Very Rev. Simon Peter Engurait, VG Pastor Deacon Stephen Brunet

Contact Informa on Church Office : 446-6801—2076 W Main St. Fax Line: 448-2764 Youth Forma on Office: 446-1985 E-mail address: stbridgetchurch@htdiocese.org Facebook: facebook.com/StBridget Www.stbridget-htdiocese.org

Mass Schedules Daily Masses: (See lent schedule on page 3) Monday— Friday: 8:00 am Saturday Vigil Mass: 4:00 pm Sunday Masses: 8:30 am & 10:30 am

Confessions: Weekdays 7:30-7:55 Saturday: 3:00-3:50 pm

Sunday: 7:30-8:25 am & 10:00-10:25 am

*For Adora on Chapel informa on call 985-446-6801 *To report suspected abuse, call 1-855-452-5437

St. Bridget Catholic Church

100 Highway 311 - Office 2076 W Main St - Schriever, LA

TODAY’S READINGS First Reading — As the prophet Samuel anointed David with oil, the spirit of the LORD rushed upon David (1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a). Psalm — The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want (Psalm 23). Second Reading — You who were once darkness are now light in the Lord (Ephesians 5:8-14). Gospel — The man who had been blind from birth proclaimed: The one called Jesus made clay with his sali-va, anointed my eyes with it, and told me to wash (John 9:1-41 [1, 6-9, 13-17, 34-38]). The English translation of the Psalm Responses from Lectionary for Mass © 1969, 1981, 1997, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.

My Dear people of God, The fourth Sunday of Lent is also called Laetare Sunday- which means Rejoice Sunday. This comes from the Entrance Antiphon for this Mass that opens with “Rejoice Jerusalem..”. Furthermore, since there are six Sundays in Lent, the fourth Sunday falls just past the midpoint of Lent and this is cause for rejoicing because the end of the Lenten journey is at sight. The principal theme in the read-ings this Sunday is “Sight or Seeing”. Although physical sight is very important, in both the first reading and the gospel such sight is only a the point of entry into the much deeper theme; and that is ‘spiritual sight”. Before we delve into the theme of today, I would be seriously remiss not to address (even if only briefly) the Coronavirus pandemic that has caused upheaval across the world. On this “Rejoice Sunday” one might say- there is no reason to rejoice. But remember the instruction from St Paul: “Rejoice in the Lord, ALWAYS”. Therefore even in the midst of this pandemic, let us rejoice. Secondly, I read in one of the social media postings, a suggestion that this virus is a punishment from God for the sins in the world and the person who sent it to me was seeking my opinion. My answer lies in today’s gospel reading. Jesus was faced with a similar question. When his disciples saw the blind man, they immediately concluded that his blindness was the result of sin and so they asked Je-sus: “..who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” In reply, Jesus said; “Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.” I therefore believe that at the end of this whole pandemic, the power of God will be manifested and many people will experience it! Let us now turn more directly to the theme of Sight in our readings this Sunday. In our society today, one’s (external) image has become so much more important than the reality of their entire being. The appearance is seen as more important than the substance. We tend to judge by appearances forgetting that appearances are superficial and can be very deceptive. Everything that makes up the core of a person’s character is hidden within. In the famous words of Little Prince, ‘What is essential is invisible!’ When I prepare couples for marriage, one of the first things I would like to establish is that they are not building their relationship on mere external appearances. In a few cases, that has sadly been the case! In the first reading, Israel is need of a king and the prophet Samuel is commissioned by God to look for the new King. The Search led him to Bethlehem, to the household of Jesse. There one by one, he was introduced to seven of Jesse’s sons all of whom possessed outstanding physical attributes. They were tall, strong, good-looking etc. They presented a very good image or impression and Samuel was impressed. Nevertheless, he wasn’t quite satisfied and so his search continued. Then almost as an af-ter-thought, little David was introduced to him. A mere youth, he was still physically underdevel-oped. Judged by appearance, he didn’t have a lot going for him. But Samuel, a wise and perceptive man noticed something special in him. God had said to Samuel: “Do not judge from by appearance… Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart.” This tells us that there was another side to David, the inner side. No wonder the Bible calls David “the man after God’s heart’” (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22). My brothers and sisters, God looks at our interior lives that is why Lent is about our inner conversion. God wants our hearts to be converted and renewed. In the gospel reading, we have the story of the blind man. On the surface this story appears to be merely about a blind man receiving sight. But on a deeper level, it is about a man coming to faith in Jesus. The man’s journey from blindness to sight symbolizes the journey from unbelief to belief (i.e. to faith) which is a journey from darkness to light. In the gospel account, Jesus is proclaimed as the “Light of the World”. Not only does He give sight to the physically blind, but the light of faith to the spiritually blind. Sadly, while the blind-man opens more and more to Jesus Christ the light, the Phar-isees, who were physically sighted become more and more spiritually blind! My brothers and sisters, as we move into this second part of the Lenten Season, let us open our hearts to Jesus that He may bring inner transformation to us. And in the face of the Coronavirus let us be reminded of the saying: ‘Never use faith when you should use wisdom’ in other words, God has given us wisdom to make the right decisions. Some of our interventions should be guided by faith others will be made from the wisdom that God has bestowed upon us. Thanks and God bless, Fr Simon Peter

