VBS Theme Voting & Volunteer Registration is Open!

VBS Theme Voting & Volunteer Sign Up!

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL WILL BE
JUNE 1ST-5TH, 2020 8AM-12PM

More detailed information and camper registration to follow but first we need your input on what our theme should be! Voting/Volunteer form is at the bottom of this page.

VOTING CLOSES THE EVENING OF MARCH 15TH, 2020

Please vote on theme even if unavailable to volunteer. If doing so, just leave volunteer information blank.

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TOTALLY ROCKY RAILWAY

Climb aboard for mountains of fun at Rocky Railway! On this faith-filled adventure, kids discover that trusting Jesus pulls them through life’s ups and downs.

https://vbs.osv.com/totally-catholic-rocky-railway/

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WILDERNESS ADVENTURE

Gear up for a one week hike through the wilderness and lead kids to discover amazing things about Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, Marriage and Holy Orders.

https://catchat.ca/wilderness-adventure

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MARVELOUS MYSTERY

With Marvelous Mystery, kids will develop a new appreciation for the Catholic Mass and will deepen their love for Jesus in the Eucharist through faith teachings, catchy music, fun games, crafts, and more!

https://catchat.ca/marvelous-mystery

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CATHLETICS

This one-week program will focus on TRAINING kids in the Word of God with teachings on: The Greatest Commandments, 10 Commandments, Beatitudes, Fruits of the Spirit, and Evangelization.

https://catchat.ca/vacation-bible-school/cathletics

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Please vote on theme even if unavailable to volunteer. If doing so, just leave volunteer information blank.

If you have any questions after viewing the material, please call the office and ask for Paige
985-386-3749

Old Testament Temple Tour

Friday night, parishioners gathered as Clay Nepveux led St. Joseph’s through a tour of an Old Testament Jerusalem Temple. This tour first started when done for our Thirst Youth Group and became so popular that we made it available to our whole parish.

We learned about our Jewish roots and where certain parts of our Mass came from. One of our local pilgrims, Renee said she “loved seeing the connection to the Jewish liturgy. We don’t realize how Jewish we are!” Another, Frank said, “it was enlightening to learn why we do what we do.”

Sisters Madelyn and Brooklyn joined their Grammy for the evening and loved learning what’s behind the scenes. 6 year old Brooklyn said she, “loved EVERYTHING!” when asked what her favorite part of the tour was. Madelyn said her favorite part was, “when they took Jesus out of the temple,” referring to our time adoration at the conclusion of the tour.

One of the interactive stations we learned about the different types of instruments used through a live demonstration from our music director, Rhonda. We were able to hear from a lyre, drum, ram horn, and other instruments that helped us to truly enter in to our history.

If you weren’t able to make it and are interested in having the tour made available again, please contact our office and let us know! 985-386-3749

St. Joseph's Lenten Parish Challenge & Easter Giveaway!

St. Joseph's 2020 Lenten Parish Challenge

We want to challenge our parish family to dive deeper into Scripture this Lent.  You can find many more resources on our website’s Lent Resource page but we want to do something together as a parish community.  

Challenge #1: Everywhere Your Cell Phone Goes, So Does Your Bible

What would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phones?  What if we carried it around? Turned back if we forgot it? Flipped through it several times a day?  Use it to receive messages? Treat it like we couldn’t live without it? Gave it to our kids as gifts?  Used it as we traveled? Used it in case of emergency? Upgraded it to include 24/7 tech service from the Holy Spirit?  This is something to make you go...hmmm...where is my Bible? Oh, and one more thing. Unlike our cell phone, we don’t ever have to worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill!

Challenge #2: Read Your Catechism Along With Your Bible

What came first?  The Bible or the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC)?  Jesus didn’t leave a newly printed copy of the Bible behind as He ascended into Heaven.  It took about 400 years for the Bible to be put together! So, how did the early Church know how to live?  Tradition.  The Catechism may have been published hundreds of years after the Bible, but Catholics have been living by that tradition alongside the Sacred Scripture.  Crack open your Catechism and read the Scripture it references.  When you read your Bible, check the footnotes and look up the Catechism references!

Challenge #3: Share Your Daily Prayer

Whether you are giving up social media for Lent or not, whether you’re on social media or not, share your daily prayer with someone.  Post something on your feed, text a friend, or share with the person next to you. We’ll be posting scripture each day you can use, you can follow the daily Mass readings, or randomly stroll with the Holy Spirit through scripture until something pops out.  Just meditate on the Word, ask the Lord what He has to tell you, and share it.

EASTER GIVEAWAY!

