Bayou Catholic Magazine October 2020

Bayou

Catholic

The official magazine of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux

RESPECT LIFE

Created in the image and likeness of God OCTOBER 2020 ~ VOL. 41 NO. 4 ~ COMPLIMENTARY

Contents

Features 32 Ann Thibodaux retires

34

By Janet Marcel

St. Francis de Sales Cathedral School celebrates 150 years

By Mary Anne’ Goodwin

Columns 8 Comfort For My People

By Bishop Shelton J. Fabre

12

Pope Speaks

13

Questions of Faith

14

Readings Between the Lines

42

Reading With Raymond

Pope Francis I

By Father Wilmer Todd

By Father Glenn LeCompte

By Raymond Saadi

46 Overtime

By Ed Daniels

In Every Issue 6 From the Editor 16 Scripture Readings 26 Heavenly Recipes 28 Youth In Action 30 Daily Prayer for Priests,

Deacons and Seminarians

Guest Column 40 St. Katharine Drexel

By Father Wilmer Todd

Announcements 43 Wedding anniversary celebrations

44

45

Nov. 8 and 22

Red Mass, Oct. 7 at Co-Cathedral Annual White Mass Oct. 10-11, 17-18

On Our Cover

LAWRENCE CHATAGNIER/BAYOU CATHOLIC

In addition to October being Respect Life Month it is also the month that is dedicated to the rosary. This presents us with a great opportunity to pray the rosary during this month for special respect life intentions such as an end to the evils of abortion, capital punishment, racism, euthanasia and other attacks against the sanctity of human life. St. Luke the Evangelist parishioner Alice Fields is shown praying the rosary in the Thibodaux church.

October 2020 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 3

CARING FOR YOU SO YOU CAN

BE YOUR BEST SELF

Dr. Adam Arceneaux Internal Medicine

Dr. Alain Chesnut Internal Medicine

Dr. Fadi Abou-Issa Internal Medicine

At Internal Medicine Specialists TGMC, our team of primary care physicians and nurse practitioners are here to keep you on track for good health! We provide personalized ongoing care focused on your comprehensive healthcare needs including medication and chronic disease management, as well as continual monitoring and assessment, so that you can achieve your maximum potential.

NURSE PRACTITIONERS

INTERNAL MEDICINE

SPECIALISTS

TGMC

OFFERING CONVENIENT: Nancy Faucheaux, APRN-BC

Beau Leonard, NP-C

Julie Rhodes, RN, MSN

• Same day appointments • Telehealth visits • Online scheduling and medical records access

Call 985-868-9960, 851-6653, or visit TGMC.com/mychart to schedule your appointment today!

Trudy Clement

FE RESPECT LI MONTH 020 October 2

Bayou Shrimp and Sau Jambalaya Catholic JAMBALAYA Trudy Makes a

INGREDIENTS:

How to of reach us: 1 lb. shrimp 1 lb.(985) of smoked sausage

BY PHONE: 850-3132 2 cups of rice

BY MAIL: P.O. Box 505 1 stickLA of 70395 butter Schriever, 1 can of cream of mushroom soup

BY FAX: (985) 850-3232 1 can of Rotel tomatoes E-MAIL: 1BY can of French onion soup This month’s heavenly recipe, shrimp and sausage bayoucatholic@htdiocese.org 1 chopped onion jambalaya, comes from Christ the Redeemer parishioner 1/2 of chopped bell pepper The Bayou Catholic is published monthly, for and the administrative coordinator for the offices of the the people of the Roman Catholic Diocese bishop and vicars general, Trudy Clement. Trudy grew up DIRECTIONS: of Houma-Thibodaux by the H-T Publishing in Vacherie, the daughter of a sugar cane farmer who has onion and pepper with stic Co., P.O. Box Sauté 505, Schriever, LA bell 70395. called Thibodaux home for the past 30 years. She and her Subscription rate is $35 per year. casserole dish, mix rice, cream of mushroo husband Chris have an adult son and daughter. tomatoes and French onion soup. On The Bayou Catholic a member of the Catholic “I learned to cook from my mom and dad. My mom always clear,isadd shrimp and sausage until sh Press Association, the National Newspaper cooked when I was growing up as a child. However, after then add to casserole dish with other ing Association and an associate member of the my dad retired from cane farming, my parents started Louisiana a at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

Press Association. catering business where they cooked together.” The couple even put a cookbook together entitled “Cook and Tell,” Lawrence Chatagnier editor and general manager featuring unique Cajun recipes and stories from former Congressman Billy Tauzin.

April LeBouef Trudy likes to cook meals that are quick and easy to business manager prepare. “I was always cooking when I got home from Janet Marcel work when my children were young. I would cook, wash staff writer/administrative assistant clothes and do a few chores around the house while the children did their homework. I would always try to have Lisa Schobel Hebert something I could prepare and cook in about 30 minutes graphic designer or so.”

Meridy Liner Before working for the diocese, Trudy was a consultant for administrative funding at E Learning, the director of the accounts receivable/payable assistant Warren J. Harang Jr. Municipal Auditorium in Thibodaux, and she also worked for Congressman Billy Tauzin before it. God has a plan for all of us. The invita he retired.

Mark came out of the blue.”

Trudy has been friends with Father Mark Toups for One of the things she likes best abou years and when Father Mark shared the diocesan strategic interaction that she has with the priests plan with her and asked her to join his team and work on Likeknowing us on Facebook enjoy the priests. I appreciate th or come to know what they do the plan she told him that she would give him two years. level. I have us on the web really learned to appr “I have been with the diocese for five years now and I love theirFind parish.

I have

18

26

28

32

26 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • October 2020

www.bayoucatholic.org

Where to find your Bayou Catholic

34

40

Bayou Catholic magazine can be found at all Catholic churches and Catholic schools throughout the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux.

To pick up a copy, you may also visit the merchants who advertise in our issue. Those wishing to receive the magazine by mail can call Janet Marcel at (985) 850-3132 or write to Bayou Catholic, P.O. Box 505, Schriever, LA 70395.

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

October 2020 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 5

From the Editor

FE RESPECT LI MONTH 020 October 2

In keeping with this month’s theme of respect life, my From the Editor segment comes from the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops and their respect life literature. As Catholic Christians, we believe that all human life is sacred from conception to a natural death.

Twenty-five years ago, Pope St. John Paul II wrote that the Gospel of life is at the heart of Jesus’ saving message to the world (Evangelium vitae). In taking on human flesh, dwelling among us, and sacrificing his very life for our redemption, Christ reveals the profound dignity of every human person. This Godgiven dignity does not change with our stage of life, abilities, level of independence, or any other varying circumstance.

Rather, it is rooted in the permanent fact that each of us is made in the image and likeness of God, created to share in the very life of God himself. The human person is a “manifestation of God in the world, a sign of his presence, a trace of his glory” (EV 34). And we must reflect this truth in how we act and

how we treat one another.

The truth of the Gospel of life is at the foundation of who we are as followers of Christ. In his earthly life, Jesus provided the perfect model for how we are to love our neighbor and live out the Gospel call: “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40).

Jesus calls each of us to “care for the other as a person for whom God has made us responsible” (EV 87). The Gospel of life is intrinsic to the whole Christian life and foundational to the decisions we make on a daily basis. For, “the Gospel of God’s love for man, the Gospel of the dignity of the person and the Gospel of life are a single and indivisible Gospel” (EV 2, emphasis added).

In his encyclical on the Gospel of life, Pope St. John Paul II recognizes the full range of threats against human life, from poverty and malnutrition to murder and war. He places particular emphasis, however, on threats to life at its beginning and end—precisely when it is most in need of protection. In modern times, children in their mothers’ wombs and those approaching the end of their lives are certainly among the “least of these” in our world’s estimation. Practices such as abortion and assisted suicide tragically reject the truth that human life is always to be cherished and defended with loving concern.

As the church celebrates the 25th anniversary of Pope St. John Paul II’s prophetic encyclical, let us reflect on how we personally live out

6 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • October 2020

the Gospel: Do I talk about and act toward others as I would talk about and treat Jesus himself? Do I inform myself of the church’s teachings and engage in the civic arena as first a follower of Christ? Do I support and advocate for laws and policies that protect and defend human life?

Do I help pregnant and parenting mothers in need? Am I ready to support a loved one nearing death?

Through the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe, may our Lord grant us the grace to truly and courageously live his Gospel of life.

(Excerpts from Evangelium vitae, © 1995, Libreria Editrice Vaticana.

Used with permission. All rights reserved. Scriptural excerpts from Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. Used with permission. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2020, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C. All rights reserved.)

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

Church LIfe

Coordinating Charities: Catholic Charities statewide band together to assist Hurricane Laura victims Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux has been working with the Catholic Charities organizations throughout the state to coordinate efforts to assist those who have been impacted by Hurricane Laura. As part of this coordination, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux organized a supply drive for items that are and will be needed in the impacted communities.

According to Dr. Nicole Bourgeois, LMFT, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of HoumaThibodaux, several church parishes throughout the diocese served as drop off sites for members of the community to bring these supplies. In addition to the drop off sites, an Amazon wish list was created to make donating that much easier.

The Catholic Foundation of South Louisiana also created a Disaster Relief fund to raise funds for those areas that were in Laura’s path. To date, this fund has collected over $46,000 that will go directly to help the people in need through the work of Catholic Charities.

Finally, a second collection was taken up at most church parishes throughout the diocese, which will also be given to the Catholic Charities agencies in the impacted areas. The second collections have brought in over $48,000.

“We are truly inspired and in awe of the generosity of the people of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux,” says Dr. Bourgeois. “Thank you for your support of our brothers and sisters in their time of need.” BC October 2020 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 7

Comment

The dignity of all human life roots itself in God’s love

Bishop Shelton J. Fabre

October is Respect Life Month.

During this month, we are called upon to reflect on how we are working to respect the human life and dignity of each person, from the first moment of conception to the time of natural death.

In the Book of Genesis’ first account of creation, the highpoint of creation is God’s creation of human life, the creation of man and woman, in the image of God, and after God’s own likeness. As that which was created, we are allowed to be participants in God’s creation of human life, which is an awesome and wonderful responsibility gifted to us by God. Because of this awesome and wonderful responsibility, regardless of the circumstances in which it comes about, from the first moment of its conception until the time of natural death, all human life is holy and sacred.

We should see in the life of every person, born and unborn, the image and likeness of God. The dignity of all human life roots itself in God’s love, and it is good; it is very good. God allows humanity to participate in his greatest gift, his most generous act, which is the transmission of human life. Therefore, in my opinion, we are at one of the highest or perhaps even the highest point of reflecting that we are made in God’s image and likeness when we, as God does, see the goodness of all human life, and reverence human life, especially human life in the womb of a mother.

Conversely, and tragically, we are at one of the lowest points away from what God has created us to be when

we do not see the goodness of all human life, and we tolerate the evils of abortion, capital punishment, racism, euthanasia, and other attacks against the sanctity of human life. When we respect this reality of the dignity of all human life, God’s most precious gift, we give honor to the selfless love of the creator and show ourselves to be worthy recipients of so great a gift, worthy receptors of the great trust God has shared with us.

The Genesis account of the first creation story reminds us of the goodness of all creation, the selfless love of God that we are all called to mirror to the best of our ability, and the importance of all human life and our call to respect it. We are called not to be self-focused or selfish in our response to all that God has entrusted to our care.

Rather, we shine forth most completely as created in God’s image and likeness when we respect all human life.

In November of this year, we will have the opportunity to speak up for the unborn by voting here in Louisiana for the LOVE LIFE AMENDMENT to the Louisiana constitution. This amendment would successfully amend the Louisiana constitution and thereby continue to strengthen our commitment to end abortion in our state. Citizens of our state will have the opportunity to affirmatively state that they “Love Life” on Nov. 3, 2020, by favoring this amendment.

As Catholics, we are called to ensure that life is indeed valued and that the dignity of all is upheld. This is the foundational principle of Catholic Social Teaching. Passage of the Love Life Amendment would have a dual effect. Primarily, it will ensure that the State of Louisiana cannot establish a right to abortion at present or if Roe vs. Wade is overturned in the future.

Secondly, it will prohibit the funding of abortion through tax payer dollars within our constitution.

Without such an amendment, the invalidation of the many anti-abortion

8 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • October 2020

laws we have all advocated so strongly for in Louisiana remains a possibility.

Therefore, I, along with the Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops, enthusiastically support the Love Life Amendment, and encourage all to approach this initiative with a formed conscience and a commitment to defend the sanctity of human life and uphold the dignity of all people.

I express my great gratitude to all of you for your enduring faith and financial support in these ongoing days of challenge and pandemic. I am grateful to our priests for their continuing ministry, to all the faithful who join us in person for Mass, as well as to those members of the faithful who are vulnerable, but who regularly participate in Mass virtually.

God bless you all for your fidelity! BC

“

The Genesis account of the first creation story reminds us of the goodness of all creation, the selfless love of God that we are all called to mirror to the best of our ability, and the importance of all human life and our call to respect it.

“

Comfort For My People

Comentario

La dignidad de toda vida humana tiene sus mismas raíces en el amor de Dios ser dignos de recibir cuan gran don, dignos receptores de la gran confianza que Dios nos ha compartido.

En la primera narración de la creación del Génesis nos recuerda la bondad de toda la creación, el amor desinteresado de Dios que somos llamados a reflejar lo mejor posible con nuestras habilidades, y la importancia de toda vida humana y nuestro llamado a respetarla. No estamos llamados a auto-enfocarnos en nosotros mismos o ensimismarnos en nuestra respuesta a todo lo que Dios confió a nuestro cuidado. Al contrario, brillamos más plenamente como creados a imagen y semejanza de Dios cuando respetamos toda vida humana.

En noviembre de este año, tendremos la oportunidad de abogar por los nonacidos votando aquí en Luisiana por la ENMIENDA DE AMOR POR LA VIDA para la constitución de Luisiana. Esta enmienda será exitosamente rectificada en la constitución de Luisiana y de este modo fortalecerá nuestro compromiso por poner fin al aborto en nuestro estado.

Ciudadanos de nuestro estado tendrán la oportunidad decir afirmativamente que ellos “Aman la Vida” el 3 de noviembre, favoreciendo esta enmienda.

