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 — To meet their growing needs, the community chooses seven reputable men to serve the new Greek believers (Acts 6:1-7). Psalm — Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you (Psalm 33). Second Reading — We, like living stones, let ourselves be built into a spiritual house (1 Peter 2:4-9). Gospel — “Show us the Father,” Philip asks Jesus. To which Jesus replies: “Whoever sees me, sees the Father” (John 14:1-12). 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.

My dear people of God and St Bridget Family,

Happy Easter!

Yes, we continue to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ as we now enter the fifth Sunday of Easter. The gospel readings for the last Sundays before the feast of Pentecost are all taken from the last discourse (major ser-mon) from Jesus before His death as found in the gospel of John. This discourse is one of the most important because it has important tenets for the faith. In this discourse, Jesus pre-pares His followers for His death and resurrection.

The followers of Jesus and indeed the entire world had never heard or experienced the reality of the resurrection. They had certainly experienced people being raised from the dead and getting back to their old regular human life as in the case of Lazarus and the many others that were raised to life in the different biblical accounts. The resurrection of Jesus however, is much different from that. It is a rising from death to a new life as we see in the case of Jesus. He was the same, but at the same time different. In a very real way, this was beyond compre-hension.

When the disciples were listening to this discourse, I am convinced that they did not com-pletely comprehend it. It could not make complete sense to them. However, after the resur-rection this reality began to sink and make sense in them. The forty days Jesus spent with them after the resurrection allowed them to internalize their experience and correlate it with what they had heard Him teach and say when He lived with them before the crucifixion. In her wisdom, our mother the Church, gives us these days of the Easter season to allow the mystery of the resurrection and the gift of the afterlife to find a place in our hearts and lives. The more we allow that mystery and reality to sink into our hearts, the more we get the inner peace to enjoy this life and more importantly anticipate the life hereafter.

When one follows the events leading up to the Last Supper, one will find and feel the tension brewing around Jesus. The authorities and zeroing on Him. They make attempts at Him, but He slips away (eg Luke 4:20-30). His disciples are witnesses to all this. Furthermore, He Himself tells them that He is going to suffer and die! His disciples on the other hand, have invested themselves in following Him. It therefore appears to them that their ‘investment’ in following Jesus was in vein if He is going to die. They were therefore naturally troubled by not only the separation from Jesus but also the uncertainty of their future.

It is with that background that Jesus makes the profound opening statement of today’s gos-pel reading: “Do not let your hearts be troubled..” He then goes on to tell them that all that is going to happen to Him, is part of a bigger plan. The suffering, death and resurrection are not merely ends in themselves. Rather, in and through them, He is going to prepare a place for His followers so that where He will, they too would follow and join Him. In fact He makes it very simple by using language very familiar to them: “..I am going to prepare a dwelling place for you”.

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THE REALITY OF LIFE AFTER DEATH There Are Dwelling Places in Heaven

Children have no agendas when it comes to the afterlife, which is probably why we hear

so many cases in which dying children validate an afterlife. A twelve -year -old child who came back from a near death experience decided not to tell her mother that dying in a car acci-dent was a beautiful experience. She didn’t want to hurt her mother’s feelings by telling her that she had been happy in a place greater than her home.

She had a need to talk about it, though, so she told her father that dying was a beautiful experience and she had not wanted to come back. In fact, not only was it an experience of light and openheartedness, she had been amazed to meet with someone who said he was her brother, who told her she was going to be fine. “He loved me so much,” she said, “and he loved you and Mom, too. How could I have seen someone who said he was my brother? I don’t have a brother.”

Her father began to cry. “You did have a brother, but he died before you were born,” her dad said. “We wanted to tell you when you got older.”

We often make the mistake of thinking all communication ends at death. Why do we find nothing unusual about talking to an unborn child in utero, but if we talk to a deceased, people might think we’re crazy? The truth is that even after death, it’s never too late to say you’re sorry or how much you loved your spouse or mother or friend. The truth is that you can finish “unfinished business” even if you’ve held on to it for ten, twenty years or even more.

When we die, we will be surprised that not only those who loved us the most will be waiting, but there will also be many others. Ancestors, and strangers whose lives we touched and never knew it. It’s easy to imagine that when we die all our old friends will gather to wel-come us to the next world.

Excerpt from the Book: On Grief and Grieving (pgs. 113-114)

He then asks whether they understand Him, whether they know where He is going and the way to get there. The inquisitive Thomas was the only one bold enough to respond in the negative: “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way” It was to this question that Jesus makes one of most important and most quoted of His statements: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Fa-ther except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father”

My brothers and sisters, as we continue on our journey of faith and in the midst of the pan-demic in our midst, the good news for us today is the reminder that Jesus has prepared a dwelling place for us in the presence of our heavenly Father. May the joy and peace of the risen Lord be with you.

