St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church

February 14 (7:00 - 9: 00 pm in St. Joseph Hall): Dinner and Devotion by the Knights of Columbus:
           - Speakers: Casey and Kevin Sprehe with topic “Loving the Temperament God gave your Spouse.”
           - Ticket cost:  $10 with a dinner, dessert and drink
           - Contact: Randy at randyjrose123@gmail.com or 235-6759. 

February 15-16: During all masses of this weekend, we will have a Blessing of married couples who celebrate wedding anniversaries in the months of February, March and April. Let us pray for God’s blessings on those married couples.

February 16 (after the 10:00 am and 12 noon masses): The Knights of Columbus sell spaghetti dinners for $10 at all doors of Church. Please take home a dinner and support our KCs.

February 26: Ash Wednesday with Masses and distribution of ashes in church at 6:30 am, 8:00 am, 12 noon, and 6:00 pm.  

February 29 - March 1 (Parents anti-pornography resource): In observance of Safe Haven Sunday, our parish will give out in this weekend with 100 books from Covenant Eyes entitled, “Connected: How Strong Family Relationships Lead To Internet-Safe Kids.” These books will be available that weekend to parents who wish to learn how better to protect their children from the dangers of Internet pornography and how to speak to them about that issue.

March 7 (Catholic men's conference at St. Catherine Church from 8:00 -2:30 pm):  Come to join those fellow Catholic men seeking holiness of life and hear inspiring talks from Focus CEO Curtis Martin, Catholic evangelist Peter Herbeck, and former Saints player and NFL coach Jack Del Rio. All men aged 18 and older are encouraged to attend. For info and to register, go to neworleanscatholic.com.

March 9-11 (7:00 pm in church): Parish lenten mission with the theme "Loved, forgiven, and called by God" (babysitting is available): 
         * Monday March 9: Talk "Loved by God" by Fr. Kurt Young, Director of Human Formation, Notre Dame Seminary. 
         * Tuesday March 10: Talk "Forgiven by God" by Fr. Colm Cahill, Vocations Director, Archdiocese of New Orleans (Sacrament of Reconciliation with Several Confessors is available after this talk)
          * Wednesday March 11: Talk "Called by God" by Fr. Andrew Gutierrez, Parochial Vicar of St. Catherine of Siena Parish (Following this talk is a reception)

April 4 (11:00 am - 9:00 pm): Our St. Francis Xavier School’s will host it’s 20th annual “Old Metairie Fest”. The theme is “Old Metairie Fest - Where Y’AT” featuring New Orleans band, Karma. Please contact SFXoldmetairiefest@gmail.com if you are interested in becoming a sponsor or donating an item for the auction.

             Our parish is seeking a part-time youth minister for our CYO program which consists of a Junior CYO (6^th-7^th graders) and a Senior CYO (8^th-12^th graders). There is an expectation of 15 hours of work per week, a monthly CYO mass, monthly meetings for both peer groups, a monthly service activity/social activity, and annual participation in Abbey Youth Fest and World Youth Day. 
              Applicant must be a practicing Catholic with youth ministry experience; some theological training preferred. Applicant must be able to recruit members and organize parent volunteers, be well-organized, a good communicator, and capable of developing attractive events. There is an expectation of a few hours worked each week in the parish office. Salary commensurate with experience. 
                 Contact: Fr. Joe Palermo, Pastor, at jpalermo@arch-no.org or (504) 834-0340.

Meeting dates:
            Tuesday October 15, 2019
            Tuesday November 19, 2019
             Tuesday January 28, 2020
             Wednesday February 12, 2020
             Tuesday March 3, 2020
             Tuesday April 21, 2020

Meeting details: 
              6:00-6:30 pm: free dinner for parents and children in cafeteria
              6:30-7:45 pm: parent workshop in St. Jospeh Hall
              Free childcare in cafeteria
      * For more information, please contact the parish office at 834-0340 or Heather Trimber at hmchisson@gmail.com

St. Joseph Altar preparations:  
      Everyone is invited to help cookie-making and baking for our St. Joseph Altar in school cafeteria from 9:00 am - 12 noon on Saturdays Jan 4, Jan 11, Jan 18, Jan 25, Feb 1, Feb 8, Feb 29, and Mar 7. After making cookie, we also need help for preparation and display our St. Joepsh Altar: 
               - March 14: 
                      + Package cookies for favor bags and bag cookies to sell
                      + Move SJA items  from Old Rectory to Auditorium
                      + Build altar base, begin organizing decorations
                - March 16: fruit and vegetable deliveries, decorate altar, and build fruit displays.
                - March 17: Last touches, if needed. Happy St. Patrick’s Day
                - March 18:
                       + 9:00 am – 6:00 pm: Altar Public Viewing
                       + 6:00 pm: Rosary
              - March 19 (St. Joseph Day:
                       + 8:00 am: Mass (followed by Tupa Tupa in Auditorium)
                       + 9:00 am – 5:00 pm: Public Viewing
                       + 11:00 am – 2:00 pm: Public feeding
                       + 5:00 pm: Rosary, then take down and charity delivery.
        * All work is done by volunteers and we need YOU! High School students are welcome to help; learn this age-old custom and earn service hours. Contact Rick at kc8546@cox.net or 504-460-6014.   

