Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time February 1, 2015 Come, let us bow down to worship; let us kneel before the Lord who made us. —Psalm 95:6 Collections for January 18, 2014 Weekly Collection ................................. 10,211.53 Loose ..................................................... 621.53 Good Samaritan ..................................... 15.00 Building Fund ........................................ 10,745.00 Total for Parish..................................... 21,593.06 Latin America ........................................ 1,527.30 Mass Intentions (February 3-8, 2015) Tues. Wed. Thur. Fri. Sat. Sun. Jackie Bonsall Special Intention Mitchell & Billie Laufenberg Michele George Helen Jeansonne Ronald Matte Flowers at the tabernacle are in memory of Next weekend is BFA Commitment Weekend. Please consider making a pledge to this campaign. Our hope is that all families will participate to the extent they are able. Dorsey Mattern Gather the Children is NEXT weekend Feb 8th at the 10:30 a.m. Mass. Children Pre-school to 3rd grade are invited. Adults and HS youth who wish to participate need to meet with Verlene Buchanan. You may contact her at (409)791-1943. The Immigration Services legal assistance program of Catholic Charities of Southeast Texas now offers a walk-in “Green Card” renewal or replacement service every Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Anyone with questions about this Green Card service or wishing to obtain information about other means of subsidized legal assistance provided through Catholic Charities Immigration Services can call (409) 924-4410. Men’s ACTS Team Formation for June 25-28, 2015 Retreat has begun. It is a 13 week commitment. First meeting is 3/15, 6:308:30. Please submit your name for the selection process. Email your name, phone, email address, parish and number of teams worked to one of the following persons. Mike Cole: [email protected]; Frank Pritchard: [email protected] or Paul Lapeyrolerie: Women’s ACTS Retreat April 16-19, 2015. Registration begins Feb. 2nd at 9 a.m. Complete a registration form and return to St. Francis Parish with a $50 deposit. Financial difficulties should not stop you from registering. Directors are Cindy Gonzales, [email protected] (409)697-0453; Peggy Biddle, [email protected] (409)330-1891 or Stacy Menard, [email protected] (409) 718-2912. Contact one for more info. Living the Eucharist Please consider exploring the Eucharist and all it has to offer during our Lenten season. Contact Lucy Simpson at 738-2773 to sign up for this wonderful opportunity as groups are now forming. We collect non-perishable food items NEXT weekend for Orange Christian Services. Please place in containers. Parishioners preparing to enter hospital for non-emergency medical treatment are asked to call our parish office and make an appointment to receive the Anointing of the Sick Sacrament and also, if desired, the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Please do so BEFORE entering the hospital. Parishioners entering a hospital are asked to state their religious affiliation and parish for the hospital records.-Parishioners (or family) who enter a hospital are asked to notify their parish office of their hospitalization. -Homebound parishioners (or family) are asked to notify the parish office so Sacraments may be provided. -Parishioners (or family) who enter a nursing home or retirement facility are asked to notify their parish office. Pray for the sick of our Parish Gina Cessac Ethel Compton Doug McCorkle Runie Creswell Darrell Trahan Maia Able A. J. DeJohn Norvin & Marie Noel Lou Garriga C. J. Dumesnil 2/2 “ 2/3 “ Men’s SHARE Meeting Women’s SHARE Young at Hearts Luncheon 11;30 a.m. Legion of Mary 5:30 p.m. Scout Sunday February 8, 2015 Please join us as we celebrate Mass on Scout Sunday at St. Anthony Cathedral Basilica on February 8, 2015 at noon. Awards to be presented after in the Basilica Center. TODAY’S READINGS First Reading — Moses spoke to all the people, saying: “A prophet like me will the LORD, your God, raise up for you” (Deuteronomy 18:15-20). Psalm — If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts (Psalm 95). Second Reading — Brothers and sisters: I should like you to be free of anxieties (1 Corinthians 7:32-35). Gospel — The people were astonished at Jesus’ teaching; he taught them as one having authority (Mark 1:21-28). The English translation of the Psalm Responses from the Lectionary for Mass © 1969, 1981, 1997, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved. READINGS FOR THE WEEK Monday: Mal 3:1-4; Ps 24:7-10; Heb 2:14-18; Lk 2:22-40 Tuesday: Heb 12:1-4; Ps 22:26b-28, 30-32; Mk 5:21-43 Wednesday: Heb 12:4-7, 11-15; Ps 103:1-2, 13-14, 17-18a; Mk 6:1-6 Thursday: Heb 12:18-19, 21-24; Ps 48:2-4, 9-11; Mk 6:7-13 Friday: Heb 13:1-8; Ps 27:1, 3, 5, 8b-9; Mk 6:14-29 Saturday: Heb 13:15-17, 20-21; Ps 23:1-6; Mk 6:30-34 Sunday: Jb 7:1-4, 6-7; Ps 147:1-6; 1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23; Mk 1:29-39 2/4 2/4 2/5 “ Adoration 8 a.m. to 8 pm RE classes RCIA 7 p.m. Choir practice For more info go to: www.sthenrybctx.org Our Parish in Action… Eucharistic Adoration Every Wednesday—after 8 AM Mass until 8 PM. Call Caroline Mires at 735-2368 if you are able to dedicate an hour of prayer on a weekly basis. Legion of Mary—meets each Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. in the RE Bldg. For more info contact Judy at 749-4101 or Annette 735-9342. Parish Rosary—All persons are invited to pray the Rosary on the 4th Tuesday of each month at 5:00 AM in the RE building. 