Dear St. James Family,

I have exciting news to announce: St. James is moving back into Jacksonville just minutes from Interstate 295! Beginning this Sunday, January 31, 2021, Mass will be held at the Mandarin Community Club (12447 Mandarin Rd), a beautiful historic building with a full kitchen, multiple bathrooms, and grounds for festivals, and gatherings. This is an exciting step in the development of the St. James community as it will provide a stable place from which to serve the local community and be easily accessible to both the populous Jacksonville and fast growing St. Johns County. This is not another short term temporary move. Father Mayer has signed an agreement assuring that St. James will be at the Mandarin Club throughout 2021, and beyond. Check out this short video which shows where the bathrooms are located as well as the handicap entrance. 

We are currently in the process assembling all of the needed furnishings for this space so that it might become a place that raises hearts and minds to the Lord through beauty and reverence: tailored altar cloths, richly colored altar frontals coordinated to the seasons of the liturgical year, an armoire for onsite storage, microphones, statues of Our Lady and St. Joseph, kneelers, a baptismal font, and a large road sign. If you would like to assist in financing any of these items, choose the Church Furnishing fund through online giving or come and talk with me. 

Visit with the Bishop

We recently had a most joyous Sunday on the occasion of the pastoral visitation of our beloved bishop. Father Mayer, as well other local priests gathered along with the families of St. James and guests to celebrate Mass led by Bishop Steven J. Lopes, the leader of the nearly forty and counting rapidly growing communities of the Ordinariate. Bishop Lopes flew in from Houston and was with us for only a short time before driving up to Georgia to visit a newly forming Ordinariate community in Savannah. While visiting St. James he baptized Evie and Oshee Wetzstein and confirmed these two individuals along with Eilis Wetzstein, and Lucy and Sebastian Lanzilotti. Following the Mass was a most excellent lunch prepared by the good people of St. James at the Camp St. John banquet hall. All around were chatting families and a large number of children running about and playing outside. It was a beautiful site of the gathered people of God.

At a Glance: Looking Ahead

• First Sunday at Mandarin Community Club, January 31, 2021

• Throat Blessings: Sunday, January 31, 2021

• Marriage Sunday Blessing: February 14, 2021

• Ash Wednesday Mass, followed by Soup and Bread, Wednesday, February 17, 2021

• Litany and Procession: First Sunday of Lent, February 21, 2021   

Throat Blessings

Immediately after Mass on January 31, you are invited to participate in the annual blessing of the throats, calling on the intercession of St. Blaise against diseases and ailments. It is a longstanding tradition to use blessed candles placed on each side of the neck in remembrance of St. Blaise, a fourth century Christian physician, who became known for miraculously clearing the throat of a choking boy. By the sixth century St. Blaise’s intercession was being invoked in the east for illnesses related to the throat. By the ninth century, the saint was revered in Europe and went on to become one of the most popular saints in the Middle Ages. Come and get your throat blessed this Sunday after Mass. If you are not able to join us on January 31, 2021, many of the local parishes will be blessing throats just a few days later on February 3, the Memorial of St. Blaise.

Marriage Blessings

In honor of National Marriage Sunday, on February 14, I will be inviting couples to stay after Mass to remember their marriage vows and to receive a priestly blessing upon those who have entered into the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony. So, bring your spouse and stick around after Mass for this special blessing. 

Dried Palms Needed for Ash Wednesday

In preparation for the season of Lent, beginning with Ash Wednesday, please help us get ready by bringing your dried palms from last year's Palm Sunday liturgy. These will be burned and used to produce ashes for Ash Wednesday. Please bring your old palms with you over the next few weeks. 

Ash Wednesday Mass to be Followed by Meal of Soup and Bread

On February 17, 2021, there will be a short spoken Mass beginning at 5:30 PM with traditional ashen crosses imposed on the foreheads of those present. Immediately following Mass you are invited to join us for a simple, but delicious meal of meatless soup and scrumptious bread, a beautiful way to end your Ash Wednesday fast with your brothers and sisters. 

Lenten Fasting and Abstinence

Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence from meat, which is binding upon members of the Latin Catholic Church from age 14 onwards. 

Two days, Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence for Catholics. For members of the Roman Catholic Church, the norms on fasting are obligatory from age 18 until age 59. When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal. 

Great Litany Procession on the First Sunday of Lent

We will begin our celebration of the first Sunday of Lent, February 21, 2021, by processing outside of the church and chanting the Great Litany together, asking the Lord for his mercy and forgiveness as we begin moving through the Lenten season of repentance. Be sure to arrive early on this Sunday so you can join in the procession and participate in the beauty and solemnity of these historic prayers.

Faithfully Your Pastor,

Father Mayer