Historic St. James at Sag Bridge Church 10600 S. Archer Avenue | Lemont, Illinois 60439-9344

(Ph) 630.257.7000 | (Fx) 630.257.7912 | Email: stjames1833@att.net Website: www.historicstjames.org Facebook: https://Facebook.com/Saint James At Sag Bridge

October 1, 2017 Twenty-Sixth Ordinary Sunday Mass Schedule

WEEKENDS: Saturdays: 5:00pm Sundays: 8:00, 9:30 & 11:30am

HOLY DAYS: 8:15am & 7:00pm

WEEKDAYS: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 8:15am & Fridays 6:00pm

Wednesday: Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at 5:00-7:00pm, w/Confessions at 6:30pm & Mass at 7:00pm.

CONFESSION SCHEDULE:

Saturdays, 9:30am-10:00am Wednesdays, 6:30pm Otherwise by appointment

BAPTISMS, WEDDINGS & FUNERALS:

Contact the rectory office (630.257.7000).

SICK & HOMEBOUND PASTORAL CARE:

Please notify rectory.

RECTORY OFFICE HOURS:

Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu & Fri: 9:30am to 1:00pm.

FIRST SATURDAYS: Beginning in June until October there will be

an 8:30am Mass.

ROSARY FOR PEACE Friday, October 13th is the 100th anniversary of the last apparition of Our Lady at Fatima and the great Miracle of the Sun. There, the chil-dren were told that all should pray the rosary for peace; let us fulfill her request for bringing peace to our troubled world.

At 12-Noon outside St. James at Sag Bridge, 10600 S. Archer Rd. on Saturday, October 14th. We will be part of a world-wide effort to show devotion to Our Mother through a public rosary, with the in-tention of world peace through her powerful intercession. Won’t you please join us in honoring her request?

Contact: Bunny Heppner ~ 312 804 2786

Page Two October 1, 2017

FROM THE DESK OF THE PASTOR, FR. THOMAS KOYS, M.A.,S.T.L.

~RYAN KAUP~

Twenty-six years ago a woman in Nebraska made an appointment to have an abortion. She was in college and believed she couldn’t afford to take care of her baby. However, she couldn’t go through with it so she made an appointment with another doctor– an OB-GYN. After her appointment, she decided to place her baby for adoption. She wanted to give her baby the very best chance at life. Around the same time, Randy and Sherry Kaup, were struggling with infertility. The doctor connected the Kaups with the unwed mother and they adopted her son, Ryan. The couple took him home three days after he was born. Ryan loved his new home and lived peacefully with his parents on an acre of land in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Kaups were practicing Catholics and when Ryan grew old-er, they placed him in a Catholic high school and were very involved in their church. But that didn’t mean Ryan didn’t struggle to stay on the right path. Ryan said, “I be-came more of a wallflower for the first couple years of high school. I spent more time by myself and with my coworkers who didn’t always have the best influence on me.” Eventually though, Ryan found a group of friends who inspired him to be better and to stay close to his roots. As his graduation day approached, he began considering colleges. He received a full scholarship to attend the Uni-versity of Nebraska where he majored in Advertising and Spanish. Ryan also studied abroad for a semester in Chile. Eventually, Ryan started to feel that God was calling him to the priesthood. Eventually he finished his college stud-ies at St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward, NE be-fore arriving at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. With or-dination to the priesthood in sight, Kaup reflected on how he has changed since entering the seminary. “I’ve chilled out a lot,” said Kaup with sincerity. “I used to be an angry person. My time here at the seminary has taught me to take things slower and to realize that God is in control. I can’t control everything and that is okay.” With a nod to how far he’s come, Kaup also looked ahead to his future. “To be able to make God present for people in the Eucharist and to bring them His forgiveness in the Sacrament of Recon-ciliation is what I’m most looking forward to.” I can’t help but think of his birth-mother whom he has never met. Does she know just how important her own “yes” of twenty-six years ago is? If given the chance, I’d tell her that her little boy has grown up to be a man any parent would be proud to call their own. I’d tell her that he was raised in a Catholic home by two parents who defined love for him and taught him by their very way of life just what it means to be selfless. I’d tell her that those rough, rugged hands that drove his truck through the back roads of Nebraska are the same soft, forgiving hands that poured

the waters of life over Juliana when he baptized her this summer. I’d tell her that he is one of the most gentle souls I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. And then I would thank her. I’d thank her for giving us a gift that we’ll never be able to repay, a gift the value of which only God knows. Last week our teens discussed helping the poor and the challenges of the homeless people. Then they put together little “survival kits” for homeless people that they will dis-tribute. How wonderful is that?

Here’s photo of one of my new heroes. He’s Johnny Sauter with his adorable son, who took the checkered flag at Joliet Raceway a couple of weeks ago. At his victor cel-ebration, he proclaimed his faith on national TV by stat-ing, “First of all, I’d like to thank Jesus, Mary and Jo-seph.” How wonderful is that?

