May 1, 2016 - Sixth Sunday of Easter

Rev. M. Keith LaBove, Pastor Parish Website: www.stpat.org

stpat.org@gmail.com

Office Hours

Monday – Thursday: 8:30 am – 3:00 pm; Friday 8:30 am – 12 noon

Celebration of the Eucharist

Saturday: 4:00 pm – Sunday: 8:30 & 10:00 am Monday through Friday: 7:30 am

Sacrament of Reconciliation

Saturday: 3:00 – 3:30 pm and Weekdays: 7:15 am

Baptisms

Seminars are held every other month - register

by calling the office. At-tendance is suggested

during pregnancy.

Anointing of the Sick The Church recom-

mends this sacrament for those who are grave-

ly ill or in danger of death. Call the priest to

arrange a visit.

Weddings

Arrangements must be made at least six

months in advance to allow time for prepara-

tion and planning.

406 East Pinhook Road Lafayette, LA 70501-8727

Phone: (337) 237-0988

Welcome to St. Patrick Church

Sixth Sunday of Easter

May 1, 2016

MASS INTENTIONS FOR THE WEEK

Saturday, April 30--Vigil of the Sixth Sunday of Easter 4:00 PM: Cecil & Eva Mae Hebert; Dr. & Mrs. Leonard Rolfes; Ray & Kathy Kalweit (living);

James Guidry; Patricia Grafton Sunday, May 1--Sixth Sunday of Easter 8:30 AM: Robert Chastant & Evelyn; Eddie Upton; Dr. Almore (Doc) Bordelon; Nick & Earl Chiasson; M/M Elliot Roy; Robert Cole; Joseph & Eldie Woods; Phil Simon; Bud & Euna Arceneaux 10:00 AM: Parishioners of St. Patrick’s Monday, May 2--St. Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church 7:30 AM: Francis Stutes & Sons Tuesday, May 3--Saints Phillip and James, Apostles 7:30 AM: In Thanksgiving for Special Inten-tion

Wednesday, May 4--Easter Weekday 7:30 AM: Dr. Tommy Comeaux & Dorinne; Col. Clark Comeaux & Catherine (living); Col. Kimberly Fedele (living) Thursday, May 5--Easter Weekday 7:30 AM: Souls in Purgatory Friday, May 6--Easter Weekday 7:30 AM: Dr. Charles Stewart Altar Plants In Loving Memory of: Len & Yvonne Courcier Daniel Sonnier Family

May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you!

— Psalm 67:6

Non-Liturgical Devotions Daily Rosary: Monday - Thursday 6:55 a.m. Our Lady of Perpetual Help Novena: Tuesday 7:15 a.m. Rosary for Priests: Wednesday 7:00 a.m. Chaplet of Divine Mercy: Thursday 7:15 a.m. Pro-Life Rosary: 1st Friday of the month 7 a.m. Shamrocks—Friday, May 6: No cleaning this week. We thank all our faithful volunteers. Census Update Remember that if you are a member of the par-ish, and did not receive a letter from us a few weeks ago, you're not on our membership list! Pick up a census card on the table near the main entrance under the stairwell, and get it back to us. Or use the form under "About Us" on our website: stpat.org. And thank you.

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month The cost of doing nothing Child maltreatment affects more than 1 million

children in the United States annually and costs our nation $220 million daily.

Americans pay a staggering $80 billion annually to address the effects of child abuse and neglect. Louisiana is estimated to spend approximately $1.2 billion annually.

Research proves that focusing on prevention is a far more effective use of resources to ensure chil-dren reach their full potential than treating the effects of abuse after it occurs.

To report Child Abuse, please call: 1-855-4LA-KIDS (1-855-452-5437). If suspected abuse is related to a diocesan/church/school program, please call the Di-ocesan Victim Assistance Coordinator Sister Kath-leen Farrelly, O. Carm, LSCW, SSWS at 337-398-2987, as well as the vicar general at 337-261-5613or/735-9451.

