ST. JUDE THE APOSTLE CATHOLIC CHURCH Established 1966 9150 Highland Road Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70810 (On the Corner of Highland Road and Gardere Lane) St. Jude the Apostle Church, as a Catholic Faith Community, strives to spread the love of Christ by embracing our diversity of God-given gifts celebrated in prayer, sacraments, Eucharistic worship, fellowship, religious education, and service to the local and world community. St. Jude Parish Advisory Council: March 15, 2006 Fourth Sunday of Advent December 20th & December 21st, 2014 Christmas Mass Schedule Christmas Eve Wednesday, December 24th 4:00 PM & 6:30 PM Christmas Day Thursday, December 25th 8:00 AM & 9:45 AM No 11:30 Am Mass Daily Masses Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 8:15am Tuesday at 5:30pm (followed by Benediction and Adoration) Wednesday at noon also Weekend Masses Saturday 4:00pm Vigil Sunday at 8:00am, 9:45am, and 11:30am The Sacrament of Reconciliation Saturdays from 3:00pm-3:45pm or by appointment Parish Contact Information Parish Office Phone 225-766-2431 Parish Office Fax 225-766-0722 School Phone 225-769-2344 Parish Website www.stjudecatholic.org School Website www.stjudebr.org Fr. Trey Nelson, Pastor fathertrey@stjudecatholic.org Deacon James Morrissey, deaconjmorrissey@gmail.com Director of Administration Emergencies: after hours, please call 766-2431 and follow the directions given on the voice mail message.
FROM THE TEE BOX A Few Thoughts from Our Pastor From the Tee Box! December 20-21, 2014 The Fourth Sunday of Advent Reflection for Sunday Week IV (Based on the Gospel of the Day, Luke 1:26-38)...coming to her, the angel said, Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you. But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be Mary is the only person in the New Testament about whom the term ponder is used and it occurs at various moments in her life. The first of these is found in today s passage. Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI tells us that to ponder in the Mary sense (the Hebrew sense) means, to hold, carry, and transform tension so as not to give it back in kind. Simply put, at each of the significant moments in her life, especially at the foot of the cross, Mary was able to uncover and accept the grace of the moment, no matter how frightening or painful it was, and allow it to transform her. A Thought- I remember once standing with a friend of mine in the hospital room of his wife who was terminally ill with cancer. In those last days the waiting, while difficult, was an experience of grace. We all knew that the end was coming. She herself had made peace with it. Her husband and the rest of us we were the ones having a hard time. It was in this moment that he looked at me said, and so now we wait. We wait for good things. I thought, wow, what a leap of faith. To ponder as Mary did, especially in moments such as these, is to recognize that good things await us, not just on the other side of suffering but also in the midst of it. If you ask me, this gives new meaning to the prayer, we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Have a great week! Sincerely, Fr. Trey Nelson Pastor The Fourth Week of Advent The Word for the Week is PONDER Monday Week IV how do you typically react when life takes an unexpected and sometimes unwelcome turn? Tuesday Week IV what does it mean, what could it mean for you to, hold, carry, and transform the tensions of your life without giving it back in kind to those around you? Wednesday Week IV can you think of one person in your life who has shown you how to ponder as Mary did? Thursday Week IV how do the children and others in your life see you responding to tension and suffering? Friday Week IV- Looking back on the week, where do you need the Lord s forgiveness. Saturday Week IV during this season of Advent, can you believe, with Mary, that God s favor is upon you? What does this mean for you? How does it make you feel?
