Project BLACK MAMBA

'Tis the Feast of Saint James, Apostle (first century, the son of Zebedee, A.K.A. the Greater), martyred in the reigns of the king Herod Agrippa & emperor Claudius: Apostle-link ūnus, Apostle-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. One day, I will walk the Camino de Santiago.

Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:

Saint James the Greater was one of Jesus's first disciples. James was one of only three called by Jesus to witness His Transfiguration. James spread the Gospel across Israel & the Roman (sic) kingdom. He traveled & spread the Word… in Spain. Martyred for his faith by King Herod, who decapitated him. Saint James is known as the first apostle to die.

Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:

This James is the brother of John the Evangelist. The two were called by Jesus as they worked with their father in a fishing boat on the Sea of galilee. Jesus had already called another pair of brothers from a similar occupation: Peter & Andrew. "He walked along a little farther & saw James, the son of Zebedee, & his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets. Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men & followed him" (Mark, 1:19-20).

James was apparently the first of the apostles to be martyred. "About that time King Herod laid hands upon some members of the Church to harm them. He had James, the brother of John, killed by the sword, & when he saw that this was pleasing to the Jews he proceeded to arrest Peter also" (Acts, 12:1-3a).

I regard it as a slight shame that I was not named after St. James. I love being named Michael & sharing my name with St. Michael the Archangel, but I wonder if the world might not be a better place if children were named more intentionally after saints, including potentially being named after the saint on whose feast day the child is born.

'Tis also the feast of Saint Glodesind of Metz, Abbess (died circa 608): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings
The Second Letter to the Corinthians, chapter four, verses seven thru fifteen;
Psalm One Hundred Twenty-six, verses one(b) thru six;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter twenty, verses twenty thru twenty-eight.

Personal Reading
The Book of Revelation, chapter eight (verses one thru thirteen);
The Book of Revelation, chapter nine (verses one thru twenty-one);
The Book of Revelation, chapter ten (verses one thru eleven);
The Book of Revelation, chapter eleven (verses one thru nineteen).

Commentary: This summer, I am leading a Bible study of Revelation, the Apocalypse of John, using Jeff Cavins's Revelation: The Kingdom Yet to Come as our guide.

The Seven Trumpets (8:1-2), the Gold Censer (8:3-5), the First Four Trumpets (8:6-13), the Fifth Trumpet (9:1-12), the Sixth Trumpet (9:13-21), the Angel with the Small Scroll (10, inclusive), the Two Witnesses (11:1-14), the Seventh Trumpet (11:15-19).