Historic St. James at Sag Bridge Church 10600 S
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Historic St. James at Sag Bridge Church 10600 S. Archer Avenue | Lemont, Illinois 60439-9344 | (Ph) 630.257.7000 | (Fx) 630.257.7912 Email: [email protected] | Website: www.historicstjames.org Facebook: https://Facebook.com/Saint James At Sag Bridge Mass Schedule WEEKENDS: Saturdays: 5:00pm & Sundays: 8:30, 10:00 & 11:30am HOLY DAYS: 7:00am & 7:00pm WEEKDAYS: Mon, Tue, Thu 8:15am & Fri 6:00pm WEDNESDAY: Adoration at 5:00pm & Mass 7:00pm CONFESSION SCHEDULE: Wednesdays 6:15-7:00pm & Saturdays 9:30-10:00am otherwise by appointment. BAPTISMS, WEDDINGS & FUNERALS: Contact the rectory office. Fourteenth Ordinary Sunday SICK & HOMEBOUND PASTORAL CARE: July 7, 2019 Please notify rectory. RECTORY OFFICE HOURS: Wed, Thu & Fri: 9:00am to 2:00pm. CLERGY: Fr. Tom Koys, M.A.,S.T.L., Pastor, Fr. Edward Gleeson, Pastor Emeritus Fr. Robert Coleman, Resident Deacon John Wilkinson, C.K.M. Deacon Doug Szarzynski Parish code for www.FORMED.org: KFWMDB Fr. Koys’ YouTube channel: Unlike Other Na- tions/ Fr. Koys’ radio program: Wednesdays, noon on 750AM, WNDZ. Altar & Rosary Society STRESS RELIEVER. Where is your rosary? At the bot- tom of your purse or tucked in the back of a drawer? Get it out. Like all Mothers, The Blessed Virgin would love to hear from you. Take a break and meditate with your ro- sary. It is a wonderful source of comfort and peace of mind. Pres: Barbara 708.257.9129 V.P. Linda 630.257.8252 Sec: Judi 630.243.9414 Treas: Chris 708.330.5216 Page Two July 7, 2019 FROM THE DESK OF, FR. THOMAS KOYS, M.A.,S.T.L., PASTOR Hopefully, you have noticed the icon of the Cross in the RMC articles. Here’s an explanation from Fr. Malave, who is the Cardinal’s liason to RMC. “There is one instance in particular that provides inspiration for us and is the reason the image of the San Damiano cross adorns many of our RMC mate- rials, and is chronicled in the life of St. Francis of Assisi; “He was walking one day by the church of San Damiano, which was abandoned by everyone and almost in ruins. Lead by the Spirit he went in to pray and knelt down devoutly before the crucifix. He was shaken by unusual experiences and dis- covered that he was different from when he entered. As soon as he had this feeling, there occurred something unheard of in previous ages; with the lips of the painting, the image of Christ crucified spoke to him. “Francis, go re- build my house, as you can see, it is all being destroyed.” (from Thomas of Celano’s book). “This is a central moment not only in the life of St. Francis but also in the life of the Church and the whole world. Beginning with his own heart and allowing the Lord to draw close, St. Francis was able to renew the church of his day. And now it is our turn. What we are experiencing today, is not the first time that the church has needed renewal, nor will it be the last. The Church as the Body of Christ, is alive and growing. At time, like the earthly body of Christ, it has parts that are covered in dirt, are bruised, and weighed down, but remains always the very source of life. This continual need for renewal gives us hope and it gives us energy because we know that it is Jesus Christ who is victorious. God works through men and women throughout the ages to renew His Church, and we will see it and bear witness to it today with those around us. This continual return to renewal, like the changing from winter to spring, from Lent to Easter, reminds us that we are experiencing a natural rhythm of the life of the Church. And with that, a moment of grace to join in the work of our Savior.” I couldn’t agree more with Fr. Malave with regards to the constant need of reform and renewal in the Church. St. Francis is of course one of our greatest saints. However, I think we make a mistake if we consider what we are going through at this time as a “natural rhythm of life”. Natural rhythms are not associated with human choices or acts of the will. The coming of winter is beyond our willing it into being. There is a very important lost lesson of the Protestant “reform/renewal”, that we need to consider now more than ever. One of Martin Luther’s major books was titled “The Bondage of the Will”. In his intense desire to free the church from cor- ruption, he concluded that us humans have no power to choose the good, we can’t be not corrupt. He wrote “We are all