Very Rev. Simon Peter Engurait, VG Pastor Deacon Stephen Brunet

Contact Informa on Church Office : 446-6801—2076 W Main St. Fax Line: 448-2764 Youth Forma on Office: 446-1985 E-mail address: stbridgetchurch@htdiocese.org

In light of the Coronavirus Pandemic,liturgies will be live streamed on our parish facebook (facebook.com/stbridget) Please check the facebook page and parish website for details.

St. Bridget Catholic Church

100 Highway 311 - Office 2076 W Main St - Schriever, LA

TODAY’S READINGS First Reading — Peter is an eyewitness: The Lord is risen (Acts 10:34a, 37-43). Psalm — This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad (Psalm 118). (1) Second Reading — All who are baptized, set your hearts in heaven (Colossians 3:1-4) or (2) Second Reading — Christ our Passover is sacri-ficed; therefore let us celebrate (1 Corin-thians 5:6b-8). Gospel — Three witnesses, Mary, Peter, and John; each responds to the empty tomb (John 20:1-9) or Matthew 28:1-10 (or, at an afternoon or evening Mass, Luke 24:13-35). The English translation of the Psalm Responses from Lectionary for Mass © 1969, 1981, 1997, International Commission on Eng-lish in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.

My Dear people of God, Happy Easter! The Lord is risen Alleluia Alleluia For us Christians, Easter is the greatest feast and celebration of all because this is the day Jesus broke the chains of death and rose in triumph from the grave. This therefore is truly the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad! Even in the midst of the pandemic in our midst, the silent enemy and killer, there cause for us to rejoice. This Easter Sunday finds us ‘locked up in our homes’ for fear of the virus in our midst. In the gospel of John, we are told that the good news of the resurrection found the disciples in similar circumstances. “On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord” (John 20:19-20). As we celebrate this great day and in our circumstances, may the joy and peace of the risen Lord be with us. My dear brothers and sisters, the good news of Easter is news of HOPE. Humanly speaking, hope enables us to face and overcome difficulties and challenges. Nourished by the gift of Hope, it is amazing what the human spirit can endure and overcome. It is also said that a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for. The resurrection of Jesus, gives us the ultimate HOPE and that is: “there is life after death”! According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit..” (CCC 1817).

This coronavirus pandemic with all its devastating effects has given us an opportunity to reflect on life and what is truly important in life. There are certainly many lessons and there will be even more. For example, I think we have all come to a vivid realization that health professionals are worth more than sports & entertainment personalities, that health is indeed wealth; that fame, wealth, position .. are vanity.

The question we should ask and ponder as we celebrate this Easter is: What is the purpose of life? W hat is m y goal in life? W here is m y heart in life? Life has only one ultim ate goal, to prepare for the next life, and if we are not preparing for our own resurrection we are like a train that has become derailed. What happens to a train that gets derailed? It goes nowhere. Can we take our houses with us to the next life? Then why make such a fuss about our houses? Can we take our cars to heaven with us? Well then, why become so engrossed in our cars? Can you take our bank accounts to the next life? Then let us use our money for the spread of the Gos-pel of the Kingdom. Why are we so busy that we have no time to pray to God every day? It is God we want to meet in the next life, isn’t it? It is therefore difficult to understand anyone who says they believe in God but do not pray every day. It is a contradiction to say that one believes in God but does not pray.

In our second reading today, St Paul writing to the Colossians (and to all of us today) says this: Brothers and sisters: “If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.” Our gaze should therefore be heavenward, where our ultimate home is. If we do that, then the peace of God will fill and guard our hearts even in the midst of this pandemic.

My dear brothers and sisters, the Easter celebration is therefore not merely the recalling of the Resurrection of Jesus or its impact on the first disciples but also with the meaning of this event for our own lives and for our faith. The celebration of Easter calls for a radical conversion, a radi-cal purging on our part just as Jesus’ own disciples radically changed their lives. (continued on the next page)

