Bayou Catholic Magazine March 2019

INSIDE Marriage

Bayou

Catholic

St. Joseph’s feast day March 19 MARCH 2019 ~ VOL. 39 NO. 9 ~ COMPLIMENTARY

2 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • March 2019

Thank you for your generosity.

The collection will be held March 9 and 10, 2019

• Contribuir a la CMAI ayuda a animar a j6venes Afroamericanos e Indigenas a entregar su vida al Senor como sacerdotes, religiosos o religiosas.

• Los fondos de la CMAI ayudan a las di6cesis a formar ministros laicos y catequistas para difundir el Evangelio en sus propias comunidades.

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

• Muchas personas se ven beneficiadas de su apoyo a la CMAI: • Los estudiantes de la pequefia escuela misionera en el Extremo Sur. • La Comunidad Cat6lica atendida por un diacono Nativo en Alaska.

• La parroquia Nativo Americana en la Pradera.

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

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

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

• The Native American parish on the prairie.

Your support helps all of them come to know Jesus.

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

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

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

Keeping you healthy is our priority.

JOIN US AT THE MEN’S HEALTH EXPO WHEN:

Tuesday, March 19, 2019

WHERE:

Ochsner St. Anne | 4608 Highway 1, Raceland

TIME:

5pm - 7 pm

FREE Health Screenings (must be 18+) •

Cholesterol Testing

•

Blood Glucose

•

Body Mass Index Calculations

•

Blood Pressure

•

Prostate Cancer Screenings/PSA (men 50+)

Special Event Features Include: Nutritional Tips, Door Prizes and Meet and Greet with Providers

WOMEN ARE WELCOME TO ATTEND!

For more information, call

985.537.8350.

Contents

Features 18 Laity in Action

By Janet Marcel

24

Students of the Year

By Janet Marcel

42

Racism listening session

By Janet Marcel

Columns 8 Comfort For My People

By Bishop Shelton J. Fabre

12

Pope Speaks

Pope Francis I

13

Questions of Faith

By Father Joshua Rodrigue

14

Readings Between the Lines

By Father Glenn LeCompte

29

Reading With Raymond

By Raymond Saadi

30

Thoughts For Millennials

By Ryan Abboud

47 Overtime

By Ed Daniels

In Every Issue 6 From the Editor 16 Scripture Readings 20 Youth In Action 22 Heavenly Recipes 28 Diocesan Events Guest Columns 26 March for Life

By Rev. Mr. Patrick Riviere

32

Office of Parish Support

By Kristin Niedbala

Announcements 31 Catholic Foundation Update 34 St. Joseph Altars 36 Athletic director receives

On Our Cover

LAWRENCE CHATAGNIER/BAYOU CATHOLIC

This beautiful detail from a St. Joseph Altar was displayed at the Clement Home in Thibodaux last year. For a complete listing of St. Joseph Altars available for viewing this year, see pages 34 and 35 of this issue.

4 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • March 2019

38 40 48

national recognition

Parish Lenten missions New CFO announced Financial Report

Bayou Catholic Heavenly Recipes

How to reach us:

BY PHONE: (985) 850-3132

20Brad Blanchard

18

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

BY FAX: (985) 850-3232

BY E-MAIL: bayoucatholic@htdiocese.org

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.

CHICKEN AND SAUSAGE

JAMBALAYA 22

This month’s heavenly recipe, chicken and sausage jambalaya, comes from Bayou Black native Brad Blanchard.

It’s his favorite recipe. “I love to cook and I especially love to cook this jambalaya. I get a good response from people who eat it.” Brad says that these days he does almost all of the cooking at home for his wife Kristi and their children Patrick and Shelby.

Brad, a former pipefitter and pipefitter leader man, works in the planning office at Gulf Island Shipyards in Houma where they build river tugs and are currently working on a research vessel for Oregon State University.

Brad says that he and his sister learned to cook at the same time. He jokingly says that his mother went on strike for a month. “My mom refused to cook for a month. She told us that if we wanted something to eat we had better fix it ourselves.”

He now cooks at least twice a month at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Bayou Black. “I cook mostly tacos, roasts, jambalaya, fried fish and fried shrimp. I also co-teach third, sixth and seventh grade religion classes. In 2013, I chaperoned for the Junior High Faith Experience. At first my son was apprehensive that I was going to be there. He had a blast at the event and told me that evening he was glad I was there. From that moment on I have been involved as much as possible. Teaching religion

34

INGREDIENTS:

12 oz. package of pork bacon 3 lbs. sausage Lawrence Chatagnier 1–2 chickens, cooked and deboned editor and general manager (rotisserie from Wal-Mart is great) 4 lbs. yellow onions, diced or sliced to 1/4Janet inchMarcel staff writer/administrative assistant or smaller 1-1/2 lbs. seasoning blend (same way as Brooks above)Lirette 2 tbsp. Tony Chachere’s advertising accounts executive 1 tbsp. black pepper Lisa Schobel Hebert 1 tbsp. salt graphic designer 1 tbsp. parsley 3 lbs. parboiled rice Meridy Liner 2 tbsp. Kitchen Boquet accounts receivable/payable assistant

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DIRECTIONS: PREP Cut bacon in 1 inch strips Dice vegetables if not already done Like us on Facebook Debone chicken. Boil bones and skin in stock pot or with 100-110oz. water; some will evaporate.

Find us on the web Cut sausage in half long ways then in www.bayoucatholic.org 1/2 inch slices COOK Where to find your Bayou Catholic Sautee bacon until almost crispy. Add onions and Bayou Catholic magazine can be found seasoning blend, and cook on medium fire (5and onCatholic schools at all Catholic churches electric stove) till vegetables arethroughout dark brown (not quite the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. pick chocolate). up a copy, you may also visit the dark chocolate but more thanTomilk Add who advertise in our issue. Those meat and stir in for about five merchants minutes.

Add chicken wishing to receive the magazine by mail can stock and dry seasonings. Bring to a low boil. call back Janet Marcel at (985) 850-3132 or write Catholic P.O. Box Lower fire by 50 percent andtoletBayou simmer for, about LA Add 70395.

20 minutes (allows flavors to 505, blendSchriever, together).

Subscription price is $35 rice. Fold it in making sure everything is not annually. For the online edition, clumped together.

Cover and cook go to www.bayoucatholic.com for 20 minutes. Open lid, fold and check water content and rice texture.

March 2019 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 5 If rice is near cooked, leave lid off to dry out excess moisture. If rice is still

h

Marriage 53

h

Brad Cooks a:

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

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From The Editor

Here we are in the month of March and for 2019 it means the beginning of the Lenten Season, a time when we pray more, fast and remember those who are less fortunate than ourselves.

I have always thought of Lent as a time of stillness. Not in a sense of inactivity but a stillness within ourselves. I am talking about a time of reflection, a time for deeper discernment of where we are in life and where we should be in our relationship with God. In order to reflect on this we need quiet time. We need to be able to hear God speaking to us in our daily lives.

Lent is a great time to quiet ourselves and try to distance ourselves from the daily noise in our lives. Perhaps spending time alone without the sound of a TV in the background or a radio on would help us in hearing what God has to say.

We are so filled with noise everywhere these days. It’s hard to escape the sounds of daily life that we have become so accustomed to hearing. Whether it is music, people

talking, highway traffic or the phone, there are sounds always present around us. So how do we escape this noise pollution and tune in to what God is trying to tell us?

I believe it takes an intentional effort on our part to make quiet time. Some people spend quiet time first thing in the morning when they take time to pray. Another way of spending quiet time is during the commute to and from work if you travel alone. One can turn off the radio and use the time on the road to listen, to pray and reflect on their life. Sometimes late in the evening one can find quiet time after a busy day to just sit still and be. It is during these times when you’re alone and quiet that you can reflect and talk to God. Last year Pope Francis gave a message before the 55th World Day of Prayer with the theme “Listening, Discerning and Living the Call of God. In his message the pope said, “Today it is becoming more and more difficult to listen to the voice of the Spirit in our lives,” he noted, especially as “immersed as we are in a society full of noise, overstimulated and bombarded by information.”

Often, this outer noise is accompanied by an interior confusion as well. “This prevents us from pausing and enjoying the taste of contemplation, reflecting serenely on the events of our lives, going about our work with confidence in God’s loving plan, and making a fruitful

6 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • March 2019

discernment,” he said.

The pope also warned about being closed off, or too concerned with ourselves to be open to the surprises of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives.

“We will never discover the special, personal calling that God has in mind for us if we remain enclosed in ourselves, in our usual way of doing things, in the apathy of those who fritter away their lives in their own little world,” he said. “We would lose the chance to dream big and to play our part in the unique and original story that God wants to write with us.”

Every Christian should grow in the ability to “read within” his or her life, stressed the pope, in order to understand how and in what way they are being called to share in the Lord’s mission.

The season of Lent gives us the opportunity to get closer to God and get a little closer to being the person God wants us to be. It’s up to us to find a way to hear him and use his guidance in building the Kingdom of God. Remember, after reading Bayou Catholic, pass it on to a friend or relative who might not be attending Mass. It’s one of the great ways to do your part in spreading the Good News! BC

Lawrence

Lawrence Chatagnier Editor & General Manager

Comment

Letter to the Editor:

You do the living ~

We do the rest.

Reader enjoys article/teaching on birth control pill I was delighted to read the history of contraception and the state of our world through the great article/teaching by Father Joseph Tregre (who is the medical ethicist for the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux and chaplain of Thibodaux Regional Medical Center) that appeared in the February 2019 issue of Bayou Catholic magazine. Please continue this subject matter by Father Tregre, as lay people want the truth and for our minds to be stretched about this subject.

Well done. Worth a second read.

Thanks, Beth Marcello Thibodaux, LA

Assisted Living Community

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

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

You’ll LOVE your new kitchen.

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

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

808 Barrow St. • Houma, LA 70360 March 2019 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 7

Comment

Lent: A season of asceticism

Bishop Shelton J. Fabre

The season of Lent is fast approaching, and Lent is a season of asceticism. Asceticism is the practice of intentional self-denial for the purpose of increasing self-control, spiritual awareness, and detachment from material things. The most ancient forms of asceticism are prayer, fasting and almsgiving. In Lent we are encouraged to live out the teaching of Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 6:1-18 in the middle of the sermon, Jesus stops to talk about three practical ways to live out his love.

Prayer is the lifting of the mind to God. Prayer also facilitates a conversation with God. Prayer as a form of asceticism is the disciplined work of setting aside time to lift the mind to God, or to have a conversation. It is work because of the many distractions that pull us away from prayer. Often we are our chief distraction from prayer.

Regardless of our many excuses, the greatest hindrance to prayer is that we just do not want to pray. In this “not wanting,” we find the major self-denial in prayer. Our will has to submit to God. The practice of prayer builds relationship and trust of the creator by the creature. If I go to pray, by the very nature of dialog, I present what I want and God does likewise. In a conversation, the other person talks back, and from time to time, they do not agree with me. The danger of prayer is that God may tell me what I do not want to hear. However, God also only says to us what is for our good.

Therefore, even if what God says to me is difficult, presuming I authentically understand him, whatever God says,

no matter how difficult, is good for me.

Prayer may very well be one of the most challenging experiences to our maturity, pride and self-control.

If prayer directly impacts our will, fasting directly challenges our appetites. Fasting is the practice of intentionally denying oneself the good of food for the purpose of building selfcontrol or the capacity to deny oneself apparent goods. Here in Louisiana, we live in one of the best places in the whole

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Fasting builds up one’s power to do things that are difficult and to endure through difficulties. It also has the hidden ability of being much less difficult if done well.

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Comfort For My People

world when it comes to food. Further, we live in one of the wealthiest and food rich nations earth has ever seen.

Denial of food seems almost counter intuitive. However, it is possible that the more we have, the more that we ought to practice self-control. Fasting builds up one’s power to do things that are difficult and to endure through difficulties. It also has the hidden ability of being much less difficult

8 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • March 2019

if done well. The customary form of fasting is to eat only one meal that can be supported by up to two light snacks.

Fasting can be planned in such a way that the person fasting has no access to food until the predetermined time for eating. Just don’t go into the place where the food is. If we try to deal with both the hunger and the temptation to break the fast, we will be overwhelmed; however, if we can deal with just one or the other, it is much more manageable.

Almsgiving in its simplest form is to give money to the poor. Like prayer and fasting, it challenges one of our fundamental attachments; almsgiving challenges our attachment to material things. Similar to our desire for food, attachment to our stuff comes easily.

If we want to know the scope of our attachment, think about how far we would be willing to walk away from our unattended and unlocked cellphone, car or house. Most human beings would dissolve into a puddle of total panic if we thought our most prized possessions were vulnerable. However, in reality we would probably do just fine without the things we are most attached to. Almsgiving has the power to remind us that material goods are transient, no matter how important they feel. It also has the added benefit of helping our brothers and sisters in need. The perpetual issue for the peoples of the Bible was how they treated the poor. Israel was sent into the exile because of how they treated the poor. God teaches over and over again that he has a particular care for the poor. Almsgiving has the power to teach us to love those who God loves the way he loves them.

Prayer, fasting and almsgiving are the three ways that Jesus taught us how to live in his Sermon on the Mount.

These three spiritual practices help us to build our self-control and selfdenial so that we can act according to the truth. They are trustworthy paths to become a better person and become closer to Jesus. Try them, or try them again, during this Lent! BC

Comentario

Cuaresma: Un tiempo de ascetismo directamente nuestros apetitos.

El ayuno es la práctica de negarse intencionalmente el bien de los alimentos con el propósito de desarrollar el autocontrol o la capacidad de negarse a sí mismo lo que deseamos.

Aquí en Louisiana, vivimos en uno de los mejores lugares del mundo cuando de comida se trata. Además, vivimos en una de las naciones más ricas y ricas en alimentos variados. La negación de la comida parece casi contraria a la

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El ayuno acumula el poder de hacer cosas que son difíciles y resistir a través de las dificultades.

También tiene la habilidad oculta de ser mucho menos difícil si se hace bien.

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El tiempo de Cuaresma se acerca rápidamente, y la Cuaresma es un tiempo de ascetismo. El ascetismo es la práctica de la abnegación intencional con el propósito de aumentar el autocontrol, la conciencia espiritual y el desapego de las cosas materiales.

Las formas más antiguas de ascetismo son la oración, el ayuno y la limosna.

En Cuaresma se nos anima a vivir la enseñanza de Jesús en su Sermón de la montaña. En Mateo 6: 1-18, en medio del sermón, Jesús se detiene a hablar sobre tres formas prácticas de vivir su amor.

La oración es elevar la mente a Dios.

Oración facilita una conversación con Dios. Oración es una forma de ascetismo, es un trabajo disciplinado de reservar un tiempo para elevar la mente a Dios, o para tener una conversación. Es trabajo por las muchas distracciones que nos alejan de la oración. Muchas veces somos nuestra principal distracción en la oración.

Independientemente de nuestras muchas excusas, el mayor obstáculo para la oración es que simplemente no queremos orar. En este “no querer”, encontramos la mayor abnegación en la oración. Nuestra voluntad tiene que someterse a Dios.

La práctica de la oración construye la relación y la confianza del creador por parte de la criatura. Si voy a orar, por un dialogo natural, presento lo que quiero y Dios hace lo mismo. En una conversación, la otra persona responde, y de vez en cuando, no están de acuerdo conmigo. El peligro de la oración es que Dios pueda decirme lo que no quiero escuchar. Sin embargo, Dios también nos dice lo que es para nuestro bien.

Por lo tanto, incluso si lo que Dios me dice es difícil, suponiendo que lo entiendo de manera auténtica, lo que Dios diga, no importa lo difícil que sea, es bueno para mí. La oración puede muy bien ser una de las experiencias más desafiantes para nuestra madurez, orgullo y autocontrol.

Si la oración afecta directamente nuestra voluntad, el ayuno desafía

intuición. Sin embargo, es posible que cuanto más tengamos, más debemos practicar el autocontrol. El ayuno acumula el poder de hacer cosas que son difíciles y resistir a través de las dificultades. También tiene la habilidad oculta de ser mucho menos difícil si se hace bien. La forma tradicional de ayunar es comer solo una comida y dos refrigerios ligeros. El ayuno puede planearse de tal manera que la persona que ayuna no busque los alimentos hasta el momento predeterminado para comer. Simplemente no vayas al lugar donde está la comida. Si intentamos

10 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • March 2019

lidiar tanto con el hambre como con la tentación de romper el ayuno, nos sentiremos abrumados; sin embargo, si podemos lidiar con uno u otro, es mucho más manejable.

La limosna en su forma más simple es dar dinero a los pobres. Como la oración y el ayuno, desafía uno de nuestros apegos fundamentales; la limosna desafía nuestro apego a las cosas materiales. Al igual que nuestro deseo de comer, el apego a nuestras cosas es fácil. Si queremos saber el alcance de nuestro apego, piense en lo lejos que estaríamos dispuestos a alejarnos de nuestro teléfono móvil, coche o casa desatendidos y desbloqueados.

La mayoría de los seres humanos se disolverían en un charco de pánico total si pensáramos que nuestras posesiones más preciadas eran vulnerables. Sin embargo, en realidad, probablemente lo haríamos bien sin las cosas a las que estamos más apegados.

Dar limosna tiene el poder de recordarnos que los bienes materiales son transitorios, no importa lo importante que se sientan. También tiene el beneficio adicional de ayudar a nuestros hermanos y hermanas necesitados. Uno de los temas importantes para los pueblos de la Biblia era cómo trataban a los pobres.

Israel fue enviado al exilio por la forma en que trataba a los pobres. Dios enseña una y otra vez que tiene un cuidado particular por los pobres. La limosna tiene el poder de enseñarnos a amar a aquellos a quienes Dios ama de la manera en que él los ama.

Oración, ayuno y limosna son las tres maneras en que Jesús nos enseñó a vivir en su Sermón de la Montaña.

Estas tres prácticas espirituales nos ayudan a construir nuestro autocontrol y abnegación para que podamos actuar de acuerdo a la verdad. Son caminos confiables para llegar a ser una mejor persona y acercarse a Jesús. Pruébalos, o vuelve a intentarlo, durante esta Cuaresma! BC

Binh luan bang loi

Mùa Chay: Mùa khổ hạnh ý chí của chúng ta, thì việc ăn chay trực tiếp thách đố sự thèm ăn uống của chúng ta. Ăn chay là thực hành sự tự nguyện hy sinh về những thực phẩm với mục đích xây dựng sự tự chủ hoặc khả năng từ bỏ chính mình bề ngoài. Tại Louisiana, chúng ta đang sống ở một trong những nơi tốt nhất trên toàn thế giới khi nói đến thực phẩm.

Hơn nữa, chúng ta đang sống ở một trong những quốc gia phồn thịnh và giàu có về thực phẩm nhất thế giới. Kiêng ăn xem ra có vẻ phản trực giác. Tuy nhiên, rất có thể

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Việc ăn chay xây dựng một sức mạnh của bản thân để làm những việc khó khăn và chịu đựng những khó khăn. Nó cũng có khả năng tiềm ẩn để trờ nên ít khó khăn hơn nhiều nếu được thực hiện tốt.

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Mùa Chay đang đến gần, và Mùa Chay là mùa của sự khổ hạnh. Chủ nghĩa khổ hạnh là thực hành sự tự nguyện hy sinh nhằm mục đích gia tăng sự tự chủ, nhận thức tâm linh và từ bỏ những vấn đề vật chất. Các hình thức khổ hạnh cổ xưa nhất là cầu nguyện, ăn chay và bố thí. Trong Mùa Chay, chúng ta được khuyến khích sống theo giáo huấn của Chúa Giêsu trong Bài giảng trên núi. Trong Tin mừng thánh Mátthêu 6:1-18, ở giữa bài giảng, Chúa Giêsu dừng lại để nói về ba cách thiết thực để sống hết tình yêu của mình.

