Message from Fr. David March 20, 2022

NEWS & UPDATES
On behalf of the entire St. James parish community, it is a pleasure to welcome Bishop Elias to St. James Church. We are honored by his presence. As an Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Newark and the Episcopal Vicar of Union County, his presence among us reminds us that our parish is a member in the ecclesial Body of Christ that is the Archdiocese of Newark. We are grateful for his visit, and we hope that his time with us will serve to strengthen the bonds of service and unity.

Parish Centennial Committee
Our Centennial Committee co-chairs – Joan Bratsch, Maggie Keffer, and Rita Lombardi – have already met multiple times with the St. James Centennial Committee. The Centennial Committee has started planning for our Parish Centennial Anniversary to celebrate 100 years of dedication to faith and our local community. Here are a few highlights for what’s to come:

• The centennial celebration will be a year-long celebration in 2023 centered around our 3 themes of: Remember our Past, Celebrate our Faith, and Lead the way into the Future
• With the highlight being a Centennial Mass with Cardinal Tobin as the main celebrant and homilist
• The team is also planning a Parish Picnic with lots of food, games, and activities that the entire family can enjoy.
• The committee will also be planning various events throughout the year to highlight and celebrate our parish history, strong connection to the local community, and ways to remember and celebrate our parish family and faith.
• Look for periodic updates from the Centennial Committee throughout this year and ways you can get involved in planning for this exciting and significant milestone for our parish

REFLECTION ON THE READINGS
Those ubiquitous Post-It notes we use—to mark a page, write a quick note, or place on a co-worker’s desk—were a mistake! The 3M Company was trying to come up with a new kind of glue mixture and instead, they created a glue that didn’t really stick. How absurd! Such a blunder! . . . What a scathingly brilliant idea! You can almost hear the creators saying, “Just give us one more chance. We know this isn’t quite right. But maybe we can make it work.”

Friends, so, too, Jesus, as our advocate, says to God, just give this poor soul one more chance. Yes, there have been mistakes, but some good may come out of him or her yet.

Today’s gospel is about second chances. And we all need them—at our jobs, in our families, with our friends, within our communities. Who among us is without sin? Not one of us. So what distinguishes one sinner from another? Jesus tells us it’s the level of repentance.

Ask for the second, third, fourth chance you need to be productive and fruitful. Let people know you are trying. Seek help. Don’t succumb to despair. See your mistakes as golden opportunities to become that much better.

Quote of the Week