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| St. James slaying Moors, 18th c. Anonymous (Cusco School of Peru) |
For his role in reclaiming the peninsula for Spain, St. James the Great is venerated as a patron of Spain and the Spanish people. The completion of the Reconquista in 1492 coincided with the beginning of the Spanish Empire during Columbus' voyages, and the patronage of St. James eventually spread to all Spanish colonies and their peoples. From the Philippines to Mexico, Santiago Matamoros is honored in public art and placenames, and he is considered the patron of all Hispanic peoples. Let us pray for the children of the Spanish Empire, that their cities and countries may return to the faith of their ancestors. The reigning Roman pontiff, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, served the communities of Peru, which was for centuries a Spanish territory following the fall of the Incas. Devotion to St. James existed there too, as seen in the painting included above.
The Collect below highlights the importance of St. James to the Spanish people and alludes to the securing of peace at the end of the Reconquista and the Apostles deliverance of the Spanish armies from the sword of the Moors. Of course, the prayer also turns our minds to the spiritual, for "imminent death" not only means physical danger in war, but also our continuous battle against sin. The true "eternal peace" we seek is life in heaven, which is to be secured by asking for the Apostle's powerful prayers.
O God, Who have mercifully entrusted to Thy blessed Apostle James the protection of the Spanish nation, and through him have wonderfully delivered them from imminent death: grant, we beseech Thee, to enjoy, through his protection, eternal peace. Through our Lord...
Deus, qui Hispaniarum gentem beato Jacobo Apostolo tuo protegendam misericorditer tribuisti, et per eum ab imminenti exito mirabiliter liberasti: concede, quæsumus; ut, eodem protegente, pace perfruamur æterna. Per Dominum...
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| The Triumph of Judas Maccabeus, 1634-36 Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) |
The Epistle for the Mass of the Apparition of St. James is taken from the final chapter of the Second Book of Maccabees. In it, the warrior Judas Maccabeus calls upon God for divine assistance in the battle against the heathen occupiers of Judea. Whoever assigned these Mass texts likely saw parallels between the oppression of the Jews under the Greeks and the oppression of Christians under the Moors. The war for Judean independence from the Seleucids was likely also seen as comparable to the Reconquista. Judas Maccabeus' leadership in battle places him in the same position as St. James in 844, leading the charge against the enemies of God. He is also shown to be a very devout and pious man, praying for the dead (II Maccabees xii, see the Requiem Mass for the Anniversary of the Dead) and for the people of Israel. Santiago Matamoros like Maccabeus is a holy warrior, charged with praying for the people under his protection, Spain.
Within the Epistle, it is the prayer of Maccabeus that points to the Apparition itself. In the days of Hezekiah, who prayed and sang to God in the days of his suffering, the Destroying Angel slaughtered the Assyrian soldiers camped against the Kingdom of Judah; and in the days of the Maccabees, responding to the prayer of Maccabeus, the Angel of the Lord led the nation of Judea to victory over the Greeks with a great slaughter. In the days of the Reconquista, the Lord heard the prayers of the Christians of Spain and sent another help from heaven, St. James, and the Spanish nation triumphed over the Moors.
In those days: Maccabee ever trusted with all hope that God would help them. And he exhorted his people not to fear the coming of the nations, but to remember the help they had before received from heaven, and now to hope for victory from the Almighty. And speaking to them out of the law, and the prophets, and withal putting them in mind of the battles they had fought before, he made them more cheerful: Then after he had encouraged them, he showed withall the falsehood of the Gentiles, and their breach of oaths. So he armed every one of them, not with defense of shield and spear, but with very good speeches and exhortations, and told them a dream worthy to be believed, whereby he rejoiced them all. Thus being exhorted with the words of Judah, which were very good, and proper to stir up the courage, and strengthen the hearts of the young men, they resolved to fight, and to set upon them manfully: that valor might decide the matter, because the holy city and the temple were in danger. For their concern was less for their wives, and children, and for their brethren, and kinsfolks: but their greatest and principal fear was for the holiness of the temple. And they also that were in the city, had no little concern for them that were to be engaged in battle. And now when all expected what judgment would be given, and the enemies were at hand, and the army was set in array, the beasts and the horsemen ranged in convenient places, Maccabee considering the coming of the multitude, and the diverse preparations of armor, and the fierceness of the beasts, stretching out his hands to heaven, called upon the Lord, that worketh wonders, who giveth victory to them that are worthy, not according to the power of their arms, but according as it seemeth good to him. And he said invoking after this manner: "Thou, O Lord, Who didst send Thy Angel under Ezechias, King of Judah, and didst do away with from the camp of Sennacherib a hundred and eighty-five thousand; now also, Ruler of the heavens, send Thy good Angel before us, in fear and trembling at the magnitude of Thine arm, that they may be dreadened, who come with blasphemy against Thy holy people." And indeed he concluded thus. But Nicanor, and they that were with him came forward, with trumpets and songs. But Judah, and they that were with him, encountered them, calling upon God by prayers: So fighting with their hands, but praying to the Lord with their hearts, they slew no less than thirty-five thousand, being greatly cheered with the presence of God.
