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
