St. Christopher the Martyr Catholic Church 309 Manson Ave. Metairie, LA, 70001

Phone (504) 837-8214 Fax (504) 837-8303

PARISH PRIEST:

Rev. Raymond Igbogidi, Pastor

PARISH DEACONS:

Deacon Charles Duke

Deacon Philip McManamon

WEBSITE: www.stchristopherano.com

RECTORY E-MAIL: scmrectory@outlook.com

Mrs. Janet Schluter, Secretary

Office Hours: 9 a.m.– 4:30 p.m., Mon. – Fri.

SCHOOL:

Mrs. Ruth Meche, Principal

3900 Derbigny Street - Office, 837-6871

Mrs. Mary Hicks and Millie Andry, Secretaries

SCS EEC 833-5591

SCS EEC ANNEX: 837-5929

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION: 837-8214

MASS SCHEDULE:

Saturday (Vigil), 4 p.m.

Sunday, 7:30, 9:30 & 11 a.m. (6 p.m. on 2nd Sunday)

Daily, 6:30 & 9:30 a.m., Mon., Tues., Thurs. & Fri. 9:30 a.m. only, Wed.

COMMUNION FOR THE SICK: Please call the Rectory when someone is unable to attend Mass for any length of time.

NOVENA: Tuesday, following the 6:30 a.m. Mass

BAPTISM: Anyone interested in receiving information concerning Baptism at St. Christopher Parish should go to our website at www.stchristopherano.com and download the required documents. Return the completed documents to scmrectory@outlook.com.

MARRIAGES: Make arrangements six months in advance of wedding date with the priest.

included, call Theo Gomez at 301-2413.

the funeral home, please notify the priest as soon as

the Parish Center. This ministry offers compassion and caring for those who have lost a loved one. For more information call Dianne Vasquez at 835-0540.

ADORATION CHAPEL: Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Call Jerry Cox at 458-3152 or Marlene Baquie at 913-5911.

ANOINTING OF THE SICK: 2nd Saturday of the month after 4 p.m. Mass

CONFESSIONS: Saturday, 3 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. Contact the rectory to make an appointment for other times.

www.stchristopherano.com E-mail: scmrectory@outlook.com

St. Christopher the Martyr Church, Metairie, LA Page 2

In keeping with the present restrictions imposed to slow

the spread of the coronavirus, until further notice: There will be no

public Masses at St. Christopher the Martyr

Church.

Mass can be seen on the St. Christopher Church

YouTube channel. Continue to check back with us for future

Homilies, Meditations, and Rosaries that

will be offered.

SATURDAY: Cy & Frank Canale, Kippy Owens, Jr., Beverly & Ronald Lambert, William “Billy” Simon Ronald Mendelsohn, Georgiana Gros Welch, Jacquelyn ‘”Honey” Walter, Rosalie Blady and Frances Barberito. SUNDAY: Missa Pro Populo (All Parishioners of St. Christopher), Alvine & Warren Johnson, Jerry Cox, Jr., David Ball, Herbert & Juanita Coakley, Thomas & Dorothy Stengle, Paul Ridolfo, Peggy Loehn, Elaine, Richard & Robert Palmer, Dolores S. Bacino (Death Anniversary), Forest Korndorffer, Jay Korndorffer, Pat Gegenheimer, Peggy Durkes, Edward Joseph Bourgeois, Sr. and Frances Barberito. MONDAY: John & Ramona Clesi and Walter Bacino. TUESDAY: Ronnie Schmitt and all those being confirmed in 2020. WEDNESDAY: Schade–Joanen Families. THURSDAY: Andrea Bacino, Paul Bacino Family, Jessica & Jon Cerruti Family and Monica Bacino. FRIDAY: Ernest L. White, Sr., Philip Jude Nicolosi, Jr.

COLLECTIONS RECEIVED WEEK OF APRIL 26, 2020.

Envelopes $ 2,400.00 Cash/Checks $ 1,219.97 TOTAL $ 3,619.97 Repairs & Maintenance $ 1,145.00 *****As a “Reminder”, envelopes and other donations may be dropped off or mailed to the rectory.

MASS REQUESTS Offering a Mass intention requires a $5 minimum donation per Mass. Requests can be placed in the collection basket, calling the rectory ( 837-8214) or mailing to 309 Manson Avenue, Metairie, LA 70001. Please indicate if the person is living/deceased. If you wish a card sent to the family, there is an additional $1.50 charge. “Special day” requests need to be into the rectory 2 weeks in advance of the date requested to be included in the bulletin.

