Bishop Pohlmeier to Visit St. James!

by | Jul 17, 2024 | Uncategorized | 0 comments

Dear St. James Family,

It’s great to be back with you. I was away in Michigan last week with family which has a treasured tradition going back many years of camping together for a week every summer. Over seventy people from the extended family gathered at a state park to reconnect and relax while staying in various tents and RVs. It was great fun, but I am glad to be back here in Jacksonville doing the work that I love of building up St. James.

 

July is a great month for us with some exciting things taking place:

  • receive a special piece of blessed cloth, July 14 (Brown Scapular)

  • a visit from Bishop Pohlmeier, July 14 – don’t miss it!

  • St. James dinner out, July 27 – only a few spots left – RSVP soon!

  • St. James Sunday, July 28 – champaign, cake, kids activities

Learn more below

 

Check out the fun picture below from this past Sunday. I’m giving blessed salt to these two cuties who were baptized during the Mass. Salt, a symbol of wisdom, which is placed on the tongue during baptism, is a reminder that the baptized are those that bring the flavor and zest of Christ to to the world. They are the ones who convey the wisdom of Christ to a world that is much in need of the goodness and flavorful truth of our Lord.

News and Announcements

June Finance Report

Thank you for your ongoing generosity which assists in my support and in turn moves forward the mission of St. James. Some of the ways that you can give include general giving, special Masses, and stipends for priestly services.

  • June Giving $8,458.29 ($4,783.54 General; $3,674.75 Capital). This figure does not include the smaller funds (alms, Mass intentions, Catechesis)

  • June Expenses: $6,034.49 Covers quarter of priest’s support, half of pension, travel, liturgical supplies, music, building rent and liability insurance, advertising, bishop’s tax, almsgiving, hospitality

New Home for St. James: Contractor Now in Place! Engineers Ready your Engines

After many phone calls, conversations, meetings, and bids, all of which took much longer than expected, the Lord has led us to Steve Ciriaco of Florida Development & Construction Corporation. Steve is generously sharing his experience, knowledge, and oversight with our mission in order complete the St. James expansion and buildout. With his assistance we have also hired MB Engineering/Intrepid Dynamics Co to complete and stamp our mechanical, electrical, and plumbing plans as required by the city for permit submissions. If all goes well, we will be able to submit the permits next month. Thank you for your continued prayers.

 

Financial Update on a New Home for St. James

Leased Building, Rough Goals (numbers will continue to be updated based on contractor’s numbers, supplies, and volunteer capabilities and availabilities):

  • Monthly Giving increased to $10,000 average which is about what is needed to cover ongoing lease expenses. Complete 😊

  • Emergency Reserves of $30,000 (three months of operating expenses): Complete😊

  • Phase 1 Usability: $121,414.76 raised ($76,244.76 composed of capital fund and savings + $45,170 Tenant Improvement Reimbursement which will be paid by Landlord once everything is complete). These funds will be used for permitting, walls, plumbing, electrical, floors, chairs, lights. Funding Complete😊

  • Phase 2 Beautification and Welcome: $644 raised toward $28,680 needed for Sacristy Cabinets, Tables, Ambo, Baptismal, Kitchen/Break Rm, Arched Window Frames, Grand opening Advertising and Food

 

Learn more about the building project and how you can Give. Thanks 🙂

We are Being Visited This Sunday by One of the Successors to the Apostles!

Catholics understand bishops as those who were first appointed by the apostles themselves, to continue their ministry. This Sunday, July 14 at the 10:15 AM Mass the Most Reverend Erik Pohlmeier, Bishop of the Diocese of St. Augustine will be joining us and preaching. A visit from a bishop comes with a special blessing, something that you will not want to miss. This is a great privilege! This is almost like having the apostle Andrew or Jude or one of the twelve others with us!

The word bishop means overseer and is one of the three ordained offices. The Catholic understanding of a bishop is one who serves the Church in the place of the twelve apostles, which Christ chose and gave his authority to. The threefold ordained hierarchical structure that Jesus set up was the twelve apostles (bishops), the seventy (priests), and deacons. The Catholic Church still follows this same pattern today.

A faithful bishop is one who can trace his unbroken lineage back to the first apostles. Our bishops show the importance of being ordained and officially sent out by the Church. This is unlike some of our brothers and sisters who were historically part of the Catholic Church, but then broke away to do their own thing, of which the Bible warns against (1 John 2:19). The Catholic Church understands a faithful bishop as one who has unbroken lineage back to the first apostles.

Upcoming Events

Receive a Blessed Cloth this Sunday and Obtain Spiritual Protection – You don’t Even Need to be Catholic: July 14 at 9:15 AM

In the Bible, you can read about God using handkerchiefs and aprons in ways so powerful that miracles took place and demons were expelled through them (Acts 19:12). The Catholic word for these types of blessed objects is a sacramental. A sacramental is material object that has been endowed with the prayers of the Church.

