TWENTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME August 14, 2016 St. Lucy CATHOLIC CHURCH 1220 AYCOCK STREET, HOUMA, LA 70361 Phone: 985-879-2632 Fax: 985-879-2402 Email: stlucychurch@htdiocese.org Parish Ministry Leaders Directory Rev. Carl Diederichs, Administrator..879.2632 Deacon Martin Dickerson, Homebound, 876-6867 Deacon Martin Dickerson, RCIA, Altar Servers 876-6867 Mrs. Audrey Coleman, Secretary....879-2632 Mr. Larry Pete, Finance Mgr. 879-2632 Ms. Wildred Miller, Youth Minister/DRE 226-2282 Ms. Wildred Miller, Safe Environment..226-2282 Mr. Layman Bolden, Musician...879-2632 Mr. & Mrs. William Norman, RCIA..876-5840 Mr. Elray Foret... Homebound Ministry...855-3859 Mrs. Teresa Bergeron, Pastoral Council....879-2632 Mr. Eric Coleman, Maintenance 879-2632 Mrs. Geraldine Theriot, Bereavement...872-1109 Mass Sunday 8:15 a.m. Saturday Vigil 4:00 p.m. Wednesday 6:00 p.m. Sacraments Reconciliation (Confession) Sunday (Before Mass) 7:30 a.m. 8:00 a.m. Wednesday (Before Mass) 5:20 p.m. 5:50 p.m. Baptism Parents are requested to contact the Parish Office at least three (3) months prior to the desired date of their child s baptism. Marriages Arrangements for marriage should be made at least eight (8) months In advance. Contact the Parish Office Funerals You must contact the Parish Office BEFORE making any other arrangements Office Hours: 9:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday 8:00 a.m. - 1:15 p.m. Monday and Friday After Hour Emergencies Fr. Carl Diederichs- 414.550.5829 or 985.876.4054 MISSION STATEMENT St. Lucy Church is a Catholic community, rooted in the African-American tradition, committed to living the gospel of Jesus Christ, through spirited prayer and worship, the education both young and adults, and outreach to the neighborhood and larger community.
August 14, 2016 Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Reflection Setting the World on Fire I have often found this Sunday s Gospel reading from Luke to be one of the most disconcerting and challenging. Jesus is frequently referred to as the Prince of Peace. Yet here he is talking about setting the world on fire and setting brother against brother. That does not sound much like the Prince of Peace to me. I used to wonder why this particular verse was chosen to remain in the final edited version of the reading. Because I have found this verse so challenging I have spent a lot of time reflecting on it. Particularly the section: I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! Gospel literalists have interpreted that sentence to mean that Jesus literally wants to set the world on fire. Many are waiting for that event to happen. Believing that Jesus will come to destroy God s beautiful and wondrous creation with fire and then start all over again with a new heaven. When I was a kid I would often ask my teachers and my priest what kind of God would be so cruel that he would destroy his own creation and causing millions upon millions to be tortured and suffer? What kind of God would promote fear over love? As I got older and began working in social justice, I began to look at the passage differently. I began to feel the passion for justice blaze inside of me. I wanted to set fire to the whole world. Not a literal fire but a fire of passion so that people would start to care about the poor, the marginalized and all of creation. When I saw a homeless person I would get angry and want to scream at society, how you can sit idly by while people are homeless and starving? Luke s Chapter 12 where this Gospel comes from starts with the sentence: Beware of the leaven that is, the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. Who are the Pharisees today? In Matthew 15 Jesus says, Hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy about you when he said: This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts. How true are the words of Isaiah today. We have politicians, running for the office of president on down, who claim to be Christian, claim to honor God with their words yet they preach a message of hate and fear. Because we spend time honoring God with our words, not our actions we are a house divided. We can live in our comfort zone and never transform. As it says in the second reading, In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood. Peace and All Good, Patrick Carolan FAN Executive Director
Parish & Diocesan Life MASS AND CONFESSION SCHEDULE EVERY FIRST SATURDAY of each month Mass 8:30 A.M. Confession 8:00 A.M 8:30 A.M. Saturday 4:00 P.M. Vigil Mass Sunday Mass 8:15 A.M. Weekday Mass, Wednesday 6:00 P.M. RCIA: If you are not a Catholic but interested in becoming one, Catholic but are not Confirmed; or returning to the Catholic faith, the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults may be for you. Please phone Deacon Martin Dickerson at 985-876-6867 or the Parish Office at 985-879-2632 for information. BREAD FROM HEAVEN Bread from Heaven are members that feed the elderly and homebound of St. Lucy Parish every first Saturday of each month. For information please call Aver McKinley, at 985.804.0844 or 985.868.7205. CHOIR MINISTRY Do you sing or play a musical instrument the flute, clarinet, etc., and wish to participate in the Music Ministry; please see Layman Bolden after Mass. DIOCESAN WEDDING ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION Sunday, October 16, 2016 St. Joseph Co-Cathedral, Thibodaux, LA 2:00 p.m. (reception immediately following) The Diocesan Wedding Anniversary Celebration is held every year in October. This celebration honors all