By the Ebro river
“By the rivers of Babylon, we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion.“
Psalm 137: 1
The traditional legend on Saint James the Greater, the son of Zebedee and Salome and older brother of Saint John the Apostle, whose feast day is the 25th July, has it that he went to Galicia and Zaragoza to preach the Gospel. But the mission was not too successful at first.
Discouraged he sat down one day, according to Spanish tradition on the 2nd January in the year 40, on the shores of the Ebro river that runs through Zaragoza – and the Blessed Virgin Mary, still alive at this time, appeared to him in a bilocation.
Let us remember that Jesus had entrusted His mother to the care of Saint John – the brother of James. Obviously, those two brothers who were very close to Jesus were close and dear to His mother, too. According to private revelations to Venerable Maria de Agreda, superior of a convent of Poor Clares in Spain in the 17th century, Saint James had a special devotion to the Blessed Virgin and Jesus allowed His mother to help James in a unique way.
Our Lady comforted him and asked him to build a sanctuary in Zaragoza, for which he miraculously received a pillar with her image holding the Christ Child. Our Lady of the Pillar is then the first Marian apparition in Church history…
The Blessed Virgin promised that this house of God would remain until the end of time, and that all who devoutly pray there would receive many blessings. Saint James was then to return to the Holy Land after the building of the sanctuary.
This he did, and was martyred – as the first of the Twelve Holy Apostles – in the year 44 in Jerusalem during the Passover festival by the command of king Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod the Great (cf. Acts 12: 1-2).
9 years ago this summer – did I pray while walking around the Basilica del Pilar, the Marian sanctuary, in Zaragoza? I do not remember. All I know is that I was there… And that I did not dare enter into the magnificent cathedral, yet took many pictures of it from the outside…
A few facts on Saint James the Greater
This Jacob is not the same Jacob as James the Just, the first bishop of Jerusalem. This Jacob is one of the “sons of thunder“, the “Boanerges“. Together with his probably younger brother Saint John the Apostle and Saint Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, this Jacob was among the three closest companions of Jesus Christ. These three witnessed His transfiguration on Mount Tabor and were nearby when He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane.
The two sons of Zebedee were most likely either from Bethsaida or from Capernaum on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. They had their fishing business not far from the brothers Simon and Andrew. As their nickname “sons of thunder“ suggests, they were true Galileans: zealous and fiery. They received their sobriquet from Jesus Himself.
“Going a little farther, He saw Jacob the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired hands and followed Him.“
Mark 1: 19-20
“And He appointed the Twelve: to Simon He gave the name Peter; to Jacob and his brother John, the sons of Zebedee, He gave the name Boanerges, which is Sons of Thunder (…).“
Mark 3: 16-17
“He is called James the brother of John because he was his brother not only in the flesh but in the similarity of their character and virtues, for both had the same zeal, the same desire to learn, and the same ambition. They had the same zeal, namely, the same eagerness to avenge the Lord. When the Samaritans refused to welcome Christ, James and John said: ‘Lord, do you want us to bid fire to come down from heaven and consume them?‘ They had the same desire to learn: hence they were ahead of the others in questioning Christ about the Day of Judgment and other things to come. They had the same ambition, because they both wanted to be seated one on the right and the other on the left of Christ.“
Jacobus de Voragine: The Golden Legend. Readings on the Saints, Princeton University Press 1993, p. 389
Their mother Salome is mentioned in the Gospel accounts several times. She was one of the pious women who ministered to Christ out of their own sustenance, and she was a witness of His crucifixion and went to the tomb on the day of His resurrection.
In Jacobus de Voragine‘s Golden Legend which relies, concerning this point, on certain apocryphal legends that were widespread in the East and entered into the Western Church in the Middle Ages through the Crusaders, we read that Salome was a relative of the Blessed Virgin, and sometimes one finds it said that she might have been the daughter of a priest. Her son Saint John at least had contacts to the high priest.
