April 7, 2019

Fifth Sunday of Lent

Vol. 51, No. 14

402 S. KIRKLAND (RIVER ROAD) • P.O. BOX 248 BRUSLY, LA 70719

OFFICE: 225-749-2189 • FAX: 225-749-1921

WEBSITE: sjb-brusly.com

CHRISTIAN FORMATION: 225-749-3387

MASS SCHEDULE Saturday Vigil .................................................................................. 4:30 p.m.

Sunday .................................................................... 7:30, 9:00 and 11:00 a.m.

Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday ................................................... 8:00 a.m.

Friday .......................................... 8:00 a.m., with Adoration until 11:30 a.m.

First Saturday of the month only ..................................................... 8:00 a.m.

RECONCILIATION Saturday .................................................................................. 3:30–4:15 p.m.

Tuesday thru Friday ........................................... 7:40 a.m. or by appointment

PARISH STAFF

Very Rev. Matthew P. Lorrain ............................................................. Pastor

Carolyn Dupuy ............................................................................ Bookkeeper

Pat Durbin ............................................................................. Parish Secretary

June Hebert ………………………………..Director of Religious Education

Karen Lemoine ............................................................... Christian Formation

Celeste Veillon ....................................................................... Music Director

Pedro Garcia …………………………………………………...Maintenance

Katie Roettger…………………………………………...Mothers’s Day Out

OFFICE HOURS Monday–Friday 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

Office closed for lunch 12:30–1:30 p.m.

BAPTISM Celebrated monthly after the 11:00 am Mass. Also

celebrated during Mass on the Feast of the Baptism of

the Lord and Easter Sunday. Parents should call the

office to enroll in our baptismal preparation program,

preferably early in pregnancy. Parents are encouraged

to register in the parish and actively practice their faith.

RITE OF CHRISTIAN

INITIATION FOR ADULTS Inquiries – Call the Parish Office

MARRIAGE

Contact the pastor at least 6 months prior to proposed

wedding date. Preparation program

is required. Couples should be actively

practicing their faith.

CARE OF THE SICK Emergency calls answered immediately, if possible.

Communion calls to homebound and hospitals weekly

by request. Please notify the office if someone is

homebound.

CHRISTIAN BURIAL Family should contact the pastor to

begin funeral arrangements.

PRAYER LINE Call the Parish Office

Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. But when they continued asking him, he

straightened up and said to them, " Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her."

- Jn 8:6b-7

Dear Parishioners,

This is the final week of classes for our Christian For-

mation students. Most of the students in grades K-8

will attend our closing Mass on Tuesday, April 9. Stu-

dents are to meet at 5:15 p.m. in the activity center

prior to walking over to the church for Mass. However

5th grade students will meet on Wednesday night this

week at 6:15 in the activity center in order to attend

the Way of the Cross and have the opportunity for

confession. (Wednesday is also the eighth anniversary

of the dedication of our restored church. If you re-

member, the church was rededicated on April 10,

2011.)

It is not always easy to engage children in another les-

son at the end of the day so I consider our volunteer

catechists to be truly heroic in their dedication to God

and our faith. I wish to thank all of them as well as our

Christian Formation director, June Hebert, and secre-

tary, Karen Lemoine, for another year of great service.

This is the last full week before Holy Week, so please

make plans to come to confession in preparation for

Easter if you have not already done so. I am available

this Wednesday, April 10, from 5:30 – 5:50 p.m. just

prior to the 6:00 p.m. Mass, and then immediately fol-

lowing the Mass from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. This is the last

week for our Wednesday evening Mass, Stations of

the Cross, and Confessions during Lent. I am also

available from 3:30 – 4:15 p.m. next Saturday after-

noon.

Volunteers are needed to help clean and trim palm

branches this Thursday morning, April 11, at 8:30 a.m.

under the rectory carport. Many hands make light

work, but you might want to bring a pair of gloves to

protect against the thorns. You are also invited to

bring your Rice Bowl monies to Mass on Palm Sun-

day weekend if you participated in that particular Len-

ten program.

Our schedule for Holy Week is as follows: The Mass

of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday evening is at

7:00 p.m. The Mass will be followed by adoration of

the Blessed Sacrament for about one hour. On Good

Friday, the Way of the Cross is at 12:00 noon and the

Celebration of the Lord’s Passion is at 3:00 p.m.

(Remember that Good Friday is a day of fast and absti-

nence.) On Holy Saturday the Easter Vigil will begin

after nightfall at 8:00 p.m. as required by the Church.

The Vigil begins in the front of the church with the

blessing of the Easter fire and the lighting of our new

paschal candle. Our Masses on Easter Sunday will be

at the regular times of 7:30, 9:00, and 11:00 a.m.

Our Catholic Daughters are holding their annual Jam-

balaya dinner fundraiser next Sunday, April 14, so

please support them and their good work by purchasing

a dinner or two. Jambalaya tickets are available from

CDA members and will also be sold after all Masses

this weekend.

