ST. BENILDE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

1901 Division Street • Metairie, Louisiana 70001

Church Office: (504) 834-4980 • Church Fax: (504) 831-5810 • Church Email: stbenildechurch@cox.net

www.stbenilde.org

CLERGY Rev. Robert T. Cooper, Pastor Rev. H.L. Brignac, Sacramental Asst. Deacon Biaggio DiGiovanni Deacon Stephen Gordon Deacon Clifford Wright

BAPTISMS First and Third Sundays of the month at 12 Noon. Please call the Parish

Office for more information.

MATRIMONY Please contact a priest/deacon 8 months prior to your wedding.

FUNERALS Arrangements may be made at the Parish Office.

September 23, 2018 Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

ORDINARY FAMILIES

EXTRAORDINARY FAITH

DEVOTIONS Holy Hour in Church

Monday, 6:00-7:00 p.m.

Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Following 7 a.m. Mass on Tuesday

NEWCOMERS Call the Parish Office to receive a New

Parishioner Registration Packet.

ST. VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY

St. Benilde Conference (504) 233-3246

ST. BENILDE SCHOOL Mr. Thomas Huck, Principal

1801 Division Street • Metairie, LA (504) 833-9894

MASS TIMES Saturday Vigil … 4 p.m.

Sunday … 9:00, 11:00 a.m. & 6 p.m. Monday—Friday … 7:00 a.m.

Monday and Thursday … 5:30 p.m. First Saturday … 8:45 a.m.

HOLY DAYS OF OBLIGATION See Inside the Bulletin for Schedule

CONFESSION TIMES Saturday … 3:00—3:45 p.m. Sunday … 5:00—5:45 p.m. Monday … 6:00—6:45 p.m.

and by appointment at the Parish Office

DIVINE MERCY ADORATION CHAPEL Eucharistic Adoration from 7:00 p.m. Sunday

till 4:00 p.m. Saturday

Parish Motto—Building the Kingdom of God

Ministers of the Liturgy September 22 & 23, 2018

Saturday - 4 P.M. Intention: Lester Mastio, Sr., Hubert LaBorde,

Ray Vitrano, Jr., Rick Vitrano, George Spaulding,

Flora Maria Be, Austin Burroughs, Bob Kelly,

Mary Ann Barre Curry (L), Joseph Segari,

Margaret Barre Giebelhaus (L), Patricia Paisant,

Edward Van Hoven, Jr., Patrick C. McKinney,

Melissa Mendel Zimmerman, Merle & Charles Dittmer,

Rita Hecker, Rudy Neubeck, Jr., Mickey Palmissano

Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion:

P. Delaup, J. Rodosta

Cantor: Kevin Rouchell Organist: Jared Croal

Sunday - 9 A.M. Intention: Parishioners

Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion:

J. Zeringue, G. Rojas, K. Klapatch, R. Theriot

Song Leaders: Traditional Choir

Sunday - 11 A.M. Intention: Margaret Koch, Charles Mele,

Abraham Cabrera, Joseph Donald Bernard,

James Jones, Audrey Cusimano, Judith Theisges,

Joseph Hymel, Jr., Josie Monjour, Kelvin Ducote,

Joseph Evola, Sr., Mary & Melvin Ducote,

Bernadette Kisner, Ronnie & Dianne Harrison

Henry McCloskey (L), Miriam Whitman, Geno Soleto

Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion:

N. Bostick, L. Frey, J. Ackermann, J. Wright

Song Leaders: Contemporary Choir

Sunday - 6 P.M. Intention: Russell Joubert

Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion:

D. Childers, T. Pitre

Cantor: Lauren Gisclair Pianist: Beth Kettenring

Weekday Masses Monday 7:00 a.m. Walter Giebelhaus (L)

5:30 p.m. Joseph Evola, Sr.

Tuesday 7:00 a.m. Audrey Cusimano

Wednesday 7:00 a.m. Joseph Evola, Sr.

8:15 a.m. June & Marvin Ackermann (L)

Thursday 7:00 a.m. Louis Youngblood, III

5:30 p.m. Joy Rojas

Friday 7:00 a.m. Marissa Saborio

The Church Sanctuary Lamp burns in memory of

The Souls in Purgatory

The Blessed Mother

Votive Lamps burn

For Reparations for Sins

Adoration Chapel

Sanctuary Lamp burns

in memory of

Stuart & Gloria Fourroux

Adoration Chapel Candles

burn in memory of

Ronnie & Dianne Harrison

Altar Ladies Week of September 23

April Duersel

Linens Large - G. Cifreo

Small - M. Oleksik, M. Meece

The St. Joseph Votive Lamps

burn for the

Sick and Suffering

St. Benilde Catholic Church

The Altar Flowers are in memory of

Deceased Parishioners

Stewardship of Treasure Weekend of September 15 & 16

Envelopes ………………………………...…$3,207.00

Loose ………………………………………….2,512.00

Electronic Giving …………………………...….126.00

Repairs & Maintenance …………………..…..355.00

Totaling ……………………………………..$6,200.00

Catholic Communications Campaign……...$800.00

“Let us focus on generosity, or returning God’s gifts

with increase, through the generous sharing of our time,

talent and treasure.”

