March 25 - The Catholic Commentator

Transcription

March 25, 2009
VOLUME 47 • NO. 3
TWO SECTIONS
inside
Another Perspective
4
Family Life
5
Spirituality
7
Our Catholic Community12
Entertainment
16
Viewpoint
18
Prayers for Priests, Deacons
and Religious Women
and Men
19
Coming Events
20
Classified Ads
20
Youth
22
St.
John
Youth
go
without food
to raise money
for the poor
page 2
Students learn
about hunger
from CRS
representative
page 9
Serving the Diocese of Baton Rouge Since 1962
In Africa, pope challenges
attitudes, cultural trends
BY
JOHN THAVIS
Catholic News Service
LUANDA, Angola — Pope Benedict
XVI’s in-flight statement opposing condom
distribution in AIDS prevention drew sharp
criticism and was seen by many as a distraction from his main message in Africa.
But a closer look reveals that very little
of what the pope had to say during his
March 17-23 African journey was easy or
accommodating. On issues ranging from
abortion to corruption, from women’s rights
to economic development, he preached the
Gospel in a way that took issue with common practices and prevailing attitudes.
His conviction, expressed on his first day
in Cameroon, is that Christianity is the answer – the only real answer – to the chronic
problems plaguing Africa. His fear is that
Africa, caught up in economic and cultural
globalization, will follow the secularized
See POPE page 11
Pope Benedict XVI smells a flower offered by a girl during his visit in Luanda,
Angola, March 21. CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano via Reuters
Use Internet technology to reach young
adults; establish church identity
BY
Fr. Than Vu
suggests ways
Catholic homes,
schools should
establish Catholic
identity page 15
www.diobr.org/tcc
LAURA DEAVERS
Editor
Young adults depend on
Internet technology for their
information. If the Catholic
Church is going to reach them,
it must learn how to use technology effectively. This was the
message Michael Hayes gave to
those attending the Christian
Formation Study Day March 21
at the Catholic Life Center.
From the very senior attendees with grey hair who have
been in church ministry for
years, to the young men and
women who are in sync with
everything he was saying, all
attending the study day came
to appreciate that young people
are able to grow in their faith
through technology.
Hayes, who is president of
the National Catholic Young
Adult Ministry Association,
began by explaining the two
groups the church needs to be
focusing on when it looks at
technology: Gen Xers and the
Millennial generation. Gen
Xers were born between 1964
and 1976, while the Millennials
were born from 1977 to 1998.
The life experiences of the
two are very different because
of world events that have
either given them a sense of
security or have made them
very insecure.
Gen Xers grew up with
positive events. The fall of
the Berlin Wall put an end to
communism and the threat of
nuclear war. “Personal events
hold more importance for
them,” said Hayes.
Hayes said Gen Xers long
for community. They go places and do things because of
who is going to be there.
The Millennial generation
is marked by world events.
Hayes said, “9-11 shifted their
view of the world,” as did the
killings at Columbine High
School and Katrina. They have
begun to wonder if anything is
stable in their world, can anything stand the test of time to
let them know they are safe.
“They wonder, ‘Does God
really care?’ If so, what happens
to the security I have in my
faith?” Hayes commented.
Both generations are deeply
involved in technology because
they grew up with computers.
Hayes, who is the co-founder
of BustedHalo.com, gave examples of how Catholic churches
can use technology to convey
the identity of a local church
parish to young people. He
placed the members of the X-
generation and the Millennial
generation into seven different
groups of Catholics and explained how those people who
are under 40 would be most
likely to use technology.
Eclipsed Catholics place
other things above church.
“Other things take precedence
in their lives over and beyond
church experience,” stated
Hayes. He gave the example
of the father who says it is so
much trouble to get the three
children dressed on Sunday
morning to go to church when
there is nothing there for him.
The father goes to Mass for the
Eucharist, but basically considers Mass a great place to kill an
hour, said Hayes.
People stop going to Mass
for various reasons, but there
are certain times in their lives
See TECHNOLOGY page 8
2
news
March 25, 2009 • The Catholic Commentator
St. John youth go
without food to raise
money for the poor
BY
DEBBIE SHELLEY
Assistant Editor
ALL INVITED TO CHRISM MASS — The priests of the Baton Rouge
Diocese re-commit themselves to priestly service during the 2008 Chrism
Mass, which celebrates the institution of the priesthood. Another part of
the liturgical rite of the Chrism Mass is the blessing of the Holy Oils that
are used throughout the year for the sacraments of baptism, anointing the
sick, confirmation, ordination and for blessing new churches and consecrating new altars. This year, the Chrism Mass will be Wednesday, April
8 at St. Joseph Cathedral, 412 North St. in Baton Rouge. Bishop Robert
W. Muench, who will be the primary celebrant for this Mass which begins
at 10:30 a.m., has extended an invitation to all who wish to participate in
this Mass. File photo The Catholic Commentator
Approximately 40 youth from St.
John the Evangelist Church in Prairieville raised over $3,000 to care for
the impoverished of the world and for
mission work by going without food for
30 hours during the 30-Hour Famine
held March 14-15 held at the parish
church.
Half of the money raised by the
St. John youth will go to the 30-Hour
Famine program creator World Vision,
a Christian humanitarian organization
that provides assistance to children,
families and their communities worldwide by tackling the causes of poverty
and injustice.
The other half will be used for the
youth’s mission trip to Honduras this
summer.
The youth were divided up into four
tribes, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia and Ecua-
dor. The tribes received cards with a
picture and information about a child
from the country they represented.
The cards had information about the
child’s health, village, family, school
and country.
The cards tell the hardship of the
children’s lives. Rosalinda of Peru lost
her father in an accident in a mine
where he had worked for many years.
Rosalinda has “germs in her tummy”
which leave her too sick to play or attend school.
In the church hall youth constructed
cardboard villages, where they spent
the night in sleeping bags. Ninth-grader
Jude Graham used artificial trees that
are a fixture in the church hall to create
a jungle-like atmosphere for his Brazilian village. His group tried several
different designs for their village. The
youth tried making two-story homes,
but they collapsed.
See YOUTH page 3
Our Diocesan Priests give to us everyday.
They help keep our
churches open and
provide us
with the sacraments
of our
Catholic Faith.
On Easter Sunday
remember them and
all they have done.
Give generously in the
second collection
to help provide them
a retirement
of grace and
dignity.
James Roberts said he was humbled to learn at the 30-Hour Famine at St.
John the Evangelist in Prairieville that many in the world live on less than $2 a
day. Photo by Debbie Shelley
Corrections
In the caption on Page 3 of the
March 11, 2009 issue of Cydni Weydert
with her grandmother at St. Joseph
Cathedral for the Rite of Election, her
grandmother’s name is Sandra. Her
mother’s name is Regina.
We regret the mistake.
The story on Page 10 of the March
11, 2009 issue about the Community
Center in New Roads contained several
errors.
The Sisters of the Holy Ghost, who
later became the Sisters of the Holy
Spirit and Mary Immaculate, came in
the early 1950s to staff St. Augustine
School. This school closed in 1971
when it was combined with St. Mary
School to form the Catholic schools of
Pointe Coupée. The sisters stayed in the
convent next to St. Augustine Church
until 2001.
Father Joseph C. Rodney, a Josephite
priest who was born in Pointe Coupée
Civil Parish, never served as pastor of
St. Augustine, New Roads.
St. Augustine Knights and Ladies of
Peter Claver do not meet in the Community Center.
We regret these mistakes.
news
The Catholic Commentator • March 25, 2009
Youth
From page 2
Graham said he was humbled to think he only has to
“sleep like that” for one night,
while poverty is a way of life
for others.
He said the event opened
his eyes to the importance
of serving others, whether
he becomes a priest or a lay
minister.
Ninth-grader Sarah Ellis
said she is humbled to think
that she has easier access to
food than many people of
developing countries. “I can
always go home and eat something from the kitchen.”
Graham and Ellis said the
event has increased their desire to go on Mission Honduras.
Throughout the day Saturday, the youth participated
in different activities related
to world poverty and hunger,
including visiting the Greater
Baton Rouge Food Bank, where
they sorted apples for three
hours.
“I was so hungry, but I
couldn’t eat them,” said high
school junior Sydney Mayeaux.
The students also made
necklaces, bracelets and wind
chimes from forks.
Deacon Randy Clement, of
St. John, who was among the
adults fasting with the youth,
said the wind chimes were
put in the trees next to the
church so that when people
hear them they are reminded
that they are hearing the cry of
the poor. He noted that worldwide 26,000 children age five
and under die of starvation
each day.
Members of the youth group
also spoke about what they
learned during their 30-hour
fast at the St. John Masses and
collected money from parishioners afterwards.
The youth also played a
number of survival games
meant to emphasize the plight
of the poor. The games emphasized teamwork for survival.
After each game the youth
studied Scripture and reflected
on the important lesson they
learned during the game.
The winning tribe members
of each game painted a stripe
on their face.
The members of the Ecuador
tribe won the most stripes, and
therefore, were the first to eat
at a jambalaya dinner cooked
During the 30-Hour Famine
March 14-15, members of St.
John the Evangelist Youth
Group in Prairieville, from
left, Sharnella Evans, Sydney
Mayeaux and Zachary Sonnier
collect money after Mass for
the starving people of the
world. Photos by Debbie Shelley
for the youth by the Knights
of Columbus. St. John parishioners were invited to view
the villages and ask the youth
questions.
invites you to breakfast 9 a.m. – 12 noon, Saturday,
April 25 at Oak Lodge Reception Center, 2834 S.
Sherwood Forest, Baton Rouge. Our speaker will
be Donna Colosino. Having been touched by the Lord through
the Ignatain Lord Teach Me To Pray series, she left her sales and
marketing job to teach religion at her alma mater Mt. Carmel
Academy in N.O. She is now a trained facilitator
to the prayer series. She also works with the
Family Life Apostolate in N.O. Reservations for
the breakfast are $15 each and can be purchased
by mailing a check to Theresa Henderson, 16436
Shetland Ave., Greenwell Springs, LA 70739
through April 21. Your name will be registered at
the door.
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Jude Graham, a participant in the 30-Hour Famine at St. John the Evangelist in Prairieville, stands
in the rain as he seeks donations for World Vision and the youth’s mission trip to Honduras.
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3
4
commentary
Another Perspective
by Father John Carville
Mary, Model of Lent
Lent is a time
of preparation for
Easter. Such times
of preparation go back to the Jewish roots of
Christianity. During times of preparation,
the religious Jew of Jesus’ day routinely
performed three acts: almsgiving, prayer
and fasting.
All three acts are still recommended
by the Catholic Church today as ideal
practices for the season of Lent. Jesus, too,
recommends them, although he adds a bit
of further advice: “When you give alms, do
not let your left hand know what your right
hand is doing, so that your almsgiving may
be secret.” Jesus wants prayer and fasting
to be done in secret also (Matthew 6: 1-18).
These Lenten acts are to be done as prayer
and penance and not to impress others.
This secrecy is not always too easy to
accomplish, especially when we begin Lent
with ashes smeared on our foreheads. However, in this, as in so many other spiritual
attitudes, Mary is our model. She apparently was nothing out of the ordinary, at least
in outward appearance. Jesus’ neighbors,
wishing to limit his growing importance,
said, “We know his mother!” as if to say,
“She’s not royalty! So who does Jesus think
he is?”
Mary herself was the first to recognize
that she was a simple girl, who suffered
from being suspected of infidelity to her
fiancée, whose back hurt from pregnancy,
who worried and wept over her child, who
did not always understand him, and who,
in the end, would have to watch him die
cruelly. But her soul “magnified the Lord
because he looked upon the lowliness of
his handmaid.”
