Bayou Catholic Magazine May 2023

Bayou Catholic

Chrism Mass

The official magazine of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux

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Collection dates: May 20-21, 2023

Features

35 Colonel Catholics

By Monique V. Albarado

Columns

8 Sent to Serve

By Most Rev. Mario E. Dorsonville

12 Pope Speaks

Pope Francis I

13 Questions of Faith

By Father Wilmer Todd

14 Readings Between the Lines

By Father Glenn LeCompte

38 Overtime

By Ed Daniels

In Every Issue

6 Editor’s EyeView

18 Scripture Readings

20 Heavenly Recipes

22 Youth in Action

23 Daily Prayer for Priests, Deacons, Religious and Seminarians

Guest Columns

16 In Exile

By

Father

Ron Rolheiser, O.M.I.

29 The rosary

By Father Michael Bergeron

33 Why is May the 'Month of Mary'?

By Father Wilmer Todd

Announcements

34 Deacon Davis Doucet dies at age 80

On Our Cover

The annual diocesan Chrism Mass was celebrated on Holy Thursday at the Cathedral of St. Francis de Sales in Houma. Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville was the presider. This Mass, which the bishop concelebrates with his college of presbyters, manifests the communion of the presbyters with their bishop and is a clear expression of the unity of the priesthood and sacrifice of Christ. The bishop consecrates the holy chrism and blesses the oil of the sick and the oil of catechumens. The holy chrism is used to anoint the newly baptized, to seal the candidates for confirmation, and to anoint the hands of presbyters and the heads of bishops at their ordination, as well as in the rites of anointing pertaining to the dedication of churches and altars. The oil of catechumens is used in the preparation of the catechumens for their baptism. The oil of the sick is used to bring comfort and support to the sick in their infirmity.

MAEGAN MARTIN/BAYOU CATHOLIC

Bayou Catholic

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The Bayou Catholic is published monthly, for the people of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux by the H-T Publishing Co., P.O. Box 505, Schriever, LA 70395. Subscription rate is $35 per year.

The BayouCatholicis a member of the Catholic Media Association, the National Newspaper Association and an associate member of the Louisiana Press Association.

Janet Marcel editor and general manager

April LeBouef business manager

Monique V. Albarada staff writer/photographer

Tisha Rachal graphic designer

Becky Thibodeaux accounting specialist

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Where to find your Bayou Catholic Bayou Catholic magazine can be found at all Catholic churches and Catholic schools throughout the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. To pick up a copy, you may also visit the merchants who advertise in our issue. Those wishing to receive the magazine by mail can call Janet Marcel at (985) 850-3132 or write to Bayou Catholic, P.O. Box 505, Schriever, LA 70395.

Subscription price is $35 annually. For the online edition, go to www.bayoucatholic.org

The month of May is upon us, a month that represents rebirth and new life. It is also a month devoted to Mary, the Mother of God.

In Bishop Dorsonville’s first Bayou Catholic column, he talks about the month of May being a special time for him to express his love for the Blessed Virgin Mary. He says as a young child he remembers praying the rosary every day during the month of May as a family. “The month of May is for all of us an invitation to follow Mary very closely in our own prayer and to imitate by our lives the way she lived her life,” says the bishop.

Father Michael Bergeron’s guest column explains how the rosary, which is synonymous with Mary, acknowledges her role in our redemption. He tells us how the rosary is “steeped in mystery and tradition” and goes into great detail about its origins and how it has developed over the years.

However, let’s not forget we are still in the Easter season until the day of Pentecost, which is the 50th day after Easter Sunday. In Father Glenn LeCompte’s column Readings Between the Lines, he reminds us that the church “observes Easter as one continuous celebration through Pentecost Sunday, inclusive.” As the season progresses through the month of May, he says it is easy for us to lose our focus on Easter because of the way secular society celebrates festivals on the day they occur but then moves on from them. He goes on to offer reflections

Celebrating the month of May

on the Gospel readings during the four Sundays in May, which can help keep us focused on continuing the mission Jesus Christ entrusted to us.

We also have a new guest columnist featured this month. Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser is a theologian, teacher and award-winning author whose columns are featured in many publications throughout country. In his column entitled, “Easter Light,” he talks about the darkness of Jesus’ death on the cross and God’s creation of “the most staggering light of all – the resurrection.” He goes on to “compare how Scripture describes God creating the new light of the resurrection with how God created the original light at the origins of creation.” He is a very gifted author. I hope you enjoy his column in this month’s Bayou Catholic magazine.

Spring is here, flowers are blooming and it’s starting to feel like summer. Mother’s Day and Memorial Day, the unofficial start of summer, are also in May. Some other monthly observances in May include Arthritis Awareness Month, Better Sleep Month, Mental Health Awareness Month, National Walking Month, and Women’s Health Care Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and Military Appreciation Month. There is certainly a lot happening this month! Take time this month to get outside and enjoy the beauty of nature in South Louisiana!

Janet Marcel | Editor & General Manager

you enjoy reading the Bayou Catholic magazine, pick up an extra copy to give to a friend or neighbor. Hopefully they will read something that inspires them to learn more about the Catholic faith.

Farewell Lawrence

A farewell luncheon was held at the end of March to honor Lawrence Chatagnier, second editor of the Bayou Catholic who worked for the diocese in various capacities for 36 years, on his retirement. His coworkers and members of his family gathered to reminisce about his service to the diocese. Lawrence thanked everyone who supported him through the years, and some of his coworkers spoke about what working with him meant to them and their ministry. In the photo at left, Lawrence’s daughter Helen and her husband Case look at one of many photos of Lawrence that were on display. In the photo at bottom right, the three editors of the Bayou Catholic pose together for a photo: Lawrence, Janet Marcel, current editor; and Louis Aguirre, first editor. BC

Photos by Maegan Martin

My dear brothers and sisters, ever since I was a small child, I can remember May being a special time in my heart to express much love to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ. As we begin this special month dedicated to honoring her, I can think of no better person to focus my first Bayou Catholic column on than our Mother Mary. While I look forward to sharing more of my life and my experiences here with you in the months ahead, I want to begin by turning to her as a diocesan family and growing close to her this month in particular.

I can remember when I was young praying the rosary every day during the month of May together as a family. I even remember loving to make a small altar each year in my home honoring Mary. I would put a statue of Our Lady of Fatima and decorate it with candles and flowers. I really think these memories and traditions created a deep love for Mary in my heart. This love was much more than just saying rosaries though. Love is about following and imitating the one you love.

Even from a young age, I wanted to imitate Mary. I can remember once I had joined the seminary, there was a grotto on the seminary grounds that was dedicated to her. I would often invite some of my brother seminarians to pray the rosary at the grotto every night to dedicate our day to her and ask her to be with us as we discerned if God was calling us to the priesthood.

The love that I had as a young child grew bigger as I grew up, and I wanted to share it. Why would I want to keep that love to myself?! It was a great grace to pray to Mary and to bring others to pray with her, too. When I

Let Mary’s ‘yes’ inspire us to follow God’s call in our lives

was ordained a bishop, I knew I wanted to remain close to Mary, and that is why I dedicated my coat of arms to her. The golden tower on my coat of arms is a reference to Mary, the “Tower of David” and “House of Gold.” I want to dedicate everything I do to her.

The month of May is for all of us an invitation to follow Mary very closely in our own prayer and to imitate by our lives the way that she lived her life. I think Mary’s whole life can be defined by her “yes.” She lived her life not for herself, but rather for God.

May is a beautiful time to turn to Mary as a family, as a parish community, and as a diocese so that she can teach us. Many parishes foster devotion to Mary with special traditions this month. I want to highlight the great importance and the beauty of praying the rosary, especially with others. When we pray the rosary together as a family, we focus on her “yes” and ask her to help us to make that same “yes” to God in our lives. It is easy for the rosary to become something mechanical, repeating the same words over and over. It is also easy for the rosary to be something that is only jewelry or something that hangs in our cars. But the rosary is for me the most powerful way to speak to Mary, to meditate on her life, and to develop a real relationship with her. I want to encourage everyone to pray to Mary every day this month. Even if you don’t pray a whole rosary every day, starting small and simple can have a big impact. Any time I finish a meeting with someone, I pray a Hail Mary with them. While I may not have time to pray a rosary at that moment, I can dedicate that time and that person to her by that prayer.

Following God’s will was the single most important thing to her. Nothing was more important than doing what God wanted, even when she didn’t understand the full picture herself. Her answer to the archangel Gabriel, “Let it be done to me according to your will,” is a reminder to us that our lives should be rooted in the same truth –following God’s will and trusting in him, even, perhaps, when we do not understand what he is doing. Many times in our lives, that kind of trust is hard. That is why it is so important to turn to Mary to teach us how to trust.

Mary had such an important role in our salvation. God needed her “yes” so that Jesus could become man, so that he could suffer, die and rise from the dead for us. Without Mary’s “yes,” it wouldn’t have happened. In the same way, God needs our “yes.” If we give God permission, he can do incredible things in our lives and in our hearts. As we begin this month dedicated to Mary, may her “yes” inspire us to give that same answer to God, no matter what he is calling each of us to.

May God bless each of you and your families. BC

Sent to Serve

Most Rev. Mario E. Dorsonville

I think Mary’s whole life can be defined by her “yes.” She lived her life not for herself, but rather for God.

Để “xin vâng” của Mẹ soi sáng chúng ta theo tiếng gọi của Chúa trong đời

Anh chị em thân mến, khi còn là một cậu bé tôi có thể nhớ được tháng năm là thời gian đặc biệt trong trái tim tôi để nói lên tình yêu sâu xa mà tôi dành cho Đức Maria, Mẹ Chúa Giêsu Kytô. Để khởi đầu tháng đặc biệt này dành riêng cho Mẹ, tôi không nghĩ đến người nào khác ngoài tâm điểm trong bài viết đầu tiên của tôi cho tờ báo này là Mẹ Maria.

