Today’s catechesis for the Pope’s general audience was about the apostle James, the son of Zebedee. As he went on through his series of portraits of the apostles that had been personally chosen by Jesus during His earthly life, Benedict XVI recalled how James, known as the Greater, as opposed to James the son of Alpheus, known as the Less, was also a "fisherman" who "replied to Jesus’ call with great readiness". Present in many powerful moments of Jesus’ life, the Pope mentioned two particularly significant ones: the Transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Tabor and the agony in the Garden of Olives. "In both cases highlighted the Holy Father James is chosen alongside Peter and John as the witness of the event: this is certainly a sign of Jesus’ special preference. The two situations are very different from each other: on the one side, James with the other two apostles experiences glory and ecstasy, on the other side he is faced with suffering and humiliation". Certainly, added Benedict, "the latter experience was for him an opportunity to correct his probably wrong interpretation of the former one: he must have sensed that the Messiah, awaited by the Judaic people as a victor, was in fact not just bathed in honour and glory but also in pain and weakness, privy to our sufferings. Thus James slowly acquired his faith, by gradually making out the Master’s messianic identity". (to be continued)
