St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church

The Feast of the Holy Family is celebrated on Sunday, January1, 2011. Any couples who are celebrating special wedding anniversaries such as 25th, 30,th, 40th, or every 5 years there after are asked to contact Mrs. Dianne Credeur @ 896-6346 or any St. Anne officer. These couples will be honored at the 9:00 a.m. Mass.

Join L’Angelus in Carencro on Monday, January 2 from 10 am to2 pm with free music and gumbo provided by L’Angelus! Comedance, eat and enjoy community! All donations will benefit St.Peter’s Church building/maintenance fund. Call 896-8848 formore information.

As a cost saving measure the monthly sacrificial envelopes have been changed. There will no longer be a specific pink envelopefor the building fund. To make a contribution to the building fund, indicate in the blank on the top left the amount of your contribution to this fund. Your regular offertory may also be included on the same check. The bi-monthly mail out will no longer include the International and National second collection envelopes. These special collection envelopes will be available at the doors and in the pews. Please remember to indicate your envelope number on your special contribution envelope.  If you do not know yourenvelope number or you are not currently receiving offertory envelopes, then you are not currently a registered parishioner of St. Peter’s. If you haven’t registered, parish registration forms can be picked up at the exits of the Church or downloaded from the parish website and returned in the collection or mailed in to the office.

Fr.  Ledoux, Fr. Janise, & the Parish Staff of St. Peter Roman Catholic Church, wish you and your family a Happy & Holy Christmas. May God continue to Bless you all inthe coming New Year!

Saturday, December 24, 2011

4 PM Mass (In Church & at the CCS Gym)
Midnight in Church
*Note: No 6 PM Mass

Sunday, December 25, 2011

7 AM Mass
9 AM Mass
11 AM Mass
1 PM Mass
*Note: No 5:30 PM Mass

For the first time ever, Catholic ads will air nationally on prime-time network television! Starting December 16, 2011, CatholicsComeHome.org will beginairing Catholic TV ads nationwide, inviting relatives, friends, and others to return home to the Catholic Church. Help now to usher the largest family reunionin Church history!

Pray and spread the word by sharing this link (www.CatholicsComeHome.org/Advent) or by inviting someone to accompany them to Mass on Christmas Day. Offer to pick them up and bring them with you. Please pray for the success of this outreach. We also encourage you to participate in your parishprogram by submitting to the Rectory the name of a special friend or family member that you would like to invite to Come Home for Christmas. Please submitthe names and addresses by December 5th.

Thursday, December 8th -Holy Day of Obligation. The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a HolyDay of Obligation. Mass Schedule, Thursday, 6:30 a.m., 12:05 noon &6:00 p.m. Through the centuries the Church has become ever more awarethat Mary, “full of grace” through God, was redeemed from the moment ofher conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conceptionconfesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854:

The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of herconception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and byvirtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preservedfrom all stain of original sin. (CCC491)

The “splendor of an entirely unique holiness” by which Mary is“enriched from the first instant of her conception” comes wholly from Christ:she is “redeemed, in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits ofher Son.” The Father blessed Mary more than any other created person“in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” and choseher “in Christ before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blamelessbefore Him in love.” (CCC 492) A great way to celebrate this Solemnity isto attend Mass on this day and pray the Rosary to give thanks to God forwhat He has done for each of us thru Mary. At home considerwatching with your family ‘The Song of Bernadette.’ Our Lady told St.Bernadette: “I am the Immaculate Conception.” (You may want to servewhite (symbolizing purity) pretzels during the movie.)

For some time now, it has been a practice for those attending the8:30 am Mass on the First Saturday of the month to receive the Sacramentof the Anointing of the Sick during Mass in a communal setting. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that: “‘The Anointing of the Sick’ is not a sacrament for those only who are at the point of death. Hence, as soon as anyone of the faithful begins to be in danger of death from sickness or old age, the fitting time for him/her to receive this sacrament has already arrived” (CCC 1514). The Catechism affirms this teaching stating it more than once with the support of Cannon Law: “The Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick is given to those who are seriously ill by anointing them on the forehead with duly blessed oil-…” (1513). The teaching confirms the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick as set apart from the rich and numerous treasury of prayers of healing collected inthe tradition of the Church. Therefore, the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick should fulfill a specific task. Being a sacrament, it confers a specific grace to those who receive it, this task is outlined and clearly stated in the Catechism; it is a sacrament for those who are seriously ill and indanger of death.

Although the celebration of this sacrament in the context of Mass on First Saturday encourages us to come and receive it, the setting in which the sacrament is ministered does not assure the priest the opportunity to question those receiving the sacrament to determine how seriously ill they are, or to determine if the person is capable and properly prepared to receive the Sacrament. So, to safeguard the appropriate ministry of this sacrament, it is the most prudent course of action to discontinuethe ministry of Anointing of the Sick on the First Saturday Mass of the month. To encourage the faithful to continue to seek out our Lord’s healing grace, the blessing and prayer of St. Pio (Padre Pio) will continue. Please remember that The Anointing of the Sick is a sacrament, and therefore must be set apart from other prayers and services of healing. It retains a specific place and function in the Church, and must be safeguarded for the faithful in the times of their upmost need. All those who have an urgent need for this Sacrament are encouraged to contact their Parish priest without delay, as priests are the only ministers authorizedto confer this sacrament. According to the General Instruction provided in the General Introduction to the Rite of Pastoral Care for the Sick, “those of the faithful whose health is seriously impaired by sickness or old age” (22) may receive the sacrament. It is necessary that Confession take place if the person is physically capable and is conscious of serious sin. Also: “ a sick person [of any age having reached the use of reason] may be anointed before surgery whenever a serious illness is the reason for the surgery and an elderly person may be anointed if he or she has become notably weakened even if no serious illness is present.” (22-23). Please note the brief section on the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick on the front of the bulletin for Saint Peter Roman Catholic Church which will begin in January. Thank you, and may God bless you with His wisdom and understanding.

A workshop was recently held to review liturgical directives and protocol for lay ministers assisting the ordained in bringing the Holy Eucharist to the Homebound. A change affecting the homebound and the lay minister of Holy Communion is the day of distribution, which is to be the Sabbath (anytime after Sat. 4:00 pm Mass and anytime on Sunday). Ministers will coordinate for a new visitation time. Additionally, one should not take lightly the responsibility to attend Holy Mass on the Sabbath even when inconvenienced within reason. If one can leave the home for occasional
outings with family/friend visits, regular doctor visits, hair appointments, funeral home visitations, and occasional shopping, etc., we need to acknowledge that attending Mass is also achievable. Family, children especially, have a moral responsibility to make sure that the elderly, who are capable but can no longer drive, are brought to Mass.

O Gracious God, Stir up our hearts, to prepare the paths of Thy Only-Begotten Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ that we may worthily serve Theewith hearts purified by His coming, for He lives and reigns with Thee, inthe Unity of the Holy Spirit, ever One God, world without end. Amen.(With the 1st, the Family now lights the 2nd candle – purple)