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ST. JUDE THE APOSTLE CATHOLIC CHURCHEstablished 19669150 Highland Road Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70810(On the Corner of Highland Road and Gardere Lane)St. Jude the Apostle Church, as a Catholic FaithCommunity, strives to spread the love of Christ by embracingour diversity of God-given gifts celebrated in prayer,sacraments, Eucharistic worship, fellowship, religiouseducation, and service to the local and world community.–St. Jude Parish Advisory Council: March 15, 2006Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary TimeJuly 25th & July 26th, 2015Stay in Touch with St. Jude ParishBy Way of Social Media!Like us or follow us www.stjudecatholic.org(Check out Fr. Trey’s Blogs!!!)Daily MassesMonday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 8:15amTuesday at 5:30pm (followed by Benediction and Adoration)Wednesday at noon alsoWeekend MassesSaturday 4:00pm VigilSunday at 8:00am, 9:45am, and 11:30amThe Sacrament of ReconciliationSaturdays from 3:00pm-3:45pmor by appointmentParish Contact InformationParish Office Phone225-766-2431Parish Office Fax225-766-0722School Phone225-769-2344Parish Websitewww.stjudecatholic.orgSchool Websitewww.stjudebr.orgFr. Trey Nelson, Pastor fathertrey@stjudecatholic.orgDeacon James Morrissey, deaconjmorrissey@gmail.comDirector of AdministrationEmergencies: after hours, please call 766-2431 and follow thedirections given on the voice mail message.

FROM THE TEE BOXA Few Thoughts from Our PastorFrom the Tee Box!July 25-26, 2015The Seventeenth Sunday inOrdinary TimeDear Friends:DO NOT TELL ME it’s the end of July! GoodLord, where’d it all go?! For me personally, I feellike this has been the fastest summer on record.How about you? Anyway, this coming week(July 29) I’ll turn 53. I am so thankful for thegifts of life, family, friends, health, and the giftof being here with you! As I celebrate, pleaseknow that I am holding you close in prayer.Since I was over at Saint Louis King of Francelast weekend and not able to preach here, Ithought I’d pass on to you something that Irecently read regarding the gift of silence. Doyou, for example, have enough silence in yourlife? In preparing for last weekend’s homily, Iread a few articles on the topic. It seems to becommon thought that an appropriate amountof silence can help decrease stress,hypertension, and high blood pressure. Onearticle even stated that silence, when integratedinto our daily lives, can affect how we look toeach other. (Back at the beginning of thesummer, after 4 days at the beach, a parishionersaid to me, “father, you look great!” I said,“thanks, but how’d I look before?”Sheresponded, “you don’t wanna know!”) Anyway Iread the story of a young man in his mid to latetwenties. He’s a personal trainer and life coachand very involved in his church. He felt Godcalling him to help others learn how to livehealthier lives. He thought, however, that hehimself would need to be prepared to practicewhat he would be preaching. So he triedsomething a couple of years ago, somethingthat at first he saw as more of an experimentbut eventually came to greatly appreciate. Hedecided to take one week out of each month(for a one year period) and have a week ofsilence, sort of like a week-long silent retreat.He writes in his journal that, at first, it causedmore anxiety in him than peace. After a while,however, he longed for it. He kept a journal, inwhich he mentioned several gifts thateventually came as a result of “regular silence.”I share 4 of these with you here: 1. a sense ofsatisfaction, 2. a sense of peace from living asimpler life, 3. a deeper sense of gratitude, and4. a clearer sense of truth. Sounds prettyphilosophical? I guess you could say it is, at leastin part. The truth is, though, silence is anawesome thing.Some people areuncomfortable with it. I think we’re challengedto overcome that discomfort to a degree. It ismost definitely true, as the old adage goes,“silence is golden.”When we consciously choose to hit the “STOP”button, not the “PAUSE” button, and let Godbreathe into us whatever we need, great thingswill happen.The Lord will speak to ussomething new, whatever it is that we need tohear, if we just simply stop every now and thenand take a break from the noise in order toimmerse ourselves more deeply into God’spresence.Since school’s a-comin’, I thought this might begood to consider.Have a great week!Sincerely,Fr. Trey NelsonPastor