While she sang in confidence to her
cousin, Elizabeth, to onlookers she “kept
all these things secretly in her heart.” From
religious motives, Mary did things that
were public, but not in a public way. To
an embarrassed married couple, she gave
alms with great sensitivity and secrecy. She
had her son change their water into wine.
But not even the wine steward knew from
where it came, only the servants. Mary
prayed and fasted too, waiting after the
death of her son with his disciples in hiding.
Her witness was quiet, unobtrusive, but
strong. When all but one of Jesus’ disciples
had abandoned him, she stood in silence
under his cross.
Mary is the perfect believer, the greatest
woman of faith, our model, looking up to Jesus just as we do. Mothers and fathers who
have seen their children die have thought of
her. New mothers nursing their babies have
thought of Mary as she proudly showed her
baby to the shepherds. Frustrated parents
have prayed to her over children they could
not understand.
God led Mary in faith. She grew in the
understanding of her son, just as we must.
She learned from the sacrifices she was
called to make what God was asking of
her, just as we must. It was her faith that
her cousin Elizabeth praised. “Blest is she
who trusted that the Lord’s words to her
would be fulfilled” (Luke 1: 45).
Not a word is recorded from Mary after
the marriage feast at Cana in the beginning
of Christ’s ministry. Yet she is the greatest
of all saints, Mother of God, and Mother
of the Church. She is our model in Lent
because her message is always the same –
whether it be the message of her own life
in Scripture, or the message of Lourdes, or
Fatima, or Medjugorie – faith, prayer and
penance. Because God looked with favor on
her lowliness, she sang, “My spirit rejoices
in God, my savior,” and she will also sing
the Easter Alleluia with us.
Father Than Vu
Associate Publisher
Laura Deavers
Exec. Ed./Gen. Mgr.
Bishop Robert W. Muench
Publisher
The Catholic Commentator
(ISSN 07460511; USPS 093-680)
Published bi-weekly (every other week) by the Catholic Diocese
of Baton Rouge,1800 South Acadian Thruway, Baton Rouge, LA
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Secretary/Circulation
Pope declares year
of the priest to inspire
spiritual perfection
BY
CAROL GLATZ
VATICAN CITY — Pope
Benedict XVI declared a year
of the priest in an effort to encourage “spiritual perfection”
in priests.
The pope will open the special year with a vespers service
at the Vatican June 19 – the
feast of the Sacred Heart of
Jesus and the day for the sanctification of priests. He will
close the celebrations during a
World Meeting of Priests in St.
Peter’s Square June 19, 2010.
The pope made t he a nnouncement during an audience March 16 with members
of the Vatican Congregation
for Clergy.
He met with some 70 participants of the congregation’s
March 16-18 plenary assembly,
which focused on the missionary identity of the priest and
his mission to sanctify, teach
and govern.
During this jubilee year,
the pope will also proclaim
St. John Vianney to be patron
saint of all the world’s priests.
At present he is considered the
patron saint of parish priests.
This year marks the 150th
anniversary of the death of
this 19th-century saint who
represents a “true example of a
priest at the service of the flock
of Christ,” the pope said.
St. John Vianney is widely
known to Catholics as the Cure
(parish priest) of Ars who won
over the hearts of his villagers in France by visiting with
them, teaching them about
God and reconciling people to
the Lord in the confessional.
In his address, Pope Benedict said the priestly ministry
consists of total adherence
to the ecclesial tradition of
participating “in a spiritually
intense new life and a new lifestyle which was inaugurated
by the Lord Jesus and which
the apostles made their own.”
Priestly ordination creates
new men who are bestowed
with the gift and office of sanctifying, teaching and governing, he said.
The pope underlined the
necessary and “indispensable
struggle for moral perfection
which must dwell in every
authentically priestly heart.”
The pope said he was calling for the special year for
priests in an effort to foster the
priest’s yearning “for spiritual
perfection, upon which the effectiveness of their ministry
principally depends.”
“The awareness of the radical social changes over the
past decades must stir the
best ecclesial energies to look
after the formation of priestly
candidates,” the pope said.
This means great care must
be taken to ensure permanent
and consistent doctrinal and
spiritual formation for seminarians and priests, he said,
specifying the importance of
passing down, especially to
younger generations, “a correct reading of the texts of the
Second Vatican Council, interpreted in the light of all the
church’s doctrinal heritage.”
Priests must also be “present, identifiable and recognizable – for their judgment of
faith, their personal virtues
and their attire – in the fields
of culture and charity which
have always been at the heart
of the church’s mission,” he
said.
“The centrality of Christ
leads to a correct valuation of
ordained ministry,” he said,
adding that, without priestly
ministry, there would be no
Eucharist, no mission and even
no church.
Therefore, he sa id, it is
crucial to make sure that new
bodies or pastoral organizations are not set up “for a time
in which one might have to
‘dispense with’ ordained ministry based on an erroneous
interpretation of the rightful
promotion of the laity.”
“This would lay the foundations for further diluting
the priestly ministry, and any
supposed ‘solutions’ would
dramatically coincide with
the real causes of the problems
currently connected with the
ministry,” he said.
family life
5
People can begin again after marriage ends
BY
DEBBIE SHELLEY
Assistant Editor
Marriages end for different
reasons. Whether people part
from their spouse due to death
or divorce, if they do not heal
from the emotional pain of the
separation they will not be able
to find joy in living.
Beginning Experience, a
Catholic-based peer ministry
program that is open to people
of all faiths, helps participants
to continue their life journey
with more joy and peace.
On Oct. 5, 2005, Darrell
Goudeau, a member of St. Patrick Church in Baton Rouge, lost
his wife of many years, Mary,
after a lengthy illness. After his
wife’s death, Goudeau often sat
in his den with the lights out
and was stuck in his grief.
He saw an announcement
about a Beginning Experience
Weekend in the St. Patrick
bulletin and his daughter encouraged him to attend the
weekend, which he did in the
spring of 2006.
Goudeau said he went to
the weekend with “no expectations” and a huge hole in
his heart. He left the weekend
with the tools to adjust to the
loss of his spouse and begin a
new life.
After the Beginning Experience Weekend, Goudeau continued his healing process by
attending “Continued Beginning,” a six-week support program offering those who have
completed Beginning Experience a further opportunity to
address grief issues. Goudeau
said he was impressed with
how the program transformed
his life and others’ lives, and he
became a team member.
Beginning Experience teammembers Angela Falgoust, of
St. Aloysius Church in Baton
Rouge, and Judy Landry, of Immaculate Conception Church
in Denham Springs, bonded
as they “soaked up scenery”
together at the Beginning Experience Weekend they attended
in June, 2006.
Divorce changes many
aspects of people’s lives, including their lifestyle, identity
and finances, according to Falgoust.
She said those who go
through a divorce grieve in the
same way as people who have
lost their spouse. Divorced
people grieve the ending of
their marriage. Without help,
divorce can be impossible to get
through, according to Landry
and Falgoust.
Landry noted that her sister,
Nora Watts, lost her husband after 33 years of marriage around
the same time Landry and her
husband divorced after 32 years
of marriage.
Your Family
by Bill and Monica Dodds
Elder care: preventing
trips and falls
It wasn’t that long ago that the catch phrase
“I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” was popular
among a lot of comedians. To members of the
youngest generations, the idea seemed silly.
It’s members of the middle and senior generations who were least likely to find the “I’ve
fallen” line amusing. They’re the ones most
likely to realize how devastating a fall can be
for an elderly family member.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) knows that, too. In its “Falls
Among Older Adults: An Overview,” the
CDC reports:
– More than one third of adults 65 and older
fall each year in the United States.
– Among older adults, falls are the leading
cause of injury deaths. They’re also the most
common cause of nonfatal injuries and hospital admissions for trauma.
– In 2005, 15,800 people 65 and older died
from injuries related to unintentional falls,
about 1.8 million people 65 and older were
treated in emergency departments for nonfatal
injuries from falls and more than 433,000 of
these patients were hospitalized.
– Twenty percent to 30 percent of people
who fall suffer moderate to severe injuries
such as bruises or head traumas. These injuries can make it hard to get around and limit
independent living. They also can increase the
risk of early death.
– Many people who fall, even those who
aren’t injured, develop a fear of falling. This
fear may cause them to limit their activities,
leading to reduced mobility and physical fitness, increasing their actual risk of falling.
The CDC advises that older adults can take
several steps to protect their independence
and reduce their risk of falling, including:
– Exercising regularly. (Exercise programs
like tai chi that increase strength and improve
balance are especially good.)
– Asking their doctor or pharmacist to review their medicines – both prescription and
over-the-counter – to reduce side effects and
interactions.
– Having their eyes checked by an eye doctor at least once a year.
– Improving the lighting in their home.
– Reducing the hazards in their home
that can lead to falls, such as safely tucking
telephone and electrical cords out of walkways, keeping the floor clear and clean, using
nonskid throw rugs to reduce the chance of
slipping on linoleum or vinyl and installing
handrails along stairways and grab bars in
the bathroom.
The bottom line here? Falls can be devastating. But there are easy ways to help a loved one
avoid becoming the victim of a simple slip that
could land him or her in so much trouble.
Bill and Monica Dodds are editors of My Daily
Visitor magazine. Their Web site is www.FSJC.
org. They can be contacted at MonicaDodds@
YourAgingParent.com.
Beginning Experience provided healing for Nora Watts, left,
after the death of her husband, and her sister Judy Landry after
her marriage ended in divorce. Photo provided by Judy Landry
The sisters struggled with
loneliness, anger and fear of the
future. They attended Beginning Experience together and
bonded as they healed.
Watts told Landry she felt
Landry would have a “tougher
time” recovering than herself,
because in her case the Lord
called her husband home, but
in divorce, someone chooses to
leave the relationship.
Landry said she went to
the weekend feeling she had
“failed” at her vocation of marriage, but she learned God had
forgiven her and reaffirmed that
he loves her.
Beginning Experience helped
Falgoust go through the emotional pain of her divorce after
35 years of marriage.
Now working at St. Aloysius, she feels God brought her
literally through the front door
of His “house”, His Church, to
help her heal.
Falgoust noted that Jesus’
death and resurrection were a
gift to us. “Through the Holy
Spirit, he continues his death
and resurrection in us now. The
Beginning Experience Program
for me and so many others
brought us out of the darkness
of our pain and into the light;
it resurrected my soul and
brought peace to my spirit.”
She added, “It truly started
me on a journey of many new
beginnings.”
The next Beginning Experience weekends are scheduled
for April 3-5 and Oct.16-18.
For information or a brochure
call 225-278-7321 or e-mail
angelafalgoust@staloysiuspar
ish.com.
Healing
Healing
begins
begins with
with
listening…
listening…
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6
news
Question Corner
by Father John Dietzen
The purpose of Mass offerings — and a correction
First,
a correct ion:
R e garding the covering of images in church during Lent, by
decision of the bishops of the
United States in 2001, crosses
in the church may be covered
from the conclusion of the Mass
for Saturday of the fourth week
of Lent until the celebration of
the Lord’s Passion on Good
Friday. In other words, approximately during the final two
weeks of Lent. Other images
may be covered from the Mass
for Saturday of the fourth week
of Lent until the beginning of
the Easter Vigil.
Q. I am a convert to the
Catholic faith and do not understand Mass offerings. What
do they mean? What happens
when we are told “this Mass
is being offered for” a specific
person? (Ohio)
A. For well more than 1,000
years, Catholic people have
had the custom of Mass offerings for the poor and for the
church’s ministers and other
needs.
