| Dear St. James Family, |
| We are about to enter into one of the greatest times of the Church Year: Lent, a time of repentance and renewal and turning back to the Lord. If you have been away from the Church, Ash Wednesday (March 5) is a great time to start anew. During forty days of Lent, I would encourage you to the followingPrayer: a renewed life of prayer, even if it is just a few minutes a dayMass: The practice of publicly putting God first in your week is huge!Generosity: Giving to the poor either through the Church or another charitable organizationFasting: social media, news, and junk food are all great places to start among many optionsBegin anew each day of Lent as you work to get these important spiritual practices in a foundational place in your life. |
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| Upcoming Events FUN, FLAPJACKS & FORGIVENESSSHROVE TUESDAY FESTIVITIES, MARCH 4 5:30PM – 7 PMPrepare for a Holy Lent with evening prayer, deliciously topped pancakes, fun and confessions. Haven’t been to confession in a while? Come and be shriven of your sins or if you don’t need confession, simply come and enjoy the good and welcoming people of the St. James Community. History of the Shrove Tuesday Pancake Tradition: Shrove is an old English word that means to be forgiven. Pancakes were often cooked on the day prior to Lent because people were removing tempting foods, especially sugar, fat, and meat from their homes in preparation to give them up for Lent. Throw in some floor with the sugar and oil and you have pancakes to go with the sausage and bacon you are giving up. Traditionally, these foods were enjoyed together with your parish which is how the Shrove Tuesday festivities began. Bring: St. James will be supplying the pancakes. If you would, please sign up to bring sausage, bacon, a beverage, a dessert, or pancake topping. If you would prefer not to bring a side, please consider dropping $5-10 into the donation jar to cover your meal. AGENDA FOR THE EVENINGEvening Prayer 5:30 PM – 5:50 PMFood and Games 5:50 PM – 7:30 PM bring a favorite board or card game so that the community can enjoy it with you.Confession: 6:10 PM – 7:30 PM available for those who need it (no obligation for those that don’t). Sign up and when it is your turn, Brian will come and get you. Fr. Jim has agreed to hear confessions.Cleanup: 7:30 PM – 7:50 PM Thank you to the saintly souls that are still around at the end of the evening who help wipe and put away tables and chairs. REMEMBER YOUR ASH WEDNESDAY PENANCENO MEAT AND ONLY ONE MEAL ON MARCH 5, 2025 Ash Wednesday is an obligatory day of fasting and abstinence for Catholics. Fasting: This means that as a member of the Latin Church you are obligated to eat no more than one full meal and two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal. This requirement does not apply if you have medical needs or you are younger than 18 or older than 59. Abstinence: Ash Wednesday is also a day of abstinence from meat, which is binding upon members of the Latin Catholic Church from age 14 onwards. OPPORTUNITIES TO RECEIVE ASHESMASS 6:00 PM | SHORT SERVICE WITH ASHES 7:30 PM Mass: I will be celebrating Mass for Ash Wednesday at 6:00 PM. This is a beautiful and somber liturgy that is designed to help you remember your mortality and to turn away from those things that stop you from communing with God. The Ash Wednesday Mass normally lasts until about 7:15 PM. Short Service: If you would like to begin your Lent with a shorter liturgy, I would encourage you to attend the Penitential Office for the Blessing and Imposition of Ashes which takes begins at 7:30 PM and will be finished by 7:50 PM. This liturgy consists of the blessing of Ashes followed by a few prayers after which you will come forward to receive Ashes on your forehead. There is no homily at this liturgy. Anyone Can Receive Ashes If you have friends who would like to receive ashes, who are not Catholic, please bring them. Anyone is welcome to receive ashes. There are no prerequisite requirements. DECIPHERING THE CATHOLIC CHURCH SERVICEA WORKSHOP FOR THE CLUELESS, MARCH 10, 2025, 8:00PM Curious, but Hesitant? Feel awkward about attending a Catholic Mass? Not sure what to do? What’s up with all of the symbols, movements, and traditions? Is all of this a bunch of man made rituals or is there something deeper taking place that goes back to the beginning of Christianity? If any of these questions describe you, you are going to love this interactive workshop where you will learn through the lens of historic Christianity all about Catholic use of these life giving ceremonies. By the end of this workshop, you will know exactly what takes place at a Catholic service and why and you will know what to do and what not to do at a Catholic service. Please RSVP by Monday, March 3, to office@stjamescc.org or904-999-1423 to reserve your spot and ensure enough refreshments and materials are available. Bonus Presentation by Fr. Mayer for those who arrive at 7:00 PM: “What