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26th Sunday of Ordinary Time Please pray
Do you need the parish community to pray for your intentions? Email office@icjax.org and let us know. Bulletin for this week is attached or viewable online here Worship Aids are posted online: Renovation & Repair – Updates:
Thank you to parishioners and ‘Friends of the Basilica’ for your continued material and prayerful support. We benefit from the sacrifices, prayers, and material support of past generations. Future generations of Catholics will benefit from yours!
And in this corner…
A story from an anonymous source, but one many of us can relate to when recalling the sacrifices our parents made for us, and in our parish family when we recall the sacrifices that former parishioners through our history have made for us - who they may never have known. The pickle jar as far back as I can remember sat on the floor beside the dresser in my parents' bedroom. When he got ready for bed, Dad would empty his pockets and toss his coins into the jar. As a small boy, I was always fascinated at the sounds the coins made as they were dropped into the jar. They landed with a merry jingle when the jar was almost empty. Then the tones gradually muted to a dull thud as the jar was filled. I used to squat on the floor in front of the jar to admire the copper and silver circles that glinted like a pirate's treasure when the sun poured through the bedroom window. When the jar was filled, Dad would sit at the kitchen table and roll the coins before taking them to the bank. Taking the coins to the bank was always a big production. Stacked neatly in a small cardboard box, the coins were placed between Dad and me on the seat of his old truck. Each and every time, as we drove to the bank, Dad would look at me hopefully. 'Those coins are going to keep you out of the textile mill, son. You're going to do better than me. This old mill town's not going to hold you back.' Also, each and every time, as he slid the box of rolled coins across the counter at the bank toward the cashier, he would grin proudly. 'These are for my son's college fund. He'll never work at the mill all his life like me.' We would always celebrate each deposit by stopping for an ice cream cone. I always got chocolate. Dad always got vanilla. When the clerk at the ice cream parlor handed Dad his change, he would show me the few coins nestled in his palm. 'When we get home, we'll start filling the jar again.' He always let me drop the first coins into the empty jar. As they rattled around with a brief, happy jingle, we grinned at each other. 'You'll get to college on pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters,' he said. 'But you'll get there; I'll see to that. No matter how rough things got at home, Dad continued to doggedly drop his coins into the jar. Even the summer when Dad got laid off from the mill, and Mama had to serve dried beans several times a week, not a single dime was taken from the jar. To the contrary, as Dad looked across the table at me, pouring catsup over my beans to make them more palatable, he became more determined than ever to make a way out for me 'When you finish college, Son,' he told me, his eyes glistening, 'You'll never have to eat beans again - unless you want to.' The years passed, and I finished college and took a job in another town. Once, while visiting my parents, I used the phone in their bedroom, and noticed that the pickle jar was gone. It had served its purpose and had been removed. A lump rose in my throat as I stared at the spot beside the dresser where the jar had always stood. My dad was a man of few words: he never lectured me on the values of determination, perseverance, and faith. The pickle jar had taught me all these virtues far more eloquently than the most flowery of words could have done. When I married, I told my wife Susan about the significant part the lowly pickle jar had played in my life as a boy. In my mind, it defined, more than anything else, how much my dad had loved me. The first Christmas after our daughter Jessica was born, we spent the holiday with my parents. After dinner, Mom and Dad sat next to each other on the sofa, taking turns cuddling their first grandchild. Jessica began to whimper softly and Susan took her from Dad's arms. 'She probably needs to be changed,' she said, carrying the baby into my parents' bedroom to diaper her. When Susan came back into the living room, there was a strange mist in her eyes. She handed Jessica back to Dad before taking my hand and leading me into the room. 'Look,' she said softly, her eyes directing me to a spot on the floor beside the dresser. To my amazement, there, as if it had never been removed, stood the old pickle jar, the bottom already covered with coins. I walked over to the pickle jar, dug down into my pocket, and pulled out a fistful of coins. With a gamut of emotions choking me, I dropped the coins into the jar. I looked up and saw that Dad, carrying Jessica, had slipped quietly into the room. Our eyes locked, and I knew he was feeling the same emotions I felt. Neither one of us could speak. This truly touched my heart. Sometimes we are so busy adding up our troubles that we forget to count our blessings. Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture you can change a person's life, for better or for worse. God puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way. Look for GOOD in others.