The patron saint of Spain and of pilgrims
In the Middle Ages there was Rome, there was Jerusalem – and there was Santiago de Compostela. It was one of the three major pilgrim hubs, one of the principle cities of Christendom. The pilgrim routes leading to Santiago de Compostela from each and every European country flowing either into the “Way of Aragones“ or the “Way of France“ testify to it until today.
But why? Because the bodily remains of the Apostle and Patron Saint of Spain are to be found there. In the year 1884, Pope Leo XIII declared the remains at Compostela to be indeed those of Saint James the Greater.
We already saw, that, according to tradition, Saint James went to Spain before his martyrdom in Jerusalem. After having been killed by the sword, he returned to Spain – with the help of some disciples…
“James was beheaded on 25 March, the feast of the Lord‘s annunciation, and was transferred to Compostella on 25 July. He was buried on 30 December, because the construction of his tomb took from August to the end of December.
Jacobus de Voragine: The Golden Legend. Readings on the Saints, Princeton University Press 1993, p. 391-392
According to John Beleth, who wrote a thorough account of his transferral, after James was beheaded, his disciples went at night, for fear of the Jews, got his body, and put it aboard a rudderless boat. Commending the burial to divine providence they set sail, an angel of the Lord being their pilot, and made port in Galicia, Spain. They landed in the realm of Queen Lupa, whose name, which means she-wolf, fitted her well. They carried the saint‘s body off the boat and laid it on a large rock, and the rock promptly softened, miraculously shaping itself into a sarcophagus for the body.
The disciples then presented themselves to Queen Lupa and said to her: ‘The Lord Jesus Christ sends you the body of his apostle, in order that you may welcome dead him whom you would not welcome alive!‘ They told her about the miracle, namely, how they had reached her territory in a rudderless ship, and asked her to grant them a suitable place for his burial. John Beleth continues that the queen, having heard all this, treacherously sent them to a man known for his cruelty – who, according to other sources, was the king of Spain – in order to gain his consent to the burial; but he took them prisoners and put them in jail. While he slept, however, an angel of the Lord opened the prison and allowed them to go free. When the cruel despot learned of this, he sent soldiers after them to bring them back, but as the soldiers were crossing a bridge, the bridge collapsed and all were drowned in the river. Word of this reached the tyrant, and he, repentant and fearful for himself and his people, sent messengers to ask James‘s people to come back to him, with the promise that he would grant them whatever request they made. They went back and converted all the people of that city to the Lord.
Lupa heard of this and took the news badly, and when the disciples came to tell her that the king had given his consent, she answered: ‘Go and take the oxen that I have in a place in the mountains, put together a wagon to carry your master‘s body, and build a tomb for him wherever you choose!‘ This was wolfish thinking, because she knew the oxen were really wild, untamed bulls (…).
But no wisdom can prevail against God. (…) They (…) made the sign of the cross over the bulls, which suddenly became gentle and submitted to the yoke. Next they put Saint James‘s body, with the rock upon which they had laid it, on the wagon. The oxen, with no one guiding them, hauled the body into the middle of Lupa‘s palace. This was enough for the queen. Recovering from her astonishment, she believed and became a Christian, granted everything the disciples asked for, gave her palace to be a church dedicated to Saint James, endowed it magnificently, and spent the rest of her life doing good works.“
So it was granted to Saint James to die on a Marian feast day, and after the suffering and death which earned him the crown of martyrdom he led Spain to Christianity by virtue of his saintly body, finding his resting place in Compostela.
Private revelation given to a monk in the year 812 led to the rediscovery of the tomb of the Apostle. And the pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela began… If one takes a vow to make such a pilgrimage, then to this day only the Pope can dispense one from fulfilling it.