Along with this custom,
however, we have carried on an
almost continuous struggle to
avoid any appearance of commercialism about the Mass and
misunderstandings about the
meaning of such offerings.
Easter
New life through
Language which is at least
open to confusion is not uncommon, and the example you
give is a good one. We believe
that each celebration of the Eucharist reaches out to everyone
on earth. It has the same broad,
worldwide intention as the
first offering of that sacrifice
by Jesus on the cross.
In other words, as our eucharistic prayers make clear, every
offering of this sacrifice includes
not only the whole church but
the whole human family, living and dead. No priest, even
should he wish to do so, can
narrow down that universal
embrace as Jesus renews his
sacrificial offering in the person
of his church on earth.
When a priest accepts a
Mass offering he accepts, according to traditional the-
ology, the responsibility to
include that intention in his
prayers at Mass. This is the
meaning of the present church
law which states, “It is lawful
for any priest who celebrates or
concelebrates Mass to receive
an offering to apply the Mass
according to a definite intention” (Canon 945).
For this reason, it is generally inappropriate to state, in
the general intercessions, for
example, or the eucharistic
prayer, that a Mass is “being
offered for” a specific individual. It tends to place undue
attention and emphasis on that
particular intention rather
than on the entire church.
Obviously, to put it bluntly,
no one “buys” major ownership as it were in a particular
offering of the Eucharist. If
any announcement of a special intention is to take place,
perhaps a good suggestion,
theologically and liturgically,
would be “John or Jane Doe is
being remembered especially
at this Mass.”
This understanding also
places in perspective the claim
that richer families and individuals who are able to request
Masses more frequently have
some spiritual advantage over
those who cannot do so. As the
eucharistic prayers proclaim,
the offering is for all our brothers and sisters who have died
in the hope of rising again. Indeed even more, as the second
eucharistic prayer reminds us,
the Eucharist we offer is for all
the departed, all the people in
the world who have died. No
one is ever left out.
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spirituality
7
Prisoners connect with their children during One Day with God
BY
DEBBIE SHELLEY
Assistant Editor
On Saturday, May 2 at Elayn
Hunt Correctional Center in
St. Gabriel, the Diocese of
Baton Rouge prison ministry
will participate for the first
time in One Day with God,
a special day of bonding between the prisoners and their
children.
One Day with God is a program of Forgiving Ministries.
North Carolina resident Scottie Barnes, whose father was
in prison all her life, founded
the program.
One Day with God is a day
of reconciliation for Hunt inmates and their children.
“For many fathers this is
the first time since they were
incarcerated to visit with their
children,” said Staci Polozola,
a prison ministry volunteer
coordinator for the Diocese of
Baton Rouge.
Seventy inmates qualified
to participate in the program.
Their children range from
ages 4-16.
On the Friday night before
the event, the fathers will attend a program to prepare
their hearts for the arrival of
their children, according to
Polozola.
The children will arrive
early Saturday morning and
spend the day with their father
and a mentor. There will be a
variety of activities available
for the participants including
games, crafts, movies, Gospel
music and a speaker, who is
usually a well known athlete
or coach.
The fathers and children
will be able to take a picture
together at the beginning of
the day and make a frame for
the photo, which the children
will receive along with a gift
bag containing a teddy bear, a
Bible, Christian music, books
and other items.
Spirituality for Today
by Father John Catoir
God wants you
to be happy
How do I know that God wants me to be
happy, even during Lent?
Jesus came precisely to teach us that God is
our Father in heaven.
Doesn’t every father want his children to
be happy?
At the Last Supper Jesus summed up his
mission on earth: “I have told you this so that
my joy may be in you and your joy may be
complete” (Jn 15:11).
Believing this is a matter of faith, not feelings.
But isn’t Lent supposed to focus on the
cross?
Yes, but the joy of Easter is the theme of the
entire season of Lent. Christ commanded us
to love one another, which is both a joy and a
cross. Wherever there is love, there is service;
wherever there is service, there is sacrifice; and
wherever there is sacrifice, there is suffering.
We are called to the cross, but there is nothing contradictory between joy and the cross.
Jesus told us that he wants his joy to be in
us. He knows very well that the only way to
find real joy is to put aside self-pity. By serving
others we tend to forget ourselves.
Gratifying our senses is good, but it can only
bring temporary happiness, like quenching
one’s thirst on a hot day. We can only drink so
much water.
Supernatural joy, on the other hand, is being aware that God truly dwells within us.
That awareness is what brings true human
fulfillment.
We all need to love and be loved, and we all
need to strive to fulfill our purpose in life. Finding one’s purpose is a thrilling adventure.
Psalm 9:3 sings of supernatural joy: “I will
delight and rejoice in you.”
St. Paul repeats the theme: “Eye has not seen
... what God has prepared for those who love
him” (1 Cor 2:9).
Jesus said, “Be not afraid.” He implied that
there is no true danger in life because your
heavenly Father is always close by, protecting
you.
We’ve all had days when feelings get in the
way of living joyfully. We get down on ourselves and forget to hold on to the knowledge
of God’s love. However, the ascetical discipline
of controlling our thoughts can liberate us! And
as such, why not put on the indomitable will to
count your blessings?
In the book “War Within and Without: Diaries and Letters of Anne Morrow Lindbergh,”
Lindbergh tells how she dealt with times when
her joy seemed to evaporate. She resolved to
think about the moments of inner satisfaction.
These came her way each day, and were times
of laughter and kindness provided by her family and friends.
“Every day has these moments of pure joy,”
she told herself, “even on the dullest and saddest day.”
When we make a point of appreciating the
daily little joys of life, we can begin to relax
more, taking pleasure in them.
“Some blessings are so subtle,” she continued, that “we can easily miss them if we are not
watchful; like the memory of a special smile, or
a beautiful flower in full bloom, or a welcome
letter from a friend. All the little joys of life can
contribute to a brighter mood. The experiences
that lift the spirit can be savored for hours,
even days, and the list is limitless. Keeping a
gratitude journal.”
Take responsibility for your own happiness.
It pleases the Lord when you do.
Father Catoir, a canon lawyer, is chaplain of an
emergency assistance program and writes on spirituality for Catholic News Service.
As the fathers and their
children spend time together,
a program will be held at the
prison’s community center for
the children’s caregivers.
A barbecue dinner will also
be prepared for participants.
When Polozola attended
Hunt’s first One Day with God
last year, she was touched by
what she saw and decided it
would be good for the diocese
to participate in the program.
“It’s a very powerful experience, not only for the dads and
kids, but for the mentors as
well,” Polozola said.
She continued, “To witness
the unconditional love the
children have for the incarcerated was amazing. All of us
need something like that to
take home with us.”
She added, “The kids get
the picture, that’s their dad.
It doesn’t matter if they are
incarcerated. They get excited
about seeing them.”
The parting at the end of the
day is sad for everyone, said
Polozola, who last year mentored a girl whom she keeps
in touch with.
As sad as the inmates are
when their children leave
First Communion gift
sets, statues, books, Bibles,
rosaries, rosary bracelets, etc.
e
they have hope, according to
Polozola.
“It lets the inmates know
that they can still be a dad
while they are incarcerated
and keep that relationship
(with their children) ongoing,”
stated Polozola.
People can volunteer in numerous ways for One Day with
God, according to Polozola.
They can mentor, be a prayer
partner, help with transportation or registration, staff tables
or work with the caregivers at
the community center.
One Day with God is a perfect volunteer opportunity for
people who want to participate
in prison ministry yet are unable to do so on a regular basis,
Polozola noted.
An informational meeting
about One Day with God will
be held on Monday, April 20
at 7 p.m. at St. Patrick Church,
12424 Brogdon Lane, Baton
Rouge.
Volunteers for One Day
with God must be at least 18
years old.
Those wishing to participate must register by Tuesday,
April 14 by calling Polozola at
225-291-0958.
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8 news
Technology
From page 1
when they will return. The Church must
be sensitive to those times and use them
wisely.
Technology provides many vehicles
for staying in contact with young
people who have drifted. Through
Web sites, Internet magazines, pod
casts, social networks, blogs and twitters, churches can provide material to
engage Catholics and others in what is
going on in the church.
Parishes that do not have a Web site do
not exist for young people, Hayes stated.
“They are searching for you on the Internet because they do not use phone books
and they don’t walk down the street.
Everything for them is at the touch of a
button. If there is not a Web presence, you
are not in their minds at all.”
Hayes suggested that priests put
their homilies on pod casts so that their
messages can reach more people who
are searching for religious substance on
the Internet. For those priests who think
that people will not come to Mass if the
homily is on the Internet, Hayes said the
opposite is true. People who are looking
for something will find the priest.
Another group is private Catholics.
They don’t pray in groups – they pray
alone, explained Hayes of the young
adults whose lives are so hectic that they
come to church for quiet. “They want
contemplative moments,” said Hayes.
When they come to church they
don’t want people to bother them, he
explained. This is the reason they are so
interested in silent retreats.
Once they experience sacred subliminal space, they hunger more for it, said
Hayes. People constantly ask for more
quiet time, more silence in the retreats
his ministry offers.
He said the private Catholics have
come back to Eucharistic Adoration, rosaries and novenas, because these satisfy
their hunger for quiet and silence. But,
they must understand the difference between Eucharistic Adoration and the Eucharist. “They must share in the breaking
of the bread” at Mass because this is at
the core of our faith, said Hayes.
The next group, Ecumenical Catholics, want to know how Catholics are
different from other religions and how
they can work together in a diverse
world. Young adults are comfortable
with people of other faiths because they
are accustomed to different religions
coming together at all times for various
activities, but they ask how and why they
are different.
Hayes said they are looking for
answers to questions. The Web site
BustedHalo.com has added a question
box so answers can be provided for
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frequently asked questions.
He suggested that churches have a
regular panel discussion for questions
and answers. The panel can take on
a conversation style as questions are
drawn randomly from a box and the
answers discussed.
Evangelical Catholics and Prophetic
Catholics are similar in what they are
seeking, said Hayes.
Evangelical Catholics want to feel
fully alive especially in liturgy. “They
want to be engaged when they are in
prayer,” said Hayes. “They want to
be challenged as well.” He said they
know God loves them, and because
God loves them they are being called to
love others. They know they are being
challenged to do more.
Prophetic Catholics are out in the
world changing things. They are involved in social justice efforts.
Hayes suggested using a video recorder to make a video of what people
of the church are doing so they can
see Catholics doing things to make the
world a better place. The video can be
put on the church’s Web site and on You
Tube for those who are working to see
where they are putting their energy
and where they see Jesus in others.
Sacramental Catholics want to meet
God in a tangible way through reception
of the sacraments and sacramentals, according to Hayes. They know that God
really exists and they are not the center of
the universe. Hayes said they go to Mass
and confession often, receive ashes on
Ash Wednesday and get a blessed palm
every Palm Sunday. They want to go to
the church’s Web site to find the schedule
for these services. Hayes advised church
leaders to put these schedules on the
church’s home page.
Communal Catholics are seeking
social life through their church. Though
not intended to be a dating opportunity,
by using pictures of men and women
having fun while providing service to
the church, tells those visiting a church
Web site that the church members enjoy
similar interests and are able to form
relationships through the church’s
ministries. Hayes said the young adults
are able to meet others and form deeper
relationships with people that might
have similar interests.
He said churches can provide Catholic school teachers a place to form
deeper relationships with each other
through social networking opportunities.
Hayes concluded that technology
should not be used for technology sake
but should be used to minister more effectively to the people.
news
9
Students learn about hunger
from CRS representative
BY
L AURA DEAVERS
and counseling. Many of these
programs receive funds from
Operation Rice Bowl, CRS’
annual Lenten program that
encourages Catholics to pray,
fast and give to people affected
by hunger and poverty.
