January 8 , 2017 The Epiphany of the Lord 2
Views From The Pews
Alexis writes , “ I went to the 10 o ’ clock Mass on New Year ’ s and the church was practically empty . What was that all about ?”
“ I don ’ t know . It rained . Sometimes hard . However , our parishioners generally don ’ t let rain keep them away . So , I repeat , I don ’ t know . For the weekend , it was the lowest Mass attendance here in ten years . Nonetheless , collections were well above normal .”
Terry writes , “ I had a terrible 2016 . Everything that could go wrong did go wrong . I fear 2017 and I am so angry with God I could spit . How big a sin is that ?”
“ It is not a sin to be angry with God . Anger is a normal emotion and all emotions are morally neutral . The Church says anger is a sin , but it means both the emotion and an ACTION , as a result of the anger , that harms someone . The anger , standing alone , is not sinful . What we do with our anger might be sinful . Actions carry moral consequence . Ironically , though , if we do NOT harm anyone as a result of our anger , we gain graces . The anger is a temptation ; and if we don ’ t do anything to harm anyone as a result of the anger , we get graces for resisting a temptation .
In fact , Pope Francis said in a recent homily that he considers anger with God a form of prayer . It shows , the Pope said , a good relationship with God . Even lovers get angry with each other .”
Fr . Mike
Substance Addiction Ministry
SAM is a parish-based ministry that is designed to provide a safe , confidential place for people touched by addiction to share their personal experiences with others . SAM provides general educational information about addiction through professionals in this field . SAM ’ s mission is to offer help , healing , hope , and support to anyone who are afflicted with or affected by addictions . Our mission ' s goal is to help these individuals reconnect with self , loved ones , and God . We are available to people of all faiths . The group does not provide professional diagnosis , therapy , counseling or treatment ; that is left to the professionals . We do however provide a list of referrals of local addiction facilities and professionals that we have already had come speak at our group meetings .
The first meeting is scheduled for January 10th , 2017 @ 7 p . m . in the church meeting room . Guest speaker will be Patricia Benitez with American Addiction Centers . For more information contact Dc . Jerry Labadot @ 495-5820 .
Did You Know ?
Thanks to your extraordinary generosity , we are back in the BLACK . Check our collections box elsewhere in the bulletin . In four weeks time , our collections went from $ 42,000 UNDER budget to $ 4,000 ABOVE budget . RED to BLACK in a month . WOW !
THANK YOU ! THANK YOU !! THANK YOU !!! May God shower you with his blessings for your extraordinary generosity .”
Confirmation Class
Fr . Mike
Session II Confirmation classes will be held on January 28th & February 4th , 2017
Registrations for Session II are now being accepted .
The deadline to register for Session II is January 18th , 2017 .
Please note : Registrations WILL NOT be taken at class .
If you do not live in the Visitation of Our Lady Church boundaries and are not a “ registered ” parishioner of VOL you must contact the Religion Office at 341-8477 for information regarding confirmation .
Please visit the church website for more information : vol . org / confirmation-preparation
The Respect Life Committee & Knights of Columbus
to Sponsor a Hotard Bus to the LA Life March in Baton Rouge Saturday , January 21 , 2017
The Louisiana Life March will be held on Saturday , January 21 , 2017 in Baton Rouge from 10:00 a . m . till 12:00 p . m . Participants will gather behind the Old State Capitol and proceed towards the steps of the current State Capitol .
We invite you to join us for this pro-life event . The Hotard bus will be leaving Visitation at 7:30 a . m . to go Baton Rouge and will return to Visitation around 3:30 p . m . There is no cost to participants , however there are only 50 seats on the bus . Please call and reserve your seat today by contacting Cathy Gunn at 874-6892 or at catboo _ 1015 @ yahoo . com . You must provide your own brown bag lunch , drink , and snacks . Come join us in rallying for an “ Abortion-Free Louisiana !”