10:30 AM Choir—meets for rehearsal every Thursday at 7 PM in the Church. New members are always welcome. Ladies of St. Henry—meet on the 3rd Thursday of each month (Sept-May) at 10 AM in the Activities Bldg. Call Peggy Biddle at 330-1891 for info. Bereavement Committee—If you would like to help provide food for families of deceased parishioners, please call Barbara Piat at 735-5119. Sisters ACTS— Faith sharing for those women who have attended an ACTS retreat. The group meets on the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 6:00 PM. Please contact Randie at 735-5816 or Robin at 749-0433. Young at Hearts Group meets the 1st Tuesday each month for a pot luck luncheon in the Activities Bldg. at 11:30 a.m. Contact Peggy Biddle, Ruth Wallace or Judy Cole for more information. Bunco meets the 3rd Monday of each month at 6 p.m. (place TBD) Call Tracey Broussard at 344-2341 for more info. Merry Marthas— visit our homebound and those in need. Contact Tenna Walker 313-6596. Men’s S.H.A.R.E.—St. Henry Apologetics and Religious Evangelization is open to all men of St. Henry and meets Mondays at 6pm in Act. Bldg. Call Ron Jackson at 409.351.9876. Women’s S.H.A.R.E.—St. Henry Apologetics and Religious Evangelization is open to all women of St. Henry and meets Mondays at 6pm in the Education Center. Call Tammy Caffey at 409.498.0375. Knights of Columbus—Officer’s Meeting the Wed. before the Business Meeting; Business meetings are the 2nd Tues.; Family Night 3rd Tues. Call Alton Terro 735-5117 for more info. R.C.I.A. - meets every Thursday @ 7pm in Activity Building Social Committee—plans and hosts Parish dinners and receptions at our Parish. Call Debbie Gregg 988-1243 for more info. The following child was baptized into our Catholic faith: Sonny Bielecki Welcome to our Parish family. CEMI Classes Catholic Social Teaching, Thursdays, Jan 29-Februay 19, 2015. Instructor is Paul J. Thomas, St. Anne Hall, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The Mass, Thursdays, April 30-May 28, 2015. Instructor is Rosalind Sanchez, Catholic Pastoral Center (Diocesan offices). Go to www.dioceseofbmt.org to register. We Need Help! More persons are needed to prepare the Altar and Church for weekend liturgies. It only takes 20-30 minutes on Thursdays after Mass. It is open to men and women. Please call Peggy (330-1891) to sign up today. Altar Cleaning for February Jenny Babin Patty Guillotte Judy LeBlanc Ruth Wallace Annette Rodrigue AUTHORITY FROM GOD According to Moses, the people decided they didn’t want to hear God’s voice directly any more. It was much too frightening. Why couldn’t God send human teachers, prophets, instead? God agreed, but with a warning. The people had better listen to those teachers, because they spoke in God’s name. That arrangement, though, had its own problems, for them and for us. How do I know this teacher is truly from God? And if the teacher is from God, are all parts of the teaching meant for me? We have the Church and scripture to help us with those questions, but still there are always a few loose ends. That is the powerful significance of the sentence in today’s Gospel: “The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.” The people knew that this Jesus was authentic—truly a teacher sent by God. They knew it by hearing him. Copyright © J. S. Paluch Co. TREASURES FROM OUR TRADITION The Oil of the Sick, usually labeled OI (for Oleum Infirmarum), is often reserved with chrism and the oil of catechumens in an ambry. An ambry is a cabinet, often beautifully ornamented and kept near the baptistery in the church. Olive oil, with no fragrance added, is blessed at the Chrism Mass in Holy Week by the bishop, although there is now a provision for a priest to bless oil if none is available. This restores to our Latin Rite practice a tradition never lost in the Eastern tradition, in which priests consecrate the oil of the sick, even at the sick person’s home. Any vegetable oil may be used now, since olive oil is difficult to obtain in some places. Many priests keep a small supply of oil close at hand in a small metal tube called a “stock.” In the former rite, every sense of the body was anointed, accompanied by a prayer for forgiveness of sin. So, the eyes, ears, nostrils, mouth, hands, and feet were all touched. Today, this is simplified to an anointing of the forehead and the hands, but generally today the oil is used more lavishly, and the symbolism of touch so central to the rite is enhanced. Often, a priest will invite everyone present to join in the “laying on of hands.” Sick persons are often pushed aside or feared in our culture, and to be reverently touched in love can be a profound experience of God’s healing, forgiving, accepting presence through the ministry of the Church. Rev. James Field, Copyright © J. S. Paluch Co. Considering Monsignor Kelly High School? Placement testing is required and will be held 2/7, 8 a.m. to noon, and 2/17, 2-5:30 p.m. Choose any day for your convenience. On Shadow Days eighth graders will pair with a current Kelly student to experience a typical day. Transportation will be provided to students from our feeder schools. Other students should contact Kelly Admissions. An Open House will be held 2/26 at 6 p.m. in the cafeteria. For more info, please contact Taylor Miller, at 409.866.2351x 139 or [email protected] ADVERTISING IN OUR PARISH BULLETIN IS A GREAT ECONOMICAL VEHICLE IN YOUR BUSINESS STRATEGY. CALL PALUCH AT 1-800-833-5941 TO BEGIN.