VOL Parish Weekly Bulletin January 25, 2015 | Page 2

January 25, 2015 Third Sunday in Ordinary Time 2 Views From The Pews Frank says, “I have a hard nosed Protestant friend who says the Bible says it is sinful to charge interest when we loan money. Is that true?” “The Old Testament says ‘usury’ is wrong. Usury, though, is loaning money at exorbitant interest rates. A contemporary example might be a loan shark who charges 200% interest. Loaning money at reasonable interest rates, though, is not only not sinful, it is an asset to society.” -Fr. Mike Financial Tuition Assistance for Returning Students If you are a returning family to VOL and wish to apply for financial assistance for the 20152016 school year, please call the school office at 347-3377 to set up an appointment. Only students in Kindergarten through 7th grade are eligible. PreKindergarten students are not eligible for assistance. The application process must be completed by March 6, 2015. Golden Wedding Anniversary Celebration The Archdiocesan Golden Wedding Anniversary Celebration will be held Sunday, June 14th at St. Philip Neri Church in Metairie. Couples that will celebrate their 50th year of marriage in 2015 are invited to attend. All interested participants must register through their Parish Church. Registration forms are available in the literature rack in the back of Church, or you may call the Pastoral Center @ 347-2203. Forms must be turned back in to the Pastoral Center no later than Friday, February 25, 2015. Please Note: The celebration WILL NOT be a Mass, but a Prayer Service. Attendance of Mass for Sunday obligation will have to be met within one’s Parish. The celebration will begin at 3:00 p.m. Last Lent we read a book on Pope John Paul II and suffering. This Lent we want to pick up the same theme of suffering while reading a new book. This year we will read, The Miracle Man by Judy Landrieu Klein. The Miracle Man is "the riveting true story of [her] husband's journey to heaven and back and how it transformed [their] lives." The sessions for the book discussion will begin on February 19th and run through March 19th. On the last evening, Judy will join us to talk about some of the things she did not put in the book. This is an excellent opportunity to reflect on suffering and our own journey through Lent. If you are interested please email me ([email protected]) so that we can order a copy of the book for you. Did You Know? A recent Pew Research Poll finds that 78% of Americans have a favorable impression of Pope Francis. -Father Mike Baby Bottle Campaign for Access Pregnancy The Baby Bottle Campaign is underway! Please fill the baby bottle you received last weekend after all masses with a donation of cash or checks written to Access Pregnancy and return your bottle with your donation into the baskets that will be in the vestibule of the Church beginning February 1. If you did not get a bottle, no problem. There are white envelopes in the vestibule that you can put your donation into and drop into the baskets as well. Thank you!