In diebus illis: Machabæus autem semper confidebat cum omni spe auxilium sibi a Deo affuturum: et hortabatur suos ne formidarent ad adventum nationum, sed in mente haberent adjutoria sibi facta de cælo, et nunc sperarent ab Omnipotente sibi affuturam victoriam. Et allocutus eos de lege et prophetis, admonens etiam certamina quæ fecerant prius, promptiores constituit eos: et ita animis eorum erectis simul ostendebat gentium fallaciam, et juramentorum prævaricationem. Singulos autem illorum armavit, non clypei et hastæ munitione, sed sermonibus optimis et exhortationibus, exposito digno fide somnio, per quod universos lætificavit. Exhortati itaque Iudæ sermonibus bonis valde, de quibus extolli posset impetus, et animi juvenum confortari, statuerunt dimicare et confligere fortiter: ut virtus de negotiis iudicaret, eo quod civitas sancta et templum periclitarentur. Erat enim pro uxoribus et filiis, itemque pro fratribus et cognatis, minor sollicitudo : maximus vero et primus pro sanctitate timor erat templi. Sed et eos qui in civitate erant, non minima sollicitudo habebat pro his qui congressuri erant. Et cum jam omnes sperarent iudicium futurum, hostesque adessent atque exercitus esset ordinatus, bestiæ equitesque opportuno in loco compositi, considerans Machabæus adventum multitudinis, et apparatum varium armorum, et ferocitatem bestiarum, extendens manus in cælum, prodigia facientem Dominum invocavit, qui non secundum armorum potentiam, sed prout ipsi placet, dat dignis victoriam. Dixit autem invocans hoc modo: "Tu Domine, qui misisti angelum tuum sub Ezechia rege Iuda, et interfecisti de castris Sennacherib centum octoginta quinque millia: et nunc, dominator cælorum, mitte angelum tuum bonum ante nos in timore et tremore magnitudinis brachii tui, ut metuant qui cum blasphemia veniunt adversus sanctum populum tuum." Et hic quidem ita peroravit. Nicanor autem et qui cum ipso erant, cum tubis et canticis admovebant. Judas vero et qui cum eo erant, invocato Deo, per orationes congressi sunt: manu quidem pugnantes, sed Dominum cordibus orantes, prostraverunt non minus triginta quinque millia, præsentia Dei magnifice delectati.
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| The Heroes Joshua, David, and Judah Maccabee, from the series The Nine Heroes, 1518-22 Lucas van Leyden (1494-1533) |
It should be noted that the Second Book of Maccabees concludes in the middle of the war, before the realization of Judean independence under the Hasmoneans. The First Book of Maccabees, written by a different author, notes that Judas Maccabeus died in battle before the establishment of an independent Judea, and that the establishment of Jewish autonomy in the Seleucid Empire was completed by his brother Simon. Even then, full independence was not gained until the latter part of the reign of Simon's son, John Hyrcanus. Comparing this to the Reconquista, generations of European Christians passed between the appearance of Our Lady of Covadonga in 720 and the fall of the Emirate of Granada in 1492. Through all of this, the Church endured the persecutions, and Christians maintained their hope in freedom from the Moors, even if it could not be secured in their own generation.
The Hasmoneans would eventually fall, and the Herodians would take power under the watch of Rome, preparing the way for the oppression of the Jews under the Roman Empire and the exodus of the diaspora. There was still a way, however, for the Jews to possess true freedom and peace under the Romans, and this way was the way, the truth, and the life. St. James recognized this and followed our Lord, even unto death at the hands of Herod Agrippa. Many rejected Him, and they were chastised, and their Temple was destroyed. Looking now at Spain, the independent nation eventually grew sick, culminating in the disastrous era of Spanish Republicanism and the renewed oppression of the Church. Blessed Salvio Huix, Cong. Orat. was one of the many martyrs of this era. Even the Moors have returned to Spain, and many of them have called for the reversion of cathedrals to mosques and the removal of statues of Santiago Matamoros. Unfortunately, many of the Spanish have ceased following the way, with less than 20% of the population being practicing Catholics. Let us pray for St. James the Great to renew the faith in Spain and among the Hispanic peoples, that they may be free of enemies both spiritual and temporal.
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