News - November 2024 RSS Feed

Dear Parishioners, Last year, in 2023, Christmas Day was on a Monday, making the Fourth Week of Advent lasting only 24 hours, and this year, 2024, because it is a leap year, Christmas Day is on a Wednesday, cutting the Fourth Week of Advent down to 72 hours. That’s what happens when December 25 is at the beginning of the week, and we have no control over this as we all know. But what we do have control over is the liturgical season of Advent as a whole, whether it lasts only three weeks, instead of four, like in 2023, or whether Christmas falls on a Saturday, when we actually have four full weeks of Advent anticipation and preparation. And that is the key to our observing the preparatory seasons of Advent and Lent: we prepare and anticipate the glorious feasts to come and not “bypass” the season of Advent with full Christmas decorations in place on “Black Friday” or have Easter baskets and lilies as our decorations on Palm Sunday. Advent and Lent are part of our faith life as Catholics for a reason – to benefit us to grow spiritually by using these seasons to prepare through prayer and reflection on the feast that is coming and not “jumping the gun,” so to speak, and celebrating prematurely. It’s not easy to do this in our world where Christmas carols start on Thanksgiving afternoon, or possibly before, and the Easter Bunny comes out the day after Valentine’s Day. If we are to be authentic members of the Church, true disciples of Jesus, then we cannot be “pulled into the ways of the world” and/or “go with the flow,” because we will not experience the full impact of the great celebrations of our faith. Let’s not shorten this Advent of 2024 any more than we have to, and for that matter, not only for 2024 but for every Advent that we observe as God’s people.

Dear Parishioners, The Sunday before the First Sunday of Advent, the Solemnity of Christ the King, is also the last Sunday of the current liturgical year. This year, December 1st marks the First Sunday of Advent and the start of a new liturgical year, in this case, 2025, for us Catholics and other Christian denominations who observe the month-long season of Advent. This year we also start “our Catholic/Christian New Year” exactly one month before the secular celebration of “New Year’s.” That doesn’t mean we as Catholics should not celebrate on December 31 and January 1 with the rest of the world, but we should always keep in mind that new beginning that we can all embark upon when we light the first of the four candles of the Advent wreath. Yet, with Christ as our Light, we can also remember that each and every day can be a day for a new start, a new beginning – not only when Advent or Lent or Easter or Christmas begins – but any and every day is a good day for us to recommit ourselves and renew our Baptism and continue to be a faithful and faith-filled follower of Jesus. Jesus knows that faithfulness and discipleship are not always easy crosses to carry, but our willingness to carry them is what Jesus wants, and He will help us each step of the way at our invitation to Him. That’s where the faithfulness and the discipleship come in – our Blessed Mother, the Twelve Apostles, the many men and women who joined Jesus’ mission and traveled with Him in His three-year mission, and all the saints who followed them - they all committed themselves, each with his or her difficulties. But letting Jesus help us through those difficulties through our faithfulness and discipleship is the key to our growth in faith, hope, and love. Starting this December 1st, let’s make 2025 a truly good year for us, the Church.

Dear Parishioners, Since the Saturday vigil Mass at St. Peter’s now begins at 4 p.m., the time for confessions has changed as well, and this information is readily available on the front of our weekly church bulletin. Saturday Confession time now begins at 2 p.m. and ends at 3:30 p.m. As the saying goes, “You can please some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time.” With that being said, starting Tuesday, December 3, I am adding another 90 minutes of confession time during the week, even though the time frame might not work for some but may for others. On Tuesday and Thursday mornings, the Sacrament of Confession will be available from 7:15 a.m. until 8 a.m. Although this is rather early, it may serve those who find Saturday afternoon from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. inconvenient. Who knows – maybe this 45-minute period for confession/reconciliation twice a week may be well-received, and even if it isn’t, at least there are three hours total offered each week in church for confession. Also, please remember that confession is available at any other time by appointment – just contact me if that method for confession works better for you. In my last parish assignment as pastor of St. Gertrude’s in Des Allemands, my cell phone number was on the front of the bulletin, and so, even though it isn’t currently on the front of the St. Peter’s bulletin, I’ll give it to you now – (504) 442-9299. This can serve as the emergency/after hours phone number where I can be reached directly, primarily for emergency situations, and yet it can be used to make appointments with me for confession and other things since I make my appointments myself. Advent starts on December 1st this year – may we begin this new month and a new liturgical year with faith and hope for what the Lord Jesus will bring to us.