Stations of the cross: Our parish will have Stations of the Cross twice daily on Fridays in Lent at 8:30 am and 6:00 pm. On Friday, March 13, instead of having a normal stations of the cross, we have "Living Stations of the Cross" performed by our CYO at 6:00 pm.

SFX Lenten Adult Bible Study - Jesus' life-giving death (Mathew 26-28):
            The more you read and study the Bible, the more you will fall in love with the Author! Our 6-week Lenten Bible Study will begin Thursday, February 27th. There are four bible study groups. The Gospel of Matthew presents Jesus as a Messiah who far surpasses Israel’s expectations. Through Him God’s reconciliation and healing love have come to all mankind. Take home a brochure or call Claudia, our DRE, at 834-0348 for info.

Adoration chapel adorers needed:       
            Adoration chapel needs permanent adorers for: Sunday 5:00 am; Tuesday 2:00 am (once/month) and 11:00 pm ; Wednesday 2:00 am (once/month); Friday 4:00 am, 2:00 pm & 7:00 pm; Saturday 1:00 pm. We also need subs for all hours. Please call Dottie Watson at 339-4298 and offer help with any of those hours.  

Receiving bulletin by email and in church: 
            Our last mailed bulletin will be for the weekend of November 23-24. In order to receive bulletin by email, please register at www.jspaluch.com/BulletinSubscribe.aspx 

Confirmation preparation reminder:
            Our Confirmation program will begin on January 5 with the Rite of Enrollment at the 6:00 pm Mass. Class will follow from 7-8:30 pm. Check our confirmation class schedules for additional details.
            Reports on the Sponsor, Saint and letter to Father Palermo are due at the session on January 5. If you have any questions, please contact our office of Religious Education (834-0348).

Archdiocese silver wedding anniversary celebration:
              The Archdiocese of New Orleans will host its first annual Silver Wedding Anniversary celebration for couples who have been married for 25 years. The 2020 celebration will take place on Sunday, March 22, at 3PM at St. Joseph Church in New Orleans. This event is only for couples who were married in 1995. It will be a prayer service, not a Mass. If you wish to register, contact our parish office before January 13, 2020.

          The Archdiocese will host a Conference for Catholic Men at St. Catherine of Siena Church on Saturday, March 7, 2020. Jack Del Rio, Coach of the Oakland Raiders, will be one of the featured speakers.  1,200 men are expected to attend the Conference, including a large group from St. Francis.          
             Please see the link below for more information and register:
                        https://www.neworleanscatholic.com/           

          As Christ's disciples, we are called to go forth and spread the good news of His Resurrection. Our parish's many ministries are examples of how many of you answer that call. Our ministries require not only gifts of time and talent, but also of financial help.
           Please prayerfully consider supporting St. Francis Xavier with electronic donations through Faith Direct. Signing up is easy! Visit faith.direct/LA422 or text the word ENROLL to (Text-to-Give Phone Number). 
           Thank you for your continued support of our parish family!

         An overflow crowd of well more than 1,000 people gathered last Saturday, February 1, for the Vigil Mass and a visit by Ivan Dragicevic, Medjugorje visionary. It was a very blessed time.

           In his talk before the apparition of Our Lady, Ivan shared Mary’s sadness over the breakup of families and the acceptance of abortion, and her ongoing call to regular family prayer and Bible reading. He also shared Mary’s revelation that the Mass is the greatest prayer of all, and that if it ever came down to a choice between her apparition or Mass, Ivan should choose Mass. She commended daily Mass to all who are able to participate.
             After the apparition of Our Lady, Ivan shared the message Mary gave for those gathered in church. She was happy to see so many. She blessed everyone and prayed for all their petitions. She asked God’s special blessing on St. Francis Parish. She urged everyone to pray fervently for religious vocations and for “peace, peace, peace” – peace in the heart, peace in the home and peace in the world. 
              I would like to thank Ivan, his hosts, our Parish Staff, our Volunteers and everyone who participated in this very special evening. Above all, thanks to Our Lord and Our Lady for such an anointed time of prayer and grace.

Fr. Joe

- Monday through Saturday: after 8:00 am Mass.
- Thursday: 6:00 pm  
- Saturday: 3:30 pm