Bayou Catholic Magazine September 2018 by Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux

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Contents

Features 20 Ministry in Action

By Janet Marcel

Advertisers Spotlight

By Janet Marcel

Father Van Constant celebrates 25 years

By Janet Marcel

St. Bernadette’s sanctuary transformation

By Janet Marcel

Columns 8 Comfort For My People

By Bishop Shelton J. Fabre

Pope Speaks

Pope Francis I

Questions of Faith

By Father Joshua Rodrigue, S.T.L.

Readings Between The Lines

By Father Glenn LeCompte

Reading with Raymond

By Raymond Saadi

Thoughts for Millennials

By Ryan Abboud

50 Overtime

By Ed Daniels

In Every Issue 16 Scripture Readings 22 Heavenly Recipes 28 Youth In Action 40 Diocesan Events Guest Columns 34 What’s love got to do with it?

By Agnes Bitature

Announcements 18 Bishop Shelton J. Fabre statement 46 Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary

70th Anniversary

46 Annual Life Chain Oct. 7 On Our Cover LAWRENCE CHATAGNIER/BAYOU CATHOLIC

4 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • September 2018

St. Joseph Catholic Elementary School’s first grade teacher Lisa Robinson shares a lighthearted moment with her students. Robinson is beginning her 29th year teaching at St. Joseph in Thibodaux. She has been an educator for the past 41 years.

Jordy Rous

Jordy Cooks his:

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2 lbs. peeled shrimp 1 onion, How to reach us:chopped 1 bell pepper, chopped BY PHONE: (985) 850-3132 1 whole garlic (small) BY MAIL: P.O. Box 505 1 cup green onions Schriever, LA 70395 1 33.5 oz. jar tomato sauce BY FAX: (985) 850-3232 1 10.75 oz. jar of tomato purée BY1E-MAIL: 12 oz. jar of tomato paste bayoucatholic@htdiocese.org 1 28 oz. mild Rotel tomatoes cherry tomatoes The Bayou Catholic1ispack published monthly, for This month’s heavenly recipe, shrimp spaghetti, comes the people of the 1/4 Roman Catholic Diocese tbsp. black pepper from 32 year old South Lafourche native Jordy Rousse. of Houma-Thibodaux by the H-T Publishing 1 tbsp. salt LA 70395. Jordy, a parishioner of Our Lady of Prompt Succor ChurchCo., in P.O. Box 505, Schriever, tbsp. garlic powder Subscription rate is 1$35 per year. Golden Meadow, has been Grand Knight of KC Council 9000 1 pack onion soup mix for the past four years. The Bayou Catholic 1/2 is a member of the Catholic tbsp. Italian seasoning His recipe, which he named Jordy’s best spaghetti, is served Press Association, the National Newspaper 1associate tbsp. oregano Association and an member of the on Fridays during Lent at the Our Lady Helps Ministry. Louisiana Press Association. Dash of creole seasoning “I learned to cook from my grandfather Leroy Rousse. He 2-1/2 tbsp. brown sugar cooked for many community events and was instrumental Lawrence Chatagnier editor and general manager in the development of the Cut Off Youth Center. He passed DIRECTIONS: away in 2008 and has been an inspiration to me for many Glenn J.Copy Landry,Put C.P.A. a small amount of ol years. I always looked up to him.” business manager pot. Brown chopped onion; add In 2014, Jordy suffered a severe back injury while working as garlic, Janet Marceland sauté until soft. Pou on a tug boat, which has made him unable to work in that staff writer/administrative assistant purée, paste and Rotel. Add seaso capacity. “I have been devoting my time to charity work for hours. Add the shrimp in the final 1 Cherie Glorioso the past couple of years. I have had multiple back surgeries. I the greenexecutive onions when you remo advertising accounts am still in pain every day, but I am able to function,” he says. over noodles. While he was recovering from surgery, Jordy suffered Brooks Lirette severe depression from the medication he was taking for advertising accounts executive pain. “I had to rely heavily on my faith during my time Lisa Schobel Hebert of depression. While I was in the hospital an 80 year graphic designer old Navy veteran explained the full armor of God to Meridy Liner me. It was after I understood what it meant to wear accounts receivable/payable assistant the armor of God that I began feeling better and overcame my depression.” Like us on Facebook Jordy feels there is a place for young adults and young or people in today’s church. He would like to someday help Find us on the web www.bayoucatholic.org plan church parish and community events for the youth of South Lafourche. “The church has to do something to bring in the younger people. Things are constantly changing and evolving. We must change with the times and welcome theWhere to find your Bayou Catholic

younger people to the church.” BC

22 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • September 2018

Marriage PEONY WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY

Bayou Catholic magazine can be found at all Catholic churches and Catholic schools throughout the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. To pick up a copy, you may also visit the merchants who advertise in our issue. Those wishing to receive the magazine by mail can call Janet Marcel at (985) 850-3132 or write to Bayou Catholic, P.O. Box 505, Schriever, LA 70395. Subscription price is $35 annually. For the online edition, go to www.bayoucatholic.com

September 2018 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 5

Special

A statement on the recent change to paragraph 2267 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, regarding the death penalty Guest Columnist Father Brice Higginbotham

We have recently welcomed with joy the news that Pope Francis has made a change to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the official compendium of the teachings of the Catholic Church. Paragraph 2267 of the Catechism formerly indicated that, while there could be cases in contemporary society where capital punishment is not excluded, such cases “are very rare, if not practically nonexistent.” Now, however, paragraph 2267 of the Catechism indicates that in today’s world, “the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person” and that the church “works with determination for its abolition worldwide.” As the weeks have unfolded, Catholics and non-Catholics have expressed multiple good questions about this change. Good questions deserve good answers. Therefore I would like to situate my explanation of the new language of the Catechism in the context of three questions: 1. I’m surprised that the pope changed the Catechism. I didn’t know he could do that. Has this ever happened before? - This is a good question. 2. What is the change? What does it mean and what does it not mean? This is a good question. 3. Why might we need a change in the Catechism today, in 2018? - This is a good question.

Changes in the Catechism Perhaps surprisingly, Pope Francis is not the first pope to change the Catechism. Pope St. John Paul II first changed the Catechism in 1997. Not only that, but Pope St. John Paul II changed this very paragraph of the Catechism, along with the paragraph directly preceding it. Let us then walk together through paragraph 2267 of the Catechism as it has changed over the years. In 1994, the Catechism of the Catholic Church was translated from the original French and published throughout the world. This version of the Catechism indicated that legitimate public authority has the right and the duty to punish those who do evil “not excluding, in cases of extreme gravity, the death penalty” but that, “if bloodless means are sufficient to defend human lives ... public authority should limit itself to such means” because they better promote the common good and are “more in conformity to the dignity of the human person.” In 1997, with the publication of the official Latin edition of the Catechism, Pope St. John Paul II changed both paragraphs 2266 (regarding punishment of evildoers) and 2267 (regarding the death penalty) to conform to his 1995 encyclical Evangelium Vitae (On the Value and Inviolability of Human Life). The Holy Father removed reference to the death penalty from CCC 2266, eliminating association of the death penalty with punishment “commensurate with the gravity of the crime.” Instead, Pope St. John Paul II indicates that the only justification for the death penalty is “if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor” and, as stated above, adds that such cases

6 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • September 2018

“are very rare, if not practically nonexistent.” Now Pope Francis, in continuity with Pope St. John Paul II and also in continuity with Pope Benedict XVI, has declared that, within modern society today, 21 years after the first change in these paragraphs of the Catechism, the cases wherein the death penalty is admissible are not only “very rare” but are in fact non-existent and, consequently, the death penalty is “inadmissible.” What does this mean? And what does this not mean? The new text of the Catechism’s 2267th paragraph reads in full: “Recourse to the death penalty on the part of legitimate authority, following a fair trial, was long considered an appropriate response to the gravity of certain crimes and an acceptable, albeit extreme, means of safeguarding the common good. Today, however, there is an increasing awareness that the dignity of the person is not lost even after the commission of very serious crimes. In addition, a new understanding has emerged of the significance of penal sanctions imposed by the state. Lastly, more effective systems of detention have been developed, which ensure the due protection of citizens but, at the same time, do not definitively deprive the guilty of the possibility of redemption. Consequently, the church teaches, in the light of the Gospel, that ‘the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person,’ and she works with determination for its abolition worldwide.” This means, very simply, that, in contemporary society it is immoral to execute the death penalty and

Special

that we Catholics should actively seek its abolition in our communities. This does not mean, however, that the execution of the death penalty is at all times and in all places an immoral act. Legitimate public authority has always possessed the right and duty to guard the common good of the community and, in some historical and political contexts, the execution of the death penalty has been the only way to defend the innocent. However, modern means of the detention of evildoers (though certainly imperfect) make it such that the death penalty is not today required to prevent these evildoers from causing further harm. Therefore, remembering that no sin can truly erase a person’s humanity, there is no legitimate reason for the use of the death penalty in contemporary society. Therefore, to use the words church teaching, the death penalty is “inadmissible” today and each of us ought to work to abolish it. Why today? Regarding the need to abolish the death penalty today, permit me to draw extensively from the 2017 statement on the death penalty from the Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops. Put simply, our contemporary culture “oftentimes mirrors a culture of death rather than one of life.” We live in a society wherein violence, murder and racism stand before us nearly every time we watch the news and listen to the morning updates on the radio or via podcasts. We live in a society that struggles to attend to the dignity of the elderly who are no longer able to “produce” quantifiable output, toys with the idea of socalled “euthanasia” (as if assisting a person who is elderly or physically handicapped to commit suicide could ever be a good thing), and condones the murder of our most innocent citizens in the place which should be the safest – their mothers’ wombs. We must today stand courageously and fervently against the culture of death, honoring every human person, even the most nefarious, and eschewing from our society the killing of human persons as

much as possible in the midst of this fallen world. Eliminating the death penalty is one of the many ways in which we must be engaged in the battle to end the culture of death by building a culture of life. To victims of violent crime and to their dear ones, I echo the words which our bishops wrote to you last year. Your pastors, your fathers in Christ, are deeply aware of the pain and grief which you suffer (though a person outside of yourself can never fully understand your personal and particular pain). We pledge to deepen our commitment to you who have suffered such violence, anguish and pain. Please, I beg you, reach out to members of your family in Christ. Reach out to your pastors who would delight to accompany you along your journey. The church’s opposition to the death penalty is in no way intended to diminish what you and your family have suffered. On the contrary it is a statement which affirms the lives of those lost and the ultimate value of life in general. The stark reality is that capital punishment fails to bring back life that has been lost. It does not provide healing, reconciliation, or even peace to those impacted. Our merciful heavenly Father does provide such things to us when we turn to him and ask for his love to be poured out onto us. Your community and your pastors are here to help you receive the healing love of our God who is with us. I take this opportunity as well to say, “thank you” to those who work with our brothers and sisters who have done evil, especially in our prisons. On behalf of the church, thank you. While I am aware that some in prison are on the path of repentance and reparation—for which I rejoice in the Lord—I am also aware and deeply saddened that many of our brothers and sisters confined to prison have further hardened their hearts. I am aware that sometimes their human dignity which can never be lost is so buried under habituated layers of wicked deeds that it is nearly impossible for human eyes to see. To those of you who strive daily to see

the dignity of these men and women, thank you. You work to create the most favorable environment possible for these men and women to perhaps receive the redemption wrought by Christ. No one is “too far gone” for God’s love because no human sin is strong enough to overcome God’s power to forgive. Perhaps even one person will repent in the last moments, like the criminal who repented at the Cross (Luke 23:39-43). Perhaps your consistently treating them in accord with their human dignity may be an occasion for grace to break through and for our brother or sister to receive the gift of God’s redemption. Please receive my deep appreciation for your work toward a culture of life even in this most difficult of circumstances. To each of us, the Holy Father’s teaching issues a challenge. Never forget “that the dignity of the person is not lost even after the commission of very serious crimes.” Nor is it lost by being the victim of a very serious crime. As we have received redemption through the death of Christ, we, as members of the church, are to call all men to share in that same redemption. No matter what you have done; no matter what has been done to you; you remain good. In fact, very good. A human being can never truly become “no good.” A human being can never truly become a “monster.” In Christ there is healing. In Christ there is freedom. Like for the criminal at the Cross (Luke 23:39-43) and for the woman who suffered the hemorrhage (Mark 5:25-34), in Christ there is redemption. In conclusion, my brothers and sisters, I encourage all of us together to work diligently for the culture of life in all of its aspects. Join me in prayer. Join me in fasting. Join me in doing our best to loving with Christian love those who are daily in our sphere of influence. Let us be committed to social action first in our daily lives and also in the realm of legislation. Might we seek Jesus with all of our hearts, souls, minds and strength, and empowered by him, do his work in the world. BC

September 2018 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 7

Comment

The goodness of routine Comfort For My People Bishop Shelton J. Fabre

September finds us knee deep in returning to many routines in life. The summer months were wild with vacations and kids home from school. However, by now we have firmly established ourselves in a routine for the fall. The thrill of the summer can dump us into the fall unprepared. Done well though, routine stabilizes life and allows our souls to flourish. A routine is an ordered series of actions at regular intervals that is established by habit which reduces the number of decisions made on a regular basis. A routine at its base is a plan. Routines are focused around regular patterns. I have my morning routine, my daily routine, and my weekly routine. They are formed by repetition. I have tied my shoes so much that I do not think about how to tie them. Thus, I have fewer unique choices to make each day as I prepare to head out my door. Any repeated action, intentional or not, becomes routine. Unintentional routines were probably the cause of every bad habit we have ever tried to break. Intentional routines are what separate beginners from masters at any art, craft or skill. Routine is built into our human nature and can be a stumbling block or a tool. The positive aspect of routine has long been recognized by Christians. After the legalization of Christianity, Christians found themselves needing to totally reorient their way of life. Enter St. Benedict, who offered a Rule to the monks that wanted to follow him. The Benedictine Rule gives positive

routine and order to the way they live their lives. The Rule stipulates that the monks share common prayer, meals and work. It is particular. The monks rise with the sun and come together to pray the psalms and hear from the Church Fathers. They gather for the celebration of the Eucharist. Except on feast days, one of the monks reads aloud during meals while the others eat silently. During the day each monk spends time in reading Scripture, praying the psalms, studying and working. They end their day with more prayer and a hymn to Mary. After the last hour of the day, the sun sets, and the monks are silent until the next day begins in prayer. This routine repeats day after day with infrequent interruption. Benedict’s monks never worry about what to do on a given day because it is all governed by the

8 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • September 2018

monastic routine. Their routine has appropriate times set aside for prayer, work and recreation. It is ordered by what best serves their pursuit of holiness, not by what is convenient. Imagine if the thinking behind monastic life was applied to our ordinary routine. The hallmark of monastic life is the stable arrangement of the hours. Having set times to do particular things each day brings order. The simplest place to start is to predetermine a time to go to sleep and to wake up. We are then well rested and alert for the next day. Next, have a set time and rhythm for prayer each day. The church adopted the ancient Jewish custom of praying at morning, noon and evening. The Angelus, the rosary, and the Liturgy of the Hours all have the rhythm of the day worked into their practice. Praying the Angelus at these times allows us to pray without ceasing. Next, once every three months look over your routine and ask, “Is this still working for me?” If yes, keep doing it. If not, what would better help me? We are creatures of habit. We live by routine anyway; why not make it work for us. Work and prayer and recreation find their balance in holy routine. In conclusion, routines are habits that order our lives and make them easier. The ancient monks harnessed the power of routine to aid their pursuit of holiness. We can construct a new routine through repetition to better aid our goals. Holy routine can stabilize life and allow for the flourishing of the spiritual life. BC

Comentario

Lo mejor de la rutina Septiembre nos encuentra profundamente inmersos en el regreso a muchas rutinas en la vida. Los meses de verano fueron complicados con las vacaciones y los niños de casa a la escuela. Sin embargo, por ahora nos hemos establecido firmemente en una rutina para el otoño. La emoción del verano puede arrojarnos a la caída sin estar preparados. Bien hecho, la rutina estabiliza la vida y permite que nuestras almas florezcan. Una rutina es una serie ordenada de acciones a intervalos regulares que se establece por hábito, lo que reduce el número de decisiones tomadas de forma regular. Una rutina en su base es un plan. Las rutinas se enfocan en patrones regulares. Tengo mi rutina matutina, mi rutina diaria y mi rutina semanal. Ellos están formados por la repetición. He atado mis zapatos tanto que no pienso en cómo atarlos. Por lo tanto, tengo menos opciones únicas para hacer cada día mientras me preparo para salir por mi puerta. Cualquier acción repetida, intencional o no, se convierte en rutina. Las rutinas involuntarias probablemente fueron la causa de cada mal hábito que hemos tratado de romper. Las rutinas intencionales son lo que separa a los principiantes de los maestros en cualquier arte, oficio o habilidad. La rutina está integrada en nuestra naturaleza humana y puede ser un obstáculo o una herramienta. El aspecto positivo de la rutina ha sido reconocido por los cristianos desde hace mucho tiempo. Después de la legalización del cristianismo, los cristianos se vieron en la necesidad de reorientar totalmente su forma de vida. Entra San Benito, que ofreció una Regla a los monjes que querían seguirlo. La Regla benedictina da una rutina y un orden positivos a la forma en que viven sus vidas. La Regla estipula que los monjes comparten la oración, las comidas y el trabajo en común. Es particular. Los monjes se levantan con el

sol y se unen para rezar los salmos y escuchar a los Padres de la Iglesia. Se reúnen para la celebración de la Eucaristía. Excepto en los días festivos, uno de los monjes lee en voz alta durante las comidas mientras los demás comen en silencio. Durante el día, cada monje pasa tiempo leyendo las Escrituras, orando los salmos, estudiando y trabajando. Terminan su día con más oración y un himno a María. Después de la última hora del día, el sol se pone y los monjes guardan silen-