~ Fr. Cooper

Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion

Sept. 29/30 4 PM A & P Delaup 9 AM C. Frederick, L. Director, R. Meche, B. O’Hara 11 AM K. Archer, L. Sorensen, C. & T. Pitre 6 PM D. Childers, D. Powers

St. Benilde Catholic Church Volume 36: Issue 38

Parish Motto—Building the Kingdom of God

Blessed Seelos Healing Mass & Anointing of the Sick

Blessed Seelos Healing Mass will be held at St. Mary's Assumption Church, 923 Josephine St., New Orleans, on Sunday, October 7, at 1 PM. There will be one-on-one intercessory prayer in the shrine starting at 11:45 AM and confessions before Mass. homilist and celebrant will be Fr. Kevin Zubel, C.Ss.R. The gift shop will be opened before and after the Healing Mass.

DISCOVERING LIFE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT WITH MARY!

The Life in the Spirit Seminar is a one-day event

open to men and women. This Seminar prepares a

person to receive the Baptism in the Spirit and has

revolutionized the Christian lives of millions of

Catholics all over the world. The Seminar is

sponsored by CCRNO and will be held Saturday,

October 6, at Divine Mercy Community Center,

4337 Sal Lentini, Kenner, from 10 AM to 3

PM. Presenters: Andi Oney, Janice Charbonnet,

Denise Beyer, Kim Lukinovich. Bring bag lunch;

drinks provided. Love Offering will be taken. While

there is no charge for this seminar, please pre-

register. Visit www.ccrno.org or call CCRNO at

504-828-1368 to register.

Peace Prayer Walk

Following Pope Francis’ call for congregations to move beyond church walls, the Archdiocese of New Orleans sponsors a monthly Peace Prayer Walk in different parts of the Archdiocese. Please join us on Tuesday, September 25, from 6 to 7:30 PM, when participants will walk from St. Benilde Church to Archbishop Rummel High School praying for peace and an end to violence in our community.

40 Days for Life

40 Days for Life is an international campaign that

unites groups in prayer and action to end abortion.

This year the campaign runs from September 25

through November 3. St. Benilde is committed to

adopting October 27 to pray outside the Women’s

Health Care Centre, located at 2701 General

Pershing Street, New Orleans. We invite each of

you, your family and friends to pledge at least one

hour in prayer with us on this day to end the brutal

deaths of God’s precious creations. Members of

the St. Benilde Pro-Life Committee will be

available after all the Masses on October 6 & 7

with more information and the sign-up schedule.

For more information, please call Deacon Cliff

Wright at 834-9706 or Sandra Brady at 885-3780.

Fr. Cooper’s Corner

The Meaning of Stewardship in the Christian life

A steward is a servant entrusted for a time with the goods of the Master. The steward uses but does not own these goods, and must eventually give an account to the Master for the way in which they have been cared for and made fruitful.

Each of us spends a brief time in this life, preparing for our eternal life with God. While we are here, we receive everything from God, even life itself, and are asked to make good use of what God has entrusted to us. We are invited by God to be good stewards of His gifts. It is no wonder that the idea of stewardship plays such a central role in the life of faith.

The Bible frequently refers to the spirit of stewardship, whether or not the actual term is used. In fact, the ideas of servant, disciple, and apostle–so central in the Scriptures–all include the idea of stewardship. We are servants of the Lord, stewards who will be called to account when He returns. Each of us wants to hear the Lord say at that moment: "Well done, good and faithful servant." (Matthew 25:21) As a trustworthy steward, the disciple must be faithful in word and action to the teachings received from the Master. Disciples are sent out from Jesus, and must represent Him as authentic stewards of His mission and message.

The Bible teaches us that responsibility is inseparable from stewardship. We ultimately will be held accountable for the way in which we use what God gives us. In Luke 12:41-48, Our Lord reminds us that we are like stewards who are placed in charge of the household while the Master is away. "Who, then, is the wise and trustworthy steward whom the master will place over his household to give them at the proper time their allowance of food? Blessed is that servant if his master's arrival finds him doing just that." But if the servant abuses His master's trust, saying "My master is taking his time coming" and sets about beating the men-servants and the servant-girls, and eating and drinking and getting drunk, his master will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know."

