CT 3-14-11

Diocese of Alexandria The Church Today P.O. Box 7417 Alexandria, LA 71306-0417

Volume XLI, No. 3 March 14, 2011

On the Inside New $31 million Catholic school opens in New Orleans Five years after Katrina, the Sisters of the Holy Family’s tradition of education in New Orleans once again found new life with the completion of a new $31 million St. Mary’s Academy. Read more on page 9 about how hard work and perseverance pays off five years after Katrina.

Fr. Ignatius Ibe completes Basic Training When a 5’3” priest, who has always dreamed of entering the military but couldn’t because of his height, sees an opportunity to fulfill his dream, he takes advice from his superior seriously. Find out who gave Fr. Ignatius Ibe the best advice before leaving for Basic Training. See pg. 8

Lent

Joining Christ in his 40 days of penance, fasting, and prayer A woman receives ashes at St. Francis of Assisi Church in New York on Ash Wednesday March 9. (CNS photo/ Gregory A. Shemitz)

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March 14, 2011

Priests fear for safety if Islamic group takes over Libya

By Doreen Abi Raad Catholic News Service BEIRUT (CNS) -- Christians in Libya are afraid that a takeover of the country by Islamic fundamentalists, should leader Moammar Gadhafi fall, would threaten their safety, said a Franciscan priest who has served in the North African nation for seven years.

“Under Gadhafi, we’ve been protected,” the priest told Catholic News Service from Rome Feb. 24, eight days after leaving the country on a preplanned trip. He asked not to be identified so as not to jeopardize his return to Libya.

The priest said he left Libya the day before a revolt against Gadhafi started in the eastern city of Benghazi. Because plans for the protest had been announced days beforehand, tensions rose between Gadhafi supporters and opposition leaders, he said.

“I didn’t expect so much to happen,” he said, referring to the rapid escalation of violence that left at least 300 dead and more than 3,000 injured.

The uprising is the most recent and most violent in a tide of protests against autocratic leaders in the region. Gadhafi rose to power following a coup in 1969.

One of 13 Franciscans serving the apostolic vicariates of Tripoli, the Libyan capital, and Benghazi, the priest said it was difficult being away from the parishioners he serves during a time of distress.

“At this time I feel I should be with the people. I could be a support to them. Even though we wouldn’t have access to a lot of communication, we could be in touch with one another somehow,” he said.

Communication with Libya was nearly impossible as the opposition gained new supporters in western areas Feb. 24.

Internet and mobile phones were blocked; telephone lines operated sporadically.

The Franciscans are assigned to St. Francis Church in Tripoli and Immaculate Conception Church in Benghazi.

There are no native Christians in those areas, but about 50,000 to 60,000 Christian

PROTESTERS SHOUT SLOGANS DURING DEMONSTRATION IN LIBYA. Protesters shout slogans during a demonstration in Benghazi, Libya, Feb. 24. Christians in Libya are afraid that a takeover of the country by Islamic fundamentalist should leader Moammar Gadhafi fall would threaten their safety, said a Franciscan priest who has served in the North African nation for seven years. (CNS photo/Suhaib Salem, Reuters)

migrant workers, mostly from Africa, work in Libya.

Describing religious practice at the Franciscan missions in Libya, the priest said, “The Libyan government has given complete freedom to the Christians to practice our Christianity.”

The government recognizes five dominations of Christianity: Roman Catholic; Coptic; Greek Orthodox, Anglican and the Union Church, a Protestant church in Africa, he said.

Aside from the two parish churches, Mass can be celebrated in hospitals and at private companies where Catholics work, the priest said. Priests and nuns also are allowed to visit inmates in prison to provide spiritual counseling and emotional support, he said.

Because Friday is a nonworking day in honor of Muslim prayers, the churches celebrate five Masses for Africans, Indians, Filipinos, Eritreans and Koreans, the major migrant communities in Libya.

On Sunday, a national workday, the priests bring the Mass to the people at sites ranging from hospitals to oil rigs.

Working on a rotating schedule, the priests travel from 15 miles to 745 miles to celebrate Sunday Mass.

While the police and government security know the priests minister only to Christians, the priest said, “We are always observed wherever we go, whatever we do,” seemingly as a precaution that they are not converting Muslims.

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March 14, 2011

Obama halts defense of 1996 Marriage Act Marriage Act defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman

By Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The U.S. bishops’ Office of General Counsel said the Obama administration’s decision to no longer support the Defense of Marriage Act in legal challenges ahead “represents an abdication” of its “constitutional obligation to ensure that laws of the United States are faithfully executed.”

“Marriage has been understood for millennia and across cultures as the union of one man and one woman,” the office said in a statement issued Feb. 23 after President Barack Obama instructed the Justice Department to stop defending the federal law passed by Congress and signed into law in 1996 by President Bill Clinton.

The Defense of Marriage Act says the federal government defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman and that no state must recognize a same-sex marriage from another state.

“The principal basis for today’s decision is that the president considers the law a form of impermissible sexual orientation discrimination,” the Office of General Counsel said.

In a Feb. 23 statement, Attorney General Eric Holder said that although the administration has defended the 1996 law in some federal courts, it will not continue to do so in cases

What is the Defense of Marriage Act? The Defense of Marriage Act is federal law signed by President Bill Clinton on Sept. 21, 1996, that defines marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman and that a state does not need to treat a same-sex relationship as a marriage, even if it is considered a marriage in another state. It passed both Houses by large majorities.

Why is this newsworthy now?

On Feb. 23, 2011, President Barack Obama instructed the U.S. Attorney General (Eric Holder) to cease legal defense of this law on grounds that it discriminates against sexual orientation.

What does the USCCB have to say about this?

The USCCB says that the refusal to support the federal law is a grave affront to the millions of Americans who value marriage as a union between a man and a women. pending in the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Unlike in the previous cases, said Holder, the 2nd Circuit “has no established or binding standard for how laws concerning sexual orientation should be treated.”

In response to the announcement, the National Organization for Marriage, which opposes same-sex marriage, called on Congress to “get lawyers in the courtroom who actually want to defend the law, and not please their powerful political special interests.”

“We have only begun to fight,” said Brian Brown, president of the organization. He also said that with Holder’s announcement,

Obama “unilaterally” declared homosexuals “a protected class” under the Constitution and would effectively make a federal court decision on the law “unreviewable by higher courts.”

While Obama favors repealing the law, Holder said the president has supported defending it as constitutional if a state or local law meets the legal standard of having “a rational basis” for singling out people for different treatment based on sexual orientation.

But in the pending cases, Holder said, the administration “faces for the first time the question of whether laws regarding sexual orientation are subject to the more

permissive standard of review or whether a more rigorous standard, under which laws targeting minority groups with a history of discrimination are viewed with suspicion by the courts, should apply.”

Obama “has concluded that given a number of factors, including a documented history of discrimination, classifications based on sexual orientation should be subject to a more heightened standard of scrutiny,” Holder’s statement said.

He added that Obama has concluded that the law “as applied to legally married same-sex couples, fails to meet that standard and is therefore

unconstitutional. Given that conclusion, the president has instructed the department not to defend the statute in such cases.

I fully concur with the president’s determination.”

The U.S. bishops’ Office of General Counsel said refusal to support the law was “a grave affront to the millions of Americans who both reject unjust discrimination and affirm the unique and inestimable value of marriage as between one man and one woman.”

It also stressed that support for traditional marriage “is not bigotry,” but is a “reasonable, common judgment affirming the foundational institution of civil society.” The office said that “any suggestion by the government that such a judgment represents discrimination is a serious threat to the religious liberty of marriage supporters nationwide.”

Holder said the legal landscape has changed since the law was passed, including with Supreme Court rulings overturning laws criminalizing homosexual conduct and the repeal by Congress of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

Unless Congress repeals the Defense of Marriage Act, or a final court ruling strikes it down, it will continue to remain in effect and the administration will continue to enforce it, Holder noted.

Page 4 By the time this issue of Church Today reaches you the season of Lent will already be underway and we will have celebrated the Rite of Election in the Cathedral. It is always a moving experience to see the large number of Catechumens and Candidates present from many of our church communities for this annual ceremony.

Based on comments over the years, those who come are also impacted when they see so many making the same journey they are a part of.

This is particularly meaningful for those in our smaller parishes and missions.

I presume you have already

March 14, 2011

chosen how you will observe the days of Lent, but I would still like to highlight something that is sometimes forgotten. There is a simple fact about this season: it is about God and his mercy and not about us! That may seem obvious, but sometimes we focus so much on what we have chosen to

do that we spend too much time on ourselves and fulfilling our lenten promises. The readings from sacred scripture, especially for the Sunday liturgies, remind us in many ways of the loving mercy of God and its fulfillment in the death and resurrection of Jesus. The Old Testament selections for this first

year in our three-year cycle take us through major events in the work of salvation and the Gospel readings, especially for the 3rd, 4th and 5th Sundays offers some of great masterpieces of biblical literature and they fit so well with the journey of our “elect” as they continue in their experience of the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA). Since the Rite of Election, those preparing for baptism, confirmation and Eucharist are no longer called catechumens. They are now referred to as “Elect” because they have chosen or elected for receptions of the Easter Sacraments at the Solemn Easter Vigil.

In the Easter Mysteries we all once again experience of God’s mercy and forgiveness as we enter into the Lord’s Passion, Death and Resurrection. These ninety days (the Lent and Easter Seasons) encompass one quarter of the entire liturgical year. May we all take advantage of this annual renewal of our faith, symbolized so well in the sacraments of initiation and the renewal of baptismal promises on Easter Sunday!

Object of our prayer should be Lenten Regulations to ask what God wants of us

By John Whitehead Lent presents an opportunity to review our prayer life.

The fourth part of the Catechism of the Catholic Church addresses the Life of Prayer including several sections on the battle of prayer. This battle begins with, human as we are, objections or excuses for not praying. Some of these include reducing prayer to a simple psychological activity, or an effort to reach a mental void, or clear our minds. Some reduce prayer to ritual words and postures, or proclaim that they simply “do not have the time.”

Further, the mentality of the present world whispers to us that only what is true is that which can be verified by reason and science and prayer is not of this order.

We also live in a world that rewards production and work in an economic system founded on the fundamental law of scarcity.

