News - November 2015 RSS Feed

The St. Benilde Fund is the annual fund for St. Benilde School. Proceeds benefit our children by ensuring teachers have access to top notch training and learning resources. This year, we launch the St. Benilde Fund with a twist: The #iGiveCatholic giving day is an initiative of the Catholic Foundation for the Archdiocese of New Orleans to promote charitable giving in the schools, parishes, and nonprofits of the Archdiocese. The giving day this year is on December 1, 2015. From 12:00 AM - 11:59 PM, secure, tax deductible donations will be accepted on https://igivecatholic.org/#npo/st-benilde-school. 100% of the donations you make for St. Benilde School will come directly to us! There is even a competition involved. The school with the highest number of new donors will receive a prize of $5,000, with lesser amounts also given to the 2nd and 3rd place schools. So mark down on your calendars December 1st and make your gift through iGiveCatholic.org, and help us win $5,000 more to benefit the children and teachers of St. Benilde School!

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a Holy Day of Obligation. Vigil Mass will be celebrated at 5:30pm on Monday, December 7th. Masses on Tuesday, December 8th will be at 7am, 8:20am (School Mass), 12 Noon, and 6:00pm. Due to the Holy Day of Obligation, there will be no 6pm Holy Hour and Confessions on Monday, December 7th.

Fr. Cooper will celebrate a special Thanksgiving Day Mass on Thursday, November 26th at 9:00 am. Thanksgiving Day is a special time to remember the blessings we have received from God, so that we can be a more thankful people every day. The reasons for having grateful hearts make up a long litany: the gift of life itself, faith in a God who loves us and is very near to us, good health, loving family, caring friends, opportunities to serve, food on our tables, roofs over our heads. Yes, we have our times of doubt, our aches and pains, our family conflicts, and our economic struggles. But in spite of all these challenges, we are incredibly blessed! There will be no 7:00 am or 5:30 pm Mass on Thursday, November 26th. The Adoration Chapel will close at 11:59 PM on Wednesday, November 25th and will reopen at 7:30 AM on Friday, November 27th. The Parish Office will be closed on Thursday, November 26th and Friday, November 27th in observance of Thanksgiving Day. We will reopen on Monday, November 30th at 9:00 am.

Catholic Charities Immigration and Refugee Services has a long history of resettling families fleeing violence in their home countries. Thirty years ago the late Archbishop Philip Hannan worked to resettle Vietnamese families here, and today the Vietnamese community is a valuable part of our diverse New Orleans culture. Today, we face new challenges as we answer the Gospel call to welcome the stranger and care for the vulnerable. Thousands of families: women, men and children are fleeing violence in the Middle East. Catholic Charities is a grantee agency that receives refugees from many parts of the world, including the Middle East, and we have recently resettled two families from the area. In light of recent events, we take this opportunity to not only reiterate our commitment to the Gospel but also our commitment to the safety of our own families and communities. It is important for the community to know that anyone resettled through our program is referred from the United States State Department after extensive security checks and background screenings. This is not a fast process but one that can take months and even years to complete.

This weekend is Hospitality Weekend. It will be hosted by the St. Vincent de Paul Society. Please join us for coffee, donuts and fellowship after all the Masses.

The second collection this weekend will be for the Campaign for Human Development. The Catholic Campaign for Human Development is the national anti-poverty program of the U.S. Catholic Bishops, working to carry out the mission of Jesus Christ "... to bring good news to the poor ... release to captives ... sight to the blind, and let the oppressed go free." (Luke 4:18) The belief that those who are directly affected by unjust systems and structures have the best insight into knowing how to change them is central to CCHD. CCHD works to break the cycle of poverty by helping low-income people participate in decisions that affect their lives, families and communities. CCHD offers a hand up, not a hand out. Thank you in advance for your generosity.