelation from Christ Jesus. You have heard of my previous activity in the Jewish community; I furiously persecuted the Church of God and tried to destroy it. For I was more devoted to the Jewish religion than many fellow Jews of my age, and I defended the traditions of my ancestors more fanatically.
But one day God called me out of His great love, He Who had chosen me from my mother’s womb; and He was pleased to reveal in me His Son, that I might make Him known among the pagan nations. Then I did not seek human advice nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were Apostles before me. I immediately went to Arabia, and from there I returned again to Damascus.
Later, after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to meet Cephas, and I stayed with him for fifteen days. But I did not see any other Apostle except James, the Lord’s brother.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Mark 9 : 30-37
At that time, after leaving the place where Jesus cast a demon out of a mute and deaf boy, He and His disciples made their way through Galilee; but Jesus did not want people to know where He was because He was teaching His disciples. And He told them, “The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill Him, but three days after He has been killed, He will rise.”
The disciples, however, did not understand these words and they were afraid to ask Him what He meant. They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, Jesus asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they did not answer, because they had been arguing about who was the greatest.
Then He sat down, called the Twelve and said to them, “If someone wants to be first, let him be last of all and servant of all.” Then He took a little child, placed him in their midst, and putting His arms around him He said to them, “Whoever welcomes a child such as this in My Name, welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me, welcomes not Me but the One Who sent Me.”
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 