Food for the Journey The Central Region of the Diocese of Lafayette presents “Food for the Journey”, a monthly lunchtime speaker series designed to help Catholics live out our faith in our daily lives. Our speaker for May is Rev. Michael Russo, Pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church, Lafayette. “Food for the Journey” will be held on Tuesday, May 3, at Wynd-ham Garden Lafayette (formerly “Hotel Acadiana”), 1801 W. Pinhook Road, beginning at 12:00 noon. An optional lunch buffet is available for purchase beginning at 11:30 a.m. All are welcome to come “eat and be fed”- please bring a friend! Pre-registration is not required. For more information, please call Mary Bergeron (654-8682). Married Couples - Domestic Church Domestic Church provides long term help and formation for sacramentally married couples who want to grow in holi-ness together. What began in Poland over forty years ago with the help and support of St. John Paul II is now availa-ble to English speaking couples here in Louisiana. Alt-hough we know that true holiness is supposedly possible within the midst of the daily demands of marriage and parenthood, it can be very difficult to know how to access it and take advantage of the fact that marriage is a sacra-ment. Domestic Church gives couples and families real, concrete help to tap into what God has in store for us in the blessed vocation of marriage. Come and hear the exciting details of what is now available to us through Domestic Church on May 7th at 6:30 p.m. in the Parish Life Center at St. Pius X Catholic Church, Lafayette. Please feel free to bring the kids! For a sneak peak, check out domesticchurch-families.com or contact Jason & Laura Sowels (337-856-8048 or jlsowels@gmail.com). Upcoming Retreats—Jesuit Spirituality Center “Open My Heart-A Mind, Body, Spirit Retreat” for Young Women, ages 21-45; Yvonne Hymel, Jane L. Hebert, Karen Franck—Friday, June 3-Sunday, June 5. Fee: $160. “A Day of Renewal for Women: A Spirituality of Creativity”, Andrea Vidrine—Saturday, July 16, 9:00 am—4:00 pm. Fee $50 (lunch included). Silent, Individually-Directed Re-treats of 3, 5, or 8 days begin on the following dates: Mon., May 9 or Thur., May 12; Mon., May 23 or Thur., May 26. For additional dates and details; for an applica-tion form to register and/or for all retreat information, visit website, jesuitspiritualitycenter.org, or call 337/662-5251 Healing Hearts “Healing Hearts” is a Support Group for women whose re-lationships have been affected by pornography or sexual addiction of a loved one. Meetings are held in the evening during the week for 1 hour and 30 minutes, in Lafayette. This is a highly confidential group. Confidentiality state-ment must be signed by all members before the place and time of meeting will be disclosed. Please call 337-404-6113 Voicemail and the group facilitator will return your call as soon as possible.

Holy Hour for Vocations Please join us for our monthly “Holy Hour for Voca-tions and for the Spiritual Renewal of All Priests” on Monday, May 2, from 6:00-7:00 p.m. at St. Patrick Catholic Church, 406 E. Pinhook Road. Recitation of the Rosary begins at 5:30 p.m. All are welcome to join in these prayers for vocations and perseverance of vo-cations to the priesthood and religious life, sponsored by the Serra Club of Lafayette. Additional Trip Added—St. Mary Church Local Pilgrimage Bus Trip for Jubilee “Year of Mercy” After “selling out” their Bus Trip in April, St. Mary Church, Lafayette, is offering an additional one-day Pilgrimage Bus Trip on Thursday, May 19, to visit Pil-grimage Sites in the Diocese of Lafayette designated by Bishop Michael Jarrell to reflect on the Father’s mercy and how we can emulate that mercy in our lives. We will attend 7:00 a.m. Mass at St. Mary Church (419 Doucet Road, Lafayette), then depart at 7:45 a.m. from St. Mary parking lot. We will visit, take tours and have our booklets stamped at the Carmelite Monastery; St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church, St. Martinville; Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church, Hen-derson; Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto and St. Leo Cath-olic Church, Leonville; Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church, Opelousas; Our Mother of Mercy Catholic Church, Church Point; Our Mother of Mercy Catholic Church, Rayne; and Cathedral of St. John the Evange-list, Lafayette. Each person will receive a booklet “Merciful Like the Father”; inside you will find the Prayer for the Year of Mercy which we will pray at every location, and we will have our booklets stamped at each site. Lunch (included) will be at Little Big Cup in Arnaudville. For registration details, cost and more information, please contact JoAnn LeJune at St. Mary Church (981-3379) or Barbara Thibodeaux, Group (235-3240). Quo Vadis Days 2016 Young men ages 15-25 are invited to attend a discern-ment camp, sponsored by the Diocese of Lafayette Of-fice of Vocations, to be held at Our Lady of Sorrows Retreat House in St. Martinville, June 28-30th. There is no cost, and registration forms can be downloaded from the vocations website lafayettevocations.org STEWARDSHIP OF THE PAST WEEK Our Response to God’s Generosity to Us Offertory………………………$ 4,120.91 Thank You! The second collection this weekend is for our Building Fund. Today’s reading from Revelation offers a vision of the City of God, the new Jerusalem. “But” the bishops’ pastoral letter on stewardship reminds us, “that ‘life to come’ is in continuity with this present life through the human goods, the worthy human purposes, which peo-ple foster now.”

