Bayou Catholic Magazine February 2021

Bayou

Catholic

The official magazine of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux

Ash Wednesday changes amid COVID-19 pandemic FEBRUARY 2021 ~ VOL. 41 NO. 6 ~ COMPLIMENTARY

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Contents

Features 30 Black History Month

34

By Janet Marcel

Bishop Fabre discusses Annual Bishop’s Appeal

By Janet Marcel

Columns 8 Comfort For My People

By Bishop Shelton J. Fabre

12

Pope Speaks

13

Questions of Faith

16

Readings Between the Lines

Pope Francis I

By Father Brice Higginbotham

By Father Glenn LeCompte

41 Overtime

By Ed Daniels

In Every Issue 6 From the Editor 18 Scripture Readings 22 Heavenly Recipes 24 Youth In Action 29 Daily Prayer for Priests,

Deacons and Seminarians

Guest Columns 20 ‘Fratelli tutti’

By Father Joey Lirette

26

CRS Rice Bowl

32

By Amélie Desormeaux

Catholic Foundation of South Louisiana

By Amy Ponson

Announcements 28 Pastoral appointments 33 Deacon Charles Giroir dies at age 78 On Our Cover

LAWRENCE CHATAGNIER/BAYOU CATHOLIC

Father Glenn LeCompte, diocesan director of the Office of Worship, demonstrates the way which ashes will be administered on Ash Wednesday, which is February 17 this year. Participating in the demonstration at the Pastoral Center is Human Resources Benefits Representative Kristen Hernandez. For more information on the Vatican’s guidance on the distribution of ashes amid the COVID-19 pandemic, see page 35.

February 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 3

St. Francis de Sales, Patron Saint of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux

Supporting the 2021 Annual Bishop’s Appeal ensures that men like Joseph will be able to faithfully answer God’s call to ordained service to the men and women who live within the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux.

Your contribution to the 2021 Partners in Hope Annual Bishop’s Appeal provides essential operating support to the Office of Parish Support Youth Formation, ensuring Christ is the constant companion in our children’s journey of faith.

Your contribution to the 2021 Annual Bishop’s Appeal supports our Catholic Schools Office that directly ministers to the Catholic Schools within the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux.

Your gift through the 2021 Annual Bishop’s Appeal supports all seventeen of our retired clergy through their supplemental retirement needs as well as health and long term care needs.

Ways to Give: Online: Visit our secure online giving site at www.htdiocese.org/bishopsappeal At your Parish: Place your envelope in the In-Pew collection on Sunday.

For more information on how your gift can make an impact to the Annual Bishop's Appeal please call 985-850-3122.

Please make checks payable to Annual Bishop’s Appeal.

By Mail: Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux Annual Bishop’s Appeal Office Post Office Box 505, Schriever, LA 70395

Christine Stream

Christine shares a:

FAMILY RECIPE 13

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Bayou Smothered C Catholic INGREDIENTS:

2 heads of medium sized cabbag 1/2 small onion 1 package of pickled pork How to us: of salt and pepper 1 reach tsp. each

BY PHONE:1(985) 850-3132 oil tsp. cooking

BY MAIL: P.O. Box 505 DIRECTIONS: Schriever, LA 70395

Cut both cabbages and wash t medium sized pot. Add oil and w

BY E-MAIL: add to pot. Boil pickled pork in wa bayoucatholic@htdiocese.org pork and add to cabbage. Add sal This month’s heavenly recipe comes from Christine Streams, on is medium for for about two ho The Bayou Catholic publishedheat monthly, diocesan liaison for Black Catholic Ministries. A nativetheofpeople of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux by the H-T Publishing Thibodaux and resident of Houma, Christine shares her Co., P.O. Box 505, Schriever, LA 70395.

Streams family recipe of smothered cabbage, black eyed peas, Subscription rate is $35 per year. which was prepared by her daughter-in-law Pamela Streams.

She calls St. Luke the Evangelist Church parish home. “I love The Bayou Catholic is a member of the Catholic INGREDIENTS: Press Association, 1the Newspaper St. Luke. It’s my spiritual family.” lb. National package of black eyed peas Association and an associate member of the Christine has been working for the diocese since 1991. She 1 package of pickled pork Press Association. began in the Office of Religious Education and Lay Ministry.Louisiana In 1/2 medium onion addition to working as a liaison for Black Catholic ministries, Lawrence Chatagnier Garlic powder, salt, pepper and she works two days a week at St. Luke. “I have been working editor and general manager both as a volunteer and as a paid staff member of St. Luke DIRECTIONS: April LeBouef since the parish was re-established in 1986. The Josephites Boil black eyed peas until tende business manager helped us form church leadership after we were re-established, until tender. Sauté onions, peas a and stayed with us for 12 years.” minutes.

Cook on medium heat for Janet Marcel Christine, a widow, has two children. Her eldest son Wendell staff writer/administrative assistant is deceased, and her younger son Wilfred lives in Lisa Schobel Hebert Houma; she has eight grandchildren and two graphic designer as a child. “Commun great-grandchildren. was growing up; whe Meridy Liner or non-Catholic. I re Christine has close ties to the Catholic Church. accounts receivable/payable assistant “The Catholic Church has always been a part of helping families in my life. I attended St. Luke Catholic Elementary neighbors would ha School in Thibodaux and then commuted every help in the garde day to St. Lucy Catholic High School in Houma. I neighborhood would later received a degree from Xavier University and when it was harvest graduated from Loyola’s LIMEX program. I feel as all benefitted. It was Likemoved us on Facebook though I was destined to work in the church.” to different communities i or that community was family Christine uses her life’s experiences to minister to we moved, Find us on the web those in her community. “Being a spouse and now having Looking back over the years Chris www.bayoucatholic.org grandchildren, I can talk to people and minister to them. I can ministry. “We are making baby steps. relate to what they are experiencing in their lives. I am here to home. Even though I question many th Whereatothing. find your Bayouthe Catholic listen to people and comfort them.”

I love church, the Eucha Catholic magazine can be found Christine says that community was important growing upBayou love my church.” BC

BY FAX: (985) 850-3232

Black Eyed

24

26

22 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • February 2021

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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

February 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 5

From the Editor

Now more than ever ...

Words matter

Those of us who are parents are charged with an enormous responsibility to raise our children in an ever changing world, which sometimes isn’t so pleasant. We have the task of guiding them from infancy, to childhood, through their adolescent years and into adulthood. One of the keys to great parenting is having honest and open communication with your children.

Parents give their children words of wisdom, guide them through the difficult teenage years, all the while using words of love, providing protection and fostering a loving environment, reminding them with words that they are part of a family.

Parents would never intentionally use words that would steer their children into harm’s way. Words matter.

If you are of the age where school days are well into the rear view mirror, you might have to try hard to remember when you were in school and a teacher gave you words of encouragement. That teacher may have even praised you for your efforts or even challenged you to do your best. Teachers give us words to encourage us, affirm us and challenge us throughout our school years. Our teachers used words that helped us realize we could attain our dreams and become productive citizens. Words matter.

Throughout life we develop friendships with people. Some friendships last for a long time, others are situational. You will find for friendships to last there has to be two-way communication. There are many one-sided friendships where someone thinks that they are just along for the ride while the other person mostly dominates the activities, interests and conversations. However, the best friendships are those where people have shared interests and communicate honestly with one another and respect each other.

Each person is careful to respect the other and not use words to quickly judge the other and is respectful of the other person’s feelings. In conversations real friends don’t hurt each other with hurtful words. A real friend would not persuade you with words that would put you in jeopardy or in a dangerous situation.

Words matter.

Anyone who is married knows that it takes time and effort to make a marriage work. Once again communication is the key to success. It is okay to disagree with one another. What is not okay is when arguments become so heated that words used are difficult to take back. Couples should know each other well enough to know when to stop and pull back from an argument before damage is done by hurtful words. Loving couples would never use words to manipulate one another into doing something that would be harmful. Words matter.

Social media has given us the opportunity to reach millions of people with a simple keystroke.

It has the ability to be used as a great communication tool to inform, entertain, and bring people together

6 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • February 2021

and connected to many social outlets. It is sad though when people use social media as a platform to sew division, hatred and prejudice.

It is easy to hide behind a computer screen anonymously spewing words of anger, sowing seeds of racism and division. A responsible, honest and respectable person would never use words on social media to enrage others to the point of violence.

Words matter.

Over 2,000 years ago Jesus Christ walked this Earth preaching love, goodwill toward all and healing people of their illness and sins. Today, his words are still remembered when we read the Bible. His words come to life when we celebrate Mass. Jesus’ teachings included words of love, compassion, healing and forgiveness. Words matter.

As each of us look back we all have people in our lives who have guided us on a path in the right direction, where everyone is treated as our neighbor, where everyone is treated with respect and dignity no matter their differences. During this time of great unrest in our nation, a time that none of us have experienced in our lives before, let us remember the words of Christ: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40). Words matter.

Remember, after reading Bayou Catholic, pass it on to a friend or relative who might not be attending Mass. It’s one of the great ways to do your part in spreading the Good News. BC

Lawrence

Lawrence Chatagnier Editor & General Manager

February 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 7

• Muchas personas se ven beneficiadas de su apoyo a la CMAI: • Los estudiantes de la pequeñia escuela misionera en el sureste de los EEUU. • La Comunidad Católica atendida por un diácono Nativo Americana en Alaska.

• La parroquia Nativo Americana en la Pradera.

Su apoyo ayuda a todas estas personas a llegar a conocer a Jesús.

• La CMAI ayuda a conseguir buenos maestros para escuelas que en otras circunstancias estarian luchando para mantenerse abiertas.

• Los fondos de la CMAI ayudan a las diócesis a formar ministros laicos y catequistas para difundir el Evangelio en sus propias comunidades.

• Contribuir a la CMAI ayuda a animar a jóvenes Afroamericanos e Indígenas a entregar su vida al Señor como sacerdotes, religiosos o religiosas.

• Many people benefit from your support of the BIMC: • Students in the small mission school in the Deep South.

• The Catholic community served by a Native deacon in Alaska.

• The Native American parish on the prairie.

Your support helps all of them come to know Jesus.

• The BIMC helps get good teachers in schools that would otherwise struggle to stay open.

• Funding from the BIMC helps dioceses form lay ministers and catechists to spread the Gospel in their own communities.

• Supporting the BIMC helps encourage young African Americans and Native Americans to give their lives to the Lord as priests, brothers, or sisters.

Thank you for your generosity.

The collection will be held February 20 and 21, 2021

www.blackandindianmission.org

Our Mission to the Missions

BUILDING

La Colecta para las Misiones Afroamericanas e Indigenas (CMAI) existe para ayudar a los obispos y las diócesis a edificar la Iglesia entre las comunidades Afroamericanas, Indigenas y de Nativos de Alaska.

The Black and Indian Mission Collection (BIMC) exists to help bishops and dioceses to build up the Church in African American, Native American, and Alaska Native communities.

BLACK AND INDIAN MISSION COLLECTION

Comment

Lent is the perfect opportunity for us to continue to pray and reflect on the many issues and challenges we face Comfort For My People Bishop Shelton J. Fabre

The holy season of Lent will be upon us again as we enter into it on Ash Wednesday, February 17. We enter into this Lent with many struggles playing out before us in our country, and in perhaps in our hearts. Our country still struggles to find union and unity amidst the many challenges that we face, and the divisions that weigh us down. We continue to address the important questions of immigration, racism, as well as other concerns and issues that demand that together we undertake the slow and hard work to address and resolve them. Like last year, we participate in this Lent burdened by the coronavirus pandemic that still affects us in so many ways, most notably and sadly the loss of life.

Lent is the perfect opportunity for us to continue to pray and reflect on these issues and what is to be found regarding them in our own hearts. We can respond to the call of Lent and seek a conversion of our own minds, hearts and actions to being the best disciple of Jesus Christ that we can be in regard to these ongoing concerns.

As I have stated before, there is no other season of the church’s liturgical year that has the staying power of the season of Lent. In contrast to Lent, many of us do not really remain true in our thoughts and actions during the

entire duration of the other significant seasons of the church’s liturgical year, like Christmas or Easter. By this I mean that for the most part the joy of the Christmas season or the Easter season fades or ends immediately after Christmas Day or after Easter Sunday.

In contrast to these two seasons, the disciplines of the season of Lent really do captivate us and hold us throughout the entire season of Lent, which in its duration of 40 days is at least almost equal to the length of the season of Easter and far longer than the season of Christmas. You may not find much Christmas spirit (or many Christmas decorations) still present on Dec. 30, but weeks after Ash Wednesday you will still find Catholics denying themselves sweets, or praying an extra rosary each week. You may not find much joy and celebration in the Easter Alleluias during the Fifth Week of Easter, but even during the Sixth Week of Lent you will find Catholics dining on fish and fasting on Fridays of Lent, or continuing to sacrificially give to their Rice Bowl or other forms of Lenten self-denial.

Even if Catholics for one reason or another cease these traditional practices during the season of Lent, there is still at least always present in many ways during Lent a conscious awareness that one is not living up to the real call of the season of Lent.

As was the case last year during Lent, with the coronavirus restrictions that we face perhaps this is the perfect time again for the benefit of others and ourselves to enter even more deeply spiritually into the self-denial and restrictions that are placed on us because of the coronavirus. I saw an article recently that stated that

8 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • February 2021

people of deep faith have endured the restrictions caused by the coronavirus better than those who lack faith. That is easy for me to believe. As people of faith, we know the benefit of selfdenial and penitential practices, and the hope and joy that they can lead us to experience. We know the benefit of undertaking self-denial and penitential actions for the benefit of others and ourselves. If as people of faith we go deeper into these penitential practices and seek to remain true to the coronavirus restrictions during Lent for the benefit of ourselves and others, then the joy and hope of Easter will take root in our hearts, even in spite of the challenges we may still face. As we did last year during Lent, I think this season of Lent is another opportunity along with our penitential practices to enter into the coronavirus restrictions from a spiritual perspective, and to allow the season of Lent to ag ain speak to our hopes rooted in the risen Jesus Christ.

