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As members of the Body of Christ, the parish of St. James, Lake Placid, Florida proclaims our belief in the message and mission of Jesus Christ.
"Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age." (Matt 28:19-20)With God's Grace, the example of Jesus, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we seek to live out that belief as a community of worship, of shared faith and of service where each member shares with others the gifts and talents received from God.
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Christmas Eve Masses: 4PM, 5:30PM (Children's), 10PM.
Christmas Day Masses: 8AM and 10AM.
Pastor, Fr. Vincent Clemente
Father Vincent came to the United States from Italy at the age of 15, where his family settled in the Cleveland, OH area. He has one sister. Father was ordained to the priesthood on May 8, 1976 and has previously served at St. Martha’s in Sarasota, FL and as pastor of St. Michael in Wauchula and St. Paul in Arcadia.
WELCOME, FATHER! We look forward to continued spiritual growth with you here at St. James!
Parochial vicar Fr. Felix Gonzalez
Fr. Felix Gonzalez, our newest parochial vicar, was born in Venezuela on September 18, 1953. He studied philosophy in Trinidad & Tobago, West Indies and theology at the Seminary “Santa Rosa de Lima,” Caracas, Venezuela. He was ordained on July 18th, 1981 at the .Archdiocese of Barquisimeto. He came to the United States 20 years ago and studied monastic spirituality in Worcester, MA and worked in different parishes in the Archdiocese of New York— Manhattan and the Bronx. During those years he studied in IONA College and graduated with a Masters in Science, majoring in pastoral counseling. After serving St. Leo for almost two and a half years, he is happy to embark on this new part of his spiritual journey.
Our commitment to a Safe Environment
As Christian adults, we have a moral and legal responsibility and are entrusted by God with the spiritual, emotional and physical well-being of minors and vulnerable adults. St. James adheres to the Diocese of Venice's Safe Environment program. To learn more, visit: https://dioceseofvenice.org/offices/programs/safeenvironment/
Pope Francis' Letter to the People of God, regarding sexual abuse in light of the outcome of the Pennsylvania Grand Jury.
My Dear People,
In today’s Gospel Reading, it describes how and when God would fulfill the promises of a new exodus. St. Luke identifies John the Baptist as the primary fulfillment of a famous prophecy (Isaiah 40:3-5). An unidentified voice issued a call for a road to be made whereby God would travel, bringing His scattered people back to their home. But apparently John the Baptist did not take Isaiah’s prophecy to be a literal command about roadbuilding because there is no record in the Gospel of him undertaking such a project.
The primary problem of the people of God was not the lack of roads. The transportation system in the Roman Empire was, in fact, quite good. Israelites who wished to return to their ancestral land could get there easily if they wanted. However, large groups of them chose to live elsewhere around the Mediterranean, in places where they had found good living. Just as there are huge communities of Jews in New York and other major cities around the world outside the land of Israel today; so, in ancient times, there were huge Jewish colonies in Alexandria (Egypt), Rome, and in many of the major cities of the Empire.
So, the primary problem of God’s people was not a lack of roads or their distance from their ancestral land. The problem was their “sins”--their spiritual estrangement from God. For this reason, the “road” that John the Baptist offers is repentance, expressed through the waters of Baptism.
The description of the roadbuilding lends itself to a spiritual interpretation. It has a basis in the New Testament itself, in texts like the Magnificat and the Sermon on the Mount.
“Every valley shall be filled” refers to hope, encouragement, and new life granted to the poor, the oppressed, and the lowly people who feel that they have been forgotten by God or that they are not worthy of God’s attention.
“Every mountain and hill shall be made low” refers to the humbling of the proud and the repentance the strong and arrogant must undergo in order to receive God’s salvation.
The “winding roads” and “rough ways” refer to the twists and turns of the human heart, contorted by sin (Jer. 17:9). The human heart needs to be “simplified” or “straightened” by honest and truthful confession of sin.
The classic hymn “On Jordan’s Banks” actually provides a fairly adequate spiritual exegesis of today’s Gospel in its second verse:
Then cleansed be every breast from sin;
make straight the way for God within,
prepare we in our hearts a home
where such a mighty Guest may come.
This is what the Church is calling us to do in this preparatory season of Advent. Those of us who feel lowly and downtrodden by life need to exercise faith and hope. We should lift up our heads and remember this life is temporary; then look to Jesus. Those of us who think we have it all together need to exercise some humility and do an examination of conscience. But most of all, we need to straighten out our interior crookedness.
So, in this second week of Advent, it would be highly appropriate to take the time right now to schedule a date for Confession this week. This is the Sacrament where we speak the simple truth, the twisted become straight and the rough, smooth.
Remember we have confession half an hour before all Masses.
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Vincent Clemente
DECEMBER 9th— Monday. OFFICE CLOSED—Immaculate Conception. RCIA, 6PM, Social Hall.
DECEMBER 10th— Tuesday. Child. of Our Lady, 10AM, Social Hall. Grupo de Juan 23, 7PM, Social Hall. Knights of Columbus, 7PM, Social Hall.
DECEMBER 11th— Wednesday. Bible Study, 10AM, Social Hall. Divine Will Study, 4PM, Social Hall. Confirmation Class, 7PM, Social Hall.
DECEMBER 12th— Thursday. Divine Mercy, 10:30AM, Social Hall. Grief Support, 2PM, Social Hall. Bible Study, 7PM, Social Hall.
DECEMBER15th— Sunday. Faith Formation, 11AM, Social Hall. Men’s Emmaus, 2PM, Social Hall.
DECEMBER 16th— Monday. RCIA, 6PM, Social Hall.
DECEMBER 17th— Tuesday. Child. of Our Lady, 10AM, Social Hall. Grupo de Juan 23, 7PM, Social Hall. Prayer Group, 7PM, Social Hall.
DECEMBER 18th— Wednesday. Bible Study, 10AM, Social Hall. Divine Will Study, 4PM, Social Hall. Confirmation Class, 7PM, Social Hall.
DECEMBER 19th— Thursday. SVdP, 11AM, Social Hall. Bible Study, 7PM, Social Hall.
DECEMBER 20th— Friday. Kraft Korner, 10AM-12PM, Social Hall.
DECEMBER 22nd— Sunday. Faith Formation, 11AM, Social Hall.
DECEMBER 24th— Tuesday. OFFICE CLOSED. Christmas Vigil: 4PM, 5:30PM, 10PM. Contact groups for schedule updates.
DECEMBER 25th— Wednesday. OFFICE CLOSED. Christmas Masses: 8AM and 10AM. No Meetings/Classes/Bible Study.
DECEMBER 26th— Thursday. No Classes/Meetings/Bible Study.
DECEMBER 29th— Sunday. No Faith Formation Classes.
DECEMBER 31st— Tuesday. OFFICE CLOSED. Children of Our Lady, 10AM, Social Hall.
JANUARY 1st— Wednesday. OFFICE CLOSED. No Classes/Meetings/Bible Study.
JANUARY 2nd— Thursday. CCW Meeting, 10AM, Social Hall. No Bible Study.
JANUARY 3rd— Friday. Kraft Korner, 10AM-12PM, Social Hall.