THE PARABLE OF THE BUTTERFLY by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson As a butterfly soared overhead, one caterpillar said to the other, "You'll never get me up in one of those things." Yet for every caterpillar the time comes when the urge to eat and grow subsides and he instinctively begins to form a chrysalis around himself. The chrysalis hardens and you'd think for all the world that the caterpillar is dead. But one spring morning the life inside the chrysalis begins to writhe, the top cracks open, and a beautifully-formed butterfly emerges. For hours it will stand stretching and drying its wings, moving them slowly up and down, up and down. And then, before you know it, the butterfly glides aloft, effortlessly riding the currents of the air, alighting on flower after gorgeous flower, as if to show off its vivid colors to the bright blossoms. . Somehow, the miracle of the butterfly never loses its fascination for us. Perhaps be-cause the butterfly is a living parable of the promise of resurrection. On Easter morning the disciples saw Jesus' grave clothes lying on the cold slab still wrapped round and round the corpse. Only the corpse was gone, much like an empty chrysalis deserted by a butterfly who has left to soar free. "He is risen as He said," an angel told the incredulous disciples. Later that day he appeared to the disciples, and then, over the course of the next few weeks, to as many as five hundred people at one time. Even "Doubting Thomas" didn't doubt for long that Jesus was really risen from the dead. A few weeks ago I lost a friend who had become dear to me. Where she had been so full of life, now her body lay still, composed ever-so-carefully by the morticians. I looked at her and thought about my own mortality. One day I too, like her, may fight a losing battle with pain, and die. What do we Christians say in the face of death? There are many mysteries. But two things we know for sure. First, death is an enemy. Away with the sentimentality that vainly seeks to disguise death's insult! But second, and more important, Jesus' resur-rection from the grave is God's proof to us that death is not the end. The empty tomb and Jesus' Spirit within us testify that Easter morning is God's triumph over death. And ultimately, Jesus promised, God will raise from the dead us who believe in His Son. Why do Christians gather on Easter morning? To show off their fine clothes or give a ritual tip of the hat to religion? God forbid! Rather we gather to celebrate Jesus' victory over death itself. For since He is our Lord and our Savior, His victory is our victory. In celebrating His resurrection we celebrate our own assurance of ultimate triumph over death.

God is good … All the time ...

Easter Sunday highlights not only our faith in the Resurrection, but we are also called to joyfully proclaim and witness our faith in the Risen Lord among us. Proclamation and witness are the two central themes running through today's Scripture Readings. For the true disciple of Jesus there is a close and indivisible relationship between experiencing and proclaiming which fills him/her with the joy of the Risen Master and Lord, and that he/she simply must share that joy with others. Not to share our Easter joy and what it means to us is to leave Easter only half cele-brated. For the true Christian, in fact, every day is an Easter Day lived joyfully in the close com-pany of the Risen Lord. Every day and its challenges is lived and faced with the hope of the res-urrection. Happy Easter! Do not be afraid, stay safe and God bless you all, Fr Simon Peter

Catholic Social Teaching: Rights and Responsi-bilities As human beings, we have a right to live and grow in peace. Because we have that right, we have the re-sponsibility to make sure others enjoy the same op-portunity too. We pray for those people who are put at a higher risk of infection and death simply because of their socio-economic sta-tus. Help us to advocate for programs that provide a social safety net for those people who especially need it in times of uncertainty, such as now.

An understanding of resurrection that does not ad-dress issues of justice is shallow and not consistent with the spirit of Jesus who lived, died, and rose to bring an end to all oppression and injustice. To use the words of Pope Francis, Christ calls us “…to build bridges connecting all people, in such a way that eve-ryone can see in the other not an enemy, not a rival, but a brother or sister to be welcomed and em-braced!” The data of Good Friday is not complete. The death of Jesus is not the last word or the end of the story. Resurrection is the ultimate word of God about life and death. In a world with lots of death, we are called to share Resurrection today. Today’s letter to the Corinthians reminds us that something new is possible: “Let us celebrate the feast, not with the old yeast of malice and wicked-ness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” In the midst of awesome human problems, great social sins, all kinds of violence, extreme eco-nomic inequalities, destruction to our planet, and seri-ous injustices of all kinds, we believe something more is possible. We affirm life. We believe that resurrec-tion is possible. Change is possible. Growth is possible. Peace and reconciliation are possible. Something new is possi-ble. Healing of relationships is possible. Liberation for the poor and oppressed is possible. Social change is possible. Nations can work together for justice and peace. People can stand up and demand human rights. Society can provide health care for all. There is enough food so that everyone can eat if we only learn how to distribute it. All our children can have access to a good education. All people can have meaningful employment. We can live in a way that does not destroy the planet. We can work to end war and violence. We can live in solidarity. ---Education for Justice Fr. John Bucki, S.J.