As we enter again into the staying power of the season of Lent, the ashes of Ash Wednesday will fall fresh upon our foreheads. We remember that we are dust, and that we are utterly and completely dependent upon God. We are worthless without God, and after our wanderings into sinfulness, we desire to return to the Lord. Our fidelity to the season of Lent and to our acts of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, and this year to coronavirus restrictions, are an indication of our hope in the mercy and love of God, and our care and concern for one another. Blessings on your Lenten prayer and observances!!!!

BC

February 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 9

Comentario

Cuaresma es la oportunidad perfecta para nosotros para continuar orando y reflexionando sobre las muchas situaciones y desafíos que enfrentamos El tiempo santo de la Cuaresma viene sobre nosotros de nuevo al entrar el Miércoles de Cenizas, el 17 de febrero. Entramos en esta Cuaresma con muchas dificultades expandiéndose ante nosotros en nuestro país y quizás en nuestros corazones. Nuestro país todavía batalla para encontrar unión y unidad en medio de muchos desafíos que enfrentamos, y las divisiones que nos sobre pesan. Continuamos abarcando preguntas importantes de inmigración, racismo, así como otras preocupaciones y asuntos que demandan que juntos asumamos el lento y duro trabajo de abarcar y resolverlos. Así como el año pasado, participamos en esta Cuaresma con el peso de la pandemia del coronavirus que sigue afectándonos en muchas maneras, más notable y tristemente en la pérdida de vidas. La Cuaresma es la oportunidad perfecta para nosotros para continuar orando y reflexionando sobre estas situaciones y que las podemos encontrar en nuestros propios corazones. Podemos responder a la llamada de la Cuaresma y buscar una conversión de nuestras mentes, corazones y acciones para ser los mejores discípulos de Jesucristo que podamos respectos a estas continuas preocupaciones. Así como lo dije antes, no hay otra razón del año litúrgico de la iglesia que el poder permanente del tiempo de Cuaresma. En contraste a la Cuaresma, muchos de nosotros realmente no permanecemos verdaderamente en nuestros pensamientos y acciones durante la duración completa de otros tiempos significantes del año litúrgico de la iglesia, como Navidad o Pascua. Con ello quiero decir que la mayor parte de la alegría del tiempo navideño o tiempo pascual desaparece o termina inmediatamente después del día de Navidad o después del Domingo de

Resurrección. En contraste con estos dos tiempos, las disciplinas del tiempo de Cuaresma realmente nos cautivan y nos sostienen durante toda el tiempo de Cuaresma, lo cual en su duración de 40 días es al menos casi igual de larga que el tiempo pascual y aún más larga que el tiempo navideño. Quizá no encuentres mucho espíritu navideño (o muchas decoraciones navideñas) que todavía tengan hasta el 30 de diciembre, pero semanas después del Miércoles de Cenizas tú todavía encontrarás a católicos privándose de dulces u orando un rosario extra cada semana.

Quizá no encuentres mucha alegría y celebración con los Aleluyas de Pascua durante la Quinta Semana de Pascua, pero incluso en la durante la Sexta semana de Cuaresma encontrarás a católicos comiendo pescado y ayunando los viernes de Cuaresma, o continuando sacrificadamente dando en su caja de Plato de Arroz u otra forma de auto negación cuaresmal. Incluso si los católicos por alguna u otra razón deja estas prácticas tradicionales durante el tiempo de Cuaresma, todavía hay al menos algo siempre presente en diferentes maneras durante la Cuaresma una consciencia alerta de que uno no está viviendo el llamado real del tiempo de Cuaresma.

Así como fue el caso del año pasado durante la Cuaresma, con las restricciones del coronavirus que quizás enfrentemos, este es el tiempo perfecto nuevamente para el beneficio de otros y el nuestro de entrar aún más profundamente espiritualmente en la auto-negación y restricciones que se nos ponen debido al coronavirus.

Vi recientemente un artículo que decía que la gente de profunda fe han soportado las restricciones causadas por el coronavirus mucho mejor que las que carecen de fe. Esto es fácil para

10 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • February 2021

mí creerlo. Como gente de fe, sabemos los beneficios de la auto-negación y prácticas penitenciales, y la esperanza y alegría que estas pueden llevarnos a experimentar. Sabemos los beneficios de asumir la auto-negación y acciones penitentes para beneficiar a otros y a nosotros mismos. Si como gente de fe vamos profundizando más en estas acciones de práctica penitenciales y buscamos permanecer fieles a las restricciones del coronavirus durante la Cuaresma por el bien de nosotros mismos y de los demás, entonces la alegría y la esperanza de Pascua se enraizarán en nuestros corazones, aún en medio de los desafíos que podamos enfrentar. Así como lo hicimos el año pasado durante Cuaresma, pienso que este tiempo de Cuaresma es otra oportunidad junto con nuestras prácticas penitenciales de entrar en las restricciones del coronavirus de una perspectiva espiritual, y permitir que el tiempo de Cuaresma de nuevo hable a nuestra esperanza enraizada en Jesucristo resucitado.

Mientras entramos nuevamente en el poder permanente del tiempo cuaresmal, las cenizas del Miércoles de Cenizas caerán renovadamente sobre nuestras frentes. Recordemos que somos polvo y que absoluta y completamente dependemos de Dios.

Somos nada sin Dios, y después de nuestra errancia en pecaminosidad, deseamos regresar al Señor. Nuestra fidelidad a este tiempo de Cuaresma y nuestros actos de oración, ayuno y penitencia, y este año las restricciones del coronavirus, son una indicación de nuestra esperanza en la misericordia y amor de Dios, y de nuestro cuidado por los demás. ¡Bendiciones sobre su oración y observancia cuaresmal! BC

Binh luan bang loi

Mùa Chay là cơ hội tuyệt vời giúp chúng ta tiếp tục cầu nguyện và suy tư trên mọi vấn đề và thử thách mà ta đối diện Mùa Chay thánh một lần nữa lại đến với chúng ta khởi đầu vào ngày Thứ tư Lễ Tro, ngày 17 tháng Hai. Chúng ta bước vào Mùa Chay với nhiều thử thách đang diễn ra ngay trước mắt trong đất nước mình, và nó cũng hiện diện trong tâm hồn chúng ta nữa. Quốc gia mình sẽ gặp thử thách nhắm tới sự hiệp thông và thống nhất giữa bao khó khăn mà chúng ta đang đối diện, và sự chia rẽ đè nặng trên chúng ta. Chúng ta sẽ tiếp tục tìm câu trả lời cho các vấn đề rất quan trọng như di dân, kỳ thị màu da, cùng với thắc mắc và vấn đề nan giải khác mà nó đòi hỏi sự cộng tác cùng đối diện và giải quyết chung. Như năm rồi chúng ta sống Mùa chay nặng trĩu trong đại dịch mà nó vẫn đang còn ảnh hưởng ta qua nhiều cách, điều gay go và nỗi buồn khôn tả là chết chóc. Mùa Chay là cơ hội tuyệt vời giúp chúng ta tiếp tục cầu nguyện và suy tư về những thử thách này và những ưu tư đó nói gì với tâm hồn mình. Chúng ta có thể đáp lại tiếng gọi Mùa Chay và tìm sự hoán cải cho tư tưởng, trái tim và hành động để đúng với danh xưng là môn đệ ưu ái của Chúa Giêsu Ky-Tô cũng như ta có thể coi đó như bước đi mỗi ngày.

Như tôi đã nói trước đây, không có mùa phụng vụ nào trong lịch phụng vụ mà nặng ký hơn Mùa Chay. Nói ngược lại, rất nhiều người thật sự không thể chú tâm và sống đức tin hoàn toàn trong mùa phụng vụ khác hơn Mùa Chay, như Mùa Giáng Sinh hay Phục Sinh. Ý tôi là phần lớn những niềm vui Mùa Giáng Sinh hay Mùa Phục Sinh bị lu mờ hay biến mất ngay sau Lễ̉ Giáng Sinh hay Lễ Phục

Sinh. Phản ảnh ngược lại với hai mùa phụng vụ đó, sự nghiêm chỉnh Mùa Chay thật sự quyến rũ và giữ chúng ta sống trọn Mùa Chay, mà nó kéo dài 40 ngày, thời gian đó dài gần bằng Mùa Phục Sinh và đương nhiên dài hơn Mùa Giáng Sinh. Anh chị em có thể không còn cảm giác Giáng Sinh (hay trang trí Giáng Sinh) vẫn còn hiện diện sau 30 tháng 12, nhưng những tuần sau Lễ Tro anh chị em vẫn thấy người Công Giáo hy sinh kẹo bánh, và lần hạt mân côi thêm mỗi tuần. Anh chị em có thể không tìm thấy niềm hân hoan và cảm giác hát bài ca Alleluia Phục Sinh trong tuần lễ thứ năm Phục Sinh, nhưng tuần lễ thứ sáu Mùa Chay anh chị em vẫn nhìn thấy người Công Giáo kiêng thịt và ăn chay các ngày thứ Sáu trong mùa, hay tiếp tục hy sinh giúp người nghèo qua chương trình Chén Cơm Người Nghèo và các hình thức hãm mình khác. Mặc cho nhiều người Công Giáo vì lỵ ́ do này hay kia không còn thực thi những thói quen truyền thống trong Mùa Chay, nhưng họ vẫn có ý thức qua nhiều cách nhận thấy rằng mình không sống đúng ơn gọi của Mùa Chay.

Một ví dụ điển hình như Mùa Chay năm rồi, với sự hạn chế do dịch gây ra mà ta đang đối diện có lẽ là thời điểm tuyệt vời giúp người cũng như chúng ta đi sâu hơn trong tu đức bằng sự sinh và giới hạn mà nó đè nặng trên chúng ta do con dịch. Tôi đọc một bản tin gần đây nói rằng người có đức tin chịu đựng hạn chế do dịch gây ra khá hơn những ai không có đức tin. Tôi thấy đó rất dễ hiểu. Là người có đức tin chúng ta nhận ra sự lợi hại của sự hãm mình

và các hành động sám hối, và niềm hy vọng và niềm vui mà chúng mang đến cho chúng ta. Chúng ta cảm nhận được lợi ích vì lòng quyết tâm hãm mình cùng với hành động sám hối để mang lại lợi ích cho người khác và chính mình. Nếu là người có đức tin chúng ta đi sâu vào những cử sám hối và tận tâm tôn trọng các giới hạn do dịch gây ra trong Mùa Chay để chúng mang lại ích lợi cho chúng ta và người khác, kết quả là niềm hân hoan cùng với hy vọng Phụ Sinh sẽ mọc rễ trong trái tim chúng ta, kể cả khi chúng ta đang đối diện với nhiều thử thách. Như việc hy sinh chúng ta làm trong Mùa Chay năm rồi, tôi thiết tưởng Mùa Chay này là một dịp khác với lòng hy sinh hãm mình diễn ra ngay trong sự hạn chế mùa dịch nhưng nhìn qua cái lăng kính tu đức, để cho Mùa Chay một lần nữa gây tiếng vang hy vọng cho mình mà nó bắt nguồn từ Chúa Phục Sinh.

Một lần nữa khi chúng ta bước vào sức mạnh của Mùa Chay, bụi tro trong ngày Lễ Tro sẽ ghi ấn trên trán mỗi người. Chúng ta nhớ rằng mình là hạt bụi, và rằng ta âm thầm nói lên và nhận ra chúng ta hoàn toàn dựa vào Chúa. Chúng ta chẳng là gì nếu không có Ngài, và sau khi đi vào con đường tội lỗi chúng ta có tâm trở lại với Chúa. Sự trung thành với Mùa Chay, siêng năng cầu nguyện, ăn chay và làm việc bố thí, và bị giới hạn do dịch trong năm, chính là dấu chỉ của niềm hy vọng vào sự thương xót và tình yêu Chúa, cùng với sự quan tâm và cảm thông cho nhau.

Phép lành ban cho anh chị em trong kinh nguyện và sống đạo trong Mùa Chay!!!! BC

February 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 11

Comment

Pope Francis: Coronavirus pandemic has ‘exposed inefficiencies’ in care of the sick The Pope Speaks

Vatican City (CNA) Pope Francis said recently that the coronavirus pandemic had “exposed inefficiencies in the care of the sick.”

In his message for the 29th World Day of the Sick, he argued that vulnerable people were unable to gain access to treatment amid the pandemic, which has claimed the lives of more than 1.9 million people worldwide.

“The current pandemic has exacerbated inequalities in our healthcare systems and exposed inefficiencies in the care of the sick. Elderly, weak and vulnerable people are not always granted access to care, or in an equitable manner,” he said.

“This is the result of political decisions, resource management and greater or lesser commitment on the part of those holding positions of responsibility.”

In the message, he called for greater investment in healthcare, describing it as “a priority linked to the fundamental principle that health is a primary common good.”

“Yet the pandemic has also highlighted the dedication and generosity of healthcare personnel, volunteers, support staff, priests, men and women religious, all of whom have helped, treated, comforted and served so many of the sick and their families with professionalism, self-giving, responsibility and love of neighbor,” he wrote.

“A silent multitude of men and women, they chose not to look the other way but to share the suffering of patients, whom they saw as neighbors and members of our one human family. Such closeness

is a precious balm that provides support and consolation to the sick in their suffering.”