Cầu nguyện là nâng tâm trí lên với Thiên Chúa. Cầu nguyện cũng tạo điều kiện cho một cuộc trò chuyện với Thiên Chúa. Cầu nguyện như một hình thức khổ hạnh, là công việc có kỷ luật dành thời gian để nâng tâm trí lên với Chúa hoặc để có một cuộc trò chuyện. Đó là công việc bởi vì có nhiều sự lo ra chia trí kéo chúng ta ra khỏi việc cầu nguyện. Thông thường, chúng ta lại là mối phân tâm chính trong việc cầu nguyện. Cho dù chúng ta có biện minh mấy đi nữa, nhưng trở ngại lớn nhất của việc cầu nguyện là chúng ta không muốn cầu nguyện. Trong việc “không muốn” này, chúng ta lại tìm thấy sự hy sinh chính trong việc cầu nguyện. Ý chí của chúng ta phải phục tùng Thiên Chúa. Việc thực hành cầu nguyện xây dựng mối quan hệ và niềm tin của con người với Đấng Tạo Hóa.

Nếu tôi cầu nguyện, theo bản chất của cuộc đối thoại, tôi trình bày những gì tôi muốn và Thiên Chúa cũng làm như vậy. Trong cuộc trò chuyện, người kia nói lại và thỉnh thoảng, họ không đồng ý với tôi. Điều nguy hiểm của sự cầu nguyện là Thiên Chúa có thể nói cho tôi biết những gì tôi không muốn nghe. Tuy nhiên, Thiên Chúa cũng chỉ nói với chúng ta những gì ích lợi cho chúng ta. Do đó, ngay cả khi những gì Thiên Chúa nói với tôi là khó khăn, giả sử tôi thực sự hiểu Ngài, bất kể Chúa nói gì, cho dù khó khăn đến đâu, cũng đều tốt cho tôi. Cầu nguyện rất có thể là một trong những kinh nghiệm thử thách nhất đối với sự trưởng thành, niềm tự hào và sự tự chủ của chúng ta.

Nếu cầu nguyện tác động trực tiếp đến

là chúng ta càng có nhiều, chúng ta càng phải thực hành sự tự chủ. Việc ăn chay xây dựng một sức mạnh của bản thân để làm những việc khó khăn và chịu đựng những khó khăn. Nó cũng có khả năng tiềm ẩn để trờ nên ít khó khăn hơn nhiều nếu được thực hiện tốt. Hình thức ăn chay thông thường là chỉ ăn một bữa no và hai bữa ăn nhẹ trong ngày. Việc ăn chay có thể được lên kế hoạch theo cách mà người ăn chay không được đụng tới đồ ăn cho đến thời gian cho phép được ăn. Chỉ cần đừng đi vào nơi nào có thức ăn. Nếu chúng ta cố gắng đối phó với cả cơn đói và sự cám dỗ nhằm phá chay, chúng ta sẽ bị choáng

váng; tuy nhiên, nếu chúng ta có thể giải quyết chỉ bằng cái này hay cái khác, nó sẽ dễ thực hành hơn nhiều.

Việc bố thí dưới hình thức đơn giản nhất là giúp tiền cho người nghèo. Giống như cầu nguyện và ăn chay, nó thách đố một trong những sự dính bén cơ bản của chúng ta; bố thí thách thức sự dính bén của chúng ta với những thứ vật chất. Tương tự như ao ước của chúng ta đối với thực phẩm, sự dính bén với vật chất của chúng ta đến một cách dễ dàng. Nếu chúng ta muốn biết thước đo của sự dính bén của mình, thì hãy nghĩ về việc chúng ta sẵn sàng rời bỏ cái điện thoại di động, xe hơi hoặc căn nhà không khóa của chúng ta được bao lâu.

Hầu hết con người sẽ tan rã thành một mớ hoảng loạn hoàn toàn nếu chúng ta nghĩ rằng tài sản quý giá nhất của chúng ta có thể bị tổn thương. Tuy nhiên, trong thực tế có lẽ chúng ta sẽ làm tốt nếu không có những thứ chúng ta gắn bó nhất. Việc bố thí có khả năng nhắc nhở chúng ta rằng của cải vật chất là tạm thời chóng qua, bất kể chúng cảm thấy quan trọng như thế nào.

Nó cũng có thêm lợi ích cho việc giúp đỡ các anh chị em của chúng ta đang bị thiếu thốn. Vấn đề muôn thuở đối với các dân tộc trong Kinh thánh là cách họ đối xử với người nghèo. Ít-ra-en bị đem đi lưu đày vì cách họ đối xử với người nghèo. Thiên Chúa dạy đi dạy lại rằng Ngài có sự quan tâm đặc biệt đối với người nghèo. Việc bố thí có khả năng dạy chúng ta yêu mến những người mà Chúa yêu thương theo cách mà Ngài yêu thương họ.

Cầu nguyện, ăn chay và bố thí là ba phương cách mà Chúa Giêsu dạy chúng ta sống trong Bài giảng của Ngài trên Núi. Ba việc thực hành thiêng liêng này giúp chúng ta xây dựng sự tự chủ và hy sinh để chúng ta có thể hành động theo sự thật. Chúng là những con đường đáng tin cậy để trở thành một người tốt hơn và trở nên gần gũi với Chúa Giêsu hơn. Hãy thử mà xem, hoặc hãy thử lại chúng trong suốt Mùa Chay này!

Dịch thuật do Lm. Francis Bui, SDD và Thầy Paul Vu, SDD. Tu Đoàn Tông Đồ Giáo Sĩ Nhà Chúa BC

March 2019 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 11

Comment

Pope Francis: ‘Inequality is disastrous for the future of humanity’ The Pope Speaks

Vatican City, (CNA/EWTN News) Pope Francis spoke out about inequality, the environment, sustainable development and the elimination of poverty during his visit to the United Nations’ agricultural development agency in Rome recently.

“Few have too much and too many have little, this is the logic of today.

Many have no food and go adrift, while a few drown in the superfluous,” Pope Francis told staff members of the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development, or IFAD. “This perverse current of inequality is disastrous for the future of humanity,” he said.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development is specialized agency of the United Nations based in Rome and dedicated to improving rural food security and fighting poverty through grants and low-interest loans to rural farmers and indigenous peoples around the world.

“The poorest of the earth” are people who live mostly “in rural areas, in regions far from big cities, often in difficult and painful conditions,” Pope Francis said.

“They live in precarious situations: the air is stale, the natural resources are depleted, the rivers polluted, the soils acidified; they do not have enough water for themselves or their crops; their sanitary infrastructures are very deficient, their houses scarce and defective,” he said.

Francis added, “the exodus from the countryside to the city is a global trend that we cannot ignore in our considerations.”

Three quarters of the poorest people in the world live in rural areas, according to IFAD, which has a particular focus on supporting indigenous communities in their traditional food systems and livelihoods.

After his formal UN address, the pope met with delegates from 31 different indigenous peoples from America, Africa, Asia and the Pacific region.

“The presence of all of you here shows that environmental issues are extremely important and invites us to once again look at our planet, hurt in many regions by human greed, by warlike conflicts that engender a wealth of evils and misfortunes, as well as for the natural catastrophes that leave in their wake poverty and devastation,” the pope said in Spanish.

“Native peoples … become for everyone a wake-up call that emphasizes that man is not the owner of nature, but only the manager, the one that has as vocation to watch over it with care, so that its biodiversity is not lost, and the water can remain healthy and crystal clear, the air pure, the forests leafy, and the soil fertile,” he continued.

“The earth suffers and the native peoples know of the dialogue with the earth, they know what it is to listen to the earth, to see the earth, to touch the earth. They know the art of living well in harmony with the earth. And we

12 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • March 2019

have to learn that,” he continued.

Pope Francis warned the UN agency of the danger posed by a humanitarian aid culture that “can end up generating dependencies” and hinder development.

Instead, he asserted, “The aim is always to affirm the centrality of the human person, remembering that the new processes that are being developed cannot always be incorporated into schemes established from the outside, but must start from the same culture.”

Pope Francis also acknowledged the potential of technology and sustainable development to aid the poor in meeting their daily needs.

“It is necessary to bet on innovation, entrepreneurial capacity, the protagonism of local actors and the efficiency of productive processes to achieve rural transformation in order to eradicate malnutrition and to develop in a sustainable way the rural environment,” he said.

“Put technology really at the service of the poor,” Pope Francis said, and exhorted the IFAD staff to always utilize the creative power of love.

“Those who love have the imagination to find solutions where others only see problems. Those who love help others according to their needs and creativity, not according to pre-established ideas or common places … love leads you to create, it is always ahead.” BC

Comment

Questions of Faith Father Joshua Rodrigue

Forty days of Lent?

Why does Lent last 40 days?

As we enter the season of Lent, we are reminded through the liturgy, especially by the popular Lenten hymns we sing, about “these forty days of Lent.” Let us take two approaches to understand Lent being 40 days: The symbolic and linguistic.

The Symbolism of 40 In the Scriptures, we read in various passages of experiences involving the number 40 and a length of time, which are characterized by a period of change, transition and transformation. For us, too, Lent becomes a period of change, transition and transformation by God’s grace into the Christian disciple the Lord is calling us to be.

In the Old Testament, 40 days and 40 nights of rain caused the great flood (Genesis 6-9) where the sinful world is destroyed and a new begins. The people of Israel also experience the importance of the number 40 in their own journey from slavery to freedom. They wander in the desert for 40 years and solidify their identity as God’s chosen people.

Moses experiences a transformation when he went on Mount Sinai (Exodus 24:18) and stayed for 40 days and 40 nights while receiving instructions from the Lord. Likewise, Elijah (1 Kings 19:8) walked 40 days and 40 nights to Mount Horeb before he encountered God. Before David killed Goliath, the Philistine came forward and took his stand morning and evening for 40 days (1 Samuel 17:16). Finally, the great city of Nineveh repented through fasting after the prophet Jonah warned that it would be destroyed in 40 days (Jonah 3:4-5).

In the New Testament, 40 days after his birth, Jesus is presented in the Temple and is revealed as a light to the nations and the glory of Israel.

After his baptism, Jesus goes to the desert for 40 days and 40 nights where he prayed, fasted, and was tempted before beginning his ministry. For us, the 40 days of Jesus in the desert is the impetus to celebrate the 40 days of Lent with prayer and fasting also, uniting ourselves more closely with Christ. Finally, 40 days after his resurrection, Jesus ascends to the Father before sending the Holy Spirit upon the apostles.

The Language of 40 The linguistic origin for Lent helps us to understand also the reason for the 40 days. The word Lent comes from the Old English lencten (lengthen), which refers to the lengthening of the daylight hours as spring approaches, and is used to translate the more significant Latin term quadragesima, meaning the forty days, or more literally the fortieth day. Lent in French (carême), Italian (quaresima), and Spanish (cuaresma) is derived from the Latin and better conveys the notion of 40 days.

From its beginnings, Lent was always 40 days. From 300-450 A.D., it began on the first Sunday of Lent and meant 40 consecutive days of intense living of the Christian life in all aspects—prayers, vigils, almsgiving, works of mercy, fasting—in spiritual preparation before the Triduum (the three days).

From 450-1969 A.D., the 40 days and the Triduum were recalculated. Lent now began on Ash Wednesday, did not include the Sundays of Lent (some

people today still do not count Sundays and allow for a “cheat day” to indulge in things they have given up for Lent), and ended with the 40th day on Holy Saturday.

With the liturgical reform in 1969 to the present, the church returned to the first stage of Lent and the Triduum but now included the days leading up to the first Sunday of Lent. Lent now begins on Ash Wednesday, includes the Sundays of Lent (bye-bye to the “cheat days”), and ends with the beginning of Mass on Holy Thursday. While we still sing hymns about the 40 days of Lent, the season is actually now 44 days instead of 40. Unfortunately, with this recalculation of the days of Lent, we lose the symbolic sense of the original 40 days.

While Lent is technically 44 days, the season itself is focused upon the characteristics and journey of the symbolic 40 days. Plus, try singing, “these forty-four days of Lent, O Lord.”

It just doesn’t sound right. Whether it is 40 days or 44 days, the hope and purpose remain the same: That this period of change and conversion ends with a renewed commitment to Christ.

Plus, four extra days of our Lenten practices might be just what’s needed to complete that journey. BC

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

March 2019 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 13

Reflections

Reading the Lenten First Reading from ‘Covenant to Covenant’ Readings Between the Lines Father Glenn LeCompte

On Lenten Sundays “The Old Testament readings are about the history of salvation, which is one of the themes proper to the catechesis of Lent. The series of texts for each Year presents the main elements of salvation history from its beginning until the promise of the New Covenant” (General Introduction to the Lectionary No. 97).

The Lenten arrangement of the first reading differs from that of Ordinary Time, wherein the first readings are chosen to correspond to the Gospel reading of the day. In this article I will consider how the Old Testament readings for Lenten Sundays 1-5 of this year’s liturgical cycle (“C”) unfold the history of salvation.

Deuteronomy 26:4-10. Deuteronomy consists of legal codes which probably date to the 8th-7th centuries B.C. They have been compiled and edited into a book which depicts Moses delivering them in the form of speeches given just prior to the people’s entry into the Promised Land. This passage deals with a ritual whereby “first fruits of the products of the soil.” The ritual of offering first fruits is accompanied by a story that explains how Israel got to this land whose produce is bountiful.

The people are in the land now because their ancestors, who journeyed to Egypt but were oppressed by the Egyptians, were rescued by divine power and led to this land which now provides for them in abundance. They would not be where they are without God’s deliverance of them, therefore, it is appropriate that they offer back to

God the best of the crop in recognition of their dependence upon God. Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18.

The dependence upon God reflected in the passage above from Deuteronomy also runs through the Yahwist account (the Priestly version of the covenant appears in Genesis 17:1-14) of the Lord’s covenant with Abram. In Genesis 12:1-3 God sent Abram forth from Ur of the Chaldeans to a land where God promises his descendants will flourish and will be a source of blessing for all peoples of the earth. By chapter 15, however, Abram and his sterile wife, Sarai, still have no children. God promises to bless Abram with material abundance and possession of the land upon which he now dwells. But Abram, who still is without offspring questions God as to how this will happen. With regard to descendants, God intensifies the promise: your descendants will be as the stars of the sky. Abram, for his part, puts faith in God. Concerning the promise of land, God reassures Abram through a covenant ritual. God binds himself and Abram in a sacred pact, and Abram trusts.

Exodus 3:1-8a, 13-15. At this point in the story of the Pentateuch God has made good on his promise to give Abraham progeny and multiply them.

However, as a race they have fallen into disfavor with the Egyptians who have initiated a program of genocide.

Moses, who is a Hebrew, has fled Egypt and resides in Midian far from the danger. In order to maintain the promise to Abraham God initiated with him, the Lord must rescue the

14 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • March 2019

children of Abraham from their plight in Egypt. Hence, he calls Moses to act as a human agent for their deliverance.

God is imaged as a burning bush when he addresses Moses; fire is commonly used in the Old Testament as a veiled depiction of God, for humans cannot have a direct experience of the divine lest they die. God is moved to help Abraham’s descendants because of his solidarity with the afflicted, who in the Exodus story are the children of Israel. God’s presentation of himself to Moses as “the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” provides a second motive for God’s action, in that God will rescue the people in order to be true to his promises to the patriarchs. The end of Egyptian oppression is recounted at the Easter Vigil, in Exodus 14:15—15:1, which describes the Israelites’ crossing of the Sea of Reeds and the demise of the Egyptians.

Joshua 5:9a, 10-12. The Lectionary passage begins with the statement that “today” (a favorite word for the Deuteronomistic Historian who authored this passage) God has removed from the Israelites “the reproach of Egypt,” a phrase whose meaning is uncertain. Nevertheless, this episode from Joshua, connects to the previous week’s first reading in a couple of ways.

First there is the mention of Egypt, from which Moses was to deliver Israel as God’s chosen agent. Secondly with Moses now dead Joshua has succeeded Moses as the people’s leader and led them to an encampment at Gilgal, just west of the Jordan River. In other words, they are now in the

a

Reflections

Promised Land. Of course in the story much has happened to bring them to this point, but the theological connective between the Exodus reading above and this one is God’s fidelity and protective care. In his conversation with Moses God promised both to deliver the people from oppression and lead them to “a land flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:8). Their presence at Gilgal confirms God’s faithfulness and success.

The people are said to celebrate Passover, which was an ancient nomadic feast that at a much later time became associated with the Exodus. By depicting the people as doing so, the Deuteronomistic Historian portrays the people as faithful to the covenant. The inclusion of a passage that mentions Passover also anticipates Jesus’ celebration and transformation of a Passover meal with his disciples into a celebration of the paschal mystery.

Isaiah 43:16-21. This passage from a disciple of Isaiah of Jerusalem at a

time when the end of the Babylonian Exile is in view recalls the Exodus, to which allusion was made in the two previous passages, and applies its deliverance theology to a new age.

“Remember not the events of the past” (43:18) may be God’s address of Israel’s doubt about the Lord’s will and ability to rescue them from Exile. They perhaps complained that God delivered their ancestors by means of the Exodus event, but wondered about the Lord’s intentions toward their own situation.

In response, God declares that he is about to effect a new act of salvation for his people. God will remove all obstacles to his people’s return to their land. Why will God do this? God will do so in order that his people will extol his name among the nations and thereby its dignity will be restored.

From these readings we see that God establishes a covenant bond with his people and always remains faithful to it. When the maintenance of the

relationship between God and the people is threatened, God acts with might to secure it. Jesus establishes a “New Covenant” by overcoming the power of sin to sever that relationship.

BC

Reflection Questions v What is the history of God’s salvation of you as that story relates to universal salvation? v How have you experienced tension in the covenant relationship with God a) as an individual, and b) as a member of God’s people? v Rituals which reflect the people’s response to God’s covenant fidelity are depicted in several of the readings above. What rituals do we have today to do so? Do you have any personal rituals in this regard?

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March 2019 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 15

ScriptureReadings and a listing of Feast days and saints

Monday

4

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

7

Friday

1 March

8

2

Saturday

Weekday Sirach 17:1-15 Mark 10:13-16

Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Sirach 27:4-7 1 Corinthians 15:54-58 Luke 6:39-45

9

10

Weekday Sirach 17:20-24 Mark 10:17-27

5

Weekday Sirach 35:1-12 Mark 10:28-31

6

Ash Wednesday: Day of Fast and Abstinence Joel 2:12-18 2 Corinthians 5:20—6:2 Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

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

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

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

11

12

13

14

15

16

Lenten Weekday Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18 Matthew 25:31-46

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

Lenten Weekday Jonah 3:1-10 Luke 11:29-32

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

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

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

18

19

20

21

Lenten Weekday Lenten Weekday Jeremiah 18:18-20 Jeremiah 17:5-10 Matthew 20:17-28 Luke 16:19-31

22

Lenten Weekday Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46

23

Lenten Weekday Micah 7:14-15, 18-20 Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

27

28

29

30

Lenten Weekday Daniel 9:4b-10 Luke 6:36-38

25

Solemnity of St. Joseph, spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary 2 Samuel 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16 Romans 4:13, 1618, 22 Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24a

26

The Annunciation of Lenten Weekday the Lord Daniel 3:25, 34-43 Isaiah 7:10-14; Matthew 18:21-35 8:10 Hebrews 10:4-10 Luke 1:26-38

Lenten Weekday Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9 Matthew 5:17-19

16 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • March 2019

Lenten Weekday Jeremiah 7:23-28 Luke 11:14-23

Lenten Weekday Hosea 14:2-10 Mark 12:28-34

3

Sunday

First Sunday of Lent Deuteronomy 26:410 Romans 10:8-13 Luke 4:1-13

17

Second Sunday of Lent Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18 Philippians 3:17— 4:1 Luke 9:28b-36

24

Third Sunday of Lent Exodus 3:1-8a, 13-15 1 Corinthians 10:16, 10-12 Luke 13:1-9

31

March

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Laity in Action

Gayle Domangue

Annunziata parishioner values the importance of community in ministry Story by Janet Marcel ~ Photo by Lawrence Chatagnier Gayle Domangue, a parishioner of Annunziata Church parish in Houma since 1979, says she first started getting involved with parish ministry in 1983 when she saw a need for a Children’s Liturgy program. She spoke to the pastor at the time and together they started a program for the 9 a.m.

