St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church

The bankruptcy court in case number 20-10846 pending in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana has set a deadline of March 1, 2021 to file a Sexual Abuse Proof of Claim in the Archdiocese of New Orleans Bankruptcy. A Sexual Abuse Proof of Claim form may be found at: www.NolaChurchclaims.com

The bankruptcy court in case number 20-10846 pending in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana has set a deadline of November 30, 2020 to file a General Proof of Claim in the Archdiocese of New Orleans Bankruptcy. A General Proof of Claim form may be found at: https://www.donlinrecano.com/Clients/rcano/Static/BDPOC
 

Steeped in a rich and vibrant history of service and growth, St. Francis of Assisi has been serving the needs of Catholics for almost 125 years and welcomes young and old from all walks of life into our faith and social community. St. Francis prides itself on being a family-friendly church. We believe that all members of our church community are important to the celebration of the Eucharist.

We invite you to learn more about the parish by exploring this website. Please visit the “Our Parish” section to learn more about the church and its rich traditions. You can also learn how to exercise your stewardship of time and talent in one of the wonderful parish ministries by visiting the “Parish Ministries” section. Some of the many ways that you can become involved include: being an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion or Lector, singing in our choir, serving the needy through the Ministry to the Poor, or by joining our Senior Associates group. For the youngest members of our parish family, opportunities to get involved include serving Mass as altar servers and Children's Ministry, a group which coordinates a variety of activities including weekly Children’s Liturgy of the Word, Christmas Nativity Program, and May Crowning.

We invite you to join our parish community by filling out the online registration form. Someone from our Newcomers Group will contact you shortly thereafter. As one family we come together to know, love, and serve the Lord as instruments of his peace.

Also,

Thanks for visiting and please check out our Facebook page or subscribe to our weekly
Parish E-bulletin.

Reverend Michael J. Schneller
Pastor

Uptown Canticle by Father Michael
January 24, 2021

Who's the smartest person in the world? You could make a case for Ken Jennings. He's the guy who won 74 consecutive matches on Jeopardy! He took home more than $2,500,000. You may be tempted to nominate Sheldon Cooper, the renowned physicist featured on The Big Bang Theory. True, he is smart. But he's a fictional character. Garry Kasparov is a name that's often brought up in discussions about smarts. He's the famous Russian chess player who, at the age of 22, became the world's youngest undisputed chess champion. Critics are quick to point out, however, that Kasparov was later beaten at chess by an IBM computer. Who gets your vote?
 
According to the World Genius Directory, the smartest person in the world is Dr. Evangelos Katsioulis, a 36-year-old Greek psychologist. His IQ score is 198. His score is 30 points higher than the ranking of "genius." Almost double the score of your average human, and 23 points higher than Jeopardy’s Ken Jennings' paltry 175. No matter how you rank them or whether or not you can name them, there are some incredibly smart people in this world.
 
The majority of us are not listed in the World Genius Directory. And neither would any of the apostles of Jesus meet the criteria. Jesus called followers and not geniuses. He chooses them. Jesus doesn’t call the equipped. He equips the called. He opens their hearts to God’s gift of love. And to demonstrate God’s overwhelming generosity, Jesus has them take their boats out after a night of catching nothing. Their nets are filled with fish. It is not their doing. It is gift. Everything is gift.
 
The last week of January we join the nation in celebrating Catholic Schools Week. As Archbishop Aymond writes in his letter published in its entirety in this bulletin, “Our schools work continuously to remain institutions of academic excellence, deeply rooted in Christ’s teachings. However, in order to remain successful, Catholic schools depend on financial resources.” Our Catholic schools are communities – small families in their own right, but also members of the larger community of home, church, city and nation.
 
Next weekend’s collection is designated to offer tuition assistance to those families that want their children in a Catholic school but are struggling to pay the tuition. Our parish elementary school closed its doors in 1996. But supporting Catholic education still remains our responsibility by our witness and generosity. Please read Archbishop Aymond’s letter.
 
Joseph R. Fahey, a Jesuit priest, was a mathematical genius. He was also a brilliant fund-raiser for Boston College High School, which he headed, multiplying their endowment by 500 times. He personally donated tens of thousands of dollars to other Jesuit causes while upholding his vow of poverty. How did he do it? At the blackjack table. By card-counting. Tom Long, a reporter for the Boston Globe, explains: Dressed in his one blue suit, Father Fahey played blackjack tables from Atlantic City to Las Vegas— "all for the greater glory of God'" as he once said— until the casinos blacklisted him. 
 
 Like Father Joseph Fahey, Jesus, in today’s gospel call, is taking a gamble in actively drafting these less than genius members of his team. Jesus is in a recruitment mode. He knows that his team will eventually be given the daunting task of igniting a spiritual movement that will spread around the globe and endure for millenniums.
 
And there is a sense of urgency in these lines. When someone yells “Stop!” we instantly freeze. When someone yells “Fore!” we instinctively duck. When someone yells “Fire!’ we immediately run. All these exclamations carry a built-in urgency provoking an immediate and total response. When Jesus exclaims that this “is the time of fulfillment,” we must hear him with the same sense of urgency.
 
This gospel portrays Jesus urgently on the move, gathering coworkers to join him in his saving mission. Do we have a sense of urgency about our own Catholic faith formation? Do we have a sense of urgency about caring when we see someone in trouble? About loving when we notice someone excluded? About reconciling hurt? About eliminating, to the best of our ability, suffering in all forms? Every day is a “time of fulfillment,’ every day brings the “kingdom of God” at hand. In our faithful responding, we become one with Jesus in his saving mission and our Catholic Schools play a major role in that mission. Nothing is more urgent than this.
 
Who is the smartest person in the world? Sure, the World Genius Directory claims to have an answer for us. But that's only if we define "smart" in terms of puzzle solving and IQ scores. Maybe what makes one smart isn't our ability to give the right answer. Maybe what makes us smart is our ability to recognize a good thing when it comes our way. Plenty of "smart" people have passed on Jesus. But not James and John. Not Simon and Andrew. They got picked and then they gave up everything else. And obviously that decision of Jesus was pure genius. Amen.
 

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For parishioners we cannot accommodate in the church or who are fearful to gather with us, Archbishop Aymond has given permission to distribute Holy Communion after mass outdoors. He strongly suggested that we not give Holy Communion to people in vehicles. He recommends that we do so outside where people can form a communion line and observe social distancing. Therefore, after each mass, weather permitting, I will be available to distribute Holy Communion in the front lawn of the rectory. I suggest that as you approach me to receive the Body of Christ you pray the Lord’s Prayer, the Our Father.

Please remember Archbishop Aymond has dispensed the people of the Archdiocese from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass. If someone is vulnerable and not feeling well, we ask that you not celebrate Mass in church with other people.