St. James Catholic Church

ST JAMES FALL FIESTA

Please join us for our St. James Fall Fiesta on Saturday, November 4^th from 4:00 pm – 10:00 pm.  We’ll have Mass at 4:00 pm followed by the Fiesta.  We’ll have bingo, food, games, and more.  Anyone who would like to donate food items such as:  brisket, 10-pound tube sliced hamburger meat, sliced cheese, nacho chips, nacho cheese, drinks, popcorn, whole pickles, individual chips, sliced jalapenos, onions and paper towels by October 20^th, there is a sign-up sheet in the back of the church. For any other items for the Fiesta please bring donations and items to the Parish Office (361) 358-4825.  For additional information please see the bulletin or contact Martha Cuellar at (361) 318-4974.
 

Altar Server Recognition Ceremony

We would like to congratulate our Altar Servers who were honored at a recognition ceremony at the Corpus Christi Cathedral Sunday, September 24:  Araceli Elizabeth Hernandez, Theresa Debra Salazar, Andres Emanuel Hernandez, Mia Flores, and Patricio Flores III.  Congratulations.

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!

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.

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

The Bishop’s Stewardship Appeal (BSA) is one important way for us to share Christ’s love in our community and inspire others to do the same. Your gifts make it possible to come together as a community of faith, to live and share our faith.

Together, we are making a difference in our neighbors’ lives.

Bring the love of Jesus into our parishes and schools, our homes and neighborhoods, as together we live his gospel message.

With your gift, you are making a difference in our neighbors’ lives:

• Supporting youth and young people though parish programs at Catholic Schools
• Supporting those in need at Catholic Charities and Mother Teresa Shelter
• Supporting faith formation at all levels, from toddlers to adults
• Supporting families through marriage preparation and family life initiatives
• Supporting clergy through continued formation and support for retired priests
• Supporting parishes through rebuilding efforts and construction and planning support

Your generosity directly supports these ministries of faith and so many more. You can make a gift online today at www.diocesecc.org/bsa. Thank you for your commitment to the Diocese of Corpus Christi.

Video Link:
https://vimeo.com/786098713/f9de31068b

https://diocesecc.org

COVID-19 PROTOCOL

The obligation to attend Sunday Mass is restored for the faithful in the Diocese of Corpus Christi.
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.

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

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

OT XXVI [A] (October 1)
Ex 18:25-28; Phil 2:1-11; Mt 21:28-32

What will decide our eternal reward or punishment? Our final decision for or against God — our choosing to obey Him gracefully by doing His will or our choosing to go against His will! Gifted with free will, we are the ones who choose our eternal destiny.

Scripture: In the first reading, Ezekiel, corrects two incorrect Jewish beliefs i) Children inherit the guilt of their ancestors and are punished for their sins. ii) God is more strict than merciful. Jesus explains through the gospel parable that God will punish us only for our sins and that God’s mercy overrules strict justice.  Today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 25) appeals to God’s compassion and mercy, begging Him to wipe away our sins and to extend mercy to us. The second reading: Our final choice for God, made by perfect obedience to Him, will be rewarded. Example: It is because of Christ’s perfect obedience to God’s will in “emptying himself, taking human form” and humbling himself by accepting “even death, death on a cross,” that God the Father “exalted Christ, bestowed on him the Name above every other name,”and made Jesus the recipient of universal adoration.

In today’s Gospel parable, a man with two sons tells both to go out to work in the vineyard. The first son says he will not go, but later he regrets his refusal and goes to work. He represents tax collectors and public sinners who refused to obey God’s commandments, but, after listening to John the Baptist and Jesus, repented and became eligible for eternal reward. The second son says that he will go but does not. He represents the chief priests and the elders, the Scribes, and the Pharisees. By their pride, and their refusal to obey God’s call to repentance through John the Baptist and Jesus, these so-called “religious” people excluded themselves from eternal reward. The lesson taught: The necessity for offering a continual “yes” to the saving act of God. Even when we say no, God gives us many chances of conversion, repentance, and doing His will.

Who are these two sons at present? The first son: 1) A repentant alcoholic, drug addict, chronic gambler sexual-deviant. 2) Members of a poor village parish who reach out to the needy in the community. 3) A Pastor who calls parishioners to true repentance. 4) A Church member who decides to tithe or a young person who decides to remain abstinent until marriage. All these choose to obey Christ sacrificially. The second son 1) A regular church goer who refuses Christ, entry into his or her heart and life and lives a pagan life on weekdays. 2) A Christian who refuses to obey Christ in the sensitive areas of sex, money, and power. 3) A priest whose sermon is designed to please people rather than to please God. 4) A Church that ignores issues of justice and mercy. 5) A Sunday School that neglects to teach children the great Biblical stories — in short, all people who appear to be faithful but, deep down in their hearts, are not.

Life messages: (1) We need to do God’s will every day: Each one of us is responsible to God for every action, and the just God will punish or reward one according to one’s actions. Since we are not sure about the moment of our death, our only guarantee of dying in God’s friendship is to live in that friendship always, saying “Yes,” to God by doing His will cheerfully and daily.

2) It is never too late for us to repent, be converted, and allow the Holy Spirit to renew our life: If we have been disobedient to God in our past life, we need to knock at the door of God’s mercy. God can, and will, do for us what, in his mercy, He, did for the repentant tax-collectors and harlots in the parable. Hence, every morning we must pray for the strengthening power of the Holy Spirit to do God’s will and every night we need to repent of our sins and ask God’s pardon and forgiveness. May the huge number of Covid deaths serve us aa a strong warning that we may not get a chance to be anointed before our death. If we are in serious sin we needto get reconciled with God, the Church and our brothers and sisters through the Sacrament of Reconciliation as soon as possible. Let us remember that it is never too late for us to turn back to God, ready to do His will.

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