married couples celebrating 25, 40, 50, 60 and beyond years of marriage. During this prayer service, we celebrate and honor their commitment to marriage and to their sacrament. Anniversary certificates are distributed in the church parishes for all registered couples celebrating their 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th or more years of marriage. To register for this celebration, couples need to contact their church parish. Registration begins in August. WE WELCOME ALL We extend a special welcome to those who are single, married, divorced, gay, filthy rich, dirt poor, or no habla Ingles. Whether you used to work on Wall Street, or if you used to sleep on Wall Street you re welcome here. Maybe you can sing like Andrea Bocelli, or maybe you can t carry a tune in a bucket it doesn t matter here! Come all who are just browsing, just woke up, or just got out of jail! If you are skinny as a rail or could afford to lose a few pounds, you re welcome here. We welcome those over 60 but not grown up yet, and teenagers growing up too fast. We embrace those in recovery and also those who are still addicted. We will walk with you if you are going through a difficult time or when you need a special prayer: chances are we ve been there too. If you don t like organized religion or are spiritual but not religious, we love you. Even if you got lost and wound up here by accident we hope you feel at home here. We love soccer moms, crying babies, vegans, hipsters, seekers and doubters, tourists and locals We mean it when we say, ALL are welcome here! LADIES MASS Saturday, August 13, 2016 8:00am Bishop Sam Jacobs, Emeritus 107 Albany Drive, Houma (the subdivision behind Heritage Manor Nursing Home off of Polk Street). ST. LUCY HISTORY REQUESTED As some of you may already know, the Black History Museum is now being established in the old Academy Building on Honduras Street here in Houma. They have requested our St. Lucy History as an important contribution to Houma s history. A great part of your history in Houma, includes St. Lucy Church, St. Lucy Elementary School and the first High School for our people, which were all established by St. Lucy Church Parish. We are asking for your participation. Anyone interested in contributing articles of interest, diplomas, class rings, college degrees, any achievements, basketball trophies, pictures, etc., to the exhibit for St. Lucy Church History and/or St. Lucy School History. Please contact Maxine Hutchinison Kline at 868-2475 or call St. Lucy Parish Office at 879.2632. Thank You for being loyal to our History at St. Lucy.
OFFERING Envelopes: $1,307.00 Collection Weekly Goal: $3,220.00 Under Budget: $1,227.25 Loose: $391.75 Total Collection: $1,698.75 Building Fund: $294.00 THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT TO THE PARISH AUGUST 08/07/16 08/14/16 08/21/16 08/28/16 Lectors Barbara James Teresa Bergeron Youth Linda Ayers Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist Leonard Neville Helen Norman Joyce Nixon Earl Theriot June Bergeron Sherrill Bergeron Amy Breaux Monica Washington Gift Bearers Cassandra Riley Jackie & Blanca Robinson Ushers Leonard Bergeron Earl Theriot John Theriot Adrian Thibodaux Donnie Celestine Kenneth Dixon Elray Foret Calvin Jones Youth Edward Henry Phil James Northern McKinley Hanson Young Helen Ruffin Dwight Duplantis Alvin Henry Leonard Neville Jackie Robinson Readings for the Week of August 14, 2016 Sunday: Jer 38:4-6, 8-10/Ps 40:2-4, 18/Heb 12:1-4/ Lk 12:49-53 Monday: Rv 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab/Ps 45:10-12, 16/1 Cor 15:20-27/Lk 1:39-56 Tuesday: 19:23-30 Ez 28:1-10/Dt 32:26-28, 30, 35-36/Mt Wednesday: Ez 34:1-11/Ps 23:1-6/Mt 20:1-16 Thursday: Ez 36:23-28/Ps 51:12-15, 18-19/Mt 22:1-14 Friday: Ez 37:1-14/Ps 107:2-9/Mt 22:34-40 Saturday: Ez 43:1-7a/Ps 85:9-14/Mt 23:1-12 PRAYER OF THE BELOVED COMMUNITY Loving God, Open our hearts, so that we may feel The breath and play of your Spirit. Unclench our hands, so that we may reach out to one another and touch and be healed. Open our lips that we may drink in the delight and wonder of life. Unclog our ears, to hear your agony in our inhumanity. Open our eyes. So that we may see Christ in friend and stranger. Breathe your Spirit into us and touch our lives with the life of Christ. Amen In the charity of your prayers, please remember our sick and homebound parishioners especially... D Quincy McGuire, Mary Wolfe, Tyler Morgan, Vera Mire, Beverly Young, Aarolyn Hutchinson, Margaret Dupre, Rita Ayers, Lenda Matthews, Dwight Duplantis, Tara Travis, Jerome Robinson, Dennis Spike Vegas and Katy Robinson. PLEASE NOTE: For privacy reasons, the individual or an immediate family member must contact us for the name to be added to the Prayer List. If the individual is on the road to recovery, please give us a call so their name can be removed.
Pilgrimage Walk First Saturdays Food for the Journey September 6 Discernment Retreat for Women Counseling Services Acadian Mass FUN FOR SENIORS SIXTY-TWO PLUS/SAVE THE DATE THIRD WEDNESDAY OF EACH MONTH August 17, 2016 9:00AM to NOON St. Luke Community Center 300 East 11th Street, Thibodaux, LA Bingo-Walking Exercise-Lunch Presentation from The Medicaid Office Tell A Friend; Bring A Friend Please RSVP by Monday, August 15, 2016 Call 985-446-0487 SEE YOU THEN GOD BLESS Workshop MEN S MASS Saturday, September 3, 2016 7:30am Bishop Sam Jacobs, Emeritus 107 Albany Drive, Houma (the subdivision behind Heritage Manor Nursing Home off of Polk Street). Youth Pilgrimage to the March For Life January 24-28, 2017