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Next week’s second collection supports Catholic World Missions.

There will be no Wondrous Stories at the morning Masses on Sunday, October 13th.

This month we are getting ready to welcome LOTS of people to our city. We already had an open church event this past weekend and over 300 people passed through our doors and were welcomed to our church. Amazingly, we also have people who have lived here all their lives and have never entered the church. It is a reminder that we are situated in this place for a reason. Since 1826 the Church’s presence in Salem has been for the purpose of evangelizing this area. The parish boundaries originally stretched across present-day Topsfield, Middleton, Peabody, and Danvers. Now we are within the city limits with still a lot of work left to do.

This week’s second collection will support the Holy Father’s “Peter’s Pence” collection that provides funds for emergency and disaster relief.

Steven and Kathleen share their Healing stories as we kick off our monthly Healing Service.

Next week’s second collection will support the Holy Father’s “Peter’s Pence” collection that provides funds for emergency and disaster relief.

As we come to the end of the month of September, we should be mindful of the fact that we are celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15). It is a month in which special events and days are set apart to remember the great gifts, contributions, and joy the Latino community has brought to the United States. Their migration here, like the migrations of the past Irish, Italian, Polish etc., have enriched our community, city, and nation. While some decry any recent immigration as an “invasion”, the Latino migrations, born out of similar circumstances that prompted other European and Asian migrations, primarily seek more opportunities and a better life. My experience in my own family is that some came knowing that there was no going back, others came hoping to one day return, but all have wanted to remember in some part, culture, food, and music.

The Alpha program has moved into the next phase, and we are now settled in with our guests and hope that once again the Holy Spirit comes and works through the team and on the hearts and minds of all the guests. I am pleased that once again we have people from both parts of the community and that there are tables of people discussing the videos and coming to a deeper understanding of who Jesus is. Please pray for the team and guests, that the Lord will help them see Him in their lives.

This week’s second collection supports the retirement, medical and financial needs of priests in good standing throughout the Archdiocese of Boston.

Next week’s second collection supports the retirement, medical and financial needs of priests in good standing throughout the Archdiocese of Boston

This past month, as we have been getting ready for the new Calendar and Liturgical year, we have been asking questions about our operation to stay current and to offer the best services that we can. As part of that effort, we formed a communication committee to address how we communicate and share information within and outside the community. We have various types of media we use to communicate our message. Our Sunday announcements, the bulletin, the screen we use before mass, the website, and social media (Facebook, Instagram, X, etc.), are the usual methods we use. All are part of our attempt to communicate what we are doing and when to people inside and outside of the church. We want to make sure that everyone knows and can participate in events and groups that we have.

It is hard to believe that I am finishing my seventh year here at the parish. Looking back, I remember being overwhelmed when I recognized the challenge of what the Cardinal had asked me to do. There were (are) three things to address: rebuild the community, restore the buildings, and retire the debts.

Today’s first reading reminds us that God does see everything and gets particularly upset by bad pastoring. The patience of God also prompts him to say that he will raise up the final prophet to show exactly what he means to do with us and for us. What he means to show us is the power of his love and the care that comes from that. That prophecy is realized of course in the person of Jesus, who in today’s Gospel recognizes that we are people who need to rest, and yet despite his care for his apostles returning from mission, he is also aware of those who are seeking him for care for their needs too.

Elections Postponed Due to lack of a quorum, we were unable to conduct the officer elections for the 2024 - 2025 Columbian year at our last business meeting on June 24th. It was decided that since most of the members attend Sunday mass on a regular basis that we would have a quick meeting after the 9:00am mass on July 7th in the church hall.

Join us for a 12 day Catholic pilgrimage which includes Lisbon, Fatima, Santiago de Compostella, Burgos, Loyola, Lourdes, Montserrat and Barcelona.

Today’s theme in the scriptures points us toward one of my favorite themes from the Bible, i.e., who and when gets chosen to bring God’s message and power to people. It starts with Exodus, the unlikely character of Moses, and then those who are given part of his spirit in the camp as they are in the desert (EX. 16:14-20). This is what happens to the prophets and certainly to the prophet Amos, who recognizes that he is not a learned man, but it is the Spirit of God in him that will speak. The Pentecost moment is the beginning of the Church and gives the vision that we are sharers in the Spirit of God.

Exploring the theme of BELONGING

The requirements for Virtus's Protecting God's Children have changed and you might have to attend the most up-to-date training version.

Enter into a peaceful space as St. James Church will be open to the public on Tuesdays this Summer. Each Tuesday, starting June 18th, St. James Church will be open from 4-7 pm.

Join us under the Tent!