Therefore, we prize above all production and efficiency and since we see prayer as unproductive, we too readily categorize it as useless.

What we are really saying here is that our prayers are not answered.

To this objection the Catechism responds with a question, “Why do we think our petition has not been heard?”

The Catechism points out that when we praise God or thank him for our benefits in general, we are really not concerned whether or not our prayer is acceptable.

It is easy to believe that we have what we have and have achieved what we have achieved by our own power, skills, intelligence, and merits while giving only a cursory nod to God. Yet when we ask for certain things we become childlike and demand to see the immediate results of our requests.

The problem here is the image of a “Vegas God” - a slot machine in which we put in prayers, pull the handle and hope for a jackpot return. This makes God an object or tool be used at our convenience and not the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Catechism suggests that the appropriate resolution to this mentality is to acknowledge that “we did not know how to pray as we ought” (Romans 8:26). Do we ask God for specific results or

do we first ask him what is good for us? God is our Father and he knows what we need before we ask him. God, and only God, knows what is best for us (cf.

Matthew 6:8).

The object of our prayer then should be to ask God what he wants of us. In this way, we will come to know what is best for us and accept the trials and tribulations of life. Just as a parent does not grant every petition that a child asks because the parent knows what is best for the child in the long run, so too God knows what is best for us in the long run. It is true that most of us do not explicitly hear answers from God or receive detailed explanations. Our failure to humbly accept the will of God, our failure to persevere in prayer, and our failure to trust in him is essentially the same sin of Adam and Eve who demanded all the answers and wanted to “be like God” (cf. Genesis 3:5).

Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fast and abstinence. This means that we do not eat meat and we have only one full meal.

The other Fridays of the season of Lent are days of abstinence from meat. The obligation to abstain from meat binds Catholics 14 years of age and older. The obligation to fast, limiting oneself to one full meal and two lighter meals in the course of the day, binds Catholics from the age of 18 to 59. Those who are younger or older may freely embrace these disciplines. But Lenten disciplines should never endanger your health.

It is obvious that abstaining from meat is meaningless for vegetarians, who must choose some other form of abstinence. It is equally obvious that replacing meat with a gourmet seafood meal is not in keeping with the spirit of Lent.

March 14, 2011

Vol. XLI, No. 3

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March 14, 2011

Giving up sweets again for Lent? -- Try these ideas temptation and sin and live the lives that Christ wants us to live. Make it a priority to go to Confession during Lent.

We are already a week into Lent and hopefully, you are still practicing the committment you made last week to do something for Lent.

Or maybe not.

Maybe you never made a commitment to do something for Lent and just decided it was too late or it did not matter.

It’s never too late and it does matter.

Lent is a time to sacrifice and strengthen your relationship with Christ and to foster a better prayer life. Where ever you are in your Lenten journey, it is not too late to start something that will bring you closer to Christ.

Here are a few ideas:

•

Attend a Lenten Mission.

The diocese is offering a Lenten Mission in each of the deaneries.

Plan to attend the one in your area. Some churches are also offering Lenten Missions. Find a list of all Missions on our website at www.diocesealex.org.

•

Fast – besides fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, choose one or two days a week to fast and choose a method that works for you (fasting till noon every day or on certain days, fasting from certain things like sweets or wine/beer, etc.). You will constantly be reminded in a physical way to pray.

•

Pray more – set aside time in the morning or evening for prayer. Focus on reading the Bible, listening to God, or reading a daily devotional.

•

Go to Adoration weekly – some churches have weekly Holy Hours and others even have a chapel set aside specifically for the Blessed Sacrament that’s open 24/7. Other parishes will work Adoration into their Lenten schedules. Just find the time, even for 10 minutes at a time, to spend the time with Jesus in this way.

•

• Attend the Stations of the

Cross once a week in your parish.

Some parishes offer an outdoor stations of the cross, which can be especially meaningful. Check the church bulletin in your parish for the time.

•

Pray the Rosary daily –

Praying the Rosary daily is a wonderful way to meditate on the mysteries of Christ’s life and to learn more about Mary and how to emulate her piety, humble ways, trust, prayerful life, patience and charity.

• Go to

Mass –If you are not attending Mass every Sunday,

Lenten Missions MARCH 21 LENTEN MISSION, NATCHITOCHES. St. Anthony of Padua Church in Natchitoches will host a Lenten mission March 21-24 at 6:30 p.m. The presenter will be Fr. Harold Imamshah.

MARCH 29-31 LENTEN MISSION, SPANISH LAKE. St. Francis of Assisi Church in Powhatan and its mission of St. Anne will host a Lenten mission March 29 through 31 at 6: 00 p.m. at St. Anne Church in Spanish Lake. The presenter will be Fr. Ryan Humphries. Everyone is welcome.

APRIL 1-2 ST. AUGUSTINE, ISLE BREVELLE. St. Augustine & St. Anne’s Lenten Mission will be on Friday, April 1 and Saturday, April 2 at St. Augustine Catholic Church, 2262 HWY 484, Natchez, LA. The mission begins with Mass at 6:00 pm on Friday and Saturday at the 5:00 pm Mass. Father Rothell Price, J.C.L., V.G., Diocese of Shreveport is the guest speaker. The theme for the mission is “Reconcilation and Renewal for the Easter Joy”.

APRIL 3-5 LENTEN MISSION, HESSMER St. Martin of Tours Church in Hessmer will host a Lenten Mission from Sunday, April 3 through Tuesday, April 5 at 6 p.m. Fr. Scott Chemino, V.G., and pastor of St. Francis de Sales in Echo, will be the presenter.

APRIL 12-14 LENTEN MISSION, FIFTH WARD. Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Fifth Ward will host a Lenten Mission from Tuesday, April 12 through Thursday, April 14 at 6 p.m. Fr. Chad Partain, chancellor and pastor of St. Paul Church in Mansura will be the presenter. Everyone is invited to attend.

committ to going every Sunday during Lent. If you attend Mass every Sunday, consider going daily. If your church offers it, go first thing in the morning before you start your day.

•

Go to Confession – the sacrament of Confession gives us so much grace to help avoid

Give up something that you really spend a lot of time doing -- watching television, playing video games, facebook, computer, bringing work home, unnecessary activities that take you away from home, -- and replace that time with quality time with your kids or your spouse.

Choosing what works best for you depends on where you are in your prayer life. Just do it.

Penance Services Tuesday, March 15 6:30 pm St. Anthony Church, Bunkie Wednesday, March 16 6:00 pm St. Patrick’s Church, Montgomergy 6:00 pm Immaculate Conception, Natchitoches Wednesday, March 23 5:30 pm St. Anthony of Padua, Natchitoches 6:00 pm St. Joseph’s Church, Colfax Wednesday, March 30 6:10 pm Sacred Heart Church, Pineville Thursday, March 31 6:30 pm St. Rita Alexandria

Church,

Wednesday, April 6 6:00 pm St. Peter Mission, Elmer 6:30 pm Our Lady of Prompt Succor, Alexandria Wednesday, April 13 6:30 p.m. St. Joseph Church, Marksville 6:30 p.m. St. Augustine Church, Isle Brevelle Friday, April 15 6:00 pm St. Louis Glenmora

Church,

Monday, April 18 6:00 p.m. St. Francis Powhatan

Church,

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March 14, 2011

Former Planned Parenthood director From PP to pro-life, Abby Johnson becomes Catholic, speaks against abortion

By Valerie Schmalz Catholic News Service SAN FRANCISCO (CNS) -A woman who walked away from her job as a Planned Parenthood clinic director after helping with an ultrasound-guided abortion is preparing to enter the Catholic Church.

Abby Johnson, 30, who has been speaking at pro-life events around the country, will become a Catholic, along with her husband, Doug, in her native Texas within the next few months. The couple has a 4-year-old daughter.

“When we went to the Catholic Church for the first time, we knew that was where we were supposed to be and we have been there ever since,” said Johnson, who said she particularly loves the church’s reverence for Mary as the mother of God. “The more we started learning about the beliefs of the church and the Eucharist and everything, it seemed like this was what had been missing our whole lives.”

After eight years as a Planned Parenthood volunteer and employee, Johnson walked away from her job as director of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Bryan/College Station, Texas, Oct. 6, 2009, during a prayer vigil by 40 Days for Life.

Johnson, who had one abortion at age 20 and another at 23, first began working as a clinic escort while a student at Texas A&M University. Assisting with an ultrasound during an abortion in 2009 turned her into a pro-life

advocate.

She describes the experience in her book “Unplanned: The Dramatic True Story of the Planned Parenthood Leader Who Crossed the Life Line to Fight for Women in Crisis,” written with Cindy Lambert (Ignatius Press).

In the book’s first chapter, Johnson describes holding the ultrasound probe on the woman’s abdomen and watching the screen

as the abortion doctor worked and the mother cried. The fetus was at 13 weeks’ gestation based on the abortion doctor’s estimate, Johnson wrote.

“At first, the baby didn’t seem aware of the cannula,” she writes.

“It gently probed the baby’s side, and for a quick second I felt relief. Of course, I thought.

The fetus doesn’t feel pain. I had reassured countless women of this

as I’d been taught by Planned Parenthood. The fetal tissue feels nothing as it is removed. Get a grip, Abby. This is a simple, quick medical procedure. My head was working hard to control my responses, but I couldn’t shake an inner disquiet that was quickly mounting to horror as I watched the screen.

“The next movement was the sudden jerk of a tiny foot as the baby started kicking, as if it were trying to move away from the probing invader,” she continues.

“As the cannula pressed its side, the baby began struggling to turn and twist away. It seemed clear to me that it could feel the cannula, and it did not like what it was feeling. And then the doctor’s voice broke through, startling me. ‘”Beam me up, Scotty,’ he said lightheartedly to the nurse.

“He was telling her to turn on the suction -- in an abortion the suction isn’t turned on until the doctor feels he has the cannula in exactly the right place. I had a sudden urge to yell, ‘Stop.’”

(According to a description

by Priests for Life, the cannula is a hollow plastic tube that is connected to a vacuum-type pump by a flexible hose. The doctor runs the tip of the cannula along the surface of the uterus causing the baby to be dislodged and sucked into the tube -- either whole or in pieces.)