fallen, but also every part of us, our whole being, including our intellect and our will, is fallen. And so, our will is not free, it is bound to sin.” If we do not take a good look at the recent past of our church’s life, and if we do not consider mistakes that we as individuals or as the Catholic hierarchy in general have made, we will most assuredly be bound to increase the acceleration of our downward spiral. We will miss those areas of sin that need correction. For St. Francis, true renewal requires true repentance. That is why one of the most important elements of RMC, which is sorely missing, is the call to a serious examination of con- science by one and all, from every Catholic up to the Pope himself. The above thoughts are obviously theological/philosophical in nature. This constitutes an essential element of our efforts to renew God’s One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, yet, another key part of our situation is the emotional/subjective impact on parishioners and the practical matter of parish restructuring. To that end, I encourage you to share some thoughts on the “RMC Parishioner input questionnaire” which can be found in back of church. Since many have asked about the timeline of RMC, here it is… (cont’d on pg. 3) Fourteenth Ordinary Sunday Page Three Notice: there will be an important meeting just for St. James parishioners, Tuesday Aug 20, 7pm & Sept 6th, here in Sag Hall. Also, please come to Wednesday’s Wine and Wisdom discussions to share ideas and questions. ************ Our local “El Camino” To celebrate the Feast of St. James, why not put your walking shoes on and join us for a 3 mile hike, from St. Cyril & Methodius church to St. James, along the Centennial Trail. There will be a special Mass at St. Cyril’s at 9:30am. Hike will kick off about 10:15am. Many Reasons Not to DO Church It says ALL have sinned, not just some. (Or if you live down south, it says: “All y’all have sinned…”) By Deacon Bill Dunn The main problem with church is churchgoers. But that’s true for There are many important reasons why people who believe in every human institution, organization, and family group through- God ought to do church, that is, become a member of a local out the history of the world. As soon as you add human beings to Catholic community and attend Mass on a regular basis the mix, you are certain to have trouble. That’s what we humans do best: cause trouble. It’s because of our sinful nature. However, I fully understand there are many arguments against going to church. Here are just a few: So, you’re not going to hear me try to rebut those arguments about church. They’re all true. But I will comment on that final Church is boring. They say and do the same things over and complaint listed earlier about going to church, the one where over again. people often claim that they don’t get anything out of church. • They’re always asking for money. The fact is, we’re not supposed to get something out of church; we’re suppose to put something into church. If a person ap- • The parking lot is too crowded, and some people practically proaches church attendance with the attitude, “What am I going run you over trying to leave in a hurry. to get out of this?” he or she always will be disappointed. • Many people at church aren’t very friendly. But if a person approaches church with the attitude, “What can I • The music is poor, and the singing even worse. bring to this service/Mass? What praise and worship can I offer • They’re all a bunch of hypocrites, pretending they’re so holy in to the Lord God who created me?” then he or she will discover church but mean and nasty once they go home. that church attendance is invigorating and uplifting—despite all • The people at church are really judgmental. the sinful people there. And then there is the biggest complaint of all about going to It is a remarkable Christian paradox: only when we stop focusing church: “I don’t get anything out of it.” on getting something out of church and instead focus on putting something in, will we actually get something out of it. I’m tempted to rebut each of these arguments, but instead let me say this: they are all true. Each and every one of these state- So, despite all those arguments about church being boring, un- ments is correct at certain times and in certain places. I hate to friendly, hypocritical, judgmental, etc.—which are all true—the say it, but it’s a fact.