May 8, 2016 - The Ascension of the Lord

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: 7:15 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

The Ascension of the Lord

May 8, 2016

MASS INTENTIONS FOR THE WEEK

Saturday, May 7--Vigil of the Ascension of the Lord 4:00 PM: Cecil & Eva Mae Hebert; Dr. & Mrs. Leonard Rolfes; Jules, Isola & Bart LeJeune;

Wallace & Romaine Venable Sunday, May 8--The Ascension of the Lord 8:30 AM: Robert Chastant & Evelyn; Eddie Upton; Dr. Almore (Doc) Bordelon; Nick & Earl Chiasson; Dr. Nicholas Olivier; Cecelia Ledet; Julia Phillips;Elnora Jordan; Ken Langlinais; James Guidry; Patricia Grafton 10:00 AM: Parishioners of St. Patrick’s Monday, May 9--Easter Weekday 7:30 AM: Lynn Kallam Ditch; Poor Souls Tuesday, May 10--St. Damian de Veuster, Priest 7:30 AM: Mike Guilbeau

Wednesday, May 11--Easter Weekday 7:30 AM: Dr. Tommy Comeaux & Dorinne; Col. Clark Comeaux & Catherine (living); Col. Kimberly Fedele (living) Thursday, May 12--St. Nereus and Achilleus, Martyrs; St. Pancras, Martyr 7:30 AM: Verna & Wiley Romero Friday, May 13--Our Lady of Fatima 7:30 AM: Dr. Charles Stewart Altar Flowers In Loving Memory of: Dr. Tommy Comeaux & Dorinne

God mounts his throne amid shouts of joy;

the Lord, amid trumpet blasts. — Psalm 47:6

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, May 13: Jerry & Dee Boudreaux; Betty Fournet; Charlotte Privat. Census Update Remember that if you are a member of the par-ish, and did not receive a letter from us a few weeks ago, you're not on our membership list! Pick up a census card on the table near the main entrance under the stairwell, and get it back to us. Or use the form under "About Us" on our website: stpat.org. And thank you.

Mother’s Day Prayer Loving God, as a mother gives life and nourishment to her chil-dren, so you watch over your Church. Bless our mother. Let the example of her faith and love shine forth. Grant that we, her family, may honor her always with a spirit of profound respect. Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

—Catholic Household Blessings & Prayers

Upcoming Retreats—Jesuit Spirituality Center “Open My Heart-A Mind, Body, Spirit Retreat” for Young Women, ages 21-45; Yvonne Hymel, Jane L. Hebert, Karen Franck—Friday, June 3-Sunday, June 5. Fee: $160. “A Day of Renewal for Women: A Spirituality of Creativity”, Andrea Vidrine—Saturday, July 16, 9:00 am—4:00 pm. Fee $50 (lunch included). Silent, Individually-Directed Re-treats of 3, 5, or 8 days begin on the following dates: Mon., May 9 or Thur., May 12; Mon., May 23 or Thur., May 26. The center specializes in these personally di-rected retreats, which are based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Solitude and silence are important aspects of the retreat experience. For an application form to register and/or for all retreat information, visit online at www.jesuitspiritualitycenter.org, or call 337/662-5251 St. Mary Church Bus Trip St. Mary Church, Lafayette, is offering a 5 day/4 night Bus Trip on June 6-10, 2016, to visit Eureka Spr ings, Benton-ville and Branson. We will depart Lafayette on Monday, June 6, at 7:45 a.m. from St. Mary parking lot (419 Doucet Road, Lafayette). Our schedule includes “The Great Pas-sion Play” in Eureka Springs and “The Story of Moses” at the Sight & Sound Theater in Branson. Numerous guided tours, visits to historic areas and museums, and much more are also included. For complete details, registration, cost and more information, please contact JoAnn LeJune at St. Mary Church (981-3379) or Barbara Thibodeaux, Group Director (235-3240). Pilgrimage to Rome & Assisi – Canonization of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta Rev. Robert Seay, OFM, Pastor of St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church, Lafayette, and its Mission, Good Hope Chapel, will be Chaplain of a pilgrimage to Rome and Assi-si for the Canonization of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcut-ta from September 1-7, 2016. For more information, please contact Father Seay at St. Paul the Apostle (235-0272). 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. Integrity of Heart Men struggling with sexual compulsivity and/or an addic-tion to pornography now have a confidential support 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.

