From the Editor

What happened to civility?

I don’t know when it happened. It seems as though it happened overnight. Maybe it came upon us in the dark, like a thief in the night. Somewhere in time a change occurred. Somewhere along the way a change has turned our hearts to stone. A change occurred that took away the norms of respect, courtesy and basic honesty.

Things that were thought to be evil, name-calling, ethnic slurs, taunting, lying and disrespect for one another, are now accepted in the mainstream. It seems that if you are courteous, respectful and polite, which are virtues, you are now seen as weak. Civility has died.

Why is it that we can’t tolerate each other anymore? Nowadays if there is someone who has different political views or is from a culture that is foreign, they are viewed as the enemy. We are entrenched in an “us versus them” ideology.

These days with advances in automobile technology, driving an automobile has become a much safer situation. However, while the automobiles have become much more advanced in technology, we must still contend with the human element.

One recent morning while I was on my way to work, I witnessed a road rage incident. Someone turned into the same lane as the car that was in front of me. This was obviously a poor decision made by the driver of the car that turned, but the car in front of me had plenty of time to react to the situation. That female driver slowed down by braking. From my vantage point it was not a near collision. Approximately one quarter mile down the road when the traffic stopped, the driver in front of me dashed out of her car and shouted obscenities to the other driver, all the while giving the famous one finger salute. I was shocked. The drivers in the other cars also looked horrified. As the traffic light turned green and the cars proceeded to flow with the traffic, the car in front of me changed lanes cutting off the other driver, lowered her window and more finger salutes were given; then the driver sped away. Luckily the confrontation did not turn into a violent encounter between two drivers with guns blazing.

I read a report which claims that in 2019, 82 percent of people admitted to committing an act of road rage the past year. According to the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration, road rage has been responsible for about 300 deaths since 2013. American Automobile Association records show that over a seven-year period, more than 200 murders and 12,000 injuries were attributed to road rage.

Our lack of civility is not reserved only to the highway. Attend any little league ball game and you will most likely experience what has become a national occurrence. More and more we are hearing of parents having confrontations with coaches, umpires, referees, other parents, and even the young athletes. It has become such an issue that there are many sports leagues demanding that parents sign a Parent Code of Conduct before signing up their child to play ball. Among the themes of the code are trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and good citizenship. These themes are regarded as the six pillars of character.

So, when did we lose basic respect for one another? I don’t have the answer to that question, but there may be a solution. During the month of June, the church celebrates the feast of Pentecost. The apostles and followers of Jesus received the gifts of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The same spirit that was given to us when we received the sacrament of confirmation. The gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength (fortitude), knowledge, fear of the Lord and piety.

In this month’s Questions of Faith, Father Wilmer Todd addresses the gifts of the Holy Spirit. He explains that in his letter to the Galatians, St. Paul lists the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. We all could use these graces at a time like this. Come, O Holy Spirit, Come!

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!

Lawrence

Church Life

Software training session

approximately 40 participants from church parishes across the Diocese of houma-thibodaux gathered at the Pastoral center in Schriever for a training and refresher course for using and inputting data in the ParishSoFt family directory. Very rev. P.J. Madden, diocesan administrator, welcomed the bookkeepers and parish secretaries in attendance and thanked them for the work they do in the parishes. the training was facilitated by christina Pepper, ParishSoFt software trainer. the training was sponsored by the catholic Foundation of South Louisiana in partnership with the Diocese of houma-thibodaux.

Photos by Lawrence Chatagnier