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July 2020 www.thefloridacatholic.org
YOUR MIAMI COMMUNITY
JIM DAVIS
Florida Catholic correspondent
NORTH MIAMI St. James is hon- ored as one of the three apostles most trusted by Jesus, along with Peter and John. But he evidently had to grow into his role, considering the nickname Je- sus gave him: Son of Thunder. James, whose feast day is July 25, shared the title with his brother John. The Bible doesn't give a reason, but the two once asked Jesus' permission to call down fire on a village that rejected them, earning his rebuke. They also brazenly asked to sit at his left and right in his future kingdom. James and John fished in the Sea of Galilee along with their partners Peter and Andrew. But when Jesus called them to "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men," they all left imme- diately and became among the first of his disciples. James, Peter and John became Je- sus' closest apostles. They went with him when he resurrected a little girl. The three also witnessed Jesus' trans- figuration on a mountaintop. And they accompanied Jesus to pray in the Gar- den of Gethsemane - although they nodded off, leaving Jesus to pray in solitude. A medieval tradition says that James preached for years in Spain, which is why he is often depicted with a walking staff and a small gourd for water. How- ever, he later returned to Jerusalem. There, he was arrested as part of a crackdown on Christians by King Herod Agrippa. The king then had him executed by sword, according to Acts 12:2 - making James the only one of the original 12 apostles whose martyr- dom is recorded in the Bible. Tradition also holds that James' disciples brought his remains from Jerusalem to Compostela, Spain. The Camino de Santiago, or Way of St. James, became one of the most popu- lar pilgrimages, after Jerusalem and Rome. James is the patron saint of pilgrims, laborers, Spain, Chile, Nicaragua and Guatemala. He is often called James the Greater to distinguish him from another apostle, known as James, the son of Alphaeus. St. James parish in North Miami has roots even longer than the Archdiocese of Miami itself. Parishioners began worshiping in 1952 - six years before the diocese was born - at a struc- ture known as the Red Feathers Farm Building. They moved to Barry College (now Barry University), then to St. Rose of Lima and Holy Family churches. But they had a church, rectory and convent by year's end. In the early 1950s, the parish opened a 12-classroom school, staffed by lay teachers and Adrian Dominican Sis- ters. The congregation tripled in size by 1960, and a new church was dedicated in 1963. St. James has become a multicul- tural community, with its website and bulletin published in Creole, Spanish and English.
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Art at St. James parish honors the first apostolic martyr
Flaming red hues mark the windows of the main entrance. (PHOTOS BY JIM DAVIS FC) Angelic statuettes gather prayerfully at the Tabernacle of St. James Church. Statue of the church's patron saint carries his traditional staff with a water bottle, signifying his role as a pilgrim saint. Musical notes and a harp mark the choral rehearsal room. A window at a side chapel carries a nativity theme. A miter, a crosier, and a seashell pouring water symbolize the vocation of a bishop. Nearly life-size figures form a crucifixion scene in a chapel at St. James Church.
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