Johnson watched the entire abortion and went home, shaking and in tears, to tell her husband she had to find a new job. A few days later, he walked out of the

clinic and joined people praying outside the clinic. They were members of the 40 Days for Life group, which had held six prayer vigils outside her clinic and whose headquarters was just a few doors away.

Johnson is in the process of obtaining an annulment of the marriage to the man who was her husband at the time she had her abortions, so that the Catholic Church will officially recognize her second marriage -- a process called “convalidation’’ in church law -- and she and husband Doug can enter the church.

“We are ready to come into the church as soon as we are able,” Johnson told Catholic San Francisco, the archdiocesan newspaper.

Johnson also counsels others who have left the abortion industry, she said, and there are more than most people would think. She said rallies like the one that drew an estimated 40,000 people to San Francisco for the annual Walk for Life West Coast Jan. 22 are an important witness.

“In California, one of the most pro-choice and liberal states in the country it is important to show up en masse and tell the leaders of the state and the leaders of our nation how important the sanctity of life is to us.,” she said. “We do not have the luxury anymore to stand around and say I can’t tell someone what to do.

When it comes to taking the lives of our children, we don’t want to give our opinion? That doesn’t make sense.”

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March 14, 2011 If PP wants to continue abortions, do it without our tax dollars

By Benjamin Clapper Louisiana Right to Life In 2008, taxpayers handed over $349.6 million to Planned Parenthood, an organization that performed 324,008 abortions that same year.

And a few weeks ago, a Rasmussen poll showed that 53 percent of our nation believes abortion is morally wrong “most of the time.”

Our government should not continue to fund organizations that perform abortion, regardless of the funding’s intended purpose, especially if the majority of our nation sees abortion as morally wrong.

The House of Representatives defunded Planned Parenthood based on this simple premise.

The Pence Amendment says that

if Planned Parenthood wants to continue performing abortions, it should not receive support from our tax dollars.

This does not sound radical to me. Quite simply, if Planned Parenthood wants to continue receiving federal funding to provide for all services mentioned in his letter, then the choice is very clear: Stop performing abortions.

If Planned Parenthood is not willing to do so, it becomes clear that its main priority is abortion, and that federal funding for its other services is only a friendly way to indirectly subsidize its abortion priority.

We encourage the Senate to adopt this amendment and assure taxpayers that their money will not subsidize any organization that harms both women and unborn babies through abortion.

KC PRO-LIFE BANNER. St. Martin Knights of Columbus Council 12103 in Lecompte placed a pro-life billboard on Highway 71/167 South between Alexandria and LSUA. Pictured with the sign are members that helped hang the billboard. Front row: Kenneth Andries, Paul Dunstane, Brian Johnson, and Jamie Monroe. Back row: Jerry Herrin, Tim Hart, and Bobby Thiels

Planned Parenthood caught on video Undercover video prompts Congress to defund Planned Parenthood

By Nancy Frazier O’Brien Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) -The recent undercover videos showing a Planned Parenthood worker advising clients how to skirt age restrictions on abortion and mandatory reporting laws came as no surprise to Jennifer A. Ruggiero, director of the Office of Respect for Life in the Diocese of Metuchen, N.J. “We’ve made an ongoing effort to raise awareness of some of the myths about Planned Parenthood,” Ruggiero told Catholic News Service.

The video “sting” conducted by the group Live Action at the Planned Parenthood of Central New Jersey clinic in Perth Amboy showed the clinic’s office

manager -- who since been fired -- talking to a young man and woman posing as a pimp and an underage sex worker. She urges them not to reveal that the sex worker is 14 because state law would require clinic personnel to report it as a case of statutory rape and child abuse.

Other undercover videos released by Live Action have shown Planned Parenthood personnel in 10 states offering advice that would help hide the sexual exploitation of minors or sex trafficking of foreign-born women.

Although Ruggiero said she found it “very disturbing” that the Planned Parenthood abuses were taking place “in our backyard,” she said it was “not surprising” for an organization that has long

targeted minorities and young women.

“It’s been a concern for years” that abortion clinics “need to be investigated and regulated,” she said, adding that the new revelations have “caught the attention of legislators” in New Jersey, making improvements in abortion laws in the state more likely.

Also in the works is a new “statewide action plan” being drawn up by pro-life directors in dioceses throughout the state to address abortion in a coordinated way, Ruggiero said.

The undercover videos also have prompted a move in Congress to defund Planned Parenthood.

“To say it is an outrage is an understatement,” said Rep.

Mike Pence, R-Ind. “The time has come to deny any and all federal funding to Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in America and also the largest recipient of federal funds under Title X,” the federal grant program for family planning.

Pence’s Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act, H.R. 217, would “prohibit family planning grants from being awarded to any entity that performs abortions.” As of Feb. 7, it had 154 co-sponsors in the House.

Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood director in Texas who also appeared on the webcast, said the types of information given in the videos were “a common occurrence, unfortunately” at the clinic where

she had worked.

“Many women are subjected to the cover-ups of Planned Parenthood and the tweaking of information,” she said. “They will do anything, coerce anyone into having an abortion. ... We’re all good salespeople at Planned Parenthood; that is our job.”

Johnson called Planned Parenthood “a safe haven for people who are trying to exploit young girls.”

Stuart Schear, vice president for communications at the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement that the organization’s “top priority is the health and safety of our patients and the health and well-being of women and teens across the country.”

“When Planned Parenthood learns of an operation that exploits young women, we vigilantly work with law enforcement authorities to uncover and stop this abhorrent activity,” Schear said.

Live Action describes itself as a “youth-led movement” that uses new media and investigative journalism “to expose threats against the vulnerable and defenseless.”

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March 14, 2011

Number 3 in his class

Getting in shape pays off for Father Ignatius in military

By Jeannie Petrus CT Editor When a 5’3” priest, who has always dreamed of entering the military but couldn’t because of his height, sees an opportunity to fulfill his dream, he takes advice from his superior seriously: “Get in shape before you go to Basic Training.”

That’s the advice Bishop (Colonel) Ronald Herzog gave to Father Ignatius Ibe after giving him permission to enroll in the U.S. Army Reserves chaplain school back in August, 2010.

“That’s the best advice anyone could have given me at that time,” said Father Ignatius, after completing three months of Chaplain School Basic Training in Fort Jackson, S.C. Not only did he “get in shape before he went,” Father Ibe got in even better shape while he was

Chaplain Ignatius Ibe there. His hard work earned him the No. 3 position of his physical training class as one of the “Best Trained” of the 69 chaplains in Basic Training.

So, what does it take to be the third best physically trained in your chaplain class?

HAVIG A LITTLE FUN. Father Ignatius Ibe, has some fun with other members of his unit before a 10-mile run. After completing basic training in South Carolina, Father Ibe leaves for a year of active duty in the U.S. Army Reserves.

The standard for push-ups is doing 47 in two minutes. Father Ibe can do 100 pushups in two minutes. The standard for sit-ups is 45 in 2 minutes; Father Ibe can do 63; and the standard for running is 2 miles in 18:47, Father Ibe can run 2 miles in 14:43.

“I believe that if you are going to do something, you do the absolute best that you can,” he said. “I set a goal for myself, and I worked very hard to achieve that goal.”

And, work hard, he did.

While the rest of the chaplains-in-training slept in their beds until the 5 a.m. workoutbefore-breakfast, Father Ibe got up an hour earlier and ran a few miles to prepare for the training.

At night, when the final workout was completed and the unit was dismissed to their bunks, Father Ibe continued his training for another hour.

During the day, the physical training included several 2-mile runs, agonizing sit-ups and pushups and climbing the 7-story Victory Tower over and over until it was ‘done right’. He lost 11 lbs. during the three-month training, but re-sculpted his body into a “mean, lean, fighting machine.”

Not bad for a man who was told in high school that he was “too short” to be in the military in his homeland of Nigeria.

“Basic Training was extremely tough, but necessary,” said Father Ibe. “Not only physically, but mentally. But I realized that becoming physically strong,

MILITARY EXERCISES. Father Ignatius climbs the bottom ropes of the Victory Tower, one of the military exercises required for basic training at Fort Jackson, S. C. helps you to become mentally strong as well.”

In Chaplain School, Father Ibe learned how to spiritually counsel soldiers returning from deployment about some of the issues they may be dealing with – doubt, rejection, relationship problems, teenage pregnancy, suicide, or the morality of war.

“The training I received made me strong and prepared me to face the many challenges ahead,” he said. “ I look forward to helping the soldiers in the spiritual journey of their deployment so that they can return to normal life as quickly as possible.”

The final step in Father Ibe’s

quest to be an Army Reserve Chaplain, was to become a U.S. citizen , which he achieved during his training in South Carolina.

“To serve in the U.S. Army, you must be a U.S. citizen or have your green card,” said Father Ibe. “I thank God Almighty and Bishop Herzog for granting me the opportunity to become a U. S soldier and at the same time a citizen of this great America; I have taken the Citizenship Oath, to defend this nation against all her enemies within and outside the coast of this great American country, the oath of allegiance .”

See FATHER IBE, page 11

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Page 9

March 14, 2011

$31 million St. Mary’s Academy in N.O. is complete St. Mary’s, St. Augustine, Xavier Prep operated as one school after Katrina

By Christine Bordelon Clarion Herald The Sisters of the Holy Family never wavered about returning to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina destroyed St. Mary’s Academy in August 2005. They knew their tradition of education in New Orleans, founded in 1867, had to stay alive.

Five years later, the Sisters of the Holy Family’s tradition of education in New Orleans once again found new life with the completion of a new $31 million St. Mary’s Academy.

Students and alumnae from not only St. Mary’s Academy, but from St. Augustine and Xavier Prep gathered at the new school on Feb. 16 to move books into the newly built school.

The three schools united as “The MAX” school (an acronym for St. Mary’s, St. Augustine and Xavier Prep) on Xavier Prep’s campus in January 2006 because, of the three historically black campuses, Xavier Prep didn’t flood.

“We came today because we were together at the MAX, and we wanted to help our sisters as they enjoy their success of moving into a new building,” Xavier Prep senior Lindsey Boutee said.

“It’s our sister school, so we stick together and help each other,” St. Augustine senior Byron Goins said.

Sister Jennie Jones, principal of St. Mary’s, praised the collaborative efforts of five years ago.

