This week in our Saintly Summer series, we turn to St. James the Apostle, son of Zebedee and brother of St. John—famously known as one of the “Sons of Thunder” for his bold, passionate faith. St. James responded immediately to Jesus’ call, leaving everything behind to follow Him. He was present for some of the most intimate moments in Christ’s ministry—from the Transfiguration to the Garden of Gethsemane. Even in the face of suffering, James never turned away. He stayed with Jesus through it all—and ultimately gave his life for the Gospel. 🙏 This reflection challenges us to do the same. When life gets hard, do we keep walking with Jesus? Do we stay close in the joys and the trials? Take just a few minutes to center your heart and receive this jolt of faith.
Jolt of Faith – Full Text
Our saint for today is Saint James. He was a brother of Saint John, and he was a son of Zebedee. He was known as the son of thunder together with his brother because of their bold faith. He and his brother actually followed the Lord right away when Jesus told them follow me, and they left their fishing nets and went and followed the Lord.He went on to become one of the twelve apostles and accompanied Jesus in many key moments of His life, like the transfiguration. He also accompanied Jesus praying in Gethsemane, and he even heard Jesus predict his own passion.But even in the midst of suffering, he didn’t abandon Jesus. He just kept going and accompanied Him all the way through.And this is something we can learn from Saint James.And it is that even in the midst of suffering, even in the midst of joys and the ups and downs of our lives, we can continue to accompany and to evolve our faith together with Jesus.Because it doesn’t matter what we are going through.All that we need is Jesus. Saint James was believed to go to Spain to preach the gospel there, and he was actually the first apostle to be murdered in by the year forty four.So let us learn today from Saint James on how to accompany Jesus and never let him down as Jesus has also always loved us and be with us.Not a sermon, not a homily, just a little Jolt of Faith that we all need sometimes.