Trong khi hướng tới lời chia sẻ thêm về bản thân và kinh nghiệm với anh chị em trong thời gian tới, tôi muốn bắt đầu bằng cách nhìn vào Mẹ như tấm gương cho gia đình giáo phận và gần gũi Mẹ đặc biệt trong tháng này.

Tôi có thể nhớ lại những ngày tháng còn bé đọc kinh Mân Côi mỗi ngày trong tháng năm chung với gia đình. Tôi nhớ rất rõ thích làm cái bàn thờ nho nhỏ mỗi năm trong nhà để kính Mẹ. Tôi để tượng Mẹ Fatima trên bàn thờ bé nhỏ đó và trang trí với nến và hoa. Tôi thật sự nghĩ rằng những ký ức và tập quán này tạo cho tôi lòng sùng kính Mẹ trong tâm hồn. Lòng sùng kính này không chỉ giới hạn là đọc kinh mân côi đâu. Lòng sùng kính Mẹ đó là sống và theo bước chân người mình yêu.

Ngay khi còn bé tôi đã muốn bắt chước Mẹ. Tôi có thể nhớ từ khi vào chủng viện, nơi đó có hang đá Mẹ ở sân vườn đại chủng viện để kính Mẹ. Tôi thường rủ thêm các chủng sinh khác đọc kinh Mân Côi ở đó mỗi tối dâng Mẹ ngày hôm đó và xin mẹ cùng hướng dẫn chúng tôi để suy niệm nếu Chúa gọi mình làm linh mục.

Lòng sùng kính Mẹ mà tôi ấp ủ lớn lên theo thời gian, và tôi muốn chia sẻ nó. Tại sao tôi giữ lòng sùng kính Mẹ cho riêng tôi? Nó là một ân sủng lớn lao cầu khẩn với Mẹ và đem người khác cùng đến với Mẹ, chính vì thế tại sao tôi chọn huy hiệu giám mục tôn vinh Mẹ. Cái Tháp Vàng trên huy hiệu hướng về

Mẹ, chính là “Tháp Vua Đavít” và “Nhà Vàng” Tôi muốn mọi thứ mà tôi làm dâng lên Mẹ.

Tháng năm mời gọi chúng ta đi theo bước chân Mẹ khăng khít hơn trong kinh nguyện và bắt chước Mẹ trong cuộc sống như Mẹ đã trải qua. Tôi cảm nghĩ rằng đời sống Mẹ được tóm gọn trong câu “xin vâng.” Mẹ sống đời sống trần gian này không phải cho Mẹ, nhưng cho

Tôi cảm nghĩ rằng

đời sống Mẹ được tóm gọn trong câu “xin vâng.” Mẹ sống đời sống trần gian này không phải cho Mẹ, nhưng cho Thiên Chúa.

Thiên Chúa. Sống theo ý Chúa là một lối sống quan trọng nhất đối vớ Mẹ. Không gì quan trọng bằng là làm những gì Ngài muốn, kể cả khi Mẹ không hiểu mọi tình huống trong cuộc sống. Mẹ nói lời “xin vâng” với Tổng Lãnh Thiên Thần Gabriel, “xin cho mọi thứ được thực hiện theo ý ngài,” là sự nhắc nhở cho chúng ta cuộc sống của mình nên có cùng nền tảng sự thật như Mẹ – bước theo ý Chúa và niềm tin vào Ngài, kể cả, hay trong giây phút, mà mình không hiểu được Thánh Ý. Rất nhiều lần trong cuộc sống, niềm tin đó khó thực hiện. Chính vì thế quan trọng biết bao tại sao chúng ta cần chạy đến vớ Mẹ để Mẹ dạy ta làm sao có niềm trông cậy.

Tháng năm là thời gian tươi sáng đến với Mẹ trong phạm vi gia đình, xứ đạo và giáo phận để chúng ta lãnh nhận sự chỉ dạy của Mẹ. Rất nhiều xứ đạo

khuyến khích lòng sùng kính Mẹ như những tập tục đặc biệt trong tháng. Tôi muốn vạch ra một điều quan trọng và nét đẹp của kinh Mân Côi, đặc biệt cùng đọc với người khác. Khi chúng ta đọc kinh Mân Côi chung với gia đình chúng ta chú trọng vào lời “xin vâng” của Mẹ và xin Mẹ giúp chúng ta cùng nói lời “xin vâng” đối với Chúa trong cuộc sống. Thật rất dễ làm cho kinh Mân Côi như cái máy, lập đi lập lại cùng lời kinh. Nó cũng rất dễ làm cho cỗ tràng hạt như đồ trang sức hay cái gì đó để treo trong xe. Nhưng kinh Mân Côi đối với tôi là một điều quan trọng nhất để nói với Mẹ, để suy gẫm về đời Mẹ và làm phát triển sự liên hệ thật với Mẹ. Tôi khuyến khích anh chị em cầu nguyện dâng Mẹ mỗi ngày trong tháng năm. Kể cả khi anh chị em không đọc hết tràng hạt mỗi ngày thì đọc ít nhưng đem lại kết quả lớn. Mỗi khi gặp ai xong tôi cùng đọc một kinh kính mừng với họ. Trong khi tôi không có thời gian lần hạt trong giây phút đó, tôi có thể dùng thời gian đó phó thác họ cho Mẹ qua một kinh kính mừng.

Đức Mẹ có một vị trí quan trọng trong lịch sử cứu độ. Thiên Chúa cần Mẹ lời “xin vâng” để rồi Chúa Giêsu xuống thế làm người, để rồi Ngài chịu đau khổ, chết và sống lại từ cõi chết cho chúng ta. Không có lời “xin vâng” của Mẹ chuyện đó không xảy ra. Cũng thế, Thiên Chúa cần lời “xin vâng” của chúng ta. Nếu chúng ta cho chúa cơ hội, Ngài sẽ làm rất nhiều việc lớn lao trong đời và trong trái tim chúng ta. Để khởi đầu tháng năm dành cho Mẹ, xin lời “xin vâng của Mẹ soi sáng cho chúng ta để mình cũng xin vâng với Chúa, không cần biết Ngài muốn chúng ta làm gì.

Xin Thiên Chúa chúc lành cho anh chị em và gia đình. BC

Que Dios los bendiga a cada uno de ustedes y a sus familias

Dejemos que el “sí” de María nos inspire a seguir la llamada de Dios en nuestras vidas

Mis queridos hermanos y hermanas, desde que era pequeño, puedo recordar que mayo era un tiempo especial en mi corazón para expresar mucho amor a la Santísima Virgen María, la Madre de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo. Al comenzar este mes especial dedicado a honrarla, no se me ocurre mejor persona en la que centrar mi primera columna de Bayou Catholic que en nuestra Madre María. Aunque espero compartir más de mi vida y mis experiencias aquí con ustedes en los meses venideros, quiero comenzar dirigiéndome a ella como familia diocesana y acercándome a ella este mes en particular.

Recuerdo que cuando era joven rezaba el rosario cada día durante el mes de mayo en familia. Incluso recuerdo que cada año me encantaba hacer un pequeño altar en mi casa en honor de María. Ponía una estatua de Nuestra Señora de Fátima y lo decoraba con velas y flores. Realmente pienso que estos recuerdos y tradiciones crearon un profundo amor a María en mi corazón. Pero este amor era mucho más que rezar rosarios. El amor consiste en seguir e imitar a la persona amada.

Ya desde muy joven quería imitar a María. Recuerdo que, cuando entré en el seminario, había una gruta dedicada a Ella. Con frecuencia invitaba a algunos de mis hermanos seminaristas a rezar el rosario en la gruta cada noche para dedicarle nuestro día y pedirle que estuviera con nosotros mientras discerníamos si Dios nos llamaba al sacerdocio.

el amor que yo tenía de joven se hizo más grande a medida que crecía, y quería compartirlo. ¿Por qué iba a querer guardarme ese amor para mí? Fue una gran gracia rezar a María y llevar a otros a rezarle a ella también.

Cuando fui ordenado obispo, sabía que quería permanecer cerca a María, y por esto, es qué dediqué mi escudo de armas a ella. La torre dorada de mi escudo es una referencia a María, la “Torre de David” y la “Casa de Oro”. Quiero dedicar cada cosa que hago a ella.

El mes de mayo es para todos nosotros una invitación a seguir muy de cerca a María en nuestra propia oración y a imitar con nuestra vida el modo en que ella vivió la suya. Creo que toda la vida de María puede ser definida por su “sí”. Ella vivió su vida no para sí misma, sino más bien para Dios. Seguir la voluntad de Dios era sencillamente lo más importante para ella. Nada era más importante que hacer lo que Dios quería, incluso cuando ella misma no comprendía el cuadro completo. Su respuesta al arcángel Gabriel: “Hágase en mí según tu voluntad”, es un recordatorio para nosotros de que nuestras vidas deben estar enraizadas en la misma verdad- siguiendo la voluntad de Dios y confiar en Él, incluso, quizás, cuando no entendamos lo que está haciendo. Muchas veces en nuestras vidas, ese tipo de confianza es difícil. Por eso es tan importante acudir a María para que nos enseñe a confiar.