The prospect of the return of the Master should fill Christians with joy: we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. In New Testament times, and throughout the early centuries of Christianity, the disciples of Jesus had a lively sense of expectation, as they awaited His return. Our liturgy is still filled with references to the coming of the Lord, though we hear of that so often that we may not take it seriously. But Jesus will indeed come at the end of time, whenever that will be. "Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again." More to the point, each of us will

stand before the Lord at the end of our life to give an account of our stewardship. That can happen at any moment, and we need to be ready. This is one exam for which it is useless to cram. Only the right use of the time, talent, and treasure which have been entrusted to us will allow us to be able serenely and joyfully to await the coming of the Lord. Again and again, in the Gospels, we hear of the imminent coming of the Master. Life is short. As steward, the disciple lives with a sense of joyful expectation, inseparable from repentant awareness of the need to be purified of those things which make us unready for the Master's return. In the celebration of the Eucharist, we hear words that express our hope as stewards

Parish Motto—Building the Kingdom of God

St. Benilde Catholic Church

of Christ: "In your mercy, Lord, keep us free from sin and protect us from all anxiety, as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our savior Jesus Christ."

In the most famous stewardship parable (cf. Matthew 25: 14-30), three servants are entrusted with great sums of money, and are then assessed by the master when he returns, on the basis of how they made use of the "talents" they had received. The ancient sum of money used in the parable, the "talent," has now become for us the term for any human skill or "gift" that we have a responsibility to develop, as did the servants who are praised in the parable. A faithful steward, now as then, needs to make good use of his or her talents. Stewardship calls for creativity and boldness. Each of us has enormous potential, but few things are sadder than to hear at the end of a person's life: "that person had a lot of potential." As good stewards, we are meant to use God's gift fruitfully and creatively, so that with true gratitude for what we have received we may return God's gifts to Him with increase. If we truly have the spirit of stewardship we will not let God's gifts go to waste, and we will not selfishly cling to them, but use them generously to serve others. That is the point of stewardship. It is significant that immediately after the parable of the talents, we hear of the judgment of the nations (cf. Matthew 25: 31-46), when people are separated, as sheep from the goats, on the basis of how they acted in this life. We can use our time in this life to be selfish, or to be generous to others. The blessed used their time here to care for those in need. That is true stewardship, and we are called to do likewise. At one point (cf. Mark 10:17-22) Jesus encounters a rich man, who seeks to discover what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus tells him to follow the commandments, and then says: "Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." This is good stewardship: not to cling to material goods, but generously to share with those in need. “But the man went away sorrowful, for he had many possessions.” He was possessed by his possessions, as each of us can be. What a shame. Jesus tells of a rich fool, captivated by his possessions, who builds bigger barns to store his grain (cf. Luke 12: 13-21) and says: "You have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry.' But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." The thought of death is spiritually healthy, as it forces each of us to consider our priorities. What is the point of all the energy I spend on gathering treasure, or spending my time and talent on things that are ultimately useless? It is wisely said that no one at the moment of death wishes to have spent more time at the office. We need to think of the moment of death, but not wait until then to realize what is important in life, and how we can each be wise stewards of what we have received for this earthly journey. Jesus tells of the rich man and Lazarus (cf. Luke 16:19-31); only too late did the rich man realize how he should have spent his time on earth. It is better to be like Zacchaeus (cf. Luke 19:1-10) who repented of his greed.

The secret of life is to recognize our state of dependency upon the providence of God. We do not ultimately own or control the time, talent, or treasure with which we are blessed by God during our short sojourn on this earth. Everything is a gift.

Even in the first chapters of the Bible, we find the theme of stewardship. Man and woman are entrusted with God's Garden. They may enjoy it, and are given responsibility for it. They do not own it. Sadly, they want to control everything in the Garden, and forget that they are simply stewards of God's creation, and so are banished. They were deceived by the illusion of self-sufficiency. We can as easily be deceived.

It is interesting that we are often called "consumers." What a shame it is that we can be identified as people who are simply consuming the goods of the earth. Inevitably, if that consumption becomes the mark of a greedy life, then we will ourselves be consumed and possessed by the goods that we consume. It is far better to see all such things in proper perspective. The time, talent, and treasure that we briefly enjoy are gifts to be accepted with gratitude, and used generously. If we do so, then that posture of detachment allows us truly to be free.

St. Benilde Catholic Church Volume 36: Issue 38

Parish Motto—Building the Kingdom of God

SEPTEMBER 23, 2018

ST. BENILDE CATHOLIC CHURCH – ID # 113850

1901 DIVISION ST.

METAIRIE, LA 70001

504-834-4980

NANCY CAROLLO

504-834-4980

MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAYS - 9 A.M. TO 3 P.M.

FRIDAYS - 9 A.M. TO 12 NOON

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: