January 1, 2017 - Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God

Rev. M. Keith LaBove, Pastor Parish Website: www.stpat.org

stpat.org@gmail.com

Office Hours

Monday – Thursday: 8:30 am – 3:00 pm; Friday 8:30 am – 12 noon Celebration of the Eucharist

Saturday: 4:00 pm – Sunday: 8:30 & 10:00 am Monday through Friday: 7:30 am

Holydays of Obligation: 7:30 am only Sacrament of Reconciliation

Saturday: 3:00 – 3:30 pm and Weekdays: 7:00-7:25 am (and by appointment)

Baptisms

Seminars are held every other month - register

by calling the office. At-tendance is suggested

during pregnancy.

Anointing of the Sick The Church recom-

mends this sacrament for those who are grave-

ly ill or in danger of death. Call the priest to

arrange a visit.

Weddings

Arrangements must be made at least six

months in advance to allow time for prepara-

tion and planning.

406 East Pinhook Road Lafayette, LA 70501-8727

Phone: (337) 237-0988

Welcome to St. Patrick Church

Solemnity of Mary, The Holy Mother Of God January 1, 2017

MASS INTENTIONS FOR THE WEEK

Saturday, December 31--Vigil of the Solemni-ty of Mary, The Holy Mother of God 4:00 PM: Cecil & Eva Mae Hebert; Dr. & Mrs. Leonard Rolfes; M/M Alfred Hitter, Sr.; M/M E. H. Montagnet, Sr.; John Foreman, Sr.; Charles Rick, Jr. Sunday, January 1--Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God 8:30 AM: Robert Chastant & Evelyn; Eddie Upton 10:00 AM: Parishioners of St. Patrick’s Monday, January 2--Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church 7:30 AM: Sick List Tuesday, January 3--The Most Holy Name of Jesus 7:30 AM: Sick List

Wednesday, January 4--St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Religious 7:30 AM: Dr. Tommy Comeaux & Dorinne; Col. Clark Comeaux & Catherine (living); Col. Kimberly Fedele (living) Thursday, January 5--Saint John Neumann, Bishop 7:30 AM: Sick List Friday, January 6--St. Andre Bessette, Religious 7:30 AM: Dr. Charles Stewart Christmas Poinsettias In Loving Memory of: Dr. & Mrs. Leonard Rolfes; Dr. Tommy Comeaux & Dorinne; Larry Lampo; Bannon Braun; Christopher Landry; Monty & Pierre Montagnet; Sidney Begnaud; Henry Bourdier & Elzia Lavergne Family

Non-Liturgical Devotions Daily Rosary: Monday - Thursday 6:55 a.m. Our Lady of Perpetual Help Novena: Tues-day 7:15 a.m. Rosary for Priests: Wednesday 7:00 a.m. Chaplet of Divine Mercy: Thursday 7:15 a.m. Pro-Life Rosary: 1st Friday of the month 7 a.m. Shamrocks—Wednesday, January 6: No cleaning this week.

Loving God, who is revealed through the simple birth of your son Jesus, in the gentle and loving touch of Mary and the secure and protecting touch of Joseph, help us to know you this day. May our lives find a home with you, and our families be secure under your protection. May the blessings of home, parents, family, and community be a spark of new life and profound love. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever, Amen.

Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. — Luke 2:19

Holy Hour for Vocations Please join us for our monthly “Holy Hour for Vocations and for the Spiritual Renewal of All Priests” on Monday, January 2, from 6:00-7:00 p.m. at St. Patrick Catholic Church, 406 E. Pinhook Road. Recitation of the Rosary be-gins at 5:30 p.m. All are welcome to join in these prayers for vocations and perseverance of vocations to the priest-hood and religious life, sponsored by the Serra Club of Lafayette. Food for the Journey Due to the early date of the first Tuesday of January 2017, the January session of “Food for the Journey” will not be held. Our February session of “Food for the Journey” is scheduled for Tuesday, February 7, 2017. Information on the February session will be forthcoming. Thank you for your understanding!

Come, Lord Jesus! We have an active group that meets on Tuesdays, at 6 pm, in the classroom directly behind the Church (across from the restrooms). Anyone interested who missed the previous meetings is welcome to attend, even if you are not sure about continuing. Resources for the program are available for purchase at the Come, Lord Jesus! office at 1804 West University Ave, Lafayette. Call: 337-233-6277 Theology of the Body—January 4, 11, 18, 25 Sponsored by the Office of Pro-Life Apostolate, this 8 week series will be presented by Adele Guillot and Karol Me-ynard. Sessions will be held at Immaculata Center, St. John XXIII meeting room, beginning on January 4 and conclud-ing on February 22. For details, please contact the Office of Pro-Life Apostolate at 337-261-5607. March for Life The Knights of Columbus Council #7557 will sponsor a Pro-Life Walk on Saturday, January 14th., 2016, at 8:30 am. The presentation will begin inside Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Broussard by Lori McGrew followed by a blessing from Father Keith Ruskoski. The Rosary and prayers will be prayed during the march through Broussard to St. Joseph Church and the return to the Parish Life Cen-ter. Refreshments will be served after the march. Healing Hearts “Healing Hearts” is a Support Group for women whose re-lationships have been affected by pornography or sexual addiction of a loved one. Meetings are held in the evening during the week for 1 hour and 30 minutes, in Lafayette. This is a highly confidential group. Confidentiality state-ment must be signed by all members before the place and time of meeting will be disclosed. Please call 337-404-6113 Voicemail and the group facilitator will return your call as soon as possible.

Christmas Project Heifer International Now We’re Cooking with Gas. Biogas!

