Pastor’s Message

This is a unique time in the life of the parish and our centennial provides us the perfect time to creatively, courageously, and collectively think about our present needs as well as our future needs.

Friends, make decisions that have a lasting benefit, the kind that impact on eternal values. Be rich “in what matters to God”—and you can bet, what matters to God has nothing to do with the stuff in your closet, portfolio, or curriculum vitae.

The Saint James community is grateful for the work of Fr. Stagg and the many dedicated parishioners who helped bring that vision to fruition, many of whom have gathered with us this weekend to worship and celebrate.

The Christ who lives in you not only gives you the direction for your life but also gives you the capacity to say “yes” to follow what is best for you – THAT’s FREEDOM!

Friends, I often remark that I don’t know how people make it through life without faith, to which people almost every time respond in agreement. Yet, why do so many choose to stay away?

Have you ever had the experience of getting either to work or getting home and not remembering the drive? I’m sure that this has happened to you. You stroll over to your car, start the engine, and then you realize you’ve made it to your destination without any memory of the commute.

Friends, God has work to do in our world generally and in us particularly. If we foreclose on those possibilities by presuming the worst about ourselves and our humanity, how much precious saving grace is lost to us.

Fr. John, out of your forty-one years of priesthood, twenty-plus of those years have been shared with us. While ministering as a Priest of Jesus Christ among us, you have done countless “good things” for others.

In our second reading this Sunday, St. John’s vision in the Book of Revelation is a game-changer when he imagines the New Jerusalem devoid of a Temple. John, however, doesn’t simply dispense with the Temple. He conceives that the city itself has become the dwelling place of God.