ABOUT SAINT JAMES CATHOLIC CHURCH
A Welcoming Community at the Heart of North Miami
TO BE DOERS OF THE WORD: The more you give of yourself, the more you find of yourself.
To put the Word of God in practice in our lives to celebrate “God as Emmanuel , that is a God who gives himself to the world. This is beautifully expressed in John 3:16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only Son. Giving takes you out of yourself and allows you to expand beyond earthly limitations. True joy lies in the act of giving without an expectation of receiving something in return. The Saints are famous example of God like persons who find fulfillment in giving of themselves to others. Mother Teresa, for one, helped change the expression on dying people’s faces from distress and fear to calmness and serenity. She made their undeniable pain a little easier to bear.
Doers of the Word and Living for the Lord with joy.
Doing God’s work through the giving of oneself is one of the best investments that we believe you can make towards achieving genuine happiness. True giving comes from the heart, with no expectation of reciprocation. As the Chinese proverb says: “If you always give, you will always have.” In other words, the more I give away, the more I get back; the more I surrender the more alive I become. If you find yourself feeling unhappy, try making someone else happy and see what happens. If you’re feeling empty and unfulfilled, try doing some meaningful and worthwhile work and see how you feel. The catch is that you must do this work with passion and enthusiasm.
Our Parish of Saint James is engaged in exemplary works of serving the Lord in giving and preaching the good news of joy to a multicultural and vibrant community: we feed the hungry and we spiritually feed the souls of so many with the word of God and the Eucharist. We serve the poor and the needy and help to accompany communities become spiritually strong. We educate the young and encourage learning-by-doing service hours and Christian service projects. We do much more than that because we know that it’s the joy and love that we extend to others that brings true happiness or union with God. When we give, we reap the joy of seeing a bright smile, laughter, tears of joy and gratitude for life. We know that if people give just a little more—of their time, skills, knowledge, wisdom, compassion, wealth and love—the world would be a more peaceful and healthier place.
The rewards of giving are priceless. If you want to have happiness, you need to give happiness. If you want love, you need to give love. It is only in giving that you receive. No matter what your circumstances in life, you have the ability to give this Christmas season and all throughout the year. That is why I encourage each of you to look for opportunities where you can give and help others at Saint James. The gift of joy will come to you when you give of yourself to others. That’s what we aim to do at Saint James and that’s what our life is all about. Let’s practice and commit our lives to surrendering and joyful giving so to imitate Christ in becomng "Doers of the Word." Try it! It works!
Msgr. Chanel Jeanty
Pastor