They love to cook. But their “Chef’s Kitchen” already seems fully stocked. Well, here’s something that might be missing. Throughout the world, cooking still means gathering firewood. The result is often deforestation. That’s why we provide biogas stoves that run off me-thane gas captured from animal waste. Biogas Stoves…………...…………….$50.00 each Buy Biogas Stoves for a Village.….$1,000.00 Donation sheets are available under the stairwell. Make checks payable to St. Patrick Church. All donations will be sent to Heifer International at the beginning of the year. Heifer International meets the BBB Wise Giving Alliance’s Standards for Charity Accountability. For additional information please visit their website: http//www.heifer.org/ Icon Workshop/Retreat The Diocese of Lafayette Office of Worship is spon-soring a week-long residential icon painting workshop at the Jesuit Spirituality Center in Grand Coteau, LA., from January 30—February 5, 2017. Instructor is Dmitri Andreyev of the Prosopon School of Iconology. Participants will leave with a completed icon of St. Michael the Archangel, Leader of the Heavenly Hosts. Cost is $1,230.00 and includes room and board for the week, 36 hours of painting instruction, and all art sup-plies. For more information, please contact Faye Drob-nic at fdrobnic@diolaf.org or call 337-261-5554 or 337-344-7031. Integrity of Heart Men struggling with sexual compulsivity and/or an addiction to pornography now have a confidential sup-port group right here in Lafayette. Weekly meetings are held for an hour and fifteen minutes. STRICT CONFIDENTIALITY is observed by all members and a Confidentiality Statement is signed by each member after an initial meeting with the facilitator. Call and leave a confidential message at 337-944-9860 and the group facilitator will return your call and give you more information. STEWARDSHIP OF THE PAST WEEK Our Response to God’s Generosity to Us Offertory………………………… $ 6,177.75 Heifer International……………….$ 4,025.00 (to date) Thank You! The second collection this weekend is for our Building Fund.

Date

Saturday, January 7 4:00 p.m.

Sunday, January 8 8:30 a.m.

Sunday, January 8 10:00 a.m.

Lectors Kathy Kalweit Gerrie McGovern Karen Begnaud

Eucharistic Ministers

Peggy Spruill Candis Thompson Merrick Stelly

Larry Lewis Suzanne Lavergne Maggie Sonnier

Kenneth Broussard Madeline Simon Janeth Harrington

Altar Servers Rosalind Allen Fred Vallot Nicholas Begnaud

Ushers George Guidry Oren Spruill

Donald & Scottie Vallot

Robin Roy Lionel Jeanmard

Liturgical Roles for January

Readings for the Week

Monday Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59; Ps 31:3cd-4, 6, 8ab, 16bc, 17; Mt 10:17-22

Tuesday 1 Jn 1:1-4; Ps 97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12; Jn 20:1a, 2-8

Wednesday 1 Jn 1:5 — 2:2; Ps 124:2-5, 7b-8; Mt 2:13-18

Thursday 1 Jn 2:3-11; Ps 96:1-3, 5b-6; Lk 2:36-40

Friday Sir 3:2-6, 12-14 or Col 3:12-21 [12-17]; Ps 128:1-5; Mt 2:13-15, 19-23

Saturday 1 Jn 2:18-21; Ps 96:1-2, 11-13; Jn 1:1-18

Sunday Nm 6:22-27; Ps 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8; Gal 4:4-7; Lk 2:16-21

From the Pastor’s Desk

As we begin a New Year, I share with you these words of hope and challenge from Pope Francis, an excerpt from his Message for the 50th World Day of Peace:

While the last century knew the devastation of two deadly World Wars, the threat of nuclear war and a great number of other conflicts, today, sadly, we find ourselves engaged in a horrifying world war fought piecemeal. It is not easy to know if our world is presently more or less violent than in the past, or to know whether modern means of communications and greater mobility have made us more aware of violence, or, on the other hand, increas-ingly inured to it.

In any case, we know that this “piecemeal” violence, of different kinds and levels, causes great suffering: wars in different countries and continents; terrorism, organized crime and unforeseen acts of violence; the abuses suffered by migrants and victims of human trafficking; and the devastation of the environment. Where does this lead? Can violence achieve any goal of lasting value? Or does it merely lead to retaliation and a cycle of deadly conflicts that benefit only a few “warlords”?

Violence is not the cure for our broken world. Countering violence with violence leads at best to forced mi-grations and enormous suffering, because vast amounts of resources are diverted to military ends and away from the everyday needs of young people, families experiencing hardship, the elderly , the infirm and the great majority of people in our world. At worst, it can lead to the death, physical and spiritual, of many people, if not of all.

Jesus himself lived in violent times. Yet he taught that the true battlefield, where violence and peace meet, is the human heart: for “it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come” (Mk 7:21). But Christ’s mes-sage in this regard offers a radically positive approach. He unfailingly preached God’s unconditional love, which wel-comes and forgives. He taught his disciples to love their enemies (cf. Mt 5:44) and to turn the other cheek (cf. Mt 5:39). When he stopped her accusers from stoning the woman caught in adultery (cf. Jn 8:1-11), and when, on the night before he died, he told Peter to put away his sword (cf. Mt 26:52), Jesus marked out the path of nonviolence. He walked that path to the very end, to the cross, whereby he became our peace and put an end to hostility (cf. Eph 2:14-16). Whoever accepts the Good News of Jesus is able to acknowledge the violence within and be healed by God’s mer-cy, becoming in turn an instrument of reconciliation. In the words of Saint Francis of Assisi: “As you announce peace with your mouth, make sure that you have greater peace in your hearts”.