by Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio

My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,

King Juan Carlos of Spain honors the statue of St. James the Apostle during celebrations of the saint’s feast at Santiago de Compostela, Spain, July 25, 2004. The sanctuary, the destination of hundreds of thousands of pilgrims each year, marks the site where the bones of St. James the Greater were brought to Spain’s Galicia Coast, according to legend. Bishop DiMarzio begins his series on saints this week with St. James.

In a few days, we will celebrate the Feast of St. James the Great, Apostle and patron of the Cathedral Basilica of Brooklyn. It has been suggested to me that in the summer months I might highlight and speak of some of our great saints. It is good that we begin this series with St. James.

James is the brother of John, and together they are called the “boanerges,” which means the sons of thunder. They seemed to have earned this title, as recorded in the Gospel, because James and John were furious when Jesus was rejected in a Samaritan town. As we find in Luke 9:54, the brothers said, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from Heaven to burn them up?” To this Jesus responded, “The Son of Man comes not to destroy mens lives, but to save.”

The life of James in the New Testament reminds us that he is present at all of the important events in the life of Jesus, from the Transfiguration to the Agony in the Garden, and also present after the Resurrection. How important it is that we recognize in the life of James the great shift from suffering to glory. He comes to understand the life of Jesus in a special way.

Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, in one of his general audiences, had this to say about James: “On the other occasion, he finds himself face-to-face with suffering and humiliation; he sees with his own eyes how the Son of God humbles himself, making himself obedient unto death. The latter experience was certainly an opportunity for him to grow in faith, to adjust the unilateral, triumphalist interpretation of the former experience: He had to discern that the Messiah, whom the Jewish people were awaiting as a victor, was in fact surrounded not only by honor and gory, but also by suffering and weakness. Christ’s glory was fulfilled precisely on the Cross, in his sharing in our sufferings.”

James becomes, in contrast to the other Apostles, a symbol of hope in the face of the cross. It has been said that Peter symbolizes faith, John love, and James hope. It is James whose example testifies to the existence of hope. How important that virtue is in the face of so many difficulties in the world and in the Church. We cannot lose sight of the future glory and promise for those who remain faithful. Hope is a virtue characterized by resoluteness, by forcefulness and activity. All of these characteristics are found in the life of James and are worth meditating on in our own life.

It is interesting to note how our Cathedral Basilica, established first as a parish church, bears the name of St. James, since it was dedicated on his feast day in 1822. Sometimes St. James is mistaken to be the patron of the Diocese of Brooklyn. However, our patroness is Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. Certainly, St. James figures closely in the emblem of the coat of arms of the diocese, which is the pilgrim shell. As all of the Apostles, St. James is clouded in a certain mystery. It is not clear if St. James actually traveled to Spain in Compostela, or if his remains were later transported there sometime after his death. Whatever is the case, St. James is certainly honored in Compostela and “The Way of St. James” (El Camino de Santiago), often followed by many pilgrims, brings them to plumb the depths of the virtue of hope so important to our lives. The Way of St. James indicates the pattern of his own following of Christ from Mt. Tabor to Calvary.

For all of us who follow that pattern in our lives, we are asked to put out into the deep, recognizing the sacrifices required by a true Christian life. We also recognize that these sacrifices bring us to another shore where the glory for the resurrection awaits us.

Msgr. Perfecto Vazquez, spiritual director of the Spanish Cursillo Movement, holds a wooden pilgrim’s staff topped with a gourd drinking container

Around 200 Cursillistas from Brooklyn and Queens conducted a local Way of St. James on the saint’s feast day, July 25, with a street procession and evening Mass, celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop Frank J. Caggiano at St. Paul’s Church, Cobble Hill.
Cursillistas started their celebration with an outdoor recitation of the rosary at their former retreat house, the SS. Peter and Paul Spirituality Center on Congress St. They prayed and sang amid intermittent rain showers.
Skies began to clear as the marchers stepped off with Bishop Caggiano and Msgr. Perfecto Vazquez, spiritual director of the movement, leading the two-block procession to diocese’s oldest standing church for 7:30 p.m. Mass. Parish groups carried banners and many individuals wore white seashell necklaces painted with red crosses – a symbol of St. James and El Camino de Santiago.
Spanish-speaking members of the Cursillo Movement instituted this local pilgrimage in honor of the Holy Year of St. James last year. Men and women walked between neighborhood churches and conducted a two-mile walk to St. James Cathedral, Downtown Brooklyn. The event was so well received among members that Msgr. Vazquez and lay leaders decided to conduct a similar, albeit shorter walk this year to a church named for another saint Cursillistas hold close to their hearts.
“We are honoring today two great saints – Santiago (St. James) and San Pablo (St. Paul),” the monsignor announced.
He explained that St. James is the patron of pilgrims and the patron of Spain. The Cursillo Movement began with a pilgrimage to his shrine in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, in 1948. Two decades later, St. Paul was named patron of the movement.
“St. Paul was a great missionary and that is what we do as Cursillistas,” he said.
Founded in the 1940s as a way to renew Christian faith and values among the laity in Spain, the movement grew quickly and reached the Brooklyn Diocese in 1962. The following year, Archbishop Bryan J. McEntegart consecrated the Congress St. retreat house, known then as the Casa de Cursillos, for use by the movement.
Through the years, hundreds of Cursillo retreats and thousands of meetings were held at the center, which the diocese closed earlier this summer. The Cursillo Movement will continue its ministry from its new home base, St. Michael-St. Malachy parish, East New York, starting in September.
In his homily, Bishop Caggiano offered support to Cursillistas as they begin a fresh chapter in their movement’s history. He encouraged them to continue proclaiming the Truth and living the mission of evangelization in their new home.
He gave thanks to God for the movement’s members, “for what you do and the wonderful people you are,” and especially Msgr. Vazquez, who has been “a faithful and wonderful priest for many years.”
“I pray the Lord blesses you with every grace and blessing for many years to come,” the bishop said.
The evening was emotional for Nelly Gutierrez, lay leader of the movement, who noted that the walk honors the Spanish roots of the movement, which began with a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. James; the saints they strive to emulate; and the movement’s future in Brooklyn and Queens.
“We are going to St. Michael-St. Malachy for the well-being of the movement,” she said. “Wherever we go, Jesus Christ is with us. We are always going to be De Colores.”