Dear Parishioners, Last Sunday morning we had to adjust our clocks and watches – our mobile phones thankfully adjusted automatically – because daylight saving time came to an end for 2024, and we had to “fall back.” This coming March we will have to adjust our clocks and watches again when we “spring forward.” This twice-a-year adjustment/change is one that we should be quite used to, especially us adults, since we would be quite “out-of-sync” with everyone around us on a local and national level if we ignored it. Some find this semiannual change bothersome, some do not. But it is CHANGE, and change is an undeniable part of our lives. This weekend of November 9 & 10, we have a change in the vigil Mass time at St. Peter’s – from 5 p.m. to 4 p.m. Even just an hour’s difference is going to affect people in different ways, and in positive and in negative ways as well. But does not Jesus consistently call us to change – and to change for the better? He certainly does! And who better to direct and instruct us in these changes that He calls us to? The One who made the ultimate “change” by obeying God His Father, taking on a human body exactly like ours, thus becoming like us “in all things but sins,” who knows both the ease and the difficulty of change in our lives by His own participation in adjustment, change, and adaptation, all out of love, for God our Father and for us. Are the changes we face in our lives equal to a scourging with whips, having a crown of thorns pushed down around our head, being nailed to a cross? Our crosses, trials, and changes may be quite heavy and hard to bear, but they can never compare to what Jesus has done for us. He once asked His Apostles Peter, James, and John to keep watch with Him for one hour, yet they stayed nearby but eventually fell asleep. Jesus has the understanding and the love for us to forgive our “falling asleep” sometimes in our faith life/journey, but certainly doesn’t want us to be in a perpetual state of slumber when it comes to living out our faith. That’s where “change” now and then helps us to be our best.

Dear Parishioners, On November 3, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast day of St. Hubert – more formally, St. Hubert of Liege, with Liege being a city in Belgium. Hubert was born around the year 656 in Toulouse, France, and died on May 30, 727 near Liege where he was the bishop during his adult life. St. Hubert was widely venerated during the Middle Ages. Other forms of the name “Hubert” are Hugo and Hugh, and the name means “bright mind” in German. Hubert was the eldest son of a duke, and in 682 married Floribanne, the daughter of a Belgian count. Floribanne died while giving birth to their son Floribert, and heavy grief prompted Hubert to retreat from his political life and duties. He withdrew to the local forests and gave himself up entirely to hunting. On a Good Friday morning, while the faithful were in church, Hubert was hunting, having abandoned the practice of his Catholic faith. As he pursued a magnificent stag, the animal turned to Hubert, showing the crucifix seemingly floating between its great antlers. Hubert heard a voice that said: “Hubert, unless you turn to the Lord and lead a holy life, you shall quickly go down into Hell.” Hubert then asked, “Lord, what would You have me do? He was told, “Go and seek Lambert, and he will instruct you.” Lambert was the bishop of Maastricht, who received Hubert kindly and became his spiritual director. Hubert renounced his position and wealth and gave it to his younger brother, Odo, along with the care of his infant son, Floribert. Hubert then studied for the priesthood, was ordained, and then assisted Bishop Lambert in ministry in the Maastricht diocese. When Bishop Lambert died, Hubert was appointed the bishop of Maastricht, and then of the newly-formed diocese of nearby Liege. Hubert gained the trust of the people through the outdoorsman skills he acquitted in his brief hunting life before his conversion and was greatly loved. He died peacefully in Liege. Because of his hunting skills, St. Hubert is the patron saint of hunters, archers, trappers, dogs, forest workers, opticians, and mathematicians, as well of the city of Liege. He is honored by sportsmen as the originator of ethical hunting practices. St. Hubert, pray for us and protect all hunters.