ST JAMES, APOSTLE - 25 JULY

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN JULY

Saints celebrated on the 25th of July

Prayer to the Angels and the Saints

Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.

In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.

Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.

Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.

 ST JAMES, APOSTLE 

James was the brother of John the Apostle, son of Zebedee, the fisherman. He was present at the bringing to life of Jairus’ daughter, and at the Transfiguration. He was beheaded by Herod Agrippa in about A.D. 42.

PRAYER:

Almighty Father,

by the martyrdom of Saint James

you blessed the work of the early Church.

May his profession of faith give us courage

and his prayers bring us strength.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

***

SAINT JAMES' ENTRY IN THE ROMAN MARTYROLOGY:

"Saint James the Apostle, brother of the blessed evangelist John, who was beheaded by Herod Agrippa about the feast of Easter. His sacred bones were on this day carried from Jerusalem to Spain, and placed in the remote province of Galicia, where they are devoutly honoured by the far-famed piety of the inhabitants, and the frequent concourse of Christians, who visit them through piety and in fulfilment of their vows."