Mass. That program, which she says was in place for 20 years, was one of her favorites to work with.

Domangue currently serves as the parish’s RCIA coordinator, is a threeyear member of the pastoral council, and is a member of the parish’s strategic planning implementation team.

“There are occurrences in life that bring you to the church,” says Domangue regarding becoming involved in parish ministry. “Sometimes bad things happen that can either bring you closer to God or can take you

18 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • March 2019

away from God; and I chose to go toward God.” Domangue says she has been working with the RCIA program for over 10 years. She helped (the late) Sister Paula Richard, O.P., for many years.

She says Sister Paula began training her to be the RCIA coordinator even before she realized what was happening. “Sister Paula was so amazing; you could ask her about anything

a

Laity in Action

“

I get to meet new people who become part of our community.

We have such a strong, faith-filled, diverse community; almost everyone knows each other. It’s just amazing to be a part of.

Community is very important here.

“

and she knew the answer. She didn’t have a blueprint, she just had it all in her mind. When she got sick, that was a very challenging time for me, because she asked me to take over for her.”

Sister Paula died in November 2012, and armed with the knowledge Domangue had received from her mentor, along with the help and support of Father Mike Tran, pastor since June 2013, and what she has been able to add to it, Domangue believes it’s a good program.

Being the RCIA coordinator is one of the most rewarding positions she’s had, says Domangue, because she gets to bring new parishioners in and teach them about the world of Catholicism.

“I’m a cradle Catholic, but when you start teaching other people about the Catholic faith, you learn something new every day. One thing the candidates enjoy is walking through the church and being shown what everything is, where it is and why it’s there.

I’m basically just walking their journey with them. I get to meet new people who become part of our community. We have such a strong, faith-filled, diverse community; almost everyone knows each other. It’s just amazing to be a part of. Community is very important here.”

As a member of the pastoral council, Domangue attends meetings and helps the pastor make decisions. “The meet-

ings are a great opportunity for Father Mike to verbalize his desires and what he wants to do and get acknowledgement or get feedback and ideas from others. We can also tell him what we’ve been hearing from the congregation about different topics,” she says.

Annunziata has a mixture of old and young parishioners; and that’s a good thing, says Domangue, because it takes the whole community to keep the church alive.

The members of the parish’s strategic planning implementation team, call themselves the “pit crew,” says Domangue. “We are the group that did the parish census to find out what the church needs, what it is already doing well, what it needs to change or get rid of, and we presented those findings to Father Mike. We have also been working on the parish’s milestones, priorities and smart goals so that we can finish our parish strategic plan,” says Domangue, who feels as though the parish’s greatest need is in the area of faith formation.

“What I would like to see come out of this process is for everyone to realize the value and opportunities that the church brings to them. Once you involve yourself in the church, you get so much more out of it than you give.

Even though I work full-time, I am still very involved, and I personally just get so much more out of it than what I put into it. I don’t get paid to do this; I do it because I want to make the church a better place.”

Domangue says they have a good group of people working on their strategic plan who are all very faith-filled and devoted.

In addition to being involved in leadership roles in the parish, Domangue also enjoys participating in various study groups such as the Why We Believe video series, Come! Lord Jesus, and The Biggest Lie in Christianity book series being presented by the pastor. “I just have a thirst for learning - I do the extra things to learn more about the church and my faith. But all of it brings you closer to God and that’s ultimately what I want to do.”

She and her husband Darryl have been married for 41 and a half years.

They have two children, Kimberly, 33; and Alicia, 28. BC

March 2019 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 19

Youth

in action Kate Olin School: Thibodaux High School Grade: 11th Church parish: St. Bridget, Schriever Describe your family unit: Lori, mother; Mark, father; Clare, Traci and Beth, siblings Favorite Hobby: Dancing Favorite Movie: I Can Only Imagine Favorite Genre of Music: Contemporary Christian and pop

In what ways do you continue to grow in your faith?

There are many ways that I continue to grow in my faith. There are the regular things I do like attending weekly Mass and helping out at church events. Then, there are the special retreats/conferences that the diocese offers young people that have a great effect on me. I have attended events such as CLI, Steubenville on the Bayou, and Abbey Fest. These events have enabled me to meet other teens who feel the way I do. I have also met priests and youth leaders who have helped me to understand what God wants from me as my relationship with him continues to grow.

Another way that helps my faith become stronger is through volunteering at my church. I have been an altar server for many years. By helping the priest and serving God at Mass, my faith has grown. Volunteering for church events and fundraisers has helped me to get to know other people, both young and old, who have become my church family. My church community and my relationships with them have a large part in strengthening my faith. Recently, I offered to help with Children’s Liturgy at St. Bridget.

I am excited for the opportunity to help young children learn about their

20 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • March 2019

Catholic faith, and I know this ministry will help me grow in mine.

Probably, my favorite way to strengthen my faith is through adoration. I try to make an effort to attend as often as I can. Knowing that it is just me and the Lord, gives me a feeling of freedom and comfort that is hard to explain. Reconciliation also gives me this same feeling.

Whether I’m riding in the car listening to K-LOVE with my parents or silently attending adoration, I am always finding ways to continue to grow in my faith. BC

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

A seminarian burse/endowment fund is an invested sum of money where the interest is used in perpetuity to help fund the education of men to the priesthood in the Diocese of HoumaThibodaux.

How does someone establish a seminarian burse/endowment fund?

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

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

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

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

Completed Burses and CFSL Named Endowment Funds

January 2019 Burse Contributions

Note: Numbers stipulate the amount of completed burses.*

Anonymous Mr. & Mrs. C. Thomas Bienvenu Harry Booker Bishop Warren L. Boudreaux (3)* Mr. Eledier Broussard Rev. Adrian J. Caillouet Rev. James Louis Caillouet Bishop L. Abel Caillouet Judge & Mrs. L.P. Caillouet Msgr. Lucien J. Caillouet Abdon J. & Ada B. Callais Harold & Gloria Callais Family Paul A. Callais Peter W. Callais Vincent & Fannie Cannata Minor Sr. & Lou Ella Cheramie Maude & Edith Daspit Mr. & Mrs. Caliste Duplantis family (3)* Clay Sr. & Evelida Duplantis C. Remie Duplantis Marie Elise Duplantis Warren J. Harang Jr.

Msgr. Raphael C. Labit Msgr. Francis J. Legendre Rev. Charles Menard Dr. & Mrs. M.V. Marmande & Family Donald Peltier Sr. (3)* Harvey Peltier (30)* Richard Peltier The Peltier Foundation (5) Orleans & Louella Pitre Msgr. Joseph Wester Robert R. Wright Jr. Rev. Kermit Trahan St. Bernadette Men’s Club Diocesan Knights of Columbus Leighton Delahaye Mrs. Shirley Conrad Bishop Shelton J. Fabre Elizabeth Hebert Callais Family Fund Rev. Joseph Tu Tran Society of St. Joseph Endowment Fund - $119,136.90

James J Buquet Jr Julius & Marie Pauline St. Amant Elie & Dot Klingman Bishop Sam Jacobs Endowment-$32,840.43 Giardina Family Foundation Sem. Endowment-$4,337.62 James J. Buquet, Jr. Family Sem. Endowment-$27,979.95 Diocesan Seminarian Endowment-$3,502,699.11 Mary and Al Danos Foundation Sem. Endowment-$38,621.30 Msgr. Amedee Sem. Endowment-$314,838.43 The Peltier Foundation-$14,482.97 Leo & Ethel Hebert Jane and John Dean Sidney J. & Lydie C. Duplantis Msgr. Stanislaus Manikowski

Mr. & Mrs. George C. Fakier................$300.00 Anawin Community...................................$500.00 Msgr. Stanislaus Manikowski......$13,475.00 Msgr. William Koninkx .............................$300.00 Deacon Willie Orgeron............................$100.00 Jacob Marcello...............................................$200.00 Joseph Waitz Sr.............................................$900.00 Preston & Gladys Webre..........................300.00

Open Burses with Balance as of January 31, 2019 Donald Peltier Sr. No. 4 ................................$13,000.00 Joseph Strada Memorial ..............................$12,642.63 Msgr. Raphael C. Labit No. 2 ....................$11,440.00 Joseph Waitz Sr. ..............................................$11,000.00 Claude & Lucy Mahler Family ....................$10,900.00 Mr. & Mrs. George C. Fakier .......................$10,700.00 Harvey Peltier No. 31 ....................................$10,486.91 Clay Sr. & Evelida Duplantis No. 2 ...........$10,000.00 C. Remie Duplantis No. 2 .............................$10,000.00 Marie Elise Duplantis No. 2 ........................$10,000.00 Maude & Edith Daspit No. 2 ......................$10,000.00 Msgr. George A. Landry ...............................$10,000.00 Msgr. William Koninkx .....................................$7,700.00 Society of St. Joseph .......................................$7,500.00 Rev. Victor Toth ..................................................$7,000.00 Catholic Daughters ............................................$6,800.00 Brides of the Most Blessed Trinity ..............$6,598.00 Rev. Gerard Hayes .............................................$6,286.00 Rev. Peter Nies ....................................................$6,000.00 Rev. Guy Zeringue .............................................$6,000.00 Msgr. Francis Amedee .....................................$5,350.00 Mr. & Mrs. Love W. Pellegrin ........................$5,000.00 Anonymous No. 2 ..............................................$5,000.00 Mr. & Mrs. Caliste Duplantis Family No. 4 ...$5,000.00 Rev. William M. Fleming .................................$5,000.00 Mrs. Ayres A. Champagne ..............................$5,000.00 Rev. Kasimir Chmielewski ...............................$4,839.00 Joseph “Jay” Fertitta ..........................................$4,450.00 Rev. Henry Naquin ............................................$4,311.00

Anawin Community ..........................................$4,200.00 Harry Booker No. 2 ...........................................$4,138.00 Msgr. James Songy ...........................................$4,075.00 Kelly Curole Frazier ............................................$3,610.96 Mr. & Mrs. John Marmande ..........................$3,500.00 J. R. Occhipinti .....................................................$3,400.00 Mr. & Mrs. Galip Jacobs ..................................$3,060.00 St. Jude ...................................................................$3,000.00 Diocesan Knights of Columbus No. 2 .......$2,894.62 Warren J. Harang Jr. No. 2 .............................$2,700.00 Preston & Gladys Webre ................................$2,650.00 Rev. Peter H. Brewerton ..................................$2,600.00 Willie & Emelda St. Pierre ..............................$2,000.00 Rev. John Gallen .................................................$1,950.00 Rev. H.C. Paul Daigle ........................................$1,900.00 Deacon Connely Duplantis ............................$1,700.00 Alfrances P. Martin ............................................$1,650.00 Msgr. Francis J. Legendre No. 2 ...................$1,645.00 Rev. Robert J. Sevigny ......................................$1,600.00 Jacob Marcello ....................................................$1,600.00 Rev. Hubert C. Broussard ................................$1,550.00 Judge Louis & Shirley R. Watkins ...............$1,550.00 Msgr. Emile J. Fossier .......................................$1,545.00 Ronnie Haydel .....................................................$1,535.00 Dr. William Barletta Sr. .....................................$1,525.00 Deacon Robert Dusse’ .....................................$1,450.00 Rev. Anthony Rousso .......................................$1,250.00 Msgr. John L. Newfield ....................................$1,200.00 Rev. Joseph Tu Tran No. 2 ..............................$1,094.00

Msgr. John G. Keller ..........................................$1,050.00 Rev. Clemens Schneider ..................................$1,000.00 Bishop Warren L. Boudreaux No. 4 .............$1,000.00 Edna W. DiSalvo .................................................$1,000.00 Bernice Harang ...................................................... $900.00 Deacon Willie Orgeron ....................................... $900.00 Ruby Pierce ............................................................... $800.00 Deacon Roland Dufrene .................................... $750.00 Juliette & Eugene Wallace ................................ $700.00 Deacon Edward J. Blanchard ............................ $700.00 Deacon Raymond LeBouef ............................... $550.00 Paul & Laura Duet ............................................... $550.00 Mr. & Mrs. Anthony Cannata ........................... $500.00 Robert Walsh .......................................................... $500.00 Dean Joseph Chiasson ........................................ $500.00 Anne Veron Aguirre ............................................. $380.00 Deacon Harold Kurtz ........................................... $300.00 Richard Peltier No. 2 ............................................ $300.00 Claude Bergeron ................................................... $250.00 Rev. Michael Finnegan ........................................ $200.00 Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Naquin ................................. $150.00 Deacon Pedro Pujals ........................................... $100.00 Rev. Warren Chassaniol ...................................... $100.00 Deacon Eldon Frazier .............................................$50.00 Deacon Nick Messina .............................................$50.00 Grant J. Louviere .......................................................$50.00

Overall Seminarian Burses Total: $1,746,543.02 ~ CFSL Seminarian Endowments Total: $3,870,298.02 March 2019 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 21

Heavenly Recipes

Brad Blanchard

Brad Cooks a: CHICKEN AND SAUSAGE

JAMBALAYA Story and Photos by Lawrence Chatagnier

This month’s heavenly recipe, chicken and sausage jambalaya, comes from Bayou Black native Brad Blanchard.

It’s his favorite recipe. “I love to cook and I especially love to cook this jambalaya. I get a good response from people who eat it.” Brad says that these days he does almost all of the cooking at home for his wife Kristi and their children Patrick and Shelby.

Brad, a former pipefitter and pipefitter leader man, works in the planning office at Gulf Island Shipyards in Houma where they build river tugs and are currently working on a research vessel for Oregon State University.

Brad says that he and his sister learned to cook at the same time. He jokingly says that his mother went on strike for a month. “My mom refused to cook for a month. She told us that if we wanted something to eat we had better fix it ourselves.”

He now cooks at least twice a month at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Bayou Black. “I cook mostly tacos, roasts, jambalaya, fried fish and fried shrimp. I also co-teach third, sixth and seventh grade religion classes. In 2013, I chaperoned for the Junior High Faith Experience. At first my son was apprehensive that I was going to be there. He had a blast at the event and told me that evening he was glad I was there. From that moment on I have been involved as much as possible. Teaching religion is something I started when my children started religion classes. My faith experience has quadrupled since my kids are part of the religion classes.” In addition to teaching religion, Brad serves on the church’s pastoral council as president.

Brad is also active in the Bayou Black community where he has been a volunteer firefighter for the past 16 years. “My late grandfather, my father, and my son are also all volunteer firefighters for the Bayou Black Fire Department.

I guess you could say it’s a family tradition.” BC 22 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • March 2019

INGREDIENTS: 12 oz. package of pork bacon 3 lbs. sausage 1–2 chickens, cooked and deboned (rotisserie from Wal-Mart is great) 4 lbs. yellow onions, diced or sliced to 1/4 inch or smaller 1-1/2 lbs. seasoning blend (same way as above) 2 tbsp. Tony Chachere’s 1 tbsp. black pepper 1 tbsp. salt 1 tbsp. parsley 3 lbs. parboiled rice 2 tbsp. Kitchen Boquet

DIRECTIONS: PREP Cut bacon in 1 inch strips Dice vegetables if not already done Debone chicken. Boil bones and skin in stock pot with 100-110oz. water; some will evaporate.

Cut sausage in half long ways then in 1/2 inch slices COOK Sautee bacon until almost crispy. Add onions and seasoning blend, and cook on medium fire (5 on electric stove) till vegetables are dark brown (not quite dark chocolate but more than milk chocolate). Add meat and stir in for about five minutes. Add chicken stock and dry seasonings. Bring back to a low boil.

Lower fire by 50 percent and let simmer for about 20 minutes (allows flavors to blend together). Add rice. Fold it in making sure everything is not clumped together. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Open lid, fold and check water content and rice texture.

If rice is near cooked, leave lid off to dry out excess moisture. If rice is still kind of hard, cover and check in five minute intervals for texture. It is ok if it is still very moist but there is no standing water. It will absorb and evaporate more with pot lid off as it cools. If you leave the lid totally covered the rice will continue to cook possibly too much and give you mushy rice. Fluff and enjoy. Serves 20.

The collection will be held March 30-31, 2019 Thank you for your generosity.

Special

Outstanding Students of the Year 2019 Story by Janet Marcel Outstanding fifth, eighth and 12th grade non-public school students from within the Diocese of HoumaThibodaux were recently chosen to represent their schools as 2019 Students of the Year.

The Students of the Year Awards program recognizes outstanding elementary, middle/junior high and high school students who have demonstrated excellent academic achievement, leadership ability and citizenship in their school and community.

The program is sponsored by the Louisiana State Superintendent through the State Department of Education and the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. Every public and approved nonpublic school in the state with students enrolled in fifth, eighth and 12th grade is invited to submit nominees.

All 12 Catholic schools in the diocese and Houma Christian School participated in this year’s awards program, which resulted in 22 students from the three grade levels competing at the district level. Three candidates from schools within the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux were selected to represent Region VI – Nonpublic Schools – in the regional competition.

Fifth grader, Matthew Plaisance, son of Scott and Erin Plaisance, St. Joseph Catholic Elementary School, Thibodaux; eighth grader, Ashley Green, daughter of Todd and Paula Green, Houma Christian School; and 12th grader, Jacob Duplantis, son of David and Mary Duplantis, E.D. White Catholic High School, Thibodaux; competed in the regional screening in Baton Rouge. The regional interviewing committee is made up of individuals from across the state.

Winners at the regional level will participate in the state competition April 9-10.

In addition to the district winners, students selected to represent their school in district competition are as follows.

Fifth Graders Claire Arabie, daughter of Garrett and Jill Arabie, Holy Rosary Catholic School, Larose; Emma Bergeron, daughter of Rodney and Michelle Bergeron, Houma Christian School; Sophie Douglas, daughter of Claire and Travis Douglas, Holy Savior Catholic School, Lockport; Nyla Falgout, daughter of Matthew and Denise Falgout, St. Gregory Catholic School, Houma; Ella Grace Luminais, daughter of Jill and Mike Luminais, St. Mary’s Nativity School, Raceland; Azriel Malancon, daughter of Laquita and LaShanta Malancon, Maria Immacolata Catholic School, 24 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • March 2019

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Claire Arabie

Cameron Badeaux

Emma Bergeron

Corinne Boudreaux

Sophie Douglas

Jacob Duplantis

Nyla Falgout

Ashley Green

Lauren Guidry

Laura Hamilton

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Ella Luminais

Azriel Malancon

Madeline Malbrough

Lucy Pearce

Harper Pitre

Matthew Plaisance

Emmy Robinson

Sofia Saleme

William Siebert

Madison Thibodaux

John Trapp

Gavin Wisdom

Houma; Lucy Pearce, daughter of Lori and Charles Pearce, St. Genevieve Catholic School, Thibodaux; Harper Pitre, son of Shannon and Brennan Pitre, St. Bernadette Catholic School, Houma; Emmy Grace Robison, daughter of Dane and Lauren Robison, Central Catholic School, Morgan City; William Seibert, son of Renee and Colin Seibert, St. Francis de Sales Cathedral School, Houma.