Vol. 60, Num. 18, May 3, 2020 Page 3

Sanctuary Light is burning in memory of Alberta Morales.

TODAY’S READINGS

First Reading — All peoples called by God will receive the gift of the Spirit if they repent and are baptized (Acts 2:14a, 36-41).

Psalm — The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want (Psalm 23).

Second Reading — Once we were like straying sheep; but now we have been returned to the shepherd, our guardian (1 Peter 2:20b-25).

Gospel — The shepherd leads the sheep out into pastures of abundant life (John 10:1-10). The English translation of the Psalm Responses from Lectionary for Mass © 1969, 1981, 1997, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.

NO ALTAR PREPARATION/CLEANING

UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

SAINTS AND SPECIAL

OBSERVANCES

Sunday: Fourth Sunday of Easter; World Day of Prayer for Vocations

Tuesday: Cinco de Mayo

Thursday: National Day of Prayer

READINGS FOR THE WEEK

Monday: Acts 11:1-18; Ps 42:2-3; 43:3, 4; Jn 10:11-18

Tuesday: Acts 11:19-26; Ps 87:1b-7; Jn 10:22-30

Wednesday: Acts 12:24 — 13:5a; Ps 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8; Jn 12:44-50

Thursday: Acts 13:13-25; Ps 89:2-3, 21-22, 25, 27; Jn 13:16-20 Friday: Acts 13:26-33; Ps 2:6-11ab; Jn 14:1-6 Saturday: Acts 13:44-52; Ps 98:1-4; Jn 14:7-14

Sunday: Acts 6:1-7; Ps 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19; 1 Pt 2:4-9; Jn 14:1-12

Fourth Sunday of Easter

He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness.

— 1 Peter 2:24a

FLOWERS ON THE ALTAR

No Flowers due to closures.

ENTRANCE

How else but through a broken heart may the Lord Christ enter in? —Oscar Wilde

MUCH-NEEDED LOVE

No one needs love more than someone who doesn’t deserve it. —Anonymous

PLEASE NOTE

Fourth Sunday of Easter Page 4

UPCOMING EVENTS

May Events

ALL FUTURE EVENTS, INCLUDING

PUBLIC MASSES, ARE SUSPENDED UNTIL FURTHER

NOTICE. MAY GOD’S DIVINE MERCY BE

UPON US AS WE PLACE ALL OUR

TRUST IN YOU. LIFT US UP O LORD FOR

WE ARE BENT LOW.

ADORATION CHAPEL The Adoration Chapel will be closed until further notice.

Confessions are still offered every Saturday at 3:00 p.m .

FLOWERS & SANCTUARY LIGHTS for 2020 are now available. The cost is $40 (flowers) and $10 (sanctuary light). If you would like to

reserve a weekend, please call 837-8214. Checks for flowers are to be made payable to “St. Christopher Altar Society”. Checks for sanctuary lights should be made payable to “St. Christopher Church”. What a wonderful way to say “Congratulations”, “Happy Birthday”, “Happy Anniversary”, etc.

CHURCH OFFERINGS

We are now offering online giving for your convenience and safety especially during this

interim period when there are no public Masses. We pray for all our parishioners and know that several are experiencing financial hardship. We hope that those of you who are able will consider continuing to support our church by mailing your offering to the rectory: 309 Manson Avenue, Metairie, LA 70001. Thank you for your continued generosity.

DAILY MASSES ON LINE

In the wake of the cancellation of all public Masses in the Archdiocese of New Orleans, you may live-stream Mass at St. Louis Cathedral at your convenience at https://thedailymass.com/mass/. The streams are for Mass at 12:05 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 11 a.m. on Sunday.

Support Us as You Shop Amazon Our church is now registered with the AmazonSmile campaign. Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases straight to our church! Please consider supporting St. Christopher as you shop by logging on to smile.amazon.com. After selecting St. Christopher the Martyr Catholic Church as the organization you are supporting for the first time, each time you shop, simply log on through smile.amazon.com. All products and prices are the same, and there are no additional fees. Pass this on to your family, friends, and neighbors so that our church can benefit from donations from AmazonSmile!