10 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • September 2018

cio hasta que el día siguiente comienza en oración. Esta rutina se repite día tras día con interrupciones infrecuentes. Los monjes de Benedicto nunca se preocupan por qué hacer en un día determinado porque todo está gobernado por la rutina monástica. Su rutina tiene momentos apropiados reservados para la oración, el trabajo y la recreación. Está ordenado por lo que mejor sirve a su búsqueda de la santidad, no por lo que es conveniente. Imagínese si el pensamiento detrás de la vida monástica se aplicara a nuestra rutina ordinaria. El sello distintivo de la vida monástica es la disposición estable de las horas. Habiendo establecido tiempos para hacer cosas particulares cada día trae orden. El lugar más simple para comenzar es predeterminar un momento para ir a dormir y despertar. Estamos bien descansados y alerta para el día siguiente. Luego, tenga un tiempo y un ritmo establecidos para la oración todos los días. La iglesia adoptó la antigua costumbre judía de orar por la mañana, al mediodía y al anochecer. El Ángelus, el rosario y la Liturgia de las Horas tienen el ritmo del día trabajado en su práctica. Rezar el Ángelus en estos momentos nos permite orar sin cesar. Luego, una vez cada tres meses revise su rutina y pregunte: “¿Esto todavía funciona para mí?”. De ser así, siga haciéndolo. Si no, ¿qué mejor me podría ayudar? Somos criaturas de costumbre. Vivimos de rutina de todos modos; por qué no hacerlo funcionar para nosotros El trabajo, la oración y la recreación encuentran su equilibrio en la sagrada rutina. En conclusión, las rutinas son hábitos que ordenan nuestras vidas y las hacen más fáciles. Los antiguos monjes aprovecharon el poder de la rutina para ayudarlos en su búsqueda de la santidad. Podemos construir una nueva rutina a través de la repetición para ayudar mejor a nuestros objetivos. La santa rutina puede estabilizar la vida y permitir el florecimiento de la vida espiritual. BC

Binh luan bang loi

Sự tốt lành của thói quen Tháng 9 giúp chúng ta trở lại với nhiều thói quen hằng ngày trong cuộc sống. Những tháng mùa hè thì thích thú với các dịp đi nghỉ và các em được ở nhà. Giờ đây, chúng ta nhất tâm tạo cho mình một thói quen hằng ngày cho mùa thu. Sự rộn ràng của mùa hè có thể chôn vùi chúng ta trong mùa thu nếu không chuẩn bị. Nếu thực hiện tốt, thói quen hằng ngày sẽ ổn định được cuộc sống và để tâm linh của chúng ta được phát triển. Thói quen là một loạt thứ tự của các hành động đều đặn được tạo nên theo thói quen làm giảm số các quyết định được thực hiện một cách bình thường. Thói quen hằng ngày tự bản chất là một kế hoạch. Các thói quen hằng ngày được tập trung vào các nguyên tắc thông thường. Tôi có thói quen của tôi vào mỗi buổi sáng, hằng ngày, và hằng tuần. Chúng cứ lặp đi lặp lại. Tôi cột đôi giày của mình quá nhiều lần đến độ tôi không nghĩ đến cách buộc chúng như thế nào cho đúng. Vì vậy, tôi có ít lựa chọn quy định hơn để thực hiện mỗi ngày khi tôi chuẩn bị bước ra khỏi nhà. Bất kỳ hành động lặp đi lặp lại, dù cố ý hay không, cũng trở thành thói quen hằng ngày. Các thói quen hằng ngày không chủ ý có lẽ là nguyên nhân của mọi thói quen xấu mà chúng ta đã từng cố gắng thay đổi. Các thói quen hằng ngày cố ý là những gì phân biệt giữa những người tập sự từ các bậc thầy ở bất kỳ nghệ thuật, thủ công hay kỹ năng nào. Thói quen hằng ngày được thành hình trong bản tính con người của chúng ta và có thể là một trở chướng ngại vật hoặc là một công cụ. Khía cạnh tích cực của thói quen hằng ngày từ lâu đã được các Kitô hữu thừa nhận. Sau khi hợp thức hoá Kitô giáo, các Kitô hữu thấy mình cần phải định hướng lại hoàn toàn cách sống của họ. Chúng ta hãy quan sát thói quen của thánh Biển Đức, người đã lập ra Quy tắc cho các đan sĩ muốn theo ngài. Quy tắc của thánh Biển Đức đưa ra những thói quen hằng ngày và trật tự tích cực cho cách thức họ sống cuộc sống của họ.

Quy tắc quy định rằng các đan sĩ chia sẻ giờ cầu nguyện, các bữa ăn và công việc chung. Nó rất cụ thể. Các đan sĩ thức dậy lúc mặt trời mọc và quy tụ lại để đọc các thánh vịnh và nghe các bài đọc của các Giáo Phụ. Họ cùng nhau cử hành Thánh Lễ. Ngoại trừ những ngày lễ bổn mạng, một trong các đan sĩ đọc sách to trong suốt bữa ăn trong khi đó những người khác dùng bữa trong thinh lặng. Trong suốt ngày, mỗi đan sĩ dành thời giờ đọc Kinh Thánh, đọc thánh vịnh, học tập và làm việc. Họ kết thúc ngày của mình với nhiều lời cầu nguyện và một bài thánh ca dâng kính Mẹ Maria. Sau giờ cuối cùng của ngày, khi mặt trời lặn, các đan sĩ thinh lặng cho đến ngày hôm sau lại khởi đầu bằng những lời cầu nguyện. Thói quen này lặp đi lặp lại ngày này qua ngày khác mà không thường xuyên bị gián đoạn. Các đan sĩ Biển Đức không bao giờ lo lắng về việc phải làm gì trong ngày bởi vì mỗi ngày được ấn định bởi thói quen đan viện. Thói quen hằng ngày của họ có thời gian thích hợp dành cho cầu nguyện, làm việc và giải trí. Nó được sắp xếp bởi những gì tốt nhất, nhằm giúp

cho việc theo đuổi sự thánh thiện của họ, chứ không phải bởi những gì thuận lợi. Hãy tưởng tượng nếu suy nghĩ mặt sau cuộc sống đan viện được áp dụng cho thói quen hằng ngày của chúng ta. Dấu hiệu của cuộc sống đan viện là sự sắp xếp ổn định của giờ giấc. Có thời gian để làm những việc cụ thể mỗi ngày mang lại sự trật tự. Nơi đơn giản nhất để bắt đầu là xác định trước thời giờ đi ngủ và thức dậy. Sau đó, chúng ta được nghỉ ngơi an bình và cảnh tỉnh cho ngày hôm sau. Kế đến, hãy dành thời gian và nhịp điệu cho việc cầu nguyện mỗi ngày. Hội thánh đã chấp nhận phong tục cầu nguyện của người Do thái cổ xưa vào buổi sáng, buổi trưa và buổi tối. Kinh Truyền Tin, kinh Mân Côi, Phụng vụ các Giờ Kinh, tất cả đều có nhịp điệu cho ngày làm việc và thực hành của họ. Cầu nguyện kinh Truyền Tin vào những thời gian này giúp chúng ta cầu nguyện không ngừng. Tiếp theo, cứ ba tháng một lần, hãy kiểm điểm lại thói quen hằng ngày của mình và tự hỏi: “Điều này vẫn còn áp dụng cho tôi được không?” Nếu có, hãy tiếp tục làm điều đó. Nếu không, điều gì tốt hơn sẽ giúp tôi thực hiện? Chúng ta là loài thọ tạo của thói quen. Chúng ta vẫn sống theo thói quen hằng ngày; tại sao không lấy nó mà áp dụng cho chúng ta. Làm việc, cầu nguyện và giải trí luôn tìm thấy sự quân bình trong thói quen thánh thiện hằng ngày. Tóm lại, các thói quen hằng ngày là những lề thói đem lại sự trật tự cho cuộc sống chúng ta và thực hiện chúng cách dễ dàng hơn. Các đan sĩ thời xưa khai thác sức mạnh của thói quen hằng ngày để giúp họ theo đuổi sự thánh thiện. Chúng ta có thể sắp xếp một thói quen hằng ngày mới qua việc lặp đi lặp lại để hỗ trợ tốt hơn giúp chúng ta đạt đến các mục tiêu. Thói quen thánh thiện hằng ngày có thể giúp ổn định cuộc sống và làm gia tăng đời sống tâm linh. Dịch thuật do Lm. Francis Bui, SDD và Thầy Paul Vu, SDD. Tu Đoàn Tông Đồ Giáo Sĩ Nhà Chúa BC

September 2018 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 11

Comment

Fight evil with action, not apathy, Pope Francis says The Pope Speaks

Vatican City, (CNA/EWTN News) It is not enough for Catholics to not do bad things, they must counter evil by actively living out charity in the performance of good deeds, Pope Francis told young people and others in St. Peter’s Square recently. “If we do not oppose evil, we feed it tacitly. It is necessary to intervene where evil spreads; because evil spreads where there are no daring Christians who oppose with good, ‘walking in love,’ according to the warning of St. Paul,” the pope said. Speaking to around 90,000 people in St. Peter’s Square and the adjoining street before the recitation of the Angelus, Francis warned that people are guilty of the sin of omission when they could do something good but choose not to. “It is not enough not to hate, it is necessary to forgive,” he said. “It is not enough not to have a grudge, we must pray for [our] enemies… it is not enough to not speak badly about others, we must stop when we hear someone talking badly.” The pope addressed, in particular, Italian young people, who had made a pilgrimage to Rome as a way to pray for the upcoming Synod of Bishops on youth, urging them to be “protagonists of the good!” He noted that because of the presence of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in every baptized person, Christians must strive to live their lives “in a coherent manner,” renouncing evil, temptation, and sin, saying “no” to a culture of

death, and by adhering to the good and doing good. St. Paul urges in his letter to the Ephesians, remove “all bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling… along with all malice” and replace it with kindness, compassion, and forgiveness, “as God has forgiven you in Christ,” Francis said. He explained that many times he has heard people say that they do not hurt anyone with their actions – “All right but are you good?” the pope asked. To not do harm, but meanwhile neglect to live out the virtues, leads to apathy and indifference, he said. Such an attitude is contrary to the

12 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • September 2018

Gospel and contrary to the character of young people, “who by nature are dynamic, passionate and courageous.” “Remember this,” he said, quoting St. Albert Hurtado: “It is good not to do evil, but it is bad not to do good.” Noting the walking pilgrimage many of those present had made to reach Rome, he said, “therefore, you are trained and I can tell you: walk in love!” “Let’s walk together towards the next Synod of Bishops… May the Virgin Mary support us with her maternal intercession, so that each of us, every day, with deeds, can say ‘no’ to evil and ‘yes’ to good,” he concluded. BC

Comment

Father Joshua Rodrigue, S.T.L.

Can Saturday wedding count for Sunday obligation? I recently attended a wedding at 2 p.m. on a Saturday. I asked the priest if that Mass fulfilled my Sunday obligation, but he said it didn’t and that’s what the 4 p.m. vigil Mass is for. Is this a church law or is it something the priest made up? Like your situation, I often have celebrated Mass for a Saturday morning funeral or early afternoon wedding and was asked, “Father, this counts for tomorrow, right?” The phrasing of the question was hoping to elicit a, “Sure it does. Enjoy the day off tomorrow,” but instead was met from me with a, “Nope, it doesn’t. See you again tomorrow” and then a “well-you-can’tblame-a-guy-for-trying” look from the other. The question comes from regular church goers, relatives and friends, and those who did not even plan on coming to Mass but were sent as the messenger by a usual parishioner who was too embarrassed to ask. Before getting to specific times for the vigil Mass (The term vigil is usually reserved for those feasts where a different Mass is provided for the eve of the feast such as Christmas and Easter while Sunday Masses held on Saturday evening are really anticipatory Masses preceding the actual day), it may help to know how the church arrived at a vigil or anticipatory Mass on Saturday for Sunday and holydays. The church’s reasoning is based in ancient Jewish origins where the Jewish people

“

could not begin before sunset. Even though after sunset was the beginning of the vigil in the early Christian communities, the time of sunset can vary substantially between winter and summer and a community’s location, which is why a particular time of the day has most often been chosen, independently of whether or not the sun has set. Only the diocesan bishop can determine when the vigil or anticipated Mass for the Sunday obligation can take place. Canon Law allows each bishop to ascertain how early this can take place. In the United States, the bishops have specified that “evening” means no earlier than 4 p.m. However, various pastoral circumstances allow the bishop to permit earlier times (i.e., for hospitals, nursing homes, prisons,

Only the diocesan bishop can determine when the vigil or anticipated Mass for the Sunday obligation can take place. Canon Law allows each bishop to ascertain how early this can take place. In the United States, the bishops have specified that “evening” means no earlier than 4 p.m.

25, 1967, reminds pastors to explain that the faithful who attend the anticipatory Mass should not forget the importance of Sunday as being the actual commemoration of the day of the Lord’s Resurrection. The document explains the reason for the allowance, “The purpose of this concession is in fact to enable the Christians of today to celebrate more easily the day of the resurrection of the Lord” (No. 28). Thus, prior to the 1983 Code of Canon Law, the anticipatory Mass was considered to be an exception for serious reasons (i.e., people who had to work on Sundays) and was not originally intended for everyone and anyone. The 1983 Code of Canon Law now allows an extensive use of the anticipated or vigil Mass so that anyone can go either then or on Sunday or the holyday itself (Can. 1248 §1). Although the church allowed for an anticipatory Mass or vigil, nothing was said in the document about its time of celebration except that the Easter Vigil

“

Questions of Faith

calculated the day as beginning and ending at sundown rather than midnight, and so the celebration of the Sabbath began on Friday evening. Even today, the Jewish people continue the custom of having the Sabbath begin on Friday evening. Similarly, the Liturgy of the Hours (the official set of prayers of the church marking the hours of each day), prayed either alone or in community by priests, religious and many lay people, begins solemnities (i.e., All Saints Day) and Sundays at Vespers (Evening Prayer I) of the preceding evening. On this basis after Vatican Council II, the church introduced the possibility of celebrating both the Sunday Mass and those on holydays of obligation on the preceding evening. The document Eucharisticum Mysterium of May

or parishes a distance apart where the priest must travel), but the pastor himself does not have the authority to determine an earlier time being permissible. Even though the wedding you attended at 2:30 p.m. does not fulfill the Sunday Mass obligation, participating at a Saturday evening wedding with Mass after 4 p.m. would have counted. In the end, it is not so much about fulfilling an obligation as instead seeing the opportunity to encounter the grace, mercy and joy of the risen Lord in the eucharistic celebration. BC

Readers are encouraged to send their questions to our local Bayou Catholic columnists by email to bayoucatholic@htdiocese.org.

September 2018 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 13

Reflections

Psalms of lament: Ancient Israel sings the blues Readings Between The Lines Father Glenn LeCompte

The 1986 movie, Crossroads, is the story of a Julliard Performing Arts School classical guitar student’s (Eugene Martone) fascination with blues music. Having traveled to Mississippi with an elderly friend (Willie Brown) of the long-dead blues legend, Robert Johnson, to learn the blues and discover a missing song of Johnson’s, Eugene has two hurtful experiences. He loses a girl with whom he has developed a romantic interest and Willie admits that he lied to Eugene about the missing song only to convince Eugene to break him out of a minimum security penal hospital. As Eugene pours his pain out into a blues tune, he experiences the truth that Willie has quoted to him: “The blues ain’t nothing but a good man feeling bad.” Every one of us has experienced “the blues,” sadness, downheartedness. People deal with these often difficult feelings in a variety of ways, some constructive, some not. Venting blue feelings musically is not just a modern phenomenon; some of the psalmists of ancient Israel did this very thing in psalms of lament. Following-up on my general introduction to the psalms in last month’s article, in this article I intend to discuss the psalms of lament, one of two major categories of psalms in the Book of Psalms. Some psalms of lament reflect an individual’s experience of misfortune while others address adversity faced by the Israelite nation. Three parties are involved in psalms of lament: the plaintiff, the enemy, and God. The lament is generated because the one who complains in the psalm has

endured a change of life-experience from fortune to misfortune, especially when the misfortune has been caused by an enemy. The plaintiff, who perceives himself or herself as being favored by God wonders why God seems to have withdrawn his support. Behind this thinking is the belief that is expressed in Proverbs 12:7, “The wicked are overthrown and are no more, but the house of the righteous will stand.” Basically, the psalmist is complaining to God that it is not right that the enemy should have the upper hand on him or her. Part of a psalm of lament then is a complaint, directed toward God, which gives voice to suffering. Complaints in both individual and national laments can be related to persecution by an enemy. For individuals this could be one enemy or several. In the case of national laments, complaints are related to military attacks by another nation, often more powerful (Psalm 137). Other kinds of misfortune can occasion laments for both individuals and the nation as well. Individuals may cry out to God when faced by lifethreatening illnesses (Isaiah 38:10-20), and the nation might plead with God in times of natural disaster, famine or drought. Furthermore, the guilt of sin can occasion laments on the part

14 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • September 2018

of either an individual (Psalms 51 and 25) or the nation. The typical literary pattern or form of the individual psalm of lament reflects the spiritual and psychological steps one must go through in the process of returning to balance in one’s life. The usual pattern is as follows: 1) address to God with introductory cry for help, 2) the complaint in which the plaintiff, the enemy and God are mentioned, 3) confession of trust in God’s ability to help, 4) the petition, what the psalmist wants God to do, 4) an expression of confidence that God will listen, 5) a double wish that God will both rescue the plaintiff and put down the enemy, 6) a vow to praise God when the petition has been answered. The introductory address and cry for help reflect the reality of the psalmist’s situation: his or her life is “out of balance.” “Why?” most often introduces the cry. The lack of balance is reflected in the plaintiff’s current experience of torment or misery at the hands of the enemy, whom the plaintiff conceives as being in the wrong. God is just standing by and allowing this to happen! The plaintiff cannot make sense of this. Yet the plaintiff cries out to God, because he or she knows that God alone can rescue the plaintiff from this plight. Far from being

Reflections

an insult to God, the psalmist’s complaint reflects honesty, the reality of his or her feelings in the situation. Before mentioning the specific ways the psalmist wants God to help, he or she expresses confidence in God’s ability to help. Faith is necessary. After all, if you do not believe God can help, why ask in the first place? Following this expression of confidence, the psalmist articulates the specific ways he or she wants God to help. These last two steps reflect the fact that the psalmist is beginning to move through the healing process, from a situation of helplessness to finding the help that will bring harmony and peace back into the psalmist’s life. Once the petition has been voiced, the psalmist expresses confidence that God will listen, show favor once again to the psalmist and put an end to the enemy’s treachery. Finally, the psalmist vows to offer God praise once God has answered the psalmist’s

plea. In these final elements of the individual’s lament, we see the psalmist transcending his or her painful and unbalanced situation and looking toward the end of it and his or her restoration. All this hinges on the will of God. However, the psalmist, in faith, expresses confidence that God will act on his or her behalf. A classic example of an individual psalm of lament is Psalm 102. If you study carefully the elements of the individual lament that I have outlined above and consider the process they represent I think you will probably recall times when you felt “out of balance” in your life because of misfortune and confused about why God would allow you to endure such a situation. You have probably gone through the process that the form of the individual lament represents as you moved out of the discordant situation in which you found yourself and back into equilibrium. Psalms of lament are great reading when we have the blues.