LIFE ISSUES UPDATE – July 2015Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si” calls us to protect ourenvironment and honor the dignity of allAs expected, Pope Francis’ newly released encyclical “Laudato Si” (“Praisebe to You”) argues for wise and politically courageous action to addressenvironmental threats such as climate change, pollution, shortages of safe clean water and the extinctionof species. The environment is, after all, “Our Common Home”; the “home” for the human family.But Pope Francis also argues that respect for the environment goes hand in hand with respect for humandignity. Pope Francis writes, “a sense of deep communion with the rest of nature cannot be real if ourhearts lack tenderness, compassion and concern for our fellow human beings.”Pope Francis also rejects those seeking to justify abortion on environmental grounds. Concern for theprotection of nature is “incompatible with the justification of abortion.” He asks, “How can we genuinelyteach the importance of concern for other vulnerable beings, however troublesome or inconvenient theymay be, if we fail to protect a human embryo, even when its presence is uncomfortable and createsdifficulties?”Pope Francis urges us to cooperate with God in the work of creation. He says, “When we fail toacknowledge as part of reality the worth of a poor person, a human embryo, a person with disabilities – tooffer just a few examples – it becomes difficult to hear the cry of nature itself; everything is connected.”May we prayerfully consider our wise Pope’s words and take action to protect all LIFE!State and Federal Legislative UpdateSTATEHouse Bill 701, the Louisiana Pre-Natal Non-Discrimination Act, would have prohibited abortion whenbased on the gender of the unborn baby. Unfortunately, the bill, sponsored by Rep. Lenar Whitney(R-Houma), did not pass the Senate Judiciary Committee. Therefore, the bill failed.FEDERALThe “Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act” would protect unborn children beginning at 20 weeksfetal age from abortion. The 20-week period is based on research that indicated that the 20-week-oldunborn child has the capacity to experience pain during an abortion. The bill passed the House 242-184on May 13. On June 11, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) introduced the bill (S. 1553) in the Senate where itwas referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. In a June 16 letter to Congress, Sean Cardinal O’Malley,Archbishop of Boston and Chairman of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities, urged Senators tosupport the bill.Positive Trends Reported in JuneA new national report from the Associated Press indicates that the number of surgical abortions in theUnited States has declined 12% since 2010. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the nation’s birth rate rose 1% last year.This was the first time the birth rate increased in 7 years. Unfortunately, the authors noted that thenation’s birth rate remains below replacement levels (i.e., 2.1 births per woman). Upcoming Respect Life Events September 23 - 40 Days for Life Fall Campaign Begins - Campaign closes November 1 October 10 - Diocesan LifeFest and Bishop's Annual Respect Life Mass - Tracy Center

St. Jude Parish to Form Vocation Awareness Program: Saint Jude Parish isin the process of forming a vocation awareness initiative, the purpose of which will be 2-fold: to foster the understanding that each of us has a God-given vocation (such asmarriage, lay ministry, or ordained ministry, to name a few); and, secondly, that someare indeed called to religious life as a priest, religious brother or sister, or a permanentdeacon. Parishioners will be invited to offer their input regarding creative ways to increase this awareness.“The sky is the limit” when it comes to doing so. If you are interested and would like to be a part of thisconversation and effort, please contact Father Trey directly by either calling the office (225-766-2431) orby email at fathertrey@stjudecatholic.orgAlso, if someone feels called to explore the possibility of a vocation to priesthood or religious life, FatherTrey is available for a confidential conversation. Please feel free to contact him using the same contactinformation mentioned above. “Come, follow me!”Join The MIR Group in welcoming Fr.Joseph Cazenavette for a visit to NOLA!Following Mass and the Rosary, Fr. Joseph, The PolicyAdvisor for Marriage and Family for the USCCB, will givea short talk about what the USCCB is doing to effectpublic policy regarding marriage and how we canparticipate in this effort. Everyone is invited to join us forthis special celebration!Monday, July 27thSt. Edward the Confessor Church,4921 West Metairie Ave., Metairie6:00PM Holy MassFor more details contact Carol at 504-256-3322or themirgroup@themirgroup.orgNursery News!Nursery is now being offered at theSunday 9:45 Mass during the summer months.Nursery is located in the St. Michael’s Room(bride room in parish hall).Children registering for Nursery must bebetween the ages of 6 months and 3 years.Volunteers are also needed to staff thisministry. Please contact the church office (7662431) if you are able to volunteer this year orwould like more information. All volunteerswork on a rotating basis so you will not haveto work every week.Come, allow us to care foryour child as God cares foryou during the Mass.Family Choices: Transitions in AgingSaturday, August 29th — 9:00-3:00pmCatholic Life Center, Main AuditoriumCost: 15, 20 for walk-insLunch ProvidedThe Family Choices series, presented by theDiocese of Baton Rouge, is offering a dynamic oneday conference devoted to the transitionsassociated with aging. Please plan to join us forthis Spirit-filled day of support, education andencouragement.CEU credit hours will be awarded to SocialWorkers for attendance of the entire program andcompletion of the post program evaluation. Thenumber of hours is pending approval by theLouisiana State Board of Social Work Examiners.Register online at www.MFLDiobr.org,or call the Office of Marriage & Family Lifeat 225-242-0323.SVDP PharmacyPrescriptionsCanister’s are in the foyer ofthe church for parishionerswanting to donate to the St.Vincent de Paul Pharmacy Prescription Program.This program provides medical prescriptions forthose in need of medicine, but cannot afford it.Prescription bottles are attached to the canisters.You may put your check or cash donation intothe prescription bottle, and then drop the bottleinto the bucket. The buckets will remain in thechurch for a few weeks for your donatingconvenience.Thank you for helping some of Christ' childrenmost in need.