Mayo es un tiempo hermoso para acudir a María como familia, como comunidad parroquial y como diócesis para que Ella pueda enseñarnos. Muchas parroquias fomentan la devoción a María con tradiciones especiales en este mes. Quiero destacar la gran importancia y la belleza de rezar el rosario, especialmente con otras personas. Cuando rezamos el rosario juntos como en familia, nos centramos en su “sí” y le pedimos que nos ayude a dar ese mismo “sí” a Dios en nuestras vidas. Es fácil que el rosario se convierta en algo mecánico, repitiendo las mismas palabras una y otra vez. También, es fácil que el rosario sea sólo una joya o algo que se cuelga en nuestros coches. Pero el rosario es para mí la manera más poderosa de hablar con María, para meditar sobre su vida y desarrollar una verdadera relación con Ella. Quiero animar a todos a rezar a María todos los días de este mes. Aunque no recen un rosario completo cada día, empezar con algo pequeño y sencillo puede tener un gran impacto. Cada vez que termino una reunión con alguien, rezo un Ave María con ellos. Aunque no tenga tiempo de rezar un rosario en ese momento, puedo dedicar ese tiempo y a esa persona con esa oración.

María tuvo un papel tan importante en nuestra salvación. Dios necesito su “sí” para que Jesús pudiera hacerse hombre, para que pudiera sufrir, morir y resucitar de la muerte por nosotros. Sin el “sí” de María, no habría sucedido. Del mismo modo, Dios necesita nuestro “sí”. Si le damos permiso a Dios, puede hacer cosas increíbles en nuestras vidas y en nuestros corazones. Al comenzar este mes dedicado a María, que su “sí” nos inspire a dar esa misma respuesta a Dios, sin importar a qué nos esté llamando a cada uno de nosotros. BC

Creo que toda la vida de María puede ser definida por su “sí”. Ella vivió su vida no para sí misma, sino más bien para Dios.

‘ ‘

Pope Francis: Share the good news of Christ’s resurrection with others

The Pope Speaks

By HANNNAH BROCKHAUS

(Vatican City, CNA) Pope Francis encouraged Christians to not be held back by fear of judgment, but to share the good news of Christ’s resurrection with others.

“At times we think the way to be close to God is by keeping him close to us; because then, if we reveal ourselves and start to talk about it, judgements, criticisms come,” the pope said.

“Perhaps,” he added, “we do not know how to respond to certain questions or provocations, and so (we think) it is better not to talk about it, to close ourselves: no, this is not good.”

“Instead, the Lord comes while we proclaim him,” he continued. “This is what the women teach us: We encounter Jesus by witnessing him. Let us put this in our hearts: Jesus is met by witnessing him.”

Pope Francis addressed a crowd of people in St. Peter’s Square from a window of the Apostolic Palace for Monday of the Angel

Following his brief message, he recited the Regina Caeli, a Latin antiphon honoring the Virgin Mary which is prayed during the Easter Season. From Easter Sunday to Pentecost, Pope Francis will pray the Regina Caeli instead of the Angelus on Sundays.

In his address, the pope reflected on the account in St. Matthew’s Gospel of the women Mary and Mary Magdalene finding the empty tomb and going swiftly to tell the news of Christ’s resurrection to the other disciples.

“Let us run through the scene described in the Gospel: The women

arrive, they see the empty tomb and, ‘with fear and great joy,’ they run, the text says, ‘to tell his disciples,’” Francis said.

“Now, just as they are going to give this news, Jesus comes towards them. Let us take good note of this: Jesus encounters them while they are going to announce him. This is beautiful,” the pope said.

He explained that the day’s Gospel reminds us that the women disciples were the first to encounter Jesus after he rose from the dead. “We might ask ourselves: Why them? For a very simple reason: because they were the first to go to the tomb.”

“Like all the disciples,” he noted, “they too were suffering because of the way the story of Jesus seemed to have ended; but, unlike the others, they do not stay at home paralyzed by sadness and fear.”

The women’s desire to anoint Jesus’ body with ointments, a gesture of love, prevails over everything else, he said. “They are not discouraged, they overcome their fears and their anguish. This is the way to find the Risen One: To overcome our fears, to overcome our anxieties.”

Pope Francis said the birth of a child is an example of a common moment when someone is overfilled with joy and cannot wait to share a good piece

of news.

“One of the first things we do is to share this happy announcement with friends,” he said.

“And, by telling it, we also repeat it to ourselves and somehow make it come alive again for us. If this happens for good news, every day or some important days, it happens infinitely more for Jesus,” he said, “who is not only good news, nor even the best news of life, no, he is life itself, ‘the resurrection and the life.’”

The pope said sharing this good news should be done with respect and love, and never through propaganda or proselytism. But it is “the most beautiful gift to share. Jesus dwells in us even more every time we announce it.”

“When one encounters Jesus, no obstacle can prevent us from proclaiming him. If instead we keep his joy for ourselves, perhaps it is because we have not yet truly encountered him,” he added.

Francis encouraged Christians to ask themselves when was the last time they bore witness to Jesus.

“Can someone, thinking of me, say: This person is serene, happy, good, because he has met Jesus? Can each of us say this? Let us ask Our Lady to help us be joyful proclaimers of the Gospel,” he said. BC

Questions of Faith

Who goes to hell?

Someone asked, “Is hell really a place and why would a loving God send anyone there?”

A story might help answer this important question.

Someone asked God, “I would like to know what heaven and hell are like.” God showed the man two doors. Inside the first was a huge round table with a large pot of vegetable stew. It smelled delicious and made the man’s mouth water, but the people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They were famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles. It was possible to reach into the pot of stew and to take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.

The man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering. God said, “That is hell.”

Behind the second door, the room appeared exactly the same. There was a huge round table with the large pot of wonderful vegetable stew that made the man’s mouth water. The people had the same long-handled spoons, but they were well-nourished and plump, and were laughing and talking.

The man said, “I don’t understand.” God smiled and said, “It is simple. Love requires only one skill. The people in heaven learned early in life to share and to feed one another while the greedy only think of themselves.”

The hell of hell is the absence of love. Those who go to hell are

miserable because they have rejected the commandment to “love God above all things and to love our neighbor as ourselves.” We could turn the question around and ask, “Why should God force someone to love the Almighty if they have rejected to love God when they were on earth?”

The existence of hell is not very appealing even for people who affirm its existence. No one likes the idea of many people suffering judgment in the life to come; however, the “Good News” of the Gospel requires that there be “Bad News.” Why would Jesus die a cruel death to save humanity if everyone is going to be saved no matter what they did and what they believed?

Is hell a place? In a three-story universe of heaven, earth and hell, hell is located under the earth. In the Lazarus and the rich man story, Jesus has heaven and hell as places separated by “a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.” We do not know exactly where hell is, but it is a place.

Who goes to hell? Not one innocent person will go to hell. Hell is God’s answer to the fundamental injustices of this life. Many murderers, rapists and other people wreak havoc in the lives of others and never experience judgment in this life. These people are never held accountable for what they

did here on earth. We know that hell is God’s answer to serious evils.

Without hell, justice would never overtake the unrepentant tyrants responsible for murdering millions of people. Perpetrators of evil throughout the ages would get away with murder, rape, torture and every kind of evil.

This doctrine of the eternal punishment of sinners is rooted firmly in Jesus’ teachings. He spoke of hell more than he spoke of heaven. In fact, Jesus more than anyone reveals the love of God to the world; yet he spoke more about hell than any other person in the Bible. As followers of Jesus Christ, we cannot be faithful to our Lord and not speak of this stark reality.

The apostolic witness of the New Testament echoes Jesus’ weighty words on this topic. Paul speaks of a time of “wrath and anger” awaiting those who reject the truth (Romans 2:8). He declares that those who do not obey the Gospel “will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord” (2 Thessalonians 1:9).

God did not create people to go to hell, and the Almighty did not create people to sin. God wants everyone to be saved. We cannot blame God if someone chooses to reject God’s love. BC

Father Wilmer Todd

Readings Between the Lines

“The 50 days from Easter Sunday to Pentecost are celebrated in joyful exultation as one feast day, or better as one “great Sunday” (General Norms for the Liturgical Year and Calendar, no. 22). During May we observe Easter as one continuous celebration through Pentecost Sunday inclusive. As the Easter season progresses, however, it can be easy to lose our focus on Easter. We may be affected by the way our secular society celebrates festivals on the day they occur but then moves on from them. Even within the life of the church, however, there are challenges. While spiritual exercises such as “May Crowning” have their place in the church’s spiritual life, it is important to remember that they are done under the “umbrella” of the continuing Easter season. Vatican II’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, no. 13, states, that “(Popular) devotions should be so drawn up that they harmonize with the liturgical seasons, accord with the sacred liturgy, are in some fashion derived from it, and lead the people to it, since, in fact, the liturgy by its very nature far surpasses any of them.” In order to help us keep our focus on Easter, I am offering reflections on the Gospel readings which will be read on the four Sundays in May.

Fifth Sunday of Easter, John 14:112. This passage, as well as the next Sunday’s Gospel reading, both from John’s Last Supper Discourses (13:117:26), is read liturgically as if the risen Lord were giving final instructions to his disciples before he ascends to the Father. Jesus invites his disciples to reflect upon their ultimate destiny, their eternal union with him and the Father (14:2-3). That ultimate union is not unconnected to their current lives. Jesus in John’s Gospel declares that for the believer, eternal life begins now and continues into eternity (6:54; 11:2526). We are to consider, then, that our

Keeping your focus on Easter

lives are oriented toward eternity, and that our continual consciousness of our ultimate destiny of eternal union with God must shape our current lives. In 14:12, Jesus says that those who believe in him will do the works Jesus does and even greater ones. Through our participation in the sacraments, we have been both empowered and commissioned to continue Jesus’ work in today’s world.

