March 5, 2017 - First Sunday of Lent

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

First Sunday of Lent March 5, 2017

MASS INTENTIONS FOR THE WEEK

Saturday, March 4--Vigil of The First Sun-day of Lent 4:00 PM: Dr. & Mrs. Leonard Rolfes; Mike Guilbeau Sunday, March 5--First Sunday of Lent 8:30 AM: Dr. Robert Chastant & Evelyn; Eddie Upton; John Daigle; Phil Simon; Bud & Euna Arceneaux; Joseph & Eldie Woods; Sonya & Angela Thibodeaux 10:00 AM: Parishioners of St. Patrick’s Monday, March 6--Lenten Weekday 7:30 AM: Sick List Tuesday, March 7--Lenten Weekday 7:30 AM: Esther Metz

Wednesday, March 8--Lenten Weekday; St. John of God, Religious 7:30 AM: Dr. Tommy Comeaux & Dorinne; Col. Clark Comeaux & Catherine (living); Col. Kimberly Fedele (living) Thursday, March 9--Lenten Weekday; St. Frances of Rome, Religious 7:30 AM: Mary Ann Lavergne (living) Friday, March 10--Lenten Weekday 7:30 AM: Dr. Charles Stewart Friday—7:10 a.m.

Non-Liturgical Devotions Daily Rosary: Monday - Thursday 6:55 a.m. Our Lady of Perpetual Help Novena: Tuesday 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—Friday, March 10: No cleaning this week. We are grateful for all who keep our Church cleaned! Lenten Daily Masses: Monday through Friday: 7:30 a.m. Way of the Cross: Fridays 7:10 a.m.

“The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.”

— Matthew 4:10

Food for the Journey The Central Deanery of the Diocese of Lafayette pre-sents “Food for the Journey”, a monthly lunchtime speakers series designed to help Catholics live out our faith in our daily lives. Our speaker for March is Most Rev. Douglas Deshotel, D. D., Bishop of Lafa-yette. “Food for the Journey” will be held on Tues-day, March 7, 2017, at River Oaks Catering and Event Center Lafayette, 520 East Kaliste Saloom Road, beginning at 12:00 noon. An optional buffet is available for purchase beginning at 11:30 a.m. All are welcome to come “eat and be fed” – please bring a friend! Pre-registration is not required. For more information, please call Danielle Huval (232-1322). Set clocks ahead next Sun., March 12th.

Happy Birthday Fr. Keith!! (Sunday, March 5th.)

Parking An unfortunate interruption of Mass occurred last weekend, when police followed up on a complaint that our parishion-ers had parked illegally on the streets surrounding the Church, blocking traffic and impacting safe travel. All are reminded to be attentive to safety when parking, and avoid areas where prohibited (yellow curbs, No Parking are-as). This is especially true of the fire lane in the parking lot on the north side of the Church. We never know when emergency vehicles may need access. What is CRS Rice Bowl? CRS Rice Bowl is catholic Relief Services’ Lenten Program for families and faith communities in the United States who want to put their faith into action. Through CRS Rice Bowl, participants are invited to hear stories about their brothers and sisters in need around the world, and devote their Len-ten prayers, fasting and alms to change the lives of those who suffer in poverty. Participants journey though the the 40 days of Lent with a collection of daily reflections and activities included in the CRS Rice Bowl calendar and on the mobile app. Rice Bowl containers are available under the stairwell under the main entrance. Day of Recollection The Alumnae of Schools of the Sacred Heart, Grand Coteau, will host a Day of Recollection on Thursday, March 9, 2017—Academy Chapel, 9:00 am—2:30 pm. Director—Fr. Michael Champagne, CJC. There is no fee to participate; donations will be appreciated. Please bring a bag lunch. Beverages will be provided by the SSH Alumnae Association. All are welcome and reservations are not re-quired. For further information, contact Linzee LaGrange at 337-662-5275 or alum@sshcoteau.org. The Spiritual Care Unit will be available for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. St. Mary Church Trip—April 25-26, 2017 The Painted Churches of Schulenburg, TX Bus departs at 7:30 am from St. Mary Church. Price per person: single: $274; double: $212; triple: $195; Quad: $186. Price includes bus transportation, 1 night accommo-dation, breakfast, tour with local tour guide and entrance fees to cover activities. Contingent on 30 passengers before March 22, 2017. To secure your reservation it is necessary to mail your full payment. For reservations and information please call Barbara Thibodeaux at 337-235-3240. Theology of the Body, the Gift—Level 1 Due to the great turnout for the previous “Theology of the Body Video Series”, Adele Guillot will be conducting an-other “Theology of the Body, The Gift—Level 1 Video Se-ries”. The series will be held at Immaculata Center and of-fered on the following dates: March 20, March 27, April 3, April 10, 2017—6:00—8:00 pm. There is no fee for the class. Student Workbooks are $15. Participants must be 18 years of age or older. For more information or to register, call the Office of Pro Life Apostolate at 337-261-5607 or email: tlittle@diolaf.org