THE NEW ST. MARY’S ACADEMY IS COMPLETE! Xavier Prep students in New Orleans break out in jubilation Feb. 16 in a show of support for their sister school St. Mary’s Academy, which officially moved into its new $31 million campus on Feb. 21. Students from three schools operated for one year after Katrina as “The MAX” -- an acronym for St. Mary’s, St. Augustine and Xavier Prep. (Photo by Frank Methe, Clarion-Herald)

“They were all displaced and had no school to go to, and we all came together as the MAX,” she said. “The last clas of the MAX -they were in seventh grade when Katrina hit -- is graduating this year, ad we are coming together to celebrate them, for without them, we might not be here today.”

Sister Gloria Lewis, SSF, now living in Alexandria, was a former Spanish teacher at St. Mary’s. She was one of almost

Technology reigns throughout the new 100,000sq. foot campus. State-of-theart-technology includes HP Touch-Smart computers in all 31 classrooms, a customized library honoring Sisters of the Holy Family founder Venerable Henriette Delille, top-of-theline science and language labs, a Cyber Cafe, a chorus room with professional recording equipment, band room with sound-proof practice rooms and piano lab, art room with a kiln and screening printing, a mental health and academic counseling center, theater arts room and gymnasium with a weight room, automated bleachers and scoreboard with playback features.

“Everything is state of the art,” said Sister Jennie The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provided the majority of funding for the project.

40 Sisters of the Holy Family who were forced to relocate after Katrina in search of other teaching jobs.

“I have not seen the new school yet, but I can’t wait to see it,” she said. “ I am so proud of the work of all the Sisters who worked so hard to rebuild this school and to all of the students and alumnae who supported this project. We have been truly blessed.”

FILLING THE NEW LIBRARY WITH BOOKS. Students from St. Mary’s Academy, Xavier Prep and St. Augustine carry books to the new St. Mary’s library. (Photo by Frank Methe, Clarion Herald)

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Page 10

March 14, 2011

Breaking free from the clutches of pornography

by Jim Seghers Author & Apologetics Addiction to pornography is a very serious problem that traps many boys and men and some women in its deadly clutches. The following steps can help break this addiction: Get Rid of All Pornography Destroy everything connected with pornography. Until this commitment is made, the situation is hopeless. Put filters on your computer or get the computer out of your home if it continues to be a source of temptation.

Don’t play around with this stuff.

It’s deadly.

It Begins & Ends with Grace Those trapped in pornography feel they are helpless to break away from this addiction. They are right! Jesus instructed us: “Apart from me you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5). However, what is impossible to you is easy for God. Rely on his help. That’s why St. Paul could declare, “I can do all things in him who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13). That requires becoming a man of prayer. Make it a scheduled part of your day. Using the Sacrament of Reconciliation is a must. It produces miracles.

Reorientate Understanding of Sex Growing up is always a challenging task especially when one

PORNOGRAPHY STATISTICS SEX: the No. 1 search topic on the Internet 4.2 million: the number of pornographic web sites Boys ages 12-17: the largest consumers of online pornography 90% of teens: who view pornography, view while doing homework Statistics based on a 2007 Internet pornography study.

has embraced an adolescent understanding of human sexuality. I highly recommend that you read the Good News About Sex & Marriage by Christopher West. Written from a Catholic perspective, its biblical basis will also appeal to Protestants and Catholics.

Get Help Find a priest, pastor, spiritual director or Christian counselor who will support and guide you through this difficult period.

Avoid anyone who takes the attitude that pornography is no big deal.

Control Beginnings Temptations are easy to combat at the beginning. However, once the imagination becomes

fully engaged it is very difficult to combat. King David’s fall (2 Sam 22:1-26) began with a glance. The glance led to a stare. The stare led to lust. The lust led to a summons.

The summons led to adultery.

The adultery led to murder. Had he stopped at the glance adultery and murder would never have occurred. In regard to these temptations he who runs away will live to fight another day.

Don’t Give Up Falls are discouraging.

Therefore you will be tempted to give up. Resist that tendency with all your might. Falls should remind you of your helplessness and motivate you to rely on God and not on yourself. If you persist, a time will come when the

addiction will be out of your life forever.

Get Your Wife to Help If she doesn’t already know, confess your addiction and ask for her help. Admitting the addiction will release some of its hold on you. Begin to pray together as a couple. Ask her to pray for you during the day. If you are single ask your parents to pray for you.

You needn’t go into specifics. Ask them to pray for a special intention; for example, you want to commit your life to Christ.

Read Sacred Scripture Began a daily meditative reading of Sacred Scripture. I par-

ticularly recommend the Gospels with an emphasis on the Passion accounts. The more you reflect on the Passion the more you will understand the horror of sin, and the more determined you will become to avoid it.

Find Healthy Interests Exercise is a good starting point. Even walking on a daily basis can be a great help. If T.V. is a problem get rid of the cable or satellite hook-up, or eliminate it all together. Develop friendships with men and women you will motivate you by the example of their lives to live a faithful Christian life. Source: http://www.totustuus.com/pornbf.htm

Consequences of Pornography seminar to be presented April 8 A seminar titled, Unveiling the Social Consequences of Pornography: From Exile to Freedom, will be held Friday, April 8 from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. at the Petroleum Club of Lafayette.

The one-day event is for leaders, clergy and laymen who wish to learn about the consequences that pornography has on society, relationships, marriage, family and children. Learn how we can have a positive impact helping others, especially our young, to steer clear of the hidden dangers of pornography and its addictive forces. Registration is $25 and includes lunch.

For more information, contact the Office of Religious Formation and Training, at 318-445-6424, ext. 257.

Page 11

March 14, 2011

SECRETARY APPECIATION DINNER. Father Edwin Rodriguez hosted his Sixth Annual Secretary Appreciation Supper at St. Alphonsus Church in Hessmer on Feb. 28. Every year, just before Lent begins, Father Edwin invites all of the secretaries of the Avoyelles Deanery and their spouses to dinner to show his appreciation for their hard work done throughout the year. This year, 10 secretaries attended.

Father Ignatius From page 7 Father Ibe is the pastor of Holy Ghost Church / St. Richards’ Chapel in Marksville/Hickory Hill. Fr. Ignatius promised to continue his early morning runs and exercise regime to stay in shape as he prepares to leave for mobilization in Kentucky for 365 days. He hopes to join the active reserves in the near future and continue to serve the men and women in uniform and their fami-

lies as their chaplain.

“I’m ready to begin this new adventure, as long as God gives me the strength to do it,” he said.

“I would like to thank Bishop Herzog and all of my fellow priests that I work with, especially Father Rusty Rabalais (St. Joseph Catholic Church, Marksville) who has always been available to help me at Mass when I leave for drill in Baton Rouge.

“I would also like to thank my twin brother Father Bartholomew

NUGENT PHOTOGRAPHY

Wedding School Photos All occasions

Anniversary Landscapes Insurance claim photos General Photography

Ibe (Church of Little Flower, Evergreen) who has always been in prayer while I was in training; my religious order (Sons Of Mary, Mother of Mercy), my superior general Very Rev. Dr. George Okorie, who granted me permission; and all of my other religious members in the U.S. “Finally, I want to thank the members of my parish (Holy Ghost Church / St. Richards’ Chapel, Hickory Hill) for all of their encouragement, support and prayers; may God bless you abundantly. I am going to miss you all, but be rest assured of my prayers. The Lord is good all the time and all the time, the Lord is good.”

SECRETARY OF THE YEAR. Mrs. Nora Bordelon, secretary at St. Joseph’s Church in Marksville, was selected as Secretary of the Year in Avoyelles during Father Edwin Rodriguez’s annual secretary appeciation dinner. This was the first time that the honor was given and she received a gift.

Burses Donations in February Knights of Columbus #9217............................................................ $10.00

Msgr. Molenschot Burse Ms. Megan Coco............................................................................... $25.00

Msgr. John Timmermans Burse Mr. & Mrs. Lewis O. Lauve............................................................... $50.00

Bishop Charles Greco Burse Dr. Joseph Landreneau.................................................................. $100.00

Msgr. Henry Beckers Burse Ms. Geraldine Craft......................................................................... $100.00

Father Scott Chemino Burse Anonymous donation.................................................................. $1,000.00

Father Michael Kammer Burse Total this month........................................................................... $1,285.00

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Page 12

PRAYER GARDEN. A person cannot help but feel inspired to pray or meditate when visiting the Prayer Garden located at the top of the hill behind Holy Rosary Chapel in Emmanuel. An Easter Sunrise Mass is scheduled to be celebrated here, weather permitting.

(above) PRAYER GARDEN PLAQUE. Father John Cunningham, (retired) and Cliff Delrie, a resident of Emmanuel, stand next to the Prayer Garden plaque that marks the origins of the garden. Members of Holy Rosary Chapel, like Delrie, who constructed the plaque, all worked together to build the Prayer Garden that was completed in 1987 when Father Cunningham was pastor. (below) STATIONS OF THE CROSS. Large 12-ft crosses line the road that leads to the Prayer Garden, located at the top of the hill behind Holy Rosary Chapel in Emmanuel. During Lent parishioners gather at the crosses each Friday at 5:30 p.m. to pray the Stations of the Cross. (bottom right) PERFECT VIEW. Father Cunningham and Cliff Delrie look out over the valley that is behind the Prayer Garden altar. The “higher� altitude makes you feel as though you could not possibly be in Louisiana.

March 14, 2011

Page 13

March 14, 2011

Holy Rosary Chapel, Emmanuel, La.

Prayer Garden offers prayerful environment

By Jeannie Petrus CT Editor Pine trees sway in the gentle breeze producing a soft, continuous, whispering sound.

No one is around for miles except for you and a 40-ft crucifix pressed against the blue sky.

You can’t help but feel inspired to pray and be close to God. It is the Holy Rosary Chapel’s Prayer Garden, located on the top of a hill overlooking distant acres of pastures in Emmanuel, La. Holy Rosary Chapel is a mission of St. John the Baptist Church in Cloutierville. It was established by Bishop Charles P. Greco when he acquired several army barracks during the 50s and turned them into mission chapels around the diocese.

Most of the families in the small community of Emmanuel are Catholic and have been settled there since the mid 1800s.