2014 Giving Tree Wow! What an incredible year. We had an overwhelming number of request this year and finally had to begin turning down families. We also had more parishioner families than ever on our tree this year. We cut the program off when we had a little over 600 gift requests. Thank you, thank you, thank you. These families would not have had anything under the tree for their children without your help. We had a lot of request from the adults for basics, like cleaning goods or gift cards for them to purchase groceries or medicine. The recipients were in awe of how generous our parishioners were to complete strangers. St. Jude continues to lead the diocese in our many social outreach programs, but the most gratifying for church employee s is seeing how grateful parents are knowing that they are not alone at Christmas and that other s are thinking of them and willing to sacrifice to give to a stranger. This is truly the meaning of Christmas. A very sincere and special thank you! Office of Marriage & Family Life Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge 25th & 50th Wedding Anniversary Mass & Celebration Sunday, February 8, 2015 at 3:00pm Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church & Parish Activity Center We are excited to announce our annual event honoring married couples! Couples reaching their 25th, 50th, or 65th and over anniversary wedding anniversary at any time during 2015 are invited to a special mass at Our Lady of Mercy Church (445 Marquette Ave., Baton Rouge) with Bishop Robert Muench followed by a reception in the OLOM Parish Activity Center. A special blessing will be given and special certificates with the bishop's seal will be awarded to the celebrating couples. To register for this special event, couples should contact Charmaine with the parish office, 766-2431 to provide their registration information. Our parish office will then send in all couples' information to the Office of Marriage & Family Life. Registration deadline is Friday, January 30th. Names received after this may not have certificates ready but will still be able to attend the mass and reception. We won't turn anyone away! In this case, the certificates will be mailed later. The Bishop will be available for taking pictures at the reception after the mass. Couples or family members should bring their own personal cameras for this.
St. Jude the Apostle School 2015-16 Registration Please note the new student application (including siblings!) is now available and posted on the school s website at www.stjudebr.org. There are limited openings in Pre-K thru 8th grade for the 2015-16 school year. Applications are due to the school office by Friday, January 30th. Children wishing to begin Pre-K next year must be 4 years old on or before September 30th of 2015.We encourage all interested families to join us at Open House scheduled for Tuesday, January 27, 2015 at 9am in the activity center! Please also remember the school policy on tuition rate levels as we move closer to the end of the calendar year. In order to qualify for the Identified Stewardship Giver (ISG) application status and/or tuition rate for the upcoming school year, you must have met the minimum identifiable amount of $250.00 given through the Church offertory collection. Contributions for the 2015-16 must be made by December 29, 2014. Contributions made after that date will not be counted toward the 2015-16 ISG status. As another reminder, determination of Catholic versus non-catholic status is based upon the child s baptism in the Catholic Church. Please feel free to contact the school at 769-2344 with any questions! St. Jude the Apostle School provides a Catholic family environment, dedicated to the formation of each student's relationship with Christ through faith, academics, and excellence. A Home School Resource Center Coming to Baton Rouge, LA A parent information meeting to learn about Regina Caeli and a potential resource center in the Baton Rouge area for the 2015-16 academic year, will be held on Saturday, January 24, 2015 at 4:30 pm. The location is the Baton Rouge Main Library at 7711 Goodwood Blvd., Baton Rouge, LA 70806. Please RSVP to Alexis Schlatre at alexis@schlatre.com or (512) 633-2620. Regina Caeli is resource center for home schoolers that uses a classical teaching model formed in the Catholic tradition. For more information please visit: www.rcahybrid.org or contact Nikki Hand at (470) 239-0259. Culture of Life Reflection Love your children. In them you can see Baby Jesus. Pray for them a lot and every