St. Patrick Feastday From our Bishop, Most Reverend Douglas J. Deshotel DECREE -- Whereas, the disciplinary practice of ab-staining from meat and meat products on the Fridays in Lent is an important dimension of the penitential na-ture of the season and applies to all Roman Catholics who have reached the age of fourteen (14) (Canon 1252); Whereas, this year, the Feast of St. Patrick, March 17, 2017, falls on a Friday in Lent, and given the many celebrations that occur on this day in com-memoration of Saint Patrick and especially of the Irish heritage, in accord with the norm of law; Therefore, I herewith grant to all Catholics of the Dio-cese as well as all present here that day, a dispensation from abstinence from meat and meat products. All who make use of this dispensation are to engage in another sacrificial or charitable act that day. St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast We will be celebrating our St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast on Saturday, March 11th, at the Petroleum Club, 111 Heymann Blvd., at 8:00 am. This year it is our 18th gathering as a community of faith to remember our patron saint. If you have a special talent and would like to share it, we would encourage you to begin the project — painting, bake, cook, gardening, crafts, sew-ing, etc., etc. Just bring it the day of the breakfast for door prizes. Please note that it is not necessary to pro-vide a door prize. Please sign the tablet at the back of the church if you are planning to attend as we need to know how many to prepare for. Holy Hour for Vocations Please join us for our monthly “Holy Hour for Voca-tions and for the Spiritual Renewal of All Priests” on Monday, March 6, from 6:00-7:00 p.m. at St. Patrick Catholic Church, 406 E. Pinhook Road. Recitation of the Rosary begins at 5:30 p.m. All are welcome to join in these prayers for vocations and perseverance of vo-cations to the priesthood and religious life, sponsored by the Serra Club of Lafayette. Marriage Enrichment Dan Jurek is hosting a 5 week Marriage Enrichment Series: “Creating Connection”. The series will begin on Monday, March 6 for the next 5 Mondays through April 3. It will be held from 6:00-8:00 pm at the Courtyard Marriot conference room. The cost is $195.00/couple. To register contact Lacie Mire 337-993-1960 or go to www.paxrenewalcenter.com/events for more information. STEWARDSHIP OF THE PAST WEEK Our Response to God’s Generosity to Us Offertory………………………… $ 3,256.80 Thank You! The second Collection this weekend is for our Building Fund.

Date

Saturday, March 11 4:00 p.m.

Sunday, March 12 8:30 a.m.

Sunday, March 12 10:00 a.m.

Lectors Harold Guilbeau Kenneth Phillips Karen Begnaud

Eucharistic Ministers

Rosalind Allen Dana Guidry Candis Thompson

Geneva Phillips Ted Hampton Kay Hampton

Kenneth Broussard Madeline Simon Janeth Harrington

Altar Servers Janell Venable Mary Kramer Nicholas Begnaud

Ushers Kevin & Daylan Phillips Rachelle Trahan Keith Toups

Robin Roy Lionel Jeanmard

Liturgical Roles for March

From the Pastor’s Desk

As I write this, the entirety of Lent is stretching out before us. This season will not end until the Easter Vigil on Saturday, April 15th. That’s a long time. And so I return to the question I asked in the Ash Wednesday homily: Do we experience Lent as burden, or as opportunity?

No one needs the burdens pointed out to them, beginning with the “rules”. Fasting (on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday) and abstaining from meat (every Friday in Lent) are not easy, wherever one lives. For us in Acadiana, we face the integrity question of too easily replacing meat on Friday with our favorite seafood, leaving one to wonder exactly what a penance is supposed to be. Our restaurants accommodate us by rolling out their “Lenten menus”, which are populated with their best dishes! Soon it seems that even not breaking the rules doesn’t guarantee an honest keeping of the spirit of the season.

And then there’s the rule we impose upon ourselves: our self-chosen penance, whatever that might be. For many it is a matter of giving up something, whether that something is a favorite food or drink, a particularly annoying behavior or a consistent pattern of thought and perception of others that we know to be wrong. Others will embrace a more positive discipline, perhaps with regards to prayer or some other spiritual endeavor. The fact that it is self-imposed doesn’t seem to make it any easier.

Here’s the thing: the vast majority of us will not make it to Easter without slipping up somewhere. One day after Ash Wednesday I heard from someone that their Lent had not begun well, not to mention those still re-covering from Mardi Gras. Admitting this is important, because it enables us to choose our response in those mo-ments when we find ourselves falling short.

We might just give up. That would not be good. Instead, we choose not to see Lent as a marathon of good deeds, but rather as a journey of return to the Lord. That our chosen path sometimes veers away from the goal doesn’t mean we can’t continue the journey. The very multitude of days that comprise the Lenten season assures us of a multitude of chances to “return to the Lord”, to get back on the path, to recommit to the journey itself. Even if the first two weeks don’t go as planned, you still have days and days to get back on track. If Palm Sunday is upon you and you’ve had multiple slips, you still have all of Holy Week to make the most of your Lent.

Lent as opportunity is rooted in desire: desire for God, desire to return to God, desire to draw closer to God. Nurture that desire, and let it carry you through the season of grace that lies ahead.

Readings for the Week

Monday Lv 19:1-2, 11-18; Ps 19:8-10, 15; Mt 25:31-46

Tuesday Is 55:10-11; Ps 34:4-7, 16-19; Mt 6:7-15

Wednesday Jon 3:1-10; Ps 51:3-4, 12-13, 18-19; Lk 11:29-32

Thursday Est C:12, 14-16, 23-25; Ps 138:1-3, 7c-8; Mt 7:7-12

Friday Ez 18:21-28; Ps 130:1-8; Mt 5:20-26

Saturday Dt 26:16-19; Ps 119:1-2, 4-5, 7-8; Mt 5:43-48

Sunday Gn 12:1-4a; Ps 33:4-5, 18-20, 22; 2 Tm 1:8b-10; Mt 17:1-9