Reflecting on God s Word

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2 PARISH CLERGY Rev. Tom Lam Pastor Rev. Martins Emeh, J.C.L. Parochial Vicar Deacon John Evanoff Pastoral Associate Deacon Don Kish PARISH STAFF Business Manager Lars Gustafson Administration Gerry Broussard, Misha Gabriel, Dan Stamps, Mary Tran Religious Education LouAnn Svoboda, Director Dave Clark, Charlotte Fulton, Becca Hammock, Maria Laiseca Youth Ministry Joey Harvey, Director Matt Kiernan Parish Life Ministry Dave Clark, Director Music Ministry Christian Mondragon, Director Adrienne Copeland Liturgy Ministry Dominick Aquila, Director Outreach Ministry Schottsie Hill, Director Lisa Gilkeson Facilities Manager Vince DeBonis Christian Cholico, Young Kim, Alex Trejo COMMUNITY LIFE Nursery Coordinator: Anne Salazar Bingo: Friday at 7:30 p.m Welcome Newcomers For more information about our parish please go to our website Reflecting on God s Word God is love W e live in an age when many fundamentalist groups seem to think that only those who belong to their group can be saved. It is a question of us against the world. That was the situation in the time of Jesus between Jews and Gentiles (that is, all non-jews). A large part of the Acts of the Apostles chapters 10 through 15 deals with the question of whether Gentiles could enjoy the blessings brought by Christ without becoming Jews first. It is clear that the more conservative elements in the church, typified by James had an understandably difficult time with this. In recounting the conversion of Cornelius, Luke gives a practical theological justification for welcoming Gentiles: it was an action initiated by God and ratified by the Holy Spirit. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about today s epistle and gospel is that the manifestation of love is all one-sided. It comes from God and from the Christ. Certainly the disciples had not shown much love, and were all about to betray Jesus in one way or another. Yet it is these same people that Jesus called friends, not servants, and whom he trusts enough to choose to go and make a difference in the world. This gives added depth to the statement that God is love. This was not made from some philosophical or theological insight. It was because they had experienced the love of God on their behalf that they could come to this understanding of the nature of love as well as the nature of God. The emphasis in the gospel passage about bearing fruit and that will last is an important one. Many people are content to do no wrong, but do not feel called to make any real difference in the world. The liturgy of life does not flow from or reflect the liturgy of the Eucharist. The emphasis instead is place on the church as a community where all love one another, and efforts are made to make it a warm fuzzy sort of place a group of people with whom we feel comfortable, The gospel today, however, reminds us that the church does not exist for itself, but for others. The ad intra is only for the sake of the ad extra. The church exists to be fruitful for the sake of the mission of Christ. 2

