St. James Catholic Church

The Catholic community of St. James Church is made up of loving and sensitive members seeking to meet their spiritual needs, strengthen their faith, and affirm their continued existence as the church of Jesus Christ today and tomorrow.  In their quest to evangelize, it is their mission to assist everyone toward a more abundant experience of the riches of their liturgy and scaraments, and to convince all of Christ's sheep that the Lord's Day is indeed for all.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Closed Friday

Thursday at 12:00 Noon, please bring your announcements and notices to the office in legible and written form for insertion into the bulletin. Thank you!

https://diocesecc.org

COVID-19 PROTOCOL

Public Masses continue at 100% capacity; and all are urged to exercise best practices: wearing a face mask, washing and sanitizing your hands thoroughly and often, and practicing social distancing.

The obligation to attend Sunday Mass is restored for the faithful in the Diocese of Corpus Christi.  Those who continue to be dispensed are those who are symptomatic or who have been in close contact (within 6 ft. of someone for a cumulative total of 15 minutes over a 24-hour period) to another with the virus within 7 days are to remain home unless you have been fully vaccinated. In such a case, follow quarantine protocol according to the CDC. All attendees are asked to check their temperature at home before coming to church.  Those who are at risk because of an underlying health issue should remain home.

Amended Directives for:
Returning to Mass

Online Mass Resources:
https://diocesecc.org/faith-resources/

CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention)
coronavirus (covid-19) information

St. James parish welcomes all newcomers.  Please contact the parish office to register.

Cyber scammers are impersonating Priests, CFOs and people in ministry leadership roles. They are asking for money, gift cards and personal information.  DO NOT reply and immediately delete any email or text.  This is NOT a request from our parish priest, deacons, administrative personnel or any of its ministry leaders.

The Spirit of Service and Sacrifice

Today the church invites us to reflect on our personal response, to Christ’s mission. It is a call to revitalize our faith and rededicate ourselves to Christ.

Today’s gospel is an account of the petition of James and John, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you. Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.” This was a very ambitious request. However, Christ simply responded, by reminding them of the implication of their request: “Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink? Of course, they responded, “We can.”

So, through his dialogue with his disciples, Jesus opens our eyes to the realities ahead of us. By asking them: “Can you drink the cup that I must drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I must be baptized,” Jesus reminds us of the challenges ahead of us.

Mission is service and sacrifice rendered in love for the salvation of all nations. This love comes with patience and docility to the will of God. It begins by transforming us into a great instrument for the salvation of others. So, today Christ teaches us that to be great is to be ready to serve and to make sacrifice for others.

Hence, Isaiah reminds us that: “By his sufferings, my servant shall justify many, taking their faults on himself.” So, through service and sacrifice, we shall attain our own salvation. By liberating others, we shall liberate ourselves. By giving peace to others, we shall find our own peace, and by identifying with others, Christ identifies with us.

Today, the voice of salvation continues to call us to be more faithful to God’s mission. It reminds us of the great challenges before us today. This includes our changing cultures, societies and lifestyle that must be urgently evangelized and redeemed.

The good news is that we can overcome these challenges through the spirit of sacrifice and love. So, in the midst of all these challenges, we must find consolation in these words from the letter to the Hebrews: “Let us be confident, then in approaching the throne of grace, that we shall find mercy and grace when we are in need of help” (Hebrew 4:16).

This grace is sufficient for us to accomplish God’s mission. Therefore, with the psalmist, let us pray: “Lord, let your love be upon us, as we place our trust in you.”

"Do you know who I am?": When Nelson Mandela was a student lawyer in Johannesburg he had a friend whose name was Paul Mahabane. Mahabane was a member of the African National Congress (ANC), and had the reputation of being a radical. One day the two of them were standing outside a post office when the local magistrate, a white man in his sixties, approached Mahabane and asked him to go buy him some stamps. It was quite common in those days for a white person to call on a black person to perform a chore. Paul refused. The magistrate was offended. "Do you know who I am?" he said, his face turning red with anger. "It is not necessary to know who you are," Mahabane replied. "I know what you are." The magistrate boiled over and exclaimed, "You'll pay dearly for this," and then walked away. That white man was convinced that he was superior to Mahabane simply because he was a magistrate. And it had become second nature to him to expect others, especially if they were black, to serve him, ignoring the fact that both were God’s children. (Flor McCarthy in New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies; quoted by Fr. Botelho).

A Coronavirus Prayer

Jesus Christ, you traveled through towns and villages “curing every disease and illness.” At your command, the sick were made well. Come to our aid now, in the midst of the global spread of the coronavirus, that we may experience your healing love.

Heal those who are sick with the virus. May they regain their strength and health through quality medical care.

Heal us from our fear, which prevents nations from working together and neighbors from helping one another.

Heal us from our pride, which can make us claim invulnerability to a disease that knows no borders.

Jesus Christ, healer of all, stay by our side in this time of uncertainty and sorrow.

Be with those who have died from the virus. May they be at rest with you in your eternal peace.

Be with the families of those who are sick or have died. As they worry and grieve, defend them from illness and despair. May they know your peace.

A prayer for first responders during the coronavirus pandemic

Loving God, in the midst of our world’s—your world’s—coronavirus crisis, we beg to bring before you the brave women and men who are closest to the sick and suffering. In earlier times, such bravery appeared in direct service by saints—the young Jesuit Aloysius Gonzaga contracting the plague from the poor of Rome and dying with them at 23, the Belgian missionary Damian of Molokai becoming a leper to live and die with lepers over 16 long years of being theirs for Christ. Today the tools of science—medicine and surgery and, yes, ventilators—have changed the scene but not its anguished human face.

Be with the doctors, nurses, researchers and all medical professionals who seek to heal and help those affected and who put themselves at risk in the process. May they know your protection and peace.

Be with the leaders of all nations. Give them the foresight to act with charity and true concern for the well-being of the people they are meant to serve. Give them the wisdom to invest in long-term solutions that will help prepare for or prevent future outbreaks. May they know your peace, as they work together to achieve it on earth.

Whether we are home or abroad, surrounded by many people suffering from this illness or only a few, Jesus Christ, stay with us as we endure and mourn, persist and prepare. In place of our anxiety, give us your peace. We ask these through Christ our Lord. Amen

1)      Diocese of Corpus Christi:  https://diocesecc.org

2)      Vatican website: http://w2.vatican.va/content/vatican/en.html

3)      Monks of the desert video: https://youtu.be/U5YY684ZXDE

4)      Catholic League: http://www.catholicleague.org/ 

5)      Community in mission blog: http://blog.adw.org/author/cpope/

6)      Church teachings index: http://www.ourladyswarriors.org/teach/index.html

7)      Catholic liturgy library: http://www.catholicliturgy.com/

8)      Church cartoons: http://www.toonfever.com/

For supporting this ministry please make checks payable to:

St. James Catholic Church
605 S. Alta Vista
Beeville, TX  78102

Thank you for your generosity
May God Bless you and your Family abundently