Historic St. James at Sag Bridge Church 10600 S. Archer Avenue | Lemont, Illinois 60439-9344 | (Ph) 630.257.7000 | (Fx) 630.257.7912

Email: stjames1833@att.net | Website: www.historicstjames.org Facebook: https://Facebook.com/Saint James At Sag Bridge

Altar & Rosary Society Our MEMBERSHIP DRIVE and BAKE SALE is revised to OCTOBER 6TH & 7TH.

All parishioners are welcome to donate “homemade” bake goods. Please deliver before any of the Masses or to the rectory on Saturday afternoon.

We thank You for your support.

Pres: Barbara (708.257.9129) V.P: Irene (773.366.2185) Sec: Judi (630.243.9414) Treas: Linda (630.257.8252)

September 30, 2018 | Twenty-Sixth Ordinary Sunday

SUNDAY MASS TIME CHANGE Only Oct. 28th 8am & 9:30am

185th Anniversary Mass ~ 11:30am Main Celebrant: Bishop Andrew Wypych

Page Two September 30, 2018

FROM THE DESK OF, FR. THOMAS KOYS, M.A., S.T.L., PASTOR

A fruitful discussion with about 25 people about our par-ish and our archdiocese in the context of the Catholic faith was conducted last week as an anticipation to the archdiocesan Summit coming up this week in Rosemont, IL.

By Msgr. Charles Pope,

During a recent day trip to Sicily, Pope Francis said that homilies should not last more than 8 minutes and that the entire Mass should be completed within 40. He is entitled to his opinion, of course, but I disagree. No sweeping generalization about sermon length is necessary. There are cultural and even local differences that come into play. In my own parish I offer two rather brief masses, on Saturday and Sunday evenings, that are about 45 minutes long; our Sunday morning liturgies are longer. Our choir Mass lasts 90 minutes and those that come seem to enjoy it immensely. They say they are enriched in the extended worship of God and appreciate a longer sermon that ex-plores the proclaimed word more thoroughly. It is a tradi-tion here. In many parts of Africa liturgies can last up-wards of three hours!

I will grant that no one wants to hear a long homily that contains only 5 minutes of content, but there are forms of preaching that teach out of the sacred text and delve deeply into its meaning and application to our lives—and this takes more than 8 minutes! There are some Catholics in this country who admire Protestant preaching because it typically features a rich message and makes it relevant to everyday life. For the record, though, most Protestant sermons are about 30 minutes long. At some point, Cath-olics need to decide what they want in a homily: a short “thought for the day” reflection or something more sub-stantial, which takes more time. Maybe we should offer them such options.

My deeper concern in the demand for briefer sermons and shorter Masses is that today we are in desperate need of liturgies that are more than perfunctory. In a world as secular and hostile as ours we need more prayer and in-

struction than ever! There are 168 hours in a week; re-moving time for sleep, that leaves more than 100 waking hours. How does 8 minutes of instruction and less than an hour of worship in total stack up against all those oth-er hours, many of them filled with things that are down-right poisonous to the faith? There are many fine preach-ers, Catholic and Protestant. It is well within the realm of human ability to preach powerfully, and it is my experi-ence that God’s people will gladly listen to a good ser-mon even if it is considerably longer than 8 minutes.

In my mind, an 8 minutes ceiling is just too limiting. (There are times when brevity is required for good rea-son; for example, I have given 3-minute sermons as part of 30-minute televised Masses for shut-ins.) One might hope that the Pope, who sits atop a worldwide Church, would recognize the diverse situations and preferences that exist rather than suggest such a general, restrictive notion. For the record, the homily Pope Francis gave following his remarks about brief sermons was 17 minutes long—not a bad length for a Sunday homily!

3 IMPORTANT PRAYERFUL WITNESS

INVITATIONS

A) PRAYING A ROSARY FOR OUR NATION! Sunday, October 7 ~ 3:00 p.m, Access Health Center, 1700 75th Street Downers Grove

B) “LIFECHAIN” SUNDAY, OCT 7 AT 2PM corner of Archer Ave & Willow Springs Rd., meet in parking lot by the Castle banquet hall to receive sign. "We are very far right now from looking like the Kingdom of God. We’ve got to get to work. The secular world is very hostile toward us right now and so we have to respond with strength and with charity; always with the Love of Jesus. What better way to thank God for his Blessings in sustaining us so far and to ask for His Healing and for the conquest of evil in our own country and in our own culture than participating in a Coast to Coast Rosary."