Como católicos, estamos llamados a asegurar que la vida de hecho sea valorada y que la dignidad de todos se mantenga. Este es el principio fundamental de la Doctrina Social de la Iglesia Católica. La ratificación de la enmienda de Amor por la Vida tendrá un doble efecto. Primero, asegurará que el estado de Luisiana no pueda establecer el derecho al aborto actualmente o que Roe vs Wade sea anulado en un futuro.

Segundo, prohibirá, dentro de nuestra constitución, sacar fondos para el aborto de los impuestos de los contribuyentes.

Sin esa enmienda, la invalidación de muchas leyes anti-aborto por las cuales hemos abogado fuertemente en el estado de Luisiana permanece en una posibilidad. Por lo tanto, yo, junto con la Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de Luisiana, animosamente apoyo la Enmienda de Amor por la Vida, y animo

10 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • October 2020

a todos abordar esta iniciativa con una conciencia formada y un compromiso por la defensa de la sacralidad de la vida humana y mantener la dignidad de todas las personas.

Expreso mi gratitud a todos ustedes por su fe persistente y su ayuda financiera en estos días continuos de desafío y pandemia. Estoy agradecido con nuestros sacerdotes por su constante ministerio, con todos los fieles que se unen con nosotros en persona para la misa, así como también con todos aquellos miembros de los fieles quienes son vulnerables, pero que participan regularmente en la misa virtual. ¡Que el Señor los bendiga por su fidelidad! BC

“

En la primera narración de la creación del Génesis nos recuerda la bondad de toda la creación, el amor desinteresado de Dios que somos llamados a reflejar lo mejor posible con nuestras habilidades, y la importancia de toda vida humana y nuestro llamado a respetarla.

“

Octubre es el Mes del Respeto por la Vida. Durante este mes, somos llamados a reflexionar en cómo trabajamos por el respeto a la dignidad de la vida humana de cada persona, desde el momento de la concepción hasta el tiempo de la muerte natural.

En el primer relato de la creación del libro del Génesis, la cumbre de la creación de Dios es el de la vida humana, la creación del hombre y la mujer, a imagen de Dios, y después a su semejanza.

De tal manera fuimos creados, que se nos permitió ser participantes en la creación de Dios de la vida humana, lo cual es una sorprendente y maravillosa responsabilidad concedida a nosotros por Dios. Debido a esta sorprendente y maravillosa responsabilidad, sin importar en las circunstancias en la cual surge, desde el momento de su concepción hasta la muerte natural, toda vida humana es santa y sagrada.

Deberíamos ver en la vida de cada persona, nacida o no-nacida, la imagen y semejanza de Dios. La dignidad de toda vida humana tiene sus raíces mismas en el amor de Dios, y es buena, es muy buena. Dios permite a la humanidad a participar en su más grande don, su acto más generoso, lo cual es la transmisión de la vida humana. Por lo tanto, en mi opinión, estamos ya en lo más alto o quizás en el punto más elevado de reflexionar que fuimos hechos a imagen y semejanza de Dios cuando nosotros, así como Dios, vemos la bondad de toda vida humana, y reverenciamos la vida humana, especialmente la vida humana dentro del vientre materno.

Contraria y trágicamente, estamos en el punto más bajo, lejos de lo que Dios ha creado para ser nosotros, cuando no vemos la bondad en toda vida humana, y toleramos los males del aborto, pena de muerte, racismo, eutanasia y otros ataques en contra de la sacralidad de la vida humana. Cuando respetamos esta realidad de la dignidad de toda la vida humana, regalo más precioso de Dios, honramos el amor desinteresado del creador y mostramos nosotros mismos

Binh luan bang loi

Phẩm giá của mỗi người tự nó bắt nguồn từ tình yêu Thiên Chúa rằng mình xứng đáng lãnh nhận món quà cao quý đó, cũng là những người được gửi gấm niềm tin cao cả nhất mà Ngài muốn chia sẻ với chúng ta.

Chương 1 trong Sách Sáng Thế Ký nói về sự tạo dựng nhắc nhở chúng ta sự tốt lành của mọi thứ đã được dựng nên, về tình yêu vô bờ bến của Thiên Chúa mà chúng được kêu gọi noi theo với khả năng của từng người, và sự quan trọng của tất cả sinh mạng và mời gọi chúng ta tôn trọng nó. Chúng ta được mời gọi không phải nhìn vào một góc nhỏ hay ứng xử hạn hẹp mọi thứ mà Thiên Chúa đã giao phó cho chúng ta. Nhưng chúng ta rạng ngời chiếu sáng hoàn toàn vì chúng ta được dựng nên giống hình ảnh và họa ảnh của Ngài khi chúng ta biết tôn trọng sự sống.

Tháng 11 năm nay chúng ta có cơ hội lên tiếng cho những trẻ thơ chưa chào đời bằng lá phiếu ngay tại tiểu bang là bỏ phiếu thuận cho LOVE LIFE AMENDMENT (Tu Chính Án Yêu Sự Sống), một khoản trong hiến pháp tiểu bang. Tu chính này sẽ tu chính mạch lạc một phần bản hiến pháp và vì thế tiếp tục khởi sắc sự quyết tâm của chúng ta chấm dứt phá thai trong tiểu bang. Công dân tiểu bang sẽ có cơ hội mạnh mẽ lên tiếng rằng họ “yêu mến sự sống” vào ngày 3 tháng 11, năm 2020, bầu cho tu chính án này.

Là người Công Giáo, chúng ta được kêu gọi xác tín rằng sự sống có giá trị tuyệt đối và phẩm giá mọi người cần được bảo vệ. Đây là giáo huấn căn bản giáo lý Công Giáo. Tuyên ngôn về tu chíng án yêu sự sống sẽ có hai mục đích.

Mục đích chính là nó sẽ đảm bảo tiểu bang Louisiana không có quyền ra luật cho phá thai bây giờ hoặc nếu luật phá thai Roe chống lại Wade sau này được hủy bỏ. Thứ hai là nó không cho phép dùng tiền thuế cho phá thai trong hiến pháp.

Nếu không có tu chính án như thế thì sự vô hiệu hóa của nhiều khoản luật về phá thai mà chúng ta mạnh mẽ ủng hộ của tiểu bang sẽ là cánh cửa mở rộng. Vì

thế, tôi cùng các Đức Giám Mục trong tiểu bang, thật tình ủng hộ Tu Chính Án Yêu Sự Sống, và kêu gọi anh chị em nhận ra bước đi này với lương tâm sáng suốt và quyết tâm bảo vệ sự tôn nghiêm mạng sống và đảm bảo giá trị của mọi người.

Tôi bày tỏ lòng biết ơn đến anh chị em vì đức tin kiên trì và ủng hộ tài chánh trong những ngày nhiều chông gai và đại dịch này. Tôi đa tạ các anh em linh mục vì những công việc mục vụ của mình, cảm tạ anh chị em đã dấn thân tham dự Thánh Lễ, cũng như anh chị em già yếu nhưng tham dự Thạnh Lễ qua mạng.

Xin Thiên Chúa ban ơn lành cho sự trung thành của anh chị em. BC

“

Chương 1 trong Sách Sáng Thế Ký nói về sự tạo dựng nhắc nhở chúng ta sự tốt lành của mọi thứ đã được dựng nên, về tình yêu vô bờ bến của Thiên Chúa mà chúng được kêu gọi noi theo với khả năng của từng người, và sự quan trọng của tất cả sinh mạng và mời gọi chúng ta tôn trọng nó.

“

Tháng 10 quan tâm đến sự sống.

Trong tháng này chúng ta được mời gọi suy tư về chúng ta đang làm gì quan tâm đến sự sống và phẩm giá của từng người từ lúc thụ thai tới khi nhắm mắt cách tự nhiên.

Chương 1 trong sách Sáng Thế Ký chú trọng đến khía cạnh Thiên Chúa tạo dựng con người, có nam có nữ, giống hình ảnh Thiên Chúa, và sau đó họa ảnh của Ngài. Và vì đã được tạo dựng như thế nên chúng ta được tham gia vào sự bảo vệ sinh mạng con người mà Ngài đã dựng nên, đây chính là trách nhiệm tuyệt vời và tố ̀ t đẹp mà Thiên Chúa ban.

Mà bởi vì trách nhiệm tuyệt vời và tố ̀ t đẹp này, không cần biết trong mọi khía cạnh nào, từ lúc thụ thai cho đến khi chết tự nhiên, mỗi mạng sống con người đều thánh thiện và thiêng liêng.

Chúng ta nên nhìn vào mạng sống của từng người, sau khi sinh ra hay từ trong lòng mẹ, là hình ảnh và họa ảnh của Chúa. Phẩm giá của mỗi người tự nó bắt nguồn từ tình yêu Thiên Chúa, và đó là điều tốt và thật tốt lành. Thiên Chúa ban cho con người tham gia vào giá trị cao cả nhất, qua lòng quảng đại tuyệt vời của Ngài, là tiếp tục phát sinh sự sống đó. Vì thế, theo tôi, chúng ta đang ở một trong những cao điểm hay có thể nói cao điểm nhất, cảm nhận giá trị mà chúng ta được tạo dựng giống hình ảnh và họa ảnh của Thiên Chúa và như Ngài đã làm, là nhận ra sự tốt lành của từng hơi thở, và tôn trọng nó, đặc biệt thai nhi từ trong lòng mẹ.

Ngược lại và quả là thảm kịch, chúng ta đang ở một vị trí thấp nhất so với những gì mà Thiên Chúa đã dựng nên khi chúng ta không nhận ra giá trị của mỗi hơi thở, và chúng ta thoái hóa ngoảnh mặt đi đối với sự dữ phá thai, án tử hình, kỳ thị chủng tộc, giết người êm dịu, và tất cả hình thức tấn công vào sự thiêng liêng của sự sống. Khi chúng ta tôn trọng sự thật về phẩm giá sự sống của từng người, là món quà cao quý, chúng ta cảm nhận được tình yêu vô bờ bến của Tạo Hóa và cho chúng ta thấy

October 2020 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 11

Comment

Pope Francis: Put forgiveness and mercy at the heart of your life The Pope Speaks

Vatican City, (CNA) - We cannot demand God’s forgiveness for ourselves unless we are prepared to forgive our neighbors, Pope Francis said in his Angelus address recently.

Speaking from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square, the pope said: “If we do not strive to forgive and to love, we will not be forgiven and loved either.”

In his address, the pope reflected on the day’s Gospel reading (Matthew 18:21-35), in which the Apostle Peter asked Jesus how many times he was required to forgive his brother. Jesus replied that it was necessary to forgive “not seven times but seventy-seven times,” before telling a story known as the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant.

Pope Francis noted that in the parable the servant owed a vast sum to his master. The master forgave the servant’s debt, but the man did not, in turn, forgive the debt of another servant who owed him only a small amount.

“In the parable, we find two different attitudes: That of God – represented by the king – who forgives so much, because God always forgives, and that of man. In the divine attitude, justice is pervaded by mercy, whereas the human attitude is limited to justice,” he said.

He explained that when Jesus said we must forgive “seventy-seven times” he meant, in biblical language, to forgive always.

“How much suffering, how many lacerations, how many wars could be avoided, if forgiveness and mercy were the style of our life,” the pope said.

“It is necessary to apply merciful love

to all human relationships: Between spouses, between parents and children, within our communities, in the church, and also in society and politics.”

Pope Francis added that he had been struck by a phrase from the day’s first reading (Sirach 27:3328:9), “Remember your last days and set enmity aside.”

“Think of the end! Think that you will be in a casket … and will you take the hate there?

Think about the end, stop hating! Stop the resentment,” he said.

He compared resentment to an annoying fly that keeps buzzing around a person.

“To forgive is not only a momentary thing, it is a continuous thing against this resentment, this hatred that returns. Let’s think about the end, let’s stop hating,” the pope said.

He suggested that the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant could shed light on the phrase in the Lord’s Prayer, “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”

“These words contain a decisive truth.

We cannot demand God’s forgiveness for ourselves if we in turn do not grant forgiveness to our neighbor,” he said.

After reciting the Angelus, the pope expressed his sorrow at a fire that broke out Sept. 8 at Europe’s largest refugee camp, leaving 13,000 people without shelter.

He recalled a visit that he made to the camp on the Greek island of Lesbos in 2016, with Bartholomew I, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, and Ieronymos II, Archbishop of Athens and all Greece. In a joint declaration, they had committed themselves to ensuring that migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers receive “a humane reception in Europe.”

“I express solidarity and closeness

12 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • October 2020

to all the victims of these dramatic events,” he said.

The pope then noted that protests had broken out in various countries in recent months amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Without mentioning any nations by name, he said: “While I urge the demonstrators to present their demands peacefully, without giving in to the temptation of aggression and violence, I appeal to all those who have public and governmental responsibilities to listen to the voice of their fellow citizens and to meet their just aspirations, ensuring full respect for human rights and civil liberties.”

“Finally, I invite the ecclesial communities living in such contexts, under the guidance of their pastors, to work in favor of dialogue, always in favor of dialogue, and in favor of reconciliation.”

The pope greeted groups of pilgrims in the square below, singling out a group of cyclists suffering from Parkinson’s disease who had traveled along the ancient Via Francigena from Pavia to Rome.

Finally, he thanked Italian families who throughout August had offered hospitality to pilgrims.

“They are many,” he said. “I wish you all a good Sunday. Please do not forget to pray for me.” BC

Comment

Questions of Faith Father Wilmer Todd

Reflect, pray, vote I recently saw a video where a priest told his congregation that Catholics could only vote for one political party because the other party advocated a woman’s right to have an abortion. Is this true?

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in their reflection, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, state, “Unfortunately, politics in our country often can be a contest of powerful interests, partisan attacks, sound bites, and media hype. The church calls for political engagement shaped by the moral convictions of well-formed consciences and focused on the dignity of every human being.”

The Catholic Bishops also say, “No party and too few candidates fully share the church’s comprehensive commitment to the life and dignity of every human being from conception to natural death.” Neither political party’s values are perfectly in line with Jesus’ teachings.

Some people claim that they are “prolife” because they are against abortion.