Twenty-Sixth Ordinary Sunday Page Three

Religion in the Public Arena ~ By Robert Curtis For years we have heard of the separation of Churc~h and state. The progressive political interpretation of the First Amendment’s establishment clause suggests that we cannot tolerate religion in the public arena in any form whatsoever. Not only are these progressives wrong but they are completely and irrevocably wrong. Here’s what the First Amendment to the Constitution states: “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” The Constitution is clear in the establishment clause: “CONGRESS shall make no law.” This means that the govern-ment shall not interfere in religious beliefs. Therefore, this is not a separation of Church from state, but it is clear that this clause is meant to be a separation of state from Church, meaning that Congress shall make no law interfering with the free exercise of religion. The only religious restriction is that Congress shall make no law. On January 1, 1802, then President Thomas Jefferson re-sponded to the elders of the Danbury Baptist Association who had concerns about the Constitution protecting religious liber-ty. In it, he wrote in part: "I contemplate with sovereign rever-ence that act of the whole of the American people which de-clared that their legislature should, "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise there-of," thus building a wall of separation between Church and state. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of the conscience." Clearly Jefferson's reply to the Danbury Baptist Association was to assure them the separation of Church and state was intended and meant to protect religious expression and not the state except in so far as no particular state religion is ever to be established and allowed to rule the land, thus protecting us all. We should all recall that the immediate tradition of the Founding Fathers is that of religious persecution in parts of Europe, from which they and their ancestors fled to the colo-nies. Hence, the Establishment Clause. The Social Doctrine of the Church is clear on this dynamic: "The Second Vatican Council sees the separation of Christian faith (note: Church) and daily life (note: state) as one of the most serious errors of our day" (SDC #554). This progressive view of the separation of state from Church is a very postmodern one. To separate the two means to secu-larize the dynamic. Secularization, of course, is one of the key elements and an important principle of postmodern philoso-phy. It also reflects the reductionist thinking of postmodernism: to reduce religion from its equal status as the state, always ready to substitute relative truths – e.g. religious belief is merely personal, or religious belief must not interfere with civic activities. The fact is, postmodern progressives are wrong because many, or possibly most, of the Founding Fathers – whether simply Deist or not – understood the importance of religious belief and moral values in the founding and prospering of a democratic form of government, human nature being what it was – fallen.

Bbenjamin Franklin was quoted as stating: "Only a virtuous peo-ple are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vi-cious, they have more need of masters." He also wrote: "whereas true religion and good morals are the only solid foundations of public liberty and happiness . . . it is hereby earnestly recommended to the several States to take the most effectual measures for the encouragement thereof." John Adams wrote: “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morali-ty and religion . . . Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." Noah Webster, though not a Founding Father, was important to the growth of American culture, wrote: "The moral principles and precepts contained in the scriptures ought to form the basis of all our civil constitutions and laws. . . All the miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppres-sion, slavery, and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible." George Washington wrote: "Religion and morality are the essen-tial pillars of civil society." None of this is particularly difficult to understand. When we see postmodernism and its principles of relativism, secularization, deliberate irrationality, subjective emotionalism, reductionism, and narcissism, we witness a rapid decline of our culture. No-where should we deny a child’s prayer in school, nowhere should we tear down monuments to the Ten Commandments, nowhere should we tear down religious symbols from religious buildings on public college campuses, nowhere should the large cross honoring WWI soldiers – regardless of religion – be brought down, nor should we abandon Nativity scenes because when courts order them, then what is prohibited to Congress is accom-plished by another branch and the Establishment Clause is therefore circumvented, denying free religious expression. All of us need to stand for our freedoms as well as the free reli-gious expression of others, providing that their beliefs never in-terfere with social order in a free society. As we read from our Founders and see with our own eyes, religious beliefs, as the basis of free government, are absolute.

Our Weekly Offertory collection from the

weekend of September 24, 2017 was $3,840.00. The number of envelopes used was 95.

OUR MANY THANKS TO OUR REGISTERED FAMILIES USING ENVELOPES & THE

CASH-AND-CARRY FOLKS.

Our CHURCH CLEANERS FOR FRIDAY 10/ 06/17 Are Diane, Sandy & Bronislawa & volunteer. If you

are interested in volunteering, please contact the rectory office at 630.257.7000.

27TH ORDINARY SUNDAY

10/07 & 10/08

Celebrant

Altar Servers

Lectors

8:00 AM Fr. Tom Koys

S. Carver F. Casiple Dillenburg

M. Dillenburg

9:30 AM Fr. Ed Gleeson

A. Bertucci J. Strzelczyk J. Strzelczyk

Witter

11:30 AM Fr. Tom Koys

A. Gallager J. Jacobek S. Imbarrato

R. Augustyn

5:00 PM Fr. Tom Koys

Dooley J. Szarsynski T. Szarzynski

L. Pieprzyca

VOTIVE OFFERINGS FORTHE WEEK OF10/01/17

St. James Altar & Rosary Society Baptism blessings for Matthew John Rossi

In memory of Lillian Simanavicius Birthday blessings for Wanda Ziolkowska

Our beautiful bouquets of flowers surrounding our altar were made available by the generosity of

The PARISHIONERS of ST. JAMES

Monday October 2nd–Holy Guardian Angels 8:15 AM Teresa Golabek

Tuesday October 3rd 8:15 AM Favorable Decision on Asphalt Plant

Wednesday October 4th–St. Francis of Assisi 7:00 PM Favorable Decision on Asphalt Plant

Thursday October 5th–Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos 8:15 AM In Loving Memory of Son – James Jay Sendziak

Friday October 6th–St. Bruno & Blessed Marie Rose Durocher 6:00 PM Blessing & Thanksgiving –The Raj Family TWENTY-SEVENTH ORDINARY SUNDAY

1st Saturday Saturday October 7th–Our Lady of the Rosary 8:30 AM For Those in Our Families & Parish Who Need Prayers 5:00 PM Jozef Dziaba

Sunday October 8th 8:00 AM Mrs. Noreen Salmon & Favorable Decision on Asphalt Plant 9:30 AM Richard Meister 11:30 AM Wedding Anniversary– Carol & Mike Shroka

Join your St. James friends at White Fence Farm, Sunday, Oct 15, 2017at 4pm for our 185th Anniver-

sary Kick-Off dinner. Sign up at the rectory, or online on our webpage thru GiveCentral.