December 4, 2016 - Second Sunday of Advent

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

Sacrament of Reconciliation

Saturday: 3:00 – 3:30 pm and Weekdays: 7:00-7:25 am

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

Second Sunday of Advent December 4, 2016

MASS INTENTIONS FOR THE WEEK

Saturday, December 3--Vigil of the Second Sunday of Advent 4:00 PM: Cecil & Eva Mae Hebert; Dr. & Mrs. Leonard Rolfes; Jules, Isola & Bart LeJeune; Ron Venable; Phil Simon; Bud & Euna Arceneaux Sunday, December 4--Second Sunday of Ad-vent 8:30 AM: Robert Chastant & Evelyn; Eddie Upton; M/M Elliott Roy; Robert Cole; Joseph & Eldie Woods 10:00 AM: Parishioners of St. Patrick’s Monday, December 5--Advent Weekday 7:30 AM: Dr. & Mrs Leonard Rolfes Tuesday, December 6--Advent Weekday; St. Nicholas Bishop 7:30 AM: Joan Braungart

Wednesday, December 7--St. Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church 7:30 AM: Dr. Tommy Comeaux & Dorinne; Col. Clark Comeaux & Catherine (living); Col. Kimberly Fedele (living) Thursday, December 8--The Immaculate Concep-tion of the Blessed Virgin Mary 7:30 AM: Dr. Nicholas Olivier Friday, December 9-- Advent Weekday 7:30 AM: Dr. Charles Stewart

‘The joy of the Gospel fills the hearts

and lives of all who encounter Jesus.’ -Evangelii Gaudium

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—Friday, December 9: No clean-ing this week. Advent Prayer Ever faithful God, your prophets foretold the coming of the light. In your name they promised that the eyes of the blind would be opened. We confidently await the coming of your Son, and the day when he will gather all people to live in your light, for ever and ever. Amen. —Proclaiming all your Wonders

Immaculate Conception This Thursday, December 8th., is the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary and it is a holyday of obligation. Mass will be at 7:30 a.m. We honor Mary, the Immaculate Conception who is Pa-troness of the United States. The collection will be for the Needy. Annual Christmas Social Our yearly Christmas Social is next Sunday, Decem-ber 11th., at 11 am., at the Parish Hall. Br ing your favorite holiday dish. The parish will provide the meat. This is a great opportunity to fellowship with one another and to meet parishioners who attend mass at another time. All are invited.

Make this a Meaningful Holiday—Heifer Project Instead of material gifts, choose gifts that help struggling families lift themselves out of poverty. Since 1944, Heifer International has worked to bring help, healing and hope to millions of impoverished families worldwide. In just over 70 years, the total number of families assisted , directly and indirectly, is more than 22.6 million in more than 125 coun-tries. In areas where hunger and despair once prevailed, Heifer programs have reinvigorated communities through livestock, training and Passing on the Gift. Our church will be participating in this special endeavor as a Christmas Pro-ject. Donation sheets ar e available under the stairwell. Make checks payable to St. Patrick Church. All dona-tions 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 addi-tional information please visit their website: http//www.heifer.org/ For Advent Advent missions are being held this week at Our Lady Queen of Peace, St. Anne in Youngsville, and St. Jules. De-tails are on the flyer available on the table near the main entrance. Wednesday Evening Confessions On the first three Wednesdays of Advent [November 30, December 7 and 14th] from 6:30-8:00 p.m., we will be offering confessions here at St. Patrick, together with all the Catholic parishes in the Diocese of Lafayette. This out-reach is called “The Light is On For You,” and is an effort on the part of our Diocese to make it as easy as possible for every Catholic to come or to return to this great source of God’s mercy and healing love. You are welcome to come here or to go to any other Catholic parish in the Diocese 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 Choir Director Position St. Mary Mother of the Church, 419 Doucet Road, Lafa-yette has a position opening up for Choir Director. The Adult Choir rehearses once per week, sings at the 11:00 am Sunday Mass and all special Liturgical events during the year. For more information or to apply, please contact Deb-orah Duhon, parish organist at 981-3379 ext. 250 Schedule of Christmas Masses Christmas Eve, Saturday, December 24: 4 & 6 p.m. Christmas Day, Sunday, December 25: 8:30 & 10 a.m. New Year’s Eve, Saturday, December 31: 4 p.m. New Year’s, Sunday, January 1st: 8:30 & 10 a.m.