Sixth Sunday of Easter, John 14:15-21. In this Sunday’s Gospel reading Jesus reassures his disciples that as he takes leave of them he does not abandon them. He declares that the “Spirit of truth” will dwell within the disciples. In 14:6, Jesus tells his disciples that he is “the way, the truth and the life.” Later, in 14:26, he says that “the Advocate” will teach and remind the disciples of what Jesus taught them, and in 16:13, Jesus informs them that the Spirit of truth will guide them to all truth. In other words, the “Advocate” (the Spirit) will dwell within the disciples and not only remind them of what Jesus taught them but also lead them to a deeper understanding of it. If Jesus is truth, and the Spirit leads them to truth, then the Spirit will lead the disciples to encounter the Lord dwelling within them. The experience of the Advocate’s

presence within the disciples will result from love shown to the risen Lord by adhering to his commandments (14:1516). In 14:18, Jesus confirms directly that he will dwell spiritually within the disciples.

The Easter season is a time for us to engage the Spirit of truth who dwells within us, as well as the risen Lord who is present within us through the truth of his teaching which we embrace. It is a time to recall what Jesus has said to us and to pray that the Spirit will enlighten us to the deeper implications that the truth the Lord has imparted to us has for our lives.

Ascension of the Lord, Matthew 28:16-20. In most of the dioceses of the United States the Solemnity of the Lord’s Ascension supplants the Seventh Sunday of Easter. Although this passage is assigned to the Solemnity, in the A-cycle of the Lectionary, Matthew has no ascension. The risen Lord sends his disciples on a universal evangelization mission to teach what he has “commanded” them, and to baptize, but the risen Lord remains with his church “until the end of the age” (28:20). Matthew depicts Jesus as the great teacher of the Law. In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew, chapters 5-7), Jesus provides deeper insights regarding certain aspects

Father Glenn LeCompte

of the Torah. The key to interpreting the Law is to be found in the two great commandments of an all-consuming love for God and love for one’s neighbor (22:37-39). The risen Lord sends the disciples on a mission to “the nations” (or “the Gentiles) to present God’s commandments through the lens of Jesus’ explanation of the Law exclusively.

Matthew’s account of the Lord’s “Great Commission” (28:16-20) of the disciples applies to us as well as to the first disciples. The mission on which the Lord sends us is sanctioned by the universal divine authority given him as a result of his resurrection and exaltation. This Sunday’s Gospel passage provides us with the occasion to reflect on the way we heed the Lord’s command to bring what he has taught to the world around us, while maintaining consistency with his teaching. How do we go about making more disciples of Jesus?

Pentecost, John 20:19-23. We saw above, on the Sixth Sunday of Easter, that Jesus promised his disciples that they would see him in a little while after he took leave of them. Although Jesus speaks of an indwelling spiritual presence in his risen state, the disciples first experience the risen Lord’s return to them in this Sunday’s Gospel reading when he appears to them. The promise to send “the Advocate” is fulfilled when he imparts the Holy Spirit with the symbolic act of breathing upon them. Jesus’ act of breathing upon the disciples recalls the ruach (wind/breath/spirit) which hovers over the chaotic waters of the earth (Genesis 1:2) and is engaged in God’s act of creating the cosmos. As we die and rise with Christ, we become new creations (see 2 Corinthians 5:17). Easter is a time of renewal, not only a time to start living a renewed life after having experienced conversion during Lent, but to engage in the activity of cooperating with the Spirit to renew the

face of the earth.

As you can see, the liturgies of the Easter season not only provide us with fodder for spiritual reflection, but with the challenge to ask ourselves how we are fulfilling the Lord’s command to continue in our day the mission he began. BC

Reflection Questions

v How do you encounter the indwelling presence of the Spirit and the risen Lord within you?

v What more can you do to grow into a deeper reflection upon the meaning of Easter for your life and the life of the church?

v Faith in Christ’s resurrection leads to mission. How is the renewal of that faith during this Easter season leading you to a reconsideration of the mission to which Christ calls you?

In Exile

By FATHER RON ROLHEISER

The earth was dark twice. Once at the original creation before God first created light. But later there was an even deeper darkness, on Good Friday, between the 6th and 9th hour, when we were crucifying God, and as Jesus dying on the cross cried out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!” Utter darkness. In response to that, God created the most staggering light of all – the resurrection.

It is interesting to look at how scripture describes the creation of original light. The Bible opens with these words: “In the beginning God created heaven and earth. Now the earth was a formless void and God breathed over the waters. God said, ‘Let there be light’ and there was light.” A combination of God’s breath and God’s word produced the first light. The ancients identified God’s presence very much with light. For them, God was the antithesis of all darkness and, indeed, the symbol of God’s fidelity was the rainbow, namely, refracted light, light broken open to reveal its spectacular inner beauty.

But it got dark a second time! The Gospels tell us that as Jesus hung on the cross, though it was midday, darkness beset the whole land for three hours. We don’t know exactly what occurred here historically. Was the entire earth plunged into darkness? Perhaps. After all, the earth was crucifying God, and God is light! Irrespective of how literally or not we take this, what happened on Good Friday triggered a different kind of darkness, a moral one – the darkness of godlessness, hatred, paranoia, fear, misguided religion, cruelty, idolatry, ideology, and violence. This is the most blinding darkness of all.

What was God’s response? God’s

Easter Light

response to the darkness of Good Friday was to say a second time, Let there be light! The resurrection of Jesus is that new light, one which at the end of the day eclipses all other lights.

It is interesting to compare how scripture describes God creating the new light of the resurrection with how God created the original light at the origins of creation. The Gospel of John has a wonderfully revealing passage that describes Jesus’ first appearance to the whole community after his resurrection. It tells us that on the evening of Easter Sunday the disciples (representing here the church) were gathered in a room with the doors locked because of fear. Jesus comes to them, passing right through their locked doors, and stands in the middle of their huddled fearful circle and says to them, “Peace be with you!” And after saying this, he breathes on them and says: “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

Note the parallels to the original creation story. For the writer of John’s Gospel, this huddling in fear behind locked doors is the darkness of Good Friday, a moral “formless void.” And Jesus brings light to that darkness in the same way light was brought to the original creation, through God’s word and God’s breath. Jesus’ words, “Peace be with you!” are the resurrected Jesus’ way of saying, “Let there be light!” Then, just as at the original creation God’s breath begins to order the physical chaos, Jesus’ breath, the Holy Spirit, begins to order the moral chaos, continually turning darkness into light – hatred into love, bitterness into graciousness, fear into trust, false religion into true worship, ideology into truth, and vengeance into forgiveness.

The staggering new light that Jesus brings into our world in the resurrection is also one of the things

that our Christian creed refers to in its stunning phrase that, in the darkness of Good Friday, Jesus “descended into hell.” What’s meant by this? Into what hell did he descend? Simply put, the new light of the resurrection (unlike natural light that can be blocked out) can go through every locked door, every blocked entrance, every impenetrable cell, every circle of hatred, every suicidal depression, every paralyzing anger, every kind of darkness of the soul, and even through sin itself, and breathe out peace. This light can penetrate into hell itself.

Good Friday was bad long before it was good. We crucified God and plunged the world into darkness at midday. But God created light a second time, a light that cannot be extinguished even if we crucify God – and we have never really stopped doing that! Good Friday still happens every day. But, beyond wishful thinking and natural optimism, we live in hope because we now know God’s response to any moral darkness, God can generate, resurrection, the creation of new light, life beyond death.

The renowned mystic Julian of Norwich coined the famous phrase: In the end, all will be well, and all will be well, and every manner of being will be well. To which Oscar Wilde added, And if it isn’t well, then it is still not the end. The resurrection of Jesus has brought a new light into the world, one that proclaims against all counter claims that light still triumphs over darkness, love over hatred, order over chaos, and heaven over hell.

(Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser is a theologian, teacher and award-winning author. He can be contacted through his website www.ronrolheiser.com Now on Facebook www.facebook.com/ ronrolheiser ) BC

Father Ron Rolheiser, O.M.I.

Saintly Inspiration St. Rosa Venerini May 7

On May 7, the church celebrates the recentlycanonized Italian educator Saint Rosa Venerini, who founded Catholic schools for girls and young women during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Her work is continued today by the “Venerini Sisters.” St. Rosa (also known as St. Rose) was declared a saint in 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI, who spoke in his canonization homily of her courageous work for “the spiritual elevation and authentic emancipation of the young women of her time.” He noted that St. Venerini “did not content herself with providing the girls an adequate education, but she was concerned with assuring their complete formation, with sound references to the church’s doctrinal teaching.” Born in the central Italian city of Viterbo on Feb. 9, 1656, Rosa Venerini was the daughter of an accomplished doctor, Goffredo, who raised four children with his wife Marzia. At a young age, Rosa vowed to consecrate her life to God, though this resolution was tested during her adolescence. Rosa briefly joined a Dominican women’s community during 1676, but returned home to comfort her mother after Goffredo’s unexpected death. One of Rosa’s brothers, Domenico, also died at age 27. Marzia was heartbroken and died within months.

Holy Father’s prayer intentions May

For church movements and groups. We pray that church movements and groups may rediscover their mission of evangelization each day, placing their own charisms at the service of needs in the world.