We agree that abortion is an “intrinsic evil” and a “preeminent issue.” We should try to do everything we can to help people choose life over abortion.

However, a pro-life person is not a person who just advocates life from conception to birth. As the Bishops state quite clearly, “The church’s comprehensive commitment to the life and dignity of every human being (is) from conception to natural death.”

In the words of the Bishops, “We are also called to promote the well-being of all, to share our blessings with those

most in need, to defend marriage, and to protect the lives and dignity of all, especially the weak, the vulnerable, the voiceless.” This is the core of Catholic moral and social teaching.

Again, the Bishops guide us, “The other direct assaults on innocent human life, such as genocide, torture, and the targeting of noncombatants in acts of terror or war, can never be justified. Nor can violations of human dignity, such as acts of racism, treating workers as mere means to an end, deliberately subjecting workers to subhuman living conditions, treating the poor as disposable, or redefining marriage to deny its essential meaning, ever be justified.”

The Bishops outline other evils that are against human life: “Racism and other unjust discrimination, the use of the death penalty, resorting to unjust war, the use of torture, war crimes, the failure to respond to those who are suffering from hunger or a lack of health care, pornography, redefining civil marriage, compromising religious liberty, or an unjust immigration policy are all serious moral issues that challenge our consciences and require us to act.”

The Bishops remind us, “We are one human family, whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic and ideological differences. We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, wherever they may be. Loving our neighbor has global dimensions and requires us to eradicate racism and address the extreme poverty and disease plaguing so much of the world . . . A basic moral test for any society is how it treats those who are most vulnerable.”

With this guidance from the Bishops, it is important to root our political viewpoints in the Gospel and a wellformed conscience that involves prayer, conversation, study and listening. The following are some moral questions that can help us choose candidates in the upcoming November election.

Which candidate will advocate for the unborn, will increase pregnant women’s access to health care and nutrition, will address maternal mortality, especially for Black women, will support families in the tax code and family-friendly workplace policies?

Which candidate will advocate for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, reject racism, xenophobia and support policies that address systemic racism; will oppose discrimination against LGBTQ people and disabled people, oppose the death penalty, believe that housing is a human right, support the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and protect people from predatory financial practices?

Which candidate will advocate for health care for all in need, oppose cuts to, and restrictions on, Medicaid, support the priorities of the disability community, support the health and well-being of older adults, and uphold the welfare of trafficking victims?

Which candidate will support raising the minimum wage so that every working family can earn a living wage, protect workers’ right to organize, seek to accurately measure and address poverty, support a just tax code that gives a “preferential option for the poor” instead of the rich?

Which candidate supports DACA protections and will base immigration policy on family unity, ensure humane treatment at the border and by interior enforcement, extend support to immigrant families in the U.S. and treat them with respect, and value and observe international laws on asylum?

Lastly, which candidate will strive to address global warming and its consequences for us, our children and grandchildren? No current candidates support all these measures.

In the document Faithful Citizenship, the bishops say that “we bishops do not intend to tell Catholics for whom or against whom to vote. Our purpose is to help Catholics form their consciences according to God’s truth.

We recognize that the responsibility to make choices in political life rests with each individual in light of a properly formed conscience, and that participation goes well beyond casting a vote in a particular election.”

To help form your conscience, read Faithful Citizenship (https:// www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/ faithful-citizenship/upload/formingconsciences-for-faithful-citizenship. pdf). BC

October 2020 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 13

Reflections

Re-igniting the flame of Vatican II Readings Between the Lines Father Glenn LeCompte

“For it seemed to the Holy Spirit and to us not to put upon you a burden greater than those things which are necessary: To abstain from that which is sacrificed to idols, blood, strangledanimal (meat) and unchastity; if you stay free of these things you will be doing well. Farewell” (Acts 15:2829, translation by Father Glenn LeCompte). The foregoing Scripture passage records the resolution of an issue the early church has to deal with in Acts of the Apostles. Some followers of Jesus from Judea instructed the Gentile Christians in Antioch in Syria that circumcision and adherence to the Jewish food laws was necessary for salvation (15:1, 5). The church leaders in Jerusalem decide that neither circumcision nor the entirety of the food laws need be observed by Gentiles, but that it is sufficient that they refrain from sacrificial meals associated with idol worship and from fertility rites in pagan temples.

Acts 15:1-30 depicts the church adapting itself to a new situation. The early church continued to perceive itself as a sect of Judaism even after Gentiles entered it. But the mix of a large number of Gentiles, who never had to adhere to circumcision or the Jewish food laws, with Jews necessitated that the church accommodate its practice of Judaism to new conditions. In the ensuing centuries since its foundation, church leaders have gathered for numerous councils to deal with new questions for changing times.

The Second Vatican Council, the anniversary of whose opening is Oct. 11, shared with all the councils prior to it the task of answering the question

as to how the church could address the issues of its time and spread the Gospel to people in its day. In his opening address (Mother Church Rejoices) to the council fathers, Pope St. John XXIII set the tone for the council’s task when he said, “(the church) should never depart from the sacred patrimony ... But at the same time she must ever look to the present, to the new conditions and new forms of life introduced into the modern world that have opened up new avenues to the Catholic apostolate” (J.W. O’Malley, What Happened at Vatican II?, p. 38).

The Italian catchword that described Pope John’s view of the council’s task was aggiornamento, that is, “updating.”

Many things had happened since the closing of the First Vatican Council in 1870. The industrial revolution was now in full swing, and two world wars devastated Europe. After World War I totalitarian governments rose that sought to exclude religion from public discourse, and the Nazi Holocaust was one of the greatest expressions of the denial of human dignity in history. Automobiles, aircraft and new communications media had revolutionized life since 1870. There was a greater sense of rising global poverty and the idea that resources from around the world could and should be used to alleviate it.

Until Vatican II, most of the church’s decision-making was conducted from a

14 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • October 2020

European perspective. Yet the church is a global entity, and Catholic leaders from, for example, African and far east Asian countries, needed to be heard.

Vatican II also gave Eastern-Rite Catholics, who often felt unheard by the West, a chance to articulate their perspective.

Also, theological scholars were both learning more about the church in its foundational years and attempting to answer new questions. Monastic scholars’ research on liturgical history revealed that the early church’s liturgy was simpler, more focused on the fullness of the mystery of Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection, and that the assembly had more of a participatory role in it. In 1903, Pope St. Pius X described the true Christian spirit as “active participation in the sacred mysteries and in the public and solemn prayer of the church” (Tra le Solicitudini). Thus the liturgy was reformed to invite full, conscious and active participation by the laity and to return it to its authentic spirit.

Active participation of the laity, according to Vatican II, needed to happen outside of the liturgy as well.

Involvement of the laity in the church’s mission did not start with Vatican II. For over a century lay associations such as the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Peter Maurin’s and Dorothy Day’s Catholic Worker Movement and Catholic Action (promoted by

a

Reflections

Pope Pius XI), et al, were making a difference in the world. Just as Jesus sent his disciples out ahead of him to prepare towns he was about to visit for his coming (Luke 9:37-10:8), so the laity of the church, by right and virtue of their baptism, are to bring the Gospel into the arenas of everyday life, that it may spread throughout the world like leaven in dough.

The Vatican II Council Fathers brought the church out of hostile perspectives and relations with Protestants and non-Christian religions into dialog and collaboration with them in ways in which it was possible to do so.

Reactions to Vatican II have been varied. Since the council ended in 1965 there have been basically three historical groupings of Catholic society.

Those who lived through the council and the changes it brought, those who grew up in the shadow of it and those for whom Vatican II seems to be from as long past as a council from the

its mission relatable to people and sincerely addressing their needs. What Vatican II was really about is reflected in the title of one of its documents; it was intended to be and has been, “a light to the nations!” BC

fourth century A.D. Negative reactions I have heard seem to stem from misunderstanding of the council or from very limited, preconceived notions of the nature of the church and its activity. Some do not think the council went far enough with its reforms. My advice to anyone would be to read the documents; understand what they actually say. A book that can help with understanding what the council was about is What Happened at Vatican II? by John W. O’Malley. Two words that encapsulate Pope St. John XXIII’s vision for the council are “postive” and “pastoral.” Without ignoring the existence of sin and evil in the world, the council refrained from the negative and condemnatory tone of many past councils, and sought both positive solutions to the world’s ills and the creation of new, productive experiences of faith. Additionally, the council documents urge a pastoral approach, in other words making the church and

Reflection Questions v What do you think has been the greatest benefit Vatican II has offered to the life of the church? v What are examples of the way the Vatican II Council Fathers have addressed the needs of our time? v To which of the three groups (lived through the council, in its shadow, or experienced it as long past) mentioned above do you belong? How has being in that group affected your perception of the Council?

POISED TO DELIVER

John Hebert

VP Commercial Lending NMLS# 450026

Patrice Oncale

VP Commercial Lending NMLS# 450029

Jerry Ledet

VP Commercial Lending NMLS# 450028

Russell Touchet VP Commercial Lending NMLS# 202209

Brett Means

VP Commercial Lending NMLS# 1019222

Synergy’s team of local commercial experts understand the needs of our community and are committed to the success of your business.

October 2020 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 15

Scripture Readings and a listing of Feast days and saints

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

1 October

2

3

Memorial of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus, virgin and doctor of the church Job 19:21-27 Luke 10:1-12

4 Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Isaiah 5:1-7 Philippians 4:6-9 Matthew 21:33-43

5 Weekday Galatians 1:6-12 Luke 10:25-37

11

12

Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Isaiah 25:6-10a Philippians 4:1214, 19-20 Matthew 22:1-14

Weekday Galatians 4:22-24, 26-27, 31—5:1 Luke 11:29-32

18

19

Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time Isaiah 45:1, 4-6 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5b Matthew 22:15-21

25 Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Exodus 22:20-26 1 Thessalonians 1:5c-10 Matthew 22:34-40

Memorial of Saints John de Brebeuf and Isaac Jogues, priests and companions, martyrs Ephesians 2:1-10 Luke 12:13-21 26 Weekday Ephesians 4:32— 5:8 Luke 13:10-17

6 Weekday Galatians 1:13-24 Luke 10:38-42

13 Weekday Galatians 5:1-6 Luke 11:37-41

20 Weekday Ephesians 2:12-22 Luke 12:35-38

7 Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary Galatians 2:1-2, 7-14 Luke 11:1-4

14 Weekday Galatians 5:18-25 Luke 11:42-46

21 Weekday Ephesians 3:2-12 Luke 12:39-48

8 Weekday Galatians 3:1-5 Luke 11:5-13

15

9 Weekday Galatians 3:7-14 Luke 11:15-26

16

Weekday Memorial of Saint Ephesians 1:11-14 Teresa of Jesus, virgin and doctor of Luke 12:1-7 the church Ephesians 1:1-10 Luke 11:47-54

22 Weekday Ephesians 3:14-21 Luke 12:49-53

27

28

29

Weekday Ephesians 5:21-33 Luke 13:18-21

Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, apostles Ephesians 2:19-22 Luke 6:12-16

Weekday Ephesians 6:10-20 Luke 13:31-35

16 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • October 2020

Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels Job 38:1, 12-21, 40:3-5 Matthew 18:1-5, 10

23 Weekday Ephesians 4:1-6 Luke 12:54-59

30 Weekday Philippians 1:1-11 Luke 14:1-6

Weekday Job 42:1-3, 5-6, 12-17 Luke 10:17-24

10 Weekday Galatians 3:22-29 Luke 11:27-28

17 Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, bishop and martyr Ephesians 1:15-23 Luke 12:8-12

24 Weekday Ephesians 4:7-16 Luke 13:1-9

31 Weekday Philippians 1:18b26 Luke14:1, 7-11

October

Holy Father’s prayer intentions

Evangelization The Laity’s Mission in the Church. We pray that by the virtue of baptism, the laity faithful, especially women, may participate more in areas of responsibility in the church.

See www.apostleshipofprayer.org

F S

You do the living ~

We do the rest.

Assisted Living Community

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

For More Information Contact: Natalie Barbera natalieb@stjosephmanor.org 205 Venture Boulevard

Houma, LA 70360 Tel: 985-868-0430

LEET UPPLY WAREHOUSE

205 Venture Boulevard Mon-Fri Houma, LA 70360 7:30 AM – 5:00 PM Tel: 985-868-0430

www.fleetsupplywhse.com Mon-Fri 7:30 AM - 5:00 PM

Locally owned sincewww.fleetsupplywhse.com 1974 LOCALLY OWNED SINCE 1974

October 2020 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 17

FE RESPECT LI MONTH 020 October 2

Poverty and abortion: A vicious cycle “My boyfriend Jimmy and I had been going from shelter to shelter just to stay warm as winter’s chill coursed through us. I was with Jimmy and pregnant.” – Anna* “On several occasions we had to deal with homelessness. I can remember sleeping on a park bench and sleeping at bus stops … In 2009, I discovered I was pregnant, with my daughter Mia. And prior to being pregnant with her I had been pregnant before. I had an abortion … So this time around I wanted to do things the right way.

I wanted to choose life.” – Jacqueline* Anna and Jacqueline* describe a plight that is too common. If anything, surveys indicate that low-income women are more against abortion than other women. Yet economic realities pressure many to act against their convictions.

This has been a disturbing reality for a long time, and is getting worse.

In a 2005 study, 73 percent of women undergoing an abortion said not being able to afford a baby now was a reason for the abortion.

That number rose to 81 percent for women below the federal poverty line.

And while the abortion rate for American women declined by 8 percent between 2000 and 2008, among poor American women it increased by 18 percent.

Economic pressure and government abortion policy can combine to make things worse. One study found that poor women on Medicaid had twice the abortion rate of other women in their state. If the state’s Medicaid program paid for elective abortions, their abortion rate was more than four times that of other women. By offering “free” abortions, the government effectively places its thumb on the scale to favor death for the unborn child. By contrast, if these programs continue funding care for mothers and babies but stop funding abortion, abortions among women in the program decrease by as much as 35 percent.

For many years, policymakers have debated whether we should reduce abortions by fighting poverty or by passing pro-life laws. The question is misplaced. It is not a matter of either/or, but of both/and. We need to address both poverty and bad abortion policies.

18 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • October 2020

So poverty can lead to an increase in abortions.