This Sunday, you have the opportunity to learn about and to be given a much loved sacramental called the Brown Scapular. Through the Brown Scapular evil spirits are powerless when the wearer of a scapular faces temptation and calls upon the Holy Virgin, Mary. Pious legend holds that on July 16, 1251, the Blessed Mother appeared to St. Simon Stock, gave him the brown scapular and said “in which he that dieth shall not suffer eternal fire; behold the sign of salvation, a safeguard in danger, the covenant of peace and everlasting alliance.”

I’ll be giving a little teaching on the Brown Scapular this Sunday (find me under the pavilion) beginning at about 9:15 AM. The scapulars will then be blessed and those who would like to be enrolled in the Brown Scapular Confraternity will then be allowed to do so. Being enrolled means that you will come forward and I will place the scapular on your shoulders. Learn more about the Brown Scapular Devotion. Also, I only have a limited amount of inexpensive Brown Scapulars, so if you may want to purchase one ahead of time just in case (and probably a better quality one).

 

Pool Party this Sunday afternoon – Opportunity to Bring Someone Who is Away from the Church

As part of our evangelical mission, our beloved Haitham Habib has generously opened up his home for a pool party and cookout on July 14. Come relax, swim, and bond with others in fellowship. As a bonus, sow some seeds by bringing an outside friend or two in hopes that one day, they might be open to learning more about St. James, the Catholic Church, the Ordinariate, and some of the workshops that we do (see below). There will be games available including cornhole, bocce ball, outdoor Jenga and outdoor Connect-4. Hamburgers and hotdogs will be provided. Please bring a side-dish or beverage. Please RSVP to Haitham as soon as possible. Text 904-294-3929 or email him at haitham.habib@outlook.com. Be sure to let him know what side dish you are bringing.

Other Upcoming Dates

Check out More Upcoming Events at the Website

From the Preacher

I invite you to have a listen to some of the latest homilies that I delivered at St. James and share them with a friend. Search “Fr. Mayer’s Preaching & Teaching” wherever you get your podcasts and subscribe.

Jesus’ Method for Converting Family – delivered on July 07, 2024

If you are hesitant about sharing the gospel with your family, this homily is for you. Learn from our Lord and prophets before him how God has approached those who are resistant to hearing what he has to say.

Around The Wider Church

 

Theology on Tap: The Epidemic of Loneliness July 15

This month’s event, “The Epidemic of Loneliness,” is scheduled for from 7 to 9 p.m. at Historically Hoppy, 1638 N. Main Street, in Jacksonville with special guest, Marlys Adjevi, LMHC. This event will kick off a three-part series focusing on friendship and the call to communion with one another hosted by the Offices of Family Life, Youth and Young Adults and Evangelization. For more information on the Theology on Tap, please contact Robin Shipley at rshipley@dosafl.com. Click here for flyer.  

 

Love Beyond Measure – Natural Family Planning Week | July 21-27

Natural Family Planning Awareness Week, July 21-27, 2024, highlights the anniversary of the papal encyclical, Humanae Vitae (Latin for “Of Human Life”), which articulates Catholic beliefs bout human sexuality, conjugal love and responsible parenthood.

The Diocese of St. Augustine Celebrates The Feast of St. James | July 25

You are invited to St. Augustine to celebrate the feast of St. James events commemorating the Camino de Las Américas and Alliance of Cathedrals on Thursday, July 25 at 6 p.m. Beginning with a procession with a specially commissioned statue of St. James at the Castillo de San Marcos, 1S. Castillo Drive, and ends at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine with a Mass celebrated by Bishop Erik Pohlmeier.

 

Check out the 2023 celebration

 

Rebuilding When Your Relationship Ends

This program is for anyone who has experienced the loss of a love relationship – through a divorce, death/widow or from a breakup of a long-term relationship. Individuals who participate in this class develop a better, more comprehensive understanding of how their relationship with God and the community can help them through this very difficult journey. Rebuilding is a 10-week course that will be held on Tuesday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m. at San Jose Catholic Church Community Center, 3619 Toledo Road, Jacksonville. The classes meet Sept. 10 – Dec. 3 (No class Sept. 24, Oct. 22 or Nov. 26). The cost is $50 per person and includes the textbook and all handouts, which will be provided at each class. There will be light refreshments as well. Questions? Please call Father Tony Palazzolo at (904) 280-5422. Click here for the flyer. To register, visit https://form.jotform.com/232124683479159.

 

How and Why We Need to Defeat Amendment 4

You are invited and highly encouraged to attend the upcoming training sessions on defeating Amendment 4. The goal of these sessions is to ensure the faithful understands the same unified message approved by the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops and reach as many people as possible. Our message must reach beyond the Catholic Church. Below is the current training and information schedule:

July 24 – St. Matthew Parish, Jacksonville at 6:30 p.m.
August 6 – St. Paul Parish, Jacksonville Beach at  6:30 p.m.
October 7 –  San Juan Del Rio Parish, St. Johns at 6 p.m.

Faithfully, your pastor,

Father Mayer

Parochial Administrator

St. James Catholic Church

A Community of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter

www.StJamesCC.org

904-999-1423

office@StJamesCC.org

Worship Location: 12447 Mandarin Rd, Jacksonville, FL

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