Happy Easter and God bless,

Fr Simon Peter

Reconciliation (Confession) is held every Saturday from 4:30 to 6:00 pm

Catholic Social Teaching: Call to Family, Com-munity and Participation The person is not only sacred but also social. How we organize our society—in economics and politics, in law and policy—directly affects human dignity and the capacity of individuals to grow in community. Marriage and family are the central social institutions that must be supported and strengthened, not under-mined. We believe people have a right and a duty to participate in society, seeking together the common good and well-being of all, especially the poor and vulnerable.

The gospel of Jesus is not simply a “personal interior message or experience” which changes the way we feel. Genuine belief leads to works. Spirituality is connected to action. Faith is connected to our behav-ior. As Jesus says in today’s gospel, “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these.”

The work of the gospel is reflected in the concern of the early church for the poor. In today’s example from Acts, it is reflected in a concern for the widows in the community. The work of the gospel is about service and especially service to those who are most in need. It is a responsibility of the whole community – not just a responsibility for the apostles. Deacons are appointed. The whole community is involved in these local needs. (In some way this story reflects the principle of subsidiarity which is one of the key prin-ciples of Catholic Social Teaching.) The apostles also seek to create a structure for responding to the needs for the long term. (This too is important in Catholic Social Teaching, for we desire to offer more than charity to respond to some immediate need but to cre-ate structures of justice that empower people.)

In the gospel Jesus reassures his disciples that he wants to see them taken care of. He speaks of a house with many dwelling places. We may think of this im-age as some vision of heaven where everyone will have a fine mansion. We might also think of the vi-sion of Jesus as speaking to our world here and now.

Might not Jesus envision a world where all God’s people have descent, safe, and affordable housing here today? Might not Jesus envision a world where refugees find a safe home and those who come out of prison are welcomed back to the community? Might not Jesus envision a world in which all men and women enjoy a sense of belonging and community wherever they live? Is this not what the early com-munity is trying to create as they appoint deacons to make sure that everyone is included in the resources of the world? Is this not what we all want to be about? Are we not all called to focus on the “common good?”

Online Giving Sure – Safe – Secure

Please consider online giving. Your donation is safe, secure, and guaran-teed. 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 pur-poses at the end of the calendar year or whenever necessary. Donations can be re-curring (weekly or monthly) or one time. For more information visit our secure web-site at www.stbridget-htdiocese.org or call the Office at (985) 446-6801.

The Sanctuary Light memory of: May 10-16

Catherine Brown, Blackie Stevens, Carmel Boudreaux by Phyllis and John Ables and

family May 17-23

Parishioners of St. Bridget

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

—————————————— Weekend of May 9-10 Rudy Thibodaux by family Carey Gauthreaux by Karen Dufrene Charles (DA)& Irene LeBlanc (DA) by Mary & Ivy Louviere See Mother’s Day list on line Weekend of May 16-17 Marion Knight by Godfrey Knight Roy Boudreaux (A) by Earline and family Catherine Brown by Phyllis and John Ables and family

April 26, 2020 Church Support $ 2945.00 Your Church support can be mailed or dropped off at the office.

Thank you for your generosity.

Mass and Sanctuary Light request and donations can be mailed to the office at 2076 West Main St., Schriever, LA

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.

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.

READINGS FOR THE WEEK Monday: Acts 14:5-18; Ps 115:1-4, 15-16; Jn 14:21-26 Tuesday: Acts 14:19-28; Ps 145:10-13ab, 21; Jn 14:27-31a Wednesday: Acts 15:1-6; Ps 122:1-5; Jn 15:1-8 Thursday: Acts 1:15-17, 20-26; Ps 113:1-8; Jn 15:9-17 Friday: Acts 15:22-31; Ps 57:8-10, 12; Jn 15:12-17 Saturday: Acts 16:1-10; Ps 100:1b-3, 5; Jn 15:18-21 Sunday: Acts 8:5-8, 14-17; Ps 66:1-7, 16, 20; 1 Pt 3:15-18 or 1 Pt 4:13-16; Jn 14:15-21 or Jn 17:1-11a

HUGS A mom’s hug lasts long after she lets go. —Anonymous MARY OUR MOTHER What a joy to remember that Mary is our Mother! Since she loves us and knows our weakness, what have we to fear? —Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

Diocesan Outreach Line/Victims Assistance Coordinator

(985) 873-0026 or (985) 850-3172 For more info. visit www.htdiocese.org/

safe-environment

PRAYER OF SPIRITUAL COMMUNION 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.

Need Help If you need help with rent, mortgages or utilities, call Catholic Charities at 876-0490.