NEVER JUDGE BY APPEARANCE The Story of an Old and His Horse

Once there lived an old man in a village in Russia. He was in his seventies but was still healthy. He used to roam nearby villages on his horse for work or for pure leisure. He had a fine horse…many-a-times his horse saved him from difficult situations. This old man loved and cared for his horse like it was his own child. One day, the old man went to his farm walking. When he came back, he saw that his horse had run away! All the other villagers thought he won’t be able to tolerate this shock. Many of them went to the old man and tried to console him. But, the old man laughed at them and told them “You people are thinking that my horse ran away and so I am in misery and pain. You have come to console me and for that I am grateful. But I am not in pain. You have to let go of things in life…” After few days his horse came back. But this time the horse wasn’t alone; many wild horses came following the horse! After running away from old man’s house, the horse wandered into the jungles. In those jungles there were many other horses. Wild horses always live in groups called a band. So, where one horse goes all other horses follow. When the old man’s horse de-cided to return back to him, it ran away towards the village again and all other horses followed the horse. And the old man kept them all! On hearing the news, the villagers came to congratulate him. He again laughed and said “I don’t think there is need for you to congratulate me. Nothing great has happened.” After a few days, one of the wild horses kicked the elder son of the old man. His son became a handicapped person due to the injury. The villagers again came to comfort the old man. But, again old man smiled and said, “I don’t think it any calamity has struck on me or my son.” The people thought old man had gone crazy. But, when after a few days Russia declared a war against a neighbor state, Russia faced riotous casualties. All the young people of the country were forcefully sent into army. Many soldiers died in the war. But, since the old man’s son was handicapped, he wasn’t in the army and his life was saved. So, the moral of the story is – sometimes when something good happens, it may actually be harmful for us. And, sometimes when something bad happens, it may actually be a blessing in disguise. Never judge by appearance.

ST. BRIDGET MASS AND LITURGY SCHEDULE Monday’s of Lent 8:00 am & 5:45 pm Tuesday-Friday 8:00 am & 6:00 pm Fri-

day-5:30 pm Way of the Cross followed by Mass Saturday: 8:30 am

Confessions before daily Mass—7:30 am to 7:55 am April 1, 2020—The Light is on for you Confession from 6pm till the last person all church parishes

HOLY WEEK Holy Thursday 10:30 am Chrism Mass @ St. Francis de Sales Cathedral, Houma 7:00 pm Mass of the Lords Supper followed by Eucharistic Adoration till midnight. Good Friday 10:00 am Out Door Way of the Cross 3:00 pm Celebration of the Passion of the Lord Holy Saturday 8:00 pm Easter Vigil Easter Sunday 8:30 am & 10:30 am

The Sanctuary Light memory of:

March 22-28 Roy Boudreaux (DA) by Earline and fly

Catherine Wallace by Marie Wallace

March 29-April 4 Annette Richard (B) Marlene and Ronnie

DA=Death Anniv. B= Birthday WA=Wedding Anniv.

—————————————— March 21 4:00 pm Rudy Thibodaux by family March 22 8:30 am Catherine Wallace by Marie Wallace March 22 10:30 am Louis Trosclair Jr. by family Fernand Cavalier (DA) by Charles and Anita Cavalier and family March 25 8 am Katie Ann Boudreaux by Craig & Aline Boudreaux March 28 4:00 pm Jimmy Cavalier by Brenda and family Paul Thibodaux by Marilyn Thibodaux March 29 8:30 am Ethel Tabor March 29 10:30 am Louis Trosclair Jr. by family Lelia Landry (B) by Burnelle & Margaret Landry

Knights of Columbus The KCS are the fraternal organi-zation of men serving the church par-ish with physical and spiritual needs. The KC's meet on the 4th Wednesday of the month in the Community Life Annex. The organization is open to Catholic men aged 18 and above. Contact Ricky Billiot at 985-856-6868 for more information.