Pope John Paul II established the World Day of the Sick in 1992. It is marked on Feb. 11, the liturgical memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes.

The theme of this year’s observance is “You have but one teacher and you are all brothers” (Matthew 23:8), taken from a Gospel passage in which Jesus criticizes those who fail to practice what they preach.

“Jesus’ criticism of those who ‘preach but do not practice’ is helpful always and everywhere, since none of us is immune to the grave evil of hypocrisy, which prevents us from flourishing as children of the one Father, called to live universal fraternity,” the pope said.

“Before the needs of our brothers and sisters, Jesus asks us to respond in a way completely contrary to such hypocrisy.

He asks us to stop and listen, to establish a direct and personal relationship with others, to feel empathy and compassion, and to let their suffering become our own as we seek to serve them.”

The 84-year-old pope has himself recently struggled with illness. He was unable to preside at the Vatican’s liturgies on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day because of “painful sciatica” that has affected him for a number of years.

In his message for the World Day of the Sick this February, he reflected on the impact of illness.

“The experience of sickness makes us realize our own vulnerability and our innate need of others. It makes us feel all the more clearly that we are creatures dependent on God,” he wrote.

“When we are ill, fear and even bewilderment can grip our minds and hearts; we find ourselves powerless, since our health does not depend on our abilities or life’s incessant worries.”

“Sickness raises the question of life’s meaning, which we bring before God in faith. In seeking a new and deeper direction in our lives, we may not find an

12 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • February 2021

immediate answer. Nor are our relatives and friends always able to help us in this demanding quest.”

The pope underlined the importance of the “relational aspect” of care for the sick.

“Emphasizing this aspect can help doctors, nurses, professionals and volunteers to feel responsible for accompanying patients on a path of healing grounded in a trusting interpersonal relationship,” he wrote.

“This creates a covenant between those in need of care and those who provide that care, a covenant based on mutual trust and respect, openness and availability.”

“This will help to overcome defensive attitudes, respect the dignity of the sick, safeguard the professionalism of healthcare workers and foster a good relationship with the families of patients.”

He said that this relationship between caregiver and patient can be sustained by the “charity of Christ,” pointing to “the witness of those men and women who down the millennia have grown in holiness through service to the infirm.”

“For the mystery of Christ’s death and resurrection is the source of the love capable of giving full meaning to the experience of patients and caregivers alike,” the pope said.

“The Gospel frequently makes this clear by showing that Jesus heals not by magic but as the result of an encounter, an interpersonal relationship, in which God’s gift finds a response in the faith of those who accept it. As Jesus often repeats: ‘Your faith has saved you.’”

“A society is all the more human to the degree that it cares effectively for its most frail and suffering members, in a spirit of fraternal love. Let us strive to achieve this goal, so that no one will feel alone, excluded or abandoned,” he urged.

The pope concluded his message by entrusting the sick and their caregivers to Mary, Mother of Mercy and Health of the Infirm. BC

Comment

Questions of Faith Father Brice Higginbotham

Is it morally acceptable to receive a COVID-19 vaccine? I’ve heard that some of the vaccines are connected to abortion.

Recently, someone reached out to me with moral questions about the COVID-19 vaccines which are coming out now and their connection to abortions by which a baby was murdered—one in 1973 and another in 1985. I hope that the thoughts and insights here will be helpful for your thinking through this issue.

The National Catholic Bioethics Center writes that the hundreds of COVID-19 vaccines in development can, regarding their connection to abortion, “be divided into three groups based on a resource produced by the Charlotte Lozier Institute: 1. Those that do not use abortionderived cell lines in any phase of design, manufacture or testing 2. Those that do not use abortionderived cell lines in the manufacturing process but used an aborted fetal cell line at one point in development, such as confirmatory testing 3. Those that use abortion-derived cell lines in more than one phase of development and, in particular, the manufacturing process” (National Catholic Bioethics Center, “Points to Consider on the Use of COVID-19 Vaccines,” Dec. 8, 2020, https://static1.squarespace.com/ static/5e3ada1a6a2e8d6a131d1dcd/ t/5fd3ce39e679895094d d1e49/1607716409962/ NCBCVaccineStatementFINAL.pdf).

Group 1: No Connection to Abortion Vaccines in the first group are the ones that we want to use. As of this writing (Jan. 3, 2021), there are vaccines currently in clinical trials

Are COVID-19 vaccines connected to abortion? which do not use abortion-derived cell lines in any phase. One of these morally acceptable vaccines (Bharat Biotech/Indian Council of Medical Research) was just today approved for use in India. It is unknown when a vaccine with no connection to abortion will be approved in the United States.

Once these vaccines are available to us however, Catholics who desire a COVID-19 vaccine should get one of these (A chart provided by the Charlotte Lozier Institute gives a helpful analysis. COVID-19-VaccineCandidates-and-Abortion-DerivedCell-Lines.pdf (pcdn.co), accessed Jan. 2, 2021: https://s27589.pcdn.co/ wp-content/uploads/2020/12/COVID19-Vaccine-Candidates-and-AbortionDerived-Cell-Lines.pdf).

A good Catholic who would otherwise vaccinate may, considering the risks, choose to refrain from taking a COVID-19 vaccine until one with no connection to abortion is available to him (As Joseph Meaney, president of the National Catholic Bioethics Center, writes: “There would be no real moral quandary if ethical and effective COVID vaccines with no connection to abortion existed. In that case, the moral choice would be clear: people who wish to be vaccinated must take the ethically produced vaccine. But our current situation presents the dilemma of

whether individuals should accept and use ethically problematic vaccines that are the only vaccines licensed for use at this time.” “Point: The Current COVID Vaccines Are Problematic But Permissible,” Catholic Answers Dec. 23, 2020, https://www.catholic. com/magazine/online-edition/ point-the-current-covid-vaccinesare-problematic-but-permissible, emphasis added).

Group 2: Tested on Cells Connected to Abortion The first two vaccines distributed in the United States (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna) fall into the second group. Neither of these vaccines were designed or produced with any connection at all to cells from aborted babies. Then, after each vaccine was developed, it was tested on cells from abortion-derived cell lines.

Testing the vaccine on cells derived from an aborted baby was wrong.

But that testing isn’t intrinsic to the vaccine itself.

For example, U.S. army soldiers use M4 carbine guns. Those are put to good use in protecting the country and the world from wickedness. Someone might get an M4 and use it to murder other people. That would be an evil action, but would have no bearing on the gun. In fact, the U.S. army could even order an operation using the M4s which commanded something

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February 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 13

Comment

evil. In neither case would we say, “M4s are evil and we can’t use them,” even if they were used in an evil manner. We could even think of a crazy situation where the inventor of the M4 tested the first ones on people. That would be gravely evil, but it wouldn’t make the M4 a bad weapon.

I think that it’s the same thing with those vaccines. They were developed and are produced in a moral manner, but were at one point used in a bad way. I don’t think that their use in a bad way (on cells from aborted babies for confirmatory testing) makes the vaccine itself bad; it means that the scientists who used these vaccines in such a way committed an evil act (for which we pray that they repent).

Those companies and researchers, however, do not have any real external pressure to stop the wicked deed of testing their vaccines on abortionderived cell lines. If Catholics were to refuse such a vaccine, then companies would have financial incentive to focus on the production of those morally acceptable vaccines in Group 1.

In summary, there is no moral problem with these vaccines themselves. However, the refusal of these vaccines would disincentivize their being tested on abortion-derived cell lines and therefore options in Group 1—once they become available—should be used by those who choose vaccination. A good Catholic may however, considering the risks, choose to be vaccinated with a vaccine from Group 2.

Group 3: Developed and Produced with Cells Connected to Abortion The forthcoming OxfordAstraZeneca vaccine falls into this group, which has significant problems.

Cell-lines from an aborted baby were actually used in the development and now in the production of these vaccines, which is wicked. Kidney tissue was taken from an aborted baby in the Netherlands in 1973. Cells from this tissue (the HEK-293 cell line) were replicated in a laboratory and have created many, many new cells in the past 50 years. The cells used in these vaccines are thousands of

generations removed from the original cells harvested from a baby murdered in the womb. Nonetheless, the cells used in these vaccines are a direct result of the harvest of cells from a baby murdered in the womb 48 years ago.

Additionally, bits of this baby’s DNA remain in the vaccine. According to the National Catholic Bioethics Center, “When vaccines are grown in these cell lines, the cells are filtered out when the vaccine is extracted. Tiny fragments of DNA from the abortionderived cells or other cells used are in the vaccine doses produced in this way” (National Catholic Bioethics Center, “COVID-19 Vaccines”).

Recent statements from the Vatican’s Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith and from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have indicated that, because they judge “the otherwise uncontainable spread of a serious pathological agent— in this case, the pandemic spread of SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19” to be “a grave danger,” “all vaccinations recognized as clinically safe and effective can be used in good conscience with the certain knowledge that the use of such vaccines does not constitute formal cooperation with the abortion from which the cells used in production of the vaccines derive.

It should be emphasized, however, that the morally licit use of these types of vaccines, in the particular conditions that make it so, does not in itself constitute a legitimation, even indirect, of the practice of abortion, and necessarily assumes the opposition to this practice by those who make use of these vaccines” (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, “Note on the Morality of Using Some AntiCovid-19 Vaccines,” Dec. 21, 2020, https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/ congregations/cfaith/documents/ rc_con_cfaith_doc_20201221_notavaccini-anticovid_en.html, emphasis original).

The argument goes something like this: Using body parts from murdered babies to heal others is wrong. I can’t kill you and take your heart just because I need a heart transplant.

14 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • February 2021

These cells (from the HEK-293 cell line) are however not parts of the baby. They are descendants of the cells taken from the aborted baby. In addition, this murder did not happen yesterday. It happened 48 years ago.

The argument is that, while a person taking the vaccine today would be benefiting from a grave evil done in the past, the person taking the vaccine today had nothing to do with the grave evil, and maybe wasn’t even born when the baby was killed.

Since the person today had nothing to do with the evil of this abortion and can’t go back and change it, the argument goes that if this vaccine is both needed and the only option, a person could take it so long as she clearly voiced her objection to the use of cell-lines originating with an abortion in vaccine production.

Here the question arises as to how one would clearly voice her objection.

As with those vaccines in Group 2, companies and researchers producing vaccines in Group 3 do not have substantial external pressure to stop the wicked deed of using abortionderived cell lines as they design, develop, produce and test vaccines. If Catholics were to refuse such a vaccine, that would be a very powerful way of voicing our objections and companies would have financial incentive to focus on the production of more morally acceptable vaccines. Nonetheless, the Vatican has instructed us that a good Catholic may, considering the risks, receive a vaccine in Group 3 if no other option is readily available (“When ethically irreproachable COVID-19 vaccines are not available-e.g. in countries where vaccines without ethical problems are not made available to physicians and patients, or where their distribution is more difficult due to special storage and transport conditions, or when various types of vaccines are distributed in the same country but health authorities do not allow citizens to choose the vaccine with which to be inoculated-it is morally acceptable to receive COVID-19 vaccines that have used cell lines from aborted fetuses in their research

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Comment

and production process”-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, “COVID-19 Vaccines,” emphasis original).

Finally, the Vatican has also explicitly recognized that “practical reason makes evident that vaccination is not, as a rule, a moral obligation and that, therefore, it must be voluntary” but that those who abstain from vaccination must be aware of the common good and do their utmost to avoid “becoming vehicles for the transmission of the infectious agent” (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, “COVID-19 Vaccines,” emphasis added).

Many of us are still working through our thoughts on vaccines in Group 3. It makes sense that the person receiving a vaccine now had nothing to do with the abortion in the 1973 or 1985. But, at the same time, something doesn’t seem right about using a vaccine which does truly

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derive from aborted baby cells. So if you’re struggling to formulate your thoughts/feelings/moral reactions to it, that’s o.k. And, in the end, the choice to get or not to get any of these COVID-19 vaccines remains your own.

Pray, be courageous, and follow your well-formed conscience.

I hope that these reflections are helpful. I realize that much more could be said about vaccines, COVID-19, the church, etc. But I hope that this small reflection is helpful to you as you think out the specific issue of the currently or soon to be available COVID-19

vaccines and their connection to the grave evil of abortion.

(For further discussion, see Catholic Answer’s Point/Counterpoint articles in this regard: Point: The Current COVID Vaccines Are Problematic But Permissible, https://www. catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/ point-the-current-covid-vaccinesare-problematic-but-permissible.

Counterpoint: We Should Reject Abortion-Tainted Vaccines, https:// www.catholic.com/magazine/onlineedition/counterpoint-we-should-rejectabortion-tainted-vaccines). BC

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

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February 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 15

Reflections

How to go about reading the Bible Readings Between the Lines Father Glenn LeCompte

“I’d like to read and pray with the Bible, but don’t know where or how to start.” “I often don’t understand what I read.” “I read the Bible, but interpret what it means to me.”

Perhaps you have made the foregoing statements. Last month I wrote about Pope Francis’ declaration of the Third Sunday of Ordinary Time as the “Sunday of the Word.” As a follow-up to that article I intend to offer you some suggestions to help understand the Bible better and to read it authentically.

Even if you have read parts of the Bible and had trouble deciphering what it says, there is probably an equal number of parts of it you have read that are very understandable. So do not be afraid to dive into it.

First, let’s consider what is in the Bible. Genesis chapters 1-11 contain stories of creation, the first man and woman and their descendants, Noah and the great flood and the Tower of Babel story. Each of these stories is not intended to be read historically or scientifically, but as narratives which exemplify basic truths about life and our relationship to God and the world.

