St. James the Less
"Every best gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Lights with whom there is no change nor shadow of alteration."
James 1:17
James the Less was the Apostle called “the Younger” or “the Just,” named in the lists of the disciples given by Matthew, Mark, and Luke and mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. He was the son of Alpheus and was known as “the Less” merely as a means of distinguishing him from James the Greater who was older or taller. According to Mark, he stood with the woman Mary and Mary Magdalene at the Crucifixion; he is also called by implication the 'son of the woman,Mary'. Little else is known with certainty about him, unless one accepts the view that he is to be identified with St. James, the Brother of the Lord, with whom he is often confused. In liturgical art, he is depicted holding a book or a club. Legend says he was martyred for his faith by being thrown from the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem by the Pharisees after being clubbed and then stoned to death May 3, AD 62.
Pope Benedict XVI's General Audience of Wednesday, June 28, 2006:
In our weekly catechesis on the Church’s apostolic ministry, we now turn to the Apostle James the Less. In the Gospels, James is called the son of Alphaeus. He is often identified with another James, known as "James the younger" (cf. Mk 15:40), or "James, the brother of the Lord" (cf. Mt 13:55; Gal 1:19). The Gospels themselves do not relate anything about either James during our Lord’s earthly ministry. The Acts of the Apostles, however, present a "James" whom Saint Paul names with Peter as a "column" of the Church in Jerusalem (Gal 2:9). At the Council of Jerusalem (cf. Acts 15), it was James who proposed that the Gentiles converted to Christ not be forced to follow all the precepts of the Mosaic Law. Together with Peter, he thus enabled Gentile Christians to maintain their identity, while respecting the perennially valid relationship between Christianity and its Jewish origins. James also gave his name to the New Testament Letter of James, which continues to speak to us today, stressing the need for a living faith expressed in good works (2:26), and serene abandonment to the will of God (4:15).