Personally aware of the life
children face when their father
dies, Dr. Lukonge has reached
out to the children whose lives
have been changed by HIV/
was all to prepare him for the
work he is now doing with the
44 percent of the 38.7 million
A simple meal of vegetable
people in Tanzania who are
soup, a bottle of water, a roll
under 15 years of age.
and cookies was served to stuHis work with CRS includes
dents at St. Thomas Aquinas
traveling to the United States
High School March 13 at their
to talk to the American people
school cafeteria in Hammond
about the work CRS is doing to
to make them aware of how
help people be self-sufficient,
little food many people live
to come out of poverty.
on each day.
To become self-sufficient,
Selected students from
people are taught life skills,
Catholic High School, St.
75 percent of Operation Rice such as how to plant and
Joseph’s Academy, Catholic
Bowl contributions are used by maintain a home vegetable
High of Pointe Coupée, Catholic Relief Services to sup- garden, Dr. Lukonge exSt. Michael the Archangel port:
plained. The vegetables
High School and St. Francis
Agricultural projects that help provide good nutrition,
Xavier School, had a similar farmers improve crop yields.
and the excess can be sold
Water project that being clean to earn money to buy other
lunch the day before at the
St. Thomas More Parish water to communities.
family needs.
And HIV and AIDS projects
Activity Center in Baton
Because of the living
that support the local Catholic
Rouge.
conditions
in Tanzania,
Church in communities around
While the students ate
people
do
not
have access to
the world in addressing the many
t he meager mea l t hey needs of people affected by this electricity. Whatever water
heard from Dr. Hemmed disease.
is available may be polluted.
Lukonge, Catholic Relief
The system of providing soServices (CRS) program
cial services to these people
officer for orphans and vul- AIDS, so they have a chance is not strong or it doesn’t exist,
nerable children in Tanzania. to make it to adulthood in a Dr. Lukonge said. “People who
Lukonge, a Tanzanian medi- country that is plagued by are poor can accept resources
cal doctor, told the students famine and disease.
without shame.”
about t he children in his
Even though he grew up
He also spoke of the ineqcountry who have lost one without a father, Dr. Lukonge uitable way food is often disor both parents to HIV/AIDS was able to complete high tributed to those in need. Food
and who now take care of school and go to college and a and services do not always get
themselves and their younger university to become a medical to those most in need.
brothers and sisters.
doctor. For 11 years his mediOperation Rice Bowl proIn Tanzania, Dr. Lukonge cal clinic cared for Rwandan motes the idea of saving any
oversees a project that is im- and Burundian refugees who money not spent on an item or
plemented by eight CRS local had fled to Tanzania, then he activity that a person gives up
partners and directly serves worked with projects to put for Lent and putting that mon35,000 beneficiaries through an end to the deadly affects ey in a special place so that it
school assistance, food support of malaria. He believes this can be sent to other countries
Editor
St. Thomas Aquinas High School students eat a simple meal
of vegetable soup, a roll and a bottle of water to learn what
many other people in the world survive on for a day. Photo by
Kristy Karcher
tell them of my country. They
become aware of what things
look like outside their own
world,” he remarked. “Many
have given me special messages to take back home.”
American children tell him
to tell the children in his country that they are praying for
them. “Tell them there is hope
and they should not give up,”
is the message they are sending, said Dr. Lukonge.
to provide aide to some of
God’s children in need.
Churches and schools have
special collections at the end of
Lent to collect the money people have saved so it can be sent
to Catholic Relief Services.
Dr. Lukonge said he is
amazed at the level of caring
he has experienced among the
children in the U.S. who have
heard his story. “They see and
try to connect with stories I
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vulnerable children in Tanzania, talks to students at St. Thomas Aquinas High School about the
plight of young children in his country. Photo by Kristy Karcher
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viewpoint
How does the
developing world
view environmentalism?
10
CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
People in the developed world are constantly reminded to “go green,” to conserve and protect the environment. But how does the developing world view the
environmental movement? In this edition of Viewpoints, Liz Quirin reflects on
environmental degradation in Kenya, explaining that many there are too busy
trying to survive to be able to do anything about saving the environment. Tom
Sheridan relates an ecological lesson he learned in Central America.
An unlikely ecology lesson
BY
TOM SHERIDAN
Deacon ordained for the Diocese of Joliet, Ill., who writes from Ocala, Fla.
Like many (maybe most?) Americans,
I am an environmental wastrel. Not
quite an ecological terrorist, but neither
am I likely to gain sainthood for my
recycling efforts.
I didn’t even understand that extrasoft bath tissue – which I like – might
be an occasion of sin. But, as we are
reminded during Lent, confession is
good for the soul. So consider this a
confession of sorts, and a vow to try to
do better.
Americans are bombarded with messages of ecological awareness. Witness
the current squabble over the causes
and effects of global climate change.
Or even whether it exists at all. Our
landfills are overflowing, we’re warned
our water and air are questionable, our
food sources threatened and sometimes
tainted.
After awhile, the chattering din
drowns out the words. Sometimes, the
simplest message is the one that gets
through.
We were on a late-winter vacation, a
visit to Central America aboard a cruise
ship. A tiny plaque over the sink in our
equally tiny bathroom held a reminder:
“Water is precious. Don’t waste it.”
I’m not normally careful about letting
copious amounts of water sluice down
the drain while brushing my teeth. But
you can only store so much fresh water
on a ship, so the request makes sense.
But then, during each of our ports of
call, we spotted similar bits of advice
about the environment, especially water.
Sometimes I’m slow, but I do learn.
And getting ecological reminders about
the fragility of our global environment
from out-of-the-way places was a little
jarring.
But those out-of-the-way places are
closer to nature than are many people in
America. We visited ports in Honduras
and Guatemala where Catholic ecologists have been challenging loggers,
miners and even oil companies which
they say are polluting the environment.
Nor has the church been particularly
shy about linking concern for the environment to social justice. The Vatican’s
representative to the United Nations,
Archbishop Celestino Migliore, told the
U.N. in 2007 that “it’s the poor and the
powerless who most directly bear the
brunt of environmental degradation.”
It’s about relationship, wrote Chicago
Cardinal Francis E. George in a February column in The Catholic New World,
the archdiocesan newspaper. Despite
some of what the ecological “lunatic
fringe” maintains, the cardinal said, it’s
not necessary to forgo all of humanity’s
scientific advances to restore a balance
with nature.
Scripture, he wrote, is a reminder
of the relationship that exists between
humanity and nature, a relationship
that breaks down because of “human
selfishness and pride, in economic systems that sacrifice everything for profit
and in scientific arrogance that accepts
no moral limitation on its research.”
I couldn’t find any record that Pope
Benedict XVI has yet chastened Catholics about the wasteful indulgence of
extra-soft bath tissue. It seems, according to a recent news report, that while
some 20 percent of toilet tissue in Europe and Latin America is recycled 98
percent of what Americans use comes
from virgin forests.
And sales of the extra-soft variety are
increasing the fastest. Paper industry
executives dispute it, but environmental
activists contend that’s killing forests
faster than they can be replaced.
Toilet paper sin notwithstanding,
Pope Benedict has made the church’s
position clearer on the environment in
recent months.
Following a mid-February meeting,
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown
and the pope agreed that ethical values – including concern for the environment – must be part of the world’s
response to the global financial crisis.
The pair said efforts must be made “to
foster cooperation on projects of human
promotion, respect for the environment
and sustainable development.”
For the record, I’m hardly an environmental troglodyte. We recycle,
are energy-conscious and try not to
waste. But extra-soft toilet tissue? Who
knew?
A girl stands on garbage while residents spend a day on the beach next to the
main port in Haina, Dominican Republic, Feb. 28. CNS photo/Reuters
Environmental progress in Kenya?
BY
LIZ QUIRIN
Editor, The Messenger, newspaper of the Diocese of Belleville, Ill.
In the U.S. many people are recycling
everything possible, using cloth bags
to carry groceries, turning thermostats
down in the winter and up in the summer, walking instead of driving, carpooling or using mass transit. The list goes on
depending on region and what people
are able to do. Many are taking warnings about global warming seriously and
trying to adjust lifestyles to benefit rather
than harm the environment.
Many developing countries, however, have not moved the environmental
agenda to the top of their priority lists.
While they might be concerned about the
environment, they are more concerned
about staying alive, gathering enough
resources to feed their families, trying
to find clean water and some kind of
quality of life for themselves and their
children.
To say environmental issues aren’t
even on the radar would be incorrect, but
most people who speak about preserving
and protecting the environment are not
worried about filling their stomachs or
quenching their thirst. They occupy the
higher rungs on the ladders of success
in impoverished countries and can turn
some of their attention away from personal survival to preserving the planet.
I had the opportunity to visit Kenya,
and I saw a starkly beautiful country
with people ever hopeful of a better
future. They are struggling to return
their lives to normality after postelection
violence killed some 1,500 people, destroyed many homes and, in the process,
displaced more than half a million.
Sleeping on a dirt floor inside a tent
and wondering where you will find
enough food to feed yourself and your
children, how you will collect enough
water to drink and when you will be
able to go home to rebuild does not
leave much room to think about what is
happening to the environment with air
pollution, deforestation, soil erosion and
lack of clean or any water.
In some cases, Catholic dioceses that
had been addressing environmental
issues with departments on water, pollution and health among other issues,
were forced to direct all of their personnel and financial resources to aiding
people whose lives and safety have been
affected by the violence.
That has left them with no resources
to carry on diocesan programs that
would educate and sensitize people to
environmental issues.
While the insidious and ubiquitous
problem of litter along most of the roads
and paths continues to mar the landscape and frustrate environmentalists,
some progress is being made. At upper
echelons of the government and society,
people are talking about environmental
issues and the need to reduce pollution
and reforest the lands.
Parishes are taking youths on outings
to plant trees as they educate them about
soil erosion. Sensitizing people is an
incredibly slow and frustrating process
when you see an intelligent and educated
young man throw an empty plastic water
bottle out the window of a car. Finally,
you realize that preserving the environment was not part of his history.
Instead of condemning people for
their unfriendly environmental practices, we as a church and as people living
in a developed nation need to make every effort to sensitize and educate about
“better practices,” ways of preserving
and protecting our fragile environment
as those in developing nations go about
the business of trying to stay alive in
sometimes hostile and difficult situations.
We need to find ways to integrate environmental strategies into their present
realities instead of trying to change their
lives and make them more like ours. It
shouldn’t be “my way or the highway,”
but what we can do together to keep
ourselves and our planet safe and viable
for future generations.
news
11
Pope
From page 1
West and lose touch with its own best
values.
Condom campaigns are, to Pope
Benedict, a small but very real part of
this threat. But his concern extends to
virtually every area of social, economic
and political life.
“At a time when so many people
have no qualms about trying to impose
the tyranny of materialism, with scant
concern for the most deprived, you must
be very careful,” he told Africans in
Cameroon.
“Take care of your souls,” he said. “Do
not let yourselves be captivated by selfish
illusions and false ideals.”
News accounts usually leave out the
words that inevitably followed these papal warnings, but for the pope they were
the most important part of his message
in Africa: “Only Christ is the way of life.”
“The Lord Jesus is the one mediator and
redeemer.” “Christ is the measure of true
humanism.”
The transformation the pontiff asked
of Africans was, as he described it, one
that must begin with a radical conversion
to Christ that redirects every aspect of
life.