And thus Saint James is not only the patron of Spain, but also of pilgrims. Jacobus de Voragine in his Golden Legend piles one pious and miraculous pilgrim story on another in his article on Saint James. Let us, in honor of the Apostle of Spain, look at two of them that I find particularly interesting…
When the devil tricks a pilgrim, and Saint James comes to his aid
“Abbot Hugh of Cluny tells us that a young man from the Lyons district, who used to go to the tomb of Saint James regularly and with great devotion, was on his way there when one night he lapsed into the sin of fornication. As he continued his journey, the devil, having assumed the appearance of Saint James, appeared to him and said to the young man: ‘I am James the apostle, whom you have been visiting yearly, and I want you to know that your devotion gave me much joy; but recently you left your house and fell into fornication, yet, not having confessed your sin, you presume to come to me, as if your pilgrimage could possibly please God and me. That will do you no good. Anyone who desires to come to me as a pilgrim must first reveal his sins in confession and then do penance for them by making the pilgrimage!‘ After having said this, the devil vanished.“
Jacobus de Voragine: The Golden Legend. Readings on the Saints, Princeton University Press 1993, p. 393-394
Notice here that the devil speaks the language of “devout Catholicism“ quite perfectly… It is something we should keep in mind. Our enemy is the prince of simulacrums…
“The young man was troubled in spirit and decided that he would go home, confess his sin, and then start out again on his pilgrimage. But again the devil appeared to him in the guise of Saint James and advised against this plan, asserting that his sin would not be remitted unless he cut off his male member, or made up his mind, in order to be still more blessed, to kill himself and become a martyr in his, James‘s, honor. Therefore one night, while his companions slept, the young man took a knife and castrated himself, then drove the knife through his belly. When his companions woke up and saw what had happened, they made ready to decamp, fearing that they might be suspected of murder. Meanwhile, a grave was being dug for the dead man, but he came to life and spoke to those who were about to get away, and who were astounded at seeing him alive. He told them what had happened to him, and said: ‘When I took the devil‘s advice and killed myself, demons laid hold of me and carried me off (…); but lo and behold, Saint James came riding after us and roundly unbraided the evil spirits for lying to me. When the demons kept arguing, Saint James herded all of us to a nearby meadow where the Blessed Virgin sat in conversation with a large number of saints. Saint James appealed to her on my behalf, and she rebuked the demons severely and commanded that I be restored to life.‘ Three days later, with nothing left of his wounds except the scars, the youth took to the road with his companions and told them the whole story in full detail.“
Jacobus de Voragine: The Golden Legend. Readings on the Saints, Princeton University Press 1993, p. 394
The Blessed Virgin rebuked the demons severely… So lovely, and really good to know.
And finally one more little story featuring Saint James as a powerful intercessor:
“Bede writes that a certain man had committed a truly enormous sin, a sin so grave that his bishop feared to absolve him and sent him to Saint James with a paper on which that sin was written. On the saint‘s feast day the man laid the paper on the altar and prayed to Saint James to erase the sin by his merits. He unfolded the paper afterwards and found that the sin was completely erased, so he thanked God and Saint James, and spread the word about what had happened.“
Jacobus de Voragine: The Golden Legend. Readings on the Saints, Princeton University Press 1993, p. 392
Saint James, Son of Thunder, Apostle of Spain, pray for us!
Post scriptum: The pilgrimage symbolism of the scallop shell
“The world offers you comfort. But you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness.“
Pope Benedict XVI
Did you know that the papal coat of arms of Benedict XVI contains a scallop shell? Probably you are aware that the symbolism of the scallop shell is connected with pilgrims, and especially with the pilgrimage to Compostela? But why is that, and how does it get into Benedict XVI‘s coat of arms?
In the Middle Ages the pilgrims who had visited the tomb of Saint James the Apostle in Compostela took a scallop shell back home with them as a keepsake of the pilgrimage. Certain legends had already established a connection between the Apostle and the scallop shell symbol. The scallop shell was also a perfect lightweight drinking cup for the pilgrim.
Our earthly pilgrimage as children of God begins with baptism. Interestingly enough, a scallop shell was and is often used in Roman Catholic infant baptisms for pouring water over the child‘s head.
The shell symbol appears in Benedict XVI‘s coat of arms for two reasons: First of all, there is a connection of this symbolism with Saint Augustine of Hippo, on whom Joseph Ratzinger wrote his dissertation in 1953, and with studying theology in general.