YOU CAN ENTER TO WIN OUR EASTER GIVEAWAY WITH A RAFFLE TICKET IN THE NARTHEX OR CLICK HERE TO ENTER ONLINE.  PUT YOUR NAME, CONTACT INFO (TO CONTACT YOU IF YOU WIN!), AND WHICH CHALLENGE YOU’RE DOING.

What's Your Plan?

When you go on vacation, odds are, you have a plan. You plan a route, plan a place to stay, plan your budget, food, people you will visit, sites you will see…
When preparing for Lent, what’s in your plan of attack?

Lent isn’t something you should decide to do last minute, sitting in Mass on Ash Wednesday, saying you’ll give up something off the top of your head that you could manage to give up. Here and now, a couple weeks before Lent you should be discerning what the Lord is telling you to remove from your life so that He can come closer to you.

How Do I Discern?

The best way to discern is through prayer. But just showing up to prayer isn’t enough. You must listen and feel in that time of prayer. It is a simple as:

• If you feel afraid, distress, fear, discouraged, etc. - it is NOT of the Lord.

• If you feel encouraged, hopeful, peace, comfort, etc - it IS of the Lord

You have your five senses, but you also have your spiritual senses. The Lord will NEVER hurt you. Therefore, if you feel the Lord is calling you into something that has you afraid and discouraged, you know it is not from Heaven. You can say, “In the name of Jesus Christ, leave me and go to the foot of the cross for Him to deal with you as He wills.” Then ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with joy.
The Lord may call you to something like giving up something like gossip and you may be afraid that you won’t know what you’ll be able to talk about. This fear is different. You can know this because He will be asking you to give up a vice. He wouldn’t ask you, for example, to give up prayer and leave you in fear to see if you could do life without Him. He is always there and He will never leave you. Don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise.
If you are still unclear about discernment, a great resource is to find a spiritual director. You can do this by calling your nearest church and asking who is available. A spiritual director will meet with you once a month (most are free but a small few ask for a small stipend) and help you strengthen your ability to discern.

What Comes After Discernment?

Once you’ve discerned what the Lord is calling you to do this Lent - be it giving up a vice, making your daily prayer more regular, taking on a weekly Holy Hour, etc - look for the resources out there. Check out what your church has available, look for local retreats in your area, or Google different journals, studies, or prayer guides. We have a Lenten Resource page here on our website. Click here to see Lent Resource page.

Choosing Your Lent

“This Lent I am going to give up my bed and sleep on the floor because I struggle to wake up in the morning for prayer. I’m also going to take only cold showers to remember to be humble, only eat bread and water because I need to lose some weight, go to adoration 3 hours a day, confession every hour, pray 5 rosaries, and…”

Whooah! Slow down. This time is not about taking on the most things, and suffering as much as possible. Look back on your discernment. The way to perfection is a lifelong journey and you will not get there in one Lent. The devil may also pump up your ego to take on too much during Lent so that, when you fail at one of your 50 commitments, you drop all of them our of discouragement. Or it all becomes about proving how much you can do while forgetting why you’re doing it. What did you receive in your discernment? Pray about what He is calling you to this Lent. Listen to your spiritual senses and go where there is peace.

There will be suffering, there may be pain, but you are not alone. He is walking right alongside of you and can’t wait for you to experience the most peaceful and fruitful Lent yet.

Introducing....

You can now book our Lady of Fatima Statue and the Vocation Chalice on our website!

Now when you want to sign up to take home the Vocation Chalice but it’s 5:15pm and the office is closed, you can just hop on here and sign up anyway.
You want to take home Our Lady of Fatima Statue but don’t want to call and speak with someone? Social anxiety is rampant in today’s world, we’ve got you. Sign up here and you can communicate via email and/or text.

Sitting in carpool line? Sign up here.

Waiting in a doctors office? Sign up here.

Wanting to do something simple to kick off Lent? Sign up here.

Have you brought home the Chalice before? Bring home the Fatima Statue.

Have you brought home the Fatima Statue? Bring home the Chalice.

Have you brought either home? Bring them home again!

Your prayers mean so much. When you pray for future priests, imagine your prayers send a protective guard around that young man and protect him from all his doubts, fears, and temptations. Imagine how your prayers send legions of angels to protect these seminarians, high school men with a calling, and men finding their call later in life.

Our Lady of Fatima appeared with messages to pray for peace and to pray for the souls in purgatory. Our Lady wants bring peace to our world and that starts at home. Bring our Lady into your home and let peace begin with you. Learn about the miracles that happened at Fatima and see what miracles she wants to work in your home to bring you and your family closer to Jesus.