How does abortion affect poverty?

Here we have to look at a trend called “the feminization of poverty.” Women are more likely than men to be poor, and to be in “deep poverty” (with an income less than half the federal poverty line). U.S. Census Bureau figures show that 5 million more women than men were poor in 2012. Almost 31 percent of households headed by a single woman are below the poverty line, compared to 6 percent of households headed by a married couple. Women head over 80 percent of single-parent households, and almost half of children living with only their mother are poor.

So poverty in America is often a story of poor women and children, with no man in the house.

Some social observers once thought legalized abortion would solve this problem. If single poor women had access to abortion, they could avoid the hardships of trying to raise a child alone without resources. But after more than 40 years of legalized abortion, out-of-wedlock births have increased, and the plight of poor women has worsened.

Beginning in the 1990s, groundbreaking research has found that the “technology shock” of widely available contraception and abortion has increased out-of-wedlock births. Previously, it was widely accepted that an unexpected pregnancy out-of-wedlock should lead a man to offer marriage.

Once contraception and abortion became widespread, the same pregnancy came to be seen as the woman’s responsibility – and as her problem. The man’s obligation can end with an offer to pay for abortion; if the woman refuses, she often soon finds herself to be a single mother.

Today over 40 percent of births are out-ofwedlock.

What if the woman does have the abortion?

Besides suffering from psychological and spiritual burdens as an individual, she may find that the abortion has poisoned her relationships. The rate of marital breakups and relationship dissolution after an abortion is said to be between 40 and 75 percent, often related to a breakdown of intimacy and trust. And that often leaves women

a

alone to care for themselves and any other children. In fact, sixty percent of abortions are performed on women who already had one or more children.

Marriage has been called “America’s greatest weapon against child poverty.” By the same token, anything that disrupts lasting relationships undermines the ability of women and men to join together to make a promising future for themselves and their children. In short, poverty can lead to abortion, and abortion can lead to more poverty.

Pope Francis has seen a deeper link between the poor and the unborn. They are both among the first victims of a “throw-away society,” an attitude that sees people as disposable when they do not serve the selfish interests of those with more power.

In Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), Pope Francis rededicated the church to solidarity with the poor and marginalized, including women who are “doubly poor” because they endure “situations of exclusion, mistreatment and violence.” He added: “Among the vulnerable for whom the church wishes to care with particular love and concern are unborn children, the most defenseless and innocent among us.” To those who would abandon the unborn in order to be more “progressive,” he insisted: “It is not ‘progressive’ to try to resolve problems by eliminating a human life.” He went on to say that

Respects the Right to Life

St. Lawrence Chacahoula

After more than 40 ye ars of legalize d abortion , out-of-we dlock birth s have incre ased, and the plight of p oor wome n has worse ned.

not enough has been done “to adequately accompany women in very difficult situations, where abortion appears as a quick solution to their profound anguish, especially when the life developing within them is the result of rape or a situation of extreme poverty” (nos. 212-14).

In defending unborn children, whom Mother Teresa called “the poorest of the poor,” we resist a “survival of the fittest” attitude that ignores the needy – including poor women, many of whom feel pressure to undergo abortions. And in standing for the needs of the poor, we oppose a mentality that treats the very lives of some human beings – any human being, from conception to natural death – as unimportant or burdensome.

Anna and Jacqueline were fortunate.

They found a network of church support that provides material, emotional and spiritual support for women with unintended pregnancies. Thousands of pregnancy centers throughout the country provide such help every day, assuring women in crisis that they and their unborn children really matter.

We should support these centers and consider volunteering for them or

Felger’s

Foot Wear

opening our homes to a pregnant woman in need. And we can all help encourage our government and other institutions to support life. They must always aid and support mothers and children, and never offer to pay for the destruction of life as a “solution” to the challenges women face. The call to uphold women’s dignity and well-being, and that of their unborn children, is one and the same. * Names have been changed to protect the privacy of those mentioned.

(Reprinted (excerpted) from Respect Life Program, copyright © 2014, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C. Excerpts from Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel). © 2013 Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with permission. All rights reserved.) BC

St. Mary’s Nativity Church Raceland

Perfect Fit - Since 1991 Wal-Mart Center

1539 MLK Blvd Houma

851-1559

October 2020 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 19

FE RESPECT LI MONTH 020 October 2

Serving moms in need: Living ‘The Gospel of Life’ On March 25, 2020, the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, the church celebrated the 25th anniversary of the papal encyclical Evangelium vitae (The Gospel of Life). This prophetic document, written by Pope St. John Paul II, reaffirmed the church’s constant teaching on the value and inviolability of every human life.

In this encyclical, the Holy Father explains that The Gospel of Life is at the heart of Jesus’ saving message to the world. Through the Incarnation of Christ, God reveals to us the dignity of all human life. Each of us is made in the image and likeness of God, reflecting his glory and his imprint. We are therefore called to “respect, defend and promote the dignity of every human person, at every moment and in every condition of that person’s life.”

The Gospel of Life highlights the special and particular role of women in bearing the gift of life to the world.

St. John Paul II offers heartfelt thanks to these “heroic mothers,” who, placing their trust in God, “devote themselves to their own family without reserve, who suffer in giving birth to their children and who are ready to make any effort,

to face any sacrifice, in order to pass on to them the best of themselves.”

St. John Paul II also outlines the many challenges that expectant mothers may face, including lack of support from the father, financial strains, concerns about her own health or that of her child, and pressures from family and friends. The Holy Father recognized that an “unborn child is totally entrusted to the protection and care of the woman carrying him or her in the womb.” For this reason, it is particularly important that the church come alongside mothers, offering them encouragement, assistance and support.

Through Christ, we have received the gift of The Gospel of Life in its fullness.

As members of the church, we are the people of life and for life. It is our duty to proclaim the truth of the Gospel of Life to the world, for “to proclaim Jesus is itself to proclaim life.” Pope St. John Paul II tasked us with building a culture of life to combat the forces at work in the culture of death. He challenged us: “With great openness and courage, we need to question how widespread is the culture of life

today among individual Christians, families, groups and communities in our dioceses. With equal clarity and determination, we must identify the steps we are called to take in order to serve life in all its truth.”

In honor of The Gospel of Life’s 25th anniversary and in answer to St. John Paul II’s call, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on ProLife Activities launched a nationwide effort beginning March 25, 2020, entitled: “Walking with Moms in Need: A Year of Service.” Parishes, through the support of their bishops and pastors, are invited to join this effort to increase the church’s outreach and support to pregnant women facing difficult or challenging pregnancies. This special anniversary year provides the church with an opportunity to assess, expand, and better communicate resources to pregnant moms and families in need.

Pregnant and parenting moms in need are in our parishes and our neighborhoods, but in desperation, they are turning to other places for help.

We know the needs and challenges can be immense for women in difficult pregnancies,

a

Celebrating & promoting God’s gift of life since 1817!

1201 Cardinal Drive, Thibodaux, LA 70301 (985) 446-9050 Fax: 449-0047 • www.stjosephmanor.org

Retirement Living At Its Best

20 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • October 2020

St. Joseph Co-Cathedral Thibodaux, Louisiana (985) 446-1387

especially women in poverty, and the sources for help may not be apparent to those most needing support. Women facing challenging pregnancies should see the church as a place where they can find help, especially with its extensive social services dedicated to meeting the needs of people in crisis.

Through the Year of Service, the church is being asked to respond to St. John Paul II’s call and honestly assess the pastoral and practical assistance that it currently provides to pregnant moms and families in need and how effective it is in communicating such help.

St. John Paul II wrote that, “gratitude and joy at the incomparable dignity of man impel us to share (the Gospel of life) with everyone.”

He said we need to bring this message “to the heart of every man and woman and to make it penetrate every part of society.” By reaching out to lovingly support and care for pregnant women and their children, we witness to the sanctity of every human person, in every stage and every circumstance.

The Gospel of Life emphasizes that, “where life is involved, the service of charity must be profoundly consistent. It cannot tolerate bias and discrimination, for human life is sacred and inviolable ... We need then to ‘show care’ for all life and for the life of everyone.” St. John Paul II highlights

Pregnant and paren ting moms in n eed are in our parish es and ou r neighborh oods, but in desperatio n, are turning they to other places for help.

the incredible history of service and charity that the church has provided throughout the centuries to those abandoned and forgotten by society.

He urges that “every Christian community, with a renewed sense of responsibility, must continue to write this history.”

We are called to reverence and love every human person as ourselves. It is our responsibility to care for and protect human life, especially the lives of the most vulnerable among us. The Gospel of Life teaches us that “the task of accepting and serving life involves everyone; and this task must be fulfilled above all towards life when it is at its weakest.”

St. John Paul II wrote that “the Gospel of God’s love for man, the Gospel of the dignity of the person and the Gospel of life are a single and indivisible Gospel.” The Gospel of Jesus is the Gospel of Life, and to love Jesus is to love and serve life. As followers of Christ, may we strive to continually respond to the needs of the poor and vulnerable entrusted to us by God. For this Year of Service, the USCCB Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities is

Our Lady of the Rosary Church Larose, LA

October: Respect LIFE Month Our community welcomes and respects EVERY human life, born and unborn.

providing educational, pastoral, and action-oriented resources to help parishes go to the peripheries and bring hope and help to mothers in need. Through the combined efforts of parishes nationwide, we hope to move closer to the day when every pregnant mother in need knows where to turn for help, and abortion is simply unthinkable. Visit WalkingWithMoms. com to learn more and pledge to walk with mothers in need.

(Excerpts from Evangelium vitae © 1995, Libreria Editrice Vaticana.

Used with permission. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2020, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC. All rights reserved.

Reprinted (excerpted) from Respect Life Program © 2020, USCCB, Washington, D.C. All rights reserved.) BC

55+ Communit y

(985) 446-9050

1209 Cardinal Drive ~ Thibodaux, LA 70301 • www.cardinalplace.org

October 2020 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 21

FE RESPECT LI MONTH 020 October 2

Serene attentiveness to God’s creation Pope Francis reminds us ‘everything is connected’ When we fall in love, become parents, or enter into any significant relationship, it is not uncommon to experience a shift in worldview that shapes our actions.

Consider parents holding their first newborn son or daughter. While there is no instruction manual for all the possible circumstances they may encounter, their guiding framework is the loving, parental relationship with their child. With his encyclical Laudato si’, Pope Francis invites us to understand more deeply our relationships with God, one another, and the rest of creation, and to live accordingly. “Everything is connected,” he reminds us (LS 91).

God uses creation to bring us into loving relationship with himself, most notably through the sacraments. We experience this most powerfully in the Eucharist, the true body and blood of Christ, received under the appearance of bread and wine, where “all that has been created finds its greatest exaltation” (LS 236). God invites us to embrace creation on this deeper level through our worship of himself (LS 235). Our relationship with

“Let the children come to me, do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these”.

Mark 10:14

St. Bernadette Church

Christ—strengthened by receiving him worthily in holy Communion—helps us understand our relationships with one another and with creation.

Pope Francis warns against placing ourselves “at the center,” thinking we don’t need God and lacking concern for other creatures (LS 122, 68-69). But he also rejects the view that “the presence of human beings on the planet should be reduced and all forms of intervention prohibited” (LS 60). The Holy Father affirms, instead, that human beings possess “a particular dignity above other creatures” and share a distinct responsibility for the world entrusted to us (LS 119, 242). When any of our relationships are out of balance— with God, one another, or the rest of creation—all our relationships suffer.

We see evidence of this imbalance on a large scale today. Building upon the teaching of his predecessors, the Holy Father discusses in great detail the disrepair apparent in creation.

Our distorted relationship with God has infected our relationship with the earth, evidenced by pollution, lack of clean water, toxic waste, and immense material waste. For example,

“approximately a third of all food produced is discarded, and ‘whenever food is thrown out it is as if it were stolen from the table of the poor’” (LS 50).

What the Holy Father often calls a “culture of waste” or a “throwaway culture” even goes so far as to see and treat human life as disposable.

The elderly are marginalized, and the lives of persons with disabilities are deemed less worth living (LS 123). The fundamental truth that “the inalienable worth of a human being transcends his or her degree of development” is forgotten—leading to the destruction of unwanted babies in the womb and experimentation on embryonic children in the lab (LS 136, 123).

Sometimes, even efforts to alleviate the suffering of certain populations lead to offenses against human life.

Pope Francis warns, for example, against international pressure which makes the promotion of contraception, abortion and other harmful practices a condition for economic aid.

At times, efforts seeking to protect the environment and other creatures disregard or even attack the

a

Commercial Roofing Contractors & Fabrication Services St. Lawrence the Martyr Church & St. James Chapel 3723 Hwy 307 • Thibodaux, LA 70301 985-633-9431

22 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • October 2020

Houma, Louisiana

985.872-4511

www.lapmetal.com

particular dignity of human beings.

Although we are called to care for creation, the Holy Father makes clear that this approach is not only inconsistent, it “compromises the very meaning of our struggle for the sake of the environment” (LS 91).

Quoting Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical Charity in Truth, Pope Francis explains further: Since everything is interrelated, concern for the protection of nature is also incompatible with the justification of abortion. How can we genuinely teach the importance of concern for other vulnerable beings, however troublesome or inconvenient they may be, if we fail to protect a human embryo, even when its presence is uncomfortable and creates difficulties?

“If personal and social sensitivity towards the acceptance of new life is lost, then other forms of acceptance that are valuable for society also wither away” (LS 120).

Pope Francis isn’t endorsing a secular environmentalism—he has a broader idea in mind—one that echoes the sentiments of another predecessor, Pope St. John Paul II. In his 1990 World Day of Peace message, the great saint reminded us that “no peaceful society can afford to neglect either respect for life or the fact that there is an integrity to creation” (7). He later addressed Catholics directly, reminding us of our

Our relatio nship with Christ—str engthene d by receiving him worth ily in holy Co mmunion— helps us u nderstand our relationsh ips with on e another a nd with cr eation.

“serious obligation to care for all of creation” (16).

If we are filled with the love of God, a culture of encounter and solidarity will begin to bloom.

Pope Francis stresses, “We are speaking of an attitude of the heart, one which approaches life with serene attentiveness, which is capable of being fully present to someone without thinking of what comes next” (LS 226).

