Historic St. James at Sag Bridge Church Founded 1833 A Parish of the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago 10600 South Archer Avenue, Lemont, IL 60439-9344 Phone (630) 257-7000 FAX (630) 257-7912 Website: historicstjames.org E-Mail: stjames1833@att.net Founded in 1833, St. James at Sag Bridge is the sole country parish of the Archdiocese of Chicago serving a growing community of Catholics who come together to worship God through the celebration of the Eucharist and traditional devotional activities within truly unique and beautiful surroundings. Our faith filled community strives to bear witness to Jesus Christ by loving and serving one another to bring about the Kingdom of God. September 14, 2008 EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS Rev. Edward D. Gleeson, Pastor Mr. John M. Wilkinson, Permanent Deacon Parish Boundaries The Village of Willow Springs Unincorporated Lemont Township Along Archer Avenue and Bell Road, Village of Burr Ridge (Cook County) Mass Schedule Weekends: Saturdays, 5:30 PM. Sundays, 8:30, 10:00, 11:30 AM Holy Days: 8:15 AM and 7:00 PM Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays: 8:15 AM Wednesdays: 7:00 PM Confession Schedule Saturdays: 4:30 to 5:15 PM By appointment. Baptisms First Sundays of every month by appointment. Parents must be registered parishioners. Weddings Minimum eight months in advance. At least one partner must be a registered parishioner. Religious Education Classes 1st through 8th Grade Tuesday evenings, September through May Parents must be registered parishioners. Registration In Rectory Office Hours Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays: 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM Thursdays: 9:00 AM to 12:00 Noon. Parish Ministerial Staff Father Edward Gleeson, Pastor Deacon John Wilkinson, Minister of Care Brian Tishuk, RE Director Pamela Stafford, Music Coordinator Pamela Mikrut, Organist JoAnn Starha, Altar and Rosary President Rodney Poynter, Holy Name President Barbara Tishuk, Our Lady of the Forest President Rectory Support Staff Donna Slosowski, Administrative Assistant/Bookkeeper Bernice Raj, Housekeeper/Cook Donald Lasica, Sacristan
Page Two September 14, 2008 FROM THE DESK OF THE PASTOR CANCEL THOSE PLANS FOR THE FUTURE!! YOUY HAVE JUST DIED! Pretend that the words above are true. There you are standing at the extreme gate to heaven with all of that white smoke swirling around your feet. St. Peter gives you a choice that you never expected to have. You can pick the one you want to judge you! You have to make the decision right now. Who will it be? It has to be someone who really likes you a lot, someone who figures to give you a big break. For instance: A spouse, a sibling, a parent, a child, a close personal friend, that guy who owes you money? Wait a minute! What about all the arguments you had with those people? Maybe they are all holding a grudge. Better play it safe. Choose a saint who is already in heaven. Wait a minute! All of the saints were much better behaved in their lives than you were. Their judgment may be too harsh. Who then? Well, Jesus answered that question in the parable of today s Gospel. Peter approached Jesus and asked Him: Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive? As many as seven times? Jesus answered: I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. When he began his accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed a huge amount. Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property in payment of the debt. At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said: Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full. Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave the lien. Given a choice who would you pick to judge you? Now you know the answer. It won t be Grandpa or your Aunt Matilda. It will be the king in the parable, God the Father, who loves you more than any of the others. He will be your choice to judge you. Who else can be so trusted? Your credit card company? Forget it. In order to wipe out the debt of our sins God the Father gave His Son up to death for us and for our salvation. We must never forget this supreme act of generosity. We must listen attentively to the words of consecration over the wine. Speaking through the priest Jesus the Christ says to us at every Mass: This is the cup of My Blood. It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven. And forgiven they are, wiped out, cancelled when we fulfill God s condition, that is, to be forgiving toward each other as the Father is to us. Later in the Mass we will all proclaim: Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Keep in mind, however, that there is another part of the same parable. As it turns out the lucky servant in question didn t forgive the trespasses of others. When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He seized him and started to choke him, demanding: Pay back what you owe. Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him: Be patient with me, and I will pay you back. But he refused. Instead, he had the fellow servant put in prison until he paid back the debt. The king was both generous and just. When word reached the royal palace about the outrageous actions of the ungrateful servant, the king totally reversed his original decision and severely punished the man for his lack of justice. Our King, God the Father, is also generous and just. God the Son explained it this way in the parable: So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgive your brother from your heart. Unlike the unjust servant, we have all been given a warning. No matter how hard our hearts may have been, all of our sins can be forgiven by participating in the Sacrament of Penance. Getting to Confession on a regular basis prepares us for that day of judgment. God Bless Our Parish, FATHER ED GLEESON, PASTOR
Exaltation of the Holy Cross Page Three FLOWERS The two large bouquets adorning the main altar were made available through the kindness of DONNA SLOSOWSKI. The collection for St. James on the weekend of September 7th was $4,583.73 Maintenance Collection was $1,464.05 The number of September 7th Offertory Envelopes handed in the weekend of September 6th and 7th was 150. The amount of money coming out of those envelopes was $3,769.00 which averages out to $25.13 per envelope. Our many thanks to the 150 contributing families. 175th ANNIVERSARY MASS & DINNER Our final 175th Anniversary celebration will be at the 11:30am Mass on Sunday, September 28, with Cardinal George as the main celebrant. We urge all parishioners to come to the Anniversary Mass and ask that you arrive at least fifteen minutes early. Both the Mass and the luncheon are formal so Sunday attire is expected. The luncheon at Courtright s Restaurant will follow immediately after the Mass for those who have pre-paid for the banquet. BLESS YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED AND VALUED SUPPORT. The 2008-2009 Religious Education school year begins this week on Tuesday, September 16. All registered students will report to their classrooms in the hall at 6:30pm. Teachers and students will then go up to church for a 7:00 Mass. Parents are invited to the Mass. The following individual was blessed eternally for he received his FIRST GRACE through BAPTISM at St. James at Sag Bridge Church on August 17, 2008: Andrew Ryan son of Patrick & Shannon (Grace) BISHOP We welcome this new Christian into our Catholic Community of St. James. Congratulations to the family.
Page Four September 14, 2008 The Seminary Collection will be taken up the weekend of September 20th and 21st.
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Page Six September 14, 2008 Labor Day Parish Picnic, September 1, 2008
Exaltation of the Holy Cross Page Seven VOTIVE CANDLES Votive offering for the week of September 14th: St. James Altar & Rosary Sodality Special intention for Kathy Holmgren Special intention for Kenneth Kedzior Special intention of the Slosowski Family Special intention of the Brady Family Special intention of the Nelson Family ACADEMY OF OUR LADY/LONGWOOD ALUMNAE REUNION 2008 Alumnae of the Academy of Our Lady (Longwood) High School are invited to reunion events Saturday, October 18, and Sunday, October 19. Alumnae will meet at 10:30am Saturday at the Lourdes Grotto on A.O.L. s former campus at 95th & Loomis Sts., in Chicago for a prayer service followed by a campus stroll. (The former Academy is now the Chicago International Charter School, Longwood campus.) A.O.L S all-school reunion on Sunday will begin with Mass at 10:30am, followed by brunch at 11:30am at the Hilton Oak Lawn Hotel, 94th & Cicero Ave., Oak Lawn. Classes celebrating 5-year anniversaries of graduation will be honored. Brunch tickets are $40 (cash bar). For more information, call the A.O.L. Alumnae Office at 773-445-2300. MASS INTENTIONS GIFTS: If you want to bring up the gifts of bread, wine & water at the Mass intention you have paid for during a weekend or holy day of obligation please let one of the ushers at that Mass know. If you do not let the ushers know they will select people at random. Monday Tuesday Wednesday 7:00PM Thursday Friday September 15 Our Lady of Sorrows Int. of William J. Parker September 16 Pope Cornelius Living & Deceased Parishioners September 17 Weekday Prayerful Wishes Society September 18 Weekday Martin & Caroline Fleckenstein September 19 Weekday Henry & Mary Graf Saturday September 20 VIGIL: 25TH ORDINARY SUNDAY 5:30PM Lorraine M. Sabich Sunday September 21 TWENTY-FIFTH ORDINARY SUNDAY 8:30AM Betty Eby 10:00AM Estelle Chesson 11:30AM Dr. William Graber Sept. 20 & 21 5:30PM 8:30AM 10:00 AM 11:30 AM Celebrant Father Gleeson Father Fahey-Guerra Father Gleeson Father Gleeson Altar Servers M. May D. Veitkus R. Veitkus J.H. Dillenburg A. Dillenburg E. Witter J. Zubek T. Wall M. Zubek E. Czyzewicz E. Czyzewicz J. Beecher Lector H. Veitkus T. Gorski M. Zubek T. Kulawiak LEM Deacon John M. Dillenburg D. Lasica D. Lasica Ushers J. Starha C. Hughes E. Liczwek M. Hally T. Lang F. Pearman H. Grutza J. Pajkos J. Wall M. Lavery D. Butalla B. Czaja J. Neadly R. Poynter M. Fleckenstein