Eighth Graders Cameron Badeaux, son of Scott and Valerie Badeaux, Holy Rosary Catholic School; Corinne Boudreaux, daughter of Tony and Nicki Boudreaux, E.D. White Catholic High School; Lauren Guidry, daughter of Kirkland and Angella Guidry, Holy Savior Catholic School; Laura Hamilton, daughter of Ginny Medina-Hamilton and Harvie D. Hamilton III, Vandebilt Catholic High School, Houma; Sofia Saleme, daughter of Tony and Chelle Saleme, Central Catholic School; Madison Thibodaux, daughter of Travis and Trudy Thibodaux, St. Mary’s Nativity School.

12th Graders: Madeline Malbrough, daughter of Shellie and Joshua Malbrough, Houma Christian School; John Trapp, son of Heinke and Susan Trapp, Vandebilt Catholic High School; Gavin Wisdom, son of Robert and Kristi Wisdom, Central Catholic School.

A selection committee reviewed each of the candidate’s application portfolios and interviewed each of them individually, before choosing the district winners. At a minimum, candidates must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.2 on a four point scale. Winners on the district level were evaluated on the basis of their application portfolio which includes a biographical sketch, academic achievement, leadership, activities, recognitions, service/ citizenship and a writing sample, and on the manner in which they present themselves during the interview, which is structured around questions and topics appropriate to the academic level of the student.

Assisting with judging at the district level were Tonia Guidry, retired school administrator; Monica Percle, retired school teacher; and Marga Toloudis, retired school teacher.

The diocesan Office of Catholic Schools sponsors an annual breakfast to honor these outstanding students at the Lumen Christi Retreat Center in Schriever. Bishop Shelton J. Fabre, students and their parents, school principals, pastors and selection committee members attend the breakfast. BC March 2019 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 25

Special

PHOTO BY MATTHEW PROSPERIE

The Houma-Thibodaux pilgrims participating in the annual March for Life are pictured at the Pastoral Center in Schriever before departing for the pilgrimage.

Guest Columnist Rev. Mr. Patrick Riviere

Marching for a true Culture of Life Bright and early on Monday, Jan. 14, two busloads of pilgrims left the Pastoral Center in Schriever headed to Washington, D.C. This trip was different than most trips to our nation’s capital, though. We were on a mission to give a voice to those who have no voice, to stand up for the life and dignity of every human person.

The March for Life is the nation’s largest movement fighting for the right to life for all people and has occurred

every year since the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in America. However, the pilgrimage aimed to show the pilgrims that this movement is so much bigger than one court decision – it comes down to the very heart of our encounter with Jesus Christ.

The motto that we chanted on the bus multiple times a day sums up nicely the spirit of the pilgrimage, and the means by which we can change hearts in our society. “What do we want? A culture of life! How do we get it? prayer and sacrifice!” We desire not just an end to abortion but to establish a true culture of life in our world. And the only way that can happen is by our prayer and by our sacrifices.

The church has a long tradition of the practice of pilgrimage – men and women travelling long distances to holy sites symbolizing our earthly journey to a heavenly destiny. We stopped at many of the most revered sites in America, such as Arlington National Cemetery, the Vietnam War Memorial and the Korean War Memorial, where we prayed for the soldiers who gave their lives to protect the right to life in this country. We stopped to pray and offer Mass at various churches,

26 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • March 2019

including the motherhouse of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia in Nashville, TN, and the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. We were able to pray with thousands of other pilgrims from around the country in eucharistic adoration at the Life Is Very Good rally in Arlington, VA. In addition to our prayers, everyone on the trip made sacrifices – both big and small – to show their willingness to fight for the truth and to protect those who cannot protect themselves.

Everything from having to sleep on a moving bus for two nights, many late nights and early mornings, enduring cold weather, and bumping through large grounds – all of it showed that we were there for a purpose. All of these sacrifices have real power to convert hearts – both those we pray for and encounter as well as our own.

If we hope to truly change our culture into a Culture of Life, we have to recognize our own dignity that flows from an encounter with Jesus. “Unique: From Day One” was the theme of the March for Life this year, and that applies both to the unborn and to every single person we encounter. Changing laws isn’t enough. We have to

a

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change hearts, and the only thing that can truly transform a person is an encounter with the love of Jesus. It starts in our homes and our schools – if we aren’t fully “pro-life” there, if we don’t recognize and honor the dignity of everyone, including ourselves, then we won’t be able to bring about a lasting conversion of heart.

These pilgrims truly gave themselves to this process of encountering Jesus more deeply in their own lives so that they can spread that encounter back in their homes, parishes and schools. We were blessed to have the presence of priests and seminarians, religious brothers and sisters, and married couples to witness to the deeper vocation that God is calling each of the youth to so that they can see how he wants them to spread a culture of life. A truly pro-life generation starts here with the little decisions we make each day and our willingness to give our hearts to Jesus in prayer and in sacrifice.

If we truly want to usher in a culture of life, let’s do what it takes to do just that: pray and sacrifice.

(Patrick Riviere is a transitional deacon who will be ordained to the priesthood in May of this year). BC

Rev. Mr. Patrick Riviere

Local students participate in the Louisiana Life March South 2019 in Baton Rouge

Youth from Vandebilt Catholic High School in Houma and church parishes in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux attend the Louisiana Life March South 2019 in Baton Rouge.

March 2019 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 27

Diocesan Events

www.bayoucatholic.com

March

n St. Lucy Child Development Center’s Mardi Gras parade, March 1, 1:30 p.m., Houma. n Free income tax preparation and e-filing is available every Tuesday until April 9, from 9 a.m.–3 p.m., on the second floor of the Terrebonne Parish Main Library in Houma. n Food for the Journey, Tuesday, March 12, Ellendale Country

April

n Food for the Journey, Tuesday, April 2, Ellendale Country Club Restaurant, 3319 Highway 311, Houma, 10:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m.

Speaker, TBA. n St. Lucy Child Development Center’s annual Easter Egg Hunt/ Community Outreach Day, April 17, 1–3 p.m., Houma.

May

n Food for the Journey, Tuesday, May 7, Ellendale Country Club Restaurant, 3319 Highway 311, Houma, 10:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m.

Speaker, TBA. n United States Postal Service’s Annual “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive, Saturday, May 11, benefitting the local Good Samaritan Food Banks. n Women’s Giving Circle Celebration Mass and Check

Club Restaurant, 3319 Highway 311, Houma, 10:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. Speaker, Roch Gernon. n Rite of Election, Sunday, March 10, 3 p.m., St. Joseph CoCathedral, Thibodaux. n Women’s Giving Circle Kick Off Mass and Brunch, March 16, 9 a.m., St. Thomas Aquinas, Thibodaux.

n Chrism Mass, Thursday, April 18, 10:30 a.m., Cathedral of St. Francis de Sales, Houma. n Women’s Giving Circle Sip & Learn, Tuesday, April 23, 4:30 p.m., Maria Immacolata Church, Houma.

Presentation, Tuesday, May 14, 2 p.m., Pastoral Center, Schriever. n Transitional Diaconate Ordination, Saturday, May 25, 10 a.m., St. Joseph Co-Cathedral, Thibodaux. n Diocesan Leadership Awards/Liturgy of the Word, Sunday, May 26, 2 p.m., Cathedral of St. Francis de Sales, Houma. n St. Lucy Child Development Center’s graduation ceremony, May 30, Dumas Auditorium, Houma, 7 p.m.

Advertise in the Bayou Catholic and help spread the Good News. Call (985)850-3136 for more info.

28 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • March 2019

Book Reviews

Reading With Raymond Raymond Saadi

Florida Happens

Liar Liar

Edited by Greg Herren Three Room Press $15.99

By James Patterson and Candice Fox Little, Brown $28

If you’re in the mood for a short, short story of mystery and suspense, this anthology will absolutely satisfy. New Orleanian Greg Herren has compiled a collection of stories by top writers of the genre, John D. MacDonald, Lawrence Block and 20 more, all using the state of Florida as their blackboard. With titles like There’s an Alligator in My Purse, Cold Beer No Flies and Frozen Iguana, how can you go wrong? BC

Fans are anxious to learn whether Detective Harriet Blue will catch up with Regan Banks, the man responsible for her brother’s death, among other capital crimes. Detective Blue is, or was, a very good cop who’s gone very bad in order to find and finish Banks, one of the most violent criminals at large. Only trouble is both Banks and Blue’s fellow cops are on her trail, yet she remains undaunted and determined to close the case on Banks for the many he’s murdered. Whether she succeeds, in this the third in this series, will remain for readers to learn at the end. BC

The Incomparable Magazine Street

By John Magill River Road Press $45 In olden days most New Orleans shopping was done on Canal Street, but today’s Magazine Street competes with shops, hotels, restaurants, parks and more. The street has provided shoppers and visitors with quaint boutiques, spas and an atmosphere that invites strolling and “just looking.”

You can tour the street from home with this oversized and colorful tour of decorator and furniture stores; cafés and restaurants to whet every taste, and unusual shops like one that sells children books in French. There really is something for everyone and chances are you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for in this book. BC

The Story of Baseball in 100 Photographs

By The Editors of Sports Illustrated Time Inc. Books $30 From tee-ballers to grandpas, baseball fans of all ages will find their heroes; Rickey, Sandy, Mickey, Willie, Jackie, Reggie and more, in this fascinating story of our national pastime. From the very beginning when the Cincinnati Red Stockings hit the field as the first professional team to play the game to the champion Boston Red Sox, the book’s photos and stories will have you smelling the popcorn and yelling, Play Ball! BC

The Heart of Perfection

By Colleen Carroll Campbell Howard Books $25 After she became a mother, author Campbell “saw how insidiously perfectionism had infected her spiritual life, and how harmful it could be to her family.” For help she turned to seven saints, some very familiar, some not so. Among the seven, all who struggled to overcome perfectionism in their own lives are Francis de Sales, Ignatius of Loyola, Francis of Assisi and Therése of Lisieux. Their stories and wisdom worked miracles for her and she feels, will for you, too. BC

March 2019 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 29

Commentary

‘Come as you are’ Thoughts For Millennials Ryan Abboud

Throughout the course of our spiritual journey, many of us will struggle with periods of hardship, despair and shortcomings. Often times, we may feel as though our spirituality is lacking, that we’re struggling, or that we’re simply not good enough. Personally, I believe that it is so important to open the dialogue regarding this feeling; because, this is something that many Catholics struggle with. The thought of many fellow Catholics struggling with the same issue contrasts our human nature which persuades us to feel as though we are alone in this feeling.

However, we must recognize that persuasion for what it is: a lie. It is a lie from the pits of hell that was fabricated by the enemy. If the enemy can take our own shortcomings and feelings of spiritual stagnancy and magnify them with a feeling of loneliness, then we are increasingly more likely to remain

in that state of failure. This is why it’s imperative to be educated in the truths of guilt, free will and community.

Brothers and sisters, we all know that the first step of overcoming our deficiencies is by recognizing them. The only problem is that our spiritual error can be a little less clear to recognize than our physical error. That’s why we must understand the purpose and role that guilt plays in our lives. You see, guilt and pain are a lot alike. The only difference is that pain is related to the body while guilt is related to the soul. If we begin to press a sharp object against our skin, soon our pain will send a trigger to our brain to tell it to stop. On the other hand in our spiritual lives, if we begin to behave in a way that will put our eternal salvation in jeopardy, our guilt will send a trigger to our brain to signal a change in behavior.

We must simply be able to recognize that signaling.

Another aspect of our failures that is often disillusioned is our perception of our free will. Many of us believe that some of our decisions may “shock” God, that we may use our free will to go beyond the boundary of his forgiveness.

In reality though, he knows every single decision we will make for the rest of our lives. Imagine yourself as a mouse in a large, elaborate maze. Then

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30 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • March 2019

God is a symbol for the “observer” that stands above the maze simply watching the mouse as it wanders through it, making some wrong turns, making some right ones, and eventually getting the cheese. At no point in the process is the observer ever shocked by a turn that the mouse made; he saw the “big picture” the whole time. The same is true for God; we cannot surprise him with our decisions, whether good or bad. And the best part is that he loves us through each and every decision … good or bad.

Lastly, after understanding these truths, I believe that the advancement and the seeking of a strong community of faithful men and women to walk with on your spiritual journey is a critical part to not feeling so alone in your struggles. It helps to be able to go to a spiritual brother or sister to express feelings, shortcomings and failures.

And maybe, just maybe they’re going through something very similar. Iron sharpens iron, we must never be afraid to sharpen ourselves through communal prayer and fellowship.

“Come as you are” said He. “But I love you, so I will not let you stay there” (Anonymous). BC

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Announcement

Don’t lose out: Save your retirement account from taxes Catholic Foundation Update Amy Ponson

When you allocate a percentage of your paycheck to be used for building your retirement plan, you do so with the goal of having enough to live on after your working years. Perhaps you even plan on leaving what is left to your loved ones. What you probably didn’t plan on was having a substantial chunk consumed by taxes after your lifetime.

A Win-Win Solution How can you ensure that your hardearned dollars won’t be consumed by taxes after you’re gone? Consider leaving those funds to your church parish or school through the Catholic Foundation of South Louisiana (CFSL).

Leaving your retirement plan assets to your church parish or school through the Foundation after your lifetime eliminates any income taxes. This

means that we can put the full value of your retirement plan assets to good work happening within your church parish or school.

It doesn’t have to be all or nothing, though. A gift of a small percentage of your retirement plan assets can also make a big difference.

Example: Providing for your family and favorite non-profit Roger has a retirement account worth $100,000. He would like to provide for his daughter, Joy, after his lifetime, as well as for his church parish.

If he leaves his retirement account to Joy, it will be subject to income taxes at Joy’s marginal income tax rate of 32 percent. If Roger leaves the account to the Foundation restricted for his church parish instead, we will receive the full $100,000 because we are a taxexempt entity.

Roger decides to leave the retirement plan assets to his parish and provide for Joy by naming her as the beneficiary of other assets in his estate that carry less of a tax burden, such as life insurance and real estate. BC

Tax Comparison: Retirement Plan to a Loved One vs. Catholic Foundation Retirement plan beneficiary

Loved One

Catholic Foundation

Retirement plan value before taxes

$100,000 $100,000

Federal income taxes*

-$32,000

-$0

Net to beneficiary after taxes

$68,000

$100,000

*Based on a 32 percent marginal income tax bracket. Federal estate taxes and applicable state income and inheritance taxes could further reduce the amount available to heirs.

The information in this publication is not intended as legal advice. For legal advice, please consult an attorney. Figures cited in examples are for hypothetical purposes only and are subject to change. References to estate and income taxes include federal taxes only. State income/estate taxes or state law may impact your results.

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March 2019 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 31

Announcement

Newly established Office of Parish Support to develop and provide resources for priests and parishes

Kristin Niedbala

As has been highlighted in previous articles, the primary focus of the diocesan strategic plan is the renewal of parish life. Our parishes impact each of us in a very personal way.

Our church parish is meant to help us connect with others, encounter God and grow in our relationship with him. The ease at which this is able to happen in a parish impacts the lives of parishioners. If we desire great things to happen in the lives of parishioners, it will demand commitment and better support for our parishes.

Through the strategic planning process, it became clear that the diocesan office structure as it existed was no longer able to support the changing needs of our parishes.

Previous structures included separate offices for adult faith formation, religious education, youth ministry and family ministry. Each of these offices held their own area of expertise and specialty. And, each pastor, parish staff or volunteer interfaced with each separate office to address each specific need.

I am most grateful for all those who have served these diocesan offices in the past. I am grateful for the many graces received through the efforts of these offices and the many lives that were impacted. I am grateful for the very good work that has allowed our parishes to get to where they are today.

While this previous diocesan structure served the parishes for many years, it is also to be noted that in the past decade we have seen

“

All parish liaisons will be able to assist parishes with any area of the parish’s priorities: Adult formation, youth formation, Sunday and outreach.

“

Guest Columnist

a tremendous difference in the needs and demands of the parish. Culture, new forms of communication and the pace at which people live are a few of the realities that every parish is facing.

These realities have demanded the need for parishes to adapt in order to continue to successfully engage people in the faith and assist them in growing in their relationship with God. Simply put, as the needs of our people have changed, so too have the needs of our parishes.

The concept of a new diocesan office structure to better serve the current needs of our parishes emerged during our diocesan strategic planning process. In 2017, Bishop Shelton J. Fabre assigned liaisons to our parishes to assist pastors and the parish implementation teams in their efforts of parish strategic planning. Initially, the liaison team consisted of four priests, one deacon and one lay person: myself.

Each parish was assigned a liaison.

The role of the liaison was to meet with each pastor and parish implementation team at least monthly, to offer support and assist the pastor and his team through the planning process. This new way of assisting priests and parishes proved to be very fruitful. The liaison had to become familiar with all aspects of the parish and to offer support

32 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • March 2019

through the planning process in an ongoing, relational and individualistic way. This trial of utilizing a parish liaison made way for a more permanent configuration of supporting parishes with a new diocesan office structure.

Therefore, in January 2019, the diocesan Office of Parish Support was officially established. This new office now replaces the previous Offices of Adult Faith Formation, Religious Education, Youth Ministry and Family Ministry. The newly established Office of Parish Support will comprise of a team of parish liaisons who will assist parishes in the implementation of their individual parish strategic plan and serve as a support and resource for the pastor, his staff and lay leadership teams.

Each liaison will assist the priests and their parish leadership teams in all aspects of parish life. Rather than focusing one area of expertise, the liaison now becomes the expert in the parish. They will be experts in getting to know and understand the dynamics and individual needs of the specific parishes they are working with. All parish liaisons will be able to assist parishes with any area of the parish’s priorities: Adult formation, youth formation, Sunday and outreach.

This allows the priest, his staff, lay leadership, and volunteers the ease of working with one person, rather than having to contact and work with multiple people depending on the need. Additionally, the Office of Parish Support will continue to develop and provide resources for the priests and parishes.

We look forward to communicating more about the Office of Parish Support and the new team in the future.

Our team very much looks forward to serving our priests and parishes.

Please continue to pray for the renewal of all the parishes of our diocese.

(Kristin Niedbala is the associate director of the diocesan Office of Parish Support.) BC

Announcement

Director, associate director of Office of Parish Support named

Trudy Clement

Kristin Niedbala

Trudy Clement, who currently serves as senior executive assistant for the Office of the Vicar General, will also serve as director of the diocesan Office of Parish Support.

Kristin Niedbala, who has been serving the Office of Strategic Planning in the area of parish implementation, has been hired as associate director of the diocesan Office of Parish Support.

Clement, a Vacherie native, graduated from E.D. White Catholic High School in Thibodaux and then obtained a business degree from Nicholls State University in Thibodaux. Her former employment includes campaign manager for Congressman Billy Tauzin, director of the Warren J. Harang Jr. Municipal Auditorium, and development consultant for eLearning Academy. She has been married to Chris for 30 years and they have two children, Nikki and Trent, and one

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grandchild, Noah. They are parishioners of Christ the Redeemer Church parish in Thibodaux.

Niedbala is a native of Beaver Falls, PA. She graduated from Elizabethtown College with a degree in occupational therapy and practiced therapy full time at Eastern State Hospital in Williamsburg, VA, for 10 years.

