The Feast of Saint James the Greater is coming up and as a member of La Raza de Santiago, as I like to call ourselves, I have always had an interest in the Apostle that brought the Gospel to my ancestors and this year, I’m really trying to cultivate a devotion to him; especially considering I’m hoping to move to Chile this Autumn. (Please pray for that country) One thing I’ve been thinking about and am wondering if any Saint has commented on, is the possible parallel between Sts. James and John, and Jacob and Esau; like Jacob, St. John, the younger brother seems to have gotten the better, he got what he requested through the intercession of his own mother (and of course staying close to Our Heavenly Mother), which is to be at the Lord’s side; He was able to stand at Our Lord’s side on Mount Calvary along with Our Lady, and he later went on to write one of the Gospels in which he revealed that Christ was the Word incarnate. He also was allowed to see the Apocalypse and write it down for us, he didn’t die martyr and it’s debatable whether or not that’s a good thing, but nonetheless his life and legacy are quite amazing and a brilliant testament to the power of devoting yourself to the Lord. But Saint James on the other hand was certainly no Esau; while Esau was a worldling who’s legacy ultimately ended up as a people subjected to and eventually conquered by the people of his younger brother Israel, St. James was a man who was in the world, but not of it. He had I think only 3 or 4 followers when he was martyred but his heritage now encompasses a great multitude of people, the Castilians, the Galicians, my Basque ancestors, the Catalans, the Indigenous peoples of Latin America, the Filipinos, Polynesians and many others. What have the Saints, Doctors and the like said about Sts. James and John? Have they compared them to Jacob and Esau?
I have been looking at St,John lately. He loved Jesus in the same manner as St. John of the Cross. St John of the Cross is very deep and I am still studying him and taking it very slow.
With his poetic bent I at times enjoy him, but I find St. Theresa of Avila more direct and understandable.
He may not have died a martyr, but he DID experience and survive being (literally) boiled in oil; so I think he still experienced the pains of martyrdom.
In martyrdom, death is a mercy. To undergo the pains of martyrdom without the relief of death, and its subsequent immediate reward of entry to view the Beatific Vision is possibly the worst of all worlds. I say this in the fallen context of only being able to do so intellectualy.