So it was not a surprise when the community pulled together in 1985 to turn the peaceful hillside behind the chapel into an inspirational prayer garden.

“When I was assigned as pastor of St. John the Baptist Church in Cloutierville in 1985, the people in the Emmanuel community asked me about making some sort of prayer garden,” said Father John Cunningham. “It is a beautiful

GOD IS WITH US reads the sign to the entrance of the Prayer Garden located at the top of the hill behind Holy Rosary Chapel in Emmanuel. The Prayer Garden was completed in 1987 when Fr. John Cunningham was pastor. place up there and we all thought it was the perfect spot for a place of prayer.”

Permission was granted to cut some of the tall pine trees growing down the side of the hill, so that an unobstructed view of the valley below could be seen.

Most of the donations of concrete outdoor furnishings were done by the Kerry family members (Zane, Judy, and Norma) in memory of their parents, Pleas and Lizzie Kerry.

But other parishioners donated items as well. Delrie built the water fountain and concrete stand for the marble dedication plaque. Harold Romero (husband of one of the Kerry daughters) poured the slabs to support the concrete tables and benches.

Other parishioners filled 35 large oil buckets with concrete to form concrete footstools perfect for outdoor seating.

The garden was completed and dedicated in 1987 and soon

after, the first outdoor Easter sunrise service was held.

“It was beautiful,” said Father Cunningham. “There must have been at least 100 people out here who brought their lawn chairs and waited in the dark of the early morning for the sun to come up.

“We prayed the rosary while we waited for the sun to come up.

In between the decades someone would ask, ‘Is the sun up yet, Father? Can we start Mass?

“I kept saying, ‘Not yet. Let’s

be patient.’ “ When the sun finally started to come up, Father Cunningham began the Mass. But the real highlight of the Mass was during the consecration.

“As I raised the host during the consecration, the full sun popped out over the horizon and the rays of the sun beamed through the elevated host! It could not have been more perfect!

“I kept the host elevated for the longest time (it seemed) because it was so beautful and everyone was in just awe,” he said.

Shortly after the prayer garden was dedicated, fourteen white crosses were added alongside the road going up the hill to the garden to create an outdoor stations of the cross.

“Every Friday at 5:30 p.m. during Lent, a group of parishioners uusallly meet at the crosses for Stations of the Cross,” said Delrie.

Every year about this time (Lent and Easter) parishioners hope to have another Easter sunrise service like the one in the late 1980s.

“It all depends on the weather,” said Delrie. “We’ve had several services since we built the garden, but sometimes we’ve had to cancel at the last minute because of the weather.

“Last year, Father Kenneth Obiewe (pastor of St. John the Baptist in Cloutierville) was prepared to have a Mass out here on Easter Sunday, but we had to cancel at the last minute because it was just to cold and wet.”

This year, Father Kenneth said he plans, once again, to celebrate an Easter Sunrise Mass, if weather permits, * * *

Holy Rosary Chapel Emmanuel, La A mission of St. John the Baptist Church in Cloutierville

To find out the latest on whether or not there will be an Easter Sunrise Mass at Holy Rosary Chapel, go to www. diocesealex.org, where the most up-to-date information will be available.

Page 14

March 14, 2011

SACRED HEART, PINEVILLE CONFIRMATION. Eighteen students from Sacred Heart Church in Pineville were confirmed Feb. 20. Pictured are: (front row): Hailey Riche’, Jennifer Billiot, Hailee Pacillo, Sara Gauthier, Jacquelyn Price, Richard Hays. 2nd Row: Fr. Miller, Grace Price, Virginia Tudor, Tyler Brossett, Megan LeBlanc, Jade Perez, Catechist-Monique Tudor. 3rd Row: Zachary Faircloth, Tyler Bonial, James Soileau, Bishop Herzog, Trent Brazil, David Faulk. Rachael Kendrick.

CONFIRMATION – ST. MARTIN CHURCH, LECOMPTE. Seven students from St. Martin Catholic Church in Lecompte were confirmed Feb. 6 by Bishop Ronald Herzog. Pictured are (front row) Amanda Robinson, Solmayra Sierra, and Marley Fryer. R2: Rev. Pedro Sierra, pastor of St. Martin; Thania Vargas, Charles Lemoine, Carlie Cox, and Patrick NesSmith. R3: Sylvia Hebert, catechist; and Bishop Herzog.

Virtus Training Thursday. March 17 6:00 p.m.

St. Joseph School Plaucheville, LA Monday, March 28 6:00 p.m.

St. Mary’s School Natchitoches, LA To register, go to www.virtus.com

SACRED HEART, PINEVILLE FIRST COMMUNION. Twenty-two students received First Communion on Feb. 19 at Sacred Heart Church in Pineville. Pictured are (front row): Sara Willemarette, Michael Roy, Christa Jeansonne, Cara Jeansonne, Brian Green, Sydney Waldron.

Zachary Moore, Charlie Weatherford. 2nd row: Kaitlyn McBryde, Andrew Daniel, Naomi Gracia, Mallory England, Madison England, Brandon Samis. Jordan Toms. 3rd row: Matthew Rodgers, Christopher Litton, Aaron Cummings, Gabriel Coutee, Ethan Christman, William Brouillette, and Benajamin Brouillette. Top row: Fr. Bruce Miller, Denise Richards, Annie Webb

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, NATCHITOCHES, CONFIRMATION. Pictured are (front row): Haley Lacaze, Caitlin Ingram, Kristin Chatelain, Mary Beth Maggio, Ashley Chesal, Jessica Friedel, Vikki LeDax, Randi Rivers, Kayla Roge, Roxy Ramirez, Catherine Burke, and Mary Gill. Middle row: Steele Merritt, Joshua Wheat, Gunner McLendon, Lawton Poleman, Garrett Ingram, Jack Blake, Clayton Thomas, Elizabeth Horton, and Brittany Hayes. Back row: Daniel James, Austin Porche, Johnny Ledet, Zack Remedies, (Bishop Herzog) Ryan Metoyer, Kirk Leone, Aaron Bouchie, and Nathan Poche.

Page 15

March 14, 2011

World Marriage Day

WORLD MARRIAGE DAY. Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Vidalia celebrated World Marriage Day with a Mass on Feb. 13. Pictured above are some of the married couples who participated.

WORLD MARRIAGE DAY AT ST. RITA CHURCH. St. Rita Church celebrated wedding anniversaries on Feb. 13 (World Marriage Day) at the 9:30 a.m.

Mass. Couples who were honored are Gerald and Mary Robichaux, 60 years; Fr. Craig Scott, pastor of St. Rita; Victor and Margaret Tolito, 60 years; and John and Beverly Wilmore, 50 years. Each couple was honored with a Papal Blessing from Pope Benedict. Not pictured are Jacques and Brenda Tauzin, 40 years; and James and Phyllis St. Romain, 50 years.

Marriage-related Workshops One-night seminar on marriage prep to be held April 5 and 6 in two locations Evening workshop for those teaching Marriage Prep Man and Woman: in the Plan of God, a one-night session meant to help us better understand God’s plan for Christ-centered marriage, will be presented by Christian and Christina Mert April 4 and 5 in Natchitoches and in Alexandria.

Join us on Monday, April 4 at 6 p.m. at St. Rita’s Holy Family Center in Alexandria or on Tuesday, April 5 at 6 p.m. at the KC Hall next to St. Mary’s School in Natchitoches.

The event is free and open to the public, but may be particularly helpful to parish DREs, catechists, couples mentoring the engaged in preparation for marriage, or

for those seeking to boost their appreciation of the Theology of the Body.

The Merts have been married for 33 years and have been in full-time marriage preparation ministry for more than a decade.

Topics to be discussed include: • our dignity as God’s beloved creatures • the vocation of humanity as a whole • specific vocations of man and woman • and how to function better together.

Christian and Christine will also discuss Paul’s message to Man and Woman in Ephesiosn 5, and what it means for us today.

The event is hosted by the

Diocese of Alexandria Office of Adult Faith Formation and St. Rita’s Parish Young Adult Ministry. Child care will be available at St. Rita.

For more information, call 318-445-7141 or 318-352-2615.

One-day Marriage Workshop Lafayette The Diocese of Lafayette will host a marriage workshop on Saturday March 26 from 8:30 a.m. - 4:45 p.m. at Holy Cross Catholic Church (415 Robley Drive Lafayette, LA).

The presenter will be Daniel J. Jurek, M.Min., M.A., a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Licensed Professional

Counselor. Titled, The Lord of Our Rings, the one-day workshop is based on the rich deposit of Catholic faith and draws from experts in the field of marriage and relationship building.

Whether your marriage needs hope for the future, practical skills for daily living, or simply a time of refreshment, this series will help you learn how to build an even more satisfying relationship with your spouse.

Registration is $150 before March 14 or $175 after March 14. (Less than the cost of one marriage therapy session.)

For more information, call the Pax Renewal Center at 337993-1960.

Beginning Experience Maryhill Register now for Beginning Experience, a weekend of new beginning for divorced, widowed, or separated people. It will be held March 25-27 at Maryhill Renewal Center.

The program helps grieving single-again persons emerge from the darkness of grief into the light of a new beginning, and move into the future with renewed hope.

The cost is $185 and includes two nights’ lodging and meals.

To register or for more information, call Anna at (318) 448-1990 or (318) 452-2678 or Rose at (504) 920-0770.

Page 16

March 14, 2011

Menard Theatre Arts to present the Wizard of Oz, March 31-April 2 A girl. A twister. A pair of ruby slippers.

With a click of your heels and a sprinkle of theatre magic, be prepared to journey into the enchanted Land of Oz March 31-April 2, when Holy Savior Menard Theatre Arts will present, The Wizard of Oz. Directed by Cherise Rino, the iconic MGM musical will be performed at the Coughlin Saunders Performing Arts Center in Alexandria at 7:00 every night March 31-April 2 and a special 2 pm matinee on Saturday, April 2.

With a talented cast, elabo-

rate sets and plenty of special effects, audiences can expect to be swept away. The biggest thrill of attending is seeing the movie so affectionately brought to stage life, scene by scene.

Don’t miss the students perform such classic musical moments as “Ding Dong the Witch is Dead,” “Follow the Yellow Brick Road,” and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”.