In 2004, she began to serve the church more intentionally as a Catholic missionary in the spirit of the New Evangelization. This led her to ministry around the globe and across the United States, primarily in the work of adult/young adult formation, training ministers, evangelization and assisting in establishing multiple missionary formation programs. She has worked for Life Teen International, ADORE Ministries, Dumb Ox Ministries, the Diocese of Phoenix, AZ, and the Diocese of Westminster in England. BC

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March 2019 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 33

Church Life

Photos by Lawrence Chatagnier

St. Joseph Altars

The feast of St. Joseph is being celebrated Tuesday, March 19 this year. Many church parishes in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux observe this feast day by creating St. Joseph Altars that are available for viewing by the general public. Following is a list of the St. Joseph Altars that will be on display throughout the diocese this year.

Cathedral of St. Francis de Sales, Houma The St. Joseph Altar will be on display Sunday, March 17 from 8 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. and Tuesday, March 19 from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. A St. Joseph Mass will be celebrated March 19 at 8:30 a.m. with children in costume to portray the Holy Family, followed by Tupa Tupa at 10 a.m. Plates of goodies

Ready for viewing March 19

will be served to all. Italian fig cookies will be on sale to benefit seminarian education.

St. Joseph Co-Cathedral, Thibodaux A St. Joseph Altar will be on display in the church Tuesday, March 19 following a blessing after the 6:30 a.m.

Mass and will be available for viewing until the 5:30 p.m. Mass. All visitors to the altar are invited to bring a canned good which will be donated to the Good Samaritan Food Bank of Thibodaux.

34 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • March 2019

Christ the Redeemer, Thibodaux A St. Joseph Altar will be on display in the Family Center, beginning with a blessing immediately after the 7:30 a.m. Mass Tuesday, March 19, with viewing until 5:30 p.m.

Holy Savior, Lockport A St. Joseph Altar will be available for viewing Tuesday, March 19 from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. at 155 Church St. in Lockport.

Maria Immacolata, Houma A St. Joseph Altar will be blessed Saturday, March 16 after the 4:30 p.m. Mass. The altar will be available for viewing on Sunday, March 17 and Tuesday, March 19 from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. Food and refreshments will be served.

a

Church Life

of Angela Price. Blessing will be after the 6:30 a.m. Mass with viewing until 4 p.m.

St. Bernadette Church & School, Houma A St. Joseph Altar will be available for viewing Tuesday, March 19 in Herbert Hall from 8:30 a.m. with viewing available until 6 p.m.

St. Bridget, Schriever A St. Joseph Altar will be blessed Tuesday, March 19 at 7:30 a.m. with viewing until 6 p.m. Shrimp jambalaya will be served at Noon.

St. Eloi, Theriot A St. Joseph Altar will be available for viewing in the Community Center Tuesday, March 19, beginning with Mass at 10 a.m., then blessing of the altar. Breaking of the altar will be at 6 p.m.

Our Lady of the Isle, Grand Isle A St. Joseph Altar will be blessed at the 5 p.m. vigil Mass on Saturday, March 16, and at the 9 and 11 a.m.

Masses Sunday, March 17. The altar will be available for viewing after each Mass.

Our Lady of Prompt Succor, Chackbay The Ladies Altar Society is sponsoring a St. Joseph Altar Tuesday, March 19, in the church hall following the 7 a.m. Mass. The altar will be on display until 3 p.m.

Our Lady of the Rosary, Larose The annual St. Joseph Altar will be held Tuesday, March 19, in church.

Viewing will be from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.

Sacred Heart, Cut Off The blessing of the St. Joseph Altar will take place at 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, March 19. Lunch will be served beginning at 11 a.m. and viewing will close at 4 p.m.

Sacred Heart, Morgan City A St. Joseph Altar will be available for viewing at St. Joseph Hall, 318 Third St., Saturday, March 16 beginning with Mass at 8 a.m., followed by Tupa Tupa.

Viewing will be from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.

Lunch will be served from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. There will also be an altar in church Tuesday, March 19 in memory

St. Genevieve, Thibodaux A St. Joseph Altar will be on display Tuesday, March 19 in the Family Center. Blessing of the altar will be at 9:45 a.m. The altar will remain on display until 6 p.m.

St. Hilary, Mathews St. Hilary’s St. Joseph Altar will be available for viewing Tuesday, March 19, in the multipurpose building beginning with a blessing 8 a.m. until Mass at 5 p.m.

St. Joseph, Chauvin A St. Joseph Altar will be on display Tuesday, March 19, beginning with Mass at 7:30 a.m.in church, followed by blessing of the altar at 8 a.m. at the parish center. A meal will be served at 11 a.m. and the altar will close at 6 p.m.

St. Lawrence, Kraemer A St. Joseph Altar will be available for viewing at the Life Center Tuesday, March 19 from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m.

St. Mary’s Nativity Church, Raceland A St. Joseph Altar will be on display at St. Mary’s Community Center, 3500 Highway 1 in Raceland, Monday, March 18 and Tuesday, March 19 from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. Mass will be celebrated March 19 at 8:15 a.m. A meal will be served both days.

Battaglia Home, Thibodaux The Battaglia family will host a St. Joseph Altar Tuesday, March 19, at the home of Dominic Battaglia, 832 Jackson Street in Thibodaux, from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. The public is invited to join in honoring St. Joseph on this special day.

Lafourche Home for the Aged, Thibodaux A St. Joseph Altar will be available for viewing Tuesday, March 19 at the Lafourche Home for the Aged, 1002 Tiger Drive, Thibodaux, from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Thibodaux Healthcare Center, Thibodaux A St. Joseph Altar will be on display Tuesday, March 19 at 1300 Lafourche Dr. in Thibodaux. Deacon Lee Crochet will bless the altar at 8:30 a.m. Viewing will end at 2 p.m. BC

St. Joseph, Galliano A St. Joseph Altar will be on display Tuesday, March 19, in the recreation center behind St. Joseph Church, 17980 West Main Street in Galliano.

The altar will be blessed and open for public viewing at 9 a.m. and will close at 3 p.m. A shrimp spaghetti meal will begin at 11 a.m.

St. Lawrence, Chacahoula A St. Joseph Altar will be on display in church Tuesday, March 19 from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. A meal will be served following the 6 p.m. Mass.

March 2019 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 35

Announcement

Vandebilt’s athletic director receives national recognition Margaret Johnson, Vandebilt Catholic High School in Houma’s athletic director, alumna, and former teacher and coach was recently named to the National High School Athletic Coaches’ Association’s (NHSACA) National Hall of Fame. This honor is presented to coaches across the nation in recognition for their achievements in coaching, their contributions to their school, community and state, their years of service to high school sports, and most importantly, their unselfish commitment to young athletes. On June 25, Johnson will travel to Bismark, ND, to be officially inducted into this prestigious group of high school coaches.

Johnson has had a lifelong affiliation with Catholic education in Houma; nearly 30 of those years have been spent at Vandebilt. After receiving her educational foundation at St. Francis de Sales Cathedral School, Johnson attended Vandebilt and graduated in 1983. She then earned a bachelor of science degree in1988 from McNeese State University, where she was also a four-year letterman in both volleyball and softball. Johnson joined the Vandebilt faculty in 1989 and has since served in the capacities of head volleyball and softball coach, physical education department chairperson, assistant athletic director and classroom teacher.

Johnson has enjoyed tremendous success during her career at Vandebilt. She has been recognized as Coach of the Year numerous times on the district, regional and state levels.

Johnson served as head coach of Louisiana’s high school allstar teams in 1996 and 2010, and she was inducted into the Louisiana Softball Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame in 2004. Johnson was honored by Vandebilt in 2009 as a nominee for the Brother Alfred Kolb Teacher of the Year Award and inducted into the Vandebilt Catholic Hall of Fame in 2013.

In her 24 years as a head coach at Vandebilt, Johnson led her softball team to the state tournament 20 times, resulting in seven state championships and six state runner-up titles.

Johnson’s success is supported by her husband, Ricky, and their sons Joshua (VCHS 2010) and Hayden (VCHS 2013).

“I am truly humbled for being awarded this prestigious honor. It’s definitely overwhelming. I want to thank Vandebilt Catholic for allowing me the privilege to mentor and coach the most amazing young women I’ve ever met. This honor is dedicated to all of my inspiring athletes, their amazing parents, my dedicated assistant coaches, my unconditionally loving family, and most of all, our loving God, for carrying me through all of my most trying times in life. Each of these individuals has helped shape me into the person I am today. I am grateful for my journey thus far,” says Johnson.

The NHSACA serves high school coaches and athletic directors throughout the United States through education, recognition and support. Their goal is to promote high school athletics and provide professional services and opportunities 36 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • March 2019

Margaret Johnson for all high school coaches. The NHSACA provides resources to promote professional growth, an attitude of teamwork, sportsmanship and healthy lifestyles for athletes, coaches and athletic directors. The NHSACA Hall of Fame dates back to 1996 with approximately 30 inductees per year from high schools across the country.

Johnson will also be inducted into Terrebonne General Medical Center Community Sports Institute’s 2019 Bayou Region Athletic Hall of Fame in June.

The Vandebilt community is blessed to have worked alongside Johnson for nearly 30 years, and she epitomizes the qualities that a Catholic educational institution strives to instill in its students. BC

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Lent

Parish Lenten missions throughout the diocese Holy Cross, Morgan City The Vigil Project Date: March 28 Time: 6:30 p.m.

Holy Family, Grand Caillou Date: March 13, 14, 15 Time: 7 p.m. each night Speaker: Father Antonio Speedy

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

Our Lady of Prompt Succor, Golden Meadow Date: March 21 Time: 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Speaker: Father Antonio Speedy Our Lady of the Rosary, Larose Date: March 18, 19, 20 Time: 6:30 p.m. each night Speaker: Father Duc Bui Sacred Heart, Cut Off Date: April 1, 2 Time: 6:30 p.m. each night Speaker: Father J.D. Matherne; music

by Mark Dufrene St. Andrew, Amelia Holy Hour with short reflections Date: March 19, 26 and April 2 Time: 7–8 p.m. each night St. Ann, Bourg Date: March 21, 28, April 4 Time: 6-7 p.m. each night Speakers: Deacon Patrick Riviere, Deacon Brett Lapeyrouse, Father Cody Chatagnier St. Bernadette, Houma Date: March 21 Time: 6:45 p.m.

Speaker: Father Paul Birdsall St. Eloi, Theriot Date: March 18, 19, 20 Time: 7 p.m. each night Speaker: Father Jean-Marie Nsambu 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

Ñöôøng daây ñieän thoaïi Cöùu giuùp Giaùo phaän 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.

38 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • March 2019

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

Formosan Termites have Invaded the Bayou Region.

Join nearly 14,000 faith communities in 180 dioceses around the U.S. Lenten prayer

MARCH

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WED

God of hope,

ENCOUNTER LENT

You journey with us through the desert. You challenge us to become more like Christ. During this Lenten season, may our prayers, fasting and almsgiving give us the courage to go forth from these 40 days in the desert to share our gifts with the world. May our encounter with you allow us to bring your hope to all of our human family.

This Lent, we reflect on how our encounter with Christ in the desert points us to the hope of the Resurrection— and our responsibility to encounter the needs of all.

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SUN

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A STORY OF HOPE This week, we pray for Norma in Guatemala and those who cannot provide a healthy lifestyle for their families.

Watch her story in the app.

GIVE $1 to your CRS Rice Bowl for the first week of Lent.

MEET NORMA

MON

11

JOURNEY TO GUATEMALA

TEACHINGS FROM THE POPES

Did you know?

An estimated half of the population in Guatemala is indigenous. Spanish is the official language of the country, but 23 indigenous dialects are spoken as well.

“Human persons are willed

by God; they are imprinted with God’s image. Their dignity comes from the persons they are.”

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GIVE 25¢ for each person you studied or worked with the last week.

LEARN WITH CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING

VISIT GUATEMALA

18

TUE

A STORY OF HOPE

JOURNEY TO UGANDA

This week, we pray for Annet, her siblings, and all refugee families.

Did you know?

Uganda is a land of plenty.

With regular rainfall and good soil, agriculture is a source of life. More than 70 percent of the people work in agriculture, with coffee being one of the largest exports.

TEACHINGS FROM THE POPES

SUN

17

TUE 12

Watch her story in the app.

GIVE $2 to your CRS Rice Bowl for the second week of Lent.

MON

19

“… when there is a question of defending the rights of individuals, the poor and badly off have a claim to special consideration.”

—Pope Leo XIII, Rerum Novarum

GIVE 25¢ for each member of

WED

7

THU

8

FRI CALLED TO FAST

SHARE THE JOURNEY

This Lent, we will learn how the individuals from our stories of hope conquered the difficulties in their lives.

May they inspire us to overcome the difficulties in our own lives and stand with courage.

GIVE 25¢ to your CRS Rice

Each Friday of Lent, we are invited to abstain from eating meat. We eat simple meals so that we experience a little of the hunger that many live with daily. We encounter our global family through this act of solidarity.

This Lent we continue to journey with refugees and migrants who are fleeing their homes because of violence and instability.

How can we use this Lent to #sharejourney with refugees?

Bowl for each difficulty you have overcome in your life.

GET INSPIRATION AND STAND WITH COURAGE

13

THU

FRI

15

SUN

24

A STORY OF HOPE This week, we pray for Christyan, and all refugees who have returned home.

Watch his story in the app.

GIVE $3 to your CRS Rice Bowl for the third week of Lent.

MEET CHRISTYAN

MON

25

TUE

26

JOURNEY TO SRI LANKA

TEACHINGS FROM THE POPES

Did you know?

All ethnic groups are represented on the Sri Lankan flag. Orange signifies the Tamils, green the Moors and maroon the Sinhalese.

Yellow represents the remaining ethnic groups.

“For by his innermost nature man is a social being, and unless he relates himself to others he can neither live nor develop his potential.”

VISIT SRI LANKA

—Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes

GIVE 50¢ for each person you consider a close friend.

LEARN WITH CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING

16

SAT

ENCOUNTER SCRIPTURE

CALLED TO FAST

SHARE THE JOURNEY

1 John 4:7 “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten

by God and knows God.” GIVE 25¢ for each of your acts

By fasting, we clear away the things that can distract us from serving our neighbor. Today, try Caldo de Frijol, a meatless recipe from Guatemala.

If Norma had not been able to find food to feed her family, they could have been forced to flee their homeland.

STAND WITH NORMA

WED

of kindness this week.

PRAY WITH THE SAINTS

20

THU

21

GIVE Don’t forget to put the money you save by eating simply into your CRS Rice Bowl!

WATCH THE COOKING VIDEO

FRI

What would this have meant for her family?

MAKE YOUR WEEKLY DONATION IN THE APP LISTEN TO NORMA

22

23

SAT

STAND WITH COURAGE

ENCOUNTER SCRIPTURE

CALLED TO FAST

SHARE THE JOURNEY

When Annet fled with her siblings to Uganda, they were stopped on the road by rebels. She bravely stood up to the soldiers, saving her siblings’ lives.

1 John 3:17-18 “If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him? Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.”

GIVE 25¢ for each of your good

By fasting, we clear away the things that can distract us from serving our neighbor. Today, try Bamia, a meatless recipe from Uganda.

More than 1 million refugees live in settlements in Uganda.

Uganda is unique in its hospitality toward refugees, allowing them to move about freely and work.

GIVE Don’t forget to put the money you save by eating simply into your CRS Rice Bowl!

How can we make refugees feel welcome?

Who can you stand up for in your life?

deeds this week.

LEARN WITH CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING

VISIT UGANDA

WATCH THE SNEAK PEEK VIDEO

STAND WITH COURAGE

How can you overcome your difficulties to serve others?

STAND WITH ANNET

WED

PRAY WITH THE SAINTS

27

THU

28

WATCH THE COOKING VIDEO

FRI

MAKE YOUR WEEKLY DONATION IN THE APP LISTEN TO ANNET

29

SAT

30

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Though it was still dangerous, Christyan traveled home to reclaim his family’s farmland. Having to hide for some time, he eventually made it back to his family’s village to start again.

Romans 12:4–5 “For as in one body we have many parts, and all the parts do not have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually parts of one another.”

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•Through fasting, we encounter our own obstacles, those things about ourselves that prevent us from loving God and neighbor.

•Through almsgiving, we encounter our brothers and sisters around the world, asking what we can give up so that others might have life to the fullest.

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March 2019 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 39

Announcement

Diocesan CFO announced

Jon Toups

Jon J. Toups has been named as the new chief finance and operations officer for the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, effective March 1, according to Bishop Shelton J. Fabre.

Toups is currently the principal consultant and advisor for Strategic Planning, Executive Management & Service Delivery Strategies, which offers consulting services in the areas of leadership, team building, sales, marketing, client relations, strategic

account management, operational excellence, service delivery, and administrative management strategies.

Toups was employed for 12 years as the chief commercial officer and a senior vice president for LeasePlan USA, the domestic U.S. subsidiary of the world’s leading fleet management, mobility and fleet leasing company, headquartered in Alpharetta, GA. Toups is a 30-year corporate veteran and a dynamic senior global business executive with multiple successes and awards in crucial executive management, administrative and profit and loss roles within world-class organizations in the original equipment manufacturer, financial services and mobility sectors.

The Napoleonville native obtained a bachelor of science degree in general business and marketing from Nicholls State University in Thibodaux in 1986.

He has completed multiple continuing

education courses over the years, including an Executive Leadership Development program for LeasePlan, which was an internal MBA style program developed and administered

by Executive Learning Partnerships and the INSEAD international business school.

He and his wife Dawn have been married for over 30 years, and currently reside in Milton, GA. They have three children, one daughter, Taylor, 29; and two sons, Nathan, 27; and Zachary, 25.

“Jon brings over 30 years of experience in the area of management, administrative and financial services to the position of chief finance and operations officer. I am confident that his wealth of knowledge and experience in executive leadership development will be an asset to the diocese. I am pleased to welcome him to our diocesan family,” says Bishop Fabre. BC

-2019Principal Position Available

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The candidate must be in full communion with the Church and meet the following minimum qualifications: • A Master’s degree in Administration or a Master’s degree with Administration/ Educational Leadership Certification • Have a current Louisiana Teacher’s Certificate • Have a minimum of 5 years teaching experience and 3 years of administrative experience • Have excellent spiritual, educational, managerial, and communication skills Salary will commensurate with qualifications and experience. The position is eligible for full benefits through the Diocese of HoumaThibodaux.

For consideration, please submit a cover letter, resume’, completed application, and transcripts to hr@htdiocese.org, or mail to Human Resource Director, P.O. Box 505, Schriever, LA 70395.

The application form may be obtained from the following: www. htdiocese.org/catholic-schools or by calling (985)850-3114.

Applications are now being accepted until March 15, 2019, or until the position is filled.

The Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against applicants or employees by reason of race, color, religion*, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information of any other basis prohibited by applicable law. *The Diocese, in its sole discretion, reserves the right to require "practicing Catholic" to be a qualification for a position.

40 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • March 2019

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Announcement

GriefShare group meets at St. Mary’s Nativity in Raceland GriefShare is a friendly, caring group of people who will walk alongside you through one of life’s most difficult experiences. You don’t have to go through the grieving process alone.

If you’ve lost a spouse, child, family member or friend to death, you’ve probably found there are not many people who understand the deep hurt you feel. This can be a confusing time when you feel isolated and have many questions about things you’ve never faced before. Although it may be hard for you to feel optimistic about the future during this time, there

are people who would like to help you move forward.