With this attitude of heart, we neither treat other humans as disposable, nor neglect to care for God’s creation at any level. Through a conversion of heart, repairing our relationships with God, one another, and all of creation, we can combat the many pollutants that poison our hearts and our world.

(Excerpts from Laudato si’ (Care for Our Common Home) © 2015 and “Message of His Holiness Pope John Paul II for the Celebration of the World Day of Peace” © 1990, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Vatican City. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2016, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C. All rights reserved.)

BC

The annual Life Chains in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux will be held on Respect Life Sunday, October 4, 2020, from 2–3 p.m. (rain or shine). This is a peaceful and prayerful public witness of pro-life Americans standing for one hour praying for our nation and for an end to abortion.

Those participating in the Houma Life Chain will line the median of Tunnel Boulevard in Houma.

The Lockport Life Chain participants will line Hwy. 1 (Crescent Avenue) in Lockport. Participants are invited to gather at Town Hall at 1:45 p.m.

The Thibodaux Life Chain participants will line the median of Canal Boulevard in Thibodaux.

Join with other pro-life Christians to make a statement to our community that “Abortion Kills Children.”

“Welcome to the Family!”

St. Lucy Catholic Church

1220 Aycock Street • Houma, LA 70360 (985) 879-2632

St. Francis de Sales Cathedral

October 2020 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 23

FE RESPECT LI MONTH 020 October 2

‘The Gospel of Life’: A brief summary The prophetic papal encyclical Evangelium vitae (The Gospel of Life) was written by Pope St. John Paul II in 1995 to reaffirm the value and inviolability of every human life and to appeal to all people to respect, protect, love and serve every human life. The following is a brief overview of this important document.

The Gospel of Life is at the heart of Jesus’ saving message to the world.

Through the Incarnation and birth of Christ, God reveals to us the dignity of all human life. Human life, as a gift of God, is sacred and inviolable. The Son of God has united himself with every human being and desires for us to share eternal life with him. For this reason, direct attacks on human life, such as abortion and euthanasia, are always unacceptable. Yet, sadly we see new and expanding threats to human life emerging on an alarming scale. These new threats to life are often justified, protected, and even promoted by our laws and culture.

Not only must human life not be taken, but it must be protected with loving concern. Each of us is made in the image and likeness of God, and we reflect his glory in the world. God

made the human person with the capacity to love and reason and share in a relationship with the Creator.

The human person bears an indelible imprint of God and is the pinnacle of all creation. The source of our dignity is not only linked to our creation by God, but to our final end and destiny to spend eternity with the Father. By accepting Christ as our Savior, despite our sinfulness, we can begin to share in eternal life even now.

Despite the grave threats to human life in the modern world, we, as the People of God, are called to place our faith in Jesus, the “Word of life” (1 John 1:1). As Christians, we have received the full truth about human life as proclaimed by the very person of Jesus. In sharing in the lowliest and most vulnerable conditions of human life—even death on a cross—Jesus shows us that life is always good. The true meaning of our lives is found in giving and receiving love. It is only through this understanding of a sincere gift of self that human sexuality and procreation reach their true and full significance.

God holds the lives of all people in his gentle and loving care, giving meaning

a

Southland Drugs No. 2

Sacred Heart Church

Third and Union Streets Morgan City, LA

and value to any sufferings that we may bear. Despite the mystery which surrounds suffering and death, they can become saving events as we unite them with Christ’s sacrifice. Truly great must be the value of human life if the Son of God has made it the instrument of our salvation.

While the roots of violence against life go all the way back to Genesis, when Cain took the life of his brother Abel, our modern world is suffering under a culture of death. Scientific and technological advances and an increasingly secularized world have led to an eclipse of the value of human life.

However, respect for life requires that science and technology should always be at the service of the human person and his integral development. We must reject systems of structuralized sin which value efficiency and productivity over human persons.

Governments and international institutions promote abortion and euthanasia as marks of progress and freedom. But this is a false and perverse understanding in which freedom is equated with absolute individualism.

True freedom is inherently relational, recognizing that God has

447-5852 Bayou

24 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • October 2020

Catholic

1117 Audubon Ave. Thibodaux, LA 70301

Having re ceived the gift of the Gospe l of Life, w e are the people of life and people fo a r life. It is o ur duty to proclaim the Gospe l of Life to the world. entrusted us to one another.

As cultures and societies fail to recognize these objective truths, everything becomes relative and all principles are called into question—even the fundamental right to life. However, the blood of Christ’s sacrifice remains our constant hope. Christ’s gift of himself on the cross reveals how precious life truly is and gives us the strength to commit ourselves to building a culture of life. Christ’s blood, shed for us, promises that in God’s plan death will be no more, and life will be victorious.

Society as a whole must respect, defend and promote the dignity of every human person, at every moment and in every condition of that person’s life. Our lives are a gift from God and ultimately belong to him. He has sole authority over life and death. We are therefore called to reverence and love every human person, loving our neighbors as ourselves. It is our responsibility to care for and protect human life, especially the lives of the most vulnerable among us.

Having received the gift of the Gospel of Life, we are the people of life and a people for life. It is our duty to proclaim the Gospel of Life to the world. To proclaim Jesus is to proclaim life itself. Gratitude and joy at the incomparable dignity of the human person impel us to bring the Gospel of life to the hearts of all people and make it penetrate every part of society. In every child which is born and in every person who lives or dies we see the image of God’s glory. We celebrate this glory in every human being, a sign of the living God, an icon of Jesus Christ.

(Cf. Evangelium vitae © Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Vatican City. Summary comprised of quotes and adaptations used with permission. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2020, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C. All rights reserved. Reprinted (excerpted) from Respect Life Program © 2020, USCCB, Washington, D.C. All rights reserved.) BC

Life is great ~

Get busy living.

Independent Living Community

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

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

October 2020 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 25

Heavenly Recipes

Trudy Clement

Trudy Makes a

JAMBALAYA Story and Photos by Lawrence Chatagnier

This month’s heavenly recipe, shrimp and sausage jambalaya, comes from Christ the Redeemer parishioner and the administrative coordinator for the offices of the bishop and vicars general, Trudy Clement. Trudy grew up in Vacherie, the daughter of a sugar cane farmer who has called Thibodaux home for the past 30 years. She and her husband Chris have an adult son and daughter.

“I learned to cook from my mom and dad. My mom always cooked when I was growing up as a child. However, after my dad retired from cane farming, my parents started a catering business where they cooked together.” The couple even put a cookbook together entitled “Cook and Tell,” featuring unique Cajun recipes and stories from former Congressman Billy Tauzin.

Trudy likes to cook meals that are quick and easy to prepare. “I was always cooking when I got home from work when my children were young. I would cook, wash clothes and do a few chores around the house while the children did their homework. I would always try to have something I could prepare and cook in about 30 minutes or so.”

Before working for the diocese, Trudy was a consultant for administrative funding at E Learning, the director of the Warren J. Harang Jr. Municipal Auditorium in Thibodaux, and she also worked for Congressman Billy Tauzin before he retired.

Trudy has been friends with Father Mark Toups for years and when Father Mark shared the diocesan strategic plan with her and asked her to join his team and work on the plan she told him that she would give him two years.

“I have been with the diocese for five years now and I love 26 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • October 2020

Shrimp and Sausage Jambalaya INGREDIENTS: 1 lb. of shrimp 1 lb. of smoked sausage 2 cups of rice 1 stick of butter 1 can of cream of mushroom soup 1 can of Rotel tomatoes 1 can of French onion soup 1 chopped onion 1/2 of chopped bell pepper

DIRECTIONS: Sauté onion and bell pepper with stick of butter. In casserole dish, mix rice, cream of mushroom soup, Rotel tomatoes and French onion soup. Once onions are clear, add shrimp and sausage until shrimp are pink, then add to casserole dish with other ingredients. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

it. God has a plan for all of us. The invitation from Father Mark came out of the blue.”

One of the things she likes best about her job is the interaction that she has with the priests of the diocese. “I enjoy knowing the priests. I appreciate them at a different level. I have come to know what they do for the people of their parish. I have really learned to appreciate them.” BC

Offering peace of mind.

At Ochsner St. Anne Hospital, we understand the relationship between mental health and total well-being.

Aubrey Orgeron III, MD

Michael Blanchard, MD

We would like to welcome Dr. Aubrey Orgeron III to the team. Whether you’re seeking help for depression, anxiety, a failing relationship emotional effects of medical illness or life change or an addictive disorder, Dr. Blanchard and Dr. Orgeron are here to help you through the process.

To schedule an appointment, call 985-537-2666.

Youth

in action School: St. Mary’s Nativity School, Raceland Grade: 7th Church parish: St. Mary’s Nativity, Raceland Family Unit: Jonathan Carothers, father; Rachael Battaglia, mother; Gino Battaglia, stepfather; Will Carothers, brother; and Gillian Battaglia, sister.

Favorite Hobby: Dancing & Camp Abbey Favorite Movie: Harry Potter Series Favorite TV Show: The Office Favorite Genre of Music: Pop

All human life is sacred from the moment of conception until natural death.

How can today’s youth foster respect for all human life?

As a Catholic school student since the age of three, the Ten Commandments were instilled in me at an early age.

The Fifth Commandment, Thou shall not kill, is one of the simplest, most common sense teachings of the Catholic Church. “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27). God created human lives, who are we to take them away?

Young people, especially young Catholics, need to understand their responsibility toward God, self and others, and that part of this responsibility is protecting human life at every stage of its existence. One thing that can be done easily and daily by our youth to foster respect for all human life is to pray. Prayer, which can

Georgia Carothers

be done anywhere, is a powerful tool that can be used to ask God to guide our friends, family and nation to stand in support of the sanctity of human life. Prayer for the unborn and their mothers, prayers for those considering suicide, and prayers for all who are contemplating any form of unnatural death should be included in every young Catholic’s daily meditation.

Youth should also become aware of the disrespect that our society shows toward human life. My research for this article has taught me that over 600,000 legally induced abortions were reported to the Center for Disease Control in 2016. This awareness was eye-opening, knowing that this many lives, lives of babies who had so much potential, were chosen to be terminated.

Additionally, youth can become

28 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • October 2020

active in pro-life groups or other organizations that promote the sanctity of life. As part of a group, young people can more easily reach out to government officials to promote their pro-life agendas, attend seminars and conferences to learn more about preserving life, and also meet friends who have common interests in doing the same.

Pope Francis once stated, “All life has inestimable value, even the weakest and most vulnerable, the sick, the old, the unborn and the poor, are masterpieces of God’s creation, made in his own image, destined to live forever, and deserving of the utmost reverence and respect.”

We should all strive to remember and promote this message to the best of our ability in our daily lives. 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.

All completed Seminarian Education Burses can be viewed online.

Please visit www.htdiocese.org/vocations.

August 2020 Endowment/Burse Contributions CFSL Seminarian Fund .....................................$1,200.00 Harry and Karen David Fund ....................$10,043.60

Open Burses/Endowment Funds with Balance as of August 31, 2020 Donald Peltier Sr. No. 4 ..................................................$13,000.00

Mr. & Mrs. Galip Jacobs ...................................................$3,060.00

Richard Peltier No. 2 ..............................................................$300.00

Joseph Strada Memorial ................................................$12,642.63

St. Jude ....................................................................................$3,000.00

Mr. & Mrs. George C. Fakier .........................................$11,700.00

Diocesan Knights of Columbus No. 2 ........................$2,894.62

Claude Bergeron .....................................................................$250.00

Msgr. Raphael C. Labit No. 2 ......................................$11,680.00

Rev. Peter H. Brewerton ...................................................$2,600.00

Joseph Waitz Sr. ................................................................$11,500.00

Willie & Emelda St. Pierre ...............................................$2,000.00

Rev. Michael Finnegan ..........................................................$200.00 Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Naquin ...................................................$150.00 Deacon Pedro Pujals .............................................................$100.00

Claude & Lucy Mahler Family ......................................$11,400.00

Rev. John Gallen ..................................................................$1,950.00

Harvey Peltier No. 31 ......................................................$10,486.91

Rev. H.C. Paul Daigle .........................................................$1,900.00

Clay Sr. & Evelida Duplantis No. 2 .............................$10,000.00

Deacon Connely Duplantis .............................................$1,700.00

C. Remie Duplantis No. 2 ...............................................$10,000.00

Alfrances P. Martin .............................................................$1,650.00

Deacon Nick Messina ............................................................... $50.00

Rev. Warren Chassaniol ........................................................$100.00 Deacon Eldon Frazier .............................................................. $50.00

Marie Elise Duplantis No. 2 ..........................................$10,000.00

Judge Louis & Shirley R. Watkins ................................$1,650.00

Dean J. Chiasson Fund ......................................................$1,500.00

Maude & Edith Daspit No. 2 ........................................$10,000.00

Msgr. Francis J. Legendre No. 2 ....................................$1,645.00

Msgr. George A. Landry .................................................$10,000.00

Rev. Robert J. Sevigny .......................................................$1,600.00

Fr. Brett Lapeyrouse Fund ...............................................$3,000.00

Msgr. William Koninkx ......................................................$8,700.00

Jacob Marcello .....................................................................$1,600.00

Catholic Daughters .............................................................$7,260.00

Rev. Hubert C. Broussard .................................................$1,550.00

Rev. Victor Toth ...................................................................$7,000.00

Msgr. Emile J. Fossier ........................................................$1,545.00

Msgr. Francis Amedee ......................................................$6,850.00

Ronnie Haydel ......................................................................$1,535.00

Rev. Gerard Hayes ..............................................................$6,686.00

Dr. William Barlette Sr. ......................................................$1,525.00

Jane & John Dean Fund .................................................$15,509.20

Brides of the Most Blessed Trinity ...............................$6,598.00

Deacon Robert Dusse’ ......................................................$1,450.00

Lena “Bobbie” Sere’ Fund ....................................................$550.00

Rev. Guy Zeringue ..............................................................$6,300.00

Rev. Anthony Rousso ........................................................$1,300.00

Leon ‘Ponoke’ & Marlene Champagne Fund .........$2,800.00

Rev. Peter Nies .....................................................................$6,000.00

Msgr. John L. Newfield .....................................................$1,200.00