day put them under Holy Mary s protection. --Saint Gianna Beretta Molla Archdiocese of New Orleans Retreat Center (504) 267-9604 January 2015 Retreat Schedule January 9-11 Being Made Channels of God s Peace Presenter: Sr. Cathy Cahill, OSF This retreat will use the prayer found in Step 11 of the 12 & 12 (Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions) to help us grow in our awareness of God s presence in us. We will look at what is God s work and what is ours if we are to be channels or instruments of God s peace. To register, please contact Ashley Amato (504) 737-2567. January 16-18 From Surviving to Thriving: Discovering the Purpose in Life and Our Gifts Presenter: Rev. Matthew Linn, SJ Each of us enters this world with a special purpose given us by God, a special way of giving and receiving love and life that is unique and unrepeatable as our fingerprint. Once we know our unique purpose in life, we can choose what is congruent with it and drop what is not. As we follow our special mission, we become fully alive, have energy to overcome obstacles, resolve midlife crisis and burnout, and can dream new dreams. This session is to help us discover our unique purpose in life and gifts so we can move from surviving to thriving. To register, please contact Aimee McHugh, (225) 229-5788. January 23-25 Living as a Beloved Child of God Presenter: Rev. Joe Palermo God loves us immensely and God s love is a free gift. Yet we spend so much of our lives striving for success, trying to be perfect, seeking human approval, and striving to be in control. This retreat will focus on embracing our identity as beloved children of God and rejecting the temptation to prove that we are worthwhile and good to the world. To register, please contact Mary Furlow, (225) 755-3311 or Myrna Tullier, (225) 924 5599.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS SUNDAY, DECEMBER 21 3:00 pm Cub Scouts Meeting-Hall 5:00 pm Boy Scouts Meeting-Hall MONDAY, DECEMBER 22 5:00 pm St. Vincent depaul Client Mtg.-Hall TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23 9:30 am Music Makers-Hall 7:00 pm Choir Practice-Music Room WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24-Christmas Eve Parish Office Closed 6:30 pm Choir Practice-Church THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25-Christmas Day Parish Office Closed FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26 Parish Office Closed SATURDAY, DECEMBER 27 No Scheduled Meetings SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28 No Scheduled Meetings From the angel Gabriel, Mary heard God's plan for her life and she said, "Yes!"and so the Saviour came into the world. Pray to know God's Will for your life so as to help bring Jesus to our world. If you think God is calling you to a Church vocation, call or email Father Matt Dupré at 225.336.8778, mdupre@diobr.org, or visit, www.diobr.org/ vocations. For Prayer Request Call our Prayer Line, 766-3668 or766-3736 READINGS FOR THE WEEK Monday: 1 Sm 1:24-28; 1 Sm 2:1, 4-8abcd; Lk 1:46-56 Tuesday: Mal 3:1-4, 23-34; Ps 25:4-5ab, 8-10, 14; Lk 1:57-66 Wednesday: 2 Sm 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16; Ps 89:2-5, 27, 29; Lk 1:67-79 Thursday: Vigil: Is 62:1-5; Ps 89:4-5, 16-17, 27, 29; Acts 13:16-17, 22-25; Mt 1:1-25 [18-25] Night: Is 9:1-6; Ps 96:1-3, 11-13; Ti 2:11-14; Lk 2:1-14 Dawn: Is 62:11-12; Ps 97:1, 6, 11-12; Ti 3:4-7; Lk 2:15-20 Day: Is 52:7-10; Ps 98:1-6; Heb 1:1-6; Friday: Jn 1:1-18 [1-5, 9-14] Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59; Ps 31:3cd-4, 6, 8ab, 16bc, 17; Mt 10:17-22 Saturday: 1 Jn 1:1-4; Ps 97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12; Jn 20:1a, 2-8 Sunday: Sir 3:2-6, 12-14 or Gn 15:1-6; 21: 1-3; Ps 128:1-5 or Ps 105:1-6, 8-9; Col 3:12-21 [12-17] or Hb 11:8, 11-12, 17-19; Lk 2:22-40 [22, 39-40] MASS INTENTIONS MONDAY, DECEMBER 22 8:15 am Norman & Jamie Swanner TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23 5:30 pm Cynthia Duhon WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24-Christmas Eve 4:00 pm Sarah Schmidt Mr. & Mrs. Bernard Peck & Mr. & Mrs. Edward Tujague 6:30 pm Michael Toubre THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25-Christmas Day 8:00 am Salvador Peter Sam Avocato 9:45 am Charles & Katherine Wambsgans FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26 No Mass SATURDAY, DECEMBER 27 4:00 pm Ellen Resweber Florence Barras JoAnn Lintzen SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28 8:00 am Murphy Aucoin Family 9:45 am Paul & Lucille Serio 11:30 am Edmee Blistine