“The Gospel teaches us that reconciliation, true reconciliation, can only be the
fruit of conversion, a change of heart, a
new way of thinking. It teaches us that
only the power of God’s love can change
our hearts,” he said at an outdoor Mass
in Angola.
The pope kept reminding listeners
that, in his view, inside and outside Africa the Christian message lived to the
full is profoundly countercultural.
That was eminently clear when he
addressed young people in an Angolan
soccer stadium, telling them that their
power to shape the future was directly
dependent on their “constant dialogue
with the Lord.”
“The dominant societal culture is not
helping you live by Jesus’ words or to
practice the self-giving to which he calls
you,” he said. In fact, he said, today’s
“individualistic and hedonistic” values
prevent young people from reaching
maturity.
At his Mass the next day, the pope
continued in the same vein, saying that
“living by the truth” was not easy in
the face of the “hardened attitudes” of
selfishness that dominate much of contemporary social relations.
Abortion was very much on the
pope’s mind in Africa. His first speech on
the continent reminded Africans of their
traditional values and said the church
was the institution best able to preserve
and purify them – unlike agencies that
want to impose “cultural models that
ignore the rights of the unborn.”
In a speech to foreign diplomats, he
laid down a direct challenge to international organizations that, in his words,
were undermining society’s foundations by promoting abortion as a form
A girl watches as Pope Benedict XVI arrives to celebrate Mass at Cimangola esplanade in Luanda, Angola, March 22. Angola
was the second and last stop on the pope’s weeklong pastoral visit to Africa. CNS photo/Alessia Giuliani, Catholic Press Photo
of reproductive health care. The working
document for next October’s Synod of
Bishops, delivered by the pope to African
bishops, said globalization “infringes
on Africa’s rights” and tends “to be the
vehicle for the domination of a single,
cultural model and a culture of death.”
The pope hit hard on African wars
and ethnic conflicts and repeatedly
held out Christianity as the answer. If
Africans grasp that the church is “God’s
family,” he said in Cameroon, there is no
room for ethnocentrism or factionalism.
In effect, he presented the church as the
only institution capable of bringing Africans together in a way that goes beyond
political or economic expediency.
Although the pope had two one-liners
about corruption, typically portrayed in
the West as the quintessential “African”
problem, he did not engage in fingerpointing – even in Cameroon, which is
usually at the top of the corruption charts
of human rights organizations. Indeed,
he called Cameroon a “land of hope” for
Africa.
The reason is that he knows local
African church leaders are already on
the front lines in denouncing political
corruption. In Cameroon, for example,
a year ago Cardinal Christian Wiyghan
Tumi of Douala took the unprecedented
step of publicly opposing President Paul
Biya’s constitutional meddling that allowed the president to serve yet another
seven-year term – a position the cardinal
reiterated during the pope’s visit.
Significantly, the pope treated corruption not as a problem to be eliminated in
return for foreign aid, but as a practice
incompatible with the demands of the
Gospel. He added, however, that Africa
deserves a similar change in attitude
from the developed world – not “more
programs and protocols” but “conversion of hearts to sincere solidarity.”
His visit to the sick in Cameroon illustrated that the church must invest
its resources in love and care for the
needy, but with a special focus: Human
suffering can only make sense in light
of Christ’s crucifixion and his “final victory” over death, he said.
Even the pope’s defense of women’s
rights in Africa was very much a “Benedict” approach, based not on human
rights declarations but on the biblical
account of creation. Here, too, his point
that men and women have “complementary” roles will no doubt find critics.
12
our catholic community
March 25. 2009 • The Catholic Commentator
BISHOP’S DAY — Since 1996, St. Joseph Cathedral has honored parishioners who have made special contributions
of service to the mother church of the Baton Rouge Diocese by presenting them the St. Joseph Apprentice Award.
With Bishop Robert W. Muench, center, who was the master of ceremonies for the19th Annual Bishop’s Day held
March 15 at Boudreaux’s in Baton Rouge, and Father Jerry Young, right, pastor of St. Joseph Cathedral, are this
year’s recipients. They are, from left, James and Anne Laville, Victor and Joy Weston, Gloria Simmons, Sean Molony
and Shirley Mundt. They were given one of the crystal crosses, inscribed with their name.
The Lavilles are Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist. They are also involved in other ministries at the Cathedral;
he is a sacristan, a lector and works with the food bank ministry and she takes care of the altar linens.
The Westons are members of the Cathedral’s Development Group, among other ministries at the Cathedral.
Simmons cares for the sacred vessels and prepares the altar for Mass. Along with her many ministries at the
Cathedral, she serves on the Catholic-Presbyterian Apartments Board of Directors and sponsors monthly birthday
parties for the residents.
Molony serves as an acolyte for Sunday Masses and during Holy Week after being an RCIA instructor.
Mundt, a member of the Cathedral Choir, serves on the Music Advisory Committee, and is active in RCIA, Ladies
of the Cathedral and the food bank ministry. Photo by John Ballance
GO FORTH – Glenda Barras
speaks at St. Thomas More Church
in Baton Rouge on March 17 about
the history of the Mass as part of a
four-session adult education series
on the Mass. Barras said while the
format of the Mass liturgy may
have changed over the years, the
Mass remains the remembrance
of the Last Supper and God’s new
covenant with man through Jesus’
death and resurrection. Barras
said Catholics today are sent from
the Mass to go forth and proclaim
Christ and serve others, as the
apostles were at the Last Supper.
Photo by Debbie Shelley
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POVERTY FORUM – Diocesan Council of Catholic Women (DCCW) officers Barbara
Coreil, left, and Smittie Bolner staff the DCCW table at the Poverty Forum, sponsored by
the Interfaith Federation of Greater Baton Rouge, on March 1 at Shiloh Baptist Church.
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GOING, GOING, GONE – St. Alphonsus Church and School in Greenwell Springs recently
held a silent and live auction and taste fair as a kickoff to the Festival of Two Rivers to be
held May 1-3 at the church. Over $114,000 was raised at the event, which was attended
by more than 600 people. Photo provided by St. Alphonsus Church
CAREER DAY – Mayor Kip Holden, second from right, and Baton Rouge Police Chief
Jeff LeDuff, left, were among the local business persons, civic leaders, educators and
other professionals giving an overview of their profession during Career Day for seventhand eighth-grade students at St. George School on March 10. Students had time to ask
questions of the presenters. With Holden and LeDuff are, from left, Mary Margaret Roeling,
Virginia Mills and C.J. Okpalobi. Photo provided by St. George School
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14
news
Annual Home and School Association luncheon
SISTER MICHAELINE HONORED — The Diocesan Home and School Association honored Sister Mary Michaeline Green OP, left, with a special gift to
recognize her 32 years as superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Baton Rouge Diocese. Sr. Michaeline is retiring at the end of this year. The Home and School
Association officers are, from left, Bethany Landry, Missie Ourso, Charmaine LaCoste, Terre Smith, Monica Hunt, Cindy Gautreau, Annette Savoie, Kay Kenney,
and Sharon Burchart. Photos by Laura Deavers
NCEA PRESIDENT’S AWARD RECIPIENTS — At the Home and School
Association Luncheon March 17 at Drusilla Restaurant, Sister Mary Michaeline
Green OP, center, presented the National Catholic Educational Association
President’s Award to Bethany Landry, left, Home and School Association President,
and Nicole Hidalgo, second from right, an employee of Our Lady of the Lake Regional
Medical Center who works on the Catholic Schools Office Marketing Committee.
With them are Father Than Vu, vicar general, Bishop Robert W. Muench and Missy
Ourso, Diocesan Home and School Association Vice President.
DISTINGUISHED EDUCATORS — The 2009 Diocesan Outstanding
Principal, Elementary School Teacher and Secondary School Teacher received
commendation at the Home and School Association Luncheon. With Sister
Michaeline, left, are Joanie Hutson, principal of St. Gerard Majella School;
Linda Messina, St. Joseph’s Academy teacher; Jacqueline Mitchell, Holy Ghost
School; Joseph Scimeca, assistant superintendent of Catholic Schools; and
Joni Herman, Neighbors Federal Credit Union.
STUDENTS OF THE YEAR — The students chosen as
the 2009 Student of the Year for the fifth, eighth and 12th
grades from the Baton Rouge Diocese received recognition
plaques during the March 19 Diocesan School Board
meeting. With Catholic School Superintendent Sister
Mary Michaeline Green OP, left, and Diocesan School
Board President Lisa Mohr, right, are fifth-grade winner
Cole Catherine Dunnam from St. Thomas More School,
eighth-grade winner Dustin Michael Weidert from St. Peter
Chanel School and 12th-grade winner Charles Robert
Miller from St. Thomas Aquinas High School. The selection
of Student of the Year is based on a student’s grade point
average, school activities and community involvement.
These three students will compete for Louisiana Student
of the Year in their respective grade category. Photo by
Laura Deavers
news
15
Fr. Than Vu suggests ways Catholic homes,
schools should establish Catholic identity
BY
LAURA DEAVERS
Editor
With a disclaimer that he
has never been pastor of a parish that had a Catholic school
and that he obviously has no
children, Father Than Vu gave
his reflection of what is going on
in Catholic schools and Catholic
education to those attending
the Annual Home and School
Association Luncheon.
Held on March 17, St. Patrick’s Day at, Drusilla Restaurant in Baton Rouge, over 300
teachers and administrators,
parents, priests and religious attended the luncheon sponsored
annually by the Diocesan Home
and School Association.
Fr. Vu, vicar general for the
Baton Rouge Diocese, asked,
“With so much emphasis on
education, why is education
important?” Is it just a certification that a person has attended
classes for a period of time or
is it a way for us to learn some
skills to make a living?
The pastor of Christ the King
Church on the LSU campus,
Fr. Vu answered the question,
“Why is education so important?“
“It helps us answer some of
the deepest questions of our
life, about ourselves, about our
world, about one another, about
God, (about) what are my values, (about) what is my purpose
in this world, (about) what is the
meaning of my life.”
Specifically, “Catholic education helps us to answer those
questions and helps form us
more and more into the image of God who calls us. (God)
wants us to be a certain way.”
Fr. Vu offered three things
he thinks are important in
Catholic education and Catholic
schools.
He said the primary question is, “Who am I?”
To illustrate the confusion
that can occur with that question, Fr. Vu, who was one of the
boat people who fled Vietnam
after the Vietnam War, told
a story of a woman insisting
that he was Chinese. When he
finally said he was Chinese so
that she would leave him alone,
she returned to say she knew he
really wasn’t Chinese.
“The question is about our
identity,” said Fr. Vu. “I would
say it is important for Catholic
schools to remember first of all
our Catholic identity.”
As a campus minister at the
LSU Catholic Center, Fr. Vu told
of the college students choosing
the theme “Catholics, That’s
Who We Are” as the theme
for the Louisiana Catholic College Students Conference that
will be at LSU next January.
The theme created discussion
among the students and their
advisors over the strong emphasis on being Catholic.
“Some times in the name of
tolerance and being sensitive,
we are afraid to embrace, to
proclaim, to acknowledge who
we are, our Catholic identity,”
Fr. Vu stated.
When Pope Benedict XVI
came to the United States last
year he spoke to Catholic educators at Catholic University
in Washington, D.C. about
Catholic identity. Fr. Vu said
the pope said educators cannot
use statistics, i.e. the number
of Catholic students, as their
Catholic identity. Neither can
a school’s Catholic identity be
equated with the orthodoxy of
content in the materials that are
taught.
“The pope said when people
talk about Catholic identity we
want to make that the content
of the teaching, if the book is
orthodox,” explained Fr. Vu.
The Catholic identity of a
Catholic school demands and
inspires much more, namely
that each and every aspect
of our learning communities
reverberates with the Catholic
vision of reality – everything –
not just the content, not just the
number of Catholic students
and faculty, said. Fr. Vu.
Second, what does it mean if
we embrace and acknowledge
our Catholic identity in our
schools?
Fr. Vu said a sense of “Wow”
should be instilled in children,
“a sense of wonder, a sense of
openness, a learned ignorance.”
He said so many college students that he comes to know are
so sure of themselves and that
they know everything.
“I would suggest that education is to help us to get to the
point of learned ignorance,” Fr.
Vu explained. “To know how
little we know and to open ourselves to the sense of wonder in
our world and how much God
can reveal to us.” He added
that it is not a coincidence that
second year students in high
school and college are called
sophomores, which means
those who are so dumb that
they think they are wise.
“I hope that in Catholic
schools we have our children
get to the point of knowing
how little we know, the point
of knowing God is full of surprises, the point of knowing we
need to continue to open our
selves to the mysterious ways
God works in our lives and in
the lives of those people we
encounter.”
In one of the letters of the
U.S. bishops, they said the
emphasis on individual rights
in our society has eroded the
concept of the common good,
the principles of Catholic social
teaching.
Working with college students, Fr. Vu realizes that even
though they are good students,
faithful to traditional ways of
prayer, many are lacking the
sense of the common good.
Most students he ministers
to have no sense of how hurricanes Katrina and Gustav affected the lives of others. They
do not have the “ability to see
the common good, to see how I
am a part of the larger society,
the larger church, the larger
community,” he stated.
Retelling the story of a trip
to visit a former seminary classmate who is a missionary in
Peru, Fr. Vu filled with emotion as he told of a little boy
who tried to get his attention
by tugging on his pants. The
child’s physical appearance was
offensive to this priest from the
United States. But the child was
persistent in his desire to get Fr.
Vu to pick him up. When Fr. Vu
finally picked up the boy and
held him so they were face to
face, the little boy said in Spanish, “you are my image of Jesus.” Fr. Vu said, “Those words
touched me like nothing else
because I knew I was unfaithful
in being able to see the face of
Jesus” in the little boy.
Fr. Vu suggested, “Our children need to be reminded of a
sense of common good, of being
able to see the face of God in
those among us.”
Citing an Anglican theologian, Fr. Vu noted that the
church can be compared to a
swimming pool. A lot of noise
comes from the shallow end,
“but, most of the wisdom can
be found in the deep end among
those who have taken the time
to cultivate the discipline, the
patience, the courage to deal
with hard issues.”
Fr. Vu further suggested to
those at the luncheon, that at
home and at school, parents and
teachers help their children and
students to become a generation
of wise children. “Children who
are not afraid to venture out
into the deep end of the pool,
to struggle with hard questions, questions that help us to
know ourselves as Catholics, as
people who know God’s goodness and mercy.
“People who are courageous
enough to embrace our Catholic
identity. People who are not
afraid to admit we don’t know
all the answers. The only thing
that we know is God loves
us.”
Though everyone wants to
know the future and to prepare
for it, “None of us knows from
moment to moment to moment what it is we are getting
ourselves into or where our life
is going to take us,” instructed
Fr. Vu.
“We don’t know what the future holds for us, but we know
who holds that future. If there
is nothing else we can give our
children, I would say that is
more than enough.”
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entertainment
Will the Fairness Doctrine make a comeback?
16
BY
MARK PATTISON
WASHINGTON — In days of yore,
every so often a new scare rose up that
atheist leader Madalyn Murray O’Hair
had petitioned the federal government
to remove all religious content from
television.
For months afterward the Federal
Communications Commission would
get thousands of phone calls and hundreds of letters about it. The FCC had
to assign extra staff just to take care of
the citizen inquiries.
The petition, though, never existed.
And it wasn’t until well after O’Hair
was murdered in 1995 that the squall
subsided over the petition that never
was.
Now, a new squall is rising. It has
to do with the potential reinstatement
by the FCC of the Fairness Doctrine,
which the FCC had abolished in 1987.
The Fairness Doctrine required the
holders of both broadcast TV and radio
licenses to present controversial issues
of public importance and to do so in a
manner that was honest, equitable and
balanced – at least in the FCC’s view.
There are no bills awaiting action
in Congress that would reinstate the
Fairness Doctrine. Nor have there been
any bills introduced to that effect since
the Democrats took control of Congress
two years ago. In fact, the only bills
in Congress on the Fairness Doctrine
are three that would bar the FCC from
bringing it back.
One of those bills was attached as a
rider to the Senate version of a bill that
would grant a vote in the House to the
District of Columbia. The rider is not
in the House version, and there is no
way of knowing what the final piece of
legislation will look like.
President Barack Obama said Feb. 18
that he was not in favor of a return to
the Fairness Doctrine. A week earlier,
acting FCC chairman Michael Copps
said the same.
However, that hasn’t stopped broadcasters from raising Cain on the issue
– nor has it stopped some groups from
raising funds from prospective donors,
painting themselves as the guardians
of virtue on the matter.
“It’s extremely unlikely it will ever
be passed,” said Angela Campbell, who
heads up the Citizens Communications
Center Project for the Institute for Public Representation and is a professor at
the law school of Georgetown University in Washington.
“There have been a couple of articles
recently with certain members of Congress calling for it,” Campbell said.
“But I’m not aware of any advocacy
groups calling for it.”
One of Washington’s rising advocacy groups on communications issues,
Free Press, issued a position paper,
“The Fairness Doctrine Distraction,”
Feb. 24.
“The Fairness Doctrine, while originally well-intentioned, is not wise public policy,” Free Press said. It “places the
FCC in charge of determining what is
fair in political speech – a difficult task
in the best of circumstances. Placing
the government in the role of monitoring and judging political speech will
inevitably produce controversy that is
impossible to resolve,” it added.
Not that it was all that effective during the 38 years it was policy, according
M ovie
Reviews
I Love You, Man (DreamWorks)
A socially awkward Los Angeles realty agent (Paul Rudd) becomes engaged
to his live-in girlfriend (Rashida Jones)
but lacks a male friend close enough to
be his best man until a chance meeting with a crudely uninhibited slacker
(Jason Segal) leads to almost obsessive
bonding. A morally positive wrap-up
and Rudd’s gift for delivering creatively
contorted wordplay fail to prevent director John Hamburg’s buddy comedy,
which also features Andy Samberg as the
realtor’s gay brother, from foundering in
blue language, tasteless jokes and indiscriminate sexual values. Premarital cohabitation, a promiscuous gay character,
much sexual and some gross-out humor,
pervasive rough and crude language,
and at least one profanity. O; R
The Last House on the Left
(Rogue)
Glossy remake of horrormeister Wes
Craven’s influential, low-budget thriller
from 1972 pits the parents (Tony Goldwyn and Monica Potter) of a 17-year-old
girl (Sara Paxton) against the fugitive
sociopaths who, hours earlier, brutally
attacked their daughter and her friend.
Director Dennis Iliadis applies an arty
sheen to the sadistic mayhem without
generating enough compensatory
thematic resonance or rendering the
comparatively less exploitative picture
worthwhile. A litany of graphically
violent acts using all manner of implements, rape, sodomy, pervasive rough
and crude language, several instances of
profanity, upper female nudity, groping,
marijuana use and some sexual banter.
O; R
Duplicity (Universal/Relativity)
Sophisticated romantic caper about
two intelligence officers (Julia Roberts
and Clive Owen) who turn to industrial espionage hoping to exploit the noholds-barred feud between the CEOs
to Campbell.
“It was actually quite useful back in
the early 1960s in the South to go after
stations in the South that were run by
white segregationists and didn’t cover
the civil rights movement,” Campbell
said.
“But after a while, the commission
made it harder and harder to ever bring
a Fairness Doctrine case,” she added.
“You’d have to find something clearly
controversial – it doesn’t have to be
equal time. I think it had an effect – that
stations would self-monitor. It was an
incentive for them to be fair to avoid
(a license challenge) filing, which was
a good thing. There really weren’t that
many successful cases brought.”
A-I – general patronage; A-II
– adults and adolescents; A-III –
adults; A-IV – adults, with reservations; L – limited adult audience;
O – morally offensive.
G – general audiences, all ages
admitted; PG – parental guidance
suggested, some material may not
be suitable for children; PG-13 –
parents are strongly cautioned to
give special guidance for attendance of children under 13, some
material may be inappropriate for
young children; R – restricted,
under 17 requires accompanying
parent or adult guardian; NC-17 –
no one under 17 admitted.
(Tom Wilkinson and Paul Giamatti) of
rival pharmaceutical companies. Writer-director Tony Gilroy’s tartly clever
globe-trotting thriller, which boasts
all the complexity of a master chess
match, explores the paranoia produced
by corporate greed and the redeeming
potential of the love between its cynically untrusting lead characters, though
their affection is expressed in an intense
unwedded affair. Brief, non-graphic,
premarital sexual activity; some sexual
humor and references; occasional crude
and crass language; and at least a dozen
profanities. A-III; PG-13
Race to Witch Mountain (Disney)
Engaging sci-fi adventure about a Las
Vegas cab driver (Dwayne Johnson) and
a UFO expert (Carla Gugino) who try to
help two alien children (AnnaSophia
Robb and Alexander Ludwig) find their
spaceship and return home to head
off an alien invasion of earth, while
relentlessly pursued by a federal UFO
investigator (Ciaran Hinds). Director
Andy Fickman’s reimagining of the 1975
“Escape to Witch Mountain” moves at a
fast clip with likable lead performances
and elaborate special effects making
this recommendable family fare for all
but young children who might be bothered by some scary moments. Generally
mild action violence with explosions
and gunshots. A-II; PG
entertainment
On The Record
1
by Charlie Martin
2
3
4
5
Circus
There’s only two types of
people in the world; The
ones that entertain and
the ones that observe;
Well baby I’m a put-ona-show kind of girl; Don’t
like the backseat, gotta be
first
I’m like the ringleader; I
call the shots; (Call the
shots); I’m like a firecracker; I make it hot
When I put on a show; I
feel the adrenaline moving
through my veins; Spotlight on me; And I’m ready
to break
I’m like a performer; The
dance floor is my stage;
Better be ready; Hope that
you feel the same
All eyes on me; In the
center of the ring; Just like
a circus; When I crack that
whip; Everybody gon’ trip;
Just like a circus
Don’t stand there watching me; Follow me; Show
me what you can do;
Everybody let go; We can
make a dance floor; Just
like a circus
There’s only two types of
guys out there; One’s that
can hang with me; And
ones that are scared; So
baby, I hope that you came
prepared; I run a tight
ship, so beware
(Repeat above lyrics,
beginning with second
stanza.)
Sung by Britney Spears
Copyright © 2008 by Jive
and if you have a job, buy some
groceries. Don’t make a big deal
about it; just do it. This is a way
to say, “I love you and appreciate all you have done for me.”
Next turn to friends. Be sure
to be a good listener, not giving advice but being there for
them as a safe place for sharing their feelings as they face
challenges.
Also reach out to schoolmates who a re not c lose
friends, may not speak English
well or have problems that others ridicule. Again, don’t make
any big deal about this; just
do it. Think about how Jesus
lived and the huge difference
he made for others who were
devalued or ignored.
There are times when our
lives become a circus. Yet we can
attempt to minimize the melodrama and remember that what
goes on in our personal lives is
just a small portion of reality.
Give up any search for the spotlight and look to serve others. Be
the love of God for others even
if they don’t see where this light
is coming from.
Your comments are always welcome. Please write to me at: [email protected] or at 7125W
200S, Rockport, IN 47635.