In the wake of these family crises, Rosa invited local women to her home to pray the rosary in a group. However, she was soon dismayed by the deficiencies she saw in their education and religious formation. This eyeopening experience shaped Rosa’s future, pointing her toward her ultimate vocation in the field of teaching. In 1685, with the help of two friends and the approval of her local bishop, Rosa opened Italy’s first public school for girls. It was supported by some church and state officials, though others resisted an educational model that was, for its time, unconventional. Many of these critics were silenced by the school’s clear success in uplifting the character of young women. Rosa left Viterbo and founded 10 schools in the Diocese of Montefiascone between 1692 and 1694. She also trained a local successor, the future Saint Lucia Filippini. Only after several years, and one disappointing failed attempt, did Rosa manage to start a school in Rome, during 1713. Three years later, Pope Clement XI paid a visit accompanied by eight cardinals. Witnessing the work of Rosa Venerini’s teachers, the Pope personally thanked her, declaring: “With these schools you will sanctify Rome.” The acceptance of Rosa’s work also increased her daily responsibilities. She undertook difficult journeys for the sake of her work, while maintaining a strong prayer life that kept her oriented toward God’s will in all of her undertakings. She cultivated a close daily relationship to God while working to found over 40 schools.

St. Rosa Venerini’s last illness came to an end during the evening of May 7, 1728. BC

and a listing of Feast days and saints

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Joe bakes a pizza

This month’s Heavenly Recipe, Crispy Cheesy Pan Pizza, comes from Joe Klapatch, liaison/ coordinator of logistics & events for the diocesan Office of Parish Support.

The New Jersey native has been working for the diocese since November 2018.

Joes says he stumbled on the recipe while on vacation with his wife Kristen in Vermont. They went into a bakery store called King Arthur Baking Co. that features a yearly best recipe, which that year was pizza. His wife told him they should try the recipe, which Joe was skeptical about, since like most people from New Jersey he is very particular about his pizza. But they tried the recipe, and Joe says it was “absolutely amazing … it was delicious,” and they have been making it ever since. The recipe is just a basic thick crust pan pizza, so you can put any toppings on it that you like.

Joe does most of the cooking at home. He says he loves cooking … the creativity of it and serving other people.

“There’s just something about food that brings people together. There are some people who just eat for sustenance and others who eat because they appreciate the different flavors in food, but everyone likes to eat with other people. And seeing other people enjoy what I’ve cooked is really cool.”

Joe says he taught himself to cook. He attended a military college in Virginia where the food was terrible, and after he graduated, he told

Story by Janet Marcel | Photo by Maegan Martin

Joe Klapatch a

Crispy Cheesy Pan Pizza

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. instant or active dry yeast

3/4 cup lukewarm water

1 tbsp. olive oil

1-1/2 tbsps. olive oil for the pan

6 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup pizza sauce

Any additional toppings you like on pizza

Instructions

Any additional toppings you like on pizza

Place the flour, salt, yeast, water and one tablespoon of olive oil in the bowl of a stand mixer or other medium-large mixing bowl. Stir everything together to make a shaggy, sticky mass of dough with no dry patches of flour ,30 to 45 seconds if using a mixer and about one minute by hand.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl to gather the dough into a rough ball; cover the bowl. After five minutes, perform four stretches and folds. Wait five minutes and do it again. Do this three times.

Let dough sit in a warm place to rest and rise for 40 minutes then put in the fridge for 12 hours or up to three days.

About three hours before you want to eat the pizza, put the 1-1/2 tbsps. of olive oil in a 12-inch cast iron skillet and roll the oil around until all the surfaces are covered. Make sure to get the oil about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way up the sides of the pan.

Take the dough out of the fridge and flip it over a few times to cover with oil. With your fingers, press the dough out to the edges of the pan. It will spring back a little toward the center. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let it rest for 20 minutes then press it out again. If it covers the bottom of the pan on this second press out, there’s no need to do it again. If it does not, wait 20 minutes and press it out again. Once the pan is covered, press dimples into the dough with your fingers and let it rest covered loosely with plastic wrap in a warm place until you are ready to bake it. About an hour before you want to serve the pizza, preheat your oven to 450 F.

About 30 minutes before you are ready to eat, the dough should be puffy. Cover the dough all the way to the edges with a cup of mozzarella cheese (about 4-5 oz. should be enough). It is important to put the cheese on first The pizza should be fully covered in a single thin layer of cheese. Then, take some dollops of pizza sauce and put on the pizza in about 8-10 blobs (1/2 cup). Top with other desired toppings. Then, ensure the oven is preheated, and put the skillet in the oven on the bottom rack for 20 minutes; check the top. If the cheese is beginning to brown, leave it on the bottom rack for another four minutes. If not, then move it to the top rack and back for an additional four minutes. The hotter air at the top of your oven will cause the cheese to brown a bit quicker. After 24 minutes in the oven, the cheese should be bubbly and nicely browned. Let it cool for about five minutes.

(A more detailed version of this recipe can be found on King Arthur Baking Company’s website.)

himself “I’m not going to eat bad food anymore, so I’m going to learn how to cook.”

“I just started making recipes that I thought would be good and eventually what happens over time is you learn what flavors go well together and what goes with what, so you can make a lot of different things. I like to change up recipes. Sometimes I look at a recipe and add or leave out ingredients if I think that would make it better.”

After graduating from college, Joe started graduate school, but eventually decided the path he had chosen wasn’t for him, so he enlisted in the Navy for four years while he figured out what he wanted to do with his life. He ended up staying in the Navy for 20 years. While stationed in London, he and his wife were volunteering with their church parish’s confirmation program. They took the teens who were in the program on a retreat. “I knew that was going to be my last tour before I retired from the Navy, and I felt like God was calling me to doing something more directly for the church, so I started working on a master’s degree in Catechesis and Evangelization.

While at the wedding of a mutual friend in Atlanta, GA, they ran into Kristen Niedbala, and she asked what they had been doing. She was living in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux and told them they should visit there to see if maybe that was somewhere God was calling them to go. So, he and his wife spent about two weeks in the diocese meeting with different people, and he says the Lord made it very clear that this is where they were meant to be.

Joe says what he enjoys most about working for the diocese is that he feels like he’s doing what the Lord is calling him to do and it’s fantastic. “There’s a great freedom when you allow the Lord to direct your life; and joy comes with that.”

He says he enjoys working with the lay leaders in the parishes all the while supporting the efforts of the pastors. “It’s very rewarding work. Any time you do what the Lord is calling you to do, you’re going to have joy in your life. I can’t imagine doing anything else than what I’m doing right now.”

Joe and his wife Kristen, who will be married 13 years in September, are parishioners of Maria Immacolata Church parish in Houma. BC

Youth in action

Aliza Callais

School: Vandebilt Catholic High School, Houma

Grade: 10th

Church parish: St. Joseph, Galliano

Describe your family unit: Valerie, mother; Travis, father; Aleiya, Jacques, Alyana, Alexa, Jaxton, siblings

Favorite Hobby: I enjoy playing volleyball and spending time volunteering at my church parish. Currently, I hold the title of French Food Festival Teen Queen and help at their various events throughout the year. I am a member of the yearbook and have a passion for sports photography.

Favorite Movie: Ramona and Beezus

Favorite T.V. Show: I am a big fan of investigative crime shows such as Criminal Minds and NCIS

Favorite Genre of Music: Country music is my favorite.

Do you have a favorite Scripture passage?

What is it and why?

My favorite Scripture passage is Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” This passage shows me that even when I experience hard times, I can persevere with my faith. It reminds me to rely on God when I face a challenge. This passage also gives me hope that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel to bring me up whenever I feel down. BC

May Daily Prayer

for Priests, Deacons, Religious and Seminarians

Lord Jesus, hear our prayer for the spiritual renewal of bishops, priests, deacons, brothers, sisters, lay ministers and seminarians of the

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.

Daily Prayer for Clergy and Religious

Diocese

Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville

Rev. Brice Higginbotham

Rev. Stuart King

Very Rev. Joshua Rodrigue, S.T.L.

Rev. Michael Bergeron, retired Deacon Lloyd Duplantis, retired

Msgr. Frederic Brunet, retired Rev. Domingo Cruz, retired Rev. Dean Danos, retired Rev. Wilfredo Decal, retired

Rev. Scott Dugas, retired Seminarian Matt Thibodaux

Rev. Roch Naquin, retired

Rev. Ty Nguyen, retired Rev. Charles Perkins, retired Rev. Caesar Silva, retired Rev. Wilmer Todd, retired Deacon Dennis Dupre, retired

Rev. Jerry Villarrubia, retired Bishop Emeritus Sam G. Jacobs

Very Rev. Jay L. Baker Rev. Paul Birdsall Rev. Rusty Bruce Rev. Toto Buenaflor, Jr.

Sister Diane Poynot, C.S.J.

Rev. Duc Bui Rev. Stephen Castille

Rev. Joseph Chacko, I.M.S.

Rev. Cody Chatagnier

Rev. Jackson Cleetus Deacon Harold Fanguy, retired

Bishop Dorsonville’s Chrism Mass homily

Introduction

In Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives, Pope Benedict XVI observes that in the Old Testament there are many “waiting words” which only find fulfillment in Christ. These mysterious words offered a promise of hope to Israel, but their true meaning only becomes clear in the person of Jesus Christ. And so, Scripture interprets Scripture; Jesus, the Incarnate Word, interprets and fulfills the words of sacred Scripture.

We see this in today’s liturgy. The first reading offers these compelling words: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the Lord and a day of vindication by our God.” We want those words to be true! We need those words to be true!

Nina Bergeron

And yet who can definitively bring glad tidings, heal the brokenhearted, free captives?

Those beautiful words waited in the heart of the people of Israel for centuries. And then one day Jesus of Nazareth comes to his hometown, stands up in the synagogue, reads those words, and sits down. The air in the synagogue is electric. People have heard those words hundreds of times, but something is different here. What will Jesus say? And, almost casually, he says “those words are fulfilled in me.”

What Isaiah foreshadowed is fulfilled in Jesus. The Spirit of the Lord God is upon him because he is consubstantial with the Father. Because Jesus is God from God, light from light, true God from true God, he heals, he sets free, he redeems. The waiting words of Scripture are fulfilled in him.