Online Giving

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Please consider online giving.

Your donation is safe, secure, and guar-anteed. Online giving is a way to ensure that St. Bridget receives your donation even when you’re out of town or forget your envelope. Online giving donors can receive financial statements for income tax purposes at the end of the calendar year or whenever necessary. Donations can be recurring (weekly or monthly) or one time. For more information visit our secure website at www.stbridget-htdiocese.org or call the Office at (985) 446-6801.

The Sanctuary Light memory of: April 5-11

Tristan Ables by Ma Maw and family John C. Theriot by Gus Theriot

April 12-18 Brandon Filardo by Mom and Dad

DA=Death Anniv. B= Birthday WA=Wedding Anniv.

—————————————— April 11 & 12 Easter See Easter list of Memorials April 14 Benefactors of the Haiti Mission by Deacon Lloyd and Faie Duplantis April 15 Gaston Breaux (DA) by Ronnie and Betty Thom-as and family April 18 4:00 pm Parishioners of St. Bridget April 19 8:30 am Marion Knight by Godfrey Knight Herman Hebert (DA) by family April 19 10:30 am Parishioners of St. Bridget

March 29, 2020 Envelopes $ 1300.00 Your Church support can be mailed or dropped off at the office.

Thank you for your generosity.

In response to the Charter for the Pro-tection of Children and Young People from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux is offering an Outreach Line (formerly known as the Child Protection Contact Line). The Outreach Line is an effort to continue the diocesan commit-ment to support healing for people who have been hurt or sexually abused re-cently or in the past by clergy, religious or other employees of the Diocese of Hou-ma-Thibodaux. The Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux Outreach Line operates from 8:30a.m. to 4:30p.m. Monday through Friday. A trained mental health profes-sional responds to the line. Individuals are offered additional assistance if re-quested. Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux Outreach Line Telephone numbers (985) 873-0026 or (985) 850-3172

The St. Vincent de Paul TriParish Community Phar-macy has relocated to 201 Canal Street, Houma, LA 70360. The mission of the St. Vincent Pharmacy is to serve the less fortunate of the area of the Diocese of Hou-ma-Thibodaux by providing them with maintenance medicine they otherwise cannot afford and do not receive through assistance from government aid, Veteran’s benefits, or insurance. The pharmacy is still in need of volunteer pharma-cists and pharmacy techs. For more information about the services of the pharmacy or to volunteer, please contact the pharma-cy at 985-872-2253.

PILGRIMAGE TO THE HOLY LAND

In the Foot Steps of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Fr Simon Peter has planned a 10 Day Pil-grimage to the Holy Land, August 17-26, 2020 for St Bridget Parish. The full package price in-cluding airfare from New Orleans is $ 3,695 (double occupancy). Final Payment Deadline is April 30, 2020. To enroll online, please go to: www.petersway.com/9700.html OR pick up enrollment forms from the parish office.

Being a Partner in Hope Please know that Father Simon Peter is grateful for the response that St. Bridget parish has shown to the 2020 annual Bishop’s Appeal. Thus far our parish has reached 51% of our parish ap-peal goal. The appeal is something that our parish supports and Father would like to see the support from our parishioners continue to grow. Your gifts are supporting our 13 seminarians, caring for our 17 retired priests, youth formation and religious education, and Catholic education. Vital ministries to our diocese that support each of us. On behalf of Bishop Fabre, he would like to thanks all who have made their commitment and strongly encourages all of our parishioners to participate in such a worthy cause. If you have not yet made your commitment and would still like to do so, there is still time as you can return your commitment card in the offertory, or simply mail it to the diocese in the provided envelope, or you may also visit www.htdiocese.org/bishopsappeal to make your gift online. If you would like more information about the 2020 Appeal, please contact the Annual Bish-op’s Appeal Office at 985-850-3122. or email aportier@htdiocese.org.