They help us to express our feelings to God and to trust that the dissonance we sometimes experience in life does not last forever! BC

Reflection Questions v Have you ever used a psalm of lament to pray through difficult times? If so, how did this prayer practice help you? If not, read either Psalm 13 or 102 and speculate on how it could help. v How do you feel about expressing anger, disappointment or frustration to God? What was your experience of prayer when you have done so? v Review the six parts of the individual psalm of lament I described above. How do you experience these elements in the process of moving from pain to healing?

September 2018 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 15

Monday

ScriptureReadings Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

and a listing of Feast days and saints

Friday

Saturday

1 September

Weekday 1 Corinthians 1:2631 Matthew 25:14-30

Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8 James 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27 Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Memorial of Saint Gregory the Great, pope and doctor of the church 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 Luke 4:16-30

Weekday 1 Corinthians 2:10b-16 Luke 4:31-37

Weekday Weekday Weekday 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 1 Corinthians 3:18- 1 Corinthians 4:1-5 Luke 4:38-44 Luke 5:33-39 23 Luke 5:1-11

Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Micah 5:1-4a Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23

Weekday Weekday 1 Corinthians 5:1-8 1 Corinthians 6:1Luke 6:6-11 11 Luke 6:12-19

Weekday 1 Corinthians 7:2531 Luke 6:20-26

Memorial of Saint John Chrysostom, bishop and doctor of the church 1 Corinthians 8:1b7, 11-13 Luke 6:27-38

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross Numbers 21:4b-9 Philippians 2:6-11 John 3:13-17

Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows 1 Corinthians 10:14-22 John 19:25-27

Weekday 1 Corinthians 11:17-26, 33 Luke 7:1-10

Weekday Proverbs 3:27-34 Luke 8:16-18

1 October

Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, virgin and doctor of the church Job 1:6-22 Luke 9:46-50

Weekday 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 27-31a Luke 7:11-17

Weekday Proverbs 21:1-6, 10-13 Luke 8:19-21

Weekday 1 Corinthians 12:31—13:13 Luke 7:31-35

Memorial of Saints Andrew Kim Taegŏn, priest, and Paul Chŏng Ha-sang, and companions, martyrs 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 Luke 7:36-50

Feast of Saint Matthew, apostle and evangelist Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13 Matthew 9:9-13

Weekday 1 Corinthians 15:35-37, 42-49 Luke 8:4-15

Weekday Proverbs 30:5-9 Luke 9:1-6

Weekday Memorial of Saint Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 Vincent de Paul, Luke 9:18-22 priest Ecclesiastes 1:2-11 Luke 9:7-9

Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, archangels Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14 John 1:47-51

Weekday Memorial of the Job 9:1-12, 14-16 Holy Guardian Luke 9:57-62 Angels Job 3:1-3, 11-17, 20-23 Matthew 18:1-5, 10

16 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • September 2018

Memorial of Saint Francis of Assisi, religious Job 19:21-27 Luke 10:1-12

Weekday Job 38:1, 12-21; 40:3-5 Luke 10:13-16

Sunday

Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Isaiah 35:4-7a James 2:1-5 Mark 7:31-37

Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time Isaiah 50:5-9a James 2:14-18 Mark 8:27-35

Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Wisdom 2:12, 17-20 James 3:16—4:3 Mark 9:30-37

Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Numbers 11:25-29 James 5:1-6 Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48

September

Holy Father’s prayer intentions

Life is great ~

Get busy living.

Universal

Young People in Africa. That young people in Africa may have access to education and work in their own countries.

See www.apostleshipofprayer.org

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ADVANCEDEYEINSTITUTE.COM September 2018 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 17

Announcement

A statement from Bishop Shelton J. Fabre Bishop Shelton J. Fabre issued the following statement Aug. 9: Recent events regarding the response of leaders in the church to situations and allegations of sexual abuse and harassment of minors and adults by clergy have again caused great anguish, concern, anger and confusion amongst the faithful. For many, these events have reopened old wounds and broken hearts anew. I count myself among those who have dealt with such feelings over these past few weeks. Careful investigation, response and resolution are necessary. I am grateful for the most recent action of Pope Francis with regard to these matters. However, even with these actions, I realize that nothing can fully alleviate the pain of those who have suffered sexual abuse at the hands of those who lead or minister in the church. I join with many of my brother bishops of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) who have already stressed the need to do more to protect the people of God. I am certain that substantive steps towards this goal will be discussed during our General Assembly in November. I ask for your prayers that God will guide our discernment and actions in this regard. As bishops, we must respond with compassion and justice to anyone who has been sexually abused or harassed by anyone who ministers in the church, and I urge anyone who has experienced such abuse by anyone in the church to come forward. My dear people of God in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, as the one who serves you as bishop, I humbly ask for your prayers for all the bishops as we discern a further resolution to this painful and ugly chapter in the history of the church. I hope that your prayers, my prayers, and the actions of the bishops will bear fruit in ushering in a future in the church that is free from such moral failures, but even more importantly, a powerful conversion and reconciliation amongst all of God’s people. BC

Outreach Line In response to the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux is offering an Outreach Line (formerly known as the Child Protection Contact Line). The Outreach Line is an effort to continue the diocesan commitment to support healing for people who have been hurt or sexually abused recently or in the past by clergy, religious or other employees of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. The Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux Outreach Line operates from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. A trained mental health professional responds to the line. Individuals are offered additional assistance if requested.

The Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux Outreach Line Telephone number is (985) 873-0026 or (985) 850-3172

Línea de Comunicación Diocesana

Con el fin de cumplir con las Políticas de Protección de Niños y Jóvenes de la Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de Los Estados Unidos, la Diócesis de Houma-Thibodaux ofrece una Línea de Comunicación (antes Línea de Contacto para la Protección de los Niños). La Línea de Comunicación es parte del esfuerzo diocesano de comprometerse con el mejoramiento de aquéllos que han sido lastimados o abusados sexualmente recientemente o en el pasado por miembros del clero, religiosos u otros empleados de la Diócesis de Houma-Thibodaux. El horario de la Línea de Comunicación de la Diócesis de Houma-Thibodaux es de 8:30 a.m. a 4:30 p.m., de lunes a viernes. El encargado de esta línea es un profesional capacitado en salud mental. Se ofrece asistencia adicional al ser solicitada.

Línea de Comunicación de la Diócesis de Houma-Thibodaux Número de teléfono (985) 873-0026 o (985) 850-3172

Ñöôøng daây ñieän thoaïi Cöùu giuùp Giaùo phaän Ñeå höôûng öùng Hieán chöông Baûo veä Treû em vaø Giôùi treû töø Hoäi ñoàng Giaùm muïc Hoa kyø, Giaùo phaän Houma-Thibodaux ñang chuaån bò ñöôøng daây ñieän thoaïi Cöùu giuùp (luùc tröôùc laø ñöôøng daây lieân laïc baûo veä treû em). Ñöôøng daây ñieän thoaïi Cöùu giuùp laø moät söï coá gaéng cuûa giaùo phaän nhaèm cam keát haøn gaén naâng ñôõ nhöõng ai ñaõ bò toån thöông hoaëc bò laïm duïng tính duïc hoaëc gaàn ñaây hoaëc trong quaù khöù bôûi giaùo só, tu só hoaëc caùc coâng nhaân vieân cuûa Giaùo phaän Houma-Thibodaux. Ñöôøng daây ñieän thoaïi Cöùu giuùp Giaùo phaän hoaït ñoäng töø 8:30 saùng ñeán 4:30 chieàu, thöù hai ñeán thöù saùu. Moät nhaân vieân chuyeân nghieäp veà söùc khoûe taâm thaàn traû lôøi treân ñöôøng daây ñieän thoaïi. Nhöõng caù nhaân seõ ñöôïc trôï giuùp naâng ñôõ theâm neáu caàn.

18 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • September 2018

Ñöôøng daây ñieän thoaïi Cöùu giuùp Giaùo phaän Soá ñieän thoaïi: (985) 873-0026; (985) 850-3172

Seminarian Education Burses What is a seminarian burse fund? A seminarian burse fund is an invested sum of money where the interest is used in perpetuity to help fund the education of men to the priesthood in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux.

How does someone establish a seminarian burse fund? Very simply, a burse may be established and named for anyone you choose, be it family, friend, bishop, priest, deacon, religious, etc.

When is a seminarian burse complete? A seminarian burse fund is complete once it reaches $15,000. If you choose to continue to contribute, a new burse will be created for you.

Who do I contact to contribute to or establish a burse fund? To contribute to or establish a burse, send funds to the Pastoral Center, Attn: Seminarian Burse, P.O. Box 505, Schriever, LA 70395 or contact the Catholic Foundation office at 985-850-3116 or aponson@htdiocese.org for more information.

Completed Burses of $15,000 each Anonymous Mr. & Mrs. C. Thomas Bienvenu Harry Booker Bishop Warren L. Boudreaux (3)* Mr. Eledier Broussard Rev. Adrian J. Caillouet Rev. James Louis Caillouet Bishop L. Abel Caillouet Judge & Mrs. L.P. Caillouet Msgr. Lucien J. Caillouet Abdon J. & Ada B. Callais Harold & Gloria Callais Family Paul A. Callais Peter W. Callais Vincent & Fannie Cannata Minor Sr. & Lou Ella Cheramie

July 2018 Burse Contributions

Note: Numbers stipulate the amount of completed burses.*

Maude & Edith Daspit Mr. & Mrs. Caliste Duplantis family (3)* Clay Sr. & Evelida Duplantis C. Remie Duplantis Marie Elise Duplantis Warren J. Harang Jr. Msgr. Raphael C. Labit Msgr. Francis J. Legendre Rev. Charles Menard Dr. & Mrs. M.V. Marmande & Family Donald Peltier Sr. (3)* Harvey Peltier (30)* Richard Peltier The Peltier Foundation (5) Orleans & Louella Pitre Msgr. Joseph Wester

Robert R. Wright Jr. Rev. Kermit Trahan St. Bernadette Men’s Club Diocesan Knights of Columbus Leighton Delahaye Mrs. Shirley Conrad Bishop Shelton J. Fabre Elizabeth Hebert Callais Family Fund Rev. Joseph Tu Tran Society of St. Joseph Endowment Fund - $119,136.90 James J. Buquet Jr. Julius & Marie Pauline St. Amant Elie & Dot Klingman

Mr. & Mrs. George C. Fakier .............$200.00 Msgr. Raphael C. Labit No. 2 ...........$120.00 Catholic Daughters .................................$180.00 Msgr. William Koninkx .........................$200.00 Rev. Gerard Hayes ...................................$200.00

Open Burses with Balance as of July 31, 2018 Sidney J. & Lydie C. Duplantis ...............$13,000.00 Donald Peltier Sr. No. 4 ...........................$13,000.00 Joseph Strada Memorial .........................$12,642.63 Msgr. Raphael C. Labit No. 2 ................$11,440.00 Claude & Lucy Mahler Family ................$10,500.00 Harvey Peltier No. 31 ...............................$10,486.91 Mr. & Mrs. George C. Fakier ..................$10,400.00 Joseph Waitz Sr. .........................................$10,100.00 Clay Sr. & Evelida Duplantis No. 2 .......$10,000.00 C. Remie Duplantis No. 2 ........................$10,000.00 Marie Elise Duplantis No. 2 ....................$10,000.00 Maude & Edith Daspit No. 2 ..................$10,000.00 Msgr. George A. Landry ...........................$10,000.00 Society of St. Joseph ................................. $7,500.00 Msgr. William Koninkx ............................... $7,400.00 Rev. Victor Toth ............................................ $7,000.00 Catholic Daughters ..................................... $6,800.00 Brides of the Most Blessed Trinity ......... $6,598.00 Rev. Peter Nies .............................................. $6,000.00 Rev. Gerard Hayes ....................................... $5,986.00 Rev. Guy Zeringue ....................................... $5,900.00 Msgr. Francis Amedee ................................ $5,350.00 Mr. & Mrs. Love W. Pellegrin ................... $5,000.00 Anonymous No. 2 ........................................ $5,000.00 Mr. & Mrs. Caliste Duplantis Family No. 4 .....$5,000.00 Rev. William M. Fleming ............................ $5,000.00 Mrs. Ayres A. Champagne ........................ $5,000.00 Rev. Kasimir Chmielewski .......................... $4,839.00 Joseph “Jay” Fertitta ................................... $4,450.00

Rev. Henry Naquin ...................................... $4,311.00 Harry Booker No. 2 ..................................... $4,138.00 Msgr. James Songy ..................................... $4,075.00 Anawin Community .................................... $3,700.00 Kelly Curole Frazier ..................................... $3,610.96 Mr. & Mrs. John Marmande ..................... $3,500.00 J. R. Occhipinti .............................................. $3,400.00 Mr. & Mrs. Galip Jacobs ............................ $3,060.00 St. Jude ............................................................ $3,000.00 Diocesan Knights of Columbus No. 2 ... $2,894.62 Rev. Peter H. Brewerton ............................. $2,600.00 Warren J. Harang Jr. No. 2 ........................ $2,500.00 Preston & Gladys Webre ........................... $2,350.00 Willie & Emelda St. Pierre ......................... $2,000.00 Rev. John Gallen ........................................... $1,950.00 Rev. H.C. Paul Daigle .................................. $1,900.00 Deacon Connely Duplantis ....................... $1,700.00 Alfrances P. Martin ...................................... $1,650.00 Msgr. Francis J. Legendre No. 2 .............. $1,645.00 Rev. Robert J. Sevigny ................................ $1,600.00 Rev. Hubert C. Broussard .......................... $1,550.00 Judge Louis & Shirley R. Watkins ........... $1,550.00 Msgr. Emile J. Fossier ................................. $1,545.00 Ronnie Haydel .............................................. $1,535.00 Dr. William Barletta Sr. ............................... $1,525.00 Msgr. Stanislaus Manikowski ................... $1,525.00 Deacon Robert Dusse’ ............................... $1,450.00 Jacob Marcello .............................................. $1,400.00 Rev. Anthony Rousso ................................. $1,250.00

Msgr. John L. Newfield .............................. $1,200.00 Rev. Joseph Tu Tran No. 2 ........................ $1,094.00 Msgr. John G. Keller .................................... $1,050.00 Rev. Clemens Schneider ............................ $1,000.00 Bishop Warren L. Boudreaux No. 4 ....... $1,000.00 Edna W. DiSalvo .............................................. $900.00 Leo & Ethel Hebert ........................................ $862.83 Bernice Harang ................................................ $800.00 Deacon Willie Orgeron ................................. $800.00 Ruby Pierce ....................................................... $800.00 Deacon Roland Dufrene ............................... $750.00 Juliette & Eugene Wallace ........................... $700.00 Deacon Edward J. Blanchard ....................... $700.00 Deacon Raymond LeBouef .......................... $550.00 Mr. & Mrs. Anthony Cannata ...................... $500.00 Robert Walsh .................................................... $500.00 Dean Joseph Chiasson .................................. $500.00 Paul & Laura Duet ......................................... $500.00 Anne Veron Aguirre ....................................... $380.00 Deacon Harold Kurtz ..................................... $300.00 Richard Peltier No. 2 ...................................... $300.00 Claude Bergeron ............................................. $250.00 Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Naquin ............................ $150.00 Rev. Michael Finnegan .................................. $150.00 Deacon Pedro Pujals ...................................... $100.00 Rev. Warren Chassaniol ............................... $ 100.00 Deacon Eldon Frazier ......................................$ 50.00 Deacon Nick Messina ......................................$ 50.00

Overall Seminarian Burses Total: $1,712,980.85

** For a complete listing for all Seminarian burses, please visit our website www.htdiocese.org/seminarianburse September 2018 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 19

Ministry in Action

Adult faith education ministry thrives at St. Joseph Church in Chauvin Story by Janet Marcel Photo by Lawrence Chatagnier The adult faith education ministry at St. Joseph Church parish in Chauvin is going strong under the leadership of Anita Boudreaux, the parish’s coordinator for adult education who has been a parishioner there her entire life. The ministries that fall under the umbrella of adult education include the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), adult Bible classes and adult confirmation. Boudreaux says her RCIA team consists of eight very dedicated people who have all been involved in religious education for many years. “Although RCIA is an ongoing process, there is a class time. We all take turns teaching the classes. I make sure everyone has everything they need and I coordinate all the schedules. It is also my responsibility to find out what a person’s needs are as far as the sacraments, and sometimes I just have to talk to people to find out where they are and if this is really what God is guiding them to,” 20 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • September 2018

says Boudreaux, adding that everyone on the team is excited for the opportunity to share their faith with others. The adult Bible classes started several years ago. Boudreaux says they are very fortunate to have someone in their parish that is very knowledgeable and passionate about the faith and also has a gift for presenting the faith to others. Curtis Constrantiche, whom they’ve nicknamed the parish’s “local theologian,” is the speaker for the adult Bible classes. She says the parish offers a fall session and a spring session in which an average of about 40 people attend, and a brief summer session which this summer had about 50 people in attendance. Boudreaux says Constrantiche does teachings on various different topics and she feels that these classes really feed the adults who have a need to understand their faith better. Boudreaux adds that the fellowship the group shares is