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Please pray
Bulletin for this week is attached or viewable online here Worship Aids are posted online: Renovation & Repair – Updates: Adoration Chapel – Contractor Bids are due September 16th. Organ – New Console arrives in October, and Pipes will be removed and cleaned offsite. Be sure to tell your friends and family about our special Fundraising Concert! If you need digital copies of the advert, let us know, we’ll send you one! . Rectory / Office – All work has been completed. Thank you to parishioners and ‘Friends of the Basilica’ for your continued material and prayerful support. We benefit from the sacrifices, prayers, and material support of past generations. Future generations of Catholics will benefit from yours!
And in this corner…Father Blair returned from his personal pilgrimage and attendance at the 3rd International Congress on Catechesis Thank you for your prayers while I was away! You may not know that this December I will celebrate 10 years of service to the people of God as a Priest of Jesus Christ. This year I chose to do a 10 day personal pilgrimage in Italy, a day for each year of ordination. The time of prayer and thanksgiving included the celebration of Mass at the Altar of the Chair of St. Peter in St. Peter's Cathedral on the 9th day, and as the Congress came to a close on the 10th day - we had an audience with and blessing from the Holy Father. During the personal pilgrimage I chose to spend time in Orvieto, where the Eucharistic Miracle which gave rise to the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, is kept. While there, I was able to visit the Cathedral where I prayed in thanksgiving for my vocation, and to visit many other Churches in which I prayed for the parish and the intentions of our parishioners. I then went on to Santa Maria d'engli Angeli / Assisi, where I spent a few days praying especially for the intentions of Students, family and friends, as well as my own. I was very blessed to stay very close to the Cathedral in which is found the cell of St. Francis where he died, and the Porziuncula. As well, I was able to pray in the Church that was built over his birth place and at his tomb. It was also a special blessing to pray before the body of Blessed Carlo Acutis. While in Rome I was able to continue the journey and to pray for the souls of family and parishioners in purgatory, the people of Rome and the Universal Church. I am very thankful to have had this time of prayer and reflection and to be able to offer to God my gratitude for the many blessings, challenges and surprises of these last 10 years. I look forward with joy and eager anticipation to the next 10 years! If you're interested, here are some pictures... Pastor's brief thought... Don't disdain the discipline of the Lord. God loves us and perfects us. That process will always involve learning discipline through being disciplined and corrected. Sometimes it will involve suffering. Embrace it all! If we recognize these as opportunities to grow in love -- if we seek God in them and let him stretch our ability to love -- we become more like Jesus. Please pray
Do you need the parish community to pray for your intentions? Email office@icjax.org and let us know. Bulletin for this week is attached or viewable online here Worship Aids are posted online: Renovation & Repair – Updates:
Thank you to parishioners and ‘Friends of the Basilica’ for your continued material and prayerful support. We benefit from the sacrifices, prayers, and material support of past generations. Future generations of Catholics will benefit from yours!
Please pray
Do you need the parish community to pray for your intentions? Email office@icjax.org and let us know. Bulletin for this week is attached or viewable online here Worship Aids are posted online: Renovation & Repair – Updates: Adoration Chapel –Bid package has been sent to the Diocese. Organ – No Change, still on schedule. Rectory / Office – All is going according to schedule… except the fundraising! Thank you to parishioners and ‘Friends of the Basilica’ for your continued material and prayerful support. We benefit from the sacrifices, prayers, and material support of past generations. Future generations of Catholics will benefit from yours!