Genesis 12-50 tells the story of Abraham and his descendants. Exodus 1-19 narrates the Hebrews’ deliverance from Egypt and their journey to Mt. Sinai.

Exodus 20—Numbers 10 contains a variety of legal codes which help define the covenant relationship between God and his people. Numbers 11-36 recounts the Hebrews’ journey from Mt. Sinai to the Promised Land, a journey fraught with tension between the people and God, and adds some more legislation.

Deuteronomy is in the form of three speeches by Moses, given just before the

Chosen People’s entry into the Promised Land, and exhorting them to choose life by obeying the commandments or death by not doing so.

The books of Joshua-Judges narrate the emergence of Israel as a people in Canaan and the monarchy’s history.

In the course of telling the stories, the sacred authors evaluate the nation’s leaders using the laws in Deuteronomy as a standard. Not many fare well!

The corpus of books named for prophets is called the “Latter Prophets.”

These prophets, whose ministry stretches roughly from the 8th to the 4th Centuries B.C., in sum, challenge the people in their sinfulness, and also encourage them in times of trial or distress.

The “Wisdom Literature” (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Sirach, Song of Songs and Wisdom) basically deal with searching for meaning in life, mastering life and contemplating how to cope with the major challenges of life, such as illness, suffering, injustice, etc.

In the New Testament are four Gospels, whose primary concern is to tell us who Jesus is and to convey his teaching in a way that is relevant to the communities for which they wrote. In the New Testament letters, the authors seek to deal with unique issues of faith for the communities to which they wrote. Romans is actually an exposition of Paul’s version of the

16 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • February 2021

Gospel; he writes the letter to gain support from the Roman Christians as he makes his way toward the west.

Finally, the Book of Revelation is a work of apocalyptic literature, which means to communicate that in the struggle between God and the forces of evil, a struggle which manifests itself in the world, God will emerge victorious.

Now that we have a general outline of the contents of the Bible, where should you start? Ultimately that will be up to you, but it might be good to begin with the literature with which you are most familiar, which is probably the Gospels. I strongly recommend that you obtain certain resources before you begin your spiritual reading of the Scriptures. First, make sure you have the most up-to-date edition of the New American Bible: Catholic Study Bible (hereafter NABCSB). Since 1970, the New American Bible (produced for the Catholic Church) has gone through several revisions. The advantage of the NABCSB is that it provides reading guides for each of the biblical books and detailed footnotes that explain difficult passages or simply provide a necessary background for reading a passage. Along with the version of the Bible just mentioned, it would be wise to have a commentary, which gives you a passage-by-passage explanation of the Scriptures. I recommend the New Collegeville Bible Commentary,

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Reflections

which can now be purchased as a single-volume book, or in two volumes (Old and New Testaments). You can also buy separate commentaries for individual biblical books.

Here is a possible model for spiritual reading of the Bible. First, decide on reading not random passages, but a particular book, and read the passages in sequence. Secondly, pray for God to enlighten you through the Scriptures.

Thirdly, focus on a small passage or unit. Fourth, read the passage carefully, focusing on every single word, and paying attention to the footnotes; then read it again, and perhaps even a third time. Each time you read it, you will grasp more of what the passage is saying and see things in it you did not see on the first reading. Fifth, read the corresponding commentary on the passage. This is very important, because the commentary will give you a sense of what the author is trying to communicate. If you are going to make

an authentic application of biblical literature to your life, you will need to understand the message and intent of the passage. Sixth, take some time to reflect on the general message of the passage. Then ask yourself what in the passage particularly caught your attention. What has the passage taught you about Christian faith and putting faith into practice? What does the passage indicate about your relationship to God and others? Finally, think of a concrete way you can put into practice the message of the passage.

As an example of putting into practice the message of a biblical text, consider the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). Jesus replies to a legal scholar’s question as to who is the neighbor he is called to love. Jesus’ parable turns the question around and instead exemplifies how one can be a good neighbor. The legal scholar correctly interprets the meaning of Jesus’ parable, that of the three who

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encountered the injured man, “the one who treated him with mercy” behaved as a neighbor to him. Jesus replies, “Go, and do likewise.” Now you know what it means to be a neighbor, what can you do in a practical sense to be a neighbor to someone? BC

Reflection Questions v What is your favorite story in the Bible? Why? What is your favorite book of the Bible? Why? v When you have had good experiences of reading and praying with the Bible, why was that the case? v Why is it important to discern, as best we can, the author’s intended message when reading a biblical passage rather than reading it through the “lens of our experience”?

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February Scripture Readings and a listing of Feast days and saints

Sunday

7

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

1

2

3

4

5

6

Weekday Hebrews 11:32-40 Mark 5:1-20

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord Malachi 3:1-4 Hebrews 2:14-18 Luke 2:22-40

8

9

Weekday Fifth Sunday in Genesis 1:1-19 Ordinary Time Mark 6:53-56 Job 7:1-4, 6-7 1 Corinthians 9:1619, 22-23 Mark 1:29-39

14 Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46 1 Corinthians 10:31—11:1 Mark 1:40-45

15

Weekday Genesis 1:20— 2:4a Mark 7:1-13

16

Weekday Weekday Genesis 4:1-15, 25 Genesis 6:5-8; Mark 8:11-13 7:1-5 Mark 8:14-21

21

22

First Sunday of Lent Genesis 9:8-15 1 Peter 3:18-22 Mark 1:12-15

Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter the Apostle 1 Peter 5:1-4 Matthew 16:13-19

23 Lenten Weekday Isaiah 55:10-11 Matthew 6:7-15

28 Second Sunday of Lent Genesis 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18 Romans 8:31b-34 Mark 9:2-10

18 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • February 2021

Weekday Hebrews 12:4-7, 11-15 Mark 6:1-6

10 Memorial of Saint Scholastica, virgin Genesis 2:4b-9, 15-17 Mark 7:14-23

17 Ash Wednesday: Day of Fast and Abstinence Joel 2:12-18 2 Corinthians 5:20—6:2 Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 24 Lenten Weekday Jonah 3:1-10 Luke 11:29-32

Weekday Hebrews 12:18-19, 21-24 Mark 6:7-13

11 Weekday Genesis 2:18-25 Mark 7:24-30

18 Thursday after Ash Wednesday Deuteronomy 30:15-20 Luke 9:22-25

25 Lenten Weekday Esther C:12, 14-16, 23-25 Matthew 7:7-12

Memorial of Saint Agatha, virgin and martyr Hebrews 13:1-8 Mark 6:14-19

12 Weekday Genesis 3:1-8 Mark 7:31-37

19 Friday after Ash Wednesday Isaiah 58:1-9a Matthew 9:14-15

26 Lenten Weekday: Day of Abstinence Ezekiel 18:21-28 Matthew 5:20-26

Memorial of Saint Paul Miki and companions, martyrs Hebrews 13:15-17, 20-21 Mark 6:30-34

13 Weekday Genesis 3:9-24 Mark 8:1-10

20 Saturday after Ash Wednesday Isaiah 58:9b-14 Luke 5:27-32

27 Lenten Weekday Deuteronomy 26:16-19 Matthew 5:43-48

February

Holy Father’s prayer intentions

Life is great ~

Get busy living.

Universal Violence against women. We pray for women who are victims of violence, that they may be protected by society and have their sufferings considered and heeded.

See www.apostleshipofprayer.org

Independent Living Community

1201 Cardinal Drive ~ Thibodaux, LA 70301 (985) 446-9050 ~ www.stjosephmanor.org

For More Information Contact: Natalie Barbera natalieb@stjosephmanor.org

Rod’s supeRstoRe Name BraNd TV & appliaNces 879-2403

BUY NOW Rod’s supeRstoRe

Name BraNd TV & appliaNces 879-2403

808 Barrow St. • Houma, LA 70360 February 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 19

Special

‘Fratelli tutti’

Pope Francis issues social encyclical calling people to care for one another as brothers and sisters

Guest Columnist Father Joey Lirette

When asked to write this article, I had just been diagnosed with COVID-19 and was quarantined to my room in the rectory. Having read Fratelli tutti a few days before this time of isolation provided me with an opportunity to pray with it deeply. In prayer a true story I read kept coming into my heart.

Eight convicts were in a holding cell and noticed the armed guard outside their cell was slumped in his chair and lost consciousness. They called for the guards, shouted for help, and finally forced open the cell door. Still shackled, they found the guard had no pulse, and they began shouting and banging on the walls. Finally, some deputies heard the commotion and came running.

Those prisoners could easily have stayed behind bars. The deputies, who had no idea why the prisoners had broken out of their cell, or why the guard was unconscious, might have shot first and asked questions later. Thank God they didn’t. The prisoners went quietly back to their cell, and deputies started CPR; paramedics arrived, used a defibrillator, and saved the guard’s life. When asked why they went out on

a limb for a guard, one of the prisoners, a meth addict, said, “That’s a good man.

He saves lives.”

The phrase “good Samaritan” has become just a part of our everyday language. Anyone who helps a stranger, like those prisoners helping the guard, is a “good Samaritan.” We even have “good Samaritan laws” to protect people who take a chance helping strangers.

Sometimes Bible stories we’ve heard all our lives become common place … and we don’t see them any longer in true light, because they are no longer surprising to us.

Take that phrase “good Samaritan.”

Who were the Samaritans? You might remember Samaritan villagers wouldn’t welcome Jesus because he was on his way to Jerusalem, and James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven on them. In John’s Gospel, the Samaritan woman at the well is amazed when Jesus asks her for a drink, because as John tells us, Jews and Samaritans have nothing to do with one another.

Samaritans to the Jews were heretics, half-heathens — literally half-foreign offspring of Jews intermarrying with foreign colonists. The bottom line is to Jews the idea of a “good Samaritan” was almost a paradox.

In this true story about the prisoners, a couple of Scripture passages come to mind.

When the meth addict said the guard was a good man, I can’t help but think who was good at that moment.

I remember Jesus saying … as he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him,

20 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • February 2021

“Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone (Matthew10:17-18).

Could this meth addict have seen Jesus in this good man and was reaching out like the good thief who was on the cross with Jesus? Did this meth addict, being moved by the Holy Spirit, take one step closer to sainthood by helping his fellow man no matter the cost? With this so-called act of random kindness, did this addict turn his life around?

Sometimes we look at things and say that’s what he was supposed to do. We should help our brothers and sisters … it’s the human thing to do. But how many inhuman things do we do and no one steps up? … abortion … euthanasia … assisted suicide … etc. Being good is not easy.

Jesus says in John (13:34-35), “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Let’s not ever forget this.

I know a lot of you reading this article will not remember this because our times are so different. When I was growing up, in many communities it was common to see signs in store front windows saying … white people only or businesses needing help … woman need not apply and today although not advertised I hear … no Mexican better come for a job. How things have changed! Or have they?

Imagine if Jesus were

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Chapter Two preaching in America today? Who would the parable be about? Maybe the good undocumented Hispanic … or the good Muslim refugee. In some college classrooms, believe it or not, you’re considered a terrible person if you follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, so it may be a parable of the good Christian! Who would it be for us? For you? For me?

The story of salvation is the story of union, reconciliation, coming together.

First God unites humanity to divinity by taking on our human nature in the Incarnation, becoming a man in Jesus Christ our Lord.

The word “catholic” means universal.

Jesus is the universal savior, the savior of all mankind, Jew and Gentile, man

and woman, black and white, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Indian, rich and poor, old and young, slave and free.

Pope Francis, in his encyclical, warns us that being religious doesn’t automatically translate into love of neighbor: “It is not automatic! You may know the whole Bible, you may know all the liturgical rubrics, you may know all theology, but from this knowledge love is not automatic … The priest and the Levite see but ignore; they look but they do not offer to help. Yet there is no true worship if it is not translated into service to neighbor … before the suffering of so many people exhausted by hunger, violence and injustice, we cannot remain spectators. What does it mean to ignore the suffering of man? It means to ignore God! If I do not draw close to that man, that woman, that child, that elderly man or woman who are suffering, I do not draw close to God.” Who is my neighbor? Who do I have to love? Jesus’ answer here is the most radical moral teaching in history.

Remember, Jews and Samaritans were enemies. Jesus taught that we cannot love our neighbor and hate our enemy; we must love even our enemies.

This is such a hard teaching we have taken the sting out of it by spiritualizing the word “love,” so it doesn’t make any demands on us. Christians have perfected the art of saying we love

people, but you’d never know it from our actions: How we treat them, how we talk about them – behind their back, to their face.

But Jesus tells us exactly what he means: Do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.

What does all this mean in this election year? Does it mean say only nice things and don’t criticize and oppose bad candidates, bad agendas, bad laws? Of course not.

It does mean that we have to be as fair to the other side as we want them to be to us. If I don’t like it when other people misrepresent what I stand for, or ascribe bad motives or bad faith to me and my people, I need to be careful not to do those things to others.

Amid this pandemic are we being robbed of something? We wear masks and social distance. I ask is the evil one trying to stop us from being those good Samaritans Pope Francis is calling us to be? Behind every mask is a visible sign of our invisible God. A question we should perhaps ponder: Am I willing to come to the aid of my enemy — like those prisoners did?

If I don’t, am I following the example of the good Samaritan or that of the priest and the Levite, who saw the need and just kept walking?

(Father Joey Lirette is currently serving as associate pastor of Sacred Heart Church parish in Cut Off.) BC

Your personal financial goals deserve a personal approach.

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Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC. Member FINRA and SIPC. © 2020 Ameriprise Financial, Inc. February 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 21

Heavenly Recipes

Christine Streams

Christine shares a:

FAMILY RECIPE Story and Photos by Lawrence Chatagnier

This month’s heavenly recipe comes from Christine Streams, diocesan liaison for African American Catholics Ministry.

