The Feast of St. James

The Greater.  Otherwise known as the George Harrison of the Apostolic Fab Four.  Of the four most prominent apostles - Peter, James, John and the Apostle Paul - James seems to be the least known and referenced.

Peter, of course, was the undisputed leader of the early Church, the first pope (a claim even as a Protestant I had difficulty refuting) and, like John, had a couple writings of Sacred Scripture to his name.  Paul, the johnny-come-lately of the Apostles, nonetheless emerged as the first great theologian and scholar of the Faith, and his writings occupy a place of prominence in the New Testament.

Poor James, on the other hand, has no such honors and claims to fame.  Despite the fact that throughout the earthly ministry of Jesus, James was almost always within the Lord's inner circle, that particular distinctive is often overlooked.   Perhaps St. James should be patron of everyone who feels like this guy:

Anyhoo, this is his day.  The always informative Fish Eaters has a nice breakdown of the day, including its usual reference to obscure traditions, like the custom of eating oysters on this day.  Well, that will have to wait.  But it's a day worth remembering for the one who was in the inner circle of the Lord Himself, even if we sometimes forget that little fact about him.