I invite you to read about and reflect more deeply on the lives of the Saints. These men and women help to learn to live in readiness to greet the Lord. Each of them is unique, and each uniquely pointed others to Christ. That is equally our call in this life. And it all becomes more possible to the extent that we encounter Christ, especially in the Eucharist through Mass and Adoration. Please pray
Email office@icjax.org and let us know. Bulletin for this week is attached or viewable online here Worship Aids are posted online: Audio Homily and Text are available online Renovation & Repair – Updates:
Speaking of fundraising:
Thank you to parishioners and ‘Friends of the Basilica’ for your continued material and prayerful support. We benefit from the sacrifices, prayers, and material support of past generations. Future generations of Catholics will benefit from yours! From the Pastor It's been a busy week! Our new Bishop was Ordained and Installed last week and he took possession of the Cathedral last Sunday. Bishop Pohlmeier celebrated our Deanery Mass at Sacred Heart Parish this past Monday evening, and it was a full house of God! Everyone was excited to meet him, if only briefly, at the reception. All of our volunteers have been preparing the Bishop's Pastoral Visit here on July 31st, and the Spanish / English Choirs have been practicing to help us celebrate with him in a beautiful liturgy! I gave a talk at the Diocesan Discernment Retreat July 30th! There were many men there who desire to know and follow the will of God and 20 or so of our seminarians who organized and were leading the retreat. Very encouraging to see men of faith who are seeking to know their vocation and discover how better to follow the will of God and deepen their relationships with God. Please pray for them. We had a rest from construction this past week, But, this coming week they'll be back at it, putting on the new roof. This will complete the schedule of work that was to be completed this summer on the Rectory and Office. Please pray
Renovated Website – Please, if you haven’t already done so, take a few minutes and explore the website. Bulletin for this week is viewable online here Worship Aids are posted online: Bishops Pastoral Visit, Mass and Reception on July 31, 2022 Renovation & Repair – Updates: Adoration Chapel – Meeting this week with Architect. Final meeting before putting out the project for bids. Organ – No Change, still on schedule. Rectory / Office – Work in the Rectory / Office is complete. All the Roof fascia and trim has been replaced and painted. New Roof will be installed this week. This work will temporarily impact the back parking lot and at times, access to the Courtyard from the back parking lot. Thank you to parishioners and ‘Friends of the Basilica’ for your continued material and prayerful support. We benefit from the sacrifices, prayers. and material support of past generations. Future generations of Catholics will benefit from yours! From the Pastor: In the Gospel of the day, Jesus gives us the “Our Father” as a divine gift that attunes us to all that God is for us and the ways in which He manifests Himself to us at every moment: “Give us this day our daily bread” and for the Holy Spirit all we need daily. Let's remember that our life must be a continuous prayer dominated by the will of the Father who is in heaven. In the Eucharist we live the perfect dimension of our dialogue with God whom we bless, praise, beg and give thanks for his salvation. Please pray
Do you need the parish community to pray for your intentions? Email office@icjax.org and let us know. Renovated Website
The 'renovation' of our website should be complete by the end of July! Bulletin for this week is attached to your email and is viewable online here Worship Aids are posted online: Bishops Pastoral Visit, Mass and Reception on July 31, 2022 We are looking for volunteers! Please contact Cathryn or Paul in the office OR Diana Maldonado here North Jacksonville Deanery Mass to meet the New Bishop Erik Pohlmeier Bishop-elect Erik Pohlmeier has scheduled a Deanery Mass and reception to meet the clergy and people of our deanery on Monday, July 25, at 7:00pm at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 5752 Blanding Blvd. Jacksonville. We encourage our parishioners to attend the Deanery Mass especially if you are not able to attend the Bishops Mass and Pastoral Visit at the Basilica on July 31st at 10am. Renovation & Repair – Updates: Adoration Chapel – No Change Organ – No Change Rectory / Office – Work in the Rectory / Office is complete. Work on the new roof has begun. This work will temporarily impact the back parking lot and at time, access to the Courtyard from the back parking lot. Thank you to parishioners and ‘Friends of the Basilica’ for your continued material and prayerful support. We benefit from the sacrifices, prayers. and material support of past generations. Future generations of Catholics will benefit from yours! |