A native of Thibodaux and resident of Houma, Christine shares her Streams family recipe of smothered cabbage and black eyed peas, which was prepared by her daughter-in-law Pamela Streams. She calls St. Luke the Evangelist Church parish home. “I love St. Luke. It’s my spiritual family.”

Christine has been working for the diocese since 1991. She began in the Office of Religious Education and Lay Ministry.

In addition to working as a liaison for African American Catholics Ministry, she works two days a week at St. Luke.

“I have been working both as a volunteer and as a paid staff member of St. Luke since the parish was re-established in 1986. The Josephites helped us form church leadership after we were re-established, and stayed with us for 12 years.”

Christine, a widow, has two children. Her eldest son Wendell is deceased, and her younger son Wilfred lives in Houma; she has eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Christine has close ties to the Catholic Church.

“The Catholic Church has always been a part of my life. I attended St. Luke Catholic Elementary School in Thibodaux and then commuted every day to St. Lucy Catholic High School in Houma. I later received a degree from Xavier University and graduated from Loyola’s LIMEX program. I feel as though I was destined to work in the church.”

Christine uses her life’s experiences to minister to those in her community. “Being a spouse and now having grandchildren, I can talk to people and minister to them. I can relate to what they are experiencing in their lives. I am here to listen to people and comfort them.”

Christine says that community was important growing up 22 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • February 2021

Smothered Cabbage INGREDIENTS: 2 heads of medium sized cabbage 1/2 small onion 1 package of pickled pork 1 tsp. each of salt and pepper 1 tsp. cooking oil

DIRECTIONS: Cut both cabbages and wash thoroughly. Place in medium sized pot. Add oil and water. Sauté onions, add to pot. Boil pickled pork in water until tender. Cut pork and add to cabbage. Add salt and pepper. Cook on medium heat for about two hours. Serves eight.

Black Eyed Peas INGREDIENTS: 1 lb. package of black eyed peas 1 package of pickled pork 1/2 medium onion Garlic powder, salt, pepper and Season All to taste

DIRECTIONS: Boil black eyed peas until tender. Boil pickled pork until tender. Sauté onions, peas and pork for a few minutes. Cook on medium heat for about 2 hours. as a child. “Community was family when I was growing up; whether you were Catholic or non-Catholic. I remember our neighbors helping families in the neighborhood. Our neighbors would have gardens. We would help in the gardens. Everyone in the neighborhood would get food from the garden when it was harvest time. We all helped and all benefitted. It was a great community. We moved to different communities in Thibodaux. Wherever we moved, that community was family. We were close knit.

Looking back over the years Christine sees growth in her ministry. “We are making baby steps. I see the church as my home. Even though I question many things, I would not change a thing. I love the church, the Eucharist, the sacraments. I love my church.” BC

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Youth

in action

Gracie Breaux School: St. Gregory Barbarigo Catholic School Grade: 7th Church parish: St. Gregory Barbarigo Describe your family unit: Kristy, mother; Keith, father; Cooper, brother Favorite Hobby: Volleyball Favorite Movie: Mary Poppins Favorite T.V. Show: America’s Got Talent Favorite Genre of Music: Pop

What are some of the things you will be doing to strengthen your faith during the Lenten season?

During the Lenten season some things that I do to strengthen my faith include getting ashes on Ash Wednesday, going to church weekly, attending and participating in the Way of the Cross, doing one act of kindness each day, sacrificing something that I love, and trying to say a decade of the rosary each day.

I start off the Lenten season by getting ashes at Mass on Ash Wednesday. I feel that receiving ashes gives me time to reflect on the importance of Lent. I also altar serve during the Way of the Cross. This strengthens my connection with God and Jesus.

Choosing to do an act of kindness

is another thing that I do during the Lenten season. Practicing kindness and helping people shows them the power of God and helps spread the word of the Bible. Giving something up for Lent is another practice I do during the Lenten season. By giving something up that is important to me, it reminds me of the sacrifice Jesus made for his people. I also try to say a decade of the rosary each day. This strengthens my faith and helps me worship God. I am also president of my school’s 4H club. Our club gives back to the community by collecting for different charities. Some charities that we collect for are St. Jude, Coats for Kids,

24 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • February 2021

and local animal shelters. My favorite part about being in 4H is being able to help the younger children and get them excited about the different things we do. Our 4H club teaches students how to give back to the community and help others. This helps to spread the word of the Lord. Our club also collects canned goods for the needy. Once we collect all the food, we make baskets for them.

This makes me feel good, that I am donating to charity. By practicing these things during Lent, it deepens my relationship with God and helps me to be a better person. BC

Seminarian Education Burses What is a seminarian burse/endowment fund?

A seminarian burse/endowment 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 HoumaThibodaux.

How does someone establish a seminarian burse/endowment fund?

Very simply, a burse/endowment fund may be established and

named for anyone you choose, be it family, friend, bishop, priest, deacon, religious, etc.

Who do I contact to contribute to or establish a fund?

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

All completed Seminarian Education Burses can be viewed online.

Please visit www.htdiocese.org/vocations.

December 2020 Endowment/Burse Contributions CFSL Seminarian Fund .....................$1,200.00

Preston & Gladys Webre ................... $500.00

Deacon Raymond LeBouef ................ $200.00

Msgr. William Koninkx ........................ $100.00

Deacon Nick Messina .......................... $200.00

Mr. & Mrs. George C. Fakier ............. $100.00

Open Burses/Endowment Funds with Balance as of December 31, 2020 Donald Peltier Sr. No. 4 ..................................................$13,000.00

Mr. & Mrs. Galip Jacobs ...................................................$3,060.00

Richard Peltier No. 2 ..............................................................$300.00

Joseph Strada Memorial ................................................$12,642.63

St. Jude ....................................................................................$3,000.00

Mr. & Mrs. George C. Fakier .........................................$12,000.00

Diocesan Knights of Columbus No. 2 ........................$2,894.62

Claude Bergeron .....................................................................$250.00

Msgr. Raphael C. Labit No. 2 ......................................$11,680.00

Rev. Peter H. Brewerton ...................................................$2,600.00

Joseph Waitz Sr. ................................................................$11,500.00

Willie & Emelda St. Pierre ...............................................$2,000.00

Deacon Nick Messina ............................................................$250.00 Rev. Michael Finnegan ..........................................................$200.00 Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Naquin ...................................................$150.00

Claude & Lucy Mahler Family ......................................$11,400.00

Rev. John Gallen ..................................................................$1,950.00

Harvey Peltier No. 31 ......................................................$10,486.91

Rev. H.C. Paul Daigle .........................................................$1,900.00

Clay Sr. & Evelida Duplantis No. 2 .............................$10,000.00

Deacon Connely Duplantis .............................................$1,700.00

C. Remie Duplantis No. 2 ...............................................$10,000.00

Alfrances P. Martin .............................................................$1,650.00

Deacon Eldon Frazier .............................................................. $50.00

Marie Elise Duplantis No. 2 ..........................................$10,000.00

Judge Louis & Shirley R. Watkins ................................$1,650.00

Dean J. Chiasson Fund ......................................................$2,175.00 Fr. Brett Lapeyrouse Fund ...............................................$3,000.00

Deacon Pedro Pujals .............................................................$100.00 Rev. Warren Chassaniol ........................................................$100.00

Maude & Edith Daspit No. 2 ........................................$10,000.00

Msgr. Francis J. Legendre No. 2 ....................................$1,645.00

Msgr. George A. Landry .................................................$10,000.00

Rev. Robert J. Sevigny .......................................................$1,600.00

Msgr. William Koninkx ......................................................$9,000.00

Jacob Marcello .....................................................................$1,600.00

Catholic Daughters .............................................................$7,260.00

Rev. Hubert C. Broussard .................................................$1,550.00

Rev. Victor Toth ...................................................................$7,000.00

Msgr. Emile J. Fossier ........................................................$1,545.00

Msgr. Francis Amedee ......................................................$6,850.00

Ronnie Haydel ......................................................................$1,535.00

Rev. Gerard Hayes ..............................................................$6,686.00

Dr. William Barlette Sr. ......................................................$1,525.00

Jane & John Dean Fund .................................................$16,453.59

Brides of the Most Blessed Trinity ...............................$6,598.00

Deacon Robert Dusse’ ......................................................$1,450.00

Lena “Bobbie” Sere’ Fund ....................................................$550.00

Rev. Guy Zeringue ..............................................................$6,300.00

Rev. Anthony Rousso ........................................................$1,300.00

Leon ‘Ponoke’ & Marlene Champagne Fund .........$2,800.00

Rev. Peter Nies .....................................................................$6,000.00

Msgr. John L. Newfield .....................................................$1,200.00

Mr. & Mrs. Love W. Pellegrin .........................................$5,000.00

Rev. Joseph Tu Tran No. 2 ...............................................$1,094.00

Mary and Al Danos Fund ...............................................$90,743.36

Anonymous No. 2 ...............................................................$5,000.00

Msgr. John G. Keller ...........................................................$1,050.00

Mr. & Mrs. Caliste Duplantis Family No. 4 .............. $5,000.00

Bishop Warren L. Boudreaux No. 4 .............................$1,000.00

Rev. William M. Fleming ..................................................$5,000.00

Edna W. DiSalvo ..................................................................$1,000.00

Mrs. Ayres A. Champagne ...............................................$5,000.00

Bernice Harang ....................................................................$1,000.00

Rev. Kasimir Chmielewski ................................................$4,839.00

Deacon Willie Orgeron .........................................................$900.00

Joseph “Jay” Fertitta ...........................................................$4,450.00

Ruby Pierce ................................................................................$800.00

Richard Peltier Fund ........................................................$49,913.39

Rev. Henry Naquin .............................................................$4,311.00

Deacon Roland Dufrene ......................................................$750.00

Anawin Community ...........................................................$4,200.00

Deacon Raymond LeBouef .................................................$750.00

Society of Joseph, Husband of Mary Fund ..................$100.00

Harry Booker No. 2 ............................................................$4,138.00

Juliette & Eugene Wallace ..................................................$700.00

Msgr. James Songy ............................................................$4,075.00

Deacon Edward J. Blanchard ..............................................$700.00

Preston & Gladys Webre .................................................$3,900.00

Paul & Laura Duet ..................................................................$550.00

Kelly Curole Frazier .............................................................$3,610.96

Mr. & Mrs. Anthony Cannata .............................................$500.00

Mr. & Mrs. John Marmande ...........................................$3,500.00

Robert Walsh ............................................................................$500.00

J.R. Occhipinti .......................................................................$3,400.00

Anne Veron Aguirre ...............................................................$380.00

Harry and Karen David Fund ........................................$10,842.74

Warren J. Harang Jr. No. 2 ..............................................$3,100.00

Deacon Harold Kurtz .............................................................$300.00

CFSL Seminarian Fund ............................................. $3,931,243.68

Fr. Patrick Riviere Fund ...................................................$30,948.26 Grant J. Louviere Fund ..........................................................$100.00 Harold and Gloria Callais Family Fund .....................$68,065.79 James J. Buquet Jr. Family Fund .................................$55,926.75

Mary Timothy Everett Fund ................................................$500.00 Mr. & Mrs. Joseph J. Cefalu Sr. Fund ..........................$5,000.00 Parker Conrad Fund .........................................................$15,000.00 Paul and Laura Duet Fund ..................................................$825.00 Rev. Clemens Schneider Fund .......................................$1,125.00

The Peltier Foundation Fund .......................................$66,575.48 Viola Ann Wallace Vosbein Memorial Fund ............$1,000.00 Bishop Sam Jacobs Fund ...............................................$34,487.70 Giardina Family Foundation Fund ...............................$4,555.18 Msgr. Amedee Fund .....................................................$323,474.46

TOTAL Open Burses/Endowment Funds: $5,023,061.50 February 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 25

Special

‘Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me’ Guest Columnist Amélie Desormeaux

“Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40).

Last year was one of many sacrifices; it is hard to think that we will soon enter a season of intentional sacrifice, Lent. A season that challenges us to allow our pain and struggle to guide us toward a deeper spirituality. Pope Francis’ recently released encyclical, Fratelli tutti, calls us to a particular spirituality, one which acknowledges that everyone in this world is my brother or sister deserving of a life of dignity. A spirituality that sheds its light on those most vulnerable, marginalized and discriminated against. Catholic Relief Services’ (CRS) Rice Bowl, the Lenten faith formation program of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, is the perfect tool to guide us through a process to reach this spirituality during Lent 2021.

CRS Rice Bowl gives us everything we need, in one tiny cardboard box (and an accompanying website), to pray, learn and make a difference. This year, the program centers its daily prayers and reflections on the Gospel of Matthew 25:40: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

The CRS Rice Bowl website then takes us a step further with a weekly opportunity to connect our prayers to concrete examples of Catholic social teaching exemplified through stories

of families from Madagascar, El Salvador and Timor-Leste. These are stories of resiliency and triumph, not heartbreak. We may see people who look different from us, eat different food, live in different homes, or work different jobs, but we will also most certainly see ourselves and the light of Christ present in others. With ageappropriate activities, lessons, videos and meatless recipes, children and adults alike will have the opportunity to learn something new about the transformational power of our faith.