Prayer Line If you or someone needs to be added to the prayer line, call Nina Richard at 446-1206 or the rectory at 446-6801. In the charity of your prayers, please pray for the sick, elderly, and homebound. Please pray for: Elaine Ables, Susan Arceneaux, Heidi Ardoin, Jacob Aucoin, Sara Aucoin, Elvin Babin, Tommy Badeaux, Chad Barrileaux, Ronnie Bednarz, Chuck Beebe, Gertrude Benoit, Judith Benoit, Fr. Paul Bergeron, Rosemary Besson, Mitzy Bet-tridge, Gretchen Bilello, Pat Billiot, Preston Billiot, Al-vin & Gail Blanchard, Dennis Blanchard, Ronald Blanchard, Cody Bourgeois, Emile “Jay” Bourgeois, Patricia Bourgeois, Troy & Joan Bourgeois, Wade Bour-geois, Connie Bouterie, Beau Brassette, Dustin Brassette, Mark Brassette, Emma Del Broussard, Richard Brous-sard, Susan Caillouet, Bessie Chiasson, Randy Chiasson, Brad Clement, Bryce Comeaux, Jay & Tiffany Conner, Huey Cortez Sr., Martha Cortez, Randy Davis, Cary Da-vis, Jr., Barbara & Ronni Duhon, Alan Dunbar, Linda Ekiss, Avery “Brother” and Sonja Fonseca, Darin Fonz, Robin Ford, Marie Fournier, Alisa Frederick, Dante Gal-liano, Toby Gambarella, Leigh Ann Gardner, Carrie Gib-bens Belinda Gil, Brandon Gil, George Gil, The Gil Fam-ily, Carrie Mae Givens, Austin Gros, Bryan Gros, Chad Gros, George Gros, Rosebella Gros, Vergie Gros, Kendra Guillot, Elaine Chauvin Hebert, Joy Hebert, Katie Hebert, Jerrell Hebert, Sr., Jessie Hoffpauir, Samara Holland, Kristen Koppel, Jackson LaFleur, Mona Lambert, Elmay Landry, Judie Landry, Joyce Landry, Craig Landry, Mark Landry, Barbara Nell Lapeyrouse, Allie LeBlanc, Evelyn Leger, Tammy Babin Loney, Tim Long, Payton Martin, Rick Melancon, Asher Miller, Savannah Miller, Emma Mire, Bethany Moore, Meghan Naquin, Misty Naquin, Shannon Naquin, Eric Oliviery, Robert Oncale, Annie Ordoyne, Kara Pellegrin, Sherry Pennison, Lisa Pennison, Sally Pertuit, Kenneth Pitre, James Pierce, Kip Pierce, Sharon Prejean, Ed Raidl, Kerri Reynolds, Bryce Richard, Ella Richard, Gladys Richard, Lorita Rodrigue, Susan Rodrigue, Cynthia Rogers, Danielle Samanie, Chester Sanchez, Karla Saunier, Kathy Savoie, Earline Sim-moneaux, Penny Simmons, Brenda Sonier, Deacon Ryan Stawaizz, Louis Stevens, Melissa Tardiff, Trish Templet, Pierre & Mary Theriot, Cammie Thibodaux, Lacey Thibodeaux, Thibodaux Family, Ronnie Thomas, Chris Toups, Joyce Toups, Ricky Turner, Suzanne Usey, Sara Day Vignes, Allison Walters, and Wanda Wawrose, Anna Wooten. Please notify the office when name can be re-moved.

READINGS FOR THE WEEK Monday: Acts 2:14, 22-33; Ps 16:1-2a, 5, 7-11; Mt 28:8-15 Tuesday: Acts 2:36-41; Ps 33:4-5, 18-20, 22; Jn 20:11-18 Wednesday: Acts 3:1-10; Ps 105:1-4, 6-9; Lk 24:13-35 Thursday: Acts 3:11-26; Ps 8:2ab, 5-9; Lk 24:35-48 Friday: Acts 4:1-12; Ps 118:1-2, 4, 22-27a; Jn 21:1-14 Saturday: Acts 4:13-21; Ps 118:1, 14-21; Mk 16:9-15 Sunday: Acts 2:42-47; Ps 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24; 1 Pt 1:3-9; Jn 20:19-31