And isn’t it true that, because of Christ’s grace, the words of scripture

are also fulfilled in us? We don’t interpret God’s word; God’s word interprets us.

Today, dear brothers, we gather to celebrate our participation in the One, Eternal Priesthood of Jesus Christ. It gives me so much joy to celebrate this Mass with you, my first Chrism Mass in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodeaux. Because we are anointed with the anointing of Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are anointed, in union with Jesus the high priest, to fulfill those words from the Book of Isaiah every day.

Anointed

We fulfill Isaiah’s words because, in union with Jesus, we are anointed. Just like oil permeates whatever it touches, we have uniquely received the Spirit of God in the depths of our souls since the moment we were anointed. In the words of the rite of ordination: “The Lord Jesus Christ, whom the Father anointed with the Spirit and

Photos by Maegan Martin

power, guard and preserve you, that you may sanctify the Christian people and offer sacrifice to God.” Brothers, the Lord has made us his own in a particular manner. In his first Chrism Mass homily, Pope Benedict XVI offered this beautiful thought. When we are ordained, he said, Jesus tells us “You are under the protection of my hands. You are under the protection of my heart. You are kept safely in the palm of my hands, and this is precisely how you find yourself in the immensity of my love. Stay in my hands, and give me yours.” We are anointed in the person of Jesus Christ, under his protection, in his love, forever. In the words from Psalm 110 that I chose as my motto, Sacerdos in Aeternum, a priest forever.

What are the results of this anointing? We share the life of Jesus, the High Priest, and we share his mission. Confident that we have received for free, we have to give back for free. The mission is an act of love.

Sent to Bring Glad Tidings

We fulfill Isaiah’s words because, in union with Jesus, we are sent to proclaim glad tidings to the poor. “The

people who walk in darkness have seen a great light: Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, God-with us.” Sin and death do not have the last word. Love exists, truth exists, joy exists; and love and truth and joy has a name and a face in Jesus, the human face of God, the presence of God in our midst.

And so our existence is good, our lives have meaning, we can fall in love with God and let that relationship bring meaning and joy to our lives. As Pope Francis puts it in Evangelii Gaudium, joy comes from the conviction that when all is said and done, we are infinitely loved.

As priests we are servants of that joy, sent to proclaim that joy which begins on earth and will continue in heaven.

To Heal the Brokenhearted

We fulfill Isaiah’s words because, in union with Jesus, as priests we heal the brokenhearted. Sin literally breaks our hearts, since it wounds our relationship with God and with others. We are created for relationship with God and others; sin fractures our relationships.

What a gift to offer the deepest

Chrism Mass

possible healing in the sacrament of reconciliation. Through the forgiveness of sins, relationships are restored. In fact, the word “reconciliation” comes from the Latin word cilia, which means “eyelash.” Through this sacrament, the Lord brings us eyelash to eyelash with himself, into a healed relationship, into union and intimacy with him. And then, with healed hearts, the Lord invites us to receive his Body and Blood in the Eucharist; he invites us to ever-deeper communion with him and with others.

Of course, our broken hearts also need constant healing – how beautiful it is for us as priests to receive God’s forgiveness in the sacrament of reconciliation, and then to offer that same reconciliation to others.

To Proclaim Liberty to Captives and Set Prisoners Free

We fulfill Isaiah’s words because, in union with Jesus, we proclaim liberty to captives and set prisoners free. This takes place in the sacraments (here we could recall that the word “absolution” comes from the Latin word ab-solvere,

which means to unbind). And it also takes place in our preaching.

In John 8:31-32, Jesus declares “If you remain in my word, you will be my disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.” As priests, we preach God’s word of truth that brings freedom. The truth about who God is. The truth about who we are. The truth that there is meaning and purpose in our lives, that we all have a mission in life.

Our preaching helps our people to live in the “tower of salvation” which everyone is invited to enter. That tower is Jesus Christ, and the sacramental life he has set for us to reach salvation. I chose the image of a tower with the ChiRho in my coat of arms to signify that Christ is our fortress against the devil and his demons; we preach Christ and him crucified, and in him alone is our salvation.

To announce a year of favor from the Lord and a day of vindication by our God

And finally, we fulfill Isaiah’s words

because, in union with Christ, we announce a year of favor from the Lord and a day of vindication by our God. We do this, of course, in the sacraments and in our preaching. And we also announce this by our presence among God’s people. Saint John Vianney insisted that with faith, we would see God hidden in the priest like light behind glass or like wine mixed with water. What a gift it is to be the presence of Christ – and what a tremendous responsibility to celebrate salvation In Persona Christi!

Conclusion: Mary, Mother of Priests

Let us never forget that in our life and our mission as priests, we have a mother always at our side. Mary is so close to us, her sons, just like she was at the side of St. John at the foot of the Cross.

May each of us feel her presence and her love in our lives. And may each of us say, with her at our side, “Jesus, my king and my God and the great love of my heart, let it be done to me according to your word.” Amen. BC

Chrism Mass

Chrism Mass

The rosary acknowledges Mary’s role in our redemption

crucifix and five more beads were added later. The three Hail Marys represent faith, hope and charity.

May is the month of Mary. Almost synonymous with Mary is the rosary. The rosary is steeped in mystery and deep in theology. Pinpointing the origin of the rosary is not easy because it is surrounded in both fact and legend. Wading through this material can be a confusing task since every pamphlet seems to differ somewhat in its origin.

The most popular legend is that the rosary was given by Mary to St. Dominic of Guzman before the Battle of Muret in 1213 to aid in the overthrow of the Albigenese. But the legend of St. Dominic did not originate during the saint’s lifetime nor during the century in which he lived. In the 18th century a group of scholars set out to rewrite the lives of the saints so as to preserve all the truth and separate it from legend. The group concluded that the tradition of the direct gift to St. Dominic was not based on enough evidence to support it nor was it well authenticated.

In truth, the rosary is a combination of many streams of development. In the early days, the liturgical prayer of the church developed around the 150 psalms which Monks sang in the choir. But for laypeople, who could not read, 150 Our Fathers were substituted in place of the psalms. Some used a string of 150 beads to keep count.

A parallel development was taking place among people devoted to Mary. They said 150 Ave Marias (Angel Gabriel’s greeting to Mary), mixed with verses and psalms, a devotion known as Our Lady’s Psalter

About the turn of the 13th century in England, the Cistercians developed a practice of meditating on the 15 joys of the Blessed Virgin. Between the 14th and 15th century, the 150 Ave Marias were divided into 15 decades, each preceded by the Lord’s Prayer

In the book Rosario della gloriosa Vergine Maria, published in 1521, the author uses the word “mystery” for the first time in association with the rosary. The book introduced the idea of having a mystery introduced by each Our Father.

In 1573, a Dominican wrote the book Rosario della Sacratissima Vergine Maria which set the modern 15 mysteries in their typical division of joyful, sorrowful and glorious. This developed into 150 Hail Marys with 15 mysteries. Today, people usually pray five decades – or one set of mysteries – at a time, although strictly speaking, the rosary is all 15 decades (often called the Dominican Rosary). The

The word “bead” comes from “bede” which in early English meant a “prayer.” The use of beads or some sort of counters to keep track of prayers is very old. Even today we see them among Mohammedans, Buddhists, Brahmins, and generally in India, China and Japan. Christian graves as far back as the third century have produced “abacus-like” devices which were probably used for praying. Beads were found in the tomb of St. Gertrude of Nivelles from the sixth century and St. Norbert from the 11th century. The application of the term rosarium (rose garden or crown of roses) to the prayer beads had its major development in the 14th and 15th century. At that time, the concept of a rose garden and a wreath of roses was firmly established as symbolizing the Mystic Rose of Scripture—the Virgin Mary. Thus, the term “rosary.”

The rosary took a prominent role when Europe was in crisis. In 1566, the Ottoman Empire was planning to invade Europe. Pope Pius V called for a crusade against the Turks. Only a handful responded: Don John of Austria, the Spaniards, the Venetians and the small Papal fleet. They were no match for the Turkish fleet, which outnumbered them three to one. Pope Pius V was a Dominican and Dominicans had a great

a

Father Michael Bergeron

Guest Columnist

devotion to the rosary. So he called for a rosary crusade in Europe to help the Christian forces. On Oct. 7, 1571, the Christian forces under Don John and Andrea Doria met the Turks off the coast of Greece, the Gulf of Lepanto, and miraculously defeated them. Don John confessed the victory was won, not by fighting arms, but by praying arms.

In thanksgiving, Pope Pius V instituted the first Sunday of October as the feast of Our Lady of Victory.

In 1573, Pope Gregory XIII, changed it to Feast of the Most Holy Rosary. Also, to honor the Dominican pope, all succeeding popes wear the white cassock of the Dominicans. Two hundred years later, after a new victory over the Turks by Prince Eugene of Savoy in 1716, at Peterwardein, Hungary, Pope Clement XI extended the celebration of the feast of the rosary to the universal church. Finally, Pope Pius X fixed the feast on Oct. 7.

The rosary is not simply a mechanical repetition of the Hail Mary, punctuated by the Our Father and the Glory Be. It is a meditative prayer – meditating on the mysteries of our redemption as it is revealed through Scripture. More importantly, it is not a relic of the past unless we are prepared to discard the Gospels. The Lord’s Prayer and the greater part of the Hail Mary, as well as the “mysteries” come from the Gospels. The remainder of the Hail Mary comes to us from none other than the Council of Ephesus in 431. Ephesus was famous for its definition of the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Theotokos, Mother of God, refuting the position of Nestorius and his followers. From here we get “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of death. Amen.” In the first half of the 16th century, the official “Catechism of the Council of Trent” approved the wording we have today and strict official adoption of the Hail Mary occurred in 1568 with its publication in the Roman Breviary.