Date

Saturday, May 7 4:00 p.m.

Sunday, May 8 8:30 a.m.

Sunday, May 8 10:00 a.m.

Lectors Janell Venable Kenneth Phillips Phyllis Roy

Eucharistic Ministers

Harold Guilbeau Candis Thompson Merrick Stelly

Geneva Phillips Ted Hampton Kay Hampton

Jerry Boudreaux Dee Boudreaux Robin Roy

Altar Servers Rosalind Allen Mary Kramer Debra Carroll

Ushers Oren Spruill George Guidry

Rachelle Trahan Keith Toups

Jenny Feehan Lionel Jeanmard

Liturgical Roles for May

Readings for the Week

Monday Acts 16:11-15; Ps 149:1b-6a, 9b; Jn 15:26 — 16:4a

Tuesday 1 Cor 15:1-8; Ps 19:2-5; Jn 14:6-14

Wednesday Acts 17:15, 22 — 18:1; Ps 148:1-2, 11-14; Jn 16:12-15

Thursday Acts 18:1-8; Ps 98:1-4; Jn 16:16-20

Friday Acts 18:23-28; Ps 47:2-3, 8-10; Jn 16:23b-28

Saturday Acts 7:55-60; Ps 97:1-2, 6-7, 9;

Sunday Acts 1:1-11; Ps 47:2-3, 6-9; Eph 1:17- 23 or Heb 9:24-28; 10:19-23; Lk 24:46-53

From the Pastor’s Desk

Last week in this space, I wrote about the statement that “Jesus came not to rescue us, but to redeem us”. That article was about the fact that people of faith, even those who pray fervently, sometimes encounter diffi-culties, losses, even tragedies. Jesus doesn’t always rush in and pull us back from the edge of the cliff, so to speak., or rescue us from life’s challenges and hardships. We might wish (and pray) he did, but that is not the ex-perience of the Church.

He does redeem us. Jesus revealed the power of God’s love to transform and redeem humanity, and all of creation. In the end, God does win out, even if the journey to that victory is a difficult one. (Consider, for exam-ple, the Way of the Cross.) Easter Sunday is about the redemption of the One whom God did not rescue from death on the cross.

If all this is true, why do we pray? In particular, what is the value of prayers of petition? Well, if one ex-pects to always receive what one prays for, there will probably be disappointment. Yet Jesus himself taught us to ask: “Give us this day our daily bread”, etc. And so we do, as a Church and as individuals, bring our needs to God, and perhaps even our wants, and we trust in him to care for us.

One thing that makes a difference in all of this is our understanding of the phrase, “The power of prayer”. Too often, we see this power as simply a way of getting what we want. The only answer to prayer that is accepta-ble is the reply that grants our petition. Yet even country singers know the value of un-answered prayers, those prayers that seem to fall on deaf ears. What does it say about God, if we see “the power of prayer” as primarily a way to change God, and to make God do what we want?

In the conversation that is prayer, perhaps it is not God, but we ourselves who are in need of being changed. When we recognize that fact, we begin to experience the true power of prayer. Prayer changes us, in precisely the ways that we need to be changed. Asking God for what we feel we need is a way of reinforcing our dependence on God, even as we strive to do our part in this world. If in prayers of petition, we become more trusting of God, more humble about ourselves, and more compassionate and understanding of others in need, then that is the true “power of prayer”!

What we can’t afford to do is decide that if God doesn’t give me what I want, then he doesn’t love me. God’s love never fails. God’s love continues to redeem all of creation in Christ, the Risen Lord!