News - February 2018 RSS Feed

Domestic Church is an officially recognized lay movement that provides life-long formation for Sacramentally married couples for the sake of achieving sanctity together, growing in mutual love, and providing an environment where children can thrive and grow in union with Christ, so they may truly be called a Domestic Church! Evangelization is the first step of any real faith journey. We must experience the reality of who Christ is, who we are, and what His love for us is capable of doing before we can make any real progress. And, since Domestic Church provides for this journey to be undertaken in union with our spouses, we must experience Christ anew, together, before we can begin to grow together toward sainthood. Come, receive the Good News, and stir up the grace of your Sacrament! The next retreats in Louisiana will be offered on March 8-11 and May 24-27. For more information on Domestic Church, including upcoming retreats, please visit www.domesticchurchfamilies.com or contact the local coordinators, David and Kate Dawson, 504-206-8957, [email protected].

During the 50 days of the Easter Season the Paschal Candle (Easter Candle) will burn at all Masses celebrated at St. Benilde Church. The Paschal Candle represents Christ, the Light of the World. The pure beeswax of which the candle is made represents the sinless Christ who was formed in the womb of His Mother. The wick signifies His humanity, the flame, His Divine Nature, both soul and body. Five grains of incense inserted into the candle in the form of a cross recall the aromatic spices with which His Sacred Body was prepared for the tomb, and of the five wounds in His hands, feet, and side. During the Easter Vigil, the deacon carries the candle in procession into the dark church. The candle, representing Christ himself, is blessed by the priest who then inscribes in it a cross, the first letters and last of the Greek alphabet and the current year. If you would like the Paschal Candle to burn in memory of a loved one or in thanksgiving for prayers answered throughout the Easter season, please contact the Parish Office. The cost of the candle is $300.

On the First Sunday of Lent our local Church celebrates Safe Haven Sunday to raise awareness and directly address the harms of pornography on individuals, marriages and families. Please see this weekend’s bulletin for resources and additional information on how to make all homes a safe haven from this moral evil. To download the flyer, click here.

The Archdiocesan Golden Wedding Anniversary celebration will take place on Sunday, June 10, 2018, at 3 PM, in St. Philip Neri Church, 6500 Kawanee Ave., Metairie. Please call the Parish Office at 834-4980 for more information and to be registered. The deadline to register is February 28. Please Note: This celebration will not be a Mass, but a prayer service. Attendance of Mass for Sunday obligation will have to be met within one’s respective parish.

The Men’s Club will be serving up the first Fish Fry of the Lenten Season on Friday, February 23, beginning at 5:45 PM (Pre-Sale Ticket holders may enter at 5:00 PM). The menu will include adult and child fish plates, combo plates, redfish with shrimp cream sauce, gumbo, seafood muffuletta, and much more. Advance sale tickets will be sold after all the Masses on the weekend of February 17-18. Tickets will also be available in the Parish Office from Feb. 19—23. Our next Fish Fry will be March 23.

Congratulations to our own Mr. Timmy McCaffery the new Director of CYO/ Youth & Young Adult Ministries. The appointment made by Archbishop Aymond will take effect on March 1st. Timmy McCaffery has served as Associate Director of the Marriage and Family Life Ministry for our archdiocese. He and his family are active parishioners of St. Benilde Parish and two of his children currently attend St. Benilde School -Peter in Kindergarten and Blaise in PK4. The prayers of the entire St. Benilde community are with Mr. McCaffery as he begins this new role in the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

The Father/Son Program for 11-14 Year old boys and the Mother/Daughter Program for 10-12 year old girls will be held in the St. Philip Neri Parish Center on March 2, 2018. The purpose of these programs is to foster open communication between parent and child and to provide sexuality information and fertility appreciation in a Christ-centered atmosphere of love. The cost is $25.00 for parent/guardian and one child. Pre-registration is required. Further information is available from the Office of Marriage and Family Life 504- 861-6243. Online registration is available this year. Mother/Daughter-- https://nolacatholicfla.regfox.com/motherdaughter-program-2018 or Father/Son-- https://nolacatholicfla.regfox.com/fatherson-program-2018

The holy and penitential Season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, February 14th, with the distribution of Ashes. The Mass Schedule is 7AM, 9AM, 12Noon (Word Service with the Distribution of Ashes – No Mass) and 6PM. The Parish Office will be closed on Monday, February 12th and Tuesday, February 13th for the Mardi Gras Holiday. We will reopen on Wednesday, February 14th at 9AM. The Adoration Chapel will be open on Mardi Gras Day, Tuesday, February 13th. For our complete Lenten Schedule visit: www.stbenilde.org/lent

As we conclude the application process for a new principal for St. Benilde School, we ask that our parish/school family offer prayers and sacrifices that the Lord Jesus will send us a new principal to lead our children closer to the heart of Jesus and to continue the tradition of academic excellence and faith formation that have been the cornerstone of the ministry of Catholic education at St. Benilde for the past 50 years. And so we pray: O Christ, our Teacher,You invite Your faithful people to make disciples in Your name and to announce good news to the poor. We thank You for the gift of Catholic schools, where the message of Your life, death, and resurrection is proclaimed,Christian community is experienced, service to our brothers and sisters is modeled, and worship of You is cultivated. Provide for us a principal whose leadership will fulfill that mission and ensure that our children and families can benefit from a high quality Catholic education. We ask this through the intercession of Mary, Mother of Catholic Schools. Amen.

Engaging the Struggles of Your Heart, the second series in the Walking Toward Eternity program, is a challenging study that can open our eyes to obstacles in our Christian walk. Through prayer, reflection, guidance and the aid of the Holy Spirit, we begin to engage these difficulties in a positive way as we continue toward our goal of union with Christ. The Cost of the Study is $10. All meetings for the study will be held in the St. Benilde Teen Center on Wednesday evenings at 7pm starting February 7th. Preregistration by email at: [email protected] or by calling (504) 427-0327.