Sermon – Feast of Saint James the Apostle – 25 July 2026

Today, we celebrate the feast of Saint James, the brother of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist.

Saint James was one of the Lord’s closest friends; as at the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor and during the sorrowful moments in Gethsemane, he accompanied the Lord in the most important events and the most intimate moments of His life.

In today’s Gospel, we heard how Jesus asked the two brothers, James and John:

You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They replied, “We can.” Then He said to them: “You will drink my cup; but to sit at my right and at my left is not mine to grant: it is for those for whom my Father has prepared it.

Indeed, the Apostle James was the first to drink this cup, that is, the cup of the Passion; he was also the first among the Apostles to sacrifice his life for the Lord and to become a martyr. He was like a sign for all the other Apostles; he showed that the apostle, disciple and friend of Jesus must become like his Master in life and in death.

And this tells us who an apostle is; if we wish to define him, I think we can simply say this: An apostle is the closest friend of Jesus.

And this intimate friendship with Jesus has only one meaning: There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

The apostle is a friend; Jesus Himself says this again in the Gospel of John:

I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends.

The Apostles were called first of all to be the Lord’s friends and, above all, to remain at His side. Jesus calls His Apostles His friends; although He knows very well that these friends will betray Him and leave Him completely alone, this does not matter to Jesus; He lays down His life for His friends, for true friendship means desiring the good of the other person and expecting no reward or benefit in return; it means giving without receiving… and there is no greater, more faithful or truer friend than Jesus.

Then Jesus says:

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will remain; so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, He may give you. This I command you: Love one another.

Jesus says that He appointed His Apostles, that is, His friends, so that they might bear fruit and that their fruit might remain; and from the Gospel we always know this: Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

Thus, we see that Christ’s Apostles accomplished tremendous works and brought the Gospel of Christ to every corner of the world; yet the greatest thing they could do was to be the Lord’s friends and to sacrifice their lives for their friend Jesus. Their heroic deaths bore an infinite amount of fruit for the Church; by shedding their blood, they gave the greatest testimony to their faith and love for God, and to their fidelity and friendship toward the Lord.

Therefore, on this day of the great Apostle Saint James, the Lord says to each one of us: “I no longer call you my servants, but my friends,” because we are all the Lord’s apostles and disciples; we are all called to be friends of Jesus and to remain at His side; and He sends us all so that we may bear abundant fruit and that our fruit may remain.

And this fruit will arise from our ever-growing generosity toward the Lord, by serving Him in the way and in the place He desires, and by sacrificing our lives for Him; moreover, if one day God should wish to grant us this great grace, it will also arise from shedding our blood for Him, as all the Apostles did.

Through their intercession, especially through the intercession of Saint James and the Blessed Virgin Mary, we ask for the grace to follow the example of the Apostles and to become true and faithful friends of the Lord.