Commitment. It’s a foundation of our faith and a theme that runs through all of today’sreadings. God is famous for the commitments between Himself and his people. We see thisthroughout the Old Testament in the various covenants. For example, in Jeremiah a newcovenant is proclaimed, “I will be their God and they shall be my…

Happy summer to all of you, especially those who are visiting St James. We’ve been blessedwith local sunshine today and hopefully you’ve had a chance to enjoy it. In our gospel, Jesus says, “Come to me, all who labor, and are burdened, and I will give yourest.“ This is a time of year when we…

Happy Father’s Day! Today’s readings put a whole new spin on “raising children.“ In the first reading, think of God as the Father and his Chosen People as His children. In thisreading we can learn a lot from how God sees the role of a FATHER. “If you harken to myvoice and keep my covenant,…

Happy Easter!!  Easter’s not just a one-day affair, the resurrection is so essential that we celebrate for 50 days! This gives us time to reflect on our Lenten experience and incorporate new insights, just like the Early Church reflects on how they will follow the gospel of Jesus after he is resurrected.  I work in…

Welcome to the 5th Sunday of Lent.  We’re getting close to the end!  We have Palm Sunday next weekend and Holy Week festivities begin.  Today, Lazarus is restored to life after FOUR days in a tomb.  Let’s look at how Jesus, as the SOURCE of new life, uses this moment to teach Martha and Mary,…

What’s on your “Bucket List?”  You might remember the movie, where Morgan Freedman plays a man with a chronic illness and Jack Nicolson is a wealthy executive. They fly around the world together fulfilling bucket list items.  The purpose of the bucket list is to look at the BIG PICTURE of our lives and identify…

Today was established by Pope Francis as the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. As we remember the Joachim and Anne the grandparents of Jesus this week, we ask for blessings on all our grandparents and seniors. In today’s gospel Jesus goes to a certain place to pray. He seems to know the secret…

Happy 4th of July Weekend!  Welcome to all our visitors.  This weekend we celebrate the courage of our forefathers in creating a new republic and a new way of life.   Applying this to our spiritual lives, we look at how we, in St. Paul’s words, “Become a new creation.”   I’d like to start with a…

Today is Trinity Sunday. I have much more to tell you but you cannot bear it now.”  God had big plans for the disciples, just like he has for us, but Jesus knows when his followers need some time to get up to speed.  Today’s readings emphasize wisdom, especially the wisdom of God’s will for…

Today’s first reading comes from the Acts of the Apostles. The beauty of this book is thefocus on action, inspired by direct contact with Jesus. It is through these acts of faith,courage, and love that we have the worldwide church as we know it today. Each of us has a responsibility to continue this mission…