St. James the Elder, Apostle
Mark 10:35-45, Acts 11:27--12:5
Today is St. James the Elder. He is sometimes referred to as St. James the Greater or St. James Major; this has nothing to do with his stature among the disciples—though he was one of the three that were part of the inner circle of disciples—he was simply the older of the two disciples named James. He was John's older brother, a fisherman like Peter and once his partner in the fishing business before giving everything up and following Jesus.
Beyond that and despite his place in Jesus' inner circle, little is written of him besides what we heard today. So, for time and eternity, St. James the Elder day has been the day when is read how he and his brother brazenly asked to sit as Jesus' right and left in glory, and Jesus' response to the brothers. Right off the bat this should tell us that this day is not about James, the great faith he had, nor even how great a man he was, any of this being true or not. No, this day is about Jesus.