Today is the feast of Saint James. His most famous shrine is in northwestern Spain at Santiago de Compostela. When you walk the camino, in each of the little towns you pass there is a statue of Saint James — most often portrayed on horseback with a sword in his hand as the “matamoros,” the slayer of the Moors. The Christians invoked the intercession of Saint James to support their armies as they drove out the Muslim incursion in the Iberian Peninsula. This serves as a reminder that the gospel can be appropriated to justify what we want to do. Jesus instructed Saint James to be “the servant of all,” and it is that gospel image rather than the militant one that should guide our devotion.
JULY252018
By Church Staff