ST. CHRISTOPHER OUTREACH

HELP LINE

We are in a bit of a crisis as 99% of our food comes to the main entrance of church, school, and drop-offs at the rectory, and many people are

requesting assistance. We are in need of items such as cereal, grits and oatmeal, and cans of fruit, beans, soup, tomato sauce, and Chef Boyardee. We also need ramen noodles, rice, and pasta mixes, macaroni and cheese, spaghetti and pasta. For this month, we have an adequate supply of peanut butter and jelly, dried beans, and canned vegetables. The boxes we give out are 12” x 12” x 18”, so we are limited to regular-size items, not large, and we do not have the space to handle cold products. Please help us by checking “current best-by” dates. If you are in need of assistance, call 831-7692 and leave a message. We will return your call. We thank you on behalf of our parishioners who are in need. We will help as many as our food and finances will permit us. May God bless all of you and keep all of us healthy.

May the Souls of the Faithful Departed

Rest in Peace

Marc Pelayo Garcia April 22, 2020

Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this difficult time.

Fourth Sunday of Easter Page 5

St. Christopher Parish Census Form

St. Christopher Parish is developing enhanced paper and digital communication capabilities. You can help us by providing us with your information. Go to St. Christopher’s website and use the link to set up your personal user name and password to the database.

IN NEED OF A SHEPHERD

For a while it was very fashionable to own pigs as pets. The publicity surrounding these creatures informed us that they were—contrary to their popular image—very clean animals, and also quite smart. Sad to say, sheep will most likely never enjoy this sort of domestic vogue. They are neither clean nor smart and are largely defenseless when left on their own, even in large numbers. The biblical image of us as the flock of sheep is not a particularly flattering one. Sheep without a shepherd are truly sad, because they most likely will perish either from their inability to fend for themselves or from their lack of defenses against predators. Placing ourselves in the heart of this unflattering image can reinforce our faith. Until we come to a profound realization of how much we need a shepherd, we cannot appreciate how deeply blessed we are to have been given a Shepherd, one who laid down his life for us and was raised to life eternal in the Spirit, so he might guide us and we might follow him in faith forever. Copyright © J. S. Paluch Co.

Advertiser of the Week

HAVE ANNOUNCEMENTS OR ORGANIZATIONAL CHURCH EVENTS, PHOTOS OR NEWS RECAP FOR THE BULLETIN? Please forward to

the rectory two weeks in advance of the event. This includes Mass Requests. You can e-mail the Rectory at scmrectory@outlook.com.

Fourth Sunday of Easter Page 6

"Prayer Room" on Our Web Site

In the words of Alfred Tennyson, "More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of." There is a

new Resource page on our site that is focused on prayer, where we, as St. Christopher parishioners, can learn about and join together in praying for each other's concerns and intentions. You are invited to contribute your intentions (large and small, your thanksgiving or your needs) so that we may all join in lifting them in prayer. Quiet time with God spent thanking Him, seeking His will, listening . . . is a gift that you give yourself! May our relationship with God be strengthened, and may our capacity to love and be loved increase as our hearts reach out to each other.

Bill’s Auto Repair Brakes-Tune Ups-Tires-

AC Repairs- General Auto Repairs

Parishioner Owned

Craig Bourgeois 455-4844

KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS

FAMILY OF THE MONTH

TO BE ANNOUNCED WHEN

CHURCH SERVICES RESUME

MAKE A GIFT TO HELP YOUR CHURCH

With the global spread of COVID-19 financially impacting the ministry of the U.S. church, the #iGiveCatholic online giving platform activated its national website March 26 to begin accepting donations from individuals and businesses in support of parishes, schools, and ministries of 39 dioceses across the country.

SAINTS PHILIP AND JAMES, APOSTLES

May 3

Call Philip the gospel’s “Answer Man.” “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Nathaniel asked Philip, who had proclaimed Jesus “the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets” (John 1:45).

Jesus asked Philip, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” (John 6:5). Greeks brought Philip their request: “We would like to see Jesus” (John 12:21). Philip’s answer to each question: bring people to Jesus! At the Last Supper, finally, Philip had a request of his own: “Show us the Father!” (John 14:8). Jesus had three last questions for Philip: “You still don’t know me? How can you ask that? Don’t you believe?” And an answer: “I am in the Father and the Father is in me” (John 14:10). Today’s James is not John’s brother, Zebedee’s son, but, tradition says, author of the New Testament Letter of James, who died praying for his murderers in Jesus’ words: “Forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Few historical details for either saint, but lessons aplenty: Bring every question we have and everybody we meet to Jesus; be, as James’ letter challenges, “doers of the word and not hearers only” (James 1:22). —Peter Scagnelli, Copyright © J. S. Paluch Co.