3 Events & Meetings This Week SUNDAY, MAY 6 Food Drive Coffee & Donuts: Family Center 9:45 & 11:30 AM, Nursery: 2 5 years; PAC 9:45 & 11:30 AM, Children s Liturgy of the Word Grades 1 & 2 1:30 PM, Baptism Service: Narthex 3:30 PM, Marriage Support: Outreach MONDAY, MAY 7 9:00 AM, Daily Mass: Chapel 1:00 PM, Rummikub: Outreach Center 6:30 PM, Bereavement Support: Outreach 6:30 PM, KC s Officers Meeting: PAC 7:00 PM, Scout Troop 1146: Great Room 7:00 PM, Job Networking: Rec Room 7:00 PM, Handbell Choir: Church TUESDAY, MAY 8 9:00 AM, Daily Mass: Chapel 9:00 AM, ESL Class: Outreach Center 9:30 AM, Quilters: Room 411 9:40 AM 7:30 PM, Adoration: Chapel 10:00 AM, Holy Hour Rosary for Respect Life: Chapel 10:00 AM, Scripture Study: Den 3:00 PM, Divine Mercy Chaplet: Chapel 4:00 PM, Holy Hour for Vocations: Chapel 7:00 PM, RCIA: Epiphany Room 7:00 PM, Scout Troop 1288: Rec Room 7:00 PM, Rosary, Solemn Evening Prayer and Benediction: Chapel WEDNESDAY, MAY 9 9:00 AM, Daily Mass: Chapel 2:00 PM, Ladies Club Charity Luncheon Committee Meeting: Den 5:30 PM, Contemporary Music: Church 7:00 PM, Choir Rehearsal: Church 7:00 PM, LOFT: High School Youth Group: Upper Room 8:05 PM, Young Adult Bible Study: Rm.404 THURSDAY, MAY 10 9:00 AM, Daily Mass: Chapel 9:00 AM, ESL Class: Outreach Center 10:00 AM, Caregiver s Support Group: Outreach Center 10:00 AM, Gathering Place: Family Center 2:30 PM, Citizenship Class: Room 403 7:00 PM, Respect Life Meeting: Outreach 7:00 PM, Line Dancing: Great Room 7:00 PM, Noah s Ark Mtg.: Epiphany Room 7:00 PM, Adult Confirmation Class: Den FRIDAY, MAY 11 9:00 AM, Daily Mass: Chapel 9:30 AM, Ladies Club: Family Center 7:30 PM, Bingo: Family Center SATURDAY, MAY 12 10:00 AM, Baptism Preparation Class: Family Center 6:30 PM, Baby Bottle Distribution SUNDAY, MAY 13 Mother s Day Baby Bottle Distribution after all Masses 9:45 & 11:30 AM, Children s Liturgy of the Word Grades 3 & 4 Fr. Jack will be presiding at the 11:30 a.m. Mass on Sunday, May 20 to celebrate the 55 th anniversary of his ordina on to the priesthood. A recep on will follow in the Family Center. Baptisms Please contact parish office for preparation classes. Baptism Session for Parents 2 nd Saturday of February, May, August, November 10:00 AM Noon To register call LouAnn Svoboda ( ) Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) For information call LouAnn Svoboda ( ) Sacrament of Marriage Must be a registered, active member of the parish at least six months. Contact parish office eight months before wedding to begin preparation. Finance Council Chair Denny Dellinger Pastoral Council Chair Tom McGeehan Knights of Columbus C.J. Hattier, Grand Knight St. Vincent de Paul Society Rebel LeBoeuf Ladies Club Sharon Yohe Forever Young Norma Lopez, Mary Davis Bulletin Deadline The deadline for article submission is Thursday at noon (ten days before publication). Your article can be sent to gerry@epiphanycatholic.org. Check our website for Liturgical & Faith Formation Schedules. epiphany@epiphanycatholic.org Child s Play Learning Center, Alyce Gabrysch, Director, ; Fax; childsplaykaty.com 3

4 Liturgy & Prayer PRAYER LIST FOR THE SICK LITURGICAL CELEBRATIONS THIS WEEK SPECIAL REMEMBRANCES Saturday, May 5 Vigil Sixth Sunday of Easter 5:30 PM Gloria de Ina Sunday, May 6 Sixth Sunday of Easter 8:00 AM Jose Calle 9:45 AM For the People 11:30 AM David Lemak 5:30 PM Zita Briksnis Monday, May 7 Easter Weekday 9:00 AM John Amabebe Tuesday, May 8 Easter Weekday 9:00 AM Jon Evanoff Wednesday, May 9 Easter Weekday 9:00 AM Clara Goertz Thursday, May 10 Easter Weekday 9:00 AM Laiseca Family Friday, May 11 Easter Weekday 9:00 AM Bethany Brown Saturday, May 12 Vigil The Ascension of the Lord 5:30 PM Ulric LeLeux Sunday, May 13 The Ascension of the Lord 8:00 AM Jerry Toomey 9:45 AM For the People 11:30 AM Dorothy Freedman 5:30 PM Italo Camacho READINGS FOR THE WEEK Monday: Acts 16:11-15; Ps 149:1b-6a, 9b; Jn 15:26 16:4a Tuesday: Acts 16:22-34; Ps 138:1-3, 7c-8; Jn 16:5-11 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 18:9-18; Ps 47:2-7; Jn 16:20-23 Saturday: Acts 18:23-28; Ps 47:2-3, 8-10; Jn 16:23b-28 Sunday: Acts 1:1-11; Ps 47:2-3, 6-9; Eph 1:17-23 or Eph 4:1-13 [1-7, 11-13]; Mk 16:15-20 Please pray for our military men and women. Please keep the following people in your thoughts and prayers this week as we wish them a return to good health: Jason Sides, Theresa McCluskey, Steve Chambers, Jackie Alfonso, Colette Johnecheck, Lauro Garza, Amapola Garza, Mary Laverock, Maria Concepcion Espinosa, Donna Johnson, Linda Hudak, Lionel Rivas, Jason Klander, Karen Janak Calderon, Tim Elliott. To make a request for someone to be on our prayer list, please call the parish office at Your loved one s name will appear on our prayer list for six consecutive Sundays. If a longer period of time is needed, please call the parish office to renew your request. You are invited to experience evening prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours each Tuesday evening in the chapel at 7:30 PM. Liturgy of the Hours is the formal prayer the worldwide Church prays daily in response to Christ's statement to "pray always". Please join us and the entire Church around the world each Tuesday evening. TV Mass for the Homebound Now on KUBE channel 57 at 9:30 a.m. Cable and Satellite Channels AT&T U-verse channel 57/1057 HD Comcast channel 53/653 HD DirecTV channel 57 Dish TV channel 57 4

