| Dear St. James Family, |
| This Sunday, Easter Day, is the biggest and oldest solemnity of the Church year! I hope that you will join us for this most joyous celebration! During my homily I will be touching on some of the evidences of the resurrection, including the Shroud of Turin, though what I am really focusing on is the big difference that the resurrection makes in your life. At the 8:00 AM Mass, Brandon Smith, and Kenneth Workman will be making their official entrance into the Catholic Church through Baptism. Brett Baker, who is already baptized, will be received and confirmed. Come and be part of their joy. At the 10:15 AM Mass we will be renewing our baptismal promises and you will experience the rite of sprinkling as part of this. This rite of sprinkling will be continued throughout the Eastertide. More about this in a future email. Don’t forget to come to our temporary Easter Day Location at the Hardage Giddens Chapel 11801 San Jose Blvd. Because of the Mandarin Art Festival, the building that we normally rent is not available this weekend, but we will be returning to our normal location next Sunday, April 16, 2023. Today is Maundy Thursday – the first part of the Triduum Liturgy During Holy Week, you are invited to experience the greatest liturgy of the Church Year, one that is so full, that it is spread over three days! It begins today with Maundy Thursday, named after the mandate that Jesus gave to the disciples to do to one another as he did to them. The day is especially remembered through a reenactment of Jesus humbly washing the disciples’ feet. Tomorrow is Good Friday when the Christian community recalls Jesus’ death on the cross and a wooden cross is normally brought out for veneration. Then on Saturday is the Vigil of Easter, which begins in the dark and then candles are lit. Next many passages from Scripture area read, recalling the story of salvation going back to Adam and Eve and on up through Moses and the prophets to Jesus victory over the grave. Traditionally, baptisms of adults take place at this liturgy. Because the Mandarin Community Club is not available to us during Easter weekend, we are not able to host these liturgies, but I look forward to the day when we can. Until then, I would invite you to attend them at one of the other local parishes. How to Invite Fallen Away Catholics to Divine Mercy Sunday: The Day of Abundant Graces The best way to prepare to bribe, cajole, or even drag your fallen away Catholic compadres to come and join you on Divine Mercy Sunday on April 16, 2023 is to Pray the Divine Mercy Novena. These powerful prayers begin tomorrow and continue for nine days. I believe that I still have a few brochures on how to pray this novena, that you can pick up this Sunday. But until then, learn more and find the prayers here online. Use this time of prayer to make a list of people to invite. Then make a phone call or send an email or text to each person, asking the Holy Spirit to guide you. There are people who will come to this Mass if you invite them! Pray the Stations of the Cross Tomorrow at Marywood Grounds (not trail) April 7, 2023, remember our Lord’s passion on Good Friday and participate in a devotion that goes back to the Blessed Mother who is said to often revisit the sites of her son’s crucifixion. Meet at main parking lot (235 Marywood Dr., St Johns). The prior plan was to pray the stations along the trail through the woods, but I have learned that the trail is closed down due to some precarious overhanging trees. Instead, we will pray the stations on the beautiful and grassy retreat center grounds. Because the retreat center is closed that day, there are no easily accessible bathrooms, so please plan appropriately. Children’s Stations: 10-10:30. You may pack some meatless snacks and a blanket or chairs to picnic at the grounds following the stations. This is a child friendly opportunity to remember the significance of this day while connecting with other families. Adult’s Stations: 12-12:30 PM: led by Fr. Mayer. Reverent and prayerful opportunity to meditate upon the Lord’s passion. Periods of silence and the Stabat Mater sung between stations. Don’t forget to Fast Tomorrow on Good Friday, April 7, 2023 Good Friday is an obligatory day of fasting and abstinence for Catholics. This means that tomorrow, in addition to being meatless, you are asked to eat very little food, in remembrance of the day that Christ died for you, and to follow his example and to join him in his work, by making this small sacrifice of fasting in reparation for our sins and the sins of the world. However, if you find that you need to eat something, you are allowed up to a full meal and two small snacks. This is only required of adults up to the age of 59. In other words, the old and the young are not required to fast, but are encouraged to do so if they are able. Also, those younger than 14 are allowed to eat meat tomorrow. Those who have medical conditions that would be exacerbated by these disciplines are also dispensed. No Confessions Sunday prior to 8:00 AM Mass Because I will be busy with last minute preparations for those who will be entering the Church during the Mass, I will not be available