In 1569, Pope Pius V officially recommended this prayer of “150

angelic salutations ... with The Lord’s Prayer at each decade ... while meditating on the mysteries which recall the entire life of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The Apostle’s Creed makes its first appearance in the rosary as mentioned in the Libellus perutilis published in 1495. It is a summary of the great mysteries of the Catholic faith, which are standard Gospel teachings.

“Mystery” does not mean something secret, hidden and not readily discernible. Pauline writings speak of the “mystery” long kept secret by God but not “made manifest to his saints” (Colossians 1:26). It emerges that the mystery is identified with the person of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 3:4; Colossians 4:3; 1 Timothy 3:16) and, at the same time, is identical with the Gospel: The proclamation of the Gospel is the mystery which was kept secret for long ages (Romans 16:25). In other words, the mystery is revelatory. The mysteries of the rosary reveal Christ to us and lead us into a fuller understanding of him.

Pope Paul VI proposes a profound harmony between the rosary and the liturgy when the rosary is contemplatively recited outside celebration. In Marialis Cultus (1974), he emphasizes the contemplative aspect of the rosary as effective both as a preparation for the celebration of the mysteries of our redemption in the eucharistic liturgy and as a continuation of its special graces in our lives.

The essence of the rosary devotion – its very heart and soul – is to ponder the mysteries of our redemption over and over again, as Mary did when they were actually unfolding before her eyes. Besides being Marian in nature, the rosary is Christocentric (having Christ as its center). Our Lady focuses our attention on her Son. We look at Jesus through the eyes of someone who was closest to him: His Mother. We are also acknowledging Mary’s role in our redemption. We easily find this articulated in Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic a

Constitution on the Church, Nov. 21, 1964. Mary is an example of the connection of the Order of Salvation and the Order of Creation (grace and nature; God and people). To the Father, she is the daughter; to the Son, she is his mother; to the Spirit, she is the sanctuary. Mary also has a relationship to us: The redeemed. She is a human like us, she is “supereminently, uniquely, archetypically” a member of the people of God, and yet her exultation does not diminish her solidarity with us.

Mary plays a crucial part in salvation. In her fiat (her “yes, let it be done to me”), she is not only passively engaged, but completely cooperative in our salvation in a receptive sense. She entered into being a cause for salvation, of which humanity is a recipient. She actively gives and receives her “yes.” Mary is the model and mediatrix of the graces that we continually need to become better disposed to grow in love. Through the use of the rosary, we can ponder the mysteries of our redemption just as Mary pondered the mysteries which unfolded before her, so that we may answer the invitation of her Son.

As Saint John Paul II says in the encyclical Mother of the Redeemer, the church has from the beginning modeled herself on the earthly journey of the Mother of God. “It is to her as mother and model that the church must look in order to understand in its completeness the meaning of her mission.” What better way to look to the Mother of God than to meditate on her life, to see our Savior through the eyes of his mother, and to ponder our redemption?

Our Lady prayed the rosary with Bernadette at Lourdes. She brought it to Fatima with a promise attached to it. She spoke of “meditating” on the rosary. The rosary teaches us everything we need to know. Its 15 mysteries encompass all the truths of the Christian life, if only we have eyes to see. On one occasion in the Vatican, Pope Paul VI is reported to have held up his rosary and proclaimed: “This is the Bible for those who can neither read nor write.” The whole history of our

salvation, the pope went on to explain, is contained in these mysteries which summarize the life of Christ. Pope after pope recalls to the flock the beauty of the rosary. The reason for this is simple: The ultimate foundation of the church’s love for the rosary is her intense love for the Word of God. Saint John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, introduced the Luminous Mysteries in October 2002. The five mysteries, the Mysteries of Light (or the Luminous Mysteries), focus on the public ministry of Jesus Christ.

The rosary, as Mary told us at Lourdes, Fatima and Banneux, is a lever capable of moving heaven and earth. Her parting words at Fatima were: “My children, go on always saying the rosary.”

(Father Michael Bergeron is a retired priest of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux.) BC

Why is May the ‘Month of Mary’?

the world pay to the Queen of Heaven. During this month, Christians, both in church and in the privacy of the home, offer up to Mary from their hearts an especially fervent and loving homage of prayer and veneration. In this month, too, the benefits of God’s mercy come down to us from her throne in greater abundance.”

I have been a priest for almost 60 years, and every parish where I was assigned had a May crowning of Mary on the first Sunday of May. It usually involved children from the parish who would take flowers to put in front of Mary’s statue and an older child to place a crown of flowers on Mary’s head. We usually sang, “O Mary, we crown thee with blossoms today!” or another Marian song. I had no idea why we did this in May until I did some research.

The tradition of dedicating the month of May to Mary began in the 13th century. The naming of May as Our Lady’s Month was an attempt to replace the pagan festivals and to turn them into the worship of the True God and veneration of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Another reason is that May is the time when spring is at the height of its beauty when nature is renewing itself. In her own way, Mary gave new life to the world when she gave birth to our savior, Jesus Christ.

This new beginning and new birth in nature remind us of the life Mary gave to Jesus. Without Mary giving birth to Jesus, all the events that followed: Jesus’ life, death and resurrection would not have happened. We believe that May (when nature is showing signs of new life) is the ideal month to honor the woman who gave life to our Savior.

Pope Paul VI in his “Encyclical on the Month of May” says, “May is the occasion for a moving tribute of faith and love that Catholics in every part of

Jesus calls Mary “woman” twice in the Gospel of John – once at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry at the wedding in Cana and under the cross at the end of his ministry. She helps usher in his ministry and is there when his early ministry is complete. In giving the beloved disciple and Mary to each other’s care, Mary becomes the mother of all those who follow Jesus. Spiritual writers have declared that “the disciple Jesus loved” while literally meaning St. John, can also be understood spiritually to include every faithful Christian.

Devotion to Mary is an important part of the Catholic identity. As our mother, she is an example of a committed “Yes” to God’s will. Because of the devotion to her, many people ask her for help in the most difficult moments of their lives as children do with their own mothers.

Mary was the first to hear the Good News and the first to follow Christ. Her entire life was devoted to him and to helping him in whatever way she could to carry on his mission. Unaffected by original sin she could open herself to God’s will perfectly.

In May of 2002, (Saint) Pope John Paul II said, “Today we begin the month dedicated to Our Lady, a favorite of popular devotions. In accord with a long-standing tradition of devotion, parishes and families continue to make the month of May a ‘Marian’ month celebrating it with many devout liturgical, catechetical, and pastoral initiatives!” BC

Father Wilmer Todd

Guest Columnist

PHOTO BY LAWRENCE CHATAGNIER

Deacon Davis Doucet dies at age 80

Outreach Line

In response to the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux is offering an Outreach Line (formerly known as the Child Protection Contact Line). The Outreach Line is an effort to continue the diocesan commitment to support healing for people who have been hurt or sexually abused recently or in the past by clergy, religious or other employees of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux.

The Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux Outreach Line operates from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. A trained mental health professional responds to the line. Individuals are offered additional assistance if requested.

The Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux Outreach Line

Telephone number is (985) 873-0026 or (985) 850-3172

Deacon Davis J. Doucet, a native of Golden Meadow and resident of Larose, passed away Wednesday, April 5, 2023, at the age of 80.

Deacon Doucet was ordained to the permanent diaconate on June 8, 2006. After being ordained, he served as a deacon at St. Hilary of Poitiers Church parish in Mathews for three years. He then moved to Our Lady of the Rosary Church parish in Larose, where he served for seven years. He retired from active ministry in 2016.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at Our Lady of the Rosary Church. A private burial in the church cemetery will take place at a later date. Deacon Doucet is survived by his daughters, Monica (John) Kyzar, Mitzi (Earl) Sevin, and Miranda (Branden) Goldman; grandchildren, Kelsy Rogers, Trista Rogers, Allison Goldman, Beau Kyzar, and Jack Kyzar; and sister, Evelyn Doucet Smith. He was preceded in death by his wife, Patricia “Pat” Rodrigue Doucet; parents, Deman Hypolite and Eve Mary Griffin Doucet; and sister, Marie Doucet. Deacon Doucet was a member of the Knights of Columbus. BC

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

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

Ñöôøng daây ñieän thoaïi Cöùu giuùp Giaùo phaän

Deacon Davis Doucet

Nicholls State University in Thibodaux’s Newman ministry, also known as the Colonel Catholics, hosts over 100 activities for students per year, offers spiritual guidance and leadership through FOCUS missionary outreach and is bridging a gap between generations, according to the campus ministry staff.

In fact, Cissy Atzenhoffer, director of campus ministry, says that the Colonel Catholics are ranked number 10 among 500 Newman Centers around the country based on what it offers and campus participation.

A Home Away from Home

Atzenhoffer aims to make the St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center on the NSU campus in Thibodaux a “home away from home,” for students.

“We are here to hug the students when they are away from home. We feed them. We tell them to go to class when they don’t feel like going,” Atzenhoffer asserts.

She explains that the Colonel

Catholics is basically a club on campus that requires no fees. It is largely financially supported by parishioners of St. Thomas Aquinas.

Many students are initially drawn to the Catholic Center on campus through free weekly meals called Not On Bread Alone (NOBA), which are sponsored and prepared by church parishes and businesses from around the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. Atzenhoffer says about 250 lunches are served to students weekly.