Mr. & Mrs. Love W. Pellegrin .........................................$5,000.00

Rev. Joseph Tu Tran No. 2 ...............................................$1,094.00

Mary and Al Danos Fund ...............................................$85,535.02

Anonymous No. 2 ............................................................... $5,000.00

Msgr. John G. Keller ...........................................................$1,050.00

Mr. & Mrs. Caliste Duplantis Family No. 4 .............. $5,000.00

Bishop Warren L. Boudreaux No. 4 .............................$1,000.00

Rev. William M. Fleming ..................................................$5,000.00

Edna W. DiSalvo ..................................................................$1,000.00

Mrs. Ayres A. Champagne ...............................................$5,000.00

Bernice Harang ....................................................................$1,000.00

Rev. Kasimir Chmielewski ................................................$4,839.00

Deacon Willie Orgeron .........................................................$900.00

Joseph “Jay” Fertitta ...........................................................$4,450.00

Ruby Pierce ................................................................................$800.00

Richard Peltier Fund ........................................................$47,048.54

Rev. Henry Naquin...............................................................$4,311.00

Deacon Roland Dufrene ......................................................$750.00

Anawin Community ...........................................................$4,200.00

Juliette & Eugene Wallace ..................................................$700.00

Society of Joseph, Husband of Mary Fund ..................$100.00

Harry Booker No. 2 ............................................................$4,138.00

Deacon Edward J. Blanchard ..............................................$700.00

Msgr. James Songy ............................................................$4,075.00

Deacon Raymond LeBouef .................................................$550.00

Kelly Curole Frazier ..............................................................$3,610.96

Paul & Laura Duet ..................................................................$550.00

Mr. & Mrs. John Marmande ............................................$3,500.00

Mr. & Mrs. Anthony Cannata .............................................$500.00

J.R. Occhipinti........................................................................ $3,400.00

Robert Walsh ............................................................................$500.00

Preston & Gladys Webre .................................................$3,400.00

Anne Veron Aguirre ...............................................................$380.00

Harry and Karen David Fund ........................................$10,043.60

Warren J. Harang Jr. No. 2 ..............................................$3,100.00

Deacon Harold Kurtz .............................................................$300.00

CFSL Seminarian Fund ............................................. $3,701,591.10

Fr. Patrick Riviere Fund ...................................................$29,171.93 Grant J. Louviere Fund ..........................................................$100.00 Harold and Gloria Callais Family Fund .....................$53,983.03 James J. Buquet Jr. Family Fund .................................$52,716.74

Mary Timothy Everett Fund ................................................$500.00 Mr. & Mrs. Joseph J. Cefalu Sr. Fund ..........................$5,000.00 Parker Conrad Fund .........................................................$15,000.00 Paul and Laura Duet Fund ..................................................$825.00 Rev. Clemens Schneider Fund .......................................$1,050.00

The Peltier Foundation Fund .......................................$62,754.27 Viola Ann Wallace Vosbein Memorial Fund ............$1,000.00 Bishop Sam Jacobs Fund ...............................................$32,508.24 Giardina Family Foundation Fund ...............................$4,293.73 Msgr. Amedee Fund .....................................................$304,908.16

TOTAL Open Burses/Endowment Funds: $4,737,644,68 October 2020 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 29

October Daily Prayer for Priests, Deacons and Seminarians

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

1 October

2

3

Rev. Robert Rogers

Rev. Billy Velasco

Very Rev. Jay Baker

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Rev. Paul Birdsall

Rev. Rusty Bruce

Bishop Shelton J. Fabre

Bishop Emeritus Sam G. Jacobs

Deacon Larry Callais

Rev. Toto Buenaflor Jr.

Rev. Duc Bui

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

Rev. Joseph Chacko

Rev. Cody Chatagnier

Deacon Lee Crochet

Rev. Carl Collins

Rev. Van Constant

Rev. Robert-Joel Cruz

Seminarian Zachary Howick

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

Very Rev. Vicente DeLa Cruz, V.F.

Deacon Martin Dickerson

Rev. Dean Danos

Rev. Sovi Devasia

Rev. Daniel Duplantis

Msgr. Cletus Egbi

Seminarian Ryan Thibodaux

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

Very Rev. Simon Peter Engurait, V.G.

Rev. Gregory Fratt

Rev. Alex Gaudet

Rev. Rholando Grecia

Deacon William Dunckelman

Rev. Brice Higginbotham

Deacon Lloyd Duplantis, retired

Daily Prayer for Clergy and Religious Lord Jesus, hear our prayer for the spiritual renewal of bishops, priests, deacons, brothers, sisters, lay ministers and seminarians of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. We praise You for giving their ministry to the Church. In these days, renew them with the gifts of Your Spirit.

You once opened the Holy Scriptures to Your disciples when You walked on this earth. Now renew Your ordained and chosen ones with the truth and power of Your Word.

In Eucharist you gave Your disciples renewed life and hope. Nourish Your consecrated ones with Your own Body and Blood. Help them to imitate in their lives the death and resurrection they celebrate around Your altar.

Give them enthusiasm for the Gospel, zeal for the salvation of all people, courage in leadership and humility in service.

Give them Your love for one another and for all their brothers and sisters in You. For You love them, Lord Jesus, and we love and pray for them in Your Holy Name, today especially for _______________________. Amen.

Sponsored by:

of the Word 506 Cardinal Drive, Thibodaux, LA • marianservantsoftheword@gmail.com

30 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • October 2020

Announcement

World Mission Sunday: ‘Here I am, send me’ Guest Columnist Father Robert-Joel Cruz

Peace!

On this World Mission Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020, Pope Francis reminds us of our baptismal call to respond as missionaries, saying, “Here I am, send me.” These past months dealing with a pandemic have been long and difficult for great numbers of people. Family, friends, colleagues, neighbors, and we ourselves have suffered physically, mentally and spiritually. We have seen

the problems of those around us and heard horrific news about others in many lands.

The drought and food shortage in Ethiopia have worsened. Right now, in one region of Ethiopia, more than 1,000 mostly expectant mothers, babies and young children have been newly displaced – they are in danger of starvation.

The government has officially reported that 10.2 million people will be affected by the food shortage and many will not have enough food to survive the next year.

Our Lady of Fatima Medical Clinic is urgently concerned for the lives of nearly 9,000 people in rural Tanzania.

Often these families do not have even their basic needs met on a daily basis and it is that much harder during this pandemic.

…all of us are called to be on mission

Society for the Propagation of the Faith

Each day, and on this World Mission Sunday most especially, let us answer the Lord’s call to mission, “Here I am, send me.”

Please pray for the people of the Missions and for missionaries.

Whatever you can contribute to the collection for the Society for the Propagation of the Faith will be a great blessing to local priests, religious and lay catechists throughout Asia, Africa, the Pacific Islands, and parts of Europe and Latin America.

Asking the Lord to bless you for your generous missionary spirit, I am Father Robert-Joel Cruz, diocesan director for the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux – 1220 Aycock Street – Houma, LA 70360.

All for the Greater Glory of God! Ave Maria! BC

“Here I am, Send Me”

Name________________________ Address ________________________________ City, State________________________________ Phone _____________ Email _____________

Mail to: Rev. Robert-Joel Cruz Society for the Propagation of the Faith 1220 Aycock Street – Houma, La. 70360 All for the Greater Glory of God

THE CHURCH OF CHRIST ON MISSION IN THE WORLD

October 2020 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 31

Feature

Ann Thibodaux retires after 25 years of service

Story by Janet Marcel ~ Photo by Lawrence Chatagnier Ann Thibodaux, who has been serving as administrator of St. Joseph Manor, an assisted living retirement community in Thibodaux, for the past 25 years, and Cardinal Place, a 55+ independent living residential community in Thibodaux, since its inception in April 2016, retired August 31.

St. Joseph Manor, a private, non-profit corporation licensed by the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, operates independently under the umbrella of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux.

Thibodaux’s original plan was to retire on March 31 of this year, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, she felt called to continue her ministry at the Manor for a while longer.

32 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • October 2020

“I was scheduled to retire on March 31, but after going into lockdown because of COVID-19 pandemic on March 12, I decided to postpone my retirement. Personally, I could not leave the residents and staff during such an unprecedented and challenging time. It is a decision I have not regretted and am so grateful I made,” says Thibodaux, who worked full time through Aug. 10, then reduced her hours until her Aug. 31 retirement date.

Of her decision to retire at the end of August, Thibodaux says, “It appears this may be the ‘new normal’ we will be living in for a while. After having a ‘revelation’ during Mass one Sunday, I decided to officially retire on Aug. 31.

a

Feature

I began my long term care career at a nursing home on August 11, 1976, so I thought this may a good time to end a 44-year career in long term care. I have never considered my 25 years at the Manor a ‘job.’ It has been a ‘ministry’ which I truly loved.”

The Thibodaux native graduated from E.D. White Catholic High School in Thibodaux and went on to receive a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Columbus College in Columbus, GA. Her career in long term care spanned 44 years. She served as director of nursing at Thibodaux Healthcare Center on Lafourche Drive from 1976 until 1981, then as administrator there until 1995, when she was appointed administrator of the Manor.

She says Msgr. Francis J. Amedee approached her after Mass on Thanksgiving Day in 1994 and asked if she would be interested in managing St Joseph Manor, which was scheduled to open in early 1995. She says her first thought was “thank you, but no.”

“I loved what I was doing. I was happy there; and at that time I didn’t even know what assisted living was. But all throughout the holidays, I kept hearing God telling me that I should pursue this. So in January, I called Msgr.

Amedee, and met with him and a consultant in the area of assisted living. I talked to my family about it, prayed about it and ultimately decided this is where God was calling me to be,” says Thibodaux.

When asked what she was most proud of with regard to her job as administrator of the Manor, she says its overall success and the development of Cardinal Place.

What Thibodaux has enjoyed most about working at St. Joseph Manor is all of the people she comes in contact with each day … the residents, the staff and the Board members.

“I love being a part of the residents’ lives because they give so much back to me. And, I’ve learned so much from the staff. I can’t thank them enough for all they do for the residents to ensure they have a great quality of life. I couldn’t do this on my own. I pray for God’s wisdom, his words, his patience and his knowledge every day,” says Thibodaux.

She says what she will miss most about working at St. Joseph Manor are the people … the residents, the staff, the

Craig Pate, PT Lori Matherne, DPT Craig Hebert, PT

interaction with all of the people including the volunteers, the home health agencies, the medical community. She will miss them all.

“Jerald Block and the Board of Directors’ leadership, guidance and support over the years has helped me grow spiritually, professionally and personally. I am most grateful to all of the volunteers. I began serving on the St. Joseph Manor Board of Directors on Sept. 1, which I am very excited about. I will be able to continue my ‘ministry,’ but on a voluntary basis. I am committed to staying actively involved with St. Joseph Manor, Cardinal Place, and its residents and staff. I feel blessed that I will be able to serve on the Board of Directors with this group of distinguished and respected individuals,” says Thibodaux.

St. Joseph Manor’s Board of Directors are Jerald Block, president; Bill Hochstetler, vice president: Francis Thibodeaux, secretary/treasurer; Dr. Maria Cruse, Marty Edlefsen and Carroll Falcon.

Some of Thibodaux’s most memorable moments at St. Joseph Manor were having her mom and dad, as well as her mother-in-law and father-in-law living at the Manor.

She says just having them as part of the community was very special.

“My decision to retire was a difficult and bittersweet one. I truly love working with and reporting to the Board of Directors, and my interaction with the residents and staff. I have been blessed to serve as administrator from the Manor’s inception until now. I am forever grateful to our founder, Msgr. Francis Amedee,” says Thibodaux.

“My years at the Manor and Cardinal Place have been very rewarding and have given me many great memories to treasure. The people have enriched my life and made those years so enjoyable. My many positive experiences, spiritual, professional and personal, at both communities will always be remembered fondly. I thank God for my 25year ministry as administrator.”

She says although retirement is going to be an adjustment, she is looking forward to spending more time with family, catching up with friends, going to the theatre and out to dinner, volunteering at the hospital, and traveling with her husband. BC

For all your physical therapy needs choose our experienced professionals who will become your trusted friends.

104 East Bayou Rd. (Hwy 308) • Thibodaux, LA 70301 • (985) 446-3736 • www.thibodauxpt.com October 2020 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 33

Special

St. Francis de Sales Cathedral School: Steeped in history and tradition

By Mary Anné Goodwin The founding of St. Francis de Sales Cathedral School in Houma is the cornerstone of Catholic education in Terrebonne Parish, and has a long and storied 150 year history with several name changes.

First came the building and property … initially, education of children in Terrebonne Parish was held in over 46 one-room school houses scattered around Terrebonne Parish. Then, before the Civil War was to begin, the Houma College was planned. Its stockholders of local prominent citizens had a grand vision for a magnificent school for Protestant children.

They employed the famous architect Henry Howard, who designed the historic Pontalba Apartments flanking Jackson Square in New Orleans, as well as the plantation homes of Madewood, Nottaway, Belle Alliance

and Bocage. On the nine acres now bounded by Barrow, Point, Aycock and Bond streets, they erected a beautiful antebellum two-story red brick building with a wooden cupola resting on a large garret. As fortune would have it, their new school only operated from 1858 to 1865 with its closure coinciding with the end of the Civil War. The beautiful edifice they had financed was now empty.

Just a few years later, the Marianite Sisters of Holy Cross, a religious order of women dedicated to teaching and catechesis, received a request from the Archbishop of New Orleans asking the Sisters to open a school in Houma.

Accepting the task, five Sisters (Claire, Stanislaus, Sebastian, Catherine and Mother Eutychius) planned their journey to Houma, not at all the quick trip we know today. They left New Orleans early in the morning traveling

34 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • October 2020

by train for their new mission. The Sisters waited patiently while the train ferry moved the train cars one at a time across the Mississippi River. By early afternoon they disembarked at the Terrebonne station in Schriever for the hackney coach ride to Houma and the home of a local parishioner.

Once in Houma, arrangements were made for an “act of transfer” of stock from the Board of Trustees of the Houma College granting its nine acre grounds and building to the Marianites.

