RCIA classes begin this Thursday October 6th at 6:00pm.

Director of Religious Education

For most people, the unfamiliar is always uncomfortable, at least at first.

We are delighted to be able to start first Friday adoration as we begin the church new year. First Friday will be December 2, 2011.

You may be wondering, “Isn’t coming to church and praying enough? Why do I need to receive my sacraments?”

Tony will serve a three year term representing and being a voice for the youth and adult members of the National Down Syndrome Congress on a national level.

"Evil...does not have the final word in human affairs." - Pope John Paul II

The Lafayette Diocese’s Office of Worship has scheduled a series of regional workshops entitled “Understanding the Changes in the Mass” during the month of September. The next workshop will be held on Saturday, September 17, from 9:30-11:30 a.m. at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in New Iberia.

ARE YOU . . . - Interested in becoming Catholic? - A Catholic who wishes to receive the Eucharist? - Interested in helping someone you know become fully initiated in the Catholic faith? The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) is a program for adults who desire to become fully initiated members of the Catholic Church. RCIA helps participants grow in his/her relationship with God, become familiar with Catholic teachings and practices, get acquainted with the faith community, and get involved in service within the community as a whole. Classes begin soon. And, if you are a fully initiated Catholic, you can be an RCIA sponsor. Adult Confirmation ARE YOU . . . - A Catholic adult who has been never been Confirmed? - We are about to begin an 8 to 10 week program that will review our - Catholic teachings and practices and will prepare you for Confirmation. Sacramental Preparation for Older Children DO YOU HAVE . . . - A child in the third grade or above who has not been Baptized or received First Communion? - We are about to begin a program that will prepare your child for these sacraments. For more information on any of the above programs, contact Dru Provost, Director of Religious Education, at 364-4439, or email her at sacredheartdrf@bellsouth.net.

The U.S conference of Catholic bishops and our own Bishop Michael Jarrell require Safe Environment training for any volunteer who comes in contact with children through the age of 18. Continuing education is available online (www.virtus.org). More information about the online procedure can be found on the table in the Gathering Area. Please call Dru Provost at the Church office, 364-4439, for more information.

For many people, change does not come easy. Change requires us to stop doing things a certain way in order to do something else. Many people find comfort in familiar routines and known ways of acting. Change interrupts those familiar routines. But change is also an opportunity to stop and reflect on what we are doing and to come to a better understanding of God, who does not change. Why does the Church change the Liturgy? In its Liturgy, the Church always attempts to follow the “norm of the holy Fathers.” This effort “requires not only the preservation of what our immediate forebears have handed on to us, but also an understanding and a more profound pondering of the Church’s entire past. . . . this broader view allows us to see how the Holy Spirit endows the People of God with a marvelous fidelity in preserving the unalterable deposit of faith, even though there is a very great variety of prayers and rites” (General Instruction of the Roman Missal, no. 9). The Liturgy must, therefore, always celebrate and make present the Paschal Sacrifice of Christ—his saving Passion, death, Resurrection, and Ascension. However, over time, it may become necessary to make certain changes, such as adding prayers for recently canonized saints and adding texts that reflect the needs that the People of God wish to bring to God in prayer. The third edition of the Roman Missal makes such additions and provides a fresh translation of the Latin texts of the existing content of the Missal. For the next several weeks you will see articles and information regarding The New Roman Missal. For more information about The New Roman Missal please visit this website: www.RevisedRomanMissal.org ©2010, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C. Used with permission. The Lafayette Diocese’s Office of Worship has scheduled a series of regional workshops entitled “Understanding the Changes in the Mass” during the month of September.  The first will be held on Saturday, September 10, from 9:30-11:30 a.m. at Our Lady Queen of Angels Church in Opelousas.  The second workshop will be held on Saturday, September 17, from 9:30-11:30 a.m. at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in New Iberia.  The third is scheduled for Saturday, September 24, from 9:30-11:30 a.m. at Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Mire.  The fourth and fifth workshops will both be held on the grounds of Our Lady of Fatima Church in Lafayette; one will be from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on the evening of Thursday, September 29, and the other will be from 9:30-11:30 a.m. on Saturday, October 1.