BAPTISM

Prior to baptizing a child, the par-ents and Godparents must attend a baptismal seminar. Those seeking to baptize a child must complete a registration form. Forms can be found on line or at the Church office.

Qualifications for sponsors of a baptism.* Must be confirmed * Must be a practicing Catholic * Must be at least 16 years old * If married, it must be a Catholic marriage

March 8, 2020 Envelopes $ 4260.00 Loose 626.00 $ 4886.00

Attendance 390 Thank you for your generosity.

Being a Partner in Hope

Please know that Father Simon Peter is grateful for the response that St. Bridget par-ish has shown to the 2020 annual Bishop’s Appeal. Thus far our parish has reached 51% of our parish appeal goal. The appeal is some-thing that our parish supports and Father would like to see the support from our parish-ioners continue to grow. Your gifts are sup-porting our 13 seminarians, caring for our 17 retired priests, youth formation and religious education, and Catholic education. Vital min-istries to our diocese that support each of us.

On behalf of Bishop Fabre, he would like to thanks all who have made their com-mitment and strongly encourages all of our parishioners to participate in such a worthy cause. If you have not yet made your commit-ment and would still like to do so, there is still time as you can return your commitment card in the offertory, or simply mail it to the dio-cese in the provided envelope, or you may al-so visit www.htdiocese.org/bishopsappeal to make your gift online. If you would like more information about the 2020 Appeal, please contact the An-nual Bishop’s Appeal Office at 985-850-3122. or email aportier@htdiocese.org.

Catholic Charities assists low in-come workers with the payment of minor car repairs when they are having trouble getting to and from work due to brakes, alternators, belts, starters, etc. that need to be changed. The car must be registered in the name of the person who is employed, they must have insurance on their vehicle, and be receiving SNAP (Food Stamp) Benefits. For more information, please contact Jennifer Gaudet at 876-0490.

Catholic Social Teaching: Call to Family, Com-munity, and Participation As human beings, we have a right to live and grow in peace. Because we have that right, we have the responsibility to make sure others enjoy the same opportunity too.

As we reflect on the experience of the man born blind, we might reflect on the millions of people in our world who experience actual physical blindness. In light of Catholic Social Teaching, we might also look at the spiritual or cultural blindness that we all encounter in our world and the desire of Christ to heal us and our world.

One in six children in the United States experience poverty, yet many of us don’t see them. Billions of people throughout the world experience poverty, yet many people of the world don’t notice them.

Sometimes we feel overwhelmed by all the problems and we do not see the hopeful possibilities that can unfold by the power of God. Sometimes we see peo-ple, not as they are, but through the lens of our preju-dice and stereotypes.

How we see is often affected by the media and other cultural forces of society. Thus, we experience a cer-tain blindness even though our eyes are working. We hear what people tell us and see what they show us, but we don’t see for ourselves.

Christ wants us to have open eyes and ready hearts, so that we can see and then have the freedom to act with justice and love. As we reflect on today’s scrip-tures, we might reflect on our need to see things in a new way – outside of the box of our culture – outside of the limits of our American way of looking at things in a new way.

The story of John 9 is a powerful story about how one person comes to see while so many other people con-tinue to be trapped by their own blindness. We all have our personal blind spots and prejudices. Our culture has their blind spots and prejudices as well. Christ calls us to be free. Christ calls us to see in a new way, just as Samuel learned to see “not as man sees but as God sees.”

PILGRIMAGE TO THE HOLY LAND

In the Foot Steps of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Fr Simon Peter has planned a 10 Day Pilgrimage to the Holy Land, August 17-26, 2020 for St Bridget Parish. The full package price including airfare from New Orleans is $ 3,695 (double occupancy). Final Payment Deadline is April 30, 2020. To enroll online, please go to: www.petersway.com/9700.html OR pick up enrollment forms from the parish of-fice.

Secretary helper needed St. Bridget is looking for someone to help in the office part time. About 16 hours per week. Computer skills and communication skills are necessary. The position may be-come a permanent position in the future. If interested call Fr. Simon Peter or call the of-fice to leave your name and number.