Ministry In Action

just as important, if not more important than the actual class. “Almost everyone arrives at least 30 minutes before the class begins and we have food and drink, and just socialize. Afterwards people stay for another 30 minutes. It really is community at its best.” Boudreaux explains that the adult confirmation program is something entirely different from RCIA, and that’s the way it should be. In a lot of parishes, she says, when someone comes in who only needs to be confirmed, they’re automatically put into RCIA, but they really shouldn’t be. RCIA is supposed to be for someone who is coming from another faith or who has been baptized Catholic but who has never been catechized. “As I became more involved with RCIA and learned more about the ministry, I realized there was a need for a separate adult confirmation program,” says Boudreaux. “About three years ago while I was attending the annual diocesan RCIA workshop, the presenter talked about adult confirmation. So during one of the breaks, I pulled her aside and asked her about it. She explained how they implemented the program in her diocese and I asked her to send me the guidelines they used.” After receiving the guidelines, she sent them to Father Glenn LeCompte, diocesan director of the Office of Wor-

ship, and he made a few changes and modified them for use in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. In 2016, St. Joseph parish offered its first six-week class during Lent in which eight adults were confirmed. In 2017, eight more adults confirmed; this year four adults confirmed and five adults have already inquired about next year’s class. So, she says, thus far it has been very successful in their parish. Boudreaux, who is also a member of the parish implementation team for the diocesan strategic plan, says she is anxious to delve deeper into the nine step process because she feels like it will definitely help her in her role of parish adult education coordinator, and especially with RCIA. Another ministry that the parish offers every year is the Seder Meal. Boudreaux says the community loves it. “The parishioners really enjoy Constrantiche connecting the Jewish roots of our faith through the meal and Father Baby Kuruvilla (pastor of the parish since July 2017) explaining the Jewish traditions associated with the meal. “I truly enjoy being part of the adult education ministry; it has helped me to grow in my own faith. Every year it’s completely different; the process is different because everyone is at a different level in their faith development. It challenges you and keeps you on your toes! We all grow in the process,” says Boudreaux. BC

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September 2018 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 21

Heavenly Recipes

Jordy Rousse

Jordy Cooks his:

FAVORITE SPAGHETTI Story and Photos by Lawrence Chatagnier

This month’s heavenly recipe, shrimp spaghetti, comes from 32 year old South Lafourche native Jordy Rousse. Jordy, a parishioner of Our Lady of Prompt Succor Church in Golden Meadow, has been Grand Knight of KC Council 9000 for the past four years. His recipe, which he named Jordy’s best spaghetti, is served on Fridays during Lent at the Our Lady Helps Ministry. “I learned to cook from my grandfather Leroy Rousse. He cooked for many community events and was instrumental in the development of the Cut Off Youth Center. He passed away in 2008 and has been an inspiration to me for many years. I always looked up to him.” In 2014, Jordy suffered a severe back injury while working on a tug boat, which has made him unable to work in that capacity. “I have been devoting my time to charity work for the past couple of years. I have had multiple back surgeries. I am still in pain every day, but I am able to function,” he says. While he was recovering from surgery, Jordy suffered severe depression from the medication he was taking for pain. “I had to rely heavily on my faith during my time of depression. While I was in the hospital an 80 year old Navy veteran explained the full armor of God to me. It was after I understood what it meant to wear the armor of God that I began feeling better and overcame my depression.” Jordy feels there is a place for young adults and young people in today’s church. He would like to someday help plan church parish and community events for the youth of South Lafourche. “The church has to do something to bring in the younger people. Things are constantly changing and evolving. We must change with the times and welcome the younger people to the church.” BC 22 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • September 2018

Shrimp Spaghetti INGREDIENTS: 2 lbs. peeled shrimp 1 onion, chopped 1 bell pepper, chopped 1 whole garlic (small) 1 cup green onions 1 33.5 oz. jar tomato sauce 1 10.75 oz. jar of tomato purée 1 12 oz. jar of tomato paste 1 28 oz. mild Rotel tomatoes 1 pack cherry tomatoes 1/4 tbsp. black pepper 1 tbsp. salt 1 tbsp. garlic powder 1 pack onion soup mix 1/2 tbsp. Italian seasoning 1 tbsp. oregano Dash of creole seasoning 2-1/2 tbsp. brown sugar

DIRECTIONS: Copy Put a small amount of olive oil in bottom of pot. Brown chopped onion; add bell pepper as well as garlic, and sauté until soft. Pour in tomato sauce, purée, paste and Rotel. Add seasoning. Cook for two hours. Add the shrimp in the final 15 minutes and add the green onions when you remove from heat. Serve over noodles.

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www.ptcenter-la.com September 2018 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 23

Strategic Planning

We all have a mission

By Bishop Shelton J. Fabre This September every parish in our diocese will continue to implement various aspects of the strategic plan. Our diocesan strategic plan was promulgated on the date of the diocese’s 40th anniversary, June 5, 2017. Since then we have worked behind the scenes to renew, restore and reimagine the structures necessary to support parishes as they move forward. With a necessary foundation laid, our attention with strategic planning will shift this fall to the parish level. Over the coming months each parish will begin to hear more about strategic planning. It is my hope that using the gift of the Bayou Catholic magazine, my reflections contained in this article may lay a foundation for your understanding of what we are being called to do. I pray that, as you read this article, you are able to do so with a prayerful disposition. Much of what I am going to share with you has been shared before in other venues. In fact, during my Chrism Mass homily of 2016, I first shared my vision of what God was asking of us as a diocese. Let us begin to open our minds to what God is asking of us, by looking deep within. I have learned that nothing threatens the sacred more than familiarity. Families know this; married couples know this; clergy know this. When

LAWRENCE CHATAGNIER/BAYOU CATHOLIC

we become too familiar with someone, or something, we lose our awe, our wonder at being a part of their life. When we become too familiar, we cease beholding the other as they are and we begin seeing them solely through our own experience, our own expectations and our own categories. Family members can become too familiar with one another. When they do it is easy to hold on to the past rather than being present to each other in the current moment. Married couples can become too familiar with each other. When they do it is easy to take each other for granted. Clergy can become too familiar with “the call.” When they do, it is easy to forget the fervor they once had at ordination and eventually they

24 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • September 2018

become too comfortable. Yes, nothing threatens the sacred more than familiarity. Even the community of Jesus’ own town grew too familiar with Jesus. I recall the line in Luke 4:16: “Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had grown up.” The people of Nazareth were so familiar with the person of Jesus that they failed to see who he was and failed to fully understand what he said. Later in Luke chapter 4 Jesus said: “this Scripture passage is fulfilled in (their) hearing.” They missed the truth of the messenger and missed the importance of the message. I pray we never get too familiar with the sacred that we make the same mistake. I pray, at this particular

Strategic Planning

time in our diocese’s history, we do not miss the revelation of our mission. Jesus’ revelation of the mission, his mandate, is as relevant to us today as it was when he first announced it 2,000 years ago. We have a mission. We all have a mission. It is the mission of Jesus Christ. It is the mission of the Catholic Church. It is the mission for all the baptized. In his 2013 Apostolic Exhortation, The Joy of the Gospel, our Holy Father Pope Francis writes: “The bishop must always foster this missionary communion in his diocesan church … To do so, he will sometimes go before his people, pointing the way and keeping their hope vibrant” (Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel) no. 31). I am standing before you today in order to “point the way,” wanting to “keep our hope vibrant,” praying that we never get so familiar with the person of Jesus Christ that we miss his mandate; that we miss his revelation of the mission. Pope Francis continues: “Evangelization takes place in obedience to the missionary mandate of Jesus: ‘Go therefore and make disciples’” (Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel) no. 19). To make disciples: this is the mission. It is the mission of Jesus; it is a mission from Jesus. Yes, we have a mission. And, there’s a lot at stake with the mission. If we’re not careful, the church can grow so familiar with the mission we can cling to structures, doing things because we’ve always done them. If we’re not careful, the clergy can grow so familiar with the mission that we get too comfortable with routine and settle for what is. If we’re not careful, the baptized can grow so familiar with the mission that we forget that we even have one (Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel) nos. 2, 26, 27). Returning to Pope Francis’ Joy of the Gospel, he writes: “I am aware that nowadays documents do not arouse the same interest as in the past and that they are quickly forgotten. Nevertheless, I want to emphasize that what I am trying to express here has a programmatic significance and important consequences. I hope that all communities will devote the necessary effort to advancing along the path of

a pastoral and missionary conversion which cannot leave things as they presently are. ‘Mere administration’ can no longer be enough. Throughout the world, let us be ‘permanently in a state of mission’” (Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel) no. 25). Before speaking specifically about our role in the mission, I would like to paint an image of the mission on the canvas of what it means to be a missionary. After all, if the mission is to make disciples, the disciples themselves need a vision of who they are called to be before they can be clear on what they’re called to do. What does it mean to be a disciple? Or, as Pope Francis writes, what does it mean to be a missionary disciple? As I prayerfully reflect upon the writing of the Holy Father, I see three things clearly articulated in his vision of missionary discipleship: one: encounter; two: conversion; and, three: response. For us to understand what Pope Francis is calling us to we must embrace those three things: encounter, conversion and response. What is the mission? What does it mean to be a disciple? What kind of missionaries do we need for the mission? Perhaps we can best imagine a disciple as one who has encountered the person of Jesus Christ; has allowed Christ to reorient their life; and wants to respond to Christ with the totality of their life. Encounter. Again, in The Joy of the Gospel Pope Francis writes: “I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ” (Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel) no. 3). His predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI also referenced this as he wrote: “Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction” (Deus Caritas Est (God is Love) no. 1). A missionary disciple is one who has had an encounter with the person of Jesus Christ. That’s what Jesus did. He called. He called people to follow him, to get to know him. He called Peter to follow him, to get to know him, and before sending Peter on mission he asked him: “Do you love me?” This

encounter, the forming of a deeply personal relationship with Jesus Christ, is the heart of every missionary disciple and it is what propels the missionary on to share this love with others. This intimate relationship with Jesus Christ is what bears fruit in the missionary disciple’s life. The first step in becoming a disciple, in forming disciples, is encountering the person of Jesus Christ and developing a personal relationship with him. However, the hard work of discipleship isn’t starting a relationship as much as it is staying committed to the relationship. We need conversion. We have to choose to choose. Married couples understand this. The hard part of being a spouse isn’t the wedding, it’s the marriage. Clergy understand this. The hard part of being ordained isn’t giving your life to God but resisting the urge to take it back. A mature relationship with Christ requires that I learn to say “No” so that I can continue to say “Yes.” Disciples learn how to persevere through the refinement of conversion. Disciples learn how to “Repent, and believe in the Gospel” (Roman Missal, Distribution of Ashes on Ash Wednesday). Disciples learn how to “no longer live (and think) as the Gentiles do,” (Ephesians 4:17) shedding the standard of “the world” and thinking with the mind of Christ – and the church – so as live in the light. Encounter. Conversion. Response. Missionary disciples want God to guide their lives, they are open to being led. Disciples yield to the Holy Spirit. They do not go before Jesus and simply say “come bless this effort” but, they learn to first listen to him, to recognize the path that he points out, and then they respond in generosity of heart. Discernment – discerning the little things – becomes a new way of life such that the words of Jesus in some way become the words of the disciple: “I only do what I see the Father doing” (John 15:19). Of course, when I fall in love with God, I begin to see as God sees, I begin to want what God wants (Deus Caritas Est (God is Love) no. 18). Therefore, every mature disciple sheds the facades of individualism, relativism and consumerism and begins to see Christ in others. I

September 2018 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 25

Strategic Planning

LAWRENCE CHATAGNIER/BAYOU CATHOLIC

We all have a mission begin to see Christ in those I live with, in those I’m estranged from, and in the poor and marginalized. Love for Christ propels me out of myself and the disciple cannot help but share the Good News with others. Thus, evangelization is no longer seen as a program, or reserved for a few zealots. Rather evangelization is a response to a person and his church whom I love, and a person that I want the whole world to know. There is a mission: a mission to form disciples. It is a mission to help all people encounter the person of Jesus Christ, persevere in the process of true conversion, and respond to Christ however he calls. Each of us has a role in the mission, so now allow me to share a few words directly to three aspects of the mission. The mission has an impact on us all. I would like to once again share a few words, as in the past, with my brother priests. I again hearken back to the fact that nothing threatens the sacred more than familiarity. My brothers, there’s a lot at stake in the mission and

I urge us – as your bishop, I beg you – to recommit today to the mission. Each year, at the Chrism Mass, we recommit to promises made at our priesthood ordination. We do so because when we forget the importance of the questions, we struggle to live the reality of the answers. Therefore, let me remind us all of what we promised God, and his people, at both our diaconate and priestly ordinations: We were asked, “Are you resolved … to live with humility?” Humility is a posture; it’s a way of thinking. The enemy to humility is pride, control. And, so because the mission is so important, I ask both you and me: Who’s in charge of our lives? In reality, in our daily decisions, who’s in charge? We were asked “Are you resolved … to proclaim this faith in word and action?” Pope Paul VI reminds us: “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses” (Pope Paul VI, Address to the Members of the Consilium de Laicis

26 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • September 2018

(Oct. 2, 1974): AAS 66 (1974), p. 568). Are our lives living testimony of our homilies? Do our parishioners see in us what they hear from us? We were asked “Are you resolved … to maintain a spirit of prayer appropriate to your way of life?” The enemy of prayer is production. Do we pray … daily … not simply for the sake of preparing a homily, but the sake of a communion with Christ so personal that it animates and gives meaning to our celibacy? Are we still praying? At our diaconate ordination we were asked “Are you resolved … to shape your way of life always according to the example of Christ?” At our priesthood ordination we were asked “Are you resolved … to unite yourself more closely every day to Christ the High Priest?” The enemy of configuration is complacency. Do we see ourselves as in persona Christi capitis on our “day off” … when it’s “our” time … when we’re in private … is the totality of our life – every relationship, every motive, every decision resolved to be in accordance with Christ and Christ alone? We were asked “Are you resolved … to obedience?” The enemy of obedience is independence. Are we resolved to doing whatever God asks of us?

Strategic Planning

Do we struggle with any aspect of the church or her teaching? Is my first instinct to think “What do I think” rather than “What does Christ teach?” Each of these questions begins with “Are you resolved?” My brother priests, today the church asks you are you resolved … to the mission? Are you resolved to your own personal encounter, your own on-going conversion, and your own unbridled response? I would like to share a few words with our laity. Returning to Joy of the Gospel, Pope Francis writes: “The parish is not an outdated institution; precisely because it possesses great flexibility, it can assume quite different contours depending on the openness and missionary creativity.

While certainly not the only institution which evangelizes, if the parish proves capable of self-renewal and constant adaptivity, it continues to be ‘the church living in the midst of the homes of her sons and daughters’” (Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel) no. 28). The mission of forming disciples happens in the parish. Our parishes are schools of evangelization. The Holy Father continues: “All the baptized, whatever their position in the church or their level of instruction in the faith, are agents of evangelization, and it would be insufficient to envisage a plan of evangelization to be carried out by professionals while the rest of the faithful would simply be passive recipients. The new evangelization calls for personal involvement on

LAWRENCE CHATAGNIER/BAYOU CATHOLIC

the part of each of the baptized. Every Christian is challenged, here and now, to be actively engaged in evangelization ... . Every Christian is a missionary to the extent that he or she has encountered the love of God in Christ Jesus: we no longer say that we are ‘disciples’ and ‘missionaries,’ but rather that we are always ‘missionary disciples’” (Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel) no. 120). Jesus Christ has given the church a mission and that requires all of us to be a part of the mission. Just as I implored the priests to recommit to their promises, I now ask all of us – all of our parishes – to commit to the mission of making disciples. To our parishioners I ask: Are you resolved to the mission of assisting other parishioners with their personal encounter, committing to their ongoing conversion, and nurturing their free response? Finally, I address our diocesan leadership. The Holy Father continues: “To make this missionary impulse ever more focused, generous and fruitful, I encourage each particular church to undertake a resolute process of discernment, purification and reform. … Pastoral ministry in a missionary key seeks to abandon the complacent attitude that says: ‘We have always done it this way.’ I invite everyone to be bold and creative in this task of rethinking the goals, structures, style and methods of evangelization” (Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel) no. 30). I would like to thank the hundreds of men and women who daily give themselves so generously to the work of the diocese. I cannot do this without you. As you receive my gratitude, let us recommit today to the mission, to the person of Jesus Christ, and whatever Jesus may ask of us. To our diocesan staff I ask: Are we ready for the “discernment, purification and reform” that our Holy Father asks? Are we resolved to a corporate encounter, an institutional conversion, and a diocesan response? As our diocese moves forward with strategic planning and parish-based renewal may the mission that is of Jesus, and from Jesus, be a mission that propels us all forward. BC

September 2018 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 27

Youth

in action

Sarah Hodson School: Central Lafourche High School, Mathews Grade: 11th Church Parish: St. Hilary of Poitiers, Mathews Family: Deanna (mother), David (father), Gabrielle and Sophia (sisters) Favorite Hobby: Playing golf, spending time with family and friends Favorite Movie: Moana Favorite T.V. Show: Little Big Shots or Family Feud Favorite Genre of Music: Old Pop

What role does connecting with others play in your faith life? Every day of my life, I connect with my family, friends, and other people around me. Not only is it important for me to connect to others in my physical life, but it is important to connect with them in my spiritual life, also. To me, it is important to connect with others, especially my friends.

