News - November 2021 RSS Feed

We begin a new liturgical year with the First Sunday of Advent. The season of Advent is a time to prepare for the coming of the Lord, whom we portray as a precious infant in a simple manger at the end of this season. There are two more arrivals of our Lord to contemplate during this season of preparation and they tend to be overlooked. One day Jesus the Christ will come again in glory as the world ends and He delivers His final judgment. He gives a glimpse of this to His disciples in today’s Gospel. Let us also consider His third appearance—to each of us personally, into our hearts and into our lives as we embrace Him as His disciples. As we journey together during this Advent season of waiting, preparation, and anticipation, let us consider how we can welcome Jesus ever more intimately into our lives.

Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. As we close the liturgical year with today’s solemnity, it reminds us that Christ is King and ruler over all humanity. He is the king of the eternal heavenly kingdom. To His followers, Jesus referred to this kingdom as the Kingdom of God or his Father’s Kingdom, but through His ultimate act of self-sacrifice He became the firstborn of this kingdom, ready to show us the way.

THANKSGIVING DAY Mass of Thanksgiving, 8:00 am Thanksgiving Basket Collection

Next weekend there will be a special collection for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. Currently 38 million people in the United States live in poverty. This collection funds programs that empower local communities to address the challenge they face. The Catholic Campaign for Human Development supports those living in poverty across the country. It identifies and addresses the unique obstacles people face as they work to lift themselves out of poverty. In addition, 25% of the funds collected remain in the Archdiocese of New Orleans to fund local antipoverty projects. By supporting this collection, you are giving those on the margins a hand up, not a handout.

November 7-13 is National Vocation Awareness Week. As Catholics we firmly believe that God has a plan for our lives. He calls some to marriage, some to the priesthood, and others to religious life or to live as generous single people. Fully living our own vocations—and teaching young people how to discern God’s call—is a serious duty, but also a joyful one. May each one of us continue to pray for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Let us pray that someone from our parish of St. Peter will be open to God’s call to priesthood or religious life.