From the Bishop

By: Bishop Francis I. Malone

When I arrived in Shreveport in late January, I set some modest goals for 2020. The first goal was to visit personally with every priest working in the diocese. Although COVID-19 put a stop to the regular meetings, within a few months I was able to complete this first goal. The purpose of these meetings was to get to know a little bit about each of my closest collaborators, our priests. I asked them about their background, their family, their faith formation, and their vocation as a priest. In all honesty, I found these meetings to be delightful. I learned a lot about our priests, and I also learned much about our diocese. I am so glad I was able to undertake this first goal with the joy I found in each meeting. Our diocese is full of wonderful, dedicated and holy priests, and I am privileged to be their bishop.

The second goal I set before me was to visit every parish and Mission Church before the first of the New Year 2021. This has not been as successful, as, again the Coronavirus kept me from the frequency of visits I had hoped to make. Still, if I include the Confirmations I have been blessed to perform, I think I have been able to visit about a dozen or more parishes. I have also been able to visit all of our schools, here in Shreveport and in Monroe. Since I have spent a good deal of my priesthood in parishes with schools, I have thoroughly enjoyed these visits. I have successfully visited them all, though small in number, but have enjoyed every minute of, once again, being back in the classroom. I want you to be proud that, in spite of the small number of Catholic schools in our diocese, they are excellent, from the administrators and teachers to the children who find their way to school, even virtually.

This is what I have found in my visits to our parishes and schools: I have found people who love their Church. There is ample visible evidence of how our parishes and our members are coping with the restrictions of COVID-19. And while I regret that when I look “out there” into the congregation the masks shield faces – the eyes are clearly visible, and as “mirrors to the soul” show the happiness the masks hide. I have found that there is real joy in our parish communities as we celebrate Mass – even without music to accompany our prayers. I have found that the reverence for the Eucharist is clearly visible as our members approach the sanctuary to receive our Lord’s Body and Blood. And I have found that our members are a hospitable group of faithfilled people, who greet me with kindness, even though the encounters are brief.

It is my hope that very soon we can resume attending Mass as we once did before the virus came our way. Until that time, unless you are not able to attend Mass because of personal health issues – and if you have found that it has become just too easy to participate in Mass by watching it virtually – begin the journey back to Church, yes with your masks and with social distancing – but with the encounter you will have with your pastors who love you, your brothers and sisters in Christ who journey with you, and most importantly, with the Lord, who gives His Body and Blood to you with love.