Saint James The Apostle Feast Day - 25 July

Quoted from Learn Religions [1]:

James was among the first of the twelve disciples. When Jesus called the brothers, James and John were fishermen with their father Zebedee on the Sea of Galilee. They immediately left their father and their business to follow the young rabbi. James was probably the older of the two brothers because he is always mentioned first.

Three times James, John, and Peter were invited by Jesus to witness events no one else saw: the raising of the daughter of Jairus from the dead (Mark 5:37-47), the transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-3), and Jesus' agony in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-37).

But James was not above making mistakes. When a Samaritan village rejected Jesus, he and John wanted to call down fire from heaven upon the place. This earned them the nickname "Boanerges," or "sons of thunder." The mother of James and John also overstepped her bounds, asking Jesus to grant her sons special positions in his kingdom.

James' zeal for Jesus resulted in his being the first of the twelve apostles to be martyred. He was killed with the sword on order of King Herod Agrippa I of Judea, about 44 A.D., in a general persecution of the early church.

 

Quoted from Wikipedia  [2]:

Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians teach that James, along with others named in the New Testament as "brothers" of Jesus, were not the biological children of Mary, mother of Jesus, but were possibly cousins of Jesus, or step-brothers from a previous marriage of Joseph (as related in the Gospel of James).

The Catholic tradition holds that this James is to be identified with James, son of Alphaeus, and James the Less. It is agreed by most that he should not be confused with James, son of Zebedee also known as James the Great.

[1] https://www.learnreligions.com/profile-of-apostle-james-701062, quoted without hyperlinks.

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James,_brother_of_Jesus, quoted without references and hyperlinks.

Saint Mary Magdalene Feast Day - 22 July

Quoted from Catholic Daily Readings [1]:

Saint Mary Magdalene was also known as Apostle to the Apostles or Mary of Magdala. She was the woman who is outlined in the four Gospels as the one who witnessed the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus and helped Jesus and His Apostles with resources as they were traveling around preaching.

Quoted from Catholic.org [2]:

Mary Magdalene has long been regarded as a prostitute or sexually immoral in western Christianity, but this is not supported in the scriptures. It is believed she was a Jewish woman who lived among Gentiles, living as they did.

The Gospels agree that Mary was originally a great sinner. Jesus cast seven demons out of her when he met her. After this, she told several women she associated with and these women also became followers.

 

Quoted from Wikipedia [3]:

It is widely accepted among secular historians that, like Jesus, Mary Magdalene was a real historical figure.

[1] https://catholicreadings.org/saint-mary-magdalene/

[2] https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=83

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Magdalene, quoted without references.

The Visitation Of The Blessed Virgin Mary - 2 July

Quoted from Learn Religions [1]:

The feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary celebrates the visit of Mary, the Mother of God, with the child Jesus in her womb, to her cousin Elizabeth. The visit took place when Elizabeth was herself six months' pregnant with the forerunner of Christ, Saint John the Baptist.

...

For close to six centuries, the Visitation was celebrated on July 2, but with his revision of the Roman calendar in 1969 (at the time of the promulgation of the Novus Ordo), Pope Paul VI moved the celebration of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to the last day of the Marian month of May so that it would fall between the feasts of the Annunciation and the Birth of Saint John the Baptist—a time when Luke tells us that Mary would certainly have been with Elizabeth, taking care of her cousin in her time of need.

[1] https://www.learnreligions.com/visitation-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary-542483#:~:text=For%20close%20to%20six%20centuries%2C%20the%20Visitation%20was,of%20her%20cousin%20in%20her%20time%20of%20need.

Feast Of The Most Precious Blood Of Jesus Christ - 1 July

Quoted from Wikipedia [1]:

The Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ is a feast, which has been in the General Roman Calendar from 1849 to 1969. It is focused on the Blood of Christ and its salvific nature.

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In Catholic belief, the Blood of Christ is precious because it is Christ's own great ransom paid for the redemption of mankind. In this belief, as there was to be no remission of sin without the shedding of blood, the "Incarnate Word" not only offered his life for the salvation of the world, but he offered to give up his life by a bloody death, and to hang bloodless, soulless and dead upon the Cross for the salvation of humanity. Jesus is said to have given his life – his blood – for the sake of all humanity, atoning for every form of human sin. The devotion to the Most Precious Blood is thus understood to be a call to repentance and reparation.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feast_of_the_Most_Precious_Blood, quoted without bold type and references.