Jul 25 – Feast of St. James, Apostle
St. James (died 44) was the first Apostle to be martyred. He preached in Samaria, Judea, and Spain. His work in Spain, and the housing of his relics there, led to his patronage of the country and all things Spanish.
Like all men of renown, many stories grew up around St. James. In one, he brought back to life a boy who had been unjustly hanged, and had been dead for five weeks. The boy’s father was notified of the miracle while he sat at supper. The father pronounced the story nonsense, and said his son was no more alive than the roasted fowl on the table; the cooked bird promptly sat up, sprouted feathers, and flew away.
- Patron Saint Index
2 Cor 4:7-15
Mt 20:20-28
…the more grace is multiplied among people, the more thanksgiving there will be…
I have an affinity for a particular town in Spain where the remains of St James reside in its cathedral. In a few weeks, I will be travelling there with my life partner – a journey that has been planned since the end of last year. Needless to say, I am looking forward to this ‘mini adventure’ and today’s readings gave me reason to pause – and to look back on how God has been so generous with his blessings in this milestone year for us.
We recently spent time with a friend who we have not met for nearly 3 years. Over dinner and coffee, he shared about how God has been so generous and faithful to him, providing him the means to look after his young family and to help him meet his life goals. Truly, God’s graces have flowed abundantly and as we shared about His providence and His faithfulness, He revealed to me how those graces have truly been multiplied among those in the various communities I serve in (including this one).
At a recent gathering of another ministry, when I shared about the Sunday 7am choir I am a part of, a member seemed shocked when I told him how many were in the community. He said, “Wah. 14? You know my 7am mass, only got 2 – one organist, one vocalist.” I continue to be amazed by the abundance of gifts/talents that He showers us with; and the joy and thanksgiving we share when we worship seems to be evident as parishioners leave after mass.
Last month, I attended a weekend community retreat at CSC conducted by our spiritual director. Over 200 members gathered as we journeyed together for an ‘intense weekend’, learning how to be better disciples of God. Admittedly, it was the first community gathering I attended in a while – the larger CSC community gathers once every two months – and as I looked around the hall, it was certainly filled with a ‘veil of thanksgiving’ that seemed to float over the gathered members.
Brothers and sisters, in today’s increasingly ‘transactional’ world, which is slowly being transformed through AI, and as we ‘interact’ more and more through our devices — I found myself scratching my head one day at lunch, wondering why it took so many steps just to order a soft serve ice cream cone when in the past, I could just tell someone over a counter and I would have it in my hand within a minute – we might begin to lose some perspective and forget that ultimately, what we are thankful for in our lives stems from a grace – directly or indirectly – that God has given to us. Whether it is through our community, our colleagues, our family members, our spouse, or even our priest/SD, it is God who graces, who provides and who gives us reason to thank Him each and every day of our lives.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Desmond Soon)
Prayer: Dear Lord, I thank you for all the blessings you shower upon me and those I love. Thank you for always providing, for always caring, for always gracing us with your presence and loving touch.
Thanksgiving: Thank you, Lord, for all that you have done, for all that you do, and for all that you will be doing for me.
OXYGEN 
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