On Thursday, July 25, we celebrate the Feast of St. James the Greater, the Apostle. The other James among the Twelve is called the Lesser. Some say it was because James the Greater was one of Jesus’ inner circle (Peter, James and John), and the brother of John the Beloved Disciple, also known by Jesus as the Sons of Thunder.  His father, Zebedee, was a fisherman. He eventually traveled to Spain to preach there, and when he returned he became the first of the Apostles to die a martyr’s death, being beheaded at the order of King Herod.

The Feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne, the parents of the Blessed Mother, and the grandparents of Jesus, is this Friday, July 26. Although never mentioned in the Bible, early Church tradition is very clear about their names. We actually have a statue, just as we walk in the front of church, of Anne and the Blessed Mother as a child.