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Being a Christian—truly following Jesus isn’t easy. Jesus teaches His disciples the Golden Rule in the Gospel passage that we hear today: “Do to others as you would have them do to you…Love your enemies and do good to them…expecting nothing back.”  Jesus’ challenges us to do the impossible…but all things are possible with Jesus and God our Father.  Today, let us listen attentively to what God is calling us to do for the people in our lives—both those who treat us kindly in return and those who do not.

St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church will be selling St. Joseph’s Altar Cookies again this year. Order forms are on all the tables by the entrance doors. All proceeds from these sales go directly to missions (Daughters of Divine Providence Yucatan Mission, Our Lady of the Americas Mexico Mission and St. Labre Indian School in North Dakota). All orders must be submitted by March 3, 2019

Ladies Altar Society Trip - The annual bus trip will be a Retreat Day, at St. Helena, Amite, La on Wednesday, April 10, 2019. This should be a good day of prayer and reflection during Lent. Fr. Mark will speak for an hour. The cost of the trip is $50.00, which includes retreat, bus and lunch. A down payment of $20.00 per person is due when you sign up and is non-refundable. (This is the cost of the bus) Departure is at 8:00 am and returning is at 4:00 pm. The deadline for the Altar Society members is January 15, 2019. On January 16, 2019 it will be opened to the public. The public deadline is January 29, 2019. full payment is due February 19, 2019

There will be a total of 4 Monday evenings March 18th, March 25th, April 8th, April 15th.  Registration will begin in back of church starting the weekend of Feb. 23rd, you can also register to Deacon Richard’s archdiocese email rabbondante@arch-no.org or cell phone 504-382-4480. Or Diane’s email Pray4Him2@gmail.com. The package for participants will be $20.00

Spring Garden Clean Up Day!! It’s time to clean up the parking lot planters! Your help is needed! Please join us on Saturday, March 23 10:00 a.m. Bring gloves, garden snippers, rakes, Young people who need service hours are welcome! Plans are to clean, weed and remulch. Pine needle donations are welcome and can be dropped off at church or picked up if needed. Please call the rectory if you have pine needles that need to be picked up. (Water will be available)

Today, we hear Saint Luke’s account of the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Plains. We are more familiar with Saint Matthew’s version of the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount. Saint Luke’s version is more challenging because Luke’s “blesseds” are immediately followed by “woes.” As we listen to the Gospel today, ask yourself this question, “which one of the Beatitude applies to me?”

St. Peter School All-Star Drama Club's production of Aladdin is cancelled for February 15 & 16th. It will be rescheduled for a later date. Thank you for your understanding.

Today is WORLD MARRIAGE DAY. It is associated with the World-wide Marriage Encounter and the Catholic Marriage Encounter movement. World Marriage Day is celebrated on the second Sunday in February. The purpose of World Marriage Day is to honor husband and wife as the foundation of the family— the basic unity of society. It celebrates the beauty of their faithfulness, sacrifice and joy in daily married life.

Welcome to all St. Peter School Alumni for the annual Msgr. Eyraud Mass, Alumni Dinner and Reunion. Congratulations to Mrs. Melanie “Mel” LeBlanc Trosclair for being selected as the 2019 Distinguished Graduate. Mel has done many things for St. Peter School since her graduation in 1974. She has been a faithful volunteer for over forty (40) years to her alma mater, St. Peter School. Currently, Mel is the St. Peter School Athletic Director, a position she has volunteered for the past sixteen (16) years. Once again, Congratulations Mel for being a faithful volunteer and distinguished graduate of St. Peter School.

OFFERING ENVELOPE SETS for 2019 are available for pickup at the Rectory. It is especially important that parents of St Peter School students pick up and use their offering envelopes – it affects your tuition rates...

Today, begins the national observance of Catholic Schools Week. The theme is: Catholic Schools: Learn, Serve, Lead, Succeed.” The theme for Catholic schools this year focuses on the core of Catholic education. Schools are not only communities themselves, they are also part of larger communities, including St. Peter Parish, Reserve, Louisiana and our nation.

With the conclusion of the Christmas/Epiphany season, the Church begins Ordinary Time. Ordinary Time is described as a time for growth and maturation—a time in which the mystery of Christ is called to penetrate ever more deeply into history until all things are finally caught up in Christ. The goal, toward which all history is directed, is represented by the final Sunday in Ordinary Time, the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.

Today, the Christmas/ Epiphany season concludes with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Saint Luke has already told us how the angels, the shepherds, and the magi have attested to the holiness of the Christ child. Today we hear God call out from the heavens, “You are my beloved Son,; with you I am well pleased.” By our baptism, we too, are God’s beloved children. During this week, I encourage you to reflect on your own baptism, and of the saving grace of God in His Son, Jesus the Christ.

            Today the Church celebrates the Epiphany of the Lord—the  manifestation to the Gentiles of the life of God Himself.  God, who in the person of Jesus, shared in our humanity in order to allow us to share in His divinity forever.  The Magi (Wise Men), with their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, paid Jesus honor, respect, and praise.  Like the Magi, each person’s journey  to Christ has its own direction and trail; and for each who pays Christ homage and offers the treasures one holds, the reward is the same: a path away from the dangers of sin and death and toward life.

I hope that you had time to spend with family and friends on Christmas. For the Church we are in the midst of the Christmas season. Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family. This year’s Gospel Reading of the finding of the child Jesus in the temple is also commemorated in the Fifth Joyful Mystery of the Rosary. The opening Collect (opening prayer) provides a framework for our reflections: “O God, who were pleased to give us the shining example of the Holy Family, graciously grant that we may imitate them in practicing the virtues of family life and in the bonds of charity…” Families come in all shape and sizes, but all can be part of a family. In the face of God’s ever-flowing generosity, highlighted for us today in the blessing of family life, we become aware of our human shortcomings and our need for God’s mercy and love. As we celebrate the Holy Family, let us think of the families we have been a part of, both as children and as adults.

As we enter the “homestretch” of this season of preparation, we hear of Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth. Their visit is filled with joy, expressed wonderfully by Elizabeth’s baby (John the Baptist) leaping in her womb at the sound of Mary’s voice. In a few days, we will celebrate the great gift that God has given to humanity two thousand years ago: the gift of Jesus. Jesus comes as Savior of the world and as the majestic King—but also as a Shepherd who care deeply and personally for each one of us on our journey. May these last days before Christmas fill us with joy as we prepare to welcome Christ into our hearts once again.

Today is known as Gaudete Sunday. It means rejoice. The third candle is lit today on the Advent. Deacon Richard and I will be wearing rose colored vestments today. If anyone is counting, we have nine days until Christmas. We have been preparing for Christ’s coming for two weeks. On Monday, December 17 th , the prayers and the Liturgy shifts to the proximate preparation for Christ at Christmas. As we celebrate and rejoice on Gaudete Sunday, we celebrate and rejoice in God’s gift to us—the gift of His Son, Jesus, Emmanuel: God-with-us.

2018 Giving Tree Project sponsored by St. Peter Catholic Community and Msgr Eyraud Knights of Columbus. Wrapped gifts with ornament tags must be returned to the rectory no later than December 11.

Senior Catholic sisters, brothers, and religious order priests ministered for years, for little or no pay.  Their sacrifices now leave their religious communities without adequate retirement savings.  Your gift to today’s second collection for the Retirement Fund for Religious helps provide medications, nursing care, and more for tens of thousands of elderly religious.             The second collection this weekend is for the RETIREMENT FUND FOR RELIGIOUS.  I ask for your generosity.