Summer 2012 Newsletter - Ragin Cajun Catholics

Serving the community at the
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Ragin’ Cajun Catholics
This spring the Ragin’ Cajun Catholics
were running as to win (1 Cor. 9:24)!
After a jam-packed fall semester of
fun, fellowship, and the introduction
of FOCUS bible studies, the Catholic
Student Center experienced a level of
growth and excitement like never before.
We can see the fruits of our efforts in
the faces of our UL students.
Evyn Perry, Center for the Ragin’
Cajun Football team, has participated
in a weekly bible study since the fall
of 2011 and was
inspired to grow in
his faith through
the sacraments. He
expressed his new
found
knowledge
of scripture this
way: “Every week,
every single [verse] we
cover opens up a whole
universe that I didn’t
Geauxing Strong
even know existed.” The men in this
unique football player bible study learn
about the difficulty in going against the
grain of popular culture and standing
firm in their values as they come to
recognize the importance of being true
leaders on the team and on campus.
Kyle White, already an active member
of the Ragin’ Cajun Catholics Student
Ministry, received new inspiration
from the FOCUS missionary team to
courageously spread the gospel across
campus. Kyle now leads a weekly bible
study for his peers. This fall, Our
Lady of Wisdom Church will sponsor
Kyle as he enters St. Ben’s Seminary in
Covington, LA. Kyle will join six others
who will also study for the priesthood
for Our Lady of Wisdom!
Renee Stafford (pictured middle),
a sophomore in Tri Delta sorority,
participates in a weekly bible study
about courageous women of the Old
Testament.
The group of young
women discusses significant issues such
as dating, drinking, self worth and the
meaning of life. Renee shares that,
“When things get stressful, [bible study] gives
me a fresh perspective and helps me to realize
that everything in my life is there for a reason
and that God has a plan for me.”
We are reaching, challenging, and
inspiring students in their walk with
Christ thanks to the prayers and support
of benefactors like you!
The Ragin’ Cajun CATHOLIC
Chaplain’s
Corner
FR. BRYCE SIBLEY
“I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me
and I in him will bear much fruit.”
John 15:5
Fruitful. There is no better word that I can think of to describe the past year here
at Our Lady Wisdom Church and Catholic Student Center. Between the numerous
opportunities for authentic Catholic formation and the great work the FOCUS
(Fellowship of Catholic University Students) missionary team has done, we have
much to rejoice about this summer. The Lord has blessed our ministry to the
students here at UL with abundant fruit, particularly in the area of vocations! In
the fall of this year we will have seven men studying for the priesthood for Our
Lady of Wisdom. One other young man will join a monastery, and three others will
study for the priesthood in their own parishes. In May, Andre Metrejean, one of
our seminarians was ordained to the transitional diaconate in preparation for his
priestly ordination next summer. This August, both Juan Pagán and Keith Duhon
will be ordained to the permanent diaconate for the parish and will spend their time
ministering to the students and parishioners.
In addition to an increase in vocations, your support has allowed
us to have a spring semester of unparalleled fruitfulness:
• Daily Mass averaged about 100 students in attendance, and
I heard at least an hour of confessions every day of the week.
• Nearly 180 students regularly attended weekly FOCUS bible
studies, along with 35 students in discipleship training.
• Five students committed to giving two years of their lives
after they finish college to serve as FOCUS missionaries.
• At the Easter Vigil four were baptized as new Catholics
and three others were brought into full communion with the
Church.
PASTOR & CHAPLAIN
Rev. Bryce Sibley, S.T.L.
[email protected]
PASTORAL ASSISTANT
Jeane Moya
[email protected]
CAMPUS MINISTERS
Paul George
[email protected]
Juan Pagán
[email protected]
FOCUS TEAM DIRECTOR
John Merkle
DEVELOPMENT TEAM
Katie Austin
[email protected]
Mary Langley Hernandez
[email protected]
DIRECTOR OF LITURGICAL
MUSIC
Duston Stout
[email protected]
AQUINAS INSTITUTE
Amy Stout
[email protected]
MARRIAGE & FAMILY
MINISTRY
Robin Hebert
[email protected]
But none of this fruitfulness would be
possible without your prayerful support. I
want to thank everyone who supports our
ministry to the students here at UL – we
can’t do it without you.
OFFICE STAFF
Colette LeBlanc, Receptionist
Wayne Angelle, Facility Maintenance Manager
I pray you have a blessed summer! Thanks for
being a Ragin’ Cajun Catholic!