As Pope Francis repeatedly reminds us, our prayers and faith-formation should stir us to take action on behalf of our universal family. This Lent that may look like choosing to give up your daily cup of coffee and giving those few dollars to CRS Rice Bowl instead, where 75 percent of the funds go directly to CRS programs that serve the poor and vulnerable in other countries. The remaining 25 percent of the funds stay in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux to assist our various parish social

26 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • February 2021

ministries that serve those in need here. In South Louisiana we often feel like we haven’t done any meaningful action if there isn’t sweat dripping down our backs afterward. However, we should never underestimate the fact that simply donating money can be truly lifesaving. CRS works in over 100 countries. Parish social ministries exist throughout the diocese. Our donations allow us to reach places we will likely never physically go ourselves, especially this year, when it is safest to stay at home. Our donations allow those in need, many of whom are recovering from disasters, to create a life for themselves, one that is beautiful and acceptable to them.

Bishop Shelton J. Fabre sits on the board of CRS and can attest to the countless examples of lives transformed by the funds collected through CRS Rice Bowl.

Today, I will give you an example.

Over the years, CRS Rice Bowl has provided U.S. Catholics with inspiring stories from around the world

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that exemplify elements of Catholic social teaching. Many of these stories have involved the Food for Education program, which allows CRS to provide school lunches for children.

Pictured at right is seven-year-old Paulina Alicia Chan Sacche eating her CRS lunch at a rural school in Guatemala.

With funds from Catholic donors and grants from the U.S. government, CRS provides the school with basic food commodities and the local community provides supplemental ingredients to make the meal more nutritious and delicious, typically parents or grandparents of children in the school then cook and serve the meals. CRS and local partners make the most of increased school attendance and more attentive minds by pairing the school feeding program with activities to improve reading and writing skills.

But we must wonder, what happened to all these school lunch programs when COVID-19 hit? Schools around the U.S. closed down in the spring, and we were left to scramble to find solutions to carry our children through the rest of the school year, and the same thing happened elsewhere.

When Paulina’s school, and countless others around the world, closed, CRS stepped in to ensure that children still had access to food and education. Funds from CRS Rice Bowl were essential in allowing CRS the flexibility to quickly adapt and provide immediate and effective solutions.

While CRS programs look different this year, and our lives here certainly look different, too, we must remember that our global family needs to support one another now more than ever. The Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux has participated in CRS Rice Bowl for decades. However, given the COVID-19 context, that participation will likely look different for many parishes, schools and families this year. CRS, like all of its programs, has intentionally adapted Rice Bowl to fit our COVID-19 needs. For example, there is now a DIY label that families can print out at home rather than pick up a physical Rice Bowl at church/school. There will be national virtual events to engage Catholics throughout Lent – such as a meatless cooking class. All the tools to dig deeper into our spirituality are available online as digital resources—such as a virtual Stations of the Cross. And of course, donations can be made online – just be sure to indicate which school or church you are associated with.

Talk to your parish or school secretary about how they would like you to pick up, participate in, and return your CRS Rice Bowl this year. Check out www.crsricebowl.org to see everything available to your parish, your classroom or your family!

(Amélie Desormeaux is the community engagement manager for Catholic Relief Services, Southeast Region.) BC

Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux Dr. Nicole Bourgeois, LMFT nbourgeois@htdiocese.org 985-876-0490

February 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 27

Announcement

Bishop Fabre announces pastoral appointments In order to provide pastoral care for the people of God of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, Bishop Shelton J. Fabre, in consultation with the priests’ personnel board, has announced the following pastoral appointments, effective Jan. 15, 2021: The Rev. Daniel Duplantis, who has been serving as associate pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Church parish in Thibodaux since July 2019, has been appointed as associate pastor of the Cathedral of St. Francis de Sales in Houma. Father Duplantis, a native of Bayou Blue, was ordained June 6, 2020.

The Rev. Brett Lapeyrouse, who has been serving as associate pastor of St. Genevieve Church parish in Thibodaux since July 2019, has been appointed as associate pastor of Holy Cross Church parish in Morgan City. Father Lapeyrouse, a native of Chauvin/Bourg, was ordained June 1, 2019.

The Rev. Joseph Tregre, who has been serving as pastor of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Church parish in Houma since July 2019, has been appointed as associate pastor of St. Genevieve Church parish in Thibodaux.

Father Tregre, a native of Houma, was ordained May 26, 2012.

The Rev. Billy Velasco, who has been serving as associate pastor of the Cathedral of St. Francis de Sales in Houma since July 2019, has been appointed as administrator of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Church

Rev. Daniel Duplantis

Rev. Brett Lapeyrouse

Rev. Joseph Tregre

Rev. Billy Velasco

Rev. Patrick Riviere

Very Rev. Mark Toups, V.G.

parish in Houma. Father Velasco, a native of Quezon, Philippines, was ordained May 6, 1987.

In addition, on the 40th Anniversary of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, Bishop Fabre promulgated Plans of Hope, a strategic plan designed for the renewal of parish life. An intricate piece of the strategic plan calls for the ongoing renewal of the priesthood, therefore Bishop Fabre also announced his desire for intentional support to priests.

To that end, he appointed the Rev. Patrick Riviere as director of the diocesan Office of the Priesthood.

Father Riviere has been serving as liaison and priest specialist for the diocesan Office of Parish Support and associate pastor of Holy Cross Church parish. Father Riviere will continue his role in the Office of Parish Support, as well as serve as director of the Office of

28 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • February 2021

the Priesthood, on a full-time basis. He will live at St. Thomas Aquinas Church parish and assist with their weekend Masses. Father Riviere, a native of Thibodaux, was ordained June 1, 2019.

In addition, the Very Rev. Mark Toups, V.G., has been serving as pastor of Our Lady of the Isle Church parish in Grand Isle so that he might have more time dedicated to the renewal of the priesthood. Bishop Fabre announced that he has approved Father Toups for six months of sabbatical and further study with regards to the ongoing formation for priests, during the year of 2021. He will remain vicar general and pastor of Our Lady of the Isle Church parish. Father Toups, a native of Houma, was ordained May 26, 2001.

Due to the uncertainties of COVID-19 restrictions, the exact dates of Father Toups’ six months of sabbatical will be determined at a later date. BC

February Daily Prayer for Priests, Deacons and Seminarians

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

1

2

3

4

5

6

Rev. Alex Lazarra

Rev. Peter Tai Le

Rev. Glenn LeCompte

Very Rev. Eric Leyble, J.V.

Rev. Jacob Lipari III

Deacon Timothy Vedros

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

Rev. Joey Lirette

Rev. Aurelio Luzon

Rev. Clyde Mahler

Rev. Fernando Anaya

Rev. John David Matherne

Seminarian Joseph Lapeyrouse

Rev. Andre Melancon

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

Rev. John Nambusseril

Rev. Jean-Marie Nsambu

Rev. Joseph Pilola

Rev. Benie Rebosura III

Deacon Timothy White

Rev. Patrick Riviere

Rev. Henry Sebastian

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

Rev. Mitchel Semar

Rev. Antonio Maria Speedy

Rev. Carlos Talavera

Seminarian Wayne Romero

Rev. Joseph Liem Van Than, C.R.M.

Rev. Michael Bergeron, retired

Msgr. Frederic Brunet, retired

28 Bishop Shelton J. Fabre

Daily Prayer for Clergy and Religious Lord Jesus, hear our prayer for the spiritual renewal of bishops, priests, deacons, brothers, sisters, lay ministers and seminarians of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. We praise You for giving their ministry to the Church. In these days, renew them with the gifts of Your Spirit.

You once opened the Holy Scriptures to Your disciples when You walked on this earth. Now renew Your ordained and chosen ones with the truth and power of Your Word.

In Eucharist you gave Your disciples renewed life and hope. Nourish Your consecrated ones with Your own Body and Blood. Help them to imitate in their lives the death and resurrection they celebrate around Your altar.

Give them enthusiasm for the Gospel, zeal for the salvation of all people, courage in leadership and humility in service.

Give them Your love for one another and for all their brothers and sisters in You. For You love them, Lord Jesus, and we love and pray for them in Your Holy Name, today especially for _______________________. Amen.

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of the Word 506 Cardinal Drive, Thibodaux, LA • marianservantsoftheword@gmail.com

February 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 29

Feature

February’s

Black History Month is set aside to recognize central role of African Americans in U.S. history Story by Janet Marcel Photo by Lawrence Chatagnier The month of February has been officially designated by every U.S. president since 1976 as Black History Month, an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing the central role of African Americans in U.S. history. Also known as African American History Month, the event grew out of “Negro History Week,” the brainchild of historian Carter G. Woodson and other prominent African Americans (www.history.com).

According to the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), the theme for 2021 Black History Month is “The Black Family: Representation, Identity and Diversity.” The black family has been a topic of study in many disciplines—history, literature, the visual arts and film studies, sociology, anthropology and social policy. Its representation, identity and diversity have been reverenced, stereotyped and vilified from the days of slavery to our own time. The black family knows no single location, since family reunions and genetic-ancestry searches testify to the spread of family members across states, nations and continents. Not only are individual black families diasporic, but Africa and the diaspora itself have been long portrayed as the black family at large. While the role of the black family has been described by some as a microcosm of the entire race, its complexity as the “foundation” of African American life and history can be seen in numerous debates over how to represent its meaning and typicality from a historical perspective—as slave or free, as patriarchal or matriarchal/matrifocal, as single-headed or dual-headed household, as extended or nuclear, as fictive kin or blood lineage, as legal or common law, and as black or interracial, etc. Variation appears, as well, in discussions on the nature and impact of parenting, childhood, marriage, gender norms, sexuality and incarceration. The family offers a rich tapestry of images for exploring the African American past and present (ASALH).

In an effort to help individuals grow in their understanding of African American Catholicism and its impact on the local and national church, as well as on themselves, Christine 30 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • February 2021

Christine Streams, liaison for African American Catholics Ministry, speaks at St. Luke the Evangelist Church in Thibodaux.

Streams serves as the bishop’s liaison for African American Catholics Ministry in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. She says she sees her role as helping different ethnic groups in the diocese work together. “Through the process of evangelization, I want to establish programs for education/ formation, and assist with empowering African American Catholics to share their unique gifts and step into roles of leadership. But I also want to invite people of all ethnicities to sit at the decision making table, and be accountable and responsible for making decisions together.”

Locally, the Finding Our Roots African American Museum on Roussell Street in Houma was established in February 2017. The museum is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m.-Noon and 1:30-3:30 p.m., and offers group and individual tours, as well as tours for students and senior citizens.

“The museum tells the stories and experiences of our journey from the shores of Africa to the southern region of Louisiana,” says Streams. “It focuses on the route of African Americans to the new world through slavery and how we survived.” According to the museum’s brochure, it tells the unfolding story of events through exhibits, visuals, early life, music, reconstruction, Civil Rights, education, inventors, musicians and the lasting history of the African American people of Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Mary and Assumption parishes, and beyond.

Nationally, in November 2020, Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Washington, D.C., already the highest-ranking AfricanAmerican Catholic in U.S. history, became the first African American cardinal in the history of the Catholic Church in an installation ceremony in Rome.

According to Vatican News, by elevating Archbishop Gregory to the highest ranks of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis continues to play close attention to racial

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dynamics in the United States.

Cardinal Gregory, 72, told CNN, “It’s been a time to thank God for this unique moment in my life and in the life of the church in the United States. I hope it’s a sign to the African American community that the Catholic Church has a great reverence, respect and esteem for … my people of color.”

To address the evil of racism in our society and church, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism issued the pastoral letter, “Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love,” in November 2018. The letter states that “racism arises when—either consciously or unconsciously—a person holds that his or her own race or ethnicity is superior, and therefore judges persons of other races or ethnicities as inferior and unworthy of equal regard.”

“Racism is institutionalized and cultural; it has a lot to do with individuals and how they perceive themselves, for example, white supremacy and white privilege; and until a person has a change of heart, that will not change,” says Streams. “I look at things from a Catholic perspective. I was taught that everyone is created equal, so I don’t see anyone above anyone else; and I have never understood why a person with light skin would see themselves as superior to a person with darker skin. But if you look at it from

the perspective of economics and the caste system, things change.”

The caste system is the architecture of human hierarchy, the subconscious code of instructions for maintaining … a 400-year-old social order. It is a fixed and embedded ranking of human value that sets the presumed supremacy of one group against the presumed inferiority of other groups on the basis of ancestry and often immutable traits. A caste system uses rigid, often arbitrary boundaries to keep the ranks apart, distinct from one another and in their assigned places (“America’s Enduring Caste System,” New York Times Magazine, July 1, 2020, Isabel Wilkerson).

“In the United States, this race-based caste system – the division of humans on the basis of their appearance – has been reinforced throughout our culture and passed down for generations,” explains Streams. “There are many different aspects of racism: Institutional, economic, educational, etc., and I just think it’s sad that it is 2021, and we are still talking about the sin of racism and judging someone on the basis of what color their skin is; because what it all comes down to is that in God’s eyes, we are all created equal, and as Catholic Christians, we are all called to be more like Jesus Christ,” says Streams. BC

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February 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 31

Announcement

The Catholic Foundation of South Louisiana is here to help you achieve your philanthropic goals Catholic Foundation Update Amy Ponson

“You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God” (2 Corinthians 9:11).

Our faith teaches us the importance of deep gratitude and a generous heart.

As Catholics, being generous and expressing gratitude is innately in our hearts connecting us to God. We are called to receive the Lord’s gifts in our lives as well as share our gifts through prayer and service to our neighbors, community and one another.

Defining and leaving a Catholic legacy is a great way to lead by example and share the blessings God has bestowed on you throughout your life to the ministries you love so dearly.

Considering the ways you and your family want to be philanthropic can be overwhelming. There are many nonprofits and causes that need the

support of the community and deciding where and how to give can feel like a stressful task. However, foundations can help you through this process.

