Thoughts on the feast day of St. James, Apostle & Martyr, the first of the Apostles to give life for the Christian faith.
f.d. 25th July.

I have a special love of St James whose feast day we keep today. The Church where I learned what the Christian faith was really about was dedicated to him. Another church where I worshipped with much joy for 10 years was also under the patronage of the great apostle.
Perhaps I like him too, because he was something of a hot-head, always shooting his mouth off before he thought what he was saying! He also hoped for a special place in the kingdom of heaven but learned that worldly ambition has little to do with the Christianity. Humble, sacrificial service was the lesson he really had to learn and, as the first apostle to be martyred, (when he was beheaded for his belief in Jesus Christ) he learned that the Kingdom of God can never be had on the cheap.

I think I am attracted to him mostly because he is the Patron Saint of Pilgrims. This came about because legend has it that his body was brought to Spain and laid in a church built at Compostela in Northern Spain which has the added name of ’Santiago’ (Spanish for St James). When the Holy Land became cut off for Christians, it was Santiago de Compostela which became the European centre of Pilgrimages and Pilgrims flocked there (as they still do) to make a special journey which is both physical and spiritual.

As the Holiday season gets in full swing it is good to be reminded that ’Holiday’ is derived from ’Holy Day’ – a time of refreshment for body and soul.
A pilgrimage is not just a holiday nor a journey to see the sights. It’s a holy journey which has a special purpose. Those who go away on holiday are looking to re-charge their batteries and that is true for those who go to centres of pilgrimage too. People who go on Retreat or who visit holy places are seeking rest for the soul as well as the body. Of course, there is lots of fun to be had too and for pilgrims the journey is part of that.
Meeting up with fellow-travellers whose life experience is different and with whom one can share faith is as important as the destination—perhaps more so.

I felt something of this when I visited Assisi, the centre of pilgrimage connected with St. Francis and people who go to Taizé, Holy Island, Iona, Walsingham, Canterbury and other centres of Pilgrimage throughout the world, feel much the same. What is often felt is that God calls us apart to a place where, as the poet T S Eliot puts it, prayer has been valid.  It’s a thin place, where God is more easily experienced. This is what I discovered when I took the Pilgrim way to Santiago  a few years back. Of course, this should also be true of every church building but some places are special.

The word for this journey is ‘ Camino’ . That is a Spanish word meaning path, or way. It refers to a network of pilgrimage routes from all over Europe and beyond.
These ways each lead to the Shrine of St James in the city of Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

But journeys are not just outward. The real journey is inward and from Baptism onward Christians  are all called to make a pilgrimage of faith—the journey of life—which leads us more and more into that most holy of all places, the Kingdom of God. The description of the Church as the Pilgrim People stresses this journey. We are a people always on the move, always changing and being changed by grace as we try to make space for God in our lives. This is true for most who are members of the world religions. We are all called to travel in faith to God.

Of course, we don’t always have to leave our homes at all!
I love the story of an old lady who was asked why she just sat in her room. “I’m not sitting’ she replied, ‘I’m on a journey!’ She didn’t need a special place to find God. He was in her heart. We find him best when we are still.
Happy travelling!

[See my Blog entry for July 31st 2022 for a poetic reflection on Camino Communion by Piers Northam]