Bread or Stones Campaign Volunteer Training Workshop: The Bread or Stones Campaign for child well-being (Mt. 7:9) is a program of the Louisiana Interchurch Conference (LIC). We are a mem-ber of the LIC and the Bread or Stones Cam-paign. This statewide campaign is holding the first Bread or Stones Coordinator Train-ing on Friday, April 3 in the evening, ending around mid-day on Saturday, April 4 at the Wesley Center in Woodworth, LA (south of Alexandria). Attendance (including room and board) is free, but limited. Bread or Stones Coordinators are volunteer church members who have a moral commitment to improve the lives of the children of Louisiana and a passion for bringing about change. Coordina-tors are networked and supported through the Louisiana Interchurch Conference (LIC). If you are interested in learning more about this campaign or the workshop please contact Fr. Dan Krutz, LIC executive direc-tor, licexecdir@aol.com or (225) 344-0134. Thank you for faithfully responding to Jesus’ call to care for our children (Mt. 7:9).

Beignets: Mr. Robert who makes our beignets for special occasions is looking for someone to train to eventually take over this job. If interested call the office at 446-6801.

Prayer Line If you or someone needs to be added to the prayer line, call Nina Richard at 446-1206 or the rectory at 446-6801. In the charity of your prayers, please pray for the sick, elderly, and homebound. Please pray for: Elaine Ables, Susan Arceneaux, Heidi Ardoin, Jacob Aucoin, Sara Aucoin, Elvin Babin, Tommy Badeaux, Chad Barrileaux, Ronnie Bednarz, Chuck Beebe, Gertrude Benoit, Judith Benoit, Fr. Paul Bergeron, Rosemary Besson, Mitzy Bet-tridge, Gretchen Bilello, Pat Billiot, Preston Billiot, Al-vin & Gail Blanchard, Dennis Blanchard, Ronald Blanchard, Cody Bourgeois, Emile “Jay” Bourgeois, Patricia Bourgeois, Troy & Joan Bourgeois, Wade Bour-geois, Connie Bouterie, Beau Brassette, Dustin Brassette, Mark Brassette, Emma Del Broussard, Richard Brous-sard, Susan Caillouet, Bessie Chiasson, Randy Chiasson, Brad Clement, Bryce Comeaux, Jay & Tiffany Conner, Huey Cortez Sr., Martha Cortez, Randy Davis, Cary Da-vis, Jr., Barbara & Ronni Duhon, Alan Dunbar, Linda Ekiss, Avery “Brother” and Sonja Fonseca, Darin Fonz, Robin Ford, Marie Fournier, Alisa Frederick, Dante Gal-liano, Toby Gambarella, Leigh Ann Gardner, Carrie Gib-bens Belinda Gil, Brandon Gil, George Gil, The Gil Fam-ily, Carrie Mae Givens, Austin Gros, Bryan Gros, Chad Gros, George Gros, Rosebella Gros, Vergie Gros, Kendra Guillot, Elaine Chauvin Hebert, Joy Hebert, Katie Hebert, Jerrell Hebert, Sr., Jessie Hoffpauir, Samara Holland, Kristen Koppel, Jackson LaFleur, Mona Lambert, Elmay Landry, Judie Landry, Joyce Landry, Craig Landry, Mark Landry, Barbara Nell Lapeyrouse, Allie LeBlanc, Chester Lecompte, Evelyn Leger, Tammy Babin Loney, Tim Long, Payton Martin, Rick Melancon, Asher Miller, Sa-vannah Miller, Emma Mire, Bethany Moore, Meghan Naquin, Misty Naquin, Shannon Naquin, Eric Oliviery, Robert Oncale, Annie Ordoyne, Kara Pellegrin, Sherry Pennison, Lisa Pennison, Sally Pertuit, Kenneth Pitre, James Pierce, Kip Pierce, Sharon Prejean, Ed Raidl, Kerri Reynolds, Bryce Richard, Ella Richard, Gladys Richard, Lorita Rodrigue, Susan Rodrigue, Cynthia Rogers, Dan-ielle Samanie, Chester Sanchez, Karla Saunier, Kathy Savoie, Earline Simmoneaux, Penny Simmons, Brenda Sonier, Deacon Ryan Stawaizz, Louis Stevens, Melissa Tardiff, Trish Templet, Cammie Thibodaux, Lacey Thibodeaux, Thibodaux Family, Ronnie Thomas, Chris Toups, Joyce Toups, Ricky Turner, Suzanne Usey, Sara Day Vignes, Allison Walters, and Anna Wooten. Please notify the office when name can be removed.