5 Parish Life The Epiphany Ladies Club (ELC) invites you to a end our mee ng on Friday, May 11 at 9:30 AM in the Family Center. Our program for May is called the Magic of Laughter. Sarah Guest, Community Liaison for Dis nc ve Life, is our guest speaker. She will go into detail about how important it is for all of us to incorporate laughter into our Lives. Come join us. New members are always welcome. Any ques ons, please contact us at epiphanyladiesclub@gmail.com FOREVER YOUNG Welcome all 55+ age parishioners to the Forever Young Group. Our last gathering for the year will be on May 18, 2018, at 11:30 a.m. at the Family Center. Please bring a dish, casserole, salad or dessert to enjoy with your fellow friends. Come early (11 a.m.) to sign up or pay for trips, buy the 50/50 raffle tickets, and mingle with your friends. Our speaker will be Carol Meyer. See you there and see you back in September! Make me for family fun this summer. Join us for Family Fun Nights every Wednesday in June from 6:30pm-8:30pm in the PAC. Each week will feature a movie on our big screen, a smorgasbord of games and tummy ckling snacks. Dinner will also be served each week for $15 per family! Date June 6 June 13 June 20 June 27 Menu Build your own pizzas Hot dogs Nachos Movie Ferdinand Cocoa Moana Pot-Luck No Cost This Week Incredibles 2 We will be meeting for dinner on Friday, May 11 th, at 7pm, at Chili s off of the Katy Freeway, by South Mason Road. There will be no Bible Study on Wednesday, May 9 th. 5

6 Our Stewardship Stewardship April 26/27 Sunday Offering $ 42, St. Vincent de Paul Society $ Registered Households 6,711 This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one s life for one s friends - J 15:12-13 Do you love Jesus? Do you consider Him your friend? Jesus says that if we love Him we would be willing to offer whatever we have to Him, not because we want praise and glory, but simply because we love Him. Does your giving seem mechanical out of obliga on or do you share freely out of love? DSF REPORT Parish Goal $398, Amount Pledged $230, Amount Paid $147, Number of Pledges 467 If you are busy and have a long to do list, then let Epiphany s on-line giving program make your life easier! Faith Direct is our parish s e-giving program. Just enroll and your regular offerings to Epiphany are automatically deducted from your checking account or billed to your credit card. It s secure and easy to use! You can also use Faith Direct for second collections and donations to our new Catholic school. Visit or find their link on Epiphanycatholic.org. Remember Epiphany s parish code is: TX 613 Faith Direct also has a free App for your phone! It is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play for Android users. The App allows parishioners to access their account anytime, anywhere! Thank you for your continued support of our parish family! Epiphany Catholic School Respect Life Bulletin Board Please join the RFL Committee for their last meeting before summer on Tuesday May 8, 2018 at 7pm in the Outreach Conference Room. We will be discussing Fall Pro-Life activities. Intercessions for Life For our shepherds: May their example guide us in building a culture that cherishes every human life; We pray to the Lord: 6

