Fr. James' Letters

February 4, 2024

Dear Parishioners,

We have a great scene in Mark’s Gospel this Sunday. Jesus, after preaching in the synagogue and exorcizing the man possessed by a demon, walks over to Peter’s house in Capernaum and cures his mother-in-law who had a simple fever (there’s no illness that’s too small for our Lord). By that evening the word has spread about Jesus’ power. The whole town is then gathered outside of Peter’s house, and Jesus performs a whole slew of miracles. It probably took several hours. Jesus, when the crowd has finally dispersed, doesn’t sit back with a glass of wine to unwind, but goes and prays. Peter hunts Jesus down, disrupts Jesus’ prayer, and Jesus, finishing his prayer, immediately leaves the town to go do the same in another village. 

Read more: February 4, 2024

January 28, 2024

Dear Parishioners,

We hear that people were “astonished” at Jesus’ teaching when he stood up in the synagogue to preach. It wasn’t necessarily the content of Jesus’ message that struck people. It was the fact that he spoke as “one having authority and not as the scribes.”

Read more: January 28, 2024

January 21, 2024

Dear Parishioners,

There seems to be a lot of talk these days about what the Chicago Bears will do with their quarterback, head coach, and upcoming number one draft pick. [Disclaimer, as of me composing this letter, no decision has been made.] Will the Bears get rid of their quarterback Justin Fields and, presumably, with him the head coach, and use their number one overall pick in the NFL draft to take a new quarterback? Or, will the Bears keep Fields (and the coach) and trade the number one pick to obtain a whole bunch of other picks and improve the rest of the team? There is no clear-cut answer. Good arguments could be made both ways.

Read more: January 21, 2024

Who is Fr. James?

Father James Wallace grew up in Winnetka, Illinois and attended Sts. Faith Hope and Charity grammar school, New Trier High School, and then The George Washington University in Washington DC, where he earned his undergraduate degree in Political Science in 2007. He attended seminary at The Pontifical North American College in Rome and was ordained a priest in 2012 for the Archdiocese of Chicago. In addition to being the pastor of Saint Paul of the Cross Parish, he serves as a canon lawyer for the Archdiocese, a dean in Vicariate II, and a professor of canon law and spiritual director at Mundelein Seminary. He is also one of the featured Mercy Home Sunday Mass celebrants, airing Sundays at 9:30am on WGN.

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Contact Information

St. Paul of the Cross

320 South Washington Street
Park Ridge, IL 60068


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Phone: (847) 825-7605

Mass Schedule

UC = Upper Church
HFC = Holy Family Chapel 

Monday - Friday

6:25 am UC

8:30 am UC

Saturday

8:30 am UC - weekday Mass

4:30 pm UC - vigil

Sunday

7:30 am UC

9:00 am UC

10:30 am UC and HFC

12:00 pm UC