Today, we remember St. James the Great, son of Zebedee and brother of St. John. St. James could participate, together with Peter and John, in Jesus’ agony in the garden of Gethsemane and, some days earlier, in the Transfiguration of our Lord. Beginning the 40 years of the 1st century, he was sent to martyrdom by King Herod Agrippa, grandson of Herod the Great.

From St. James we can learn in particular his promptness in accepting Jesus Christ’s call, even when he asks us to leave the “bark” of our human securities; his enthusiasm in following Him on the paths that He indicates to us beyond our illusory presumption; his readiness to give witness to Him with courage and, if necessary, with the supreme sacrifice of life. The trail from the Mount of Transfiguration down to the Mount of the Agony, symbolizes the pilgrimage of our Christian life, amid the persecutions of the world and the consolations of God.

—Jesus, thanks to the example of St. James, we know that if we follow you, even in the midst of the difficulties, we are going in the right direction.