The Sisters, three local ladies, and assorted helpers had the daunting task of restoring the school which had been empty for several years. Although still lovely on the outside, the interior was wrecked. The walls were defaced, the roof decayed and leaking; doors and blinds were broken providing easy access for critters. Outside, the fence was battered, allowing local cattle

a

Special

and horses to freely roam the property.

After much hard work by the Sisters and volunteers, the Academy of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, a parochial school, opened to 25 girls on Oct. 11, 1870. The school was a success and thus the cornerstone of Catholic education in Terrebonne Parish was laid.

In the early years of the school, the people of the Houma-Terrebonne area continued their struggles with tropical storms, crop failures and the ever present disease carrying mosquitoes. During the historic Yellow Fever epidemic of 1878, the Sisters bravely ministered to dying victims.

Through all these challenges, the school flourished and in 1879, Rose Cuneo was its first graduate. That year also marked the first name change, thus avoiding confusion with another Marianite school with the same name.

The Houma school was renamed St. Francis de Sales Academy.

The school session of 1880-1881 saw continuous heavy rains and two severe snow storms, all of which damaged the roof of the convent. The numerous roof leaks caused plaster to fall in the dormitories, chapel and hallways.

Additionally, in their effort to escape the inclement weather, snakes took up residence in the school. These events prompted hasty repairs and the addition of sidewalks.

In 1888, parishioners of St. Francis and their pastor appealed to the archbishop, requesting Catholic education for boys. The Marianites received approval and in 1890 an elementary boys’ school opened in a horseshoe extension to the Academy. In 1918, the wooden “Boys’ College” was built adjacent to the church where the prayer garden and rectory are now. At one time, 2nd grade boys and possibly others over the decades were at the original school on Point St. Speculation being the Marianite teacher was unable to make the daily walk to and from the boys’ school.

The graduating Class of 1923 worked diligently to raise funds to purchase a large Sacred Heart statue for the school. The larger-than-life statue became the focal point of the entrance walkway into the school and remained there for over 40 years.

Present day school In addition to teaching at the Academy, the Sisters established religious vacation schools for public school children in Terrebonne Parish beginning in 1933. Their catechesis gradually extended from Schriever to Raceland to Coteau and the communities above and below each of the Houma bayous. Their Pointe-auxChenes school ministered to the Indian and black children.

On April 7, 1938, the bell of the Academy, in unison with those of the church, tolled for Father August Vandebilt, who, throughout his long pastorate (1914-1938), had spent himself in the cause of Catholic education.

Also in 1938, Mother Superior Berchams, widely known as “a veteran champion of boys,” spear-headed the project for admission of boys into the high school. The first boy to graduate was Philip Whitney who later became

a priest. Also under Mother Bercham’s stewardship, the old wooden convent was renovated and painted, classrooms were added, and the grounds landscaped. The next year, 1939, the Mothers’ Club was organized, and was to become the forerunner of today’s Coop Club.

World War II changed life for everyone. In 1942, the Sisters attended classes to become certified First Aid course teachers for adults. A part of the convent was converted to a War Rationing Center registering over a thousand applicants. Students were organized into Victory Corps, Junior Red Cross and United Services Organization (USO) Canteen. With fathers and brothers called to military service, students were released in early May to assist in harvesting crops.

During the regular school year, makeup classes were held on Saturdays.

St. Francis pastor Msgr.

a

October 2020 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 35

Special

Artist rendition of the original school on Point Street Maurice Schexnayder established the Boys’ Athletic Program under Coach Buddy Marcello in the fall of 1950.

Baseball and football fields were established on the spacious grounds of the Point St. school and the Terrier mascot was chosen by the first co-ed cheerleaders.

The year 1951 marked the debut of the Houma Courier’s weekly column, “Tales from de Sales,” focusing on happenings at the school. Long-time faculty member Tracy Duplantis was the author under the pen name La Plume, chosen to honor St. Francis de Sales, who is usually portrayed with a book and feather pen.

Over time, student enrollment eventually out-grew the original buildings. A new three story red brick building located next to the church on Verret St. was ready just in time for the original baby boomer class. What had been two incoming classes swelled to three! In January 1952, the girls, plus the boys’ second grade class, left the original Point St. location carrying their books to the new building on Verret St. The 1st-12th grade boys, minus the 2nd graders, had a very short walk across the church yard from the Boys’ College. Now all students were in the new building but not yet co-ed. From September 1951 until May 1965, 1st-6th grade was co-ed at the new building; 7th-12th grade girls continued in the new building while 7th-12th grade boys moved to the original school on Point St.

Brothers of the Sacred Heart (Linus, Fomuald, Osmond [Donald McGrath] and Casimir) arrived in August 1952 to teach 7th-12th grade boys at the original buildings on Point St. with Brother Casimir serving as principal.

In January 1953, they were joined by Brother Carl Evans. It was at this time that the school’s name evolved into several names for the three branches— St. Francis de Sales (SFS) Elementary, SFS Girls’ High and SFS Boys’ High.

At some point in the late 1950s the iconic original red brick school on Point St. was painted white.

The history of the school would be incomplete if mention wasn’t given to a special Marianite at St. Francis, Sister Fabian. She had trained at St. Pius X in New York and was an extraordinarily gifted musician, music teacher and choir director. She taught music during the school day to 4th6th grade boys and girls, and choir to 7th-12th grade girls. In addition, she conducted piano and organ lessons after school. For every 9:30 a.m.

Sunday high Mass, seasonal liturgies, as well as all parish funerals, she was able to simultaneously pump and play the massive pipe organ while directing the large three part girls’ choir. She continues to be fondly remembered by many today.

Former students fondly remember two big events of the next few years: they took a short walk to the Bijou Theater on Main St. in 1956 for a private morning showing of The Ten

36 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • October 2020

Commandments, and in 1961 the Penny Party which eventually became today’s Bazaar, was begun by Sister Catherine of Siena.

Over the years, changing needs saw the Youth Center being built in 1962.

Its second floor full court was used for high school boys’ basketball and girls’ physical education classes. The open and partial first floor had locker rooms and was eventually closed-in to create class and meeting rooms. October 1962 also brought emergency preparedness precautions to be taken for the Cuban Missile Crisis. Each student placed a blanket and a gallon jug of water in their locker in the event of an attack, which fortunately never came.

The Class of 1965 was the last to graduate from the St. Francis de Sales Girls’ and Boys’ High Schools. In the fall of that same year, the junior and senior high students entered the new Houma Central Catholic High School which was renamed Vandebilt Catholic High midway through that first year. Seventh graders only attended for a short period of time before it was decided they should remain at their various Catholic elementary schools. With the closing of the Boys’ High school, the iconic Sacred Heart statue was relocated to the front of the Marianite convent on Grinage St. Almost 50 years later, it was moved to its present home in front of Vandebilt Catholic High School.

With the opening of the high school under a new name, the elementary school became St. Francis de Sales School. The former high school rooms were no longer needed for their intended purposes and the elementary school gradually transformed them.

The home-economics complex became the focal point for special needs children. Later, what had been the kitchen became the teacher break room and the original sewing room became a federal math/reading lab. The library and science labs became Project Read and Resource rooms for children with learning differences, while the typing lab became a regular classroom. The music room complex became a reading lab with offices, then an Apple computer lab and is currently a hands-on science lab. The large auditorium became

a

Special

the library. Sadly, in the early 1980s, a fire (probably started with pigeons bringing a smoldering cigarette into their very dry attic nest) damaged the stage area of the once auditorium beyond repair. It was remodeled to become a library/computer storage area.

The library has been enhanced with a full state of the art technology lab.

Marianite sisters continued to teach and serve as administrators until 1997.

With their departure, a Sister of Divine Providence, Sister Annalee Prather, C.D.P., arrived to serve until 2010 as teacher and religion coordinator. Since then, the Tradition of Excellence has been carried on by an all lay staff. It was also around the time of the last name change for the school. Since it was adjacent to the Cathedral of St. Francis, the pastor of the Cathedral, Very Rev. Vicente (Vic) DeLa Cruz, V.F., added that distinction to the school’s name. It became and is St. Francis de Sales Cathedral School

(SFCS).

Today, SFCS continues to provide a strong, well-rounded academic Catholic education to pre-school three year olds through 7th grade. Teachers are using up-to-date technology tools; students are taught an integrated technology rich curriculum; and, they are able to participate in various clubs, activities and sports in conjunction with Vandebilt Catholic High School.

With the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, the staff and students successfully transitioned into distance learning for the end of the 2019-2020 school year.

St. Francis de Sales Cathedral School acknowledges its debt of gratitude to the Marianite Sisters of Holy Cross, the Brothers of the Sacred Heart and dedicated lay teachers who’ve made it possible for St. Francis to carry on its Tradition of Excellence.

The school will be celebrating the 150th anniversary of its founding with many in-house activities throughout

the 2020-2021 school year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the limitations of social distancing during this phase of reopening, St. Francis will mark the actual anniversary with the regularly scheduled 11 a.m.

Sunday Mass on Oct. 11. In hopes that more people will be allowed to attend, a grander celebration including a picnic is being scheduled for the 11 a.m. Sunday Mass on the Feast of St. Francis de Sales, Sunday, Jan. 24, 2021.

(Mary Anné Goodwin spent 32 years of her career at St. Francis de Sales Cathedral School. She taught 5th and 7th grade English and religion, computer literacy to PK-4 through 7th grade, served as the technology coordinator for 19 years, and was the administrative liaison for nine years. She also worked in the after school program and enjoyed being the morning greeter for car riders for almost 20 years.) BC

SHOW-STOPPING

style

SHOW-STOPPING

style

Create your dream kitchen today.

Rod’s supeRstoRe

Create your dream kitchen today.

Name BraNd TV & appliaNces 879-2403

Rod’s supeRstoRe

GET UP TO $650 BACK when you buy our most popular Frigidaire Professional kitchen suite*

Name BraNd TV & appliaNces 879-2403

Valid purchase dates 10/01/20-10/21/20

808 Barrow St. • Houma, LA 70360 *Via online or mail-in rebate for a prepaid MasterCard ® Card. Rebate savings start at purchase of 2 qualifying appliances. Additional $200 bonus when you buy 4 or more qualifying appliances.

DEALER IMPRINT October 2020 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 37

GET UP TO $650

Community

Take Action: Register for a Mary Bird Perkins TGMC breast cancer screening

“

By SCOTT MILLER Mary Bird Perkins TGMC Cancer Center

Early detection literally saved my life by discovering my cancer at an early stage; I understand how truly lucky I was to be diagnosed so early.

“

Discovering breast cancer in its earliest stage can help lead to better outcomes, making it extremely important for women to get screened for the disease. With over 180 women in the Bayou Region diagnosed with breast cancer every year, it is easy to see why it is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women throughout the country.

Starting in their 20s, women should get a clinical breast exam at least every three years. Once reaching the age of 40, they should receive an annual exam and mammogram, but every woman should talk to their doctor to determine the appropriate age to begin screenings, based on personal risk factors.

Mary Bird Perkins TGMC Cancer Center has provided free breast cancer screenings in the Bayou Region since 2010. The Prevention on the Go program provides prevention, education and early detection services to residents via mobile medical clinics that travel to where people live, worship, shop and play. Since breast cancer screenings began in the area 10 years ago, over 3,200 people have been screened at 129 specific screening events, resulting in over 25 cancers diagnosed. “Early detection literally saved my life by discovering my cancer at an early stage; I understand how truly lucky I was to be diagnosed so early,” said Lyn Klein, breast cancer survivor.

During COVID-19, screening participants can rest assured that the Cancer Center has taken steps to ensure the safety of every person we serve. A number of practices are in place to ensure the safety of everyone, such as increased frequency of our cleaning and disinfecting practices for hightouch areas and appointments for all screenings to ensure social distancing.

Visit mbptgmc.org to learn more about Prevention on the Go and the safety protocols we have in place or call (888) 616 – 4687 to make an appointment for your breast cancer screening. BC

Lyn Klein breast cancer survivor

Since 2010, the Early Bird Mobile Medical Unit has screened over 3,200 people at 129 specific events, diagnosing over 25 breast cancers.

38 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • October 2020

YOUR CANCER EXPERTS

MEET THE ONCOLOGY EXPERTS,HERE TO CARE FOR YOU. Our team at Mary Bird Perkins TGMC Cancer Center provides the “Strength from Within” that includes leading edge technology, expert physicians, national clinical trials and the region’s only comprehensive breast cancer program. This strong combination of exceptional all-inclusive resources ensure that our patients receive the highest quality, compassionate care available right here at home.

Learn more about strength from within or schedule an appointment at MBPTGMC.org/strength or call (985) 876-9045.

Special

St. Katharine Drexel has local ties to the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux Guest Columnist Father Wilmer Todd

The United States has only 10 canonized saints, and most of these were born in other countries and came here as missionaries. Catherine Drexel was born Nov. 26, 1858, in Philadelphia, PA, to Francis Drexel and Hannah Langstroth. Sister Katharine (Catherine’s religious name) died March 3, 1955, at the age of 96 at Cornwells Heights, PA. Sister Katharine was an American philanthropist, religious sister, educator, and founder of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. The Catholic Church canonized her in 2000; we celebrate her feast day on March 3.

She was the second American to be canonized a saint.

Among her many achievements, St. Katharine came to our Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux to help establish St. Luke Church in Thibodaux.

She also founded the only AfricanAmerican University in the U.S., Xavier University, in New Orleans. When I was stationed at Holy Cross Church in Morgan City, some “old timers” told me they remember seeing Sister Katharine in Sacred Heart Church in Morgan City attending Mass when she was traveling by train to other cities.

We learn a lot from our families.

Catherine had an older sister named Elizabeth. Her mother died about a month after giving birth to Catherine. A couple of years later, her father married Emma Bouvier, and from this union, a third daughter, Louise, was born.

In Katharine Drexel: Learning to Love the Poor, an article by Cecilia Murray,

it says, “The girls learned religion by example. Emma often took the children with her when she made visits to the Blessed Sacrament at Sacred Heart Convent. At home, there was an oratory for family and private prayer.

Each business day, their father spent a half hour in private meditation upon returning from work. Francis Drexel sat on the board of nearly every Catholic charity in the city where he quietly did a tremendous amount of good.

