This weekend of the Solemnity of Pentecost is the celebration of the birth of the Roman Catholic Church as we recall when the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, comes as flames and wind upon the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Blessed Apostles in the Upper Room.  This action of the Holy Spirit encouraged and inspired the Apostles to continue the ministry work of Jesus Christ. 

Pentecost officially closes the Easter Season, but this is not the end!  Now is the work of continuing to proclaim that Jesus has risen and is alive, as well as allowing the Holy Spirit to work within and through our lives. ​Are you ready for this to happen to bless and enhance your spiritual lives? 

​I will make this plea again to our parish community:  What are you prepared to do to improve your spiritual lives and help our parish community; to foster stewardship to improve the life of St. James Church; and evangelize to proclaim the love, mercy and Truth of Jesus Christ to the poor souls in dire need in our community? 

May the Holy Spirit renew and heal us all and be allowed to work within us and through us!

Easter Sunday has come and gone, but we are still int he season of Easter! Alleluia!

The second Sunday of Easter is Divine Mercy weekend. Do you know what Divine Mercy means? How do you define it? What example of Divine Mercy could you offer? Remember that the name of mercy is God. Mercy meets misery.

As we pray every weekend during the Mass, we pray to seek God's mercy, receive God's mercy, and share God's mercy.

Every time we come to church, there are visible signs of Divine Mercy. The image of Jesus Christ on the cross; seeing the confessional, where one is washed in mercy and reconciliation; the baptismal font where, in mercy, one is freed from the stain of original sin; and the Altar, where we receive merciful nourishment through Holy Communion, the Body and Blood, soul and divinity and the true presence of our savior Jesus Christ!

Have you truly sought Divine Mercy? Have you truly embraced Divine Mercy? Have you, in receiving the fullness of the grace of Divine Mercy, shared it with the poor souls you know and recognize in your presence?

May our daily prayer in love and courage be, "Jesus, I trust in you!"

Le us be a person of Easter and joyfully proclaim, "Christ is alive! Christ is risen!" Amen! Alleluia!!

The Easter season is truly a glorious time in the life of the Roman Catholic Church!

Hopefully we have emerged from the journey of Lent and the Sacred Triduum renewed in our faith and reformed within our hearts.

Our fifty-day journey of the Easter season is the celebration of Jesus Christ's resurrection and Our Lord's victory over sin and death. The Easter season reveals our Risen Lord's appearances to His disciples and close friends which offer hope to them and to us all.

Within the Catholic Church's celebration of the Easter season, we see visible signs of new life. These signs are more than seeing the beautiful decorations and Easter flowers, but seeing a new "spiritual life" emerging in the lives of people.

Several examples are the new members entering the Catholic faith who have journeyed through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), those youth who will make their First Holy Communion, those who will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, and even those men who will receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders.

It is important for each one of us to be aware of the opportunities offered to us during the Easter season to renew and enrich our faith. May this Easter season be a blessed time for us all.

Let us joyfully and courageously live and proclaim, "Jesus is risen and Jesus is alive!"

Amen! Alleluia!