“Saint Augustine was walking by the seashore one day contemplating the mystery of the Holy Trinity when he saw a little child running back and forth from the water to a spot on the seashore. The boy was using a shell to carry water from the large ocean and pour it into a small pit that he had made in the sand.
Saint Augustine of Hippo, the Mystery of the Holy Trinity, and the sea shell
Augustine came up to him and asked him what he was doing.
‘I’m going to pour the entire ocean into this hole,‘ the boy replied.
‘What?‘ said Augustine.
‘That is impossible, my dear child, the sea is so great and the shell and the hole are so little.‘
‘That is true,‘ the boy said. ‘It would be easier and quicker to draw all the water out of the sea and fit it into this hole than for you to fit the mystery of the Trinity and His Divinity into your little intellect; for the Mystery of the Trinity is greater and larger in comparison with your intelligence than is this vast ocean in comparison with this little hole.‘ And then the child vanished.“
Secondly, the symbol for pilgrims and pilgrimages corresponds to the concept of the “pilgrim people of God“ as it occurs in the documents of the Second Vatican Council – and young Josef Ratzinger, who took part in the Council as a theological adviser, was one of those promoting this model for understanding the journey of the Church in time.
“(…) All the members ought to be molded in the likeness of Him, until Christ be formed in them. For this reason we, who have been made to conform with Him, who have died with Him and risen with Him, are taken up into the mysteries of His life, until we will reign together with Him. On earth, still as pilgrims in a strange land, tracing in trial and in oppression the paths He trod, we are made one with His sufferings like the body is one with the Head, suffering with Him, that with Him we may be glorified. (…)“
Lumen Gentium, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (1964), par. 7; 48; 58
“(…) Already the final age of the world has come upon us and the renovation of the world is irrevocably decreed and is already anticipated in some kind of a real way; for the Church already on this earth is signed with a sanctity which is real although imperfect. However, until there shall be new heavens and a new earth in which justice dwells, the pilgrim Church in her sacraments and institutions, which pertain to this present time, has the appearance of this world which is passing and she herself dwells among creatures who groan and travail in pain until now and await the revelation of the sons of God. (…)“
“(…) After this manner the Blessed Virgin advanced in her pilgrimage of faith, and faithfully persevered in her union with her Son unto the cross, where she stood, in keeping with the divine plan, grieving exceedingly with her only begotten Son, uniting herself with a maternal heart with His sacrifice, and lovingly consenting to the immolation of this Victim which she herself had brought forth. Finally, she was given by the same Christ Jesus dying on the cross as a mother to His disciple with these words: ‘Woman, behold thy son‘. (…)“
“Our pilgrimage on earth cannot be exempt from trial. We progress by means of trial. No one knows himself except through trial, or receives a crown except after victory, or strives except against an enemy or temptations.“
Saint Augustine of Hippo
“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place he was to receive as an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he migrated to the land of promise as if it were foreign, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob – fellow heirs of the same promise. For he was waiting for the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.“
Hebrews 11: 8-10
“These all died in faith without receiving the things promised – but they saw them and welcomed them from afar, and they confessed that they were strangers and sojourners on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.“
Hebrews 11: 13-14
“But as it is, they yearn for a better land – that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.“
Hebrews 11: 16
“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharao‘s daughter. Instead he chose to suffer mistreatment along with the people of God, rather than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. He considered the disgrace of Messiah as greater riches than the treasures of Egypt – because he was looking ahead to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king‘s anger – for he persevered as if seeing the One who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the smearing of the blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch them. By faith they passed through the Red Sea as if on dry ground.“
Hebrews 11: 24-29
“Blessed is one whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the pilgrim roads. Passing through the valley of Baca, they make it a spring.“
Psalm 84: 6-7
“When ADONAI restored the captives of Zion, it was as if we were dreaming. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with a song of joy. Then they said among the nations, ‘ADONAI has done great things for them.‘ ADONAI has done great things for us – we are joyful! Restore us from captivity, ADONAI, like streams in the Negev. Those who sow in tears will reap with a song of joy. Whoever keeps going out weeping, carrying his bag of seed, will surely come back with a song of joy, carrying his sheaves.“
Psalm 126