In today’s world, it’s very easy to be connected to all the wrong things and all the wrong people. For the past few years, I have grown in my faith and I have also grown in relationships with friends I met at Catholic youth retreats, such as Steubenville and CLI. One thing I’ve found is that being at those retreats are so awesome when

28 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • September 2018

you are surrounded by so many people who believe all the same things you do, but the challenging part is going home and being surrounded by people who don’t believe the same things at all. The reason I believe staying connected is so important is because you should stay connected with those people that have the same faith as you. BC

2019 Please support our local March for Life Pilgrimage A special collection will be held on October 6-7, 2018

Church Life

St. Luke Church continues its community outreach through the Back to School Bash Story by Janet Marcel ~ Photos by Lawrence Chatagnier The God’s Workmanship Ministry of St. Luke the Evangelist Church parish in Thibodaux recently held its fourth annual Back to School Bash for the children of the community. The purpose of the Back to School Bash, says Jené Robinson, chair of the ministry, is to help many families to meet not only their essential needs for school, but to help them work toward a brighter future for their education. “The day is filled with numerous activities, guest speakers for the youth and their parents, a plethora of information given out by local organizations, door prizes, lunch, the uniforms giveaway, and most importantly the school supply giveaway. The supply giveaway consists of mesh book-bags, notebooks, pencils, ink pens, folders, crayons, markers, pencil colors, calculators, and so much more,” says Robinson. The local Black Nurses Organization administered blood pressure checks and diabetes checks for children, as well as the adults in attendance. They also talked about the importance of a healthy meal, and the effects of bullying – mentally, physically and spiritually. The local school district’s coordinators of different programs have also made presentations. There was also a barber on site that provided free haircuts. 30 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • September 2018

Others who were involved in the event were the Wrecking Crew Association, guest speaker Randi Brown, Pastor Pamela & Michael Naverre of Vision World Outreach, Colby Haughton, Ryan Reed of Fresh Starts Barber Shop, Karen Authement of Kona Ice, Shaq Event Rentals, the Ladies of St. Peter Claver, and parishioners of St. Luke Church. There are usually 200-300 people who attend the event. In the first year, the ministry serviced 150 students. In the last two years it increased to almost 200 students. This year 215 students were serviced. Robinson says this event is not just for the parishioners of St. Luke, but it is open to the community. “We are a ministry that believes in community outreach. St. Luke Church is not in the richest part of the city. Many of the families and individuals in our community are needy and go without proper food, shelter, and essential medical care every day due to a variety of factors including low wages, job loss, injuries, illness, age, domestic violence or divorce. While all of us are susceptible to hard times, children and the elderly are most at risk. Through this outreach endeavor, we have turned our focus to the youth through the Back to School Bash, and to the elderly through the Raymond Ellis’ Senior Citizen Luncheon which takes place the day before Thanksgiving. BC

Church Life

Over 200 students from the St. Luke community received school supplies and took part in the Back to School Bash at the St. Luke Community Center recently. Msgr. Cletus (Frank) Egbi, administrator of St. Luke Church parish, chats with youth of the community in photo at right. In addition to inspirational speakers, the local Black Nurses Organization provided free blood pressure and diabetes checks, and free haircuts were given to those in attendance.

September 2018 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 31

Book Reviews

The Cabin at the End of the World

Reading with Raymond

By Paul Tremblay William Morrow $26.99 Seven-year-old Wen is frightened by a strange man as sheplays in the front yard of her family’s rented cabin. The man soon wins her trust with his smile and funny stories. Moments later, however, three other strangers appear carrying homemade weapons and demanding entrance to the cabin so they can talk to her parents. Saying they are there to save the world from the apocalypse the strangers force their way in and incapacitate the adults. Wen and her parents are left with no way out and fear the worse as the intruders become more and more menacing. BC

Raymond Saadi

The Banker’s Wife The President is Missing By Bill Clinton & James Patterson Knopf $30 The story is narrated by President Jonathan Lincoln Duncan (in a voice reminiscent of an actual president of a few years ago.) Readers will learn a lot about the workings of a president’s day-to-day routine of appointments, meetings, phone calls and exceptionally this day, planning a defense against a possible impeachment. Except for that, matters move along in a business-like manner until author Patterson takes over and everything suddenly explodes in bullets and bombs. A perfect summer read for the beach or armchair. BC

By Cristina Alger Putnam $27 Two women, their stories told in tandem, uncover an unexpected relationship as the men in their lives meet death in unexplained ways. Annabel, the doctor’s wife, is convinced her husband’s death in an airplane crash was no accident and sets out to prove it. Meanwhile, Marina, society journalist for a magazine, accepts one last assignment from her boss and mentor who then is suddenly murdered. As their stories, seemingly unrelated, begin to reveal sinister motives of perfidious and powerful enemies, both women find themselves in imminent danger. BC

Mark to Murder Death in Budapest By Moris Senegor Trade Paper $20 When Dr. Mark Kent, a famed San Francisco radiologist, receives an urgent message from his high school friend, Ahmet in Budapest, he rushes to meet him. Upon arriving, Mark hurries to Ahmet’s room where he finds him dead, murdered. Mark is instantly suspect and now in danger, both from the police and a gang of cutthroat killers who chase him down dark alleys and narrow streets. Senegor, a neurosurgeon by day, promises more about Dr. Kent. BC

Voices from Louisiana By Ann Brewster Dobie LSU Press $19.95 Is there something you’d like to know about contemporary Louisiana authors, both already famous and some upcoming? Then sing the praises of Ms. Dobie who profiles writers James Lee Burke, Ernest Gaines, Tim Gautreaux, and William Joyce, as well as seven more already famous and another seven up and coming authors who include two already well known to our readers: Wiley Cash, and former New Iberia judge Anne L. Simon. Not all these writers were born here but their connections to, and affection for, our state, bestow “honorary citizenship” upon them all. BC 32 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • September 2018

Commentary

Advice for students Thoughts for Millennials Ryan Abboud

As we settle into the school year, a lot of things begin to change for students. For many of us, the enthusiasm to wake up in the mornings may be fleeting, our classes begin to get a little more difficult, and many of us are counting down the days until our next break from classes. This stage of the school year is inevitable. Eventually the “back to school” excitement will wither. Now that we begin to look ahead at the school year without those “rose-colored glasses” of excitement, we can focus on some truths about high school and college. Keep in mind that everyone’s high school and college experiences are all completely different, but these tips and truths are just some general lessons that I’ve learned throughout my experience in school. First and foremost, the most important advice I could ever give a student is that you have to stay true to yourself. No matter if you’re entering high school, starting senior year,

entering college, or preparing to face the real world; you must always be yourself. This time of your life is not a time to “follow the crowd.” It is not a time to conform to impress others, nor is it a time to act a certain way that will stunt the growth of who you are meant to be. During this time of your life, you must learn to grow into who you are as a person, a time to find out who God created you to be. It is a beautiful time that will be very influential to your future and who you are as a person. It’s impossible to grow into your true self and find out who you’re meant to be if you’re attempting to be someone else. It’s a recipe for disaster. I invite you to skip out on many future instances of confusion, disappointment, and heartbreak that come along with being someone you’re not. I invite you to take a chance. I can promise you that it won’t be easy, but I can tell you that it is completely worth it. So often, students (especially high school students) alter who they are in order to gain friends or jump the ranks of popularity. Truthfully, popularity is not found through the fraudulent lifestyle that seems to be required. True friendship is found through being a bona fide portrayal of you, truly and entirely. The world, especially in today’s age, is on a perpetual search for authenticity. Whether we know it or not, we all want something that’s real. We, as people, value validity over content, which

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makes staying true to yourself one of the best things you’ll ever do. I’ve found that the easiest way to honor and embrace yourself through schooling is by surrounding yourself with the right crowd. It is critical to keep the company of those that will help to build you up as a person rather than tear you down. Today’s world contains a plethora of examples of good people that “slept with the dogs” and got “fleas.” Now please understand that finding the right friend group will take prayer, time, and trial and error. It will take many instances of finding friends that aren’t helping you grow, but I invite you to never be too scared to branch out to meet new friends when you know that your company isn’t good for your soul. All in all, the truth of the matter is that after you walk across that stage at graduation, you won’t see many of your fellow classmates on a regular (or even a semi-regular basis) again. You must realize that time goes on; people will move away, things will not be the same. With that realization, it’s so easy to see why it makes no sense to spend multiple years of your life attempting to be someone you’re not just to please these classmates. Just know that no matter where you are in your life, it is always best to be true to you. (Ryan Abboud is a 2015 graduate of Vandebilt Catholic High School in Houma and a senior at LSU in Baton Rouge.) BC

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September 2018 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 33

Special

Guest Columnist

What’s love got to do with it?

Agnes Bitature

Many computer driven gadgets like cell phones, laptops, PCs, iPads, etc., have an operating system (iOS, Android, Windows, etc.), without which they would not be able to function. I remember the days of “DOS” and “command prompt” - a long way, we have come. Likewise, we can say every human person has an operating system and this system needs continual updating and rebooting. This system is called “LOVE version 7.7.” This follows from the fact that we were created by love for love. The Catechism teaches that, “God is love and in himself he lives a mystery of personal loving communion. Creating the human race in his own image ... God inscribed in the humanity of man and woman the vocation, and thus the capacity and responsibility, of love and communion.” As Catholics we can update our operating system with help in three main ways - attentiveness to Scripture, reception of the sacraments and participation in the social mission of the church. Pope Benedict XVI wrote in Deus Caritas Est: “The church’s deepest nature is expressed in her three-fold responsibility: of proclaiming the word of God (kerygma-martyria), celebrating the sacraments (leitourgia), and exercising the ministry of charity (diakonia). These duties presuppose each other and are inseparable. For the church, charity is not a kind of welfare activity which could equally well be left to others, but is a part of her nature, an indispensable expression of her very being.” Talking about the service of charity, he said, “the entire activity of the church is an expression of a love that seeks the integral good of man: it seeks his evangelization through word and sacrament … and it seeks to promote man in the various arenas of life and human activity.

Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux Love is therefore the service that the church carries out in order to attend constantly to man’s sufferings and his needs, including material needs.” Catholic Charities receives its mandate from this social mission of the church and is committed to providing compassionate service and empowering people in need through faithfulness to the Gospel. Its social programs enhance the dignity of each person, promote Catholic Social Teaching, advocate for those whose voice is not heard, organize people who feel powerless to improve their lives, and join with church parishes and all people of good will to establish a more just and charitable society. It is a call of faith lived out in love. We are called to be imitators of Jesus - who left us an example of what love really is. We have a vocation that gives us purpose and dignity. Christ dwells in us and calls us to share him with others, as witnesses to the Gospel. Love has everything to do with being human and living a fulfilled life of joy and peace in the Lord. Love is doable and we are able to practice it because we are created in the image of God who is love. God’s love in us propels us to give of ourselves, our time, treasure and talent in service to our neighbors and in this way we encounter God and our authentic selves. But what is this love? Love is to consistently will and choose the good of the other, according to St. Thomas Aquinas. “Love is now no longer a mere “command”; it is the response to the gift of love with which

34 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • September 2018

God draws near to us.” In the gift of baptism we get our ability to love from God who is love, who dwells within us and calls us to communion with himself. In Christ, we are sharers of the divine nature. Recall in our Catechism it says that we advance toward the perfection of charity as the divine life we have received by baptism increases in us, is strengthened by confirmation, and nourished by the Eucharist. Parish Social Ministry outreach offers practical ways of living out our faith. It is faith in action - living out the invitation and gift of love and being true to our nature as lovers. Parish Social Ministry is an organized effort of the entire parish to serve those in need, to advocate for justice, and to work at changing societal structures that perpetuate injustices. St. Paul reminds us that all we do is nothing if we do not have love as the source and end. “Practical activity will always be insufficient, unless it visibly expresses a love for man, a love nourished by an encounter with Christ. My deep personal sharing in the needs and sufferings of others becomes a sharing of my very self with them: if my gift is not to prove a source of humiliation, I must give to others not only something that is my own, but my very self; I must be personally present in my gift” says Pope Benedict XVI. My favorite St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta sayings include; “God has not called me to be successful. He has called me to be faithful” and “Not

Special

all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” These are key ideas for Parish Social Ministry outreach because sometimes we feel overwhelmed with the number of different tasks we have to do to take care of ourselves, our families and life. Knowing that love is the measure (quality rather than quantity of actions) can be comforting and motivating. Seek first the Kingdom of God; seek first to do the Father’s will, seek first perfection in love and let love lead you out of yourself into the service of others. Let us pray with Blessed Henry Newman, “God has created me to do him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission—I never may know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. Somehow I am necessary for His purposes, as necessary in my place as an archangel in his … . I am a link in a chain … . I shall do good; I shall do His work … while not intending it, if I do but keep His commandments and serve Him in my calling … I will trust Him. ... If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him; … my perplexity may serve Him ... my sorrow may serve Him ... He may prolong my life, He may shorten it; He knows what He is about.” Love has everything to do with it! Please contact your church parish or Catholic Charities to get involved in Parish Social Ministry outreach. It is in giving of yourself that you will encounter the One whom your heart is restless for! (Agnes Bitature is the associate director of Parish Social Ministry for Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux.) BC

God • is •

love

Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux 1220 Aycock St. ~ Houma, LA 70360 Assisi Bridge House: 872-5529 ~ Catholic Community Center: 632-6859 St. Lucy Child Development Center: 876-1246 Call 876-0490: A Catholic Voice for Justice ~ Adoptions & Maternity Assistance Bread or Stones Campaign ~ Catholic Campaign for Human Development Catholic Housing Services ~ Catholic Relief Services Coastal Entrepreneurs Net to Success ~ Foster Grandparent Program Good Samaritan Food Banks ~ Individual & Family Assistance Matthew 25 Disaster Services ~ Parish Social Ministry ~ Project Self Help Please consider a donation to our Catholic Charities Endowment which provides funding, in perpetuity, for the charitable works of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux

Phone (985) 876-0490 ~ Fax (985) 876-7751 www.htdiocese.org/catholic-charities rgorman@htdiocese.org September 2018 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 35

Parish Social Ministry outreach questions: Are we walking the walk or just talking the talk? Anchoring Social Ministry: Prayer and Worship

1. During the liturgy, in what ways is the gospel’s call to build peace, work for justice, and care for the poor regularly reflected in the general intercessions, in homilies, in our celebrations of special feast days and holidays, and at other appropriate times? 2. How do our sacramental celebrations help us renew our commitment to reconciliation throughout our lives and rededicate ourselves to Jesus’ message of love and justice, especially for those in need? 3. In what ways are our social ministry efforts clearly rooted in Scripture and spirituality, and connected to liturgy and prayer?

Sharing the Message: Preaching and Formation

1. How effectively does preaching at our parish reflect the social dimensions of our faith? 2. In what ways is our rich heritage of Catholic social teaching integrated into our religious education program? our school? our sacramental preparation program? our Christian initiation ministry? our ongoing religious formation and enrichment for adults?

Supporting the “Salt of the Earth”: Family, Work, Citizenship

1. Sustaining Christian marriage and shaping family life around gospel values can be difficult in our culture. What concrete and practical support does our parish offer? 2. An important opportunity for living our faith is through our work, in everyday decisions and actions, in the way we treat coworkers and customers. How does our parish support our members in practicing Christian values in the workplace?

Serving the “Least of These’: Outreach and Charity

1. In what ways is our parish serving those in need and how do parishioners become aware of these opportunities for service and action? 2. Are people who are poor, vulnerable or needy a part of our PSM Outreach planning and action?

Advocating for Justice: Legislative Action

1. How does our parish help parishioners become better informed on public policy issues that impact the poor and vulnerable? 2. What opportunities does our parish provide for parishioners to speak and act effectively in the public arena on behalf of people who are poor and vulnerable, to bring our values to debates about local, national, and international policies and priorities? Are we a member of A Catholic Voice for Justice network through Catholic Charities?

Creating Community: Organizing for Justice

1. What community organizations exist in our local community or diocese? 2. How is our parish participating in or supporting local, state or national community organizations working for justice (e.g. Bread or Stones Covenant Congregation, Catholic Campaign for Human Development, BISCO, Catholic Climate Coalition, Matthew 25 Disaster Ministry)?

Building Solidarity: Beyond Parish Boundaries 1. 2.

In what ways does our parish provide to our members information about the needs of our brothers and sisters, especially the poor and vulnerable, in other lands? What opportunities does our parish offer us to act in solidarity on international issues (e.g. Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Haiti Mission, Inc, CRS Ethical Trade Craft Sales, CRS Rice Bowl)?

Integration into Parish Life 1. 2. 3.

Do we have a PSM Outreach committee that reports regularly to the pastor, council and the parish? Are parishioners regularly invited to join in PSM Outreach activities or events? Do we have an ongoing action plan to recruit new leaders and volunteers?

Adapted from Communities of Salt and Light: Reflections on the Social Mission of the Parish, 1994, United States Catholic Conference, Inc., Washington, D.C. Call Catholic Charities at (985) 876-0490 for assistance.