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, December 5, from 6:00-7:00 p.m. at St. Pat-rick 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 vocations to the priesthood and religious life, spon-sored by the Serra Club of Lafayette. Food for the Journey The Central Region of the Diocese of Lafayette pre-sents “Food for the Journey”, a monthly lunchtime speaker series designed to help Catholics live out our faith in our daily lives. Our speaker for December is Rev. C. William “Billy” Massie, Associate Pastor of St. Genevieve Catholic Church, Lafayette. “Food for the Journey” will be held on Tuesday, December 6, at Wyndham Garden Lafayette (formerly “Hotel Aca-diana”), 1801 W. Pinhook Road, beginning at 12:00 noon. An optional lunch buffet is available for pur-chase 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 Mary Bergeron (654-8682). Angola Bus Trip Scheduled Sunday, December 11, 2016 Do you have a loved one at Angola? Would you like to visit? The bus leaves at 7:30 am from St. Paul’s Catho-lic Church (Corner of Simcoe and St. John St., Lafa-yette). To reserve a seat please call the Office of Jus-tice and Peace at 337-261-5545 Bishop’s Services Appeal The mission of the Diocese of Lafayette involves the total restoration of humanity, the salvation of the whole person. Our response to this mission finds ex-pression in the programs, ministries, and services sup-ported by the Bishop’s Services Appeal. The charity of God urges us, encourages us, and compels us to seek the needs of others, rather than self. Please prayerfully consider making a sacrificial gift or pledge to the Bish-op’s Services Appeal. This weekend is Follow-Up Weekend. Brochures and donation envelopes remain available under the stairwell near the main entrance of the Church, or you may visit our parish website at stpat.org/bsa for more information, including a link to online giving. STEWARDSHIP OF THE PAST WEEK Our Response to God’s Generosity to Us Offertory………………………... $ 3,196.10 Thanksgiving (U.C.O……………$ 620.75 Thank You! The second collection this weekend is for our Building Fund.

Date

Saturday, December 10 4:00 p.m.

Sunday, December 11 8:30 a.m.

Sunday, December 11 10:00 a.m.

Lectors George Eaton Susan Cain Andre Arceneaux

Eucharistic Ministers

Kathy Kalweit Candis Thompson Rosalind Allen

Suzanne Lavergne Ted Hampton Kay Hampton

Kenneth Broussard Madeline Simon Janeth Harrington

Altar Servers Harold Guilbeau Mary Kramer Robin Roy

Ushers Kevin & Daylan Phillips William & Stephanie Bacque Ben Berthelot Lionel Jeanmard

Liturgical Roles for December

Readings for the Week

Monday Is 35:1-10; Ps 85:9ab, 10-14; Lk 5:17-26

Tuesday Is 40:1-11; Ps 96:1-3, 10ac, 11-13; Mt 18:12-14

Wednesday Is 40:25-31; Ps 103:1-4, 8, 10; Mt 11:28-30

Thursday Gn 3:9-15, 20; Ps 98:1-4; Eph 1:3-6, 11-12; Lk 1:26-38

Friday Is 48:17-19; Ps 1:1-4, 6; Mt 11:16-19

Saturday Sir 48:1-4, 9-11; Ps 80:2ac, 3b, 15-16, 18-19; Mt 17:9a, 10-13

Sunday Is 35:1-6a, 10; Ps 146:6-10; Jas 5:7-10; Mt 11:2-11

From the Pastor’s Desk

Advent is “Waiting for Jesus”. But what do we do, while we wait? In a recent homily at daily Mass, Pope Francis offered some suggestions, starting with the necessity of going on the journey, if we want to meet him. Excepts from that homily follow:

“In the prayer at the beginning of the Mass, the Liturgy points out three attitudes: vigilance in prayer, indus-triousness in charity, and exultant in praise. That is, I must pray, with vigilance. I must be hardworking in charity – fraternal charity, not only giving alms, no; but being tolerant of the people who annoy me, being tolerant at home of the children when they make too much noise; or of the husband or wife when they are difficult; or the mother-in-law… I don’t know… but tolerant: tolerant… charity, always, but hard-working. And also the joy of praising the Lord: ‘Exulting in joy.’ That is how we must live this journey, this desire to encounter the Lord. To encounter Him in a good way. Not standing still. And we will encounter the Lord. “

“The Lord always goes beyond, goes first. We take one step and He takes ten. Always. The abundance of grace, of His love, of His tenderness that never tires of seeking us. Even, at times, with small things: We think that encountering the Lord would be something magnificent, like that man of Syria, Naaman, who was a leper [did]. And it’s not simple… And he too had a great surprise at God’s way of acting. And our God is the God of surprises, the God that is seeking us, is awaiting us, and asks of us only the little step of good will.”

“The doctors of the Law knew everything, all the dogmas of that time, all the morals of that time, everything. They did not have faith, because their hearts were far from God. Drawing away or having the will to go forward to encounter. And this is the grace that we ask for today: ‘O God, our Father, raise up in us the desire to meet your Christ,’ with good works. To meet Jesus. And for this we remember the grace that we have asked in prayer, with vigi-lance in prayer, industriousness in charity, and exulting in praise. And so we will encounter the Lord and we will have a very beautiful surprise.“

Vigilance, charity, and joy. Somehow, in the midst of daily life, we must cling to these. That is how we will notice the surprises which Christ has in store for us. In the midst of all that, to pray for desire: O God, our Father, raise up in us the desire to meet your Christ.’ This desire for Christ will not only provide us with motivation, but also with direction on the journey to meet him. We ask, Does this or that draw me closer to Christ? If so, em-brace it. If not, avoid it as if it were sin — because it just might be exactly that.