The Holy Apostle James/ Oct. 9th
nickk - not the imposter
James, the son of Alphaeus, was one of the Twelve Apostles. He was the
blood-brother of the Apostle and Evangelist Matthew. He was a witness
of the true words and miracles of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
and a witness of His suffering, Resurrection and Ascension. After the
descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the lot fell to James to
preach the Gospel of Christ in Eleutheropolis and the surrounding
areas, and then in Egypt, where he suffered for his Savior. With great
power in word and in deed, James disseminated the saving news of the
incarnate Word of God, destroying idolatry, driving demons out of men,
and healing every infirmity and disease in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ. His labor and zeal were crowned with great success. Many
pagans came to believe in Christ, churches were built and organized,
and priests and bishops were ordained. James suffered in the Egyptian
town of Ostracina, being crucified by the pagans. Thus, this great and
wonderful apostle of Christ took up his abode in the Heavenly Kingdom,
to reign eternally with the King of Glory.
2. The Venerable Andronicus and his wife Athanasia
Andronicus was a citizen of Antioch during the reign of Theodosius the
Great. Andronicus was a goldsmith by trade. He and his wife were very
devout, continually striving to follow the way of the Lord. He gave a
third of his income to the poor, another third to the church, and
supported his family with the last third. After two children were born
to them, they agreed to live as brother and sister. However, according
to God's unfathomable providence, both of their children died on the
same day, and they were in great sorrow. Then the holy martyr Julian
appeared to Athanasia at the children's grave, and comforted her with
the tidings that her children were in the Kingdom of God, and were
better off there than with their parents on earth. Andronicus and
Athanasia left everything and went to Egypt and received the monastic
tonsure-St. Andronicus with the elder Daniel at Scetis; and Athanasia
in the convent in Tabennisi. Pleasing God by their long years of
asceticism, they at last went to the Eternal Kingdom of Christ. St.
Athanasia reposed first, and eight days later, St. Andronicus.
3. The Righteous Abraham and Lot
Their lives can be read in the Book of Genesis.
4. Saint Demetrius, Patriarch of Alexandria
Demetrius was the eleventh Bishop of Alexandria after St. Mark the
Evangelist. He governed his flock long and wisely, from 189 to 231.
During this time, he received a request from India and sent St.
Pantaenus, the director of the famous catechetical school in
Alexandria, to India to preach the Gospel. It was in India that
Pantaenus found the Gospel written by St. Matthew in Aramaic.
5. Saint Stefan, Despot of Serbia
edol, founded by his son St. Maxim.
HYMN OF PRAISE
The Holy Apostle James
Sent by the Lord, and obedient to Him,
The all-glorious Apostle James labored,
Sowing the Gospel seed everywhere,
So that from it would arise men faithful to Christ.
Throughout Syria and Egypt
He diligently poured forth the heavenly honey,
The sweet, healing words of Christ,
And fed hungry men with this wondrous golden food.
Wherever James traveled, he left a wonder:
Spiritual vessels full and overflowing with honey,
Inexhaustible, life-creating honey:
Holy churches, full of pure, sweet richness.
In them the eternal Creator is endlessly praised,
As are the wondrous works of the Son of God.
Christ is that honey given to the faithful,
A life-creating manna of bread and wine.
James completed his journey with a mark of red-
His martyric blood, which poured down from the cross-
And he gained a wreath from Christ, in heaven,
As have the other of God's apostles.
REFLECTION
How God both punishes and shows mercy is clearly shown to us from the
lives of the last of the Serbian Despots during the Turkish conquest
of the Serbian lands. The Turks did not come to the Balkans by their
own power to enslave Christian peoples (Greeks, Bulgarians and Serbs)
but by God's permission, in the same way that Nebuchadnezzar conquered
Jerusalem and took the Hebrews into slavery, not by his own power but
rather by God's permission. Because of the sins of their princes and
nobles, the Serbian people suffered bitterly; and the princes and
nobles themselves suffered even more bitterly. Despot George died as
an exile; two of his sons, Grgur and Stefan, were blinded by the
Turks; his daughter was forced to become the wife of a sultan; his
middle son rose up against his own mother, Irene, and brother Grgur,
and seized the shaky throne of Smederevo by force, only to die soon
thereafter. As soon as he became despot, the blind Stefan had to flee
to Albania, then to Italy where, as an exile and an unfortunate, he
reposed. All of this is God's punishment. Yet where is His mercy? God
glorified both Stefan and his wife Angelina and their children Maxim
and John. After eight years of lying in the grave, Stefan's body was
exhumed and found to be intact, and exuded a sweet, heavenly
fragrance. Many miracles were manifested from his holy relics. God
graced his wife and his children in the same manner, glorifying and
sanctifying them.
CONTEMPLATION
Contemplate the wondrous bringing down of fire from heaven by the
Prophet Elias (I Kings 18):
1. How St. Elias prayed to God on Mount Carmel in the presence of King
Ahab and the idolatrous priests;
2. How the fire fell from heaven and consumed the sacrifice that Elias
offered to God.
HOMILY
on how only the foolish deny God
The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt.
They have done abominable works (Psalm 14:1).
The mind is the rudder of man's entire being. It counsels, persuades
and guides. Both the soul and the body act according to the mind. If
the mind is upright before God, then the whole man is upright. If the
mind is iniquitous before God, the whole man is iniquitous. Even if
someone merely thinks, ``There is no God,'' the thought immediately
manifests itself in his deeds. Evil thoughts come first and evil deeds
inevitably follow. Do you see how well the inspired prophet knows the
nature of man? First, he underlines the cause, then he cites the
consequences. Evil deeds necessarily proceed from evil thoughts. That
is why, brethren, you should not believe those who say: ``I do not
believe in God, but I do good deeds.'' First of all, he who does not
believe in God does not know what good is, nor can he differentiate
good from evil. By his disbelief, a man cuts himself off from the
greatest Good and the Source of every good! Furthermore, let us
carefully study this: you will see that all the deeds of the ungodly
are corrupt and hateful. They are corrupt because they are evil,
worthless and transitory; they are hateful, because they are contrary
to the will of the Living God. The godless cannot distinguish good
from evil, for only in the light of God's law can one determine
precisely what is good and what is evil. However, it can also be that
those who merely say they believe in God do corrupt and hateful deeds,
acknowledging God with their lips but denying Him in deeds. It is good
to confess God with your lips, but that is a long way from being
enough! One must also acknowledge Him with the heart, and confirm
one's faith by good deeds. Even so, it does happen that a man believes
in his heart, and confesses with his lips, and still sins. This
happens either from the weakness of the will or from the devil's
arrows. Let such a one repent, and he will be forgiven immediately.
Repentance is salvific even for the godless; how much more so for a
believer? As long as a man is on earth, he has a chance for
repentance. But who can be certain that his time will extend beyond
this night? Hence, delaying repentance is utter foolishness.
O most gracious Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God; help us to repent as
Thou dost help us to breathe.
To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.