GriefShare groups are non-denominational and meet weekly to help you face these challenges and move toward rebuilding your life. St. Mary’s Nativity Church parish in Raceland and Holy Savior Church parish in Lockport will begin a GriefShare program on Tuesday, March 12. Meetings will be every Tuesday for 14 weeks from 1–3 p.m. at St. Mary’s Nativity Church office.

For more information, call Marty Cortez at (985) 227-0873 or St. Mary’s Nativity Church at (985) 537-3204. BC

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Special

Racism listening session scheduled for March 28 at Pastoral Center Story by Janet Marcel Photos by Lawrence Chatagnier “Open Wide Our Hearts Against Racism: A Listening Session,” will be held in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, beginning at 6 p.m., Thursday, March 28 at the diocesan Pastoral Center in Schriever. A local commission was established to organize the listening session, which is part of a mandate by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), who approved “Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love, A Pastoral Letter Against Racism” during its November General Assembly in 2018.

At that time, Bishop Shelton J. Fabre, chairman of U.S. Bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism, issued the following statement, “The entire body of bishops felt the need to address the topic of racism, once again, after witnessing the deterioration of the public discourse, and episodes of violence and animosity with racial and xenophobic overtones, that have re-emerged in American society in the last few years. Pastoral letters from the full body of bishops are rare, few and far between. But at key moments in history the bishops have come together for important pronouncements, paying attention to a particular issue and with the intention of offering a Christian response, full of hope, to the problems of our time. This is such a time.”

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism seeks to teach about and to witness to the intrinsic dignity of the human person as an antidote to the grave sin of racism. The committee explores and implements concrete solutions to address the racism that still pervades our society and our church today, and works in collaborative ways to strengthen the response of all people to this evil.

During the diocesan listening session, designated representatives from various ethnic groups will speak about their experiences of racism in the Catholic Church and/or Catholic institutions – what they, or people they know, have experienced in the past and in the present, and what they feel the church needs to change in the future to overcome the sin of racism. Those in attendance will be invited to make statements by writing them down and turning them in at the listening session or at a later date. These statements will then be collected and reviewed. At that time, a decision will be made regarding what further action the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux will take.

The local commission is also exploring the possibility of offering Racial Sobriety sessions in the diocese, says Christine Streams, diocesan liaison for Black Catholic Ministry.

Father Clarence Williams, CPpS, Ph.D., founder of The Institute for Racial Sobriety, says, “The goal of Racial Sobriety is a commitment to see each person as our brother and sister. This will bring about racial sobriety for the person. But the conversation for healing our racial wounded will require each person to become ‘socially sober’ by finding their voice of racial sobriety to end our living under the influence of the various racisms in our society and church.

Racial Sobriety is a different kind of conversation about racism. It treats racism as a social disease that affects everyone. Therefore, everyone shares in the responsibility for its eradication.”

More information about these follow-up sessions will be available at a later date. BC

Members of the commission for Open Wide Our Hearts Against Racism: A Listening Session gathered recently at the Pastoral Center in Schriever to plan the upcoming diocesan listening session which is scheduled for Thursday, March 28, at the Pastoral Center.

42 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • March 2019

Special

Christine Streams, diocesan liaison for Black Catholic Ministry, addresses the committee members planning the upcoming listening session.

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Special

Mentors are key in program to get civilly married couples back to church

By MARY REZAC Lafayette, LA (CNA) When Mary Rose Verret first welcomed Douglas and Elizabeth into her home, Douglas’ boots squished with the sewage he worked with, and Elizabeth smelled of French fries from her fast food job.

Douglas was also just a few years out of jail.

Burnt out after years of ministry, Mary Rose didn’t think she would have anything in common with this couple, whom her pastor had asked Mary Rose and her husband, Ryan, to mentor through a process to convalidate their marriage in the church.

“It was a difficult, complex situation that on paper didn’t look like it was

going to go well,” Mary Rose recalled.

Often, she saw couples like Douglas and Elizabeth disappear from the church as soon as their marriage was blessed.

But when Douglas opened up about how he found Jesus in prison, and about their desire for a sacramental marriage in the church, Mary Rose was humbled.

“On my end, working with this couple, I thought I was going to teach and I was going to form, and Ryan and I thought we were going to give everything to them,” she told CNA. “But when we started listening to them and the husband’s experience of getting to know Jesus at a Bible

44 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • March 2019

study while he was in jail, and the relationship he had with Jesus, and how he wanted to make things right with God, and how he wanted to have a marriage in the church and he wanted Jesus to be part of their marriage, it was very humbling ... and it really changed the way Ryan and I lived our ministry and lived our faith and lived our marriage,” she said.

The Verrets founded Witness to Love, a Catholic marriage prep renewal ministry, several years ago with the intent to give newly-engaged couples an older mentor couple of their choosing in the church that could walk with them through marriage preparation and beyond.

a

Special

Now, they are launching a Witness to Love track specifically for couples who are seeking to have their civil marriages blessed by, or convalidated in, the Catholic Church.

“We saw that with Witness to Love, in the parish where we started this, engaged couples were benefitting so much, but we were seeing couples who were having their marriage blessed who didn’t go through Witness to Love, they met with Father a few times ... they were getting divorced quickly, some of them even a month after having their marriage blessed,” she said.

Couples seeking to convalidate their marriage in the church make up a significant percentage of sacramental marriages in the church each year roughly 20 percent, Mary Rose said. In 2017, the total number of sacramental marriages in the U.S. was 144,000 meaning approximately 28,800 of them were convalidations.

In response to this growing need, the

Verrets tweaked their marriage prep program to offer a track specifically fitted to couples seeking convalidations in the church. They interviewed couples seeking convalidations and looked at best practices throughout the country for bringing them into the church.

Many couples seeking convalidation would do so around the time their children needed sacraments – baptism, Communion or confirmation. It was a time they could reconnect with the church and felt they needed to “get right with God,” Mary Rose said.

But old approaches of bringing these couples into the church weren’t working - couples would fail to connect with the church community and drop off, or even divorce, shortly after they received the sacrament. That’s where Mary Rose thought the Witness to Love mentorship model could work.

What’s different?

What sets Witness to Love apart in marriage convalidation preparation

“is every other mentor model out there says: the church is going to choose and train and assign mentor couples to you.

You don’t know them, you didn’t pick them, you don’t know how old they are or their background,” she said.

“And we’re telling this to a generation that doesn’t trust the church, many of whom have been abused, have a pornography addiction, and haven’t been to church in 15 or more years. And we’re asking them to talk to complete strangers, who are like uber Catholics, about their faith life and sex life and we wonder why it doesn’t work out.”

The choice in mentor couples provides the “skin in the game” for the marriage prep couple and the room for the Holy Spirit to work, Mary Rose said.

Beyond that, the program is tweaked to match the language that civilly married couples use, and to emphasize how the grace of the sacrament builds on the natural goods of a civil marriage.

“There are two ways of

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Couples cont. looking at marriage. One is just on the natural level - you’re living together, balancing a checkbook, you have kids, you share groceries - you know, life,” Mary Rose said. “And there’s a lot of natural goodness there, but there’s also a lot of natural challenges and we have fallen nature. So the grace of the sacrament helps you get through some of those things, love through things, grow through things, work through things, offer things up, pray for your spouse,” she said.

“The reason that we have the grace of the sacrament is that it’s impossible, on a human level, to love completely, totally, freely and fruitfully. It is impossible,” she noted.

“With the grace of the sacrament, you just have to ask God every day to please help me keep my wedding vows,” she said, which also differ in wording and intent between civil and sacramental marriages.

Often, couples who have convalidated their marriages become the best witnesses of the grace of the sacrament of marriage, Mary Rose noted, because they know what it’s like to live without it.

“When they have their marriage blessed, if they are formed, then it’s a whole different experience, because if they just have one or two quick meetings and then never really understand this grace they receive, they can’t really tap into it.”

Going through the process Meghan Reily and her husband Brendon were high school sweethearts who met in middle school, dated through college and got married civilly in 2016 - Meghan was Catholic, Brendon was not.

Once Meghan discovered that her marital situation was keeping her from the sacraments, she talked to Brendon about having their marriage blessed in the church.

“After much discussion and prayer, we decided to go through the process. I think that shows a true testament to Brendon’s character,” Meghan told CNA. “I could tell that this was something that was important to her and for the church,” Brendon added, though he admitted to being “a little apprehensive at first.”

“Opening up about your relationship is something that is very personal to me,” he said. “But going through this, I have never felt closer to Meghan than I do now. Same with our mentor couple. I’ve known them for several years, but I feel like they are family now, too. They will always be someone who we can call on for anything.”

For their mentor couple, the Reily’s chose a couple that Meghan had known since childhood.

“We were in the same parish and I grew up with their daughter. We became best friends and her family was like a second family to me. Since I was always so close to them, Brendon got to get to know them when we were dating,” Meghan said.

46 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • March 2019

“When asked who to choose as a mentor couple, it was a no-brainer for us. Their love for God and putting him right at the center of their family is exactly the type of environment we want to have for our family.”

Meghan said the mentorship and the program of Witness to Love brought a “self-awareness” to their marriage that they hadn’t had before. It gave them tools to know and love their spouse better, and to work on virtues together.

“It was both challenging and rewarding. It in a way forced you to have those difficult conversations you don’t necessarily want to have,” she said.

“While we have been civilly married for two years, we are nowhere close to having it all figured out! The workbook provided great tools to give insight on how you are wired and how your spouse is wired so you can better understand each other and how to handle situations, or discover what things you need to work on that you didn’t think were even an issue,” she added.

Brendon said the program changed their relationship by emphasizing that “it takes three to get married” - the couple and God. “We are much more open in sharing what’s on our hearts so that we can pray for each other and build each other up,” he said.

Much of the content of Witness to Love is virtue-based. It encourages couples to examine different virtues - love, honor, courage, respect, humility and so on - and how those virtues can best be lived out in a marriage.

“By learning the virtues, you are growing closer to God and understanding fully how much he loves you and how you need to love your spouse in return, because God loves your spouse that much and he put you together by his grace,” Meghan said. “Doing that well, that’s what gets you closer to heaven - knowing how to love and accept someone for all of who they are.”

Meghan and Brendon’s marriage will be blessed in the church this March. Meghan said she would “absolutely” recommend the Witness to Love mentorship program to other couples in similar situations.

“It’s definitely something I’ll want to reference going forward in our marriage,” she said. BC

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Sports

Overtime Ed Daniels

LSU will miss Devin White and he will miss LSU At a recent LSU basketball game, linebacker Devin White, was mobbed by young children seeking his picture or an autograph.

After all, wouldn’t it be cool to post a picture of you and Devin White, together, on social media?

An LSU staffer saw the buzz around White and got a message to him.

“Do you want me to have security give you some space?”

The reply from White.

“No, I will sign every sheet of paper, and take every picture.”

It is hard to say who will miss each other more.

LSU will miss Devin White, and he will miss LSU. In the hours before the deadline to declare for the NFL draft, White announced on social media that he was passing up his senior season to play in the NFL. He immediately becomes one of the best players, and people in the draft.

Devin White brings tackles and intangibles to any of 32 NFL teams.

Each week, whenever there was an interview session, the LSU media relations staff had White in front of the cameras.

There weren’t many interviews where he didn’t declare his love for his home state.

In the days before the Alabama game, he would recount how he was recruited heavily by the Crimson Tide.

However.

“I play for the state of Louisiana.”

An LSU staffer said this recently of White.

“He is one of the best we have ever had here. I would put him in a class with Bradie James and Patrick Peterson.”

LSU fans paid White back for his efforts with their outpouring of support when he was kicked out of the

Mississippi State game for targeting quarterback Nick Fitzgerald.

The penalty meant White would miss the first half of the next game, against of course, Alabama.

“Free Devin White” became a cause the following two weeks in the lead up to the Alabama game.

White was not on a team that would defeat Alabama, and he would not win an SEC or CFP championship.

But, he did win the Butkus Award, symbolic of the nation’s top linebacker.

And, when he did, the outpouring of support from teammates was palpable.

After LSU’s final 2018 home game, White said it was a huge thrill to ride his horse around Tiger Stadium.

He earned that gallop.

And, so as his video announcing his departure appeared on social media, White was in Dallas, working out for the upcoming NFL combine.

In the video, he thanked LSU and promised to “make you proud” in the future.

For one of the greatest Tigers ever, that is a given. BC

March 2019 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 47

Financial Report

Guest Columnist April M. LeBouef

It is with pleasure I join Bishop Shelton J. Fabre and the entire diocesan staff in presenting the financial highlights of the Diocese of HoumaThibodaux. The mission statement of the Office of Finance and Accounting states, “to be of service to the parishes, schools and agencies of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux through proper planning, monitoring and safeguarding of the gifts of treasure entrusted to us by the people of the diocese.” The diocesan Finance Office remains committed to the highest standards of fiscal integrity and accountability and is responsible for adherence to accounting policies, procedures, and strong internal controls to ensure safeguarding of church assets.

I also would like to take this opportunity to emphasize the use of a centralized approach to many pastoral and administrative programs.

This approach allows the diocese to efficiently utilize all resources for the benefit of each and every diocesan entity.

Diocesan staff uses a very strong system of internal procedures to properly record the activity of this diverse organization while maintaining separation between all locations. Financial oversight is provided by annual financial statement audits and the diocesan finance council, who are directly responsible to the bishop.

This article tries to capture, in summary form, financial highlights of operations this past year. It is my prayer that this summary is of value to you, the parishioners of Houma-Thibodaux and illustrates our commitment to the mission statement of our ministry and service to the church. Through ministry, each and every one of the diocesan offices and programs exists to provide support and service to our parishes, schools and institutions. I encourage each reader to review the diocesan website, www. htdiocese.org, or the Catholic Directory that is published each year. Each is a comprehensive guide to diocesan

Diocese operations and illustrates the offices and programs providing pastoral and administrative services to each parish, school and institution of the diocese.

The Audit and the Auditor’s Opinion The financial statements were audited by an independent certified public accounting firm. Diocesan management chooses to hire these auditors to help fulfill its role as good and responsible stewards of the generous funds contributed by its parishioners. The auditors expressed an “unqualified” opinion on the diocese’s financial statements. An “unqualified” opinion means the financial statements are fairly presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The complete audited report is available to all on the diocesan website, www.htdiocese.org. Click as follows: Offices, then Administration, then Finance, and scroll down.

Financial Highlights ASSETS Cash and investments include deposits from parishes, schools and institutions of the diocese for the year

48 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • March 2019

ended June 30, 2018, totaled $52.6 million – an increase of $2.1 million.

One should not be misled by these large figures which includes deposits and endowments owned by parishes, schools and institutions. These funds are commonly referred to as Central Finance and are managed by external investment managers in order to provide stable income for the highest possible rate of return without undue risk.

Central Finance is the operation of an internal banking system for the benefit of church parishes, schools and institutions whereby funds not immediately needed for current operations are deposited with Central Finance. Each location is required to participate in savings, endowments and loans through the program.

Central Finance assets are also recorded with a corresponding liability to properly reflect the parish, school or institutional ownership of these funds. Seminary Burse funds increased by approximately $59,400 and the Catholic Charities Endowments increased by approximately $70,300.

Please see Chart One for a listing of total diocesan assets.

a

Financial Report

remains stable LAWRENCE CHATAGNIER/BAYOU CATHOLIC

LIABILITIES Liabilities at June 30, 2018, totaled $70.9 million with $57.8 million belonging to parishes, cemeteries, schools and third parties for deposits and endowments in the diocesan Central Finance program as described above. The liability for priests’ postemployment retirement and healthcare is determined by an actuary each year and is reduced by assets held in trust for this purpose.

The total liability is $18.4 million with trust assets totaling $7.4 million for a net liability of $11.0 million. Please see Chart Two for a listing of total diocesan liabilities.

NET ASSETS Temporarily restricted net assets are restricted by donors for support of a particular operating activity or donor restricted use. Permanently restricted net assets are restricted indefinitely for diocesan ownership and/or support of a particular operating activity. The diocese maintains several operations that are funded by sources other than general diocesan revenue. The revenues and expenses incurred by these programs are internally segregated, and the programs having revenues in

excess of expenditures are reflected as designated net assets to be used in the future by the specific program. These programs are typically referred to as funded operations. Please see Chart Four for a breakdown of net assets.

REVENUES AND EXPENSES The diocese has various sources of revenue which include cathedraticum, investment return, donations, grants and program service fees.

Cathedraticum is essentially an assessment levied on ordinary income and certain extraordinary income of parishes within the diocese.

Investment return includes earnings from Central Finance investments.

Donations include Annual Bishop’s Appeal, special collections and other gifts. Grants and program service fees are generated by diocesan programs or offices for a specific purpose and comprise the majority of diocesan revenue. Please see Schedule A for a summary presentation of all diocesan revenues and expenses.

Formation Ministries include the following programs/offices: Formation, family ministries, worship, Catholic schools, religious education, strategic planning, New Evangelization, youth

ministries, Communications, and Bayou Catholic, as well as grants to parishes. Social Ministries include the following programs/offices: Hospital Chaplains, Assisi Bridge House and Independent Living, St. Lucy Child Development Center, Disaster Services, Catholic Housing, Micro Enterprise, Foster Grandparent, food banks and Catholic Charities. Clergy and Religious include seminarian formation and education, Vocations, Permanent Diaconate, Continuing Education, bishop’s residence, bishop emeritus, and retired and other priest’s benefits. Administration Ministries includes the following programs/offices: Computer Operations/ Technology Support, Building and Construction, Archives, Tribunal, Safe Environment, Cemeteries Trust, Cemeteries, St. Joseph Cemetery, Casualty Insurance, Central Finance, Lumen Christi Retreat Center, and Human Resources and Employee Benefits. General Administration includes the offices of the Bishop, Chancellor, Vicar General, and Finance and Accounting. There are certain expenses that are included in General Administration and Administration Ministries that have not been allocated to other offices and/ or programs.

As mentioned in the previous two years’ financial highlights, the church continues to feel the decline in the local economy. With our income remaining stagnant, we hold firm to the cost cutting strategies implemented two years ago. I am happy to report that the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux remains financially stable.

The prayers, support, and unity of each location and all parishioners of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux is a very important component of success.

All are gratefully acknowledged and appreciated in helping us fulfill the mission as set forth for us in the Gospels as part of our mission statement of the diocese. BC

April M. LeBouef Comptroller

March 2019 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 49

Financial Report

Some notes regarding the Diocese’s assets: The Diocese’s assets are comprised primarily of investments and property, plant and equipment. The source of the invested funds stems mainly from the Diocesan Central Finance program.

Deposits and endowments in the Central Finance program account exceed the total balance of cash and investments. Property, plant and equipment includes property received from the Archdiocese of New Orleans upon the formation of our Diocese in 1977. Also, it includes the cost of fixed asset additions made since the formation of the Diocese (exclusive of replacements), net of depreciation.

Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux DioceseAssets of Houma-Thibodaux Assets

Property, plant & equipment, net, $10,437,136

Parish loans, $2,043,994

Other current assets, $1,029,266

Cash and investments, $52,582,304

Chart One

Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux Liabilities

Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux Liabilities

Central finance deposits, $39,767,174

Priests' postretirement benefits liability, $10,969,288

Insurance program reserves, $497,922

Other assets, $2,441,028

Endowments held for others, $18,047,459

Accounts payable and other current liabilities, $1,613,998

Some notes regarding the Diocese’s liabilities and accruals: Eighty-two (82%) of the liabilities of the Diocese result from the inclusion of deposits in the Diocese’s Central Finance program and endowments in the liability category.

The liability for priests’ postretirement benefits other than pensions (mainly health insurance and long-term care) have historically been paid and will be paid in the future through the Diocese’s normal annual budgetary process.