SISTERS OF OUR LADY
OF SORROWS
Sr. Fatima Aphiri, OLS
Sr. Delnise Silva, OLS
In the Risen Lord,
OFFICE: (337) 232-8742
FAX: (337) 236-6737
Rev. Bryce Sibley, S.T.L.
www.ragincajuncatholics.org
2
SUMMER 2012
The Ragin’ Cajun CATHOLIC
Ragin’ Cajun Catholics
Evangelize the
Digital Continent
This spring, the Ragin’
Cajun Catholics reached out
beyond the campus, bringing
Christian artists Matt Maher
and Audry Assad in concert to
the Heymann Performing Arts
Center. Matt’s album Empty
and Beautiful won the 2008
Catholic album of the year!
Over 1,300 people, including
hundreds of new college students, attended this spirit-filled
event. What a witness to the vibrant faith life in our Catholic
community!
“Students are interacting, networking, and sharing through
social media and we are able to
bring a higher purpose to that
virtual terrain by engaging students spiritually, intellectually,
and morally.”
--Father Sibley
SUMMER 2012
3
The Ragin’ Cajun CATHOLIC
Parks, LA
UL Junior
French Major
“Through my experiences at the Catholic Student
Center over the past few years, God has subtly revealed His will for me. While I have had numerous leadership and service opportunities, I am most appreciative of the Sacraments that are readily available. God’s grace has molded me on each occasion
where I am blessed to celebrate Mass, receive the Eucharist, and go to Confession!
Our Lady of Wisdom Church is filled with good-hearted people who care about
one another and who have been instrumental in keeping me disciplined with my
prayer-life, studies and time management.
During my time at the Catholic Student Center, my peers and the Campus Ministers have given me guidance and encouragement to be brave, give everything to
God, and to actively discern God’s call to religious life. My discernment has led
me to join the Norbertine Order in Orange County, California, in the fall of 2012. The Norbertines are an
ancient order founded in France that follows the Augustinian rule. They live a life style similar to monks, but
they are priests, so they are active within the lay community. I am attracted to the Norbertines’ strong prayer
life, which includes Mass, Adoration, Liturgy of the Hours and a devotion to Our Lady and the Rosary, in
addition to the personal time they spend in prayer and fasting.
I am truly blessed by my formation journey and for the staff and benefactors who helped to make my journey
possible! Being involved at Our Lady of Wisdom Church and the Catholic Student Center has prepared me
to grow in holiness each day and in my future vocation.”
Alex Albert
Kenner, LA
4
SUMMER 2012
Kyle White
Lafayette, LA
Quinn Hebert
St. Martinville, LA
The Ragin’ Cajun CATHOLIC
Benefactor
Spotlight
Trey Johnson
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering ‘11
“During my years as a UL Lafayette student, I have grown in my faith journey
through my involvement with the Ragin’
Cajun Catholics. My involvement began with social events like Friday Lunch
With the Lord, and eventually deepened
to include daily Mass and serving as an
extraordinary minister, altar server, and
Catholic Campus Ministry Leadership
Team member.
During my senior year, Fr. Sibley announced that the church was initiating
an e-Giving program. Initially, I was
reluctant to use e-Giving because I was
familiar with the envelope system. I really liked physically giving my wrapped
gift as an offering at Sunday Mass. My
Trey Johnson’s
path to becoming a
faithful benefactor highlights how anyone, from
anywhere, and at any stage
in life can support the vital
mission of the Ragin’ Cajun
Catholic Student Center.
mind-set changed when my class (2011)
set up a class gift fund for Wisdom.
When I found out that I could contribute to the class fund and offer my weekly
tithe through e-Giving, I went for it!
Recently, I moved to Florida to become
a missionary for the Fellowship of
Catholic University Students (FOCUS).
Thankfully, e-Giving has enabled me
to continue my support for the Church
and Catholic Student Center because my
gifts are automatically transferred every
month. I even receive an email to remind me of the transaction!
Just this May, my wife Kristen and I were
married at Our Lady of Wisdom Church.
Trey and his wife Kristen
Fr. Sibley and Easton and Robin Hebert
blessed us with their guidance through
the marriage preparation process. Along
with the support and example of many
wonderful Catholic families who are parishioners here, the formation we’ve received is invaluable and immeasurable.
We hope to return home to Lafayette
someday, and we want to make sure that
the place that gave us so much continues
to grow and has even more to offer our
family when we return.”
The Ragin’ Cajun Catholics were featured in the May 6th issue
of the National Catholic Register!
Cajun Catholics Find Home at University of Louisiana at Lafayette
“Like gumbo, Catholic campus ministry gets served six ways to
Sunday, depending on who is doing the cooking and what goes into
the pot...” Read the complete article at www.ncregister.com.
Ben Frederick
Houma, LA
Brent Smith
Lafayette, LA
Blake Dubroc
Marksville, LA
SUMMER 2012
Rev. Mr.