Reminder—Baby Items Next weekend is time to bring baby items to be given away to those mothers who choose life for their babies. Immediate need: diapers for infants and sizes 3, 4 & 5; wipes; body wash; baby lotion, diaper bags. Also needed: infant and baby food; bottles; sippy cups; nipples; pacifiers. The kindness of your donations help this ministry. Additional Trip Added—St. Mary Church Local Pilgrimage Bus Trip for Jubilee “Year of Mercy” After “selling out” their Bus Trip in April, St. Mary Church, Lafayette, is offering an additional one-day Pilgrimage Bus Trip on Thursday, May 19, to visit Pil-grimage Sites in the Diocese of Lafayette designated by Bishop Michael Jarrell to reflect on the Father’s mercy and how we can emulate that mercy in our lives. We will attend 7:00 a.m. Mass at St. Mary Church (419 Doucet Road, Lafayette), then depart at 7:45 a.m. from St. Mary parking lot. We will visit, take tours and have our booklets stamped at the Carmelite Monastery; St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church, St. Martinville; Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church, Hen-derson; Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto and St. Leo Cath-olic Church, Leonville; Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church, Opelousas; Our Mother of Mercy Catholic Church, Church Point; Our Mother of Mercy Catholic Church, Rayne; and Cathedral of St. John the Evange-list, Lafayette. Each person will receive a booklet “Merciful Like the Father”; inside you will find the Prayer for the Year of Mercy which we will pray at every location, and we will have our booklets stamped at each site. Lunch (included) will be at Little Big Cup in Arnaudville. For registration details, cost and more information, please contact JoAnn LeJune at St. Mary Church (981-3379) or Barbara Thibodeaux, Group (235-3240). Quo Vadis Days 2016 Young men ages 15-25 are invited to attend a discern-ment camp, sponsored by the Diocese of Lafayette Of-fice of Vocations, to be held at Our Lady of Sorrows Retreat House in St. Martinville, June 28-30th. There is no cost, and registration forms can be downloaded from the vocations website lafayettevocations.org Married Couples Retreat—May 20-22 To be held at Our Lady of Sorrows Retreat Center, St. Martinville. Fr. Michael Champagne, CJC will serve as retreat director, and with married couples will also be giving talks. Participants are asked to bring a bible, paper and pencil/pen, toiletries, towels and washcloths. For more info., contact Cheryl Moss 337-453-2385 STEWARDSHIP OF THE PAST WEEK Our Response to God’s Generosity to Us Offertory………………………$ 3,897.00 Building Fund…………………$ 1,376.81 Thank You!

Date

Saturday, May 14 4:00 p.m.

Sunday, May 15 8:30 a.m.

Sunday, May 15 10:00 a.m.

Lectors Kathy Kalweit Susan Cain Robin Roy

Eucharistic Ministers

George Eaton Rosalind Allen Peggy Spruill

Maggie Sonnier Sarah Hamsher Suzanne Lavergne

Kenneth Broussard Madeline Simon Monica Mullins

Altar Servers Oren Spruill Fred Vallot Phyllis Roy

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

Liturgical Roles for May

Readings for the Week

Monday Acts 19:1-8; Ps 68:2-3ab, 4-5acd, 6-7ab; Jn 16:29-33

Tuesday Acts 20:17-27; Ps 68:10-11, 20-21; Jn 17:1-11a

Wednesday Acts 20:28-38; Ps 68:29-30, 33-36ab; Jn 17:11b-19

Thursday Acts 22:30; 23:6-11; Ps 16:1-2a, 5, 7-11; Jn 17:20-26

Friday Acts 25:13b-21; Ps 103:1-2, 11-12, 19-20ab; Jn 21:15-19

Saturday Acts 1:15-17, 20-26; Ps 113:1-8; Jn 15:9-17

Sunday Acts 2:1-11; Ps 104:1, 24, 29-31, 34; 1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13 Jn 20:19-23

From the Pastor’s Desk

As we celebrate the Feast of the Ascension this weekend, we find ourselves in the midst of the mys-tery of the Lord’s presence, even as he departs. He would not leave us orphans, yet it is good for him to return to the Father. He leaves, yet we gather each weekend celebrating his presence. Especially when we reach out to the least among us, we literally encounter the Lord, who sits in glory at God’s right hand.

As we consider all this, I offer a portion of Pope Francis’ recent talk on the parable of the Good Shepherd, who leaves the ninety-nine to go in search of the one. Even as we ask, “Where is the Lord?”, we might also want to consider, “Where are we?”

“Our parable unfolds around three figures: the shepherd, the lost sheep and the rest of the flock. However, the only one who acts is the shepherd, not the sheep. Hence, the shepherd is the only true protagonist and everything depends on him. A question introduces the parable. “What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it?” (Luke 15:4). It is a par-adox that induces to doubt the action of the shepherd: is it wise to abandon the ninety-nine for one sheep and, what is more, not in the safety of the sheepfold, but in the desert? According to the biblical tradition, the desert is a place of death where it is difficult to find food and water, without shelter and at the mercy of wild beasts and robbers. What can ninety-nine vulnerable sheep do? The paradox continues nevertheless, saying that, having found the sheep, the shepherd “lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing, and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neigh-bors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ (v. 6). It seems, therefore, that the shep-herd does not go back to the desert to recuperate the whole flock! Inclined to the one sheep, he seems to forget the other ninety-nine. But in reality, it is not so. The teaching Jesus wishes to give us is, rather, that no sheep can be lost. The Lord cannot be resigned to the fact that even one person alone can be lost. God’s action is that of one who goes in search of his lost children to then celebrate and enjoy with all finding them again. It is an unstoppable desire: not even ninety-nine sheep can stop the shepherd and keep him closed in the sheepfold. . . .

“The Lord’s flock is always on the way: it does not possess the Lord. We cannot delude ourselves, imprisoning Him in our schemes and our strategies. The shepherd will be found there where the lost sheep is. Therefore, the Lord is to be sought where He wishes to meet us, not where we presume to find Him! In no other way will the flock come together again other than by following the way traced by the shepherd’s mercy. “ — Pope Francis