is Prayer? How to Pray”. OTHER UPCOMING DATESWake an Hour Early: March 9, time change Sunday. Don’t forget to “spring ahead” or you’ll be late for Mass! Great Litany & Procession: March 9 | 10:15 Mass beginning with an outdoor procession to mark the first Sunday of LentMothering Sunday: March 30 | Join us after Mass for a Mothering Bun made by one of our parish families!Soup and Stations of the Cross: Friday, April 4, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PMEaster Day: April 20. Mass at Hardage Giddens Chapel Check out More Upcoming or Past Events at the Website News and Announcements DEALING WITH SICKNESS OR OLD AGE?OPPORTUNITY TO RECEIVE SPECIAL GRACES If you have an illness that could possibly lead to death or have become notably weakened due to old age, you are eligible to receive the Sacrament of Anointing and receive all of the graces that come with it: faith renewed, strength against temptations, peace, courage, healing of the soul, and possibly the body if it is God’s will. February 11 is World Day of the Sick and the month of February is the month of the sick and a great reminder of this beautiful sacrament. If you or a family member would like to receive this Sacrament please let me know. Learn more: StJamesCC.org/Anointing LETTER FROM HOLY FAMILY HOSPITALTHANK YOU TO ST. JAMES, WHICH GAVE $2,017.59 Thank you for your generosity in giving to Holy Family Hospital in Bethlehem, helping keep the doors open to all families regardless of religion, ethnicity, or ability to pay. Because of the huge success of the Advent charitable giving project that we and other communities of the Ordinariate, our diocese has been featureded in their spring newsletter. Learn more about Holy Family Hospital by watching this video. BISHOP’S APPEAL: THRIVING EVANGELIZATIONGIVING TOWARD THE BIGGER PICTURE Checkout a few of the things that took place within our diocese over the past year.Eleven Ordinariate seminarians are preparing for ordination to the priesthood at St. Mary’s Seminary, St. Joseph’s Seminary, and the Pontifical College Josephinum.Two new priests were ordained June 28, 2024, assigned to serve the faithful of Our Lady of the Atonement, San Antonio, TX and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Knoxville, TN.Sr. Maria Placida professed final monastic vows in the Abbey of Saint Walburga, Virginia Dale, CO.Six permanent deacons were ordained and nine men began formation in the 2024 diaconal cohort.Saints Peter and Paul community in Austin, TX, was recognized as our newest community in formation.Four of our communities are currently engaged in capital campaigns to buy or develop land for their permanent parish home.Cathedral High School, Houston, TX received accreditation! Bishop Lopes has asked us as the community of St. James to give $3,500 toward the $525,000 budget needed for the great things taking place within our diocese. Help Bishop Lopes and your Ordinariate family proclaim Christ to the world. Visit ordinariate.net/bishops-appeal or pick up and return a pledge card this Sunday at the mission. I personally give every year to the Bishop’s appeal and I would ask you to consider prayerfully supporting this mission with a monetary gift to the 2025 Bishop’s Appeal. Your gift, no matter how large or small, contributes to these works and makes more possible. The Bishop’s Appeal provides direct support to the Ordinariate, cultivating vocations to the priesthood and religious life, providing crucial administrative support to our nearly 40 parishes and parochial communities, and helping new communities to form. Thank you for your generosity. BUILDOUT PROGRESS UPDATEPOSSIBLE MAY MOVE-IN OR MAYBE AUGUSTThe plans have been submitted back to the city for approval. While we wait, there are some things that the city is allowing us to do: plumbing, some of the electrical, and getting the floors ready. Best case scenario is that we are looking at a May move-in date, though it could be July or August depending on what happens. Plans Submitted: Last week contractors finished commenting on everything that the city required and the engineers signed and stamped the plans. This past Monday, the plans were submitted back to the city by the general contractor for review and approval. I expect them to be back from the city around this same time next month. Hot Water: We have contracted with Baldwins Quality Plumbing to have hot water installed in all of the bathrooms and the breakroom. The building does not currently have hot water in any of these rooms, but the plumbers have started on the project this week. Increased Electricity: The current 400 amp service that is in the building is not enough for both us and the other smaller tenant that is currently in the building and so we have contracted with B&B Electric and Technology to install another 200 amp service for the smaller tenant so that we can take over the 400 amp service. I saw their guys out there working when I stopped by the building on Tuesday. Chairs have Arrived: Thanks to