Andre Metrejean
Transitional Deacon
5
The Ragin’ Cajun CATHOLIC
Rebirth of the
T
he association that Our Lady of
Wisdom shares in her service to
the community at the University
of Louisiana at Lafayette offers distinct
intellectual formation opportunities for
students and a path for Wisdom’s involvement in the academic life of the
University.
In the 1950s, that association took shape
in the form of a “Catholic Culture Lecture Series” initiated by UL Faculty and
Staff. The purpose of the series was to
bring well-known speakers to the campus
to discuss issues relevant to the Church,
which were also of interest to the campus
community. This series expanded into
two additional series: the “Newman Forum” and the “Cardinal Lecture” series.
Despite the impressive track record of
the lecture series during the 1950s-60s,
the Newman Lecture Series was eventually discontinued. Since his appointment
as Pastor and Chaplain in 2010, Father
Sibley has been working to restore the
Newman Lecture Series as the central
event for students’ intellectual formation. Dr. Brant Pitre, professor of sacred
scripture at Notre Dame Seminary, Dr.
Joseph Pearce, Catholic literary scholar
and professor at Ave Maria University,
and Bishop Glen Provost helped to initiate the rebirth of the lecture series.
Most recently, the Newman Lecture Series featured Bishop James Conley from
the Archdiocese of Denver. Bishop Conley’s timely lecture recounted how current atheistic trends radically alter our
concept of democracy, thus resulting in a
restriction of religious freedom. Andrew
Chauvin, a senior at UL Lafayette and an
involved campus ministry member, said
he was thankful to attend the lecture and
appreciated Bishop Conley’s perspective
when he shared, “The poor will always
be with us, and because of that, individual charity must prevail. We cannot
depend on external agencies or government agencies to solve our world’s social
problems.”
During the next academic year, with
continued support from Ragin’ Cajun
Catholic Alumni and friends, Our Lady
of Wisdom hopes to further expand The
Newman Lecture Series by offering four
lectures per year. We strive to keep at the
forefront of our ministerial efforts our
students’ intellectual formation during
this pivotal time in their academic career.
Dr. Joseph Pearce
Dr. Brant Pitre
Bishop Glen John Provost
Bishop James Conley
Newman Club Alumni Chapter
For more information or to join the Newman Club
Alumni Chapter at the University of Louisiana at
Lafayette, email [email protected].
Go to www.ragincajuncatholics.org and
click on “Alumni” for alumni news and upcoming
alumni events.
6
SUMMER 2012
The Ragin’ Cajun CATHOLIC
Help Us Greaux
This semester, because of your support, we have been able to
reach more students with the Gospel of Jesus Christ than ever
before! Your financial support enables us to create programming that is life giving, challenging, and that inspires our young
Church to go forth and become the men and women God created
them to be.
As Trey Johnson shared in our Benefactor Spotlight, your financial gifts can be given electronically. Here are a few reasons to
consider enrolling in RAGIN’ CAJUN CATHOLIC DIRECT:
•E-Giving is easy, as you do not need to keep track of appeal envelopes or pledge forms.
•E-Giving is helpful because you can set your budget for
charitable contributions and simplify your bookkeeping.
•E-Giving is rewarding because you directly affect the
experience of the students we serve at UL Lafayette!
•E-Giving helps to create seamless financial planning as
we budget based on the generous support of Ragin’ Cajun
Catholic alumni and friends, as well as parents and the
local community.
•E-Giving is efficient and enables our staff to be more
available to serve our students.
To enroll in RAGIN’ CAJUN CATHOLIC DIRECT just go to www.
RaginCajunCatholics.org and click “Donate Now.” You have
total control over your monthly contributions. Gifts may be increased, stopped, or modified at any time. Questions? Contact
us at (337) 232-8742.
Thank you for your continued support and prayers for the Ragin’
Cajun Catholic Student Ministry. We could not be successful in
building the kingdom of God here at UL Lafayette without you!
Yours in Christ,
The Development Team
Katie AustinMary Langley Hernandez
SUMMER 2012
7
Catholic Student Center
Our Lady of Wisdom Catholic Church
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
P.O. Box 42371
Lafayette, LA 70504
Serving the community at the University
of Louisiana at Lafayette
SEE WHAT’S HAPPENING!
CHECK US OUT ON FACEBOOK!
facebook.com/ragincajuncatholics
Geaux
Therefore
...and make disciples of all CAJUNS!
Introducing the “Ragin’ Cajun Catholic Dome”
This spring, Lafayette’s own Cajundome auctioned off temporary naming rights to
aid families affected by cancer. The “Ragin’ Cajun Catholic Dome” raised awareness
about our unique mission to serve the community of UL.