Chart Two

50 • notes Bayou regarding Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • March 2019 Some the Diocese's liabilities and accruals:

Financial Report

Diocese DioceseofofHouma-Thibodaux Houma-Thibodaux Central Finance Deposits

Some notes regarding Central Finance Deposits: Deposits from schools are comparatively larger at June 30 than they are at most other times during the year. This is due to the prepaid tuition program in which most schools in the Diocese participate.

Approximately 80% of the deposited funds for schools will be drawn by the schools during the year to pay for their operations.

Cemetery deposits do not include St. Joseph Cemetery in Thibodaux, which is owned by the Diocese.

Central Finance Deposits

Parishes $8,118,537

Cemeteries $4,801,092

Schools and others $26,847,545

Chart Three

Some notes regarding the net assets of the Diocese: Net assets represent the difference between the Diocese’s assets and liabilities. Net assets are also commonly referred to as “net worth.” The net assets of the Diocese are segregated into net assets that are restricted as to use by donors and those that are not. For those net assets that are not restricted, the Diocese has designated net assets to fund Diocesan programs and projects. The remaining net assets not designated are classified as “unrestricted, undesignated.”

“Unrestricted, undesignated” does not mean that the Diocese has this amount in reserves. Rather, this figure represents total assets minus total liabilities and net assets that are restricted and/or designated.

Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux

Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux Net Assets Net Assets $20,000,000 $15,000,000 $10,000,000 $5,000,000 $$(5,000,000) $(10,000,000) $(15,000,000) $(20,000,000) $(25,000,000)

$13,945,883 $5,051,371

$1,467,472

Permanently Temporarily restricted net assets restricted net assets

Unrestricted, designated net assets

Unrestricted, undesignated net assets

$(22,826,839)

Chart Four March 2019 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 51

-

52 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • March 2019 71,346

(674,698)

-

Bond interest and amortization

Excess (deficiency) of revenues over expenses

-

Telephone 2,093,777

-

Emergency assistance and disaster relief

Total expenses

-

16,983

130,000

-

120,206

Central finance interest expense

Depreciation

Contributions and grants

Papal quota and Catholic Conference

Copying and printing

Other operating expenses

5,000

-

Insurance

$

(135,930)

2,000,471

-

25,849

299,630

-

61,282

-

-

262

66,426

80,257

32,656

86,163

43,096

798

10,076

Maintenance and repair

287,889

43,709

34,234

882,238

39,987

Conference and travel

Occupancy expenses

176,159

46,852

34,637

645,777

1,864,541

13,300

838,528

-

18,920

35,593

25,452 42,415

Supplies

993,793

-

Pension and benefits

Program expenses

$

-

136,710

32,410

Business allowance/reimbursement

Group insurance - retired priests

Group insurance

Payroll taxes

461,187 118,969

Salaries - lay personnel

1,419,079

-

519,296

Salaries - religious

Expenses:

Total revenues

Net assets released from restrictions

Program service and other income

-

Oil and gas royalties

899,783 -

$

$

Ministries

Ministries

Investment income

Donations and grants

Cathedraticum

Revenues:

Social

Formation

$

$

-

(1,606,939)

2,045,702

-

594

-

-

20,509

-

-

3,835

11,037

7,679

-

11,813

12,768

542,429

12,096

41,203

21,621

1,284,816

4,429

870

58,580

11,423

438,763

-

13,855

-

25,271

399,637

Religious

Clergy and

Program expenses

$

$

2,006,148

10,479,636

-

-

-

493,401

80,695

-

-

-

190,808

88,454

-

99,881

72,856

8,445,827

6,789

32,564

42,126

-

168,102

45,157

20,000

692,976

12,485,784

26,865

11,129,937

-

1,293,188

35,794

-

Ministries

Administration

Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux Unrestricted Revenues and Expenses Year Ended June 30, 2018

$

$

Total

(411,419)

16,619,586

-

26,443

299,630

493,401

179,469

130,000

-

124,303

339,617

181,390

32,656

198,655

138,796

10,158,383

102,581

150,416

124,792

1,284,816

485,400

125,289

232,186

1,811,363

16,208,167

40,165

12,501,616

-

1,337,379

2,329,007

-

Program

General and

$

$

2,346,283

1,001,422

-

12,086

-

-

272,887

7,238

71,755

42,568

112,497

50,655

-

91,866

14,744

25,251

12,956

19,813

10,961

-

48,387

12,448

18,429

176,881

3,347,705

-

256,730

391,858

-

131,813

2,567,304

Adminsitrative

$

$

584,616

331,889

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

280,877

2,109

1,215

2,283

-

7,383

2,467

-

35,555

916,505

-

-

-

-

916,505

-

Stewardship

$

$

2,519,480

17,952,897

-

38,529

299,630

493,401

452,356

137,238

71,755

166,871

452,114

232,045

32,656

290,521

153,540

10,464,511

117,646

171,444

138,036

1,284,816

541,170

140,204

250,615

2,023,799

20,472,377

40,165

12,758,346

391,858

1,337,379

3,377,325

2,567,304

Total

Schedule A

Schedule A

Financial Report

Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux Unrestricted Revenues and Expenses Year ended June 30, 2018

h

Marriage

h

SOUTHERN AMORE PHOTOGRAPHY

Marriage Contents

Meet our couples

56 Commitment Making it work

58

Advice

Sacrament

Dating?

Four basics to keep in mind

Marriage as a Sacrament

57

60

Partnership How to pray with your spouse

68

For more articles on strengthening your marriage, visit www.foryourmarriage.org

Family An adoption love story

66

54 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • March 2019

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Marriage

Couples featured in our Marriage Special Why is the sacrament of marriage important to you as a couple?

PEONY PHOTOGRAPHY

The sacrament of marriage is the most special thing we’ve ever experienced. Being married in the church solidifies the bond between our relationship and God. It is dedication, love and giving unconditionally. Having God to lead us in this journey along with continued prayers and support from family and friends makes it all possible.

Ruston and Tiffany Lapeyrouse Duet St John the Evangelist Church, Thibodaux Wedding Date: October 26, 2018

SCARLET RAVEN PHOTOGRAPHY

SOUTHERN AMORE PHOTOGRAPHY

The sacrament of marriage to us is not about each of us giving 50 percent and it adding up to 100 percent. To us it’s about giving 100 percent all the time to reach our goal of honoring God. Marriage is not a job, but it is hard work. Both of us must do everything we can to help the other, to honor the other, and to respect the other, while still trusting in God to guide us.

The sacrament of marriage is important to my husband and I because we believe it is a gift from God. We believe that through this gift we can grow together in faith and raise a family while declaring our love and commitment for one another.

Justin and Callie Sevin Neil St. Ann Church parish, Bourg Wedding Date: November 10, 2018

Javine and Kristen Hite Robinson St. Lucy Church parish, Houma Wedding Date: June 17, 2017

56 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • March 2019

Marriage

Dating? Four basics to keep in mind

Dating—that is, scheduling time to spend with a person of the opposite sex to get to know them–can be a wonderful time in a person’s life. It challenges us to grow as individuals and to learn more about others. It can also lead us to grow deeper in faith.

Here are four basic points to keep in mind when dating.

Know your intentions Are you looking at dating as only a means of finding a future spouse?

While it could potentially be the end to the means of dating, finding a future spouse should not be the main intention of dating. That puts too much pressure on each individual date and the person whom you date.

Dating is a time to learn more about yourself through a relationship with others. It is a time to see what qualities you need and like in others. When not limiting yourself to a certain type you will discover new and valuable aspects of each person.

Perhaps you have learned that in relationships you act a certain way that does not really reflect you are or who you want to be. In this case, one can use dating as way to become more genuine in relation to the opposite sex.

It will show what you need to “give” in the relationship and what you can “take” from the relationship, too!

Stick to your boundaries Communication is an important factor in any relationship but

especially a dating one. One must be honest about one’s own intentions.

All relationships need boundaries.

A boundary for a practicing Catholic is chastity, refraining from sexual activity before marriage. Doing this helps build intimacy within the relationship without having sex.

Being up front about one’s beliefs will weed out dates that are not worth your time from those that are. One must not only say things up front but back them up with actions. Do not send mixed messages; be clear and concise in your actions. Date in open public areas where there is no pressure to be physically intimate. If you are on a date where alcohol is served drink in moderation to avoid temptation.

Have fun Dating is fun if you enter into it with the mentality of enjoying the present moment. When you start to

date someone, take the time to get to know them. Rushing into a serious relationship can add too much pressure.

Just enjoy the time you have with that person in the present moment; tomorrow will take care of itself. Some fun date ideas include museums, art galleries, bowling, mini golfing, movies, dinner, and rollercoaster parks.

Trust in God while dating Dating is an opportunity from God to learn more about others through entering into a dating relationship with them. Trust that you are in a dating season of your life because God needs you to take the time and be present in dating. Trust that God is leading you always and pray that your dating be fruitful.

“Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.” – Proverbs 16:3 BC

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Marriage

Making it work ...

Guest Columnist Lonnie J. Lapeyrouse, LPC

Excitement fills the air. In the atmosphere there is a spirit of celebration and a yearning in the hearts of many to witness something amazing and wonderful. For two young lovers, it will be the beginning of the most important journey of their lives. Some folks will cry, and some will swell with pride. But for the new couple, the adventure has just begun.

Such is the landscape of a typical wedding celebration day, a radical transformation in the lifestyle of two people. However, what is often overlooked is that the wedding celebration, as eloquent and royal as it may seem, pales in comparison to the importance of how couples will handle upcoming changes and navigate successfully through the rest of their lives together. After all, these are two completely different individuals, coming from different families of origin and perhaps even different cultures. When the music fades and the guests depart, it is then that the new couple is faced with the exciting and sometimes difficult challenge of learning what it is to coexist in harmony.

With the absence of parents or traditional caretakers, and for those who have been

a

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Marriage

living an independent lifestyle, changes will have to be made. It can be a daunting task for new husbands and wives to figure out a system that is individualized, efficient, and will work for them. Additionally, there are so many aspects to consider. Household tasks, child rearing activities, finances, and marital self care are just a few of the important things that couples will need to prioritize to promote success.

One of the first challenges to consider, and perhaps one of the first areas of concern that typically affect new couples is role expectations. It can be difficult for individuals to think outside of what they have come to know as normal. Perhaps one partner comes from a family with very traditional gender roles, and the other may have been brought up in an environment where gender roles hold no bearing.

When a couple has to make decisions about how they will handle the various tasks and responsibilities of life, the preconceived notions that both have concerning roles will absolutely affect the relationship. If the partners have not discussed the importance of roles before the wedding day, this could become a major stumbling block to the success of the union. However, the lack of prenuptial negotiations does not mean there is no hope. An important aspect of success is flexibility. Partners DO have the right to choose how they will establish roles in their relationships, even after the wedding day.

Another area of uncharted territory for many new couples is that of responsibility, meaning, how will responsibilities be divided or shared in

the home. This could include who will complete various household tasks, or take care of the finances, or perform child-rearing duties. Preconceived notions of roles and individuals’ expectations will vastly influence peace in the home. Therefore, exploration of proper assignments should be agreed upon in multiple open discussions between partners. So how do newlyweds do this in a way that is efficient and fair?

Many couples find that this process of assigning and accepting responsibility is easier when we discover each other’s gifts. Couples consist of two different people, which should be viewed as an asset when considering gifts. One partner will naturally have different gifts than the other. One may enjoy certain tasks more than the other.

The most important thing is to make sure that both parties participate and take ownership in the process. Some couples find it helpful to share in various necessary activities, because this means more time together, and more active engagement in planning life together (even if it is just doing the dishes).

With all the assignments of tasks, exploring role expectations, and developing systems to run the household, it is easy to see how marriage might become more of a social contract or obligation that we are bound by, rather than a lifetime reward of sharing this time on earth with our soul mate. Because of this, it is so important for couples to incorporate good marital self-care on a regular basis. Self-care means taking the time to remember why we are here in the first place; to prioritize

the spousal relationship above these other events. Using techniques such as regularly set date nights, fair and proper division of tasks, the practice of empathy, enhanced communication and responsiveness (discussed in my last article; Bayou Catholic, March 2018), as well as learning from our mistakes and not being afraid to ask for forgiveness from one another are methods that will bring out the best in both spouses. Additionally, couples should never be afraid to seek out therapy to improve communication and alleviate stress.

We must remember, these are our marriages we are fighting for, and they are ours to win, or ours to lose. If we are not taking time to be a couple, it’s only a matter of time before we become less than that.

The fact is, practice makes things better (only Jesus was perfect), and marriage is a journey of growth. As human beings, we have a natural tendency to learn best from our mistakes. This means there will be bumps in the proverbial road towards marital bliss. Times of confusion and even hurt can be expected along the way. Put simply, making it work can be work, but if done with good technique and even better intentions, our work will pay enormous dividends.

(Lonnie J. Lapeyrouse is a licensed professional counselor, a clinical manager at Magnolia Family Services, and operates his own private practice in Houma, LA.) Lonnie J. Lapeyrouse, LPC (985)790-6470 6522 West Main Street Houma, LA 70364 BC

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Marriage Preparation in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux Approximately 125 engaged couples attend the Marriage Preparation Day annually, says Amanda Garcia, marriage prep coordinator.

Marriage as a

Sacrament

Marriage Preparation Day The Marriage Preparation Day is a diocesan requirement that provides the opportunity for engaged couples to invest some time and effort into their formation as lifelong bride and groom, says Garcia.

Some of these benefits are: v A witness from other married couples – a connection with other married couples who hold the same beliefs and values as they do; v Faith based preparation about the sacrament of marriage; v Get a better understanding of marriage as a “sacrament.”

Why do you want to get married in the church? What do couples consent to through a wedding in the Catholic Church? v Helps them to understand that there is a whole other family unit that wants to help them be successful in their marriage; v Build a strong faith based foundation for their marriage; v A connection back to the church – why it is important to be a part of the church and register in a parish.

FOCCUS Couples Married couples may be invited to participate actively in the marriage preparation of engaged couples in their church parish as FOCCUS couples. FOCCUS (Facilitating Open Couple Communication, Understanding and Study) is a premarital instrument designed to help assess a couple’s readiness for marriage; it is a “snapshot” of where the couple is in their relationship at that moment.

Marriage as a sacrament is a serious and sacred commitment that calls a couple to each other in the most profound and permanent way. Their mutual love is a reminder of the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ. By the grace of their sacrament, they become able to love one another as Christ has loved them. As a married couple, they become a visible sign and reminder of Christ’s sacrificial love for all people.

The Engaged Couple A couple desiring to be married is encouraged to contact their priest/deacon at least six (6) months (or more) prior to the proposed date of their wedding. This interval allows time to prepare well for such a sacred commitment.

The engaged couple must take an active part in all the steps of these guidelines which apply to them. With the assistance of their priest/deacon, they are to: v Identify and cultivate their strengths, v Deal with the areas of difficulty in their relationship, v Participate in assessment and preparation, v Recognize that marriage is essentially characterized by unity, fidelity, permanence and an openness to children, v Attend a formal marriage preparation program, v Participate in premarital evaluation and counseling when recommended.

A tentative wedding date may be set at the time of this initial contact with the priest/deacon. When the couple has completed phase two of the marriage preparation process, the tentative wedding date will be confirmed or changed.

Responsibilities 1. Priest/Deacon The church has the pastoral obligation to assist those desiring to marry to make a prayerful and mature judgment concerning their marriage. In particular, the priest/deacon, who plans to witness a marriage, is personally responsible for the complete marriage preparation process. He has the serious moral and ministerial responsibility to assist the engaged couple in understanding the meaning of Christian marriage in its human, spiritual, canonical and sacramental aspects, and to provide a liturgical experience that truly celebrates and manifests the momentous step that the couple is taking.

2. Community The faithful in each parish share in the pastoral responsibility to help engaged couples prepare for their life together. Married couples have a particular responsibility to witness the holiness of their sacramental life of intimacy, unity, self-sacrificing love and commitment. They may therefore be invited to participate actively in the marriage preparation of engaged couples in their parish.

3. Parents The church recognizes the unique and vital role of parents in the psychological, social, moral and spiritual development of their children. Renewal in the church has included attempts to make sacramental preparation more family centered.

Parents are therefore encouraged to respond to the invitation of the priest/deacon to participate actively in the assessment and preparation of their children for marriage in the church whenever possible.

60 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • March 2019

a

The diocese uses this instrument to help couples identify issues that need to be discussed, etc.

FOCCUS couples are trained by the diocesan FOCCUS trainer of facilitators, and their number varies from parish to parish and priest to priest.

Attendance at Marriage Preparation Day A maximum of 30 couples per date are able to attend Marriage Preparation Day which is offered seven times throughout the year in the Diocese of HoumaThibodaux.

Marriage Preparation on the Internet

PEONY PHOTOGRAPHY

The Marriage Preparation Process All engaged couples are required to receive sacramental preparation and must meet with their priest/deacon at least six months (or more) prior to the desired wedding date. This marriage preparation process consists of four phases.

1. Phase One: Initial contact with priest/deacon will: v Establish rapport with you in order to support and counsel you at this most important time in your life. v Examine your motives for marriage. v Explore any special circumstances that may affect marriage, e.g., age, cultural background, pregnancy, military service, physical or emotional problems, levels of faith and religious issues. v Explain the marriage preparation process. v Obtain personal information, explain what other documentation is needed, and determine whether any dispensations or permissions will be necessary.

2. Phase Two: Assessment process with priest/deacon will: v Administer a Premarital Instrument* to assist in beginning the assessment of your readiness to marry. v Discuss the results of the FOCCUS instrument. v Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of your communication process. v Examine the sacramental aspects of your human covenant. v Assess your readiness for marriage and complete the prenuptial questionnaire. v Begin the liturgical wedding plans and present to you the parish guidelines.

Inform you of the cost and suggested offering. *A premarital instrument is a tool designed to help you assess your readiness for marriage. It is not a pass/fail indicator. Instead it is meant to help you discover more about yourselves and each other in a non-threatening and objective way.

Our diocese utilizes the FOCCUS (Facilitating Open Couple Communication Understanding and Study) instrument to help you identify issues that need to be discussed, reflected on, understood, studied for problem-solving, skill-building and decision-making. Your priest/deacon will give you more information at your initial meeting.

a

Catholicmarriageprep.com is an online program based in the Diocese of Colorado Springs, CO, that is featured on the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website as a valid marriage preparation course.

This program is approved by the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux for couples with extenuating circumstances.

Updating the program The diocese is constantly looking to update the Marriage Preparation Program and revise its marriage policies in response to changing circumstances in our society, in our economy and in the universal church. The sacrament part doesn’t change, but other factors are constantly changing.

Pre-Cana Pre-Cana, the name the diocese used for its marriage preparation program for many years, is still the name many parishes and dioceses give to their marriage preparation program. The term is derived from John 2:1–12, the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee, where Jesus performed the miracle of turning water into wine.

March 2019 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 61

62 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • March 2019

Marriage as a

Catholic Engaged Encounter

Sacrament

During phase two, the priest/deacon will make the decision to proceed or delay the marriage. If he proceeds, the wedding date will be confirmed and the process continues. If his decision is to delay the marriage, he will follow the procedure found in Delay of Marriage.

3. Phase Three: Formal marriage preparation This instructional phase, formal marriage preparation, presents the essential human and Christian aspects of marriage so that the couple becomes aware of the total dimensions of the marriage covenant. Formal marriage preparation includes reflection on the nature and sacramentality of marriage, married love and family life, couple prayer, marital responsibilities, communication within marriage, personal expectations, natural family planning and other practical considerations.

