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First Reconciliation will be on Saturday, January 30th. Please keep our second graders in your prayer as they prepare to experience Jesus’ healing forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

The Ladies Altar Society is still an important ministry of St. Peter Parish. Monies collected and members help to maintain the sanctuary and some other areas of the interior of the church. If you want to be a part of this ministry, dues of $10 can be put in the collection basket at Mass or brought to the rectory. This helps to provide income to continue to fund projects like purchasing flowers for special occasions, altar and cleaning supplies. Also, we are in need of some ‘younger’ members to add to some of our monthly cleaning teams (mostly to help with vacuuming the sanctuary). This commitment is just for one month a year. If you’d like to help, please call Peggy Bienvenu @ 504-487-8769

O Glorious Saint Joseph, model of all those who are devoted to labor, obtain for me the grace to work in a spirit of penance for the expiation of my many sins; to work conscientiously, putting the call of duty above my natural inclinations; to work with thankfulness and joy, considering it an honor to employ and develop by means of labor the gifts received from God; to work with order, peace, moderation, and patience, never shrinking from weariness and trials; to work above all with purity of intention and detachment from self, keeping unceasingly before my eyes death and the account that I must give of time lost, talents unused, good omitted, and vain complacency in success, so fatal to the work of God. All for Jesus, all through Mary, all after thy example, O Patriarch, Saint Joseph. Such shall be my watch-word in life and in death. Amen.

If last week’s Gospel story and this week’s Gospel sound familiar, it is because they are. Last week, we listened to the version from the Gospel of John (1:35- 42). Today we hear the version from the Gospel of Mark (1:14- 20). Simon and Andrew were followers of John the Baptist and were attracted to his message about the coming of the Messiah. It is John the Baptist who tells them to follow Jesus; and they did. Secondly, the fact that Jesus was named the Lamb of God by John is a significant passing on the torch to build the new kingdom. All that being said, it is still mystifying that the disciples simply walked away from their fishing business to follow Jesus.

Ordinary Time has begun. It will last until we begin Lent on Ash Wednesday, which is February 17th. Today’s Gospel features Jesus calling His first disciples. The invitation is welcoming and intriguing: “Come, and you will see.” How are we called by the Lord? The Lord has called us all here today on this Sunday in the middle of January and so we have come together to listen to God’s word and to receive our Lord in the Eucharist. How is the Lord speaking to us today?

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which concludes the Christmas season. The emphasis on Jesus’ baptism comes at the end of today’s Gospel reading with a voice from the heavens saying, “You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11).

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord. The magi from the East relied on a single star as a sign that a king had been born. The heavens revealed to these learned foreigners that a matter of great import had occurred in Judea. Every Epiphany we hear the endless extent of God’s goodness. Isaiah joyfully foretells of the light that emerges from darkness at the coming of Christ. Saint Paul reminds his listeners that, whether Gentile or Jew, they are all a part of the one body of Christ—the Church. The magi from the East, in the Gospel, remind us that Christ, our Light, has come to dispel the darkness of sin and death and to remain with us forever

MERRY CHRISTMAS! As we continue to celebrate the Christmas season, today the Church honors and celebrates the FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY. Jesus’ mother, Mary, and His foster father, Joseph, each trusted in the Lord when they accepted the unique start to their family. Though their family faced dangers from the start, they remained united in love and relied on their trust in God. The structure of families has changed over the years, but no matter what our family structure is, all families are called to be holy families. We look to the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph as a model for our family.

As we begin our last week of preparation for the coming of the Lord, we listen to the Scripture readings today, we observe the preparations three others took during earlier eras. King David intended to prepare a house for the ark of God, but God revealed a more important house to prepare. Saint Paul completed his letter to the Romans, a church he had helped prepare for the mystery of Christ. In the Gospel, once more we hear Mary accept the invitation to bear the Son of God. In these final days of Advent, let us prepare a place in our hearts for the Word of God.

Thank you to all who participated in the Giving Tree program. Gifts and food baskets were delivered Tuesday, December 15. All were greatly appreciated!

Today, the Third Sunday of Advent, is known as Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete is Latin for “rejoice” which is the initial word of today’s entrance antiphon. We rejoice today, for the coming of the Lord is so near that we cannot help but think about it. Perhaps we are starting to feel overwhelmed by all that we need to do between now and Christmas. Let this be an opportunity to refocus our attention on the true reason we celebrate this time of year. Rejoice, the Lord is near!

Tuesday, December 8th—a Holy Day of Obligation. Mass schedule: Vigil Mass on Monday, December 7th at 5:00 P.M. Mass on December 8th at 6:30 A.M., 8:15 A.M. (School Mass. If parishioners attend, you are asked to sit in the last few pews of the main section of church or in the day chapel. Because of Covid-19, and physical distancing, the students take up most of the church.) The evening Mass will be a 7:00 P.M. The Church Office will be closed Tuesday, December 8.

Today, on this Second Sunday of Advent, we will hear the beginning of the Gospel of Mark (1:1- 8), where we hear the mandate of John the Baptist: Prepare the way of the Lord! Repent! The message at the end of today’s Gospel offers us hope: “One mightier than I is coming after me.”

Our Mass Intentions Book for 2021 is now open

Today, we begin the season of Advent which marks the beginning of the new liturgical year for the Church. With the beginning of a new liturgical year, will also be a new cycle for readings at Mass. We begin Cycle B in which we will hear from the Gospel of Mark proclaimed semicontinuously throughout 2021. Mark’s Gospel is the oldest, composed around 70 A.D. The Gospel consists of two parts: the first eight chapters are dedicated to Jesus’ ministry in and around Galilee. The next eight chapters are about Jesus’ journey and arrival in Jerusalem—his destiny.

We will have Mass on Thanksgiving morning at 8:00 A.M.

Our Book of All Souls will be in the sanctuary from All Saints’ - Thanksgiving for you to write the names of your departed ones in the book. They will be remembered at Masses during the month of November (the month of All Souls).

Today is the last Sunday of the liturgical year, and we end on a “high note.” We celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. Today’s Gospel account is about Christ at the end of the world. It is the story of the final judgment: The Son of Man will separate the sheep from the goats. What is the difference between the sheep and the goats? Jesus, in the Gospel tells us, that the sheep took care of God’s son in the form of those in need without calculation of reward. The goats, on the other hand, did nothing. As we hear in the Gospel and as we were taught in school, the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy, are essential for our salvation.

This week’s Scripture readings continue to focus on the parables about the end times. Today, in the Gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the talents. Two of the servants used them to make more; the third servant buries his talent in the ground. The question for us to ponder, “are we using our talents as well as we could?” Let us consider how we use our God-given talents and how we could use them more beneficially.

We have two weeks left in this liturgical year. As we near the close of another liturgical year, the readings focus upon the end times and the last judgment. This year, those themes begin today. We are reminded that we cannot know either the day or the hour. Therefore, we should always be prepared. Are we ready to meet the Lord?