The cast and crew includes more than 40 students. Leading roles include Andrea Juneau as Dorothy Gale of Kansas; Grant Alexander as the Scarecrow; Dea-

MARDI GRAS IN MOREAUVILLE. Sacred Heart School held its annual Mardi Gras Parade on March 4. Students made box floats. Both sections of PRE-K, Kindergarten and the 8th Grade threw beads to the student body. Everyone enjoyed the festivities.

son Wagner as the Tin Man; Jacob Jude Rino as the Cowardly Lion; Jennifer St. John as the Wicked Witch of the West; Kaitlyn Wright as Glinda the Good Witch; Beniloyd Murdock as the Wizard; Celicia Ducote as Aunt Em; and Jacob Horn as Uncle Henry.

Tickets are $10 and can be prepurchased at the following locations; the main office of Holy Savior Menard High School, Kirby’s Pharmacy, First Federal Bank Locations, All About Parties, Mary’s Heart Catholic Church.

For more information, call 445-8233 between 8a.m. - 3 p.m.

MENARD TO PRESENT THE WIZARD OF OZ. Menard Theatre Arts will present the Wizard of Oz March 31-April 2 at the Coughlin Saunders Performing Arts Center in Alexandra at 7:00 each night and a special 2 p.m. matinee on April 2. Tickets are $10 for general admission.

Revive Lord Us AgAin, O

April 1-3, 2011 • Pontchartrain Center • Kenner, LA

Fr. John Gordon Michelle Moran Sr. Nancy Kellar Register Online Today!

Southern Regional Conference of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal

www.ccrno.org • 504-828-1368 • info@ccrno.org

Page 17

March 14, 2011

ST. MARY’S HOSTS ‘PROM’ FOR NATCHITOCHES ASSOCIATION OF RETARDED CITIZENS. Saint Mary’s School hosted a prom for the clients of the Natchitoches Association of Retarded Citizens on Friday, Feb. 18.

St. Mary students pitch in to host prom for special guests St. Mary’s School hosted a prom for the clients of the Natchitoches Association of Retarded Citizens Feb. 18 in the school gym.

The elementary students supplied refreshments for the evening and the middle school students supplied and decorated the gym including creating the Mardi Gras themed picture backdrop.

The Art Club made boutonnieres and corsages with the help of Mrs. Cindy Gallien

at Mary Lou’s Flower Shop. The high school students greeted and danced the night away with the wonderful guests.

The students would like to thank Justin Metoyer for burning the music that was played and Mr. Ben Stanfield for being a great DJ throughout the evening.

Everyone had a blast.

Guest Artists at Gallery

St. Mary’s School student artists are the honored Guest Artists for February at the Natchi-

Position Available: Assistant Development Director

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Alexandria is currently seeking applications for an Assistant Development Director to work with church parishes and schools.

Experience: Must be proficient in technology, have the ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, and a strong development/fundraising background. Two years of nonprofit development experience desired, preferably in church or social service environment and knowledge of church organization and procedures. Practicing Catholic strongly preferred.

Education: BS or BA in Communications, Marketing, or Public Relations or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Send resume, cover letter, references and salary requirements to: info@diocesealex.org or to: Diocese of Alexandria, ATTN: Assistant Development Director, P.O. Box 7417, Alexandria, LA 71306-0417.

Diocese of Alexandria

toches Art Gallery.

A reception was held Feb. 18 to recognize and encourage the young artists in their fine arts pursuits.

Nine times during the year, non-member artists are offered a one time opportunity to exhibit works in the Natchitoches Art Gallery without membership commitments. Non members are also afforded the opportunity to show in the Natchitoches Art Gallery every year during the annual juried competition.

Guest artists are selected in various manners including nomination by members and directly petitioning for a spot. The students of St. Mary’s school were offered a special invitation by

the Board of Directors. Several students answered the call with a representation of work in oil pastels, mixed media on scratchboard, pencil, and ceramics.

Students who participated were Ryan Metoyer, Anne Evans, Brooklyn Sanders, Elizabeth Horton, Clayton Thomas, Hannah Ward, Caitlin Ingram, and Mrs. Sheila Ohnoutka, Tyler Neely and Catherine Burke.

The works were on display at the Natchitoches Art Gallery during the month of February.

Mathematics Classic

St. Mary’s High School competed in Northwestern State University’s 8th Annual Demon Mathematics Classic for out-

Position Available

Principal

St. Mary’s Assumption Catholic School, Cottonport, LA 2011-2012 school year

An individual seeking the position of Principal must be a practicing Catholic with a strong commitment to Catholic education.

In addition, he/she should possess the following:

• Commitment to nurturing the Catholic identity of the school • Master’s degree, preferably with emphasis in Administration/supervision • Minimum of 3 years of teaching or school administrative experience • Leadership ability in past/present educational assignments The salary for this position will be based on qualifications and experience.

Application packets can be picked up in the school office Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Completed application packets should be returned to the school office in an envelope marked “Principal Search.”

Deadline for submitting applications is Monday, April 11, 2011.

For additional information contact the school at 318-876-3651.

standing high school math students Feb. 19.

The competition hosts top students from the central Louisiana area and students compete in two areas: the Challenge Exam - a rigorous test covering topics from Pre-Calculus to Geometry.

The second part of the competition is a team competition modeled after quiz bowl. Students compete in four quarters in a game. The first quarter consists of quick recall questions. The second is a lightning round of ten questions for each team to be ansered in 60 seconds. The third is a two-minute worksheet round. And, the fourth is a quick recall with bonus questions round. All questions are math related and the competition is fast paced and fierce.

Both St. Mary’s teams made it to the semi-final round after pool play. The team of Clayton Thomas, Caitlin Ingram, Hannah Ward, and Joshua Wheat placed second in the overall competition, losing to Alexandria Senior High in the finals.

The team of Daniel James, Elizabeth Horton, Laura Evans, and Zach Remedies finished fourth after some great wins throughout the day.

Daniel James and Caitlin Ingram were named as team AllStars by the NSU faculty. Roxy competed as an individual.

God grades on the cross, not the curve.

Page 18

March 14, 2011

Parents push N. O. Catholic school to resume paddling policy

By Peter Finney Jr. Catholic News Service NEW ORLEANS (CNS) -For the past 60 years, teachers and administrators at St. Augustine High School in New Orleans have wielded an 18-inch-long wooden paddle -- euphemistically called “the board of education” -- to administer corporal punishment to students for tardiness, sloppy uniform dress or other minor rules infractions.

When Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond and Josephite Father Edward Chiffriller, his order’s superior general and head of the school’s board of trustees, ordered the practice stopped following an intensive review process, their decision was met with outspoken opposition from parents, alumni, students, the school’s board of directors, and both current and former administrators.

That disagreement played out during a three-hour, 50-minute “disciplinary town-hall meeting” Feb. 24 at the St. Augustine gym.

About 600 people attended.

As Archbishop Aymond and members of the Josephites’ board of trustees sat at a table and listened, speaker after speaker -- including Josephite Father John Raphael, St. Augustine’s president -passionately explained why they supported

Marian Lenten Pilgrimage March 21-23 Make a Marian Lenten Pilgrimage to EWTN and Caritas, Ala. March 21-23 with Fr. Anthony Catella and other priests for EWTN “live” Mass and program.

Be present at Caritas while Marija Lunetti of Medjugorje will be visiting and the Queen of Peace appears to her.

Trip will include daily Mass, spiritual enrichment, Rosary, songs and more. Bus reservation is $135 with room; (some free meals).

Call Kathie at 640-4570 or Patsy at 640-0065 for itinerary and room reservations before March 5, 2011.

the use of corporal punishment and asked that the moratorium be lifted.

St. Augustine is the only Catholic school in the United States to have permitted corporal punishment as recently as 2010.

Father Raphael shared historical references to the school’s founding principal, Josephite Father Matthew O’Rourke, who instituted paddling in 1951 as a deterrent to unacceptable behavior. He even introduced his parents, who were sitting in the audience, and praised them for spanking him as a child as a way of instruction.

Father Raphael made a point of telling the crowd that Father Chiffriller, his religious superior, had given a speech at the 50th anniversary of the school in 2001 on the historic value of the paddle as a deterrent.

When it was his turn to speak, Father Chiffriller said, “In light of the archbishop’s concern and the Josephites’ own internal concerns, the board of trustees reviewed the practice of corporal punishment and determined that its continued use is simply inconsistent with our Catholic ideals, ethics and principles.”

Of the more than two dozen alumni, parents and students who spoke, none expressed opposition to the paddling policy.

While calling the issue “complicated,” Archbishop Aymond did not retreat from what he called “a fundamental disagreement.”

The archbishop said parents have the authority to use corporal punishment in their homes to discipline their children, but he reiterated he could not “possibly condone corporal punishment, especially in a Catholic school.”

“I believe in my conscience that this is not in line with the values of Jesus,” he said, adding that was why the Archdiocese of New Orleans has for decades not permitted corporal punishment in its schools.

Archbishop Aymond said numerous studies have indicated corporal punishment can cause physical, emotional and psychological damage, including loss of self-esteem and increased hostility toward authority, and that “violence -- hitting another person -- fosters violence.”

“Nothing was resolved (at the meeting),” he said. “Whenever there is a split in the family, we need to pray, we need to dialogue and we need to ask, ‘What does God want out of this?’ I certainly will be meeting with the Josephites as well as the board of directors to see how we can come to a better understanding and resolution of the issues.”

Office of Religious Formation and Training Sacred Heart Church, Moreauville to host

Bring It to the Cross A UNIFIED, Faith Formation night

Sunday, March 27 5 p.m. Mass - 8 p.m.

Sacred Heart Church, Moreauville Presented by

Father Keith Ishmael The night is filled with music, prayer, evangelism, and catechesis. It is designed to bring high school students, young adults, and adults closer to Christ and His Church.

For more information, contact Luc Noel at 1-866-447-7088, extension 221, or e-mail at lnoel@diocesealex.org

Page 19

March 14, 2011

Youths participate in Food Fast program for Lent

By Emily Lahr Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON (CNS) -Two Pennsylvania girls took a day off of work to take part in an annual Food Fast that has become a Lenten tradition for many Catholic parishes.