The Catholic Foundation of South Louisiana (CFSL) is different than typical nonprofits in that it makes your philanthropic vision a reality by offering you opportunities to create funds and distribute grants to the organizations you care about throughout the year making a significant difference to these organizations. The CFSL makes it even easier to achieve your charitable goals while positively impacting the greater community. There is no need to create a private family foundation, the CFSL works directly with donors to identify the causes important to them. This means that you can immediately begin giving to the organizations that mean the most to you. By listening to their donors’ charitable goals, our team is able to help pinpoint the best giving vehicles through which to achieve these philanthropic desires.

The CFSL has a variety of different funds to choose from, including donor advised funds and endowment funds; and depending on your goals the CFSL can even provide the correct language to help you give through your will.

32 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • February 2021

These philanthropic vehicles are here to make giving back easier and increase the benefits to both the donor and the community. These different funds allow the donor to know their contributions are being professionally managed according to Catholic social teachings, and that their gifts are tax deductible.

The CFSL is a separately incorporated 501(c)(3) organization that spiritually and financially enhances and sustains the charitable, educational and pastoral ministries of the Diocese of HoumaThibodaux. The CFSL offers donors philanthropic expertise, faith-based priorities, and morally and socially responsible investing standards. Our donors receive not only tax benefits but also the assurance that their gifts are effectively managed by our professional staff. We look forward to working with our Catholic faithful to foster their generosity and make giving easy while defining their Catholic legacy!

Interested in learning more about the CFSL? Please contact me at aponson@ htdiocese.org for more information.

(Amy Ponson is the executive director for the Catholic Foundation of South Louisiana.) BC

Announcement

Deacon Charles J. Giroir Sr. dies at age 78

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.

Deacon Charles J. Giroir Sr.

Deacon Charles J. Giroir Sr., a native of Houma and resident of Thibodaux, passed away on Dec. 13, 2020, at the age of 78. Deacon Giroir was ordained to the permanent diaconate in 1980 and served the Diocese of HoumaThibodaux as a deacon for 40 years, 31 of those years at Christ the Redeemer Church parish in Thibodaux until his retirement in 2014. A Mass of Christian burial was celebrated at Christ the Redeemer Church with interment in St. Joseph Cemetery in Thibodaux. BC

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

Bayou Catholic

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.

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

February 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 33

Special

Bishop Fabre ‘appeals’ to the faithful of the diocese Story by Janet Marcel Once each year, Bishop Shelton J. Fabre makes a direct plea to the people of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux through the Annual Bishop’s Appeal (ABA) to support certain diocesan ministries through, first and foremost, their prayers, as well as through their financial contributions.

Equally as important as the financial gifts received through the Appeal, stresses Bishop Fabre, are the prayers for the ministries that the finances support. “I do not want to underestimate the power of prayer because that is a very important part of the Appeal.”

The funds received from this year’s ABA, “Rediscovering Our Faith,” will support seminarian education, retired diocesan priests, and faith formation for young people of the diocese in Catholic schools and through parish schools of religion, explains the bishop.

Reiterating the importance of prayer, Bishop Fabre says he hopes the Appeal will remind people to pray that more young men and young women will hear God’s call to consecrated religious life, and even more specifically that more young men will hear the call to serve the Lord in diocesan priesthood. The bishop also hopes people will have conversations with their children and grandchildren about the possibility of discerning a religious vocation because he feels that one can be tremendously happy in a religious life or as a priest. Furthermore, the Appeal assists the diocese by providing some of the funds necessary to educate seminarians each year.

“With regard to our retired priests, I reflect on the Scripture passage, ‘the laborer is worthy of his wages’ (1 Timothy 5:18) and even when the laborer retires he is still worth his wage,” says Bishop Fabre. “The Appeal helps us meet our obligations to our retired priests, which basically fall into two categories – retirement income for them and responsibility for their healthcare needs and health insurance.”

Many of our retired priests still continue to minister to the faithful as they assist active pastors with celebrating Masses, funerals and the sacraments, as well as in other ways.

Another focus of the Appeal, explains Bishop Fabre, is the formation of the youth of the diocese, which is accomplished in two ways.

First, the diocesan Office of Parish Support oversees youth formation that takes place in parish schools of religion. Secondly, the Appeal also supports the Office of Catholic Schools which oversees the faith formation of students in Catholic schools. With respect to faith formation, Bishop Fabre reminds us that the church makes it very clear that parents are always the first “formers” of their children in the ways of faith, so parents should always 34 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • February 2021

be examples to their children in matters of the faith.

“The ministries supported by the Annual Bishop’s Appeal are only accomplished with the assistance of the fervent prayers of the faithful and their generous financial gifts,” says the bishop. “So, one of the reasons we are able to accomplish the goals of these ministries is because of those who so generously respond to the Appeal each year. All of the ministries funded by the Bishop’s Appeal are very important as we continue our efforts to build the kingdom of God here in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. This is your responsibility and my responsibility today as present day followers of Jesus Christ. But, we can only do this because we stand on the shoulders of past generations of faithful and past generations of retired priests; and we also engender hope and faith in our young people who are part of the church today and will also be part of the church in the future.” BC

Announcement

Ash Wednesday 2021: Vatican offers guidance on ash distribution amid COVID-19 pandemic

By FATHER GLENN LeCOMPTE The reception of ashes on Ash Wednesday during the liturgy is a spiritual practice much desired by the faithful. The use of ashes as a symbol of penitence (Isaiah 58:5) or mourning (Isaiah 61:3) is found in the Old Testament, and in the writings of a number of early Christian authors.

In the 11th century, penitents who confessed at the beginning of Lent asked to be covered with ashes as a symbol of their penitence, and Pope Urban II in 1091 recommended the

practice. Ashes were sprinkled on the head of men; and women, probably because they wore veils, received ashes on the forehead, according to Father Edward McNamara.

The current rubric for the distribution of ashes in the third typical edition of the Roman Missal in English reads, “Then the priest places ashes on the head of all those present who come to him ... .” In order to attempt to mitigate the transmission of COVID-19, this year ashes will not be administered by direct physical contact. Rather on Jan.

12, 2021, the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments issued the following directive: “The priest then cleanses his hands, puts on a face mask and distributes the ashes to those who come to him or, if appropriate, he goes to those who are standing in their places. The priest takes the ashes and sprinkles them on the head of each one without saying anything.”

(Father Glenn LeCompte is the diocesan director of the Office of Worship.) BC

Early Lenten missions in the diocese Annunziata, Houma Date: Thursday, Feb. 25 Time: 6:30 p.m.

Speaker: Father Noas Kerketta Holy Savior, Lockport Date: Monday, Feb. 22 Time: 6 p.m.

Speaker: TBD Sacred Heart, Cut Off Date: Monday-Wednesday, Feb. 22-24 Time: 6 p.m.

Speaker: Greg Raymond St. Bernadette, Houma Date: Thursday, Feb. 25 Time: 6:45 p.m.

Speaker: Father Paul Birdsall February 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 35

Special

Pope Francis opens ministries of lector and acolyte to women: A CNA Explainer Vatican City (CNA) - On Jan. 11, Pope Francis published an apostolic letter issued motu proprio (which means “on his own impulse” in Latin), modifying canon law regarding women’s access to the ministries of lector and acolyte.

He also released a letter to Vatican doctrinal chief Cardinal Luis Ladaria explaining his reasoning for the decision.

What’s changed?

In the document, Spiritus Domini, the pope changed church law so that women can be formally instituted to the lay ministries of lector and acolyte.

The pope modified the wording Canon 230 §1 of the Code of Canon Law, which previously limited the ministries to lay men.

He changed the phrase “lay men” to “lay persons,” so that the canon now reads: “Lay persons of suitable age and with the gifts determined by decree of the Episcopal Conference may be permanently assigned, by means of the established liturgical rite, to the ministries of lectors and acolytes; however, the conferment of such a role does not entitle them to support or remuneration from the church.”

But aren’t women already allowed to serve as altar servers and readers?

Yes, in many parts of the world women serve and read at Mass. But until now they were not officially established in the role with the liturgical rites associated with the ministry of an acolyte or lector. They performed the role “by temporary designation,” under Canon 230 § 2 of the Code of Canon Law. Why were the roles of lector and acolyte previously reserved to men?

The ministries were traditionally reserved to men because they were associated with what were known as the “minor orders” of priesthood: Stages on the way to priestly ordination.

But in 1972, Pope Paul VI intended to abolish the minor orders in the motu proprio Ministeria quaedam. From then on, he said, lector and acolyte should be regarded as ministries, rather than minor orders. When they are conferred, he wrote, it should not be called “ordination,” but rather “institution.”

With the 1983 revision of the Code of Canon Law, church law recognized that “lay persons” – either male or female – could “fulfill the function of lector in liturgical actions by

36 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • February 2021

temporary designation.” It added that “All lay persons can also perform the functions of commentator or cantor, or other functions, according to the norm of law.”

Women began to take on the functions of lector and acolyte in parts of the Catholic world, but they were not formally instituted into the ministries.

In 1994, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments confirmed that bishops could permit women to be altar servers.

What is a lector?

A lector is a person who reads Scripture to the congregation at Mass (other than the Gospel, which is only proclaimed by deacons and priests.)

Paul VI explained that the

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lector is “instituted for the office, proper to him, of reading the word of God in the liturgical assembly.”

“The reader, feeling the responsibility of the office received, should do all he can and make use of the appropriate means to acquire every day more fully the sweet and lively love and the knowledge of Sacred Scripture, in order to become a more perfect disciple of the Lord,” he wrote.

What is an acolyte?

After abolishing the minor orders, Pope Paul VI wrote that an acolyte was a ministry in the church with the “duty to take care of the service of the altar, to help the deacon and the priest in liturgical actions, especially in the celebration of the Holy Mass.”

Potential responsibilities for an acolyte include distributing holy Communion as an extraordinary minister if such ministers are not present, publicly exposing the Eucharist for adoration in extraordinary circumstances, and “the instruction of the other faithful, who, on a temporary basis, help the deacon and the priest in liturgical services by carrying the missal, cross, candles, etc.”

Pope Paul VI wrote: “The acolyte, destined in a special way to the service of the altar, learns all those notions concerning divine public worship and strives to understand its intimate and spiritual meaning: In this way he can offer himself, every day, completely to God and be, in the temple, an example to all for his serious and respectful behavior, and also to have a sincere love for the mystical body of Christ, or people of God, and especially for the weak and the sick.”

What reasons did Pope Francis give for the changes?

In his apostolic letter, the pope said that a number of Synods of Bishops had “highlighted the need to deepen the subject doctrinally” in light of present-day challenges and the need to support evangelization.

“Accepting these recommendations, a doctrinal development has taken place in recent years which has highlighted how certain ministries instituted by the church are based on the common condition of being baptized and the regal priesthood received in the sacrament of baptism,” he wrote.

Emphasizing that these ministries were different to ordained ministry, he said: “A consolidated practice in the Latin Church has also confirmed, in fact, that these lay ministries, since they are based on the sacrament of baptism,

may be entrusted to all suitable faithful, whether male or female.”

Does this open the way for women priests?

In his letter to Cardinal Ladaria, Pope Francis reiterated his predecessor John Paul II’s statement in the 1994 apostolic letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis that “the church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women.”

He underlined the distinction between “ordained ministries” and “non-ordained ministries,” explaining that “it is possible, and today it seems appropriate” to open “nonordained ministries” to both men and women.

He said that the previous reservation of these non-ordained ministries to men had “its own meaning in a certain context but can be rethought in new contexts, always having as their criteria fidelity to the mandate of Christ and the will to live and proclaim the Gospel transmitted by the Apostles and entrusted to the church.”

Who will oversee the changes?

In Pope Francis’s letter to Cardinal Ladaria, he said that the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments would be responsible for guiding the changes, amending parts of the Roman Missal and the rite of institution of lectors and acolytes where necessary. BC

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February 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 37

Nation

Catholic Bible-in-a-year podcast tops the charts A new episode is set to be released each day of 2021

By CHRISTINE ROUSSELLE Washington, D.C. Newsroom, (CNA) A Catholic podcast featuring a priest reading and analyzing the Bible has been at the top of the Apple Podcast charts since Jan. 2, ahead of secular podcasts produced by such organizations as The New York Times, NBC News, and NPR. “The Bible in a Year (With Father Mike Schmitz),” produced by Ascension Catholic Faith Formation, part of Ascension Press, features episodes containing two to three scriptural readings, a reflection on those readings

by Father Mike Schmitz, and a prayer.

Each episode is about 15 to 25 minutes long, and a new episode is set to be released each day of 2021.

Instead of reading the Bible from cover to cover, the podcast follows “The Great Adventure Bible Timeline,” which was developed by Jeff Cavins.

Father Schmitz, a priest of the Diocese

of Duluth, told CNA that this approach, which centers on “14 critical narrative books” interspersed with the remaining non-narrative books, helps to maintain the story structure of salvation history.

“A lot of times, what derails people is when they’re reading the story of Genesis and Exodus and Numbers, and all of a sudden they read Leviticus and like, ‘wait, I lost the story now,’” Father Schmitz told CNA in a Jan. 7 interview.

“So what we’ve done is we built those other books, those non-narrative books around the narrative story or on the narrative,” he said.

“And so one of the things that it is doing is it keeps people connected like, ‘Oh, okay, now this makes sense that here you are in the wilderness, and that’s why we’re reading Leviticus, because this is where God needs to give his people the law regarding the tabernacle.’”

38 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • February 2021

The “timeline” approach also means that listeners will not have to wait until very late in the year to hear about Christ.

“If we (read the Bible) straight through like that, we wouldn’t get to the New Testament until I think November,” said Father Schmitz. “So it was like, ‘that is not good.’ We’ve not spent 10 months not talking about Jesus very clearly.”

