MASS INTENTIONS
Nov. 28- Dec 04
Sat. 4:30 p.m. Felton Edwards Chee & Poppy Higginbotham
Sun. 7:30 a.m. People of the Parish J.C. Kibodeaux
Sun. 10:00 a.m. Lois Morrell People of the Parish
Wed. 8:00 a.m. Brenda Smith Irene Doucette
Thurs. 8:00 a.m. Lindy & Marie Fontenot Family Carolyn Hardy
Fri. 8:00 a.m. Lucille Leger Earl Kibodeaux & Bula Barnett
CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY MASSES
CHRISTMAS EVE: 5:00 P.M. CHRISTMAS DAY: 7:30 & 10:00 A.M.
NEW YEAR’S EVE: 5:00 P.M. NEW YEAR’S DAY: 8:00 A.M.
Ministry Schedule
05 Dec. 4:30 p.m.
Lector: Karen Halsell
06 Dec. 7:30 a.m.
Lector: Ward Lowe
06 Dec. 10:00 a.m.
Lector: Vicki Lemke
Money Counters: Liz Gallier & Rachal Jordan
PLEASE PRAY FOR THOSE WHO ARE SICK: Elliott Bounds, Josie Costa, Emma
Edwards, Junius Edwards, Vincent G. Fertitta, Sandra Hall, Barbara Hawkins, Gerald Fontenot,
Yvonne Godeaux, Denise Klages, Romanell Martin, Hazel Trahan, Christine Voan & Tommy
Wright.
BIRTHDAY THIS WEEK: Ashton Chatlin, Rosie Garcia, Lotus LaRocca, Manuel Macias,
Rosalia Macias, Ginger Payne, Rayshawn Wheaton & Kenne Wilson. Happy Birthday, May
God Bless You!
ONLINE CONTRIBUTIONS
For those who would like to make your contributions online, you may visit our website to do so.
Thank you in advance.
BFA
If you haven’t made your contribution to the Bishop’s Faith Appeal, time is running out for this
year’s appeal. Please do so as soon as possible. Thank you for your support!
THANK YOU
The Family of Dottie Smith would like to thank everyone for their kindness during the time of
their grief. The prayers, food and comforting actions are much appreciated.
First Sunday of Advent
With Advent we begin a new church year as we renew our preparations for the coming of Christ. The scriptures show a profound movement from despair in the first reading, as we feel the wrath of God’s anger and a sense of being abandoned, to the responsorial psalm, which begs us to turn toward God, and the second reading where we see a glimmer of hope. Brimstone returns in the Gospel. This sense of unease and pain is much like what we have endured throughout 2020 with COVID-19, racial struggles, and political campaigns. Frankly, everyone is ready for a restart, for a do-over, for a better year. We
can understand the heartfelt prayer of the prophet Isaiah: “Oh, that you would rend the heavens
and come down.” Hide not your face from us, O God, but during these days of Advent may you
reveal yourself to each of us once again.
BE WATCHFUL! BE ALERT!
When Jesus does not speak in eloquent sentences, but barks out imperative statements such as
in our Gospel reading today, one can understand the urgency. There is no place for flowery
language. “Be watchful! Be alert!” One has a sense that these should be written in bold or all
caps! He tells the parable of the homeowner leaving his workers at home, with no knowledge of
when he would return. Without phones and texts and travel schedules it could have meant the
homeowner was returning sometime in the day, or sometime in the coming month or year. So
Jesus is not telling us, “You have to behave for a little bit,” but rather, “You must live your life
and work like the homeowner is always here. You must always be prepared.”
WATCH!
This author was very aware of the language of “master/servant” in the Gospel today and is
reading it and praying it in light of discussions on racism in recent months. Perhaps this goes
with the last imperative at the end of the parable to “Watch!” This year has taught us to be alert
in our actions such as social distancing, masks, and sanitizing, as well as in our language and
even our thoughts. Now how do we apply that to our spirituality, to our faith? For many, due to
restrictions on numbers in church, singing, and choirs, this has meant learning to pray in a
whole different way. The celebration of liturgy is the same as ever, with its focus always on the
Word and the Eucharist, but for those in the pew, or still watching on livestream, the sense of
active participation has taken on a very different meaning from how most of us have
experienced liturgy in our lifetime. It feels like we have become spectators rather than
participants. Perhaps this challenge can move us from complacency in our faith, to rediscover
and relate to God in new ways, and call us to be even stronger in our personal faith. We must
remain diligent. We must “watch.” We must hope. We must love. We must pray