for confessions prior to the Mass on Sunday, April 9, 2023. Leasing a Storefront Space Discernment Pilgrimage: Saturday, April 15, 2023 Join us for a fun and bonding outing to see what it looks and feels like to have a Church in a store front and to pray and discuss if this is the direction that St. James should go. This Ordinariate community of St. John Fisher located near Orlando has an attendance of around 120 or so parishioners each weekend. Meet to carpool at 10:30 AM at the back of the large parking lot of St. Joseph Catholic Church. Pack a sack lunch for our stop at a park or rest stop on the way there and bring money for a supper restaurant stop on the way back. We plan to return by 8:00 PM. Please RSVP with Brian Burch this Sunday. Inspiration from Last Week’s Ordinariate Clergy Gathering in Houston I had a great time last week in Houston at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Walsingham, which is headquarters for the Ordinariate. Bishop Lopes brought in the auxiliary bishop of Brownsville TX to give us some spiritual reflections prior to the Chrism Mass. I also got to hear great stories about how the Lord is at work in other parts of the Ordinariate. I met the former Episcopal priest who will be ordained as a Catholic priest this June who is leading a community of over sixty people located in Atlanta at one of our newest communities, St. Margaret of Scotland. I also was able to connect with a good friend of mine, soon to be Father Johnson, who is leading St. Edmund Campion, a new community who were recently blessed to be able to purchase a building. Seemingly randomly I was engaged by a man named Winston Elliot who shared with me all about the many struggles and trails of our beautiful cathedral, which I found very encouraging as we meet similar challenges at St. James. I found myself inspired by the trip and grateful to be part of such a vibrant diocese. |
| Thank you Mansours for Hosting Soup and Stations We had a great time on Friday March 24, 2023 at the home of Kim and Andrew Mansour at their Mandarin home. We set up the fourteen Stations of the Cross throughout the yard and I led the prayers in reflection of the passion of our Lord. Then we went inside for a delicious array of soups, sides, and deserts. People were having such a great time that they did not want to leave. I saw lots of great connections being. Thank you to those of you who were able to make it on out that evening. Altar Flower Dedication and Prayers Thank you to all those who gave toward our flower fund as a sign of the joyous celebrate the resurrection of our Savior. The flowers for this Sunday were given in prayerful memory of the following: † Mary and Marshall Cooper † Jones Louis O’Neal & Stuart Brett O’Neal † Thomas Burch † José María Aguilera Molina Normal Penance Dispensed for Friday in the Octave of Easter, April 14, 2022 On Fridays we are normally obliged to abstain from meat or to perform some other penitential act. However, because the entire Octave of Easter, April 9-16, is considered a solemnity, this is a time of celebrating the resurrection so the Friday penance is not required on April 14, 2023. Did Jesus Have to Die on the Cross: Palm Sunday Homily Couldn’t God have taken care of our sin issue in some other way? He is God right? Why did Jesus die on the cross? Why not provide atonement in some other way? Listen to this and my other homilies at StJamesCC.org/Homilies or by searching “Fr. Mayer’s Preaching & Teaching” wherever you get your podcasts April 14 to May 5 Adventures in Marriage Workshop Join this free workshop to discover better ways to communicate, resolve conflict and avoid dirty fighting. Fun and practical, this class is appropriate for couples at any age or state of marriage. The workshops will be at Resurrection Catholic Church, 3383 University Blvd., N., Jacksonville. For more information, contact Raquel Tripp by emailing raquel@missionairesofmarriage.org. Or click here for a flyer. Healing the Pain of Abortion A Rachel’s Vineyard weekend retreat is a beautiful opportunity for any man or woman who is struggling with the emotional and spiritual pain of an abortion in their life. Come and receive peace, forgiveness of self and others and the compassion of God. These retreats are private, strictly confidential and for people of all faiths. Our next retreat is on April 14-16, 2023. Call 904-221-3232 or email rachelsvineyardjax@yahoo.com. All calls & inquiries are very confidential. Come and be restored! |
| Other Upcoming DatesCatholic Prayer Class: Mon, 7-9 PM, 4/10, 4/24 (Assumption Conference Rm.)Evening Prayer and Potluck: Sunday, May 7, 4-6 PM Host Home Needed.Ascension Mass: Thursday, May 18, 5:30 PM Holy Day of ObligationWelcome & Orientation Dinner: Sunday, May 21, 4-7. History and Vision of St. JamesPentecost Potluck: Sunday, May 28, 12:00 PM. Don’t forget to wear red! Check out All Upcoming Events at the Website |
| Faithfully, your pastor,Father Mayer |
| Parochial AdministratorSt. James Catholic ChurchA Community of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peterwww.StJamesCC.org904-999-1423office@StJamesCC.orgWorship Location: 12447 Mandarin Rd, Jacksonville, FL |
Easter 4/6/2023