Colonel Catholics offers students the opportunity to build friendships with peers. Together they can become involved in prayer groups or Bible studies, participate in service work, attend sports events on campus and cookouts or participate in the studentrun Awakening Retreats which are held in the spring and fall semesters.

This year more than a busload of students also attended the national SEEK retreat. Atzenhoffer says that 55 students have already signed up for

next year’s SEEK retreat.

Generations Gather

The greater parish of St. Thomas Aquinas includes the surrounding community of residents off campus who attend Mass, which leads to a unique relationship between students and off campus parishioners.

“We can have around 100 attendees at a daily Mass where you will see students, young families, retirees and a mom with homeschooled children,“ according to Father John David (J.D.) Matherne, pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas.

“Hope is incarnate,” says Father Matherne, as the older generation sees so many young persons among the congregation at daily Mass. They feared that the church was not going to outlive them, but their minds are changed, he says.

Relationships are formed between older parishioners and students who spill into the café at the Catholic Center for coffee after Mass. Father

Nicholls State University's Newman ministry a

Story by Monique V. Albarado | Photos by Maegan Martin

Matherne observes their laughter, and respect builds between the generations.

“I enjoy seeing the energy between them. It is mutually beneficial,” says the pastor.

FOCUS Mission Work

FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) Ministry invites students to dive deeper into their faith. Five FOCUS Missionaries are assigned to Nicholls currently including Peter Manfre who is the FOCUS team director. He says the main mission of FOCUS is to get students “to know Christ Jesus and fulfill his great commission.”

FOCUS can be found on more than 200 campuses in the U.S. and Europe. Manfre and the other missionaries introduce themselves to students on campus and invite them to the Catholic Center.

“We do our best to meet students where they are, to build authentic friendships through one-on-one coffees and then if the student desires to come

to Bible studies, we host them at Bible studies.”

Students who have said yes to make Jesus Christ the center of their lives will be invited to one-on-one discipleship or small group discipleship.

“We form in them the truths of the church,” Manfre explains. He believes that classmates are more effective with reaching each other than missionaries are. He teaches the students “how to pray and to be who you are as a beloved son or daughter of the Father.”

Manfre works with Atzenhoffer and Father Matherne to strategize different evangelization opportunities for students.

Colleges can be a dark place, he says, although he finds Nicholls more open than other colleges to prayer expressions such as accepting the walking rosary that his ministry leads through campus nearly every day.

“Almost 80 percent of those who leave the Catholic faith do so by the age of 23,’ says Manfre referring to the

2009 study “Faith in Flux: Changes in the Religious Affiliation in the U.S.” He also cites the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey from 2008 which states, “The fastest growing religious demographic in the United States are people who list their faith as ‘unaffiliated.’”

When noting how much time young people spend on their phones daily, he says, “We’ve lost a connection with reality and our Lord is reality. What is feeding their minds?”

“The hope of the church is the young. The church is in the hands of the young and youth are currently being attacked by the world,” says Manfre. “The world says you should be comfortable. The world says you need power. The world says you shouldn’t be humble. The world says that if you have too much on your plate you should disappear, but the message of the Gospel says, ‘You are more, you are loved and the cross is the only way and I am always with you.’”

Megan Nevlud

Some students go to St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center on fire for their faith; some are looking to make friends, and some just go for the free food, says Megan Nevlud, interim president of the Colonel Catholics, with a laugh.

“Everyone is looking for something, and when they come, they find a community of people who make you feel at home. Once you get through the doors, you are going to come back.”

Nevlud, a junior from Round Rock, TX, majoring in elementary education, was looking for a campus with a strong Catholic Center. A member of the track team, she visited St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center on her official visit with the team.

During this visit, she says, “The Catholic Center blew me away. I thought, ‘I can imagine myself going to church here. I want to be a part of this community.’”

Although she started Nicholls

during the beginning of COVID-19, and masks and social distancing were required, she still met other students and they would talk about all the exciting things they had done with Colonel Catholics pre-COVID-19.

“All of my best friends are people I met during that time,” says Nevlud.

Nevlud has recently begun leading a Bible study and participates in nightly prayer with friends that she has made through the Catholic Center.

“What’s interesting about being from Texas, it is not a very Catholic area, but this area is very Catholic. A lot of people were raised Catholic and at this point ask themselves ‘am I going to continue my faith more than just attending Mass on Sunday?’”

For these students at that crossroads, she says it is a plus that Nicholls has a Catholic Center visible to students on their way to class and a place to stop in and get a free meal.

Grant Dupaty

“I was lost. I didn’t know how to live like a Catholic man,” says Grant Dupaty, a junior pre-med student from Plattenville, LA.

“It’s hard to get guys interested in the church, especially at a young age, but recently we are seeing more leadership coming from the guys around here, and it’s been super awesome,” he says. “The community of men is growing very rapidly, and this is something that I am excited about.”

Through his affiliation with Colonel Catholics, Dupaty has found role models in the faith, not only Father (J.D.) Matherne, and Peter Manfre, FOCUS missionary team leader at Nicholls, but fellow students in his fraternity, Kappa Sigma, and from members of the Thibodaux Fire Department of which he is a member.

Creating relationships and building trust are important when inviting others to the church, Dupaty reflects. He has found that seeing joy in those who are spiritually fulfilled has a

waterfall effect.

One of the most memorable moments of his college life was listening to Joe Bourg, a fellow firefighter and now a graduate of Nicholls who gave a testimony of his life to fellow students. He, like Dupaty, was a member of a fraternity.

“He was living in the ways that I was living at the time. It didn’t fulfill him. He didn’t gain any happiness and that really spoke to me. The connection for me was like, ‘Wow.’” He was like an older brother to me. Watching someone who in my eyes was a true masculine Catholic man was not something I had ever seen.”

It took Dupaty a while to find his way to Colonel Catholics. He, like Nevlud, started college as COVID-19 concerns loomed. His cousin had steered him to the Catholic Center, but Dupaty walked away because not much was going on due to COVID-19. It took an invitation to a meal of enchiladas from Peter Manfre to get him back.

“He said ‘Hey man, do you like food?’

And I said, ‘I love food!’ Then he invited me to a Bible study. That invite from Peter to his Bible study is really what kicked it off.”

“Being a part of that group of guys is what allowed me to stay here,” he says. It’s expanded his connection to his faith beyond Sunday Mass attendance.

He has also found a community of role models through Catholic men in the Thibodaux Fire Department who have happy family lives and full-time jobs, he says.

Being around other men, his age and older, has been such an inspiration. “That’s what all men want, right? A community. A brotherhood. Whenever I found this, I thought, ‘this is enjoyable. It’s fun to be around these guys.’ I felt free to be myself.”

Dupaty will be emcee for the upcoming Awakening Retreat. These retreats are held twice a year, spring and fall semesters, and are attended by roughly 35 to 50 students. Students run the retreats which focus on relevant topics they choose each semester. BC

Drafting in the NFL is an ‘inexact science’

Overtime

Ed Daniels

The Saints get credit for being one of the best drafting teams in the NFL.

But, over the last five years, is that really true?

Here are the Saints starters currently on the roster since the 2018 draft.

Eric McCoy, Cesar Ruiz, Pete Werner, Paulson Adebo and Chris Olave.

That’s it.

Contrast that with the 2017 draft, one that produced six still starting on NFL rosters.

The draft that produced Marshon Lattimore, Ryan Ramczyk, Alvin Kamara, and three others was one of the best drafts in Saints history, but since, the Saints have had far more misses than makes.

In 2018, the Saints traded a pair of first round picks for defensive end Marcus Davenport, who recently departed in free agency.

Davenport, while immensely talented, played only 63 games in five seasons. He departed with 21.5 quarterback sacks.

A year later, the Saints traded up 14 spots with Miami to select McCoy,

who cost the club a pair of second round picks.

In 57 games over four years, McCoy, at center, has anchored the middle of the Saints offensive line.

Ruiz, the first selection by the Saints in 2020, has not played like a first round pick for much of his career.

However, he doesn’t turn 24 years old until June, so there appears to still be an upside.

You can make an argument that Werner has been the Saints most productive pick in the last five years.

The 60th selection in the 2021 draft is a tackling machine, with 92 solo stops in 27 games played.

Adebo had three interceptions in his rookie season, none last year.

And, Chris Olave, was very good as a rookie, with 72 receptions, for 1,042 yards and four touchdowns.

But, then there’s defensive end Payton Turner, a first round pick in 2021, who has played a total of 13 games in two seasons, with three quarterbacks sacks.

And, there’s tight end Adam Trautman, who like Turner shows flashes of potential, but has only 60 receptions in three seasons.

On day two of the 2020 NFL draft, the Saints traded four day three selections to Minnesota to move back into the third round and draft Trautman.

To be fair, drafting is a very inexact science.

The teams who are quite good at it, make the right selection, one out of every two times.

And, in 2022, the Saints may have had a terrific draft.

Second round pick, cornerback Alontae Taylor, had 11 pass breakups.

And, tackle Trevor Penning, has drawn considerable praise from head coach Dennis Allen in the offseason.

Penning had two major injuries in his rookie season, turf toe and a foot that required surgery.

However, Allen said this about the 19th pick in the 2022 draft.

“If we can keep him healthy, the sky is the limit,” said Allen.

The Saints have already had a productive offseason.

Free agent quarterback Derek Carr, at least for 2023, will be the best signal caller in a weak division, and running back Jamal Williams is a talented runner, who gives the Saints a solid option, if legal troubles for Alvin Kamara result in a suspension.

But, the Saints are not big spenders in free agency.

They draft and develop, believing that spending big money in unrestricted free agency is fool’s gold.

Now, they just have to frankly, draft better.

2017, one of the best drafts in the last 20 years, by any NFL team, is a fading memory. BC

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