THE EASTER OCTAVE Sunday, April 5 - Sunday, April 12, 2020 Eastertime lasts fifty days: seven weeks of seven days (seven equals Biblical perfection) plus one day: perfec-tion plus! Like an eight-day Jewish wedding, or a child who can’t bear to let go of Christmas, birthdays, and school vacation, the Church celebrates the Easter Octave: “the marriage of heaven and earth,” as the Vigil calls Jesus’ resurrection; our new members’ baptismal rebirth; our renewal of baptismal vows; our hearts’ “divine vacation” (Latin vacare, “to be empty”), newfound time and space for love of God and neighbor. Make home an Easter garden! Adorn the dining table with a pillar candle (your “paschal candle”), a bowl full of water (ideally, from the parish’s baptismal font), a vase of flowers or bowl of sprouting grain with Easter eggs. Even non-singers can handle the three-fold Gospel Alleluia! Let that be your grace before meals, per-haps with a prayer recalling Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35): “Be known to us, Risen Lord Jesus, as you were to the first disciples, in your word, in the breaking of bread, and in everyone we meet.” —Peter Scagnelli, Copyright

CORONAVIRUS HELPFUL RESOURCES

Diocesan Website: htdiocese.org (News, Vide-os, Prayers and More) St Bridget Website (stbridget-htdiocese.org) and facebook (facebook.com/stbridget) for live steam events.

SEEDS OF FAITH There is a brevity, a certain terseness, in the scripture readings for Easter Sunday. Peter’s speech in Acts is built of direct, pointed sentences. Paul’s letters are based on straightforward creed-like statements. Even the Gospel story only briefly recounts what will turn out to be one of the most remarkable events in human history—the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Ad-vertising agents call these encapsulated points of in-formation “bullet points.” Scripture scholars call them kerygmata, or “kernels” of our faith. Actually, “kernels” or “seeds” are good terms for these state-ments, since throughout the Easter season, we will hear in the Acts of the Apostles, the Letters of Paul, and the Gospel accounts of the days following the Resurrection exactly how these kerygmata began to flower, how they continued to grow through the life of the early church. May these Easter “seeds” of faith serve a similar purpose for us, too, so that the life of the Risen Christ will flourish in us and through our witness in the coming days. Copyright © J. S. Paluch Co.

PRAYER OF SPIRITUAL COM-MUNION

It has long been a Catholic understand-ing and practice that when circumstanc-es prevent one from receiving Holy Communion, it is possible to make an Act of Spiritual Communion, which is a source of grace. Spiritual Communion is an ardent desire to receive Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament and lovingly em-brace him at a time or in circumstances when one cannot receive Him in sacra-mental Communion. The most common reason for making an Act of Spiritual Communion is when a person cannot attend Mass. Acts of Spiritual Commun-ion increase our desire to receive sacra-mental Communion and help us avoid the sins that would make us unable to receive Holy Communion worthily. (As you follow the Mass on facebook, this is the prayer to pray at the time for Holy

Communion) I believe that you are present in the Most Blessed Sacrament. I love you above all things and I desire to receive you into my soul. Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I em-brace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen By St Alphonsus Liguori

PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE

Patroness of the Americas

Holy Virgin of Guadalupe, Queen of the An-gels and Mother of the Americas. We fly to you today as your beloved children. We ask you to intercede for us with your Son as you did at the wedding in Cana. Pray for us, lov-ing Mother,and gain for our nation and world, and for all our families and loved ones, the protection of your holy angels, that we may be spared the worst of this illness. For those already afflicted, we ask you to obtain the grace of healing and deliverance. Hear the cries of those who are vulnerable and fearful, wipe away their tears and help them to trust. In this time of trial and testing, teach all of us in the Church to love one another and to be patient and kind. Help us to bring the peace of Jesus to our land and to our hearts. We come to you with confidence, knowing that you tru-ly are our compassionate mother, health of the sick and cause of our joy. Shelter us under the mantle of your protection, keep us in the em-brace of your arms, help us always to know the love of your Son, Jesus. Amen.

CHRIST HAS RISEN

Where is your sting, O death? Where is your victory, O hell? Christ has risen, and you are overthrown. Christ has risen, and the demons have fallen. Christ has risen, and the angels rejoice. Christ has risen, and life reigns. Christ has risen, and not one dead rests in the grave. For Christ having risen from the dead became the first-fruits of them that slept. To him be glory and majesty to ages of ages. Amen. —Byzantine Pentekostarion