Copyright © 2009 Catholic
News Service/U.S. Conference of
Catholic Bishops
Shane T. Bennett, CPA, CVA
A Professional Accounting Corporation
• Income Taxes
• Monthly Bookkeeping
• Business Valuation
3752 North Blvd., Baton Rouge, LA 70806
Ph. 225-343-4715, FAX 225-343-4726
[email protected]
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Britney Spears’ life is quite a
story! From teen rock prodigy
through all the relationships
to her personal struggle with
illness and the collapse of her
personal and professional lives,
it is almost more than even
those sleazy newspaper scandal
sheets “report.” However, she
seems to have made both a personal and recording recovery,
and while I have never been a
fan of her music, her comeback
is a testament to how each of
us can overcome difficult situations.
Currently on the pop charts
is the single “Circus” off her
comeback CD of the same. In
my mind, it is a testament to
how not to live!
The song’s character believes
that “there’s only two types of
people in the world, the ones
that entertain and the ones that
observe.” She has decided that
she is definitely the former. She
is sure that she doesn’t “like the
backseat, gotta be first.” As far
as she is concerned, “I’m like a
performer. ... All eyes on me in
the center of the ring, just like a
circus.”
Well, there is nothing wrong
with entertaining others, as long
as you know that this is your
work and not your life.
Today’s followers of Jesus
take a much different approach to life. Rather than “all
eyes on me,” it is more, “What
can I do to help you?” Recognition is not required.
I urge teens to bypass building a circus around themselves,
focusing instead on looking
for ways to be of service. This
should always start in the home,
considering in particular ways
to uplift younger siblings. Take
time to talk with them every
day and see how their lives are
going. Offer to spend time with
them, driving them places once
a driver’s license is obtained.
Doing so doesn’t mean that
you should overlook your parents or the other adults who
support you. Simply notice
what needs to be done in your
home and do tasks without being asked or mentioning that
you have done so. Wash the
dishes, start the laundry, clean,
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Serving others without
the spotlight
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www.wordgamesforcatholics.com
ACROSS
1 The Lord’s Table
6 8th letter of the Hebrew
alphabet
10 Amo, ___, amat
14 Prophet who was married to
Gomer
15 Tennis great Arthur ____
16 Certain Roman statesman
17 Away
18 Remove water from a boat
19 Soon
20 Rebuke
22 “… ______ hymn of
praise…”
24 Streetcar
26 Oxlike African antelope
27 Ancient Roman money
28 Sick
32 Ques. response
34 “When you _____ this
bread…”
35 Chief Apostle
37 Sifter
41 Culture medium
43 Recite the Jewish prayers
45 44 to 16A
46 Motherless calf
48 Pale reddish purple
50 “We believe in ____ God…”
51 Alphabet string
53 Certain prayers
55 Wood sorrel
58 Taxi
60 Concern
61 He hoes, rakes and weeds
64 Tabs
68 One of the “Great” popes
69 Hip bones
71 They help the pope with the
administration of the Church
worldwide
72 Otherwise
73 She, in Paris
74 Extraterrestrial
75 God, to Pierre
76 Sly look
77 The ___ of time
DOWN
1 Evil king of Israel
Mr. D’s
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Easy stride
Former Russian ruler
Charge with gas
A run-down shack
OT prophetic book
Biblical twin
Inanimate object
Capital of the state of
Montana
Preparatory sch.
Craze
Make up for sin
Psalms were these
Relaxed
Convent dwellers
Dense element
“He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the
____.”
Villain in Othello
Male deer
Lucifer
In Genesis, number of days
it took to create the world
Hair, bone, or clothing, etc.
of a saint
“…_____ lema
sabachthani?” (Mk 15:34)
“I am the ___, you are the
branches” (Jn 15:5)
First woman, and others
The first woman was
created from this
Pertaining to birth
_____ Homo
Capital of Venezuela
He was in the lion’s den
Cloud of interstellar gas
Stared at
Regina ___
Got up
Pretty girl
Prie-____ (kneeler)
Vex
Land of St. Patrick
What Peter did when he
denied Jesus
Without
Air (comb.)
Solution on page 20
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18
viewpoint
In Exile
by Father Ron Rolheiser
Congenital jealousy and a higher invitation
All of you
are loving
eac h ot her
and I may be left out! That feeling,
that particular fear, according to Robert
Moore, lies at the base of jealousy.
That was the fear of Cain, the archetypal biblical character who was the
first person to murder his brother out
of jealousy. What prompted his jealousy? Whatever it is that lies inside this
metaphor: God looked with favor upon
Abel and his offering, but God did not
look with favor upon Cain and his offering. For whatever reason, it seemed
to Cain that everyone else was loving
each other and he was left out!
And so, scripture says, jealousy
turned him into a killer and, I suspect,
the identical dynamic is present every
time we see a mass murder like the
ones that occurred at Virginia Tech,
Columbine, and more recently in Germany and Alabama. The killers are
always lonely, dangerously isolated
individuals who, no doubt, share with
Cain the experience of seeing others’
offering as acceptable and their own as
not. Everyone else, it seems, is loving
each other and they are being left out.
Moreover, what we see acted out
so horrifically in these mass murders
often acts itself out inside of us on a
smaller stage. Because of jealousy we
too are all killers, except when we kill
we do not do it with guns. We do it with
thoughts and words.
Henri Nouwen once coined this
mantra: Anyone shot by a gun is first
shot by a word and anyone shot by a
word is first shot by a thought. He is
right. We murder in our thoughts every
time we say inside ourselves: “Who
does he think he is! She thinks she’s
so clever! He thinks he’s God’s gift to
creation! She’s so full of herself!” Who
of us has not walked into a meeting,
a boardroom, a church assembly, a
family dinner, a social situation, or a
gathering of some kind and, not unlike
the mass murderers at Columbine or
Virginia Tech, subtly sprayed bullets
of jealous anger around the gathering? When we are wounded like Cain,
when it seems like our offering is not
being accepted while that of others’ is,
when it seems like everyone is loving
each other and we are being left out,
the spontaneous impulse is to kill in
word, thought and attitude.
What’s to be done? How do we live
beyond jealousy and the sense of being
left out?
The first thing is to admit our jealousy. It is never a question of whether
we suffer from jealousy or not, but
only of what we do with our jealousy.
We all suffer from jealousy and the
bitter and murderous thoughts that it
can trigger.
Once we have admitted that we
are jealous, we are invited to move
on and see our response to jealousy
as precisely the greatest moral and
spiritual challenge of our lives. That
is not over-stated.
When we look at the drama of Jesus
in the Garden of Gethsemane, the
drama in which he struggles to give
his death over to us as he had been giving his life over, we see that this drama
is precisely a drama of love, not a
physical one. Unlike Mel Gibson’s film,
“The Passion of Christ,” the gospel
accounts of Jesus’ passion and death
do not emphasize his physical sufferings, in fact they almost write them
out. What they do emphasize rather
is his moral and emotional loneliness,
his distance from others, his being cut
out of the circle of human understanding, and his exclusion from human
intimacy. The Gospels tell us that he
“was a stone’s throw from everyone”,
a condition Gil Bailie characterizes as
unanimity-minus-one.
As Jesus approached his death, his
earthly experience paralleled that of
Cain. His offering, it seemed, was
not being accepted, either by God or
everyone around him. He felt the radical isolation that comes precisely from
exclusion, from misunderstanding,
from being the object of hatred. The
human temptation, surely, must have
been towards bitterness, anger, selfpity and hatred. But his actions are the
antithesis of Cain’s and his response
to the bitter feelings that surely must
have arisen inside of him constitute
precisely his real sacrifice and are the
great moral challenge he left us.
Surrounded by jealousy, hatred
and misunderstanding, he gives his
life over in trust. When everything
tempts him toward bitterness, he
moves towards graciousness. When
everything tempts him toward hatred,
he moves towards love. When everything tempts him towards shutting
others out, he makes himself still more
vulnerable so that others can come
in. When all around him is coldness,
paranoia, and curses, he affirms others, blesses them, and affirms warmth
and trust. What a person does when
love turns sour is the real drama of
love. Cain gives us one answer. Jesus
gives us another.
What’s our answer in those moments of our lives when we sense that
“all of you are loving each other and I
may be left out”?
Oblate Father Rolheiser, theologian,
teacher, and award-winning author, is
president of the Oblate School of Theology
in San Antonio, TX. He can be contacted
through his Web site www.ronrolheiser.
com.
The Human Side
by Father Eugene Hemrick
The suffering servant: A model for national ills
The word around the
country is that Washington
has become the epicenter
of the nation. Daily we are hearing of billions of dollars being doled out to booster the economy. Models
aimed at bailing out businesses, home owners and
families are being redesigned behind congressional
doors, and President Barack Obama is on the airwaves continuously trying to guide the U.S. through
its woes.
These strategies are laudable. New models are
always helpful when business as usual isn’t helping.
And it is heartening to experience the country’s leader
working feverishly to reverse our major problems.
If these efforts are to succeed, however, the model
of Christ, the suffering servant, must be at the epicenter.
During his ministry, Christ asked the apostles,
“Who do people say that I am?”
They replied, “John the Baptist.” Still others said
one of the prophets. Then Peter spoke up and said
Jesus is the Christ.
What followed next is ironic. Christ said he must
go up to Jerusalem to suffer and die.
Peter then took Christ aside and rebuked him.
Christ turned to Peter and said, “Get behind me,
Satan. You are not thinking as God does, but as human beings do.”
One moment there is accord, and the next moment
there is discord, but why?
In the minds of the Jews, the Messiah was to come
as a triumphal conqueror and bring lasting peace and
prosperity to Israel. Christians embrace Christ as the
Messiah who has come to suffer and die for us, and
not wallow in self-serving triumphalism. Selfless
sacrifice and suffering for another is the divine model
for true living. It is the ultimate means for achieving
peace, harmony and joy.
Many of our financial problems are the result of
immoral people whose selfishness has brought suffer-
ing to families, retirees, businesses, schools, charitable
institutions and a host of others. Prominent people
thought to be respectful and reliable succumbed to
the “get it now, don’t deny yourself what is in it for
you” way of life.
The antithesis of this is the suffering servant model
that teaches us we were not created for ourselves, but
for others. It is the opposite of narcissism, vanity and
self-indulgence. And it advocates the common good
over personal preservation, citing sacrificing and
suffering for others as the highest principles of life.
If we are to overcome our present crisis, thinking
the way God thinks must be preferred to thinking as
human beings do.
Father Hemrick, a research associate with the Life Cycle
Research Institute at The Catholic University of America
and coordinator of institutional research at Washington
Theological Union, writes on issues pertinent to the church
and the human spirit for Catholic News Service.
viewpoint
Our Turn
19
by Therese Borchard
The disease of ‘a thousand things to do’!
I’m the typical young
adult (for two more years
anyway): I have contracted
an illness called “the disease
of a thousand things to do.” That’s how author Abby
Seixas describes it in her insightful book, “Finding the
Deep River Within.”
It’s a modern condition whereby human beings are
always rushing, trying desperately to cross off every
task on their to-do lists, and are bombarded by interruptions and information overload.
Does this sound familiar?
Consider these observations she makes to bolster her
case of what has become a very unbalanced and frenetic
culture:
The average working couple in America spends 20
minutes a day together.
Family time has become a goal, an achievement,
rather than a natural consequence of being a family.
Please pray for the priests,
deacons and religious women and
men in the Baton Rouge Diocese
Mar. 29 .Rev. Ronald Henery OP
..............Deacon J. Phillip BeJeaux
..............Sr. Mary Anne Hebert CSJ
Mar. 30 .Rev. Arun John IMS
..............Deacon Willie M. Berthelot Sr.
