We are preparing for liturgical changes in our celebration of Mass. To begin the process we will insert some of the new ways of praising God and participating. We hope that you will understand the changes and be prepared for our Advent transition. The Missalette may be used to follow along but familiarizing yourselves now will make it easier to follow.

With the help of the Holy Spirit, our new ways of celebrating Mass will be more meaningful and more inspirational.

Sincerely in Christ,

Fr. Paul

Confirmation – There will be a meeting for the parents of all young people of our parish in the 10th grade or above who wish to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation in the fall of 2012.  Please come to the cafeteria on February 7th, 2012, at 7:00 PM and bring a copy of your child’s Baptismal certificate and the $40.00 fee which covers the cost of the class materials and the retreat in the fall.

First Holy Communion – On Thursday, February 9th, at 7:00 PM, all parents and their children who are receiving their First Holy Communion this year should gather in church for a short prayer service and meeting.  The parents will receive the books that will help them to prepare their children for the reception of this most Blessed Sacrament and additional information about the retreat for the children and the day of the First Communion Mass.

Rites of Christian Initiation of Adults -  Adults interested in becoming Catholic are prepared for baptism through the RCIA process.  If someone you know is interested in becoming a Catholic or learning more about what the Catholic faith teaches, please contact the Religious Education Office at 393-0140 or the Rectory at 393-2334.

Archbishop Aymond has served since 2000 as Bishop of Austin, Texas.

He was born in Gentilly on November 12, 1949. After attending St. James Major Elementary School and Cor Jesu High School, he went to St. Joseph Seminary College in St. Benedict, La., where he graduated in 1971. He earned a master’s degree in divinity from Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans in 1975 and was ordained as a priest of the New Orleans Archdiocese the same year.

From 1973 to 1981, he was a professor, business administrator and then rector of St. John Vianney Preparatory Seminary in New Orleans. From 1981 to 1986, he was professor of pastoral theology and homiletics and director of education at Notre Dame Seminary.

The bishop served as president-rector of Notre Dame Seminary from 1986 until the end of the 1999-2000 academic year, longer than any rector in the seminary’s history. He also was a member of the seminary faculty for 18 years. During his tenure, Notre Dame Seminary grew to become the third-largest seminary in the country.

Bishop Aymond also served as the executive director of the archdiocesan Department of Christian Formation, with responsibility for Catholic schools and religious education, and as the archdiocesan director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith.

He made mission work a strong emphasis of his ministry. In the 1980s, Bishop Aymond and groups of Notre Dame seminarians began to visit Sotuto, Mexico, where they built housing and offered religious training.

In 1994, he began a medical mission program in Nicaragua called ‘Christ the Healer,’ taking volunteer teams of health care professionals to the town of Granada to offer medical help at San Juan de Dios Hospital.

Archbishop Aymond was ordained an auxiliary bishop of New Orleans in 1997 and became coadjutor bishop of Austin in 2000, succeeding to head the diocese. Archbishop Aymond has served as chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People. He also was chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Catholic Educational Association from 2000-04.

He currently serves as a member of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth and the Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations.

Under his tenure, the Diocese of Austin experienced unprecedented expansion, including a threefold increase in the number of seminarians. He established the Institute for Spiritual Direction, opened San Juan Diego Catholic High School for students from low-income families, opened St. Dominic Savio Catholic High School and initiated a distance learning program with St. Mary’s University in San Antonio that allows lay people in the Austin Diocese to obtain master’s degrees in theology.

Lenten Schedule