“Mrs. Drexel preferred a more handson approach to helping the poor. Three afternoons a week, she opened her home to anyone in need, and with the help of a servant and later her daughters, she dispensed a variety of practical aid.

These afternoons were known as Mama’s Dorcas work after the charitable widow

40 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • October 2020

in the Acts of the Apostles. They served to impress upon the girls that wealth carried the responsibility for those less fortunate.”

Catherine’s father was a renowned and successful national and international banker. Emma Bouvier Drexel was also from a well-to-do family. St. Katharine Drexel Mission’s website stated the following about Francis Anthony Drexel’s wealth when he died in 1885: “At the time of his death, her father left the largest fortune recorded in Philadelphia at that time. His three daughters received bequests that gave them an extremely generous income for life. He donated the rest of his fortune to his favorite charities. The sisters continued to use their great

a

Special

wealth to respond to the many requests for aid they received from churchmen throughout the country.”

Francis Anthony Drexel’s trust, valued at approximately $14 million, stated that the annual interest was to be divided into a one-third interest for each of the three daughters or their heirs but not any husbands. Additionally, if none of them had heirs, the remaining principal would be divided among the charities chosen by Francis Anthony Drexel at the time of his death. Some have estimated that St. Katharine’s income from the trust fund left by her father was approximately $1,000 per day during her lifetime.

Her two sisters died before Katharine leaving no heirs.

Sister Katharine continued to use her interest for her charities.

When she died, her father’s will did not include the Blessed Sacrament Sisters since she founded her order after his death.

Her Community had to find other means of financial support.

After the death of her father and stepmother, Catherine and her sisters visited an Indian reservation. This visit made a huge impression on young Katharine. After seeing the poverty, she helped Native Americans by providing schools and staff along with food, shelter and clothing.

The first boarding school opened in 1887 in Santa Fe, NM, named the St. Catherine Indian School. By her early 20s, she was determined to help disadvantaged Native Americans and African-Americans by giving assistance with her own personal wealth.

Another important event for Catherine Drexel was her trip to Rome where she visited Pope Leo XIII in 1887. She expressed her concern for the Native Americans and asked for his assistance with missionaries for the schools she was opening.

Instead, the Pope suggested that she become a missionary specifically for the cause of Native Americans and AfricanAmericans. After some consideration, she acknowledged this calling and joined the religious order of the Sisters of Mercy in Philadelphia.

Two years later, she founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People. In late 1889, she received the religious habit and took the name of Sister Mary Katharine. Thirteen companions joined her to become the first Sisters of the new order.

Her Sisters went to places that could not be reached easily by rail. In Louisiana, they visited missions in Bogalusa, Baton Rouge, Mansura, Marksville, New Roads, Opelousas, Washington, Grand Coteau, Coulee Croche, Klotzville, Franklin, Bertrandville, Napoleonville, Convent, Thibodaux, Lafayette, Leonville and New Iberia.

Closer to home, on July 30, 1923, The Congregation of St. Luke’s Roman Catholic Church in Thibodaux bought a lot on Bourbon and East 12th Streets for $2,000. Sr. Katharine donated $4,000 for the church and school. They constructed a two-story building that served as a church and school; the lower floor would be the church and the upper floor would be the school. Graduates from Xavier University would teach, and the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament would supervise.

Archbishop Shaw dedicated St. Luke Catholic Church on Jan. 27, 1924. A newspaper article stated: “Thibodaux now has two Catholic Churches, the new one, St. Luke’s having

been formally dedicated at services that began Sunday at 10 a.m. The new church being intended specially to minister unto local Negro Catholics who are becoming too numerous to be accommodated in St. Joseph’s Church … The building, 40 ft. x 100 ft., was crowded with both white and colored citizens who gathered to witness the ceremony and to attend the Solemn High Mass that followed the dedication. Preceding the Mass, the pastor of St. Luke’s, Father Joseph Van Baast, expressed his gratitude to Mother Katharine Drexel for providing the means to establish the foundation for his new church.”

A Feb. 24, 2000, Bayou Catholic article entitled “A Saint in Our Midst” stated: “When St. Luke began, the state was spending $40 a year for every white child in public school but only $7 a year for every Black child. Because the education that children could receive at St. Luke school was so much better than in the public school, families who were not Catholic sent their children there.”

St. Katharine Drexel once said, “If we wish to serve God and love our neighbor well, we must manifest our joy in the service we render to him and them. Let us open wide our hearts. It is joy that invites us. Press forward, and fear nothing.”

(I want to thank Mrs. Gretchen Caillouet for allowing me to use material from her final paper, “Activities of Saint Katharine Drexel in the Lafourche Country,” that she wrote in Dr. Paul Leslie’s history class, “The History of Lafourche Parish.”) BC

NOTICE In accordance with the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) regulations, each of the 12 Catholic schools, within the parochial school system of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, has a copy of its Asbestos Management Plan on file in the Principal’s Office.

Anyone interested in reviewing a particular schools’ Asbestos Management Plan should first contact the school’s principal to schedule a time for the review.

This notice applies to the following individuals: • Parents of children who attend one of the 11 Catholic schools within the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux.

• Teachers and all other employees within the parochial school system of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux.

Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux October 2020 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 41

Book Reviews

Lifespan

Reading With Raymond

Why We Age - and Why We Don’t Have To

Raymond Saadi

Ask Peter Kreeft: The 100 Most Interesting Questions He’s Ever Been Asked

By Peter Kreeft Sophia Institute Press $18.95 So, who is Peter Kreeft, you may ask? And that, dear reader, is your first question and a good one. Kreeft is a convert to Christianity and professor of philosophy at Boston College who has written 80 books from which, I’m certain, you’d find the answers you’d seek. This book simplifies that task by posing the most often asked in one volume. “Why are you a Catholic?” is not the first one, but it’s a good start. “What is your favorite proof for the existence of God?” “Why does the church resist the ordination of women?” All good questions, but some defy answers: “How should I vote?” and “What language will we speak in heaven?” I hope it’s Cajun! BC

By David A. Sinclair, Ph.D. Atria Books $28 If we don’t have to age, then how do we avoid it? That question was posed to a 111-year-old veteran of World War II recently on T.V. His response; “Be nice to everyone.” It’s not unusual now to see people reach 100 and even more, so maybe the author has something there. Much of his references are rendered alphabetically; NAD, STAC, PNC1, NAMPT, etc., but the most interesting appears to be NMN, a compound made by our cells and found in foods such as avocado, broccoli and cabbage. Sometimes the answer isn’t a new drug, but too much of an old one, as in the case of the author’s elderly mother whose weak heart left her nearly unable to walk. The culprit, digoxin, which has been used by doctors for over 200 years in small doses for ailing hearts (and in large doses for murderers.) Once discontinued, his mother recovered in a matter of weeks. So, what should we do? Ask your doctor. BC

The Great Big Doorstep

By E.P. O’Donnell LSU Press Edition $25 Commodore Crochet and his family salvage a great big doorstep floating down the river, a sign surely, that they will soon find a wonderful house before theirs collapses.

Trouble is, Commodore (Commando in the book), a good-hearted ne’er-do-well has big plans for building or buying a grand house to go with their wonderful doorstep but only ends up becoming a ditch digger while his long-suffering wife, secretly grows oranges and Easter lilies on her neighbor’s properties. If you’ve seen the stage version of the story, you don’t need me to tell you how absolutely funny it is. The play, adapted from the book by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett is true to the characters, locale, and situations playgoers will find familiar and prompt laughter as they read. BC

What It’s Like to Be a Bird c o r p o r at e l aW ~ W i l l s & s u c c e s s i o n s ~ e s tat e p l a n n i n g ~ r e a l e s tat e

Daniel J. Walker William A. Eroche Daniel L. Hoychick 1340 W est t unnel B lvd ., s uite 306 H ouma , l ouisiana 985.868.2333 ~ WWelaW . com

42 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • October 2020

By David Allen Sibley Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group $25.39 Have you ever sat in the early evening listening to the birds chattering and one bird’s strange chirp has you wonder what bird that is? And your wife immediately tells you. What? Has she been reading Sibley’s new book already? Never fear my friend.

Get your own copy and soon wife, friend and neighbor bird watcher will be asking you to I.D. birds. Seriously, Sibley’s book is not only informative, but his strikingly beautiful paintings of the birds poised at any moment to fly away will tempt you to change places. BC

Announcement

Wedding anniversary celebrations scheduled for November Liturgies of the Word sponsored by the diocesan Office of Worship All couples married in the Catholic Church who are celebrating their 25th, 40th, 50th or 60th (and beyond) anniversary during 2020 are invited to one of two diocesan Liturgies of the Word sponsored by the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux’s Office of Worship.

The celebrations will take place Sunday, Nov. 8, and Sunday, Nov. 22, at St. Joseph Co-Cathedral in Thibodaux.

Both celebrations will begin at 3 p.m.

The wedding anniversary celebration is not a Mass, but a Liturgy of the Word.

All registered anniversary couples will receive an inscribed diocesan certificate in their own church parish during a scheduled parish celebration.

Because of the restrictions in place regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, anniversary couples must R.S.V.P. to the Office of Worship for attendance at one of the diocesan celebrations by Oct. 9. Please call Nicole at (985) 850-3141 to R.S.V.P. Social distancing guidelines are to be observed at the celebrations. BC

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

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.

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

October 2020 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 43

Announcement

Annual Red Mass Oct. 7, at Co-Cathedral

Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi

The annual diocesan Red Mass will be celebrated Wednesday, Oct. 7, at St. Joseph Co-Cathedral in Thibodaux, at Noon, to pray for all members of the legal profession.

Bishop Shelton J. Fabre will be the presider and the homilist will be Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi of Mobile, AL. Prior to his seminary studies, Archbishop Rodi earned a juris doctor from Tulane University in New Orleans in 1974 and was admitted to the Louisiana State Bar Association the same year. He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of New Orleans in 1978, bishop of Biloxi, MS, in 2001, and appointed the fourth Archbishop of Mobile, AL, in 2008.

He also earned a licentiate in canon law from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and a master of divinity degree from Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans.

This Mass, which is usually celebrated near the opening of the judicial season, is open to all legal professionals, their staffs, their families and to the public. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing guidelines are to be observed. BC

44 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • October 2020

Announcement

Annual White Mass to be celebrated second and third weekends of October The annual White Mass for medical and mental health professionals will be celebrated in all individual church parishes the weekend of Oct. 10-11 or Oct.17-18 this year.

The Mass will include a prayerful recognition of those in the medical and mental health professions as well as a blessing over them. The White Mass in the Diocese of HoumaThibodaux is traditionally celebrated the weekend before or the weekend after the Feast of St. Luke, which is Oct. 18. St. Luke is the patron saint of physicians and surgeons.

Medical professionals are asked to wear a distinctive uniform to Mass, and if mental health professionals have something distinctive to wear that represents their profession that they do so as well.

Please check your parish bulletins for the dates and times in your church parish. BC

MedIcare certIFIed preFerred provIder NetWork phySIcIaN reFerral Not requIred

• Back/Neck care • Work/SportS INjurIeS • orthopedIc MaNual therapy • Foot orthotIcS/Foot care • WellNeSS prograMS • pre-eMployMeNt teStINg • FuNctIoNal capacIty evaluatIoN (Fce) • trIgger poINt dry NeedlINg • certIFIed haNd therapy

985.447.3164

985.876.1155

985.223.4760

808 Bayou Lane, ThiBodaux

1321 Grand CaiLLou, houma

125 Bayou Gardens, houma

www.ptcenter-la.com October 2020 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 45

Sports

Saints have a deep, talented roster in 2020 Overtime Ed Daniels

In the season opener, a 34-23 win over the Bucs, the New Orleans Saints gave their fans, all watching on TV, a glimpse of what they are in 2020.

The Saints won a game, by double digits, despite gaining only 271 total yards.

New Orleans won with outstanding defense, and opportunistic special teams.

A favorite coaching cliche’ is that a team must be good in all three phases of the game.

And, that will likely be true in 2020 if the Saints are to seriously contend for a Super Bowl championship.

The Saints can no longer ride an offense that just outscores the opposition.

And, that’s the philosophy that the

Saints have been trending since 2015.

Head coach Sean Payton and general manager Mickey Loomis have invested heavily in the offensive line.

And, they have done so successfully.

Since 2015, the Saints have either invested a 1st round pick or made an offensive lineman their first pick in four of the last six drafts.

The Saints are no longer going to ask Drew Brees to throw for 400 yards and four TD’s in a game to win.

If it happens, great.

If not, the Saints are willing to run the football, mix in some safe passes, play great defense and win the battle of field position with a quality kicking game.

Assistant general manager Jeff Ireland deserves a lion’s share of the credit for assembling a quality roster.

The 2019 4th round pick, defensive back Chauncey Gardner-Johnson led the Saints in tackles against Tampa Bay with 10.

The 2017 3rd round pick, defensive end Trey Hendrickson, is playing his best football.

Hendrickson had four tackles, a sack, and two quarterback hurries

against the Bucs.

Three free agent pickups, linebacker Demario Davis, cornerback Janoris Jenkins, and safety Malcolm Jenkins are part of a secondary that intercepted Tom Brady twice, and held the Bucs to 239 yards passing.

In New England, Brady was superb.

But, one of the keys to the Patriots success was their depth.

Another team might be as good, in players one through 10, but New England was better than everyone else in players 15 through 40 on the roster.

The Saints have built such a team.

In 2019, Drew Brees did not have a 400 yard passing game.

But, the Saints still won 13 games.

The Saints were unbeaten in four games when Brees threw for less than 300 yards.

New Orleans used to be a team with a Hall of Fame quarterback and good players around him.

The Saints are now a team with a deep and talented roster, with a Hall of Fame quarterback, in the twilight of his career. BC

Your personal financial goals deserve a personal approach.

Walters & Associates A private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC 985.446.1968 132 Rue Colette, Ste A Thibodaux, LA 70301 waltersplanning.com

Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC. Member FINRA and SIPC. © 2020 Ameriprise Financial, Inc. 46 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • October 2020

“Entrust your Works to The Lord, 742 your Highwayplans 182 • Houma, LA 70364 and will succeed.”

(985) 872-2413 Proverbs 16:3 www.cenac.com