There are two approved options in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. If you are unable to attend such a formal marriage preparation program, you must discuss this with your priest/deacon immediately.

These are the approved options: v Diocesan Marriage Preparation program v Engaged Encounter Weekend Retreat in the surrounding dioceses Schedule of the Day for Marriage Preparation in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux v Location: 2779 Hwy 311 - Schriever, LA 70395 - Pastoral Center Conference Hall v Arrival Time: 8:45 a.m. (The day begins promptly at 9 a.m.) v Dismissal Time: 3:15 p.m. v Registration Fee: $120 (check or money order) If you are engaged and would like to begin your marriage preparation, you will need to meet with your parish priest or deacon at least six months before your desired wedding date. Complete and submit a registration form to attend the Marriage Prep day at the diocesan Pastoral Center found on the diocesan website htdiocese.org/mp at least three months before the date you would like to attend.

Your fee can be paid with a check or money order made payable to the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. Do not send cash! Come dressed comfortably.

2019 Marriage Preparation Dates Saturday, March 16 Saturday, April 6 Sunday, June 2 Saturday, August 17 Saturday, September 21 Sunday, November 10 4. Phase Four: Completion of marriage prep process with priest/deacon will: v Discuss with you what you have learned and experienced at your formal marriage preparation program. v Discuss with you your understanding of sacrament in light of your formal marriage preparation. v Discuss with you your responsibilities as members of God’s people, as spouses and future parents. v Complete all documentary requirements. As appropriate, grant permission for mixed marriage and/or apply for appropriate permissions or dispensations. v Discuss the reception of penance and holy Eucharist as a fitting preparation for the sacrament of matrimony. v Finalize the wedding liturgy and discuss the wedding rehearsal. BC

This weekend retreat for engaged couples is an in-depth, private, personal, marriage preparation experience within the context of Catholic faith and values. During the weekend retreat there is plenty of alone time for couples to dialogue honestly and intensively about their prospective lives together – their strengths and weaknesses, desires, ambitions, goals, their attitudes about money, sex, children, family, their role in the church and society – in a face to face way.

Want to get involved?

“Marriage Preparation Days serve as a day of marriage enrichment to the leading married couples. Sharing insights and stories of their own married life helps to recall the fundamentals of a free, total, faithful and fruitful love they themselves committed to at the altar on their wedding day,” says Garcia. Please contact Garcia at (985) 850-3129 if you are interested in working with the diocesan Marriage Preparation program.

Gratitude Prayer for

Married Couples Dear Lord, Thank you for marriage.

I pray right now that I would always have a heart of thankfulness.

I realize that thankfulness and gratitude fuel joy in my heart!

Help me to be appreciative of my spouse.

I pray that there would be encouraging words on my tongue to share with my spouse.

I am thankful for my spouse’s love, hard work and encouragement.

Holy Spirit, fill my heart with gratitude.

May you help me to be thankful every day in Jesus’ name.

AMEN!

March 2019 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 63

Marriage

SCARLET RAVEN PHOTOGRAPHY

’

Couples face many firsts’ together in their first five years The first five years can be exhilarating as couples experience new “firsts” together – their first Christmas as a married couple, first dinner party for the in-laws, even their first joint tax return. At the same time, the early years require some radical personal adjustment, which is stressful on the relationship.

Most divorces occur during the first five years of marriage (Kreider, 2005), with the highest incidence of divorce coming in year three (Kurdek, 1999).

Why? Sometimes it’s poor choice of spouse.

Couples who entered enthusiastically – but blindly – into marriage soon see their spouse’s shadow side when there’s no longer a need to keep up a good front. They realize that they married a person who doesn’t share the remote, likes to chatter in the morning or, much worse, doesn’t share their values. They assume that marriage won’t change that and they divorce quickly.

Others fall prey to the stresses of early marriage. Some of these stresses

might be age-related. Young couples may not have developed the emotional maturity, coping and communication skills, or financial savvy to navigate the many decisions thrust upon them early in their marriage. Hanging in there and learning the art of negotiating can resolve many of these issues, but it takes maturity and patience.

Help is available if the couple has the wisdom and humility to seek it. The most important thing to remember is that most of the early stressful adjustments in marriage are normal. Beyond leaving the cap off the toothpaste or the toilet seat up or down, what are the important issues that need to be negotiated?

According to research done by the Center for Marriage and Family at Creighton University (2000), the top three issues for couples during the first five years of marriage are time, sex and money: A. Time You would think that combining households would simplify life and save time. But newly married couples

64 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • March 2019

have to keep up with their spouse’s schedule in addition to their own. Add in jobs, education, time for new in-laws and private time together, and it may seem like you’re a hamster running around the wheel of life. Then, when the first child arrives, you realize that life will never be the same.

Most newlyweds struggle to balance family and work. Since work pays the bills, it’s tempting to consider it the top priority. An all-consuming job, however, like a mistress, can steal attention from your spouse. You may need to agree on how many extra hours you can reasonably work. Carving out quality time for the two of you can require sacrifice, such as cutting back on personal hobbies or workouts at the gym. At some point you may need to summon the courage to look for a different job … or work out together.

B. Sex Sex should be the easy and fun part. After all, you’re married! Why would this cause stress? Despite the conventional wisdom that your sexual relationship should be

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comfortable and exciting, especially during the early years of marriage, many couples reported problems around the frequency and quality of sexual relations. Developing a gratifying sexual relationship depends on having the time and energy to tend to it. Reread “Time” above.

C. Money Most newlyweds are at the beginning of their earning curve. They are also learning to understand and blend their individual attitudes toward money. All of this can be stressful.

In addition, many couples bring debt into the marriage, and some couples accumulate too much debt.

Another issue is: “Who has the power?” Many couples consider themselves egalitarian – “We’ll share everything.” Then she finds herself uncomfortable with the loose way he spends “their” hard earned money and he’s annoyed by the way she hoards it.

Other issues include parenting,

religious differences and conflict resolution. Sometimes, the very issues that should bring a couple together, such as a child, faith and communication, also cause strain.

Because couples care so strongly about these things, they are both potential dividers and bonders.

The arrival of a child brings joy – and stress. Parents can feel overwhelmed with the responsibility of caring for a child, in addition to the loss of privacy and freedom. Parenting is hard work and when spouses are tired, they get irritable, just like kids.

Shared faith can bind the spouses together. It also requires that a couple talk about their different approaches to spirituality and God. Some people would rather ignore this part of life out of fear, guilt or bad experiences. Good communication skills, compromise, unselfishness, and an open mind can help you work through the above issues.

So what can you do when you experience these normal stresses of life in the newlywed lane? n Gather with other newlyweds.

You’ll find you’re not alone. n Keep dating. Prioritize quality time together. n Confide in other couples who have recently walked this road. They can help you sort out what’s normal and what is not. They can console you because they’ve been there and comfort you with stories of how it could be worse. Many Catholic parishes offer trained mentor couples for their engaged and newly married couples. Check it out. n Take advantage of marriage education and enrichment opportunities (books, videos, programs). n Seek professional help if an issue begins to separate you. BC

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An adoption love story Editor’s Note: Adoption is a wonderful gift. Though sometimes portrayed in negative ways by the media, most experiences of adoption are beautiful love stories—such as the one Jenny* shares below.

My husband Bill and I have been married for six years. Having children and raising a family had always been our expectation. By the time we were married, most of our siblings and friends already had children, so of course we were excited and ready to be parents ourselves. We soon learned, however, that having children of our own might not be so easy.

We made a few trips to multiple cities to be treated by wonderful doctors who have helped so many couples conceive, but everything we tried was unsuccessful. We felt so hopeless at times. Words can’t even explain this experience of loss.

Fortunately, our marriage only grew stronger, because we were there for each other and continued to rely on God. This didn’t always come easily, but it helped that Bill has a great sense of humor, and we were able to laugh at some of the crazy situations and conversations that come with infertility.

Since we knew our chances of becoming pregnant were small, it

wasn’t very long before we started talking about the possibility of adoption. However, it wasn’t an easy decision, and I wondered if my heart was big enough to love an adopted child as I would my biological child. There were also so many other variables to consider, one of which was the expense involved, and we had already spent so much money on infertility treatments.

We felt we had no control, but God reminded us again that he is always in control and that we could trust in him.

So with prayerful discernment, we decided to start the process of adopting a child from Ethiopia. However, after it took nearly a year to get on the waiting list, the adoption program was put on hold for reasons that were unknown to us.

We were so frustrated that we started to feel as though maybe we just weren’t called to have children. We then heard from friends who had adopted a newborn baby domestically after only a few short months. With this new encouragement, we switched gears and decided to adopt domestically, picking a nationwide agency rather than a state agency because it is usually faster.

We were so excited but also rather scared. We would be chosen by a birthmother and would be required

66 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • March 2019

to send pictures and letters to her frequently. Most likely, we would talk with the birthmother over the phone and meet her at the delivery. And there was always the chance she could change her mind, even days after the birth. I didn’t know how I would feel about all this and wondered if we were setting ourselves up for more heartbreak. But all we could do was pray and try to leave it in God’s hands.

Four months later, we received a call that a birthmother in Florida had chosen us. She was seven months pregnant with a boy. We couldn’t believe it. We were finally going to have a baby. We talked with her a couple of times over the phone, and I never realized until then how lucky I was to marry such a talker, as Bill really helped the conversations flow smoothly.

On the birthmother’s due date, we received the call that she was in labor.

Bill and I dropped everything and hit the road to Florida to meet our son.

Words can’t even describe how we felt during that drive. We were so excited at the thought that we could be driving home with our son, yet at the same time we were so scared that we may be driving home alone. I wasn’t sure we could handle that disappointment, and I wondered what she would think

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of us. Would she regret that she chose us? What would I say to the woman who was going to place her child with us? Along with these and all the normal fears of becoming a parent, I was also afraid that I wouldn’t bond with our new son or feel that he was ours.

After arriving, we met the birthmother who was still in labor.

She was so sweet and personable, and we sat with her to support her as best we could. A few hours later, our son Andrew was born. It was the most surreal experience.

We spent the next day and a half with Andrew and his birthmother in the hospital getting to know each other a bit. It was hard to know what to say to her, knowing she was making the hardest decision of her life, knowing the pain she must be experiencing, and feeling that I was the one causing this pain. It was such an emotional roller coaster to hold and look at this precious baby,

wondering if I would really be his mother.

Thankfully, the birthmother decided to maintain her decision to place her child with us. Later that evening, Christmas Eve, Bill and I left the hospital with Andrew. It didn’t take long before there was no doubt in our minds that he was our son, the greatest gift from God! He really is our Christmas miracle.

Andrew is two years old now, and it is so clear to Bill and me that God picked him for us. We can’t imagine loving a child whom we conceived more than we love Andrew. It is amazing how he fits our personalities so well.

More and more every day we are so thankful to his birthmother for her selfless decision.

It is so hard to express in words what a unique experience adoption has been for us. It has been quite a journey facing infertility, as well as so many unknowns and acts of kindness and

sacrifice—all with so many emotions— which led to the growth of our family.

There were times when our faith was shaken and we weren’t sure if we could handle our cross. But adopting Andrew has made us more aware of God’s power and of his love for us. We realize that he always has a perfect plan for our lives.

About the authors *Jenny and Bill (all names have been changed for privacy) would like to encourage you be open to the gift of adoption. Is God calling you to consider adopting a child or placing your child for adoption? To learn more information, contact your diocesan office.

Reprinted from Respect Life Program, Copyright © 2014, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C. All rights reserved.

Additional resources and ordering information is available at www.usccb. org/respectlife. BC

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Marriage

How to pray with your spouse: Four simple steps

By CHRIS STRAVITSCH, DMIN, LPC, LMFT Ever wonder how to pray more intimately with your husband? Wish you were spiritually closer to your wife? Couples can learn a great deal from the Mass about how to pray together as husband and wife and how to deepen their intimacy at the same time. This is because the Mass is the perfect prayer between Christ and His bride, the Church. Spouses who want to learn how to pray together can begin by following the same basic structure of the Mass. So let’s first look at how the People of God—the Church—pray during Mass and then we will explore four simple steps for praying with your spouse.

Structure of the Mass The Mass consists of four parts, which include the Introductory Rite, the Liturgy of the Word, the Liturgy of the Eucharist, and the Concluding Rite. In the Introductory Rite the Church comes together, makes

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the Sign of the Cross, and asks God for forgiveness, which prepares our hearts for deeper union with God. Next is the Liturgy of the Word, which is when we actively listen to the readings from scripture. This time can be likened to a conversation between Christ and the Church. Christ speaks to us in the readings, and we sing psalms to God from our hearts. Then, in the Liturgy of the Eucharist, Christ and the Church exchange their love with each other.

Through the changing of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, Jesus is made substantially present to us. He then gives Himself to us in the Eucharist. At the same time, we receive Him and give ourselves back to Him, deepening an intimate union.

Finally, the Concluding Rite reminds us to go in peace, glorifying the Lord with our lives.

Four simple steps Praying with one’s spouse by following the structure of the Mass

can be simple and enriching. Here is a four-step process.

Step One: Reconcile and Rejoice First, set time aside weekly for just the two of you. Come together in a comfortable place or hold hands on a walk. Make the Sign of the Cross and take a moment to focus on being present to each other and to God, as is done at the start of the Mass. As you begin, take time to reconcile. Talk about how you might have hurt each other during the week. Then apologize and offer forgiveness. This will allow you to approach God with open hearts and to be united as you pray. Once you have reconciled, rejoice by offering a short prayer of thanksgiving to God. Step Two: Discover God Together Step Two is modeled on the Liturgy of the Word. After reconciling and rejoicing, spend time discovering God together. There are a number of ways to do this. For example, you could read the Bible and talk about the passage.

If you don’t know where to begin in the Bible then a good option is to read the Gospel passage that will be proclaimed at the next Sunday Mass. You can find Sunday readings at the USCCB’s Daily Readings.

An additional option is to read the Psalms, which have been called the “book of prayer.” The Psalms express sorrow and joy, fear and hope, longing for God, and praise. By scanning the titles of each Psalm you and your spouse will easily find one that you can relate to. Pray it slowly aloud and then discuss how it stirs your emotions or what it leads you to think about.

Another way to approach God together can simply involve talking about what is on your hearts and minds. What are you thankful for this week? What challenges are creeping up in your life? What do you need from each other and from God? Answer these questions honestly and then offer prayers of petition to God.

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Marriage

Praying cont.

Remember to give thanks as you see God faithfully answering your prayers.

Step Three: Share Your Love Step Three relates to the Liturgy of the Eucharist. After discovering God together, you can deepen your prayer and intimacy by sharing your love with each other. Sharing your love in the context of prayer may include a kiss, resting in each other’s arms, caring for an ill spouse, giving words of affirmation, or any other meaningful way you communicate your love. Again,

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have a thankful heart as your intimacy is deepened in the presence of God. Step Four: Serve Each Other As your time together draws to a close, remember to go in peace and to serve the Lord in each other. Prayer and intimacy never ends! Let your service and intimacy live on throughout every day, as you go about cooking, cleaning, listening, working, and so on. The fruit that will come from your prayer routine will bless your marriage, deepen your love for God and each other, and allow

you to reflect the love relationship between Christ and his beloved spouse, the Church.

About the Author Dr. Chris Stravitsch is Founder of Rejoice Counseling Apostolate and Cofounder of the St. John Paul II Foundation. He earned a Doctor of Ministry from The Catholic University of America, where he focused his research on the spiritual formation of couples and families. BC

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985-850-3136 or blirette@htdiocese.org 70 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • March 2019

2019 Annual Bishop’s Appeal

2019 Annua

‘To whom is much given, much will be required.’ Luke 12:48.

Thank you for your loving support.

2019 Annual

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, The Lord has given me many blessings throughout my life, especially the gift of serving as the Bishop of the Diocese of HoumaThibodaux. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to serve you and our diocese, and Luke of 12:48. for the prayers and generosity so many.

Ways Give: Bishop’s Appeal 2019toAnnual

‘To whom is much given, much will be required.’

By Mail: Complete the enclosed pledge form and return it with your generous gift to :

of Houma-Thibodaux Thank you for your loving Your giftsupport. to the 2019 AnnualDiocese Bishop’s Appeal will directly assist: Annual Bishops Appeal Office

For many years we have prayed for vocations, and the Lord has and continues o answer our prayers with many young men here in our diocese. As we mbark on our 2019 Annual Bishop’s Appeal, we are focusing this year’s ppeal on our retired priest, vocations and religious education across our diocese.

Post Office Box 505

My Dear Brothers and SistersSeminarian in Christ,

70395 EducationSchriever, LASupport of our Retired Priests Or contact us at 985-850-3122 or aponson@htdiocese.org Today, I am asking for your prayerful support this year’s Annual Bishop’s Schools Religious Education ngs The Lord has for given meCatholic many blessings Appeal for these specific ministries. Through your support, we together, can

my life, especially the gift of serving ng to strengthen our call tothroughout work through our seminarians, asvocations the Bishop of the Diocese of religious Houmaducation in our parishes andThibodaux. in our Catholic to thank all maI amschools. deeplyI want grateful for the who share of their blessings opportunity with the people of God through the Annual to serve you and our diocese, and he Appeal.

Bishop’s for the prayers and generosity of so many.

Please make checks payable to Annual Bishop’s Appeal.

Ways to Give: Ways to Give: Ways to Give:

Online: Visit our secure online giving site at www.htdiocese.org/bishopsappeal

By Mail: Complete the enclosed pledge form and return it with your generous gift to : At your Parish: Place youritenvelope pledge form and return with in the In-Pew collection Sunday Diocese ofonHouma-Thibodaux Annual Bishops Appeal Office Your key505 to continued growth in Postpledge Office isBox ministries Schriever,that LA strive 70395to live the Lord’s Mission.

nd pray for me and our By diocese, Mail: Complete the pledge form and the returnenclosed it with Byenclosed Mail: Complete Please as I will pray for you and your families.

For many years we have your prayed for vocations, generous gift to and : the Lord has and continues to answeryours our prayers with many young men heregenerous in our diocese. we : your giftAsto Faithfully in Christ, embark on our 2019 Annual Appeal, we are focusing this year’s DioceseBishop’s of Houma-Thibodaux appeal on our retired priest, and religious Annualvocations Bishops Appeal Office education across our ues Post Office Box 505 Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux diocese.

Most Reverend Shelton J. Fabre we Schriever, LA 70395 Annual Bishops Appeal Office Bishop Diocese Houma-Thibodaux Today, of I am askingoffor your prayerful support for this year’s Annual Bishop’s ar’s Post Office 505can Appeal for these specificOr ministries.

Through your support, weBox together, contact us at 985-850-3122 or aponson@htdiocese.org ur to strengthen our call to vocations through work our seminarians, religious Schriever, LA 70395 Please payable to Annual Appeal. education in our parishes andmake in ourchecks Catholic schools.

I wantBishop’s to thank all who share of their blessings with the people of God through the Annual Online: Visit our secure giving site Oronline contact us atat 985-850-3122 or Bishop’s Appeal. www.htdiocese.org/bishopsappeal p’s Please pray for me and our diocese, as I will pray for you and your families.

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Or more contact us at 985-850-3122 or aponson@htdiocese.org For information on how your gift can make an impact please call 985-850-3122 Please make checks payable to Annual Bishop’s Appeal.

Online: Visit our secure online giving site at www.htdiocese.org/bishopsappeal

aponson@htdiocese.org

At your Parish: Place your envelope in the In-Pew

collection on Sunday Please make checks payable to Annual Bishop’s Appeal.

At your Parish: Place your envelope in the In-Pew

2019 Annua