“It has impacted them in a way that they keep coming back,” said Cathy Savilla, youth minister for three parishes in West Virginia.

Food Fast is a 24-hour hunger awareness retreat for Catholic youths, focusing on global poverty and hunger.

The program, which has been active since 1999, runs under the direction of program officer Jennifer Swope of Catholic Relief Services in Baltimore, the U.S. bishops’ international relief and development agency.

Food Fast offers a journey of solidarity with people overseas as a way of living out the Catholic faith.

Grounded in Catholic social teaching, Food Fast teaches youths about issues faced by their peers in the developing world; encourages youths to take action on behalf of the poor and hungry; and invites youths to share their perspectives and knowledge about the world with their community to create lasting change in the world.

The overall theme of the program is hunger awareness, but CRS picks a subtheme from school year to school year. The 2010-11 subtheme focuses on how climate change affects the hungry people of the world and how God cares for his creation.

“There is always something locally that you can relate to the global theme,” said Savilla, who had collaborated with neighboring churches to put on a 120-participant youth retreat.

YOUTHS PARTICIPATE IN FOOD FAST PROGRAM IN SAN FRANCISCO. Youths participate in their first annual Food Fast in the Archdiocese of San Francisco last year. The fast is Catholic Relief Services’ 24-hour poverty and hunger awareness program aimed specifically at teens. (CNS photo/courtesy of CRS)

Swope said the 201112 subtheme is still a work in progress, but it will initially be centered on caring for the poor and how one’s choices affect others’ access to food.

The Food Fast program offers a curriculum for the parishes

that participate, providing icebreakers, prayers, discussion topics and fliers.

Swope said Food Fast is often used during Lent, especially during Holy Week, but the resources are available throughout the year.

Abbey Youth Festival - March 26 Registration continues for the Abbey Youth Festival to be held March 26 in St. Benedict, La. Festival speakers include Matt Maher, Paul George, Judy McDonald, Archbishop Gregory Aymond, and the monks and seminarians of St. Joseph Abbey+Seminary College.

The Abbey Youth Festival is an apostolic service of St. Joseph Abbey and Seminary College, designed to provide young people with an opportunity to experience a day of prayer and faith formation with an exposure to the Benedictine tradition. Its focus is evangelization and vocational discernment by means of Liturgy, prayer, worship, music and education appropriate for Catholic young people.

For more information, go to www.abbeyyouthfest.com

“We provide everything,” said Swope, but the youth ministers use their creativity and “they make it their own.”

Natalie Lies, a youth minister at St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Fargo, N.D., was planning her fourth Food Fast event this Lent, using both the curriculum offered

by CRS and her own ideas. For the first time, her parish will invite Catholic parishes from around the diocese to take part in the event.

“It plays in the theme of Lent of prayer, fasting and almsgiving,” said Lies, who has been serving the parish for five years, ministering to 20-30 youths.

Lies said they start their Food Fast on a Friday evening with the living Stations of the Cross, a Lenten Catholic tradition that remembers the way of Christ’s death, and run through Saturday evening.

Last year, youths listened

to testimonies given by missionaries, volunteered with homeless organizations, and spent reflective time in prayer during the fast.

“You don’t eat any solid foods,” said Lies, who hopes the youths see that for them the fast is a choice for only 24 hours, while for others hunger is a reality some people face every day of their lives.

Swope said youths are always being encouraged to go out and change the world, but Food Fast shows them how to do that.

Sue Matour, youth minister of St. Teresa of Avilla Parish in Norristown, Pa., said it gives youths a chance to do something for both the community and raise awareness globally.

“As Catholics, we are called to not only look locally but also internationally,” said Matour, adding that Food Fast is one of her favorite youth group activities.

Matour said she was impressed with how young people take ownership of the activities and unite together in sacrifice during a short period of time. During the fast, her youth group in the past had volunteered at a soup kitchen in Pennsylvania, which was “eye opening for them.” The youths made food for others, while they themselves went hungry.

Fundraising has become an additional option for Food Fast, with CRS offering three programs to which parishes can choose to donate: Peace in Sudan, Water in Afghanistan and CRS programs around the world.

After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, many parishes asked that their money be sent for the relief of the country. Swope said that half of the money CRS received was raised for Haiti.

Food Fast is often connected in parishes with Operation Rice Bowl, CRS’ Lenten program that encourages Catholics to give up a meal and donate the money saved to help fund development programs designed to increase food security across the world.

Both youth ministers and CRS have found Food Fast to be a great Lenten tradition.

It’s a blessing, the resource has been a wonderful opportunity to gather our community together to put on a good retreat.

Page 20

March 14, 2011

Pope John Paul II and Lent Liguori Publications offers wide array of books, guides by Pope JPII on Lent selected Psalms.

Especially suited for Lenten reflection, this faith resource can be a year-round source of inspiration. Also ideal for prayer groups.

To order, go to www.liguori. org or call 800-325-9521.

40 page booklet 5 1/8 X 7 3/8 978-8924-3679-8 $2.99

The Stations of the Cross with Pope John Paul II

by Joseph M. Champlin On Good Friday evening of 1991, Pope John Paul II lead people gathered at the Roman Colosseum in the Stations of the Cross. But on this remarkable occasion, Pope John Paul changes the format. He alters the fourteen stations and adds a fifteenth.

Some of the traditional stations are retained, while others are dropped and new stations are added. All of the stations are based on gospel events. Now these historic Stations -- with their richly biblical approach -have been adapted for public and private use by bestselling author Father Joseph M. Champlin.

Each station features a short reading from the gospel passion narratives, a brief reflection and a prayer response adapted from

Lent and Easter Wisdom from Pope John Paul II Compiled by John V. Kruse, PhD Beloved Pope John Paul II was one of the most popular and inspirational religious figures of our time. In Lent and Easter Wisdom from Pope John Paul II, the late Holy Father’s thoughtprovoking words lead readers through a journey of conversion throughout the season.

To order, go to www.liguori. org or call 1-800-325-9521.

128-page paperback 978-0-7648-1412 $10.99 Mysteries of Light Meditations on the Mysteries of the Rosary with Pope John Paul II This book offers simple meditations written by Pope John Paul II on each of the 20 Mysteries of the Rosary.

A perfect companion piece to praying the Rosary during Lent.

This book, from a man who was deeply devoted to Mary and to the power of praying the Rosary, wrote these heartfelt meditations that will help draw you closer to Jesus through reflection upon these bibical passages.

To order, go to www.liguori. org or call 1-800-325-9521.

48-page paperback 978-0-7648-1069 $9.99

Page 21

March 14, 2011

Mars Needs Moms welcomes venerable values

By John Mulderig Catholic News Service NEW YORK (CNS) -Vivid animation and a ringing endorsement of the traditional family combine to make the endearing adventure “Mars Needs Moms” (Disney) a film kids can enjoy and parents will appreciate.

But, though suitable for all (a few mild potty jokes aside), director and co-writer Simon Wells’ technically accomplished screen version of Berkeley Breathed’s children’s book sees its characters running a long gauntlet of dangers, and so may prove too scary for the most sensitive.

With its cartoon images based on the live-action motions of its cast -- as we’re shown during the closing credits -- this is the visually rich tale of Milo (Seth Green), a typical 9-year-old boy who is destined to have some very unusual experiences.

A fan of zombie movies, but not of broccoli or taking out the garbage, Milo has a run-in in the opening scenes with his loving but no-nonsense Mom (Joan Cusack) -- Dad (Tom Everett Scott) is away on a business trip -and drives her to tears by hastily

‘MARS NEEDS MOMS’. The characters Gribble and Milo are pictured in a scene from the movie “Mars Needs Moms.”

The Catholic News Service classification is A-I -- general patronage. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG -- parental guidance suggested. Some ma terial may not be suitable for children. (CNS photo/Disney)

remarking that he’d be better off without her.

Milo’s ill-considered theory unexpectedly gets put to the test later that night when a crew of Martians arrives and kidnaps Mom. Stowing away on their rocker, Milo too is transported to the Red Planet.

Once there, Milo learns that the aliens -- led by Mindy Sterling as a prune-faced villainess called The Supervisor -- have developed a procedure for extracting the

nurturing qualities of particularly effective human mothers and transplanting them into the otherwise clueless nanny-bots who have charge of their own young. He also discovers that the process, if completed, will cost Mom her life.

Milo’s rescue efforts are aided by Gribble (Dan Fogler), a goofy but good-hearted human fugitive who first came to Mars when his mom was abducted for the same purpose, and by

Ki (Elisabeth Harnois), a freespirited Martian rebel whose protests against the system take the form of bright psychedelic graffiti.

As our heroes fight the emotionless, authoritarian matriarchy that now prevails on Mars -- boy babies are sent to a male underworld at birth and even the girls who remain above are raised entirely by the robots and have no ties to either of their parents -- the trio uncovers

evidence that affectionate nuclear families like Milo’s were once the norm there.

Wells’ script -- penned in collaboration with wife Wendy Wells -- clearly affirms that this older model of society is a far preferable one, based as it is on what Milo calls “the love thing.”

And, inevitably, the crusade to save Mom merges with the struggle to restore Martian familial bonds.

Bolstered by this welcome celebration of venerable values, and free of any genuinely objectionable material, “Mars Needs Moms” can be warmly recommended for all but easily frightened small fry. For them, the 3D-enhanced sight of Milo dangling off a cliff or, in a later scene, gasping for air when accidentally exposed to the hostile atmosphere on Mars might be much too intense.

The film contains considerable peril and a bit of light scatological humor. The Catholic News Service classification is A-I -- general patronage. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG -- parental guidance suggested.

-- Mulderig is on the staff of Catholic News Service. More reviews are available online at www.usccb.org/movies

Did you Know?

A recent update of a geographic census for the residents of St. Mary’s Residential Training Facility showed that our 202 residents have families who reside in 45 of Louisiana’s 64 parishes that include 86 cities and communities.

When you add up all of the family members, St. Mary’s directly impacts over 1,500 individuals!

Page 22

March 14, 2011

St. Patrick’s Day Concert

Catholic Charismatic Renewal

Red River Chorale will present a St. Patrick’s Day concert on Saturday, March 17 at 7:30 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church on Jackson Street in Alexandria.

