When we speak of Our Lady's apparitions in the parish of Medjugorje, usually as a sign of Providence, for which Our Lady chose this parish, we mention that since its founding in 1892, this parish has been dedicated to Saint James the Greater, the patron saint of pilgrims.
And thanks to the Queen of Peace, Medjugorje has become one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in the world.
We forget that this saint, this patron saint of the parish, through his life shows us other, perhaps more important, instructions and lessons from Our Lady's school of love and life:
- Closely united with Jesus
Saint James is one of the three apostles who were present at special moments in the life of Jesus: at the miraculous healing of Peter's mother-in-law, at the resurrection of Jairus' daughter, on the Mount of Transfiguration, and in prayer on the Mount of Olives. Jesus
allowed him to know him more deeply and intimately in order to later entrust him with a more responsible role in the early Church.
And isn't the school of Our Lady precisely a school of prayer, which seeks to help us know Jesus more deeply and intimately, to unite ourselves with him in a life-giving way, and thus to become living pillars of his Church?
- Wild Nature
Jesus called James and John "Boanerges" - sons of thunder. When they returned from a Samaritan village that refused to welcome Jesus and the apostles, they suggested that Jesus call down fire from heaven upon these merciless people. Jesus rebuked them, saying, "You do not know whose spirit you are. The Son of Man did not come to destroy souls, but to save them."
The people of this region are also known as people of wild and stubborn nature. People of the faith "for which Our Lady chose them. It is that faith, as strong as the thrill of Križevci and Podbrdo, which communism and other ideologies could not harm," as Father Marinko Šakota noted.
And even today, Our Lady here in Medjugorje often calls us in her messages not to forget the faith of our fathers and to strengthen our firm and unshakable faith in God's power and resurrection.
- Direct Teaching on the Importance of Humility
On another occasion, his mother Salome came to Jesus and asked him to allow her two sons to sit in his kingdom, one at his right and one at his left. Like many other Jews, she hoped that Jesus would establish a great Jewish kingdom. But Jesus rebuked their selfishness, saying, "You do not know what you are asking for. Can you drink the cup of suffering and death?" They answered in the affirmative. Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the bitter cup, but those for whom my Father in heaven has prepared it will sit at my right hand and at my left." He immediately added a wonderful message to his disciples: "Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be like a little child. Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
The greatness of the Queen of Peace lies precisely in her humility, in being the "handmaid of the Lord." Even today, she says that she comes to us only with God's permission and often teaches us the meaning of humility and service.
- MARTYRDOM
Saint James was the first apostle to give his life for Jesus. His life ended with martyrdom in Jerusalem around the year 42. On the orders of Herod Agrippa, the grandson of the same Herod who had the children killed near Bethlehem, James was beheaded.
In her messages, Our Lady prepares us for unconditional devotion to God. She warns us of the difficult times ahead when Satan sows war and hatred. She calls us to be her witnesses and apostles. She is here to prepare us so that at some point in our lives, we too will be ready, like Saint James, to give our lives as a testimony to our faith in the one true God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Thus, St. James, the patron saint of the parish of Medjugorje, not only the patron saint of pilgrims, but also through his life and the example of his death, speaks about where our earthly pilgrimage should lead us: to the courageous proclamation and witness of our faith in this world that increasingly suppresses true faith and true love.
Paula Tomić/medjugorje-info.com
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