Bishop Morlino,

C) Also: visit www.40DaysforLife.com; to sign up for a weekly hour at the 75th Str., abortion “clinic”.

Don’t let the “feeling of hypocrisy” keep you from defending what you know is God’s will.

Special announcement for Sunday Oct 28, the 8:30am and 10:00am will

moved up 30 minutes just for this anniversary weekend to 8:00am and 9:30am.

Twenty-Sixth Ordinary Sunday Page Three

BECOME A SAFER DRIVER AND SAVE ON AUTO INSURANCE

As part of a program of events being planned specifically for seniors an AARP Driver Safety course will be held in the Church Hall on Wednesday, October 24th and Thursday October 25th from 9:30 AM to 1:30 PM. The course is open to all of driv-ing age, including non-parishioners, however its focus is on sen-ior drivers, what is changing to our roads, cars and to ourselves as we age. In addition, strategies to keep us driving safely for as long as possible are covered. Those who attend both days and complete the full 8 hrs. will be issued with a certificate. Insurance companies here in IL are required to give drivers 55 an older a discount on their auto insurance for the following 3 years. The exact amount of discount depends on many factors and you should consult your insurance agent for additional information. In general, most will see a savings that exceeds the course fee. The course fee is $15 for AARP members & $20 for non AARP members.

Please register either on the sign-up sheet at the back of church or call the instructor, Frank Pearman at 1.312.882.0624.

WHAT IS THE SOURCE AND SUMMIT OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE?

By Deacon Bill Dunn The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that one particular thing is the “Source and Summit of the Christian Life.” I conducted an informal survey among some of my closest im-aginary friends, and asked them if they knew what the source and summit of the Christian life might be. One person replied, “It must be the Pope, right?” Another answered, “I’d say the Vatican.” Still another said, “The source and summit? Well, that must be the Bible.” One person said, “The source and summit has to be pot luck suppers. That’s the only reason I go to church.” Another offered this answer: “I’d say that Jesus is the source and summit of the Christian life.” OK, now we’re getting close. The source and summit of the Christian life, according to the Catechism, is not the Pope, not the Vatican, not the Bible, and definitely not pot luck suppers—although I must say that church pot luck suppers are proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. The source and summit of the Christian life is the Eucharist. That’s right, the bread and wine at Mass are the pinnacle of what it means to be Christian. Now, if you think the bread and wine are just bread and wine, then you probably think declaring it the most important aspect of Christian life is quite misguided. But the fact is, the Church has always taught that it is not mere bread and wine. After the prayers of consecration by an or-dained priest, God works a miracle and transforms the ordinary bread and wine into the body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ. And Church leaders did not decide to teach this just because it seemed like a cool and mysterious thing to declare. Bread and wind becoming the body and blood of Jesus is exactly what Jesus Himself declared, both at the Last Supper and during His famous “Bread of Life” discourse, found in John’s gospel, chap-ter 6. Many anti-Catholic groups these days claim that Church lead-ers “invented” this doctrine during the Middle Ages as part of a sinister plan to consolidate power among the clergy. However, if you read St. Paul’s epistles, especially his first letter to the Corinthians, along with the writings of the early Church fathers from the first, second, and third centuries, it is very clear that Christians embraced the doctrine of the Eucharist from the very beginning. For example, St. Ignatius of Antioch, in the year 110 A.D. (which was just a couple decades after the last apostles died), wrote this: “[Heretics] abstain from the Eucharist…because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the Flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ.” And a few decades later, St. Justin Martyr had this to say: “We call this food Eucharist…not as common bread nor common drink do we receive these.…the food which has been made into the Eucharist by the Eucharistic prayer set down by Him…