Parish Social Ministry outreach ideas: Ways you can get involved! Anchoring Social Ministry: Prayer and Worship    

Universal Prayers include current social justice issues in addition to charity concerns Participate in ecumenical prayer services e.g. the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Justice prayer books are available to parishioners Parish emphasizes a ministry of hospitality every weekend at church

Sharing the Message: Preaching and Formation    

Explicit references to Catholic social teaching in homilies Catholic Social Teaching is included in RCIA, CCD, Confirmation classes Parish holds a Catholic Social Teaching presentation during the year Parish distributes CRS Rice Bowls

Supporting the “Salt of the Earth”: Family, Work, Citizenship

 Parenting classes, family date night, pro-life events  Lenten gumbos or other meals to raise money for local/parish food bank, thrift store, St. Vincent de Paul or other charity and food/clothing drives  Join Catholic Charities’ Bridging the Bayous TimeBank

Serving the “Least of These’: Outreach and Charity     

Start or expand individual and family assistance ministry for families in crisis Handy helpers, Heaven’s Handymen, home repairs ministry Matthew 25 Disaster Preparedness and Response Ministry Prison ministry volunteers Outreach to homebound/hospitalized/nursing homes

Advocating for Justice: Legislative Action

 A Catholic Voice for Justice legislative network  Offering of letters or postcard campaign on justice or life issue  Right to life group & participate in annual March for Life in Baton Rouge or Washington

Creating Community: Organizing for Justice     

Join Bayou Interfaith Shared Community Organizing (BISCO) Parish Social Ministry Committee Bread or Stones Campaign Covenant Congregation for child well-being Sign up for Catholic Climate Covenant St. Francis Pledge to Protect Creation and the Poor Way of the Cross for Social Justice

Building Solidarity: Beyond Parish Boundaries

 Participate in CRS Rice Bowl and host CRS Ethical Trade Craft sale  Multicultural Mass  Parish twins with overseas community  Active mission outreach and mission trips

Integration into Parish Life • • • •

Form a PSM Outreach committee that reports regularly to the pastor, council and the parish Invite parishioners to lead or join PSM Outreach activities or events Publicize events and activities in parish social media, bulletins, announcements, Bayou Catholic Allocate a parish budget for PSM Outreach

Advertisers Spotlight

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Pain Practice by the World Institute of Pain 2007, and by the American Board of Anesthesiology 1995, American Board of Interventional Pain Physicians 2007, American Academy of Pain Management 2002, and the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians 2002. Dr. Haydel, who comes from a family of physicians, says his influences to become a doctor started when he was a young child with his grandfather, Dr. Henry Lawrence Haydel, whose five sons all followed their father’s footsteps into the medical field. He recalls going to visit his grandfather as a child and there being a multitude of patients waiting to be treated by him at his garage. “In addition to seeing patients at his clinic, he would treat people who didn’t have insurance or the means to pay him in his garage, and they would wait in line for hours to see

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him. And almost every single time we visited him, he would tell us, ‘you’re gonna be a doctor like your paw paw.’” All three of his brothers are physicians, and four of his five sisters are nurses. Once while the family was gathered around the dinner table, Dr. Haydel says his father Dr. Gerald Haydel Sr., who is still practicing medicine at the age of 85, looked at them all and said, ‘boys, doctors don’t retire.’” Dr. Haydel says operating a successful business is based on one simple principle, “Jesus said “love your neighbor as yourself,’ and I am blessed to have a profession devoted to helping people. My practice is geared toward reducing pain and increasing the quality of life of my patients. We have a motto in our clinic … and all the staff knows it; we refer to it as ‘your momma rule.’ It is ‘treat everyone, your co-workers and your patients, as if they were your mother.’” The motto is a take on the Golden Rule, which Dr. Haydel says has no boundaries. “It matters across the board, in every aspect of our lives. It matters on a patient level, a co-worker level, a family level, a friendship level.” Every day, more than 115 people in the United States die after overdosing on opioids. The misuse of and addiction to opioids … is a serious national crisis (Opioid Overdose Crisis, National Institute on Drug Abuse, March 2018). “Our primary focus at the clinic is to try to minimize pain through interventional techniques,” says Dr. Haydel. “We

do recognize that opioids are a problem, but they are also one of the most effective pain relievers on the market. So in essence, an opioid is a double edged sword; it can be very good for some patients and very bad for others. Because of this, we try to minimize its use. We offer healing and a quality of life without the risk of becoming addicted to painkillers. Our services fall somewhere between the physical therapy aspect and the surgical aspect. There is no one treatment that works for everyone and we always encourage the least invasive treatment.” The most common ailment that is treated at the clinic is spine related pain, which Dr. Haydel says accounts for 95 percent of his patients. The other providers at Haydel Spine Pain & Wellness are Michael P. Charlet, M.D., FAAN; Daniel Clayton, PA-C; Donovan J. Matherne, FNP-C; and Brandi B. Degruise, FNP-C. Some of the services and procedures Haydel Spine Pain & Wellness Center offers include behavioral science, celiac plexus block, cervical epidural steroid injection, intercostal nerve blocks, lumbar sympathetic block, occipital nerve blocks, pharmacologic management, soft tissue therapy, spinal cord stimulator implant, trigger point injections. For a complete list of the services and procedures provided, visit www.painspecialty.net. BC

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September 2018 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 39

Diocesan Events

www.bayoucatholic.com

September

n C.E.N.T.S. will be offering the Small Business course beginning in September through Catholic Charities Diocese of HoumaThibodaux. This course is designed to help people who are interested in starting a small business. It will be held one evening a week for six weeks. A different business topic will be discussed each week. The fee to enroll in this course is $20. Anyone interested in participating should call Paula Ringo at (985) 876-0490 to register. n Holy Hour of Adoration for Men, Sunday, September 2, 7-8 p.m., Cathedral of St. Francis de Sales, Houma. n Stewardship Workshop, Sept. 6, Noon-2 p.m., Pastoral Center, Schriever.

October

n Food for the Journey, Tuesday, October 2, Ellendale Country Club Restaurant, 3319 Highway 311, Houma, 10:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. n Catholic Foundation of South Louisiana Inaugural Dinner, Thursday, Oct. 4, Thibodaux Regional Wellness Center, Thibodaux, cocktails, 6 p.m., dinner, 7 p.m. n Holy Hour of Adoration for Men, Sunday, October 7, 7-8 p.m., Cathedral of St. Francis de Sales, Houma. n On October 7, Respect Life Sunday, Bishop Shelton J. Fabre will celebrate Mass at St. Joseph Co-Cathedral in Thibodaux, at 11:30 a.m. n The annual diocesan Red Mass, will be celebrated Tuesday, Oct. 9, at St. Joseph Co-Cathedral in Thibodaux, at 11:30 a.m., by Bishop Shelton J. Fabre. n Annual Bishop’s Appeal Orientation, Oct. 11, 9-10 a.m. and 3-4 p.m., Pastoral Center, Schriever. n White Mass, Oct. 13-14 or Oct. 20-21, celebrated in individual diocesan church parishes.

November

n Holy Hour of Adoration for Men, Sunday, November 4, 7-8 p.m., Cathedral of St. Francis de Sales, Houma. n Food for the Journey, Tuesday, November 6, Ellendale Country Club Restaurant, 3319 Highway 311, Houma, 10:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. n St. Martin de Porres Mass for African-American Catholics,

n Stewardship Workshop, Sept. 6, 6:30-8:30 p.m., St. Hilary of Poitiers, Mathews. n Stewardship Workshop, Sept. 7, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Holy Cross, Morgan City. n Food for the Journey, Tuesday, September 11, Ellendale Country Club Restaurant, 3319 Highway 311, Houma, 10:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. n #iGiveCatholic Training for all Ministries, Thursday, Sept. 20, Pastoral Center, Schriever, 9-10 a.m. and 3-4 p.m. n The annual diocesan Blue Mass will be celebrated Thursday, Sept. 27, at St. Joseph Co-Cathedral in Thibodaux, at 11 a.m., by Bishop Shelton J. Fabre.

n Mass will be celebrated on the feast day of St. Luke the Evangelist, Thursday, Oct. 18, at 7 p.m., at St. Luke Church in Thibodaux. n St. Luke the Evangelist Catholic Church in Thibodaux will host its Annual Fall Banquet, Saturday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m. in the church community center. Silent Auction begins at 6:30 p.m. n St. Luke the Evangelist Family Day, Sunday, Oct. 21, after the 10:30 a.m. Mass, in Thibodaux. n Diocesan wedding anniversary prayer service and celebration, Sunday, Oct. 21, 2 p.m., St. Joseph Co-Cathedral in Thibodaux, for couples celebrating 25, 40, 50, 60 and beyond years of marriage this year. A reception will follow in the St. Joseph Life Center. n World Mission Sunday, Oct. 21, joins all Catholics of the world into one community of faith providing an opportunity to support the life-giving presence of the church among the poor and marginalized in more than 1,111 mission dioceses. Please be generous.

Thursday, Nov. 8, 7 p.m., St. Luke the Evangelist Church, Thibodaux, celebrated by Bishop Shelton J. Fabre. n American Indian Mass of Thanksgiving, Friday, Nov. 16, 6:30 p.m., St. Charles Borromeo Church, Pointe-aux-Chenes, celebrated by Bishop Emeritus Sam G. Jacobs.

Advertise in the Bayou Catholic and help spread the Good News. Call (985)850-3132 for more info. 40 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • September 2018

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Feature

Father Van Constant, priest, chaplain, defender of the faith, celebrates 25 years of priestly ministry Story by Janet Marcel Photo by Lawrence Chatagnier Father Van Constant, priest in charge of the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament in Gibson, recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood on June 12, 1993. The Kraemer native attended St. Joseph Catholic Elementary School, graduated from E.D. White Catholic High School in Thibodaux in 1981 and attended LSU where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a minor in economics. He says the greatest influences on his decision to become a priest were St. John Paul II and Mother Angelica. Mother Angelica established the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) in August 1981, the year he graduated from high school and he says watching EWTN got him more interested in studying the faith and becoming far more than simply a casual participant in Sunday Mass. He also paid a lot of attention to St. John Paul II, who was elected pope in October 1978. “I owe much of my appreciation for the Catholic faith to their visible witness,” says Father Constant.

Father Van Constant, priest in charge of the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament in Gibson, poses in front of a painting of the Blessed Mother created by the late Billy Ledet. The painting, which is on loan to the pastor from Jackie Waguespack, is one of Father Constant’s favorite works of art. If he hadn’t become a priest, he says he probably would have gotten married and had a family. But he says that although he dated women as a young man, he never seriously dated someone with the intention of marrying them.

42 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • September 2018

When thinking about what his vocation might be, he decided that with the newfound appreciation he had for the priesthood it was something he had to pursue. Father Constant began his priestly

Feature

formation at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans at the age of 24 and finished at Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland, which is well-known for its more traditional theology and discipline. “At that time, I found Notre Dame to be a divided seminary. I have a traditional, devotional, orthodox approach toward life, as well as my faith, and Notre Dame at that time was extremely directed toward experimental and progressive teachings,” says Father Constant. “So at that point, I felt like I had no vocation to the priesthood. I went to (the late) Bishop (Warren L.) Boudreaux and he told me that in his understanding of me and his relationship with me, he could see that I was a bit more traditional, and that before I dismissed my vocation to the priesthood entirely that we should try to find a more traditional seminary for me to attend.” Father Constant stayed there for second and third year theology, and his diaconate year, and returned to the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux to be among the first group of priests ordained by Bishop (Emeritus) Michael Jarrell. Mount Saint Mary’s was a place that was very spiritual and open to tradition, and he was able to flourish there. “Had I not gone to Mount Saint Mary’s, I would have thought I didn’t have a vocation to the priesthood,” says the priest. Father Constant recalls the day he was ordained as a very happy day and a day filled with great possibilities. He was happy and excited about who he became at that moment, but also scared of what it all meant and how he was going to live up to it. “But that fear, of course, was tempered by faith and the courage that comes as a gift of the Holy Spirit. I saw my own limitations and cowered under the possibility of living up to such a high standard; but that was brief, because I recognized that my limitations are not as important as the gifts I had been given at that ordination.” Being at the altar and offering the sacrifice of the Mass as the church desires it to be offered is what Father Constant

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says he has enjoyed most about being a priest. Meeting St. John Paul II twice is among his most memorable occasions while serving as a priest. Father Constant has six siblings. His mother died in 2016 and his youngest sister died of cancer when she was in her 30s. He says he doesn’t really have any hobbies except working with the Louisiana Army National Guard, where he was recruited by General Hunt Downer to serve as chaplain on various occasions including post Katrina, and overseas during the Kosovo War, Operation New Dawn in Iraq and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Even though his life as a priest hasn’t been easy, Father Constant says he is very happy and thankful that he has been allowed by all of the bishops of this diocese to live in the margin and serve the way he firmly believes he’s been called to, even though they find it difficult to understand. “I’m not going to change; it would be better for me to leave the priesthood than change who I know I am and what I am called to. I understand what the Catholic Church is and what the holy sacrifice of the Mass is. And I understand what that faith is supposed to be in my life and in the lives of those who come and approach our Lord and look to me to lead them along their journey,” says Father Constant. The Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament is the Summorum Pontificum location for the Mass in this diocese. Summorum Pontificum is an apostolic letter of Pope Benedict XVI, issued in July 2007, which specified the circumstances in which priests of the Latin Church may celebrate Mass according to what he called the “Missal promulgated by Blessed John XXIII in 1962” (the latest edition of the Roman Missal, in the form known as the Tridentine Mass or Traditional Latin Mass), and administer most of the sacraments in the form used before the liturgical reforms that followed the Second Vatican Council. BC

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September 2018 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 43

Feature

St. Bernadette parishioners transform sanctuary with time, talent and treasure Story by Janet Marcel Photos by Lawrence Chatagnier When walking into St. Bernadette Church in Houma, one can’t help but notice the new reredos in the sanctuary. The reredos, which is an ornamental screen or partition commonly made of wood or stone that stands behind the altar in a church and usually depicts religious images, was constructed by Houma native Doug Portero, parishioner of St. Bernadette since 2006. Other changes that were made to the sanctuary include a new altar from Church Supply Warehouse; the tabernacle was moved to a more prominent location directly behind the altar; and the crucifix is once again hanging above the sanctuary. These changes, which were the vision of Father André Melancon, pastor since January 2018, were made possible by the generosity of some anonymous parishioners. Portero says after he built the cabinet which houses the monstrance for the Adoration Chapel, Father Melancon asked him if he would be interested in building the reredos. “Father André and I had several conversations about the sanctuary project. He showed me a picture of the altar he planned to order and asked me to design the reredos. I spent several hours measuring, praying and thinking about it in the

church before I finally had a design in mind. I drew a sketch of what I was thinking and submitted it to Father André and Bishop (Shelton J.) Fabre, and it was approved. When I was praying and thinking about it, I knew I wanted something that would blend the altar Father André was ordering and the stained-glass windows, so I incorporated the custom-made fluted columns and arches.” Portero used red oak which was stained with a pine colored stain for the reredos. He says he had help with framing the wall from his son Steven for a couple of days, and Chase Dryden (a young adult from the parish), for about a week. Portero’s wife, Ramona and his son, Taylor, stained the piece.

44 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • September 2018

Deacon James Lefevre, his wife Angie and daughter Emma, helped Portero and his wife putty the nail holes, and then the Lefevre’s sealed it. Father Melancon says what Portero was able to do in St. Bernadette Church’s sanctuary is a shining example of a parishioner giving one’s time, talent and treasure for the church. “Doug is an incredibly gifted carpenter and he had a desire to share that gift with his parish. His generosity has helped our parishioners encounter God better through a beautiful place to worship. Doug sacrificed his free time on evenings and weekends after long days on the job to work on the new sanctuary. We

Feature

all have gifts that we can give to the Lord. As a pastor, it was exciting to be able to call forth Doug’s gifts and watch them bear fruit for our church.” Portero currently works for Chand Corporation, LLC, as their maintenance/HSE tech, but when he began the project he was self-employed doing home repairs. He says he worked on it between doing other jobs and for a couple weeks solid before starting his full-time job. At that time he worked during the evenings after Mass and on Saturdays before the Vigil Mass. He says the project took him about two months to complete. Portero says several parishioners have expressed to him how excited they are to have the tabernacle back in a visible place in the church and to have the crucifix hanging again, which was part of the vision and reason for the changes. Father Melancon adds that he is truly grateful to everyone who made this transformation possible. BC

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September 2018 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 45

Announcements

Deacon appointed to Sacred Heart Church in Cut Off

Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Church parish to celebrate 70th anniversary

Deacon Jeff Pitre

Deacon Jeff Pitre, who has been serving as deacon at St. Joseph Church parish in Galliano, has been appointed deacon at Sacred Heart Church parish in Cut Off, effective immediately, for a six year term. BC

Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Church parish in Houma is celebrating its 70th anniversary of establishment in 2018. On Saturday, Sept. 8, Bishop Shelton J. Fabre will celebrate the 4 p.m. Mass and rededicate the church. A meal and reception will follow in the parish community center. BC

Annual Life Chain is Oct. 7 The annual Life Chains in the Diocese of HoumaThibodaux will be held on Respect Life Sunday, October 7, 2018, from 2–3 p.m. (rain or shine). This is a peaceful and prayerful public witness of pro-life Americans standing for one hour praying for our nation and for an end to abortion. Those participating in the Houma Life Chain will line the median of Tunnel Boulevard in Houma. The Larose Life Chain participants will stand in the front yard of Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Larose. The Lockport Life Chain participants will line Hwy. 1 (Crescent Avenue) in Lockport. Participants are invited to gather at Town Hall at 1:45 p.m. The Thibodaux Life Chain participants will line the median of Canal Boulevard in Thibodaux. Join with other pro-life Christians to make a statement to our community that “Abortion Kills Children.” BC

46 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • September 2018

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St. Benilde Catholic Church in Metairie is sponsoring “Divine Mercy and the Eucharist,” a day of reflection with Dr. Bryan Thatcher, M.D., director of the Eucharistic Apostles of the Divine Mercy, Saturday, Sept. 29, on 1901 Division Street in Metairie. The day begins with Mass at 8 a.m. in the church. Conference talks follow at 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. in the school cafeteria. Dr. Thatcher is a retired medical doctor who travels the world speaking on the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, the message of Divine Mercy, and his personal conversion. In 1996, he founded Eucharistic Apostles of the Divine Mercy (EADM), which is now active in over 40 countries worldwide. The ministry received three Apostolic Blessings from St. John Paul II, for its work in promoting the notion that Divine Mercy is more than a message or devotion, rather, it is a “way of life.” Registration is open at www.stbenilde.org/divine-mercy. The cost for the day is $30 per person or $50 per couple, which includes lunch. Preregistration is encouraged. For more information, call Val Hebert at (504) 427-0327 or by email at valencemet@aol.com; or call the church parish office at (504) 834-4980. BC

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www.Gulfcoastorthopedics.com • www.GCOphysicaltherapy.com September 2018 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 47