Finally, thank you to all who attended last week’s Par-

ish Mission. The spiritual development of a faith com-

munity is even more important than its physical devel-

opment, so it’s appropriate that we dedicate time and

resources for our spiritual growth. Parish Missions and

other opportunities for prayer and the sacraments help

to insure that our inner beauty matches the outer beauty

of our parish church.

In Christ,

Father Matt

STEWARDSHIP OF FINANCES

March 31, 2019

REGULAR:

193 Identified- - - - - - - - -$7,209.00

Loose Collection- - - - - - - 815.00

TOTAL- - - - - - - -$8,024.00

Readings for the week of April 7, 2019 Sunday: Is 43:16-21/Ps 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6 [3]/

Phil 3:8-14/Jn 8:1-11

Monday: Dn 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62 or

13:41c-62/Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6

[4ab]/Jn 8:12-20

Tuesday: Nm 21:4-9/Ps 102:2-3, 16-18, 19-21 [2]/

Jn 8:21-30

Wednesday: Dn 3:14-20, 91-92, 95/Dn 3:52, 53, 54, 55,

56 [52b]/Jn 8:31-42

Thursday: Gn 17:3-9/Ps 105:4-5, 6-7, 8-9 [8a]/

Jn 8:51-59

Friday: Jer 20:10-13/Ps 18:2-3a, 3bc-4, 5-6, 7

[cf. 7]/Jn 10:31-42

Saturday: Ez 37:21-28/Jer 31:10, 11-12abcd, 13

[cf. 10d]/Jn 11:45-56

Next Sunday: Lk 19:28-40/Is 50:4-7/Ps 22:8-9, 17-18,

19-20, 23-24 [2a]/Phil 2:6-11/

Lk 22:14--23:56 or 23:1-49

A VOCATION VIEW

“Christ Jesus has made me His own.” Are you called

to belong to Christ alone as a priest, deacon or through

the consecrated life? Call or email Father Andrew

Merrick at 225.336.8778, framerrick@gmail.com, or

visit www.diobr.org/vocations.

Ministry Practice for Holy Thursday

Tuesday, April 16—4:30pm—5:30pm

Chrism Mass at St. Joseph’s Cathedral

Wednesday, April 17—10:30am

Holy Thursday Services

Thursday, April 18—7:00pm

Good Friday—April 19

Way of the Cross—12:00 Noon

Veneration of the Cross/Services—3:00pm

Easter Vigil

Saturday, April 20—8:00pm

Easter Sunday Masses—April 21

7:30am; 9:00am; 11:00am

PRAYERS & SYMPATHY are extended to Sonya Prejean

and her family upon the death of her

mother, Florence Langlois and to Lori

Dupuy & Lesli Rodrigue upon the death

of their father, Leonard Aillet.

Please keep them in your prayers.

Plans are being made for classes to prepare any

adults who for some reason are not yet confirmed.

The actual Confirmation will be on Pentecost Sunday,

June 9, 2019.

Anyone wishing to be confirmed must attend

the classes which will be held on Thursdays May 9,

May 23, May 30 and June 6.

PLEASE CALL THE PARISH OFFICE TO

REGISTER!

We will be cutting & cleaning palms on

Thursday, April 11 beginning after 8:00

am Mass. Please bring your gloves and

shears and join us! With your help, we

can get it done quickly.

LIVING FAITH BOOKLETS FOR APRIL, MAY & JUNE ARE IN.

PICK UP YOUR COPY AT THE PARISH OFFICE

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST

PARISH COUNCIL MEMBERS 2017-2018 John Begue

Bob Bewick

Jamie Bourg

Chris Buckle

Christie Chapman

Jules Lefeaux, Vice-Chairman

Mark Loreno, Chairman

Fr. Matt Lorrain

Mary Claire Meyer, Secretary

Jason Murphey

Joey Normand

Derek Scott

Andrea Smicker

Fifth Sunday of Lent

"The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman

who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the

middle." The episode of the woman caught in adultery is a

powerful story. We have perhaps all felt as the woman has at

some point in our lives, surrounded by those who would

condemn us. The beauty of Christ's mercy at the end is

clear ? and a welcome relief as we all struggle to be good

and holy people. But have we ever imagined ourselves on

the edge of the circle? Have we pictured ourselves in the sea

of dusty robes? Perhaps, we hope, we're hovering at the edge

of the circle of judgment. But we've all been there.

How easy it is to be righteous when someone else's

reputation is at stake. When the small child is acting up in

the grocery store or on the plane. When another company

has a scandal break or a major error sets back their profits.

Could it be easy to pick up the stone and feel its weight and

heft in our hands? Because if we've got a stone in our hands,

our own righteous category is clear. Our judgment is our

insurance that we won't be on the receiving end of the criti-

cism. If we can point out a wrong, surely we are firmly in

the right.

"'Let the one among you who is without sin be the

first to throw a stone at her' ? they went away one by one."

This Lent, not only are we invited to receive God's mercy,

but to show God's mercy. As the season begins to wind to a

close, consider those in your life you tend to judge the most

harshly. What is one concrete way you can drop your stone?