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8 Outreach Ministry Outreach Events in May Regular Meetings: Mon. Epiphany Job Networking at 7 p.m. in the PAC; Tues. Respect Life Rosary at 10 a.m. in the Chapel. May 6: Food Drive May 6: Marriage Support Group May 7: Bereavement Support Group May 8: ESL Class May 10: Gathering Place May 10: ESL Class May 10: Caregiver Support Group May 10: Citizenship class May 10: Noah s Ark May 12& 13: Distribution of Baby Bottles See for details. Call the Outreach Center at for more information on the various ministries. The Gift of Marriage This afternoon from 3:30 to 4:45 pm Outreach Center FOOD DRIVE Today The Knights will be collecting non-perishable food and personal care items for Epiphany Food closet. Items can be brought to either parking lot after morning Masses, today. We appreciate all of your help in keeping our food closet well stocked. We are especially in need of cereal, chili and peanut butter this month. Clinic Care Kits Through the generous donations of our parishioners, we were able to assemble and deliver 271 Clinic Care Kits. We would like to say thank you to all who donated and to our tireless volunteers that assembled the kits to be given to Christ Clinic and our own St. Vincent de Paul. Thank you also to the Ladies of Mercy at St. Faustina who collected and donated supplies. Noah s Ark An informal support group for the families that were flooded during Harvey. Join us on Thursday evenings starting at 7 pm in the Epiphany room of the PAC. For more information call Outreach at Baby Bottle Blessings Mother s Day Weekend, May 12/13!! We would appreciate your involvement and ask you to make a difference by participating in our Baby Bottle Blessings promotion. It s really simple it s called Baby Bottle Blessings because we distribute empty baby bottles on Mother s Day weekend (May 12/13) and ask you to fill the bottles with spare change and/or checks. In this case your spare change can truly change a life! Please return them on Father s Day weekend (June 16/17). Come by the Outreach Center to get a bottle if you are out of town for Mother s Day. Donations will be distributed between the Archdiocese Gabriel Project, the Catholic Charities Adolescent Pregnancies and the Pregnancy Help Center. 8

9 Adult Faith Formation INFANT BAPTISM PREPARATION A Baptism Preparation Session for parents and godparents will be held on Saturday, May 12, 2018 from 10:00 a.m. until Noon in the Family Center. Parents must attend a baptism preparation session before scheduling their child s baptism. Call to register for this preparation session. The next opportunity to attend a baptism class at Epiphany will be on Saturday, August 11, VIRTUS REFRESHER Keeping the Promise Alive (Virtus Refresher) will be held on Thursday, May 24 from 7:00 8:30 p.m. in the PAC. A valid ID must be presented at check-in. No Walk-ins! Preregistration is required at Contact louann@epiphanycatholic.org for username, password and registration instructions or call LouAnn at No late admittance! KPA is required for all volunteers who attended the original VIRTUS: Protecting God s Children five years ago. VIRTUS: Protecting God s Children Saturday, June 2 9:00 a.m.- Noon Epiphany of the Lord Parish Activity Center (PAC). Pre-registration is mandatory at for this original VIR- TUS workshop. A valid identification must be presented at check-in. No late admittance is allowed. If you are over 18 and active in ministry at Epiphany, you must be VIRTUS trained. All adult parishioners, ESPE- CIALLY PARENTS, are encouraged to be VIRTUS trained! Questions? Need assistance with the registration process? Call the Faith Formation Office at No walk-ins, preregistration is required! Please Note: This the final VIRTUS:PGC at Epiphany prior to VBS NOT ENOUGH It is not enough for me to love God, if my neighbor does not love God. St. Vincent de Paul Sixth Sunday of Easter It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit. John 15:16 9

10 Elementary Faith Formation Epiphany Youth Ministry There are still a few spots left for VBS. Register soon so your child won t miss out. Adult volunteers will need to have taken a Virtus class or be current in their training updates. The faith formation staff can help you with any questions and how to find a session. Class of 2018: Join us for Sunday Mass on June 3rd at 5:30 p.m. Knights of Columbus will present the recipients of the 2018 KOC Scholarships. A reception will follow in the Family Center. Student volunteers who will be in High school in the fall and under the age of 18 will need to take the Jeremiah 1:7 training. Our next one is scheduled for June 2 from 9-11am. CHURCH God sends no churches from the skies, Out of our hearts they must arise. Anonymous Support Our Advertisers Thank you to our advertisers for making our bulletins possible. We encourage you to patronize these businesses. Please tell them you saw their ad in our bulletin. June 5th (Even classrooms) June 7th (Odd classrooms) 7:00 p.m. We are looking for parents and students to help with the receptions immediately following the celebrations in the Family Center. Please Maria@EpiphanyCatholic.org for more information. 10