Announcement

Blue Mass Sept. 27 Red Mass Oct. 9 The annual diocesan Blue Mass will be celebrated Thursday, Sept. 27, at St. Joseph Co-Cathedral in Thibodaux, at 11 a.m., by Bishop Shelton J. Fabre. This Mass, which honors firefighters, law enforcement, emergency responders and military personnel. All law enforcement, military and fire department personnel throughout the diocese including the South Lafourche communities and Morgan City as well as the Houma-Thibodaux area are invited to attend this special Mass in their honor. The annual diocesan Red Mass will be celebrated Tuesday, Oct. 9, at St. Joseph Co-Cathedral in Thibodaux, at 11:30 a.m., by Bishop Shelton J. Fabre. This Mass is usually celebrated near the opening of the judicial season to pray for members of the legal profession, that is, judges, lawyers and their staffs, and all other legal professionals. “These Masses are celebrations of the entire local church, not simply of those for whom we offer special prayer intentions. We encourage all of the faithful to join in the celebration of these Masses,” says Father Glenn LeCompte, diocesan director of the Office of Worship. BC

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Advertise in the Bayou Catholic. Help spread the Good News. Call 985.850.3132 for more info. 48 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • September 2018

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America who Every year, young people in 10thlife. 12th grade from throughout the Diocese Site Name Houma The 2019 charter busDigestive pilgrimageHealth will of Houma-Thibodaux are invited to Site Address Specialists SiteSite Name take place Jan. 14-19. With limited participate in the March for Life, a Name Contact Houma Digestive Health Houma Digestive Health 1023 Street seating, the total cost for Wood the pilgrimage youth pilgrimage to Washington, D.C. Site Address Site Address Specialists Phone / Email Specialists Houma,Registration LA 70360 is estimated at $104,255. The national march, whose mission is Contact Contact 1023 Wood Street 1023 Wood Street Brittany Dupre cost is $850 per person. A $500 deposit “to provide all Americans with a place Phone / Email Phone / Email Houma, 70360 Houma, LALA 70360 985-601-2658 is due with completed registration to testify to the beauty of life and Brittany Dupre Brittany Dupre paperwork by bdupre@houma-gi.com Wednesday, Sept.19. the dignity of each human person,” 985-601-2658 985-601-2658 The remaining bdupre@houma-gi.com balance per participant is a life-changing, inspiring and bdupre@houma-gi.com is due at the mandatory meeting for educational opportunity for all who all youth and leaders attending the participate. The Diocese of Houmapilgrimage on Nov. 28, at the diocesan Thibodaux’s youth pilgrimage to the Pastoral Center from 6:30-8:30 p.m. national march takes participants to Registrations should be collected historical monuments relating to life, through church Site parishes or Catholic including the Holocaust Museum and Name high schools. There will be a special the war cemeteries, and to celebrate Site Address second collection supporting the March the sacred liturgy at the National Site Name for Life on Oct. Contact 6-7, 2018, to help Basilica. The pilgrimage is designed Address defray the costSite of the pilgrimage for to be a seminarian led retreat that Phone / Email leadership. focuses on respecting the life of our Contact For more information or to make unborn neighbor in the womb while Phone / Email direct donations for the pilgrimage, considering the dignity, value and please contact the diocesan Office of calling of one’s own life. The youth Family Ministries at (985)850-3129 or of our diocese will join the hundreds visit www.htdiocese.org/M4L. BC of thousands of others from across

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This fall won’t be the same without Rick Gaille, coach, colleague and great friend Overtime Ed Daniels

This will be my first football season without my colleague and friend Rick Gaille. Rick passed away on July 1 and in the days and weeks since I have reflected on what I learned from him. Rick and I met when he was the coach at St. James High School, and I was the much younger host of a fledging high school football program. I would report on Rick’s teams for many years. And, one thing always stood out. His teams believed in his plan. He had a way of inspiring coaches and players, and even broadcasters, that anything was possible. St. James had fallen on hard times

before he arrived. But, in the middle of his first season, the Wildcats upset Destrehan. His team played tough and smart. To this day, I can remember a St. James win over John Curtis at Muss Bertolino Stadium in 2007. It was the year after John Curtis had won the mythical USA Today national championship. But, Rick’s team just went to work, and won the game in the trenches. When it was over, and the Wildcats had won, Rick was not surprised. But, it was years later when Rick retired from coaching that I got to know him best. He would pull up at my house on a Saturday morning for another edition of the three tailgaters radio show on WGSO, with our friend Ken Trahan. We had a few moments to chat before the program began, and the nuggets I got from Rick were terrific. He had complimented my bride, Robin. And, after she left he looked over at me and said something profound. “If you are going to have a wife, have

a great one.” As I watched Elaine Gaille guide Rick through his final days, I knew exactly what he meant. When he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, he would joke that he had to go to his chemotherapy just “to kill some cells.” One day, in a commercial break on the radio, Rick looked at me and said the following about his potential life ending illness. “For years, I told my players to face adversity,” said Rick. “Now I have to do the same.” Rick would always come to the show with his famous four color ink pen. He got me hooked on those, too. Every time I pull one out of the bag, I think of Rick Gaille. Rick was tough, cerebral, and incredibly loyal to his friends. That I was one of those is one of my greatest honors. And, that he is not here this fall leaves a huge void for all of us. Rick took the worst year of his life, and made it a treatise on how to live. It is cold in his shadow. BC

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50 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • September 2018

Marriage PEONY WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY

Marriage Contents

Meet our couples

54 Sacrament Marriage as a sacrament

Commitment

Advice

Thoughts for new couples

Balancing family and work

Parenting

Surviving the first year of parenthood

For more articles on strengthening your marriage, visit www.foryourmarriage.org

Partnership

Suggestions for newly married couples

52 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • September 2018

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Marriage

Couples featured in our Marriage Special

SARAH DECLET WHITE RABBIT PHOTOGRAPHY

We haven’t become husband and wife by chance! We believe we were predestined for these roles by God the Father. Through his grand design, our individual experiences, relationships, set-backs and achievements shaped us to be who we needed to be for each other. What better way to honor our newfound vocation than through the sacrament of marriage? It was our way of celebrating and affirming God’s call of service to one another. Jude and Jamie Blanchard St. Hilary of Poitiers Church parish, Mathews Wedding Date: June 30, 2017

PEONY WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY

Before our wedding, Aaron went through the RCIA program to become baptized in the Catholic Church so he could know God’s true love. I honestly think going through the RCIA program as his sponsor brought us closer, and I did not think I could love him more until I realized how much he loves God. Going through the marriage program got us talking more and learning more about one another and what the church meant to each other. The sacrament of marriage is important to us as a couple because it brought us closer to God. Marriage is two individual people coming together as one and bringing God’s love into our home, which has helped us grow our relationship in love and faithfulness. Aaron and Blythe Coffman Annunziata Church parish, Houma Wedding Date: April 27, 2018 54 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • September 2018

Glenn and I consider the sacrament of marriage very holy. It is our sacrament to each other to join into a union with God. This union is to respect, be loyal and trustworthy. On April 6, 2018, we said “I do” as we entered into an agreement to dedicate ourselves to each other through good times and bad. We accepted a covenant with God to live out our sacrament respectfully. We have grown in the last four months and look forward to a lifetime of love and continuity with our Lord. Glenn and Heather LeRay St. Genevieve Church parish, Thibodaux Wedding Date: April 6, 2018

September 2018 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 55

Marriage

Sacrament of marriage ... thoughts for new couples Guest Columnist Father Raja Karumelnathan, M.S.F.S.

“The ultimate purpose of marriage is to attain salvation in partnership with your soulmate in Christ.” Marriage today Marriage is best understood today by Catholics as sign of making a home and building the church by claiming the faith that is learned, experienced and witnessed for Christ. Most people marry for love unlike in India where marriages are arranged; however, married life has become a great challenge to everyone. According to recent research by the American Psychological Association, 40 to 50 percent of marriages in the United States end in divorce. It is much higher even among those who remarry (Harrington and Buckingham, 2018). So, it is the sobering fact today that not only America, but the world suffers with it. So my dear young couples, I would like to share some thoughts on the sacrament of marriage. Marriage: Keeps Christ alive in the church The present scenario is affected grievously as individualism encroaches on society, which is slowly being redesigned by secularism; however, I highly appreciate the spirit of willingness that engaged couples have to be together through married life

PEONY WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY

which today is the sign of hope for revitalizing the church. This spirit of getting married retains Christ alive in the church and proves that this trend toward individualism in society has not defeated the significance of the sacrament of marriage. Marriage: Calls you to sanctify in Christ Pope Francis said, “The joy of love experienced by families is also the joy of the church (Joy of Love, 1).” So, the church provides abundant care to administer the sacrament of marriage. This heightens the position of the couples as ministers of the sacrament; however, Catholics still struggle with the stress of brokenness in the family life. Why is there brokenness in the domestic church? The cracks in the domestic church today split the universal church. Why such cracks? I feel that modern people eat together, shop together, journey together but they look as if they have lost a sense of purpose in living together in marriage. Marriage has become a home of fashion not the inner passion for one another. Sometimes, it becomes a life mistake when a couple feels something that pulls them together like a magnet attracts an iron, and this feeling lasts for some time until they encounter a challenge. Thus, the challenging moments become a time of accusations and allegations for couples who are directed immediately into brokenness, encircled by the darkness of life. The poet Rumi said, “Let yourself be drawn by the stronger pull of that which you truly love,” that the stronger

56 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • September 2018

pull in love would tie couples together in the undivided love of Christ. The stronger pull that can help couples recover today is Christ, the light, life, way and truth. When human love in Christ is truly actualized, it just turns out be divine. When you love your partner deeply with the love of Christ you unveil the hidden face of God. When you are loved deeply by your partner, you accept the depth of your longing for love. Such spirit of loving and being loved is exercised in this sacrament. Recognize the challenging moments as sanctifying moments through an appeal to Christ in the church. Most couples forget the grace of God in the challenging situation and try to figure out the solution on their own. The Hebrew word for the marriage ceremony is Kiddushin which means betrothal or ‘sanctification’ of the bride to the groom (Robinson, G. 2016. Essential Judaism). In the challenging moments, each one is called to sanctify or dedicate to each other rather than allowing their love to deteriorate in arguments. The sanctification and dedication should be the renewal of the consent given to the priest during the marriage ceremony: “I promise to be faithful to you, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love you and to honor you all the days of my life.” Christ is your bridegroom eternally. The church is the people of God. You are the people of God and you became the bride of the Christ. He sings your beauty: “Behold, you are beautiful, my love. Behold, you

Marriage

are beautiful. Your eyes are doves” (Song of Solomon 1:15). Therefore, the couples’ dedication or sanctification should happen in and for Christ (John 3:29). When your matrimonial life is at stake, the church as the bride of Christ appeals to you to sanctify yourself to receive your new life as a gift: “The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let everyone who hears say, “Come.” And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift (Revelation 22:17; NSRV). Live the grace of the sacrament I pose a question with an answer: How should couples manage the indications of the brokenness or recuperate from the principal symptoms of brokenness? You need to encounter the challenges through your faith in Christ. It is very imperative of the Christian faith that you persist in God’s love, experiencing through the person of Jesus Christ in the daily Eucharist, for he bound

you together as he broke himself. You received the sacrament of marriage as the grace of God to share with each other the divine love as Jesus shared God’s love in his incarnation. God the highest soul emptied himself so that he would be replenished by our presence through the act of redemption in his sonship. A human soul empties itself to be replenished by the presence of God through the act of redemption in his divineship. One can possess the other when they are ready to empty self/ ego. Always remember, “The ultimate purpose of marriage is to attain salvation in partnership with your soulmate in Christ.” An inspiring thought A woman posted 11 texts that make her married life a love story. As she scrolled through her exchange text messages with her husband, she found these 11 texts remained as proof of their love for each other. One of the texts was very exciting. Following are

her original words and the exciting text related to it. She said: “Not only does my husband go grocery shopping, but he always takes the time to carefully and considerately explain life’s greatest mysteries to me.” Wife: I need an onion Husband: yellow or white? Wife: Idk, what’s the difference? Husband: one is yellow, the other is white (Source: the Internet). The message is simple: The greatest mystery of married life is to understand deeply and positively each one’s uniqueness and differences. Successful married life is possible for everyone. (Father Rajasekar (Raja) Karumelnathan, M.S.F.S, is the administrator of St. Charles Borromeo Church parish in Pointe-aux-Chenes and Sacred heart Church parish in Montegut.) BC

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Marriage Preparation in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux In the past 18 years, 5,320 engaged couples have participated in the diocesan Marriage Preparation program, reports Cathy Klingman, L.C.W.S., diocesan director of the Office of Family Ministries.

Marriage Preparation Day Some engaged couples may view the Marriage Preparation Day as something they “have to do,” but there are many benefits for an engaged couple if they really invest themselves in and fully participate in the process, says Cathy Klingman, L.C.W.S., diocesan director of the Office of Family Ministries. Some of these benefits are: v A witness from other married couples – a connection with other married couples who hold the same beliefs and values as they do; v Faith based preparation about the sacrament of marriage; v Get a better understanding of marriage as a “sacrament,” Why do you want to get married in the church? There is more to it than just pretty pictures; v Helps them to understand that there is a whole other family unit that wants to help them be successful in their marriage; v Build a strong faith based foundation for their marriage; v A connection back to the church – why it is important to be a part of the church and register in a parish.

FOCCUS Couples Married couples may be invited to participate actively in the marriage preparation of engaged couples in their church parish as FOCCUS couples. FOCCUS (Facilitating Open Couple Communication, Understanding and Study) is a premarital instrument designed to help assess a couple’s readiness for marriage; it is a “snapshot”

Marriage as a

Sacrament

Marriage as a Sacrament Marriage as a sacrament is a serious and sacred commitment that calls a couple to each other in the most profound and permanent way. Their mutual love is a reminder of the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ. By the grace of their sacrament, they become able to love one another as Christ has loved them. As a married couple, they become a visible sign and reminder of Christ’s sacrificial love for all people. The Engaged Couple A couple desiring to be married is encouraged to contact their priest/ deacon at least six (6) months (or more) prior to the proposed date of their wedding. This interval allows time to prepare well for such a sacred commitment. The engaged couple must take an active part in all the steps of these guidelines which apply to them. With the assistance of their priest/deacon, they are to: v Identify and cultivate their strengths, v Deal with the areas of difficulty in their relationship, v Participate in assessment and preparation, v Recognize that marriage is essentially characterized by unity, fidelity, permanence and an openness to children, v Attend a formal marriage preparation program, v Participate in premarital evaluation and counseling when recommended. A tentative wedding date may be set at the time of this initial contact with the priest/deacon. When the couple has completed phase two of the marriage preparation process, the tentative wedding date will be confirmed or changed. Responsibilities 1. Priest/Deacon The church has the pastoral obligation to assist those desiring to marry to make a prayerful and mature judgment concerning their marriage. In particular, the priest/deacon, who plans to witness a marriage, is personally responsible for the complete marriage preparation process. He has the serious moral and ministerial responsibility to assist the engaged couple in understanding the meaning of Christian marriage in its human, spiritual, canonical and sacramental aspects, and to provide a liturgical experience that truly celebrates and manifests the momentous step that the couple is taking. 2. Community The faithful in each parish share in the pastoral responsibility to help engaged couples prepare for their life together. Married couples have a particular responsibility to witness the holiness of their sacramental life of intimacy, unity, self-sacrificing love and commitment. They may therefore be invited to participate actively in the marriage preparation of engaged couples in their parish. 3. Parents The church recognizes the unique and vital role of parents in the psychological, social, moral and spiritual development of their children. Renewal in the church has included attempts to make sacramental preparation more family centered. Parents are therefore encouraged to respond to the invitation of the priest/deacon to participate actively in the assessment and preparation of their children for marriage in the church whenever possible.

58 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • September 2018

of where the couple is in their relationship at that moment. The diocese uses this instrument to help couples identify issues that need to be discussed, etc. FOCCUS couples are trained by Office of Family Ministries personnel and their number varies from parish to parish and priest to priest.

Attendance at Marriage Preparation Day A maximum of 35 couples per date are able to attend Marriage Preparation Day which is offered eight times throughout the year in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux.

Marriage Preparation on the Internet SARAH DECLET WHITE RABBIT PHOTOGRAPHY

The Marriage Preparation Process All engaged couples are required to receive sacramental preparation and must meet with their priest/deacon at least six months (or more) prior to the desired wedding date. This marriage preparation process consists of four phases. 1. Phase One: Initial contact with priest/deacon will: v Establish rapport with you in order to support and counsel you at this most important time in your life. v Examine your motives for marriage. v Explore any special circumstances that may affect marriage, e.g., age, cultural background, pregnancy, military service, physical or emotional problems, levels of faith and religious issues. v Explain the marriage preparation process. v Obtain personal information, explain what other documentation is needed, and determine whether any dispensations or permissions will be necessary. 2. Phase Two: Assessment process with priest/deacon will: v Administer a Premarital Instrument* to assist in beginning the assessment of your readiness to marry. v Discuss the results of the FOCCUS instrument. v Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of your communication process. v Examine the sacramental aspects of your human covenant. v Assess your readiness for marriage and complete the prenuptial questionnaire. v Begin the liturgical wedding plans and present to you the parish guidelines. Inform you of the cost and suggested offering. *A premarital instrument is a tool designed to help you assess your readiness for marriage. It is not a pass/fail indicator. Instead it is meant to help you discover more about yourselves and each other in a non-threatening and objective way. Our diocese utilizes the FOCCUS (Facilitating Open Couple Communication Understanding and Study) instrument to help you identify issues that need to be discussed, reflected on, understood, studied for problem-solving, skill-building and decision-making. Your priest/ deacon will give you more information at your initial meeting. During phase two, the priest/deacon will make the decision to proceed or delay the marriage. If he proceeds, the wedding date will be confirmed and the process continues. If his decision is to delay the marriage, he will follow the procedure found in Delay of Marriage.

Catholicmarriageprep.com is an online program based in the Diocese of Colorado Springs, CO, that is featured on the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website as a valid marriage preparation course. This program is approved by the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux for couples with extenuating circumstances.