The title of the concert is “A Day to be Irish.” Tickets are $10 for adults; $5 for students.

The Southern Regional Conference of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal will be held April 1-3 at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner, La. A Youth Workshop will be available at the same time for youth and young adults.

All priests, religious brothers and sisters, deacons and their families are invited to attend the conference at no charge, but pre-registration is requested. The fee schedule is as follows: individual adult $50; married couple $70; family (same household) $80; single session $20; youth workshop $20; all day Saturday $40. Registration online is encouraged. For more information, contact the Conference Office at info@crrno.org or call (504) 8281368.

Fr. Ken Roy Memorial Golf Tournament The Fr. Ken Roy Memorial Golf Tournament has changed the date and place to Friday, March 25 at Alexandria Golf and Country Club. Proceeds will benefit Holy Savior Menard High School’s athletic and academic programs. In the spirit of Fr. Ken Roy, who showed particular love for the poor, a portion of the proceeds from the tournament will also be donated to one of his favorite charities. For more information, call 767-1855 or 201-7168.

Pro-Life Oratory Contest The Rapides Right to Life is sponsoring the local division of the National Right to Life Oratory Contest. Any high school junior or senior is eligible to enter the contest by submitting a 5-7 minute speech on any pro-life issue – including: • The Tragedy of Abortion • The Tragedy of Euthanasia • The Tragedy of Infanticide • The Tragedy of Embryonic Stem Cell Research All entries are due by Friday, March 26. On Saturday, April 6, the speeches will be delivered to a panel of judges at the Rapides Parish Library at 10 a.m. Local winners will receive $200 for first place and $100 for second place. Call 318-352-2134 for details and registration form.

The winner of the local contest will advance to the state contest April 30 in Kenner, La., where prizes of $500 and $250 will be awarded. The national contest will be held in June 25 in Washington DC, with prizes of $1,000, $750, $500, and $250.

Carlow Choir Concert The Carlow Choir, under the direction of John De Chiaro, will perform in concert on Sunday, April 3 at 2:30 p.m. at St. Joseph Church in Marksville. The concert is free and open to the public. The Carlow Choir will also perform Sunday, March 13 at 3 p.m. at St. Joan of Arc Church in Oberlin, La.

Avoyelles Parish Businesses

Advertise in The Church Today Contact Carla Moreau 318-346-7829

COUNCIL #3200 - Floyd Morgan, Junior Ducote, John Tuminello, and Terry Young KC Council #3200 cooked jambalaya Feb. 9 for the LSU-A students noon meal.

Sondra Abrahams to speak Sondra Abrahams will speak April 8 and 9 at 6 p.m. at St. Juliana Catholic Church in Alexandria. More than 30 years ago, Sondra had a near-death experience after having a reaction to medicine following minor surgery. Her neardeath experience went beyond the black tunnel and the bright light. She says she saw the boundaries of heaven, the levels of purgatory, and the firey pits of hell and was told by Jesus that she would remember all she saw. Hear the entire story April 8 and 9.

St. Anthony School Fair

Painted Glass Window raffle

Daffodil Day

The Altar Society of Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Vidalia has been donated a beautiful piece of artwork by one our parishioners that will be raffled as a fund-raiser.

The creator, Becky Watson Darian, used an antique window (36” X 27”) out of an old house and reverse painted the beautiful display of Jesus serving the Blessed Host.

She sealed the design onto the back of the glass panes (there are six separate panes of glass in the window). It would be ideal as a large sun-catcher or wall display.

The American Cancer Society is sponsoring Daffodil Day on Tueday, March 22. Send a vase of daffodils ($35)to your favorite person and make them smile while supporting the American Cancer Society. To order, call Janet Bonnette at 318-466-6074 or Nikki Mayer at 318-787-6274.

Tickets are $5 each or three for $10. The winner will be announced April 24; you do not have to be present to win. To purchase a ticket, call Liz at 318/757-3904 or just mail a check made payable to OLL Altar Society to P. O. Box 460, Vidalia, LA 71373.

St. Anthony School is having a church fair on Saturday, April 2. Events include a balloon launch, bingo with a $500 jackpot, dessert judging, field games, and a crawfish boil at 6 p.m. followed by a street dance with a live band.

A 5 p.m. Mass will be celebrated on Saturday on the fair grounds. BBQ dinners will be served on Sunday, April 3 from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. Tickets are $7 per plate.

Brigitte Paul Kelso Insurance, LLC Brigitte Kelso Owner/Agent

2918 S. MacArthur Dr. Alexandria, La. 71301 Phone: 318.448.2226 Fax: 318.448.2800 brigittekelso@att.net

Page 23

March 14, 2011

March - April Monday

Tuesday

14

Wednesday

15

PENANCE SERVICE 6:30 p.m.

St. Anthony of Padua, Bunkie LENT SERIES 5:30 p.m.

16

PENANCE SERVICES 6:00 p.m.

St. Patrick Church, Montgomery 6:00 p.m. Immaculate Conception, Natchitchoches

St. Joseph Catholic Ctr, Alexandria

Thursday

Friday

17

Saturday

18

VIRTUS Training 6:00 p.m.

St. Joseph School, Plaucheville

RADIO MARIA Mariathon

LENTEN MISSION 6:30 p.m.

St. Anthony of Padua, Natchitoches

21

PRAY FOR FR. R. OWUAMANAM

LENT SERIES 5:30 p.m.

PRAY FOR FR. J. PALATHARA

22

LENT SERIES 6:00 p.m.

St. Mary, Winnsboro

PRAY FOR FR. B. PALLIPPARAMBIL

23

24

PENANCE SERVICES 5:30 p.m.

St. Anthony, Natchitoches 6:00 p.m. St. Joseph, Colfax

St. Joseph Catholic Ctr, Alexandria

LENT SERIES 6:30 p.m.

St. Anthony of Padua, Bunkie

Marion Lenten Pilgrimage to Caritas, AL PRAY FOR FR. T. PAUL

PRAY FOR FR. G. POOKKATTU

28

VIRTUS Training 6:00 p.m.

St. Mary’s School, Natchitoches

LENT SERIES 5:30 p.m.

LENT SERIES 6:00 p.m.

30

St. Joseph Catholic Ctr, Alexandria

St. Mary, Winnsboro

LENT SERIES 6:30 p.m.

PENANCE SERVICE 6:00 p.m.

Sacred Heart Church, Pineville

St. Anthony of Padua, Bunkie

4

PRAY FOR FR. C. SCOTT

Clergy Day 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.

Maryhill Renewal Center

31

PENANCE SERVICE 6:30 p.m.

St. Rita Church, Alexandria

LENT SERIES 5:30 p.m.

St. Anthony of Padua, Bunkie

LENTEN MISSION -- Hessmer

11

PRAY FOR FR. J. THOMAS

LENT SERIES 6:30 p.m.

12

St. Anthony of Padua, Bunkie

St. Mary, Winnsboro

APRIL

1

PRAY FOR FR. J. ROY

2

St. Anthony of Padua School Fair, Bunkie

Carlow Choir Concert 2:30 p.m.

St. Joseph, Marksville

3

Menard presents “The Wizard of Oz” -- Coughlin Saunders Performing Arts Center FIRST FRIDAY FIRST SATURDAY LENTEN MISSION PRAY FOR FR. L. SKLAR

6

PRAY FOR FR. A. THOMPSON

LENT SERIES 6:00 p.m.

27

UNIFIED Faith Formation 5:00-8:00 p.m.

Sacred Heart, Moreauville

Camp Joshua -- Baton Rouge

7

PENANCE SERVICES 6:00 p.m.

St. Peter Church, Elmer 6:30 p.m.

Our Lady of Prompt Succor, Alexandria

LENT SERIES 6:30 p.m.

26

Marriage Workshop Fr. Ken Roy Memorial Golf 8:30 a.m.-4:45 p.m.

Holy Cross Church, Tournament Lafayette Alexandria Golf and Country Club Abbey Youth Festival St. Benedict, LA

Lenten Mission -- St. Augustine -- Isle Brevelle

St. Mary, Winnsboro

St. Joseph Catholic Ctr, Alexandria

PRAY FOR FR. K. TEXADA

LENT SERIES 6:00 p.m.

25

PRAY FOR FR. C. PARTAIN

PRAY FOR FR. J. PARDUE

Catholic Charismatic Conference -- Kenner

PRAY FOR FR. P. SIERRA-POSADA

5

FEAST of ST. JOSEPH

PRAY FOR FR. J. PALLIPURATH

PRAY FOR FR. J. RETNAZIHAMONI PRAY FOR FR. J. ROBLES-SANCHEZ PRAY FOR FR. E. RODRIGUEZ-HERNANDEZ

Lenten Mission -- 6:00 p.m. -- Spanish Lake PRAY FOR FR. I. ST. ROMAIN

20

Beginning Experience -- Maryhill Renewal Center

PRAY FOR FR. R. RABALAIS

29

19

Young Adult Conference -- Maryhill Renewal Center

Mission with Fr. Pinto -- Sts. Frances & Anne Church, Kolin ST. PATRICK’S DAY PRAY FOR FR. C. OGBONNA

Sunday

PRAY FOR BISHOP R. HERZOG

Consequences of Pornography Seminar 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.

Lafayette

PRAY FOR MSGR. J. SUSI

8

9

PRAY FOR MSGR. S. TESTA

10

Sondra Abrahams -- St. Juliana, Alexandria PRAY FOR MSGR. J. TIMMERMANS

13

14

PENANCE SERVICES 6:30 p.m.

St. Joseph Church, Marksville 6:30 p.m.

St. Augustine Church, Isle Brevelle

PRAY FOR FR. A. TRAVIS

15

PENANCE SERVICE 6:00 p.m.

St. Louis Church, Glenmora

PRAY FOR FR. O. WILLIAMS

16

PRAY FOR FR. ABRAHAM VARGHESE

17

LENTEN MISSION -- Fifth Ward PRAY FOR FR. V. VEAD

PRAY FOR FR. J. VELEZ-LOPEZ

PRAY FOR FR. N. VIVIANO

PRAY FOR FR. K. ZACHARIAH

PRAY FOR FR. B. ZAGST

PRAY FOR FR. A. AELAVANTHARA

PRAY FOR FR. T. ALLEN