To help remedy this, Father Schmitz said there will be four “messianic checkpoints” that will introduce listeners to Christ. The first of these will occur “right around day 90,” and will consist of the Gospel of John over the course of about a week.

“I’m really excited about that. Just to be able to say, in the midst of this Old Testament story, ‘here is the revelation of Christ,’” said Father Schmitz.

Catholics in America read the Bible less often than do Protestants.

a

Nation

Father Schmitz believes that this is due in part to how Catholics are accustomed to having Scripture “proclaimed” to them at Mass.

“I mean, the whole reason the New Testament is called the New Testament is because it was read at the celebration of the new covenant, the Eucharist,” he said.

“And so one of the things that we are used to is having the Bible read out loud, we’re used to having the Bible, as I said, proclaimed. And I think maybe because of that, we kind of sit on our laurels a little bit, and don’t necessarily dig in and ask all the questions about, you know, translations, the questions about, contexts and whatnot.”

Despite this, Father Schmitz thinks that “we still have this hunger to know,” and that many people are discouraged by the “daunting” nature of the Bible. He hopes his podcast, with its unique formatting of salvation history with a timeline, changes this perception.

“So the appeal, I think, of a Bible in a Year podcast is not only, you’re going to be able to go through the entire Bible in one year, but then secondly, is it’s going to be in bite size chunks. And third, you’re going to have some kind of guidance,” he said.

“And I think that that for a lot of people just makes something that might seem inaccessible, accessible.”

The success of the podcast took both Father Schmitz and Matthew Pinto, CEO of Ascension Press, by surprise. Father Schmitz said that he has been warned by his friends and family to “not let (the success) go to his head,” something he says never even occurred to him.

“I’m thinking like, ‘well, I’m literally reading the Bible.’

So I don’t know how much that could go to my head,” said Father Schmitz.

“I think that it’s, it’s very clearly less about me, and the fact that it’s me reading the Bible, and far more about, I think, people’s hunger” for God’s word, said Father Schmitz.

Pinto was willing to credit Father Schmitz with at least some of the show’s success.

“We knew it was going to be a great program, but clearly this has struck a nerve beyond, really what we expected,” Pinto told CNA in a phone interview Jan. 7. “Our first thought was that, for some reason, God has anointed this particular project.”

Pinto credited the “charism of Father Mike and the uniqueness of the Bible timeline” as two of the factors behind the success of the show--along with God’s blessing, of course.

The success of the show caught Ascension “flat-footed,” said Pinto, and The Great Adventure Catholic Bible, which the show is centered around, sold out. Pinto told CNA it should

be available again to order in the coming months.

God has, said Pinto, given the podcast “a special grace that is beyond simple human explanation.”

“And, so it’s our hope that we will just be good stewards of it, and really use this as an opportunity to expand and reach, even more. So we’re not going to stop at really where it is,” said Pinto.

“We’re going to ask God for additional blessing, and work as hard as we can to, to get the Word of God out to as many people as we can using this most unique method.” BC

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February 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 39

Vatican

Pope Francis: We need unity in the Catholic Church, society and nations ‘We have an obligation to promote unity, peace and the common good ...’

By HANNAH BROCKHAUS Rome Newsroom, (CNA) In the face of political discord and self-interest, we have an obligation to promote unity, peace, and the common good in society and in the Catholic Church, Pope Francis said Sunday.

“At this moment, a politician, even a manager, a bishop, a priest, who does not have the ability to say ‘we’ is not up to par. ‘We,’ the common good of all, must prevail. Unity is superior to conflict,” the pope said in an interview that aired on Italian news program recently.

“Conflicts are necessary, but right now they have to go on vacation,” he continued, noting that people have a right to different points of view, and “political struggle is a noble thing,” but “what matters is the intention to help the country grow.”

“If politicians emphasize more selfinterest than the common interest, they ruin things,” Francis stated. “The unity of the country, of the Church, and of society must be emphasized.”

The papal interview took place following the storming of the U.S. Capitol Building Jan. 6 by pro-Donald Trump protestors, as Congress was in the process of certifying the presidential election results.

Francis said in a video clip from the interview, released Jan. 9, he was “astonished,” by the news, because the U.S. is “a people so disciplined in democracy, right?”

“Something isn’t working,” Francis continued. With “people taking a path against the community, against democracy, against the common good.

Thanks be to God that this has broken out and there was a chance to see it well so that now you can try and heal it.”

In the interview, Pope Francis also commented on the societal tendency to discard anyone who is not “productive”

to society, especially the sick, the elderly, and the unborn.

Abortion, he said, is not primarily a religious issue, but a scientific and human one. “The problem of death is not a religious problem, be careful: it is a human, pre-religious problem, it is a problem of human ethics,” he said. “Then religions follow it, but it is a problem that even an atheist must solve in his conscience.”

The pope said he asks two things to the person who questions him on abortion: “do I have the right to do this?” and “is it right to cancel a human life to solve a problem, any problem?”

The first question can be answered scientifically, he said, pointing out that by the third or fourth week of gestation, “there are all the organs of the new human being in the womb of the mother, it is a human life.”

Taking a human life is not okay, he said. “Is it okay to hire a hitman to solve a problem? One that kills human life?”

Francis condemned the attitude of the “throwaway culture:” “Children do not produce and are discarded. Discard the elderly: the elderly do not produce and are discarded. Discard the sick or hasten death when it is terminal.

Discard so that it is more comfortable for us and does not bring us so many problems.”

He also spoke about the discarding of migrants: “the people who drowned in the Mediterranean because they were not allowed to come, [this] weighs heavily on our conscience… How to deal with (immigration) later, that is another problem that states must approach cautiously and wisely, but letting [migrants] drown in order to solve a problem later is wrong. Nobody does it with intention, it is true, but if you don’t put in the means of help it is a problem. There is no intention but there is intention,” he said.

40 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • February 2021

Encouraging people to avoid selfishness in general, Pope Francis recalled several grave issues affecting the world today, especially war and the lack of education and food for children, which have continued throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

“They are serious problems and these are just two of the problems: children and wars,” he said. “We must become aware of this tragedy of the world, it’s not all a party. To get out of this crisis head on and in a better way, we must be realistic.”

Asked about how his own life has changed during the coronavirus pandemic, Pope Francis admitted that at first, he felt like he was “caged.”

“But then I calmed down, I took life as it comes. Praying more, speaking more, using the phone more, taking some meetings to solve problems,” he explained.

Papal trips to Papua New Guinea and Indonesia were canceled in 2020.

In March this year, Pope Francis is scheduled to travel to Iraq. He said, “now I don’t know if the next trip to Iraq will take place, but life has changed. Yes, life has changed. Closed.

But the Lord always helps us all.”

The Vatican will begin administering the COVID-19 vaccine to its residents and employees next week, and Pope Francis said he has “booked” his appointment to receive it.

“I believe that, ethically, everyone has to get the vaccine. It is an ethical option because it concerns your life but also that of others,” he stated.

Recalling the introduction of the polio vaccine and other common childhood immunizations, he said, “I don’t understand why some say this could be a dangerous vaccine. If doctors present it to you as something that can be fine and has no special dangers, why not take it?” BC

Sports

Overtime Ed Daniels

Future hall of famer Brees turns Saints into contenders year after year

Very few completely change the fortunes of one franchise.

Drew Brees was that athlete.

On the Thursday night before Hurricane Katrina, the Saints hosted the Baltimore Ravens.

It was a preseason game, but even for a practice game, the lack of enthusiasm in the Superdome was palpable.

New Orleans was a town with a big football problem.

Thirteen months later, football was back and the Superdome was sold out.

Running back Reggie Bush, the Heisman Trophy winner, and the second pick in the draft, had something to do with that enthusiasm.

But, Drew Brees was the constant.

With him, the Saints had unwavering consistency.

In the 39 seasons before Brees, the Saints had 20 of less than seven wins.

In the 15 since, the Saints have had zero seasons of less than seven wins.

In the 39 seasons before Brees, the Saints had five double digit win seasons. And four of those occurred in a six-year stretch from 1987 through 1992.

In the 15 seasons since, the Saints have had double digit wins nine times.

And, Brees has coattails.

Lance Moore, Pierre Thomas, Carl Nicks, Marques Colston and Bush are all outstanding players.

And, they are all Saints Hall of Famers.

They would be the first to tell you that their quarterback had something to do with that.

Drew Brees will likely be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

His head coach is certainly a candidate, too.

Talk about coattails.

Over the years, certain Brees performances stand out.

His 32 completions in 39 attempts in Super Bowl XLIV is certainly one of those.

But, a favorite is an 18 of 23 Monday night in 2009 against the Patriots.

Brees threw for 371 yards and five touchdowns.

That’s over 20 yards a completion, against the premier franchise in football.

If there was ever confirmation that the Saints were indeed Super Bowl bound, that Monday night was it.

There’s another that stands out.

In 2021, Brees was intercepted five times in a 23-13 loss in Atlanta.

He failed to throw a touchdown pass in a game for the first time in 55 games.

In the postgame interview, he handled himself with class.

It was a pretty solid moment.

2012 was part of a three-year stretch where Brees averaged 43 touchdown passes a season.

A Saints TD pass was almost routine.

With 80,000 plus yards and 491 regular season TD passes later, we can all look back and say these times were special, and they passed in the proverbial blink of eye. BC

February 2021 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 41

2021 Current and New Student Registration Dates Holy Rosary Catholic School 12925 East Main St. Larose, LA 70373 Grades PreK-2—8 Cathy Long, Principal Donna Darda, Bookkeeper Lauren Moore, Secretary 693-3342 • Fax 693-3348 holyroselm@htdiocese.org www.holyrosary.org Current Students: March 1-5 New Students and PreK (2, 3, 4 year olds): March 8-12 St. Gregory Barbarigo Catholic School 441 Sixth St. Houma, LA 70364 Grades PreK3-7 Dr. Cindy Martin NBCT, Principal Ashley Landry, Admin. Asst.

876-2038 • Fax 879-2789 stgregelm@htdiocese.org www.htdioceseschools.org/st-gregorybarbarigo Current Students: February 8-12 New Students: February 22-26 St. Bernadette Catholic School 309 Funderburk Ave. Houma, LA 70364 Grades PK3-7 Lydia Landry, Principal Susan Chauvin, Secretary 872-3854 • Fax 872-5780 stbernelm@htdiocese.org www.saintbernadettepandas.org Current Students: February 8-12 New Students: February 22-26 St. Francis de Sales Cathedral School 300 Verret St. Houma, LA 70360 Grades PK3-7 Kelli Cazayoux, Principal Kimberly Landry, Administrative Assistant 868-6646 • Fax 851-5896 stfrancis@htdiocese.org www.stfrancishouma.org Current Students: February 8-12 New Students: February 22-26

Holy Savior Catholic School 201 Church St. Lockport, LA 70374 Grades Nursery One-5 Tricia Thibodaux, Principal Kelly Mize, Secretary 532-2536 • Fax 532-2269 www.htdioceseschools.org/holysavior Current Students: February 8 New Students: February 22 St. Joseph Catholic Elementary School 501 Cardinal Dr. Thibodaux, LA 70301 Grades PK-7 Gerard Rodrigue Jr., Principal Rita Carrier, Secretary 446-1346 • Fax 449-0760 www.stjosephcesthibodaux.org Current Students: February 8-12 New Students: February 22-26 St. Mary’s Nativity School 3492 Nies Street Raceland, LA 70394 Grades Three years old-8 Marissa Bagala, Principal Judy Watts, Secretary 537-7544 • Fax 537-4020 stmarelm@htdiocese.org www.stmarysnativityschool.org Current Students: February 8-12 New Students: February 22-26 Please contact the office for private tours Vandebilt Catholic High School 209 S. Hollywood Rd. Houma, LA 70360 Grades 8-12 Ginny Medina-Hamilton, Principal Shirley Cunningham, Secretary Jeremy Gueldner, President 876-2551 • Fax 868-9774 vchsadmissions@htdiocese.org www.vandebiltcatholic.org Current and New Students: February 1-12

Central Catholic School Elementary 2100 Cedar St. Morgan City, LA 70380 Grades PK3-5 Amanda Talbot, Principal Phyllis Jensen, Office Manager 384-1933 • Fax 384-3270 cceoffice@htdiocese.org www.htdioceseschools.org/cces Current Students: January 6-February 12 New Students: Begins January 14-March 12 Junior High/High 2100 Cedar St. Morgan City, LA 70380 Grades 6-12 Peter Boudreaux, Principal Sandy Daigle, Secretary 385-5372 • Fax 385-3444 centcathi@htdiocese.org www.cchseagles.com Current Students: February 1-12 New Students: March 1-12 E.D. White Catholic High School 555 Cardinal Dr. Thibodaux, LA 70301 Grades 8-12 Michelle Chiasson, Principal Melissa Escher, Secretary Tim Robichaux, President 446-8486 • Fax 448-1275 edwhitehi@htdiocese.org www.edwhite.org Current and New Students: February 22-March 5 Catholic Schools Office Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux Suzanne Troxclair Superintendent of Schools stroxclair@htdiocese.org Gerrie Byrne Curriculum Specialist Lisa Davies Administrative Assistant 850-3114 • Fax 850-3214

St. Genevieve Catholic School 807 Barbier Ave. Thibodaux, LA 70301 Grades PK-7 Cheryl Thibodaux, Principal Stacie Trosclair, Secretary 447-9291 • Fax 447-9883 stgenelm@htdiocese.org www.stgenevieveschool.us Current Students: February 8-12 New Students: February 22-26 Our Catholic schools do not discriminate on the basis of race, sex or national origin.

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