Updating the program The diocese is constantly looking to update the Marriage Preparation Program and revise its marriage policies in response to changing circumstances in our society, in our economy and in the universal church. The sacrament part doesn’t change, but other factors are constantly changing.

Pre-Cana

Pre-Cana, the name the diocese used for its marriage preparation program for many years, is still the name many parishes and dioceses give to their marriage preparation program. The term is derived from John 2:1-12, the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee, where Jesus performed the miracle of turning water into wine. Continued on pg. 60

September 2018 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 59

Catholic Engaged Encounter This weekend retreat for engaged couples is an in-depth, private, personal, marriage preparation experience within the context of Catholic faith and values. During the weekend retreat there is plenty of alone time for couples to dialogue honestly and intensively about their prospective lives together – their strengths and weaknesses, desires, ambitions, goals, their attitudes about money, sex, children, family, their role in the church and society – in a face to face way.

Want to get involved? “The married couples who work with marriage prep really enjoy it. It brings them enrichment in their own marriage, reconnects them to their own spouse. Helps them to see where they are now compared to where they started,” says Klingman. Please contact the Office of Family Ministries if you are interested in working with the diocesan Marriage Preparation program.

Gratitude Prayer for

Married Couples Dear Lord, Thank you for marriage. I pray right now that I would always have a heart of thankfulness. I realize that thankfulness and gratitude fuel joy in my heart! Help me to be appreciative of my spouse. I pray that there would be encouraging words on my tongue to share with my spouse. I am thankful for my spouse’s love, hard work and encouragement. Holy Spirit, fill my heart with gratitude. May you help me to be thankful every day in Jesus’ name. AMEN!

Marriage as a Sacrament 3. Phase Three: Formal marriage preparation This instructional phase, formal marriage preparation, presents the essential human and Christian aspects of marriage so that the couple becomes aware of the total dimensions of the marriage covenant. Formal marriage preparation includes reflection on the nature and sacramentality of marriage, married love and family life, couple prayer, marital responsibilities, communication within marriage, personal expectations, natural family planning and other practical considerations. There are two approved options in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. If you are unable to attend such a formal marriage preparation program, you must discuss this with your priest/deacon immediately. These are the approved options: v Diocesan Marriage Preparation program v Engaged Encounter Weekend Retreat in the surrounding dioceses Schedule of the Day for Marriage Preparation in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux v Location: 2779 Hwy 311 - Schriever, LA 70395 - Pastoral Center Conference Hall v Arrival Time: 8:45 a.m. (The day begins promptly at 9 a.m.) v Dismissal Time: 3:15 p.m. v Registration Fee: $120 (check or money order) If you are engaged and would like to begin your marriage preparation, you will need to meet with your parish priest or deacon at least six months before your desired wedding date. The priest/deacon will give you a marriage preparation booklet which will include all of this marriage prep information and a registration form to attend the diocese’s marriage prep, “Day for the Engaged.” Complete the registration form, detach it and mail the form with your registration fee at least three months before the date you would like to attend. Your fee can be paid with a check or money order made payable to the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. Do not send cash! Come dressed comfortably. Sunday, Oct. 7 Sunday, Nov. 11 Sunday, February 10, 2019 Saturday, March 16 4. Phase Four: Completion of marriage prep process with priest/deacon will: v Discuss with you what you have learned and experienced at your formal marriage preparation program. v Discuss with you your understanding of sacrament in light of your formal marriage preparation. v Discuss with you your responsibilities as members of God’s people, as spouses and future parents. v Complete all documentary requirements. As appropriate, grant permission for mixed marriage and/or apply for appropriate permissions or dispensations. v Discuss the reception of penance and holy Eucharist as a fitting preparation for the sacrament of matrimony. v Finalize the wedding liturgy and discuss the wedding rehearsal.

60 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • September 2018

Marriage

Balancing Family and Work By DR. JIM HEALY Joe has been married for four years. It’s pretty clear that in order for him to advance in his profession, he is going to have to work 60 hours a week for the foreseeable future. That’s the minimum. Joe recently discovered that the pension plan is only for partners. If he doesn’t become a partner in the firm, he considers himself a failure. As Joe says, ” There are no lifeboats for those who don’t make it to the top. I’d have to start over somewhere else. I’m doing this for my family – for my wife, and for the children we hope to have, so we have a good financial future. But we want to start a family soon, and I’m apprehensive – we don’t have enough time for each other as it is. I want to be a good husband, but I also want to succeed at work. What do I do?” We have a dilemma when we hold two values that are seemingly in conflict – “I want to be a good husband or wife, and a good father or mother. But work seems to suck everything out of me. How do I do justice to both?” When trying to solve a dilemma, we have to look more carefully at the values we are trying to protect, and see if we understand these values correctly. Especially in uncertain financial times, it’s easy to get very anxious about work, even if one has a good job. We can be tempted to make any personal sacrifice in order to maximize our work opportunities. But it’s important to remember that giving up everything for work is no guarantee of success. You may sell your soul to the devil, and the devil may still downsize you. Better to work to balance your life now. Then, if work lets you down, you’re still left with a solid base of love and support. Avoid getting into either/ors: “Either I put in incredible hours at work or my career will be a bust.” The true answer is somewhere in between. There may be some positions that you will not get, some contracts you won’t sign, some honor you will never acquire. Also, there will be some cars, vacations, or colleges that you won’t be able to pay

for. But in this life we pay for things we value, and, regarding family life, the question is not “Is it worth it?” but “Am I willing to pay?” Having said that, balancing your life can “pay off” in the work setting, too. I’ve seen many people (and I’m one of them) where marriage and children cut down on their workaholism, forced them to set limits on their work, and – lo and behold – their work life improved. They became more effective and more productive, because there were boundaries to the time they could spend at work. It’s time to have a heart to heart talk with your spouse. We often assume that we know what the other person wants, so we give it to them before they ask. Later we might say, “But I did it all for you!” Is partnership in the firm primarily a personal goal or is it a goal you share? How do we balance “us time” with the work time necessary to achieve a certain lifestyle? Does your wife support your devotion to your job or is she already feeling neglected and fears for the future? It’s important that decisions about how each spouse makes major time commitments be mutually acceptable since presence is a measure of marital commitment.

Couples have to work these things out for themselves, but not by themselves. Go to men and women you admire, who have achieved balance in their lives between family and work. Ask them to tell you about the choices they made, and the challenges they faced – perhaps even the mistakes they made. Then in prayer ask the Lord to guide you as you make your own decisions. You may find that you can modify your job expectations in order to leave more time for family. You may also find that certain jobs or positions are incompatible with the other values you hold regarding family life, and a change is warranted, possibly with a accompanying change in lifestyle. Most problems in life don’t get “solved,” they get managed. We make corrections and adjustments as we go. When asked what it took to be happy, Sigmund Freud said, “to love and to work.” In this case, he wasn’t far wrong. Only, keep them balanced! About the author Dr. Jim Healy is a counseling psychologist and Director of Family Ministry for the Diocese of Joliet, Illinois. His marriage resources can be found at www.rootedinlove.org. BC

September 2018 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 61

Marriage

Suggestions for newly married couples The first five years can be exhilarating as couples experience new “firsts” together – their first Christmas as a married couple, first dinner party for the in-laws, even their first joint tax return. At the same time, the early years require some radical personal adjustment, which is stressful on the relationship. Most divorces occur during the first five years of marriage (Kreider, 2005), with the highest incidence of divorce coming in year three (Kurdek, 1999). Why? Sometimes it’s poor choice of spouse. Couples who entered enthusiastically – but blindly – into marriage soon see their spouse’s shadow side when there’s no longer a need to keep up a good front. They realize that they married a person who doesn’t share the remote, likes to chatter in the morning or, much

worse, doesn’t share their values. They assume that marriage won’t change that and they divorce quickly. Others fall prey to the stresses of early marriage. Some of these stresses might be age-related. Young couples may not have developed the emotional maturity, coping and communication skills, or financial savvy to navigate the many decisions thrust upon them early in their marriage. Hanging in there and learning the art of negotiating can resolve many of these issues, but it takes maturity and patience. Help is available if the couple has the wisdom and humility to seek it. The most important thing to remember is that most of the early stressful adjustments in marriage are normal. Beyond leaving the cap off the toothpaste or the toilet seat up or down, what are the important issues

62 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • September 2018

that need to be negotiated? According to research done by the Center for Marriage and Family at Creighton University (2000), the top three issues for couples during the first five years of marriage are time, sex, and money: A. Time You would think that combining households would simplify life and save time. But newly married couples have to keep up with their spouse’s schedule in addition to their own. Add in jobs, education, time for new in-laws and private time together, and it may seem like you’re a hamster running around the wheel of life. Then, when the first child arrives, you realize that life will never be the same. Most newlyweds struggle to balance family and work. Since work pays the bills, it’s tempting to consider

Marriage

it the top priority. An all-consuming job, however, like a mistress, can steal attention from your spouse. You may need to agree on how many extra hours you can reasonably work. Carving out quality time for the two of you can require sacrifice, such as cutting back on personal hobbies or workouts at the gym. At some point you may need to summon the courage to look for a different job … or work out together. B. Sex Sex should be the easy and fun part. After all, you’re married! Why would this cause stress? Despite the conventional wisdom that your sexual relationship should be comfortable and exciting, especially during the early years of marriage, many couples reported problems around the frequency and quality of sexual relations. Developing a gratifying sexual relationship depends on having the time and energy to tend to it. Reread “Time” above. C. Money Most newlyweds are at the beginning of their learning curve. They are also learning to understand and blend their individual attitudes toward money. All of this can be stressful. In addition, many couples bring debt into the marriage, and some couples accumulate too much debt. Another issue is: “Who has the power?” Many couples consider themselves egalitarian – “We’ll share everything.” Then she finds herself uncomfortable with the loose way he spends “their” hard earned money and he’s annoyed by the way she hoards it. Other issues include parenting,

SARAH DECLET WHITE RABBIT PHOTOGRAPHY

religious differences, and conflict resolution. Sometimes, the very issues that should bring a couple together, such as a child, faith, and communication, also cause strain. Because couples care so strongly about these things, they are both potential dividers and bonders. The arrival of a child brings joy – and stress. Parents can feel overwhelmed with the responsibility of caring for a child, in addition to the loss of privacy and freedom. Parenting is hard work and when spouses are tired, they get irritable, just like kids. Shared faith can bind the spouses together. It also requires that a couple talk about their different approaches to spirituality and God. Some people would rather ignore this part of life out of fear, guilt, or bad experiences. Good communication skills, compromise, unselfishness, and an open mind can help you work through the above issues. So what can you do when you

LEARN ROSARY MAKING A Catholic Tradition

experience these normal stresses of life in the newlywed lane? n Gather with other newlyweds. You’ll find you’re not alone. n Keep dating. Prioritize quality time together. n Confide in other couples who have recently walked this road. They can help you sort out what’s normal and what is not. They can console you because they’ve been there and comfort you with stories of how it could be worse. Many Catholic parishes offer trained mentor couples for their engaged and newly married couples. Check it out. n Take advantage of marriage education and enrichment opportunities (books, videos, programs). n Seek professional help if an issue begins to separate you. (This article is from foryourmarriage. org). BC

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September 2018 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 63

Marriage

Surviving the first year of parenthood When a couple discovers that they are expecting their first child, they know (hopefully) that they are in for some tremendous changes. This is the case no matter their age, no matter the size of their home or their income, and no matter how long they have been married. That the birth of the first child marks a time of incredible changes to a couple’s lifestyle and priorities, is a universal truth. In my vocation of marriage, I am called to love God first, my spouse second, and my children third. Not only is this the best thing for my marriage, it is also the best thing for my son. Pope Benedict XVI once asked parents to “first of all remain firm forever in your reciprocal love: this is the first great gift your children need if they are to grow up serene, acquire self-confidence and thus learn to be capable in turn of authentic and generous love” (Family, 44). My relationship with my husband is my most important relationship on this earth. The fact is, though, that when you get home from the hospital, there is a very tiny and very needy little person completely depending on your time and energy to survive and thrive. It is so easy to get wrapped up in the needs of your new baby, in learning how to fulfill them, and in attempting to rise above your own feelings of utter and complete exhaustion. What does putting your spouse first and taking

care of your marriage look like then? And what does it look like when those first few stressful weeks pass by and life gets “back to normal”– but “normal” is anything but? Looking back on that first year of my now sixteen-month-old son Charlie’s life, there are certain things that

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helped my husband Daniel and me to adjust to loving each other in our new life. Spending Time Together First of all, spend time together. No kidding, right? Usually this very common piece of advice focuses on the importance of time spent

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Marriage

without the baby, but while it is nice to get away for a couple of hours in between nursing sessions, this may not always be practical. Fortunately, in order to have “quality time” with your spouse, you don’t necessarily need to leave your little one behind. An infant in your arms doesn’t impede adult conversation in any way, doesn’t yet need to be chased around the house, and will usually only cry if there is something wrong that can very easily be fixed. Early on, enjoying a meal or a movie at home with my husband with Charlie close by was much more relaxing for me than being away from him and wondering how he was. Once we put Charlie to bed we had the living room to ourselves, and we made our time together special right where we were, using the space that we had. This was especially important with our preferred sleeping arrangements which put Charlie in our bedroom for almost his entire first year. Don’t feel as though you have to mentally “get away” from your baby either. Especially if one parent is staying home, avoiding the baby as a topic of discussion so that you can have “adult conversation” probably won’t work. Couples talk about what they are connected to emotionally and their day’s experiences. It is only natural that you will find yourself talking about your child a lot. Daniel and I have found this to be a great bonding experience. Sharing with each other every day the joys, big and small, that Charlie brings to our lives

helps us to remember the miracle– that Almighty God used our love for one another to create a brand new person. We help each other to hold onto that wonder that filled us during the first few hours of getting acquainted with our newborn boy. “That’s your son,” I might say to Daniel as we sit at home watching Charlie play. “Look at the little person he’s becoming.” Holding on to the awe at the miracle of his existence and remembering that this little boy is, in a sense, our love for each other made visible, binds us ever closer together. A Little “Thank You” Goes a Long Way Alas, everyday life with an infant isn’t all joyful meditation. In fact, at times it seems that it’s all sleepless nights, dirty diapers, and a babyshaped weight glued to your hip while dishes pile up on the counters. It is in this everyday existence that it often becomes difficult for me to see beyond the tip of my own nose to realize that my husband is also tired and stressed, and it is in this everyday existence that the little things can go a very long way. For example, don’t let anything go without thanks, whether it is for your spouse cleaning up from dinner or going to work every day to provide for your little family. Other affirmations are appreciated, too. When I watch Daniel reading a story to Charlie and think about what a good daddy he is, I try to tell him so. It is so uplifting to be on the receiving end of these kinds of affirmations. One day I had just sat down on the couch to nurse eleven-

month-old Charlie. “I know I see it all the time,” Daniel said as he gazed lovingly at the two of us, “but it’s still so precious.” This was so special to me that I still feel myself glowing just thinking about it. The gift of facilitating personal time is another thing that is extremely appreciated. I’m talking about when Daniel takes care of Charlie to give me time for a leisurely shower, or wakes up with Charlie in the morning and takes him into the living room to play so that I can have an extra half hour of sleep. To a sleep-deprived mom (or dad), there really is no better way to say “I love you.” These are all ways that spouses can take care of each other and help one another to adjust during the first year of parenthood. I saved the most important for last, though, and that concerns the rock of faith that marriage should be built on. Attend Mass together. Pray and read Scripture together. Share your feelings and struggles, without fear of how they may be taken. Lift up your spouse in your personal prayer. Also, do things according to the way God designed them, through the practices of natural family planning and, if you can, breastfeeding. With God as the rock you cling to, your love will weather this and every storm that comes your way. Really, though, I can hardly call the first year of my firstborn’s life a storm; it has brought way more joy than it has destruction. (This article is from foryourmarriage. org). BC

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Marriage

Try a five-point tune-up for your marriage Marriages, benefit from preventive maintenance. Do you need to discuss a stressful issue before it erupts? Are you looking for an activity or two to rejuvenate your marriage? The end of summer is a good time to plan for marriage maintenance, before the busyness of fall kicks in. Here’s a fivepoint list to get started: n Talk Turkey. Thanksgiving (and Christmas) turkey, that is. Where will you be spending the holidays? Do you turn into jugglers, trying to balance the expectations of both sets of in-laws? If the two of you agree on a plan now, you’ll be ready to deal with the situation in a way that’s fair to everyone. An added advantage: If you’re flying for the holidays, you’ll be able to shop early for cheaper air fares and the dates you want. n Fall for each other—again.

Fun fall getaways abound, everything from pumpkin patches and apple-picking to colorful college football games and tailgate parties. Get out your calendars now and pencil in a few dates. Don’t forget that romantic drive to view the fall foliage. n Show me the money. The last quarter of the year can bring higher household expenses, including costs associated with the holidays. Can your budget handle it? Be prepared by reviewing your financial status and making any needed adjustments to your spending and saving. n Go back to school. Maybe not literally, but fall is an excellent time to learn a new skill or try a new activity. Check out the offerings from your local public school system or community college. Read the parish bulletin or

website to see what’s being planned. Sign up—finally!—to walk for your favorite cause. Learning or doing something new, especially if you do it together, can enrich your marriage. If you decide on different activities, share your experiences with your spouse and bring a new dimension to your marriage. n Get fit—spiritually. Summer often means a break from routine. Have you let your spiritual practices slide over the past couple months? Rather than become discouraged, make a September resolution to improve. Schedule time for prayer and spiritual reading, even if it’s only a few minutes. Consider setting aside time to pray with your spouse. Bring closure to the summer by celebrating the sacrament of reconciliation. (This article is from foryourmarriage. org). BC

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Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. 1 John 4:7-8 We have gifts for the following occasions: WEDDING V GRADUATION V ANNIVERSARIES BAPTISM V FIRST COMMUNION CONFIRMATION V PLUS OTHER SEASONAL ITEMS

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