Catholic Daughters Corner

All Catholic women are encour-aged to join your sisters in Christ for Mass at 6:00 pm fol-lowed by an evening of prayer, praise and worship. The Lenten Prayer Service is March 12th in the church. All Catholic women (age 18 and above) are invit-ed to join the organization to grow in faith, friendship, and service to community. Dues ($25 annually) are now due. Dues can be paid at the meeting or mailed to Financial Secretary Mary Louviere.

CHILDRENS LITURGY

Children’s liturgy takes place at the 10:30am Mass. This is an opportunity for children from the age of 4 to receive the word of God in a manner appropriate to them. It is a wonderful opportunity that is benefiting the children in our community. Parents are hereby encouraged to bring their children for children’s liturgy.

READINGS FOR THE WEEK Monday: Is 65:17-21; Ps 30:2, 4-6, 11-13b; Jn 4:43-54 Tuesday: Ez 47:1-9, 12; Ps 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9; Jn 5:1-16 Wednesday: Is 7:10-14, 8:10; Ps 40:7-11; Heb 10:4-10; Lk 1:26-38 Thursday: Ex 32:7-14; Ps 106:19-23; Jn 5:31-47 Friday: Wis 2:1a, 12-22; Ps 34:17-21, 23; Jn 7:1-2, 10, 25-30 Saturday: Jer 11:18-20; Ps 7:2-3, 9bc-12; Jn 7:40-53 Sunday: Ez 37:12-14; Ps 130:1-8; Rom 8:8-11; Jn 11:1-45 [3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45]

LIGHT “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light” (Ephesians 5:14). We are at the midpoint of our Lenten journey of conversion. As always, God never gives up on us, especially those who have “fallen asleep” along the road to conversion. The most powerful stories of conversion are proclaimed during these final weeks of Lent. They have the power to shake us out of our sleep. Today’s Gospel story of the healing of the man born blind exposes the real blindness in the time of Christ—the blindness of the self-righteous religious leaders. In a few weeks, at the Easter Vigil, the Church will proclaim “Christ our Light” as the paschal candle is carried into darkened churches throughout the world. May the darkness of sin that still pervades our lives, communities, and world, be dispelled by the Christ who comes to bring sight to the blind and light to the world. Copyright © J. S. Paluch Co.

Youth Events Happening This Spring

Abbey Youth Festival for youth in grades 8 and above is Saturday, March 21st. The Abbey Youth Festival is an apostolic service of Saint Joseph Abbey and Seminary College. It is designed to provide young people with an opportunity to experience a day of prayer and faith formation with an exposure to the Benedictine tradition. Its focus is evangelization and vocational discernment by means of Liturgy, prayer, worship, music and education appropriate for Catholic young people.

Lift 3:16 Rally for youth in grades 5 – 7 is Saturday, March 28 in Raceland. This event is replacing Junior High Faith Ex-perience.

Steubenville on the Bayou has been cancelled. Youth from St. Bridget w ill be attending Steubenville South in Alexandria, LA. Franciscan University of Steuben-ville, Ohio sponsors these Catholic Youth Conferences for students in grades 9 and above in 24 locations throughout the nation. Please contact the is Youth Formation Office at (985) 446—1985 for more details.

VBS 2020 My Friend Jesus, Vacation Bible School 2020 will be held June 8—12 for youth

entering Kindergarten through 6th grade. Registration forms can be found on the Youth Page of the St. Bridget website. Visit www.stbridget-htdiocese.org for more details.

Adult Forma on News: If you registered for a small group and were never contacted, please let us know by calling the office. If you would like to be in a small group you can s ll join. This is a wonderful way to get to know fellow parishioners while learning more about our religion. Please contact the office for more informa on.

St. Joseph Altar Help Needed

MONDAY, MARCH 16th, 17th, and 18th Starting at 9:00am to 2:00pm, Bakers are needed to bake items at home to display on the alter, vegetables will also be needed to display on the alter, dona- tions will be appreciated. Items need to be brought to the St Jo-seph Alter at the Annex on March 16th,

March 17th, and 18th from 9:00am to

2:00pm.

FRIDAY, MARCH 20th, 2020 Starting at 9:30am, Volunteers will be

needed to assist with taking down the St Jo-seph Alter and packing up all decorations, taking down tables and bringing everything back to the storage areas. The annex will have to be cleaned and put back to ready for use.

Workers are also needed to help on St. Joseph Day during the viewing hours.

CHARITY

If you truly want to help the soul of your neighbor, you should approach God first with all your heart. Ask him simply to fill you with charity, the greatest of all virtues; with it you can accomplish what you desire. —St. Vincent Ferrer

Cancelled

Cancelled