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 - Friday
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM

Open Hours:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
10:00 AM - Noon
&
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Closed Friday
Saturday
10:00 AM - Noon
Saturday & Sunday
Open after Mass at St. James

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!

We will have a Graduation Mass on Sunday, May 29^th, 2022,  during the 10:00 am Mass; anyone wanting to participate just needs to contact the office so we’ll know how many pews to reserve.  The Mass is available to Kinder, SMACS, College, and High School graduates.

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.

Easter V [C] (May 15):
Acts 14:21-27; Rv 21:1-5a; Jn 13:31-33a, 34-35

Today’s readings are about renewal and new things: The New Jerusalem, a new Heaven and a new earth, and a new commandment.

Scripture: The first reading, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, describes how the small Christian communities helped the work of renewal in their members by their agápe love, imitating the agápe love of Paul and Barnabas. The second reading, from the Book of Revelation, explains how God renews His Church, the New Jerusalem, by being present in her members, in their parish communities, and in their liturgical celebrations. “See, I am making all things new.” Today’s Gospel passage gives us the secret of Christian renewal as the faithful practice of Jesus’ new commandment: “Love one another as I have loved you” (Jn 13:35). Jesus has added a new element to the Old Testament command of love by teaching us that the true test of discipleship is to love other people in the same way that he has loved us, with sacrificial, selfless, self-giving, unconditional, agápe love. Hence, the renewal of Christian life means a radical change of vision and a reordering of our priorities in life. Such a renewal brings us to embrace new attitudes, new values, and new standards of relating to God, to other people and, indeed, to our whole environment.

Life messages: 1) Let us learn to love ourselves so that we may learn to love each other. The old commandment (Lv 19:1-2, 9-18) says: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” We cannot learn to cherish others and care for them if we have never learned to do the same for ourselves. We live in a world that denies our basic human worth. How do we reclaim our basic worth? We can become whole and holy only when we learn to love ourselves properly, acknowledging the fact that we are children of God and that the Triune God resides in our souls, making our bodies the “temple of the Holy Spirit.”

2) Let us love others in our daily lives: We are asked to love as Jesus loved, in the ordinary course of our lives. We love others by responding to their everyday needs with love and compassion. We love others by comforting and protecting those who have experienced loss. We love others by serving others in every possible way, no matter how small, seeing the face of Jesus in them. We love others by forgiving rather than condemning, by challenging rather than condoning. Finally, we love others by sacrificially sharing our time, talents, and blessings with them.

3) Let us demonstrate our love for others in our gatherings and parish assemblies: When we are assembled as a religious or social community, we have an opportunity to demonstrate our love for one another. People must see Christians as people who interact with a love and concern for one another that reveals their strong love and appreciation for each other. They should see in us a quickness to appreciate and readiness to forgive, even as Christ has forgiven us.

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 abundantly