Dan, David, Rick, Don, and Robin for receiving and moving our custom built chairs and kneelers into the building. The chair manufacture delivered them earlier than we needed them since they no longer had room to store them for us anymore. Preparing the Floor: We are currently in the process of getting the concrete floor ready for our commercial grade vinyl planks. The floor currently has what seems to be nuclear blast strength glue left behind from carpeting that was removed (thank you to Doug and Michelle, Dave, John, and Jeremy, for helping to remove the carpet). We are working on figuring out how to remove this glue so that we have a good smooth surface for our flooring to be installed. We will either be grinding it off or using chemicals or hiring someone who can do this for us if we can’t. Updated Timeline: Best case scenario the city will approve the plans and get them back to us by this time next month and the work can then be completed in April and we can be in the building in May. The alternate scenario is that the city kicks back the plans again and wants us to remedy the plans. If this happens the plans will have to go back to the engineers who will surely take at least a month to adjust the plans, if not longer. This would mean July or maybe August would be a more likely move in date. JANUARY FINANCE REPORTGENEROSITY CONTINUES IN SUPPORT OF ST. JAMES General Fund: January Giving $5,713.03Capital Fund: January Giving $7,125.93January Expenses: $6,189.21| Covers quarter of priest’s support, half of pension, travel, liturgical supplies, music, building rent and liability insurance, advertising, bishop’s tax, almsgiving, hospitalityBuilding Faith | Finance Update for New Location: $2,423.10 yet to raise (subject to change due unexpected costs). GIVING STOCK TO YOUR PARISHTHREE BENEFITS1. Receive a tax deduction for the total amount of your gift.2. Help your parish without affecting your cashflow3. Avoid capital gains taxes. WELCOMING THOSE WHO THINK DIFFERENTLYHOW TO RESPOND TO A MELTDOWN OR SHUTDOWN FROM OUR AUTISTIC OR ADHD FAMILY MEMBERS Imagine if everywhere you went it felt like a rock concert – too loud, too noisy, too many people. This is what sensory overload can feel like, and that can lead to meltdowns and shutdowns. These are common among neurodiverse, especially autistic and ADHD, people. While these may look like temper tantrums, they are in fact involuntary responses to being overstimulated. If you see a meltdown, be compassionate. If you know the person well enough, you can try to help them get to a calmer area such as our low sensory room. If you don’t know them, then just be supportive. Either way, say a prayer – we all need it. At St. James we are working to specialize in creating a place of welcome for our neurodivergent brothers and sisters (ADHD, autism, downs, etc). For more information please send me a note and I will put you in contact with Susan Miller who is graciously leading the charge in this area. Grow and Be Challenged in your Faith: Listen to a Homily If you have been away from St. James for a while or have yet to join us, get a little taste of the experience and receive some spiritual nourishment by listening to one of the homilies given during Mass. You can listen here or by searching for “Fr. Mayer’s Preaching & Teaching” wherever you get your podcasts. Don’t Like the Pope? Here is What to Do – Delivered on Feb 23, 2025 How to Transform Ordinary Work into the Divine – Delivered on February 9, 2025 Around The Wider Church FUTURE BUILDING FOR ST. JAMESGET A PEAK AT OUR LONG TERM VISION COME TO LIFE Recently, Saint Aelred, another mission of our diocese, announced plans for their future church and I am sharing this with you so that you can get an idea of the future of St. James. They have been leasing an 8,000+ square foot building which is allowing their community to blossom. They have purchased land and they are in the process of developing a site plan for the land with some great pictures of their future church. I am sharing this with you, so that you can get an idea of the future direction for St. James and the English Gothic architectural style that is common among the parishes of our diocese. Click here and scroll down toward the bottom to see the pictures of their future church. A DAY FOR MENGROW IN YOUR FAITH, MARCH 8, 2025 All men are invited to Assumption Catholic Church for the annual Day for Men with the theme “Jesus, I Trust in You.” The day begins at 8 a.m. Mass, followed by the rosary, inspiring talks on the Divine Mercy Chaplet and trusting in Jesus, and concludes with a barbecue lunch provided by Butler BBQ. Wendy Nelms, Charlie Nuzum and Father Mac Hill will be featured speakers. There is no registration fee, but lunch donations are appreciated. Register by visiting here. Don’t miss this day of prayer, reflection and fellowship! Click here for a social media graphic. |
| Faithfully, your pastor, Father Mayer |
February/March 2025 | Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday