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is both the Flesh and the Blood of that incarnated Jesus.” So, the person who responded to my informal survey by say-ing Jesus is the source and summit of the Christian life, gets half-credit for his answer. (Yeah, I would’ve been a tough teacher when it comes to grading papers.) The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life only because it IS Jesus, truly present for us. This is a breath-taking miracle that occurs at every Mass. Those of us who get more excited about pot luck suppers than the fact our Lord and Savior is really present in the bread and wine, might need to re-think our priorities. Jesus is there for us, flesh and blood, in the Eucharist. Alt-hough prayer and Bible study and helping those in need are great ways to draw closer to the Lord, there is nothing that brings us in direct contact with Him more than the Eucharist. The Eucharist, the real body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus is indeed the source and summit of the Christian life.

Our weekly Offertory collection from September 23rd was $3,425.00. The number of envelopes received was 94.

OUR MANY THANKS TO OUR REGISTERED FAMILIES USING ENVELOPES &

THE CASH-AND-CARRY FOLKS.

Our CHURCH CLEANERS FOR FRIDAY – 10/05/18 Are Diane, Kristine, Bronislawa & volunteer. If

you are interested in volunteering, please contact the rectory office at 630.257.7000.

VOTIVE OFFERINGS FOR THE WEEK OF 9/30/18 St. James Altar & Rosary Society Health & Healing for Bob Carfel

Health & Healing for JoAnn Starha Prayers, Dennis Pederson & Nathan In Memory of Lillian Simanavicius

In Memory of Zig Simanavicius Health & Healing for Jim Wall

Our beautiful bouquets of flowers surrounding our

altar were made available In Loving Memory of

REV. EDWIN BOHULA, CAPT. CHC USN RET.

MASS SCHEDULE

WEEKENDS: Saturdays: 5:00pm Sundays: 8:30, 10:00 & 11:30am HOLY DAYS: 8:15am & 7:00pm

WEEKDAYS: Mon, Tue, Thu 8:15am & Fri 6:00pm WEDNESDAY: Adoration at 5:00 & Mass at 7:00pm CONFESSION SCHEDULE: Weds 6:00-7:00pm & Saturdays: 9:30-10:15am, otherwise by appointment BAPTISMS, WEDDINGS & FUNERALS: Contact the rectory office SICK & HOMEBOUND PASTORAL CARE: Please notify rectory RECTORY OFFICE HOURS: Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu & Fri: 9:30am to 1:00pm

MONDAY, OCTOBER 1ST – St. Thérèse ~ Child Jesus 8:15 AM 25th Wedding Anniv. ~ Dr. & Mrs. Grela TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2ND – The Holy Guardian Angels 8:15 AM 25th Wedding Anniv. ~ Dr. & Mrs. Grela

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3RD 7:00 PM 25th Wedding Anniv. ~ Dr. & Mrs. Grela

THUSDAY, OCTOBER 4TH – St. Francis of Assisi 8:15 AM 25th Wedding Anniv. ~ Dr. & Mrs. Grela

FRIDAY, OCTOB ER 5TH – Blsd Francis Xavier Seelos & First Friday 6:00 PM 25th Wedding Anniv. ~ Dr. & Mrs. Grela Birthday Wishes ~ Rob Swigon Twenty-Seventh Ordinary Sunday SATURDAY, OCTOBER 6TH – St. Bruno & Blsd Marie- Rose Durocher 5:00 PM 25th Wedding Anniv. ~ Dr. & Mrs. Grela James J. Sendziak

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7TH 8:30 AM Urban Vallera 10:00 AM Richard Meister 11:30 AM 25th Wedding Anniv. ~ Dr. & Mrs. Grela

27TH ORDINARY SUNDAY

10/6 & 10/7/18

Celebrant

Altar

Servers

Lectors

5:00 PM Fr. Coleman

Ramirez Ramirez Ramirez

B. Grandat

8:30 AM Fr. Coleman

J. Beecher J. Beecher S. Carver

C. Slowik

10:00 AM Fr. Coleman

N. Akroush J.P. Colarelli M. Colarelli

P. Brunk

11:30 AM Fr. Coleman

D. Estrada G. Estrada S. Imbarrato

S. Kelley