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Dear Saint James’ Church Family and Friends:
I want you to know that I am keeping you in my daily prayers during this difficult time in our world and in the Church. I can understand how stress and anxiety has greatly increased, but I encourage you to remember the tenets of our faith in a loving God, who desires us to be well and whole. Remember to continue with your prayers and devotions. Such spiritual exercises bring us into a conscious contact with the Father. Prayer is the means of communicating and receiving grace. It also is a way of calming our souls and minds when our bodies experience raised anxiety levels.
The most natural thing for us as Christians to do, is to come together as the Church in a time of worship and fellowship. With the Bishop of Dallas, George Sumner, suspending all public worship gatherings through Easter, it is my hope and that of the vestry, to continue offering the Sunday Mass via live internet streaming. Currently, we will do this through our Facebook page, at this link https://www.facebook.com/StJamesChurchTXK/. Following the live streaming, the video will be available on Facebook, as well as our website (technology considerations permitting).
In order to more easily follow the Sunday Holy Eucharist, I will work at sending the bulletin with the Order of the Mass to each of you via email. The document can be opened and read on your device or printed off as a document. At this writing I do not have any details concerning Holy Week liturgies, but I can assure that there will some way the Easter Triduum will be celebrated. Please stay tuned for updates on the liturgies of Holy Week.
A well admired and deeply spiritual monk, who offered spiritual guidance to many, was asked by a novice, “Abba, is Satan the greatest enemy of God?” The holy monk said, “No.”
Not completely surprised by his response, the novice asked, “Abba, is hate the greatest enemy of God, for it is the opposite of His love?” The godly monk said, “No.”
Somewhat shocked by the answer, the novice pressed the monk, asking, “Holy Abba, is lack of faith God’s greatest enemy?” The pious monk said, “No.”
Now dismayed by the answers he received, the novice asked with exasperation, “Well, dear Abba, what then is the greatest enemy of God?” Looking gently into the novice’s eyes, the saintly monk said, “Fear is the greatest enemy of God. Fear make us think that God cannot, but only ‘I’ can.”
Fear certainly is a most overpowering emotion. How many things have we done out of fear in the course of our lives? Let us acknowledge that natural sense of fear we all experience and offer it to the Lord so that He may transform it into a means of growing closer to Him in trust and love that His grace is all sufficient.
In the meantime, know that I will make myself available as much as possible to provide a caring and loving pastoral ministry in the life of our parish family. I hope in doing so, some of the fears and anxieties can be reduced, even relieved, and turned over to our Father’s care. I also urge you to share that love and care among yourselves as best as you can, while being mindful of those health protocols which are designed to keep you well. You can do this by making encouraging phone calls to friends and let the sound of your voice be a reassurance to them or join them in a prayer. Maybe you could place a kind gift or flowers on the doorsteps of someone who seems overly fearful or anxious. Consider sending someone an email or a text to let them know you thought of them and offer a prayer for them.
I will be praying for each of you daily during these uncertain times. Finally, I pray that God Almighty, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit bless and keep each of you, this day and always.
In our blessed Lord
Rev. Richard Daly, SSC
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