..............Br. Ray Hebert SC
Mar. 31 .Rev. Rafael M. Juantorena
..............Deacon William B. Blair Jr.
..............Sr. Anna Hoang ICM
Apr. 1 ....Rev. Michael Jung OSB
..............Deacon Claude H. Bourgeois
..............Sr. Cuc Hoang ICM
Apr. 2 ....Rev. Justin R. Kauchak OP
..............Deacon Eugene F. Brady
..............Sr. Mary John Hotard CSJ
Apr. 3 ....Rev. Timothy Kerner CSsR
..............Deacon Jerry W. Braud
..............Sr. Louise Ibert CSJ
Apr. 4 ....Rev. Jon C. Koehler
..............Deacon Barry G. Campeaux
..............Sr. Anija Jacob CMC
Apr. 5 ....Rev. Joseph Sanjay Kunnasseril IMS
..............Deacon Michael T. Chiappetta
..............Mother Mary Elizabeth Kloss OSB
Apr. 6 ....Rev. J. Joel LaBauve
..............Deacon Norman Christophe
..............Br. Augustine Kozdroj FSE
Apr. 7 ....Rev. Jason M. Labbé
..............Deacon Randall A. Clement
..............Sr. Julie Kraemer CSJ
Apr. 8 ....Rev. Kenneth W. Laird
..............Deacon Samuel C. Collura
..............Sr. Adele Lambert CSJ
Apr. 9 ....Rev. Charles R. Landry
..............Deacon Guy E. Decker
..............Sr. Rita M. Lambert CSJ
Apr. 10 ..Rev. Clyde H. LeBlanc SJ
..............Deacon Benjamin J. Dunbar Jr.
..............Br. Barry Landry SC
Apr. 11 ..Rev. Keun-Soo Lee
..............Deacon W. Brent Duplessis
..............Sr. Frances Landry CSJ
Most Americans are trapped in a viscous cycle of
overwork and overconsumption.
Dropping in on a neighbor is practically nonexistent.
Keeping busy and multitasking are praised, and
slowing down frowned upon.
I’ve made my Lenten resolution to adhere to six
practices that Abby offers as an antidote to this cultural
epidemic of living so fast that we are blinded to the big
picture, of having to multitask 24/7 and thereby squandering the opportunities to be present to the moment
we are living. Here. Now.
Her practices include: taking time for yourself each
week, erecting important personal and work boundaries, befriending feelings (especially those that you’d like
to stuff), taming self-expectations, practicing presence
and doing something you love.
In my life this means starting my day with 20 minutes of prayer (when I read the Lectionary texts for the
day and a meditation from a saint or spiritual writer);
staying offline until noon and keeping Sunday Internet
work-free; cramming an hour of personal time into each
week where I get to do NOTHING but hear the dogs
growl at the mailman.
I want these 40 days before Easter to be an exercise of
jumping off the treadmill of my own packed schedules
and expectations. I guess I want to stop living each day
like a waitress taking orders, trying to remember all the
special requests (skip the mayonnaise, skim milk only,
coleslaw, no fries).
I’m going after the results Abby promises if we are
disciplined enough to slow down and take each minute at a time. She writes, “Access to the deeper realms
within us gives back to us our juice, our vital energy and
resilience. ... We find a sense of connection to something
larger than our own individual concerns and a sense
of meaning that makes what we do with our time feel
worthwhile.”
Borchard, former editor of U.S. Catholic magazine and an
author of books of faith, lives in Annapolis, MD. She gives a
young-adult perspective on current issues and concerns.
Looking Around
by Father William J. Byron SJ
Health care finance reform
President Barack Obama
invited an impressive group
of legislators, lobbyists,
policy experts and those
who provide and consume
health care services to the White House March 5. He
urged them to put their heads together to come up
with solutions to the nation’s health care problem.
As the debate begins, all should be aware that defining the problem correctly is an essential first step.
If policy proposals fail to focus on health care finance
reform, they will miss the mark.
If this issue is going to be resolved the word “finance”
must modify the word “reform” in this great debate.
The two main problems relate to cost and coverage.
As a percentage of gross domestic product, health
care is costing us far too much. And the range of
health care insurance coverage in this nation is far
too narrow.
Cost and coverage. How to bring costs down and
how to make insurance coverage extend to everyone:
that’s the challenge. Health care finance reform is the
route to a solution.
President Bill Clinton tried and failed to address
this issue. He put the project in the hands of Hillary
Rodham Clinton and Ira Magaziner, a White House
domestic policy adviser. They worked behind closed
doors, invited no legislators to their planning sessions, lost the public relations battle to the health
care insurance industry’s TV ads (remember Harry
and Louise?) and produced an administration bill
that was dead on arrival when it reached Congress.
Obama opened his White House meeting to representatives of all parties and to all points of view. He
clearly learned an important lesson from the Clinton
experience. Nor is he unaware that as far back as Harry
Truman attempts have been made without success to
extend health care insurance to all Americans. He is
exercising good leadership in raising the issue now, and
he knows there is no easy or inexpensive solution.
By virtue of his economic recovery bill, already
enacted into law, Obama has designated $20 billion to
begin modernizing (i.e., converting to electronic form)
medical records. Electronic record keeping will surely
reduce costs and help avoid medical errors. Moreover,
the president’s budget sets aside $634 billion for a start
in providing coverage over 10 years to some of those
currently uninsured.
What is called “universal coverage” would presumably mean a single-payer system. This would
be government-paid, Medicare-like basic coverage
for all Americans, allowing those who want – and
can afford it – to purchase additional coverage in the
private market.
The president is not advocating a single-payer
system, at least not yet. He wants private insurers to
remain in the game. But he wants rates charged by
private insurers to be affordable, and he wants the
existing fee-for-service system of provision to hold
those fees down.
Providers often complain about Medicare reimbursement rates, but few Medicare recipients complain about their coverage.
In my view, there is a directional signal there or a
tea leaf waiting to be read. It points to a future where
there will be universal coverage and a regulated feefor-service system (with a set range of fees approved
by professional peers) along with cost monitoring
(again by peers) of charges made by hospitals and
clinics. This addresses both cost and coverage.
This is a quick description of health care finance
reform.
Jesuit Father Byron is a university professor of business
and society at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. E-mail:
[email protected].
20
coming events
Lenten Retreat – Father Pat Mascarella will present a mission March 30-April 1 at 7 p.m. at Our Lady
of Peace Church, 13281 Hwy. 644, Vacherie. A reconciliation service will be held on Wednesday night. There
will be Mass and an abbreviated talk at 9 a.m. during
the days of the mission. For information call Our Lady
of Peace Church at 225-265-3953.
Passion Performances – Christ the King Church
and Catholic Center at LSU and Immaculate Conception Church, 865 Hatchell Lane, Denham Springs will
each have a re-enactment of the Passion of Our Lord.
LSU students will direct and perform a Passion play
March 31 and April 1 at 7 p.m. at Christ the King. For
information call 225-344-8595.
The Immaculate Conception Church Choir in Denham Springs will give a musical presentation of the
Passion of Our Lord according to St. John on Sunday,
April 5 at 3 p.m. at the church. For information call the
church office at 225-665-5359.
Dream Workshop – Sister Mary Ann Culotta OP
will present a program, “Dreamwork: A Way to Come
Home to God, Self and Others,” sponsored by the St.
Joseph Spirituality Center, on Saturday, April 4, 9 a.m.12 noon at the St. Joseph’s Academy Dining Hall, 3080
Kleinert Ave., Baton Rouge. Workshop participants
will learn about the significance of dreams in spirituality. The fee is $35. For information and to register call
the St. Joseph Spiritulity Center at 225-383-3349.
Seafood Dinner Fundraiser – The St. Aloysius
School Athletic Department will have a seafood dinner fundraiser on Wednesday, April 1, 5-8 p.m. at the
St. Aloysius School Cafeteria, 2025 Stuart Ave., Baton
Rouge. The menu includes fried shrimp, fries and a
roll. Dinners are $7 each. Tickets can be purchased from
St. Aloysius athletes or at the St. Aloysius School office.
For information call 225-383-3871 or 225-766-7566.
The Last Supper Re-enactment – Our Lady of
Pompeii Church, 14450 Hwy. 442, Tickfaw, will host
its tenth annual re-enactment of Leonardo De Vinci’s
painting of the Last Supper on Sunday, April 5 at 7 p.m.
For information call 985-345-2856.
Chef Showcase – The Grief Recovery Center
in Baton Rouge is hosting its first Chef Showcase to
benefit GRC on Tuesday, April 7, 6-9 p.m. at White
Oak Plantation, 17660 George O’Neal Rd., Baton
Rouge. GRC helps people struggling with grief to
understand, cope with, and adjust to their losses and
works with others to understand and meet the needs
See EVENTS page 21
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THOMAS LUNDIN, CPA
Accounting and taxes for businesses,
non-proÀts and individuals; business,
computer, Ànancial and management
services. 30 years experience; professional, prompt and personal attention.
225-296-0404.
Donnie’s Furniture Repair &
Upholstery. We do reÀnishing, repairs,
caning, painting of furniture and
upholstery. Business 39 yrs. Pick up
and delivery. 10876 Greenwell Springs
Rd. 225-272-2577.
Wallpapering by Debbie
28 years exp. 225-266-7655.
Residential/Commercial cleaning.
Dependable, honest, attention to
details. Ref. available. Call 225-4851018.
St. Joseph is the Patron Saint of
a Peaceful Death. St. Joseph Hospice is available to support families
as they face end-of-life decisions.
Peace, comfort, dignity and support
can make everyday "a good day." Call
225-769-4810 for more information.
Anthony's Furniture Specialties.
We restore hurricane damaged furniture. If it's furniture we do it all! ReÀnishing, re-upholstery, pick up and
delivery etc. 2263 Florida Blvd., BR.
225-413-2607.
BROUSSEAU'S PAINTING.
Interior and exterior painting. Experienced and reliable. Free estimates.
Call 225-241-8488 or 225-928-7194.
Accountant
The Diocese of Baton Rouge Child Nutrition Program seeks a candidate to oversee Ànancial operations, procurement, budget, and monitoring costs
to maximize growth. Must have at least 5 years of
experience, degree preferred, and possess good
oral and written communication skills.
Interested persons should submit a resume and
complete an application at:
Diocese of Baton Rouge
Child Nutrition Program OfÀce
1800 S. Acadian Thruway
Baton Rouge, LA 70808
(225) 387-6421
St. Joseph Catholic Church, a thriving parish of 1600 families with
expanding Youth Ministry facilities in Ponchatoula, La., is seeking a
full-time Youth Ministry Coordinator for grades 7-12.
Responsibilities include:
• Planning and implementing a comprehensive Youth
Ministry Program using EDGE/LIFETEEN as the primary
model, incorporating religious education and Confirmation
preparation for high school youth.
• Recruiting and working with volunteers, developing
youth leadership and drawing young people into the life,
mission and work of the parish community.
Requirements:
• Candidates should have a bachelor’s degree and
youth ministry experience in a Catholic Church.
• Youth Ministry certification is strongly preferred.
• Candidate must be a Confirmed Catholic and be
committed to his or her own spiritual growth.
Competitive salary and benefits
Please submit a resume and a short statement of your vision
for youth ministry by April 24, 2009 to:
St. Joseph Catholic Church
Attn: Youth Minister Search Committee
P.O. Box 368, Ponchatoula, LA 70454
FAX 985-386-4188, or email to [email protected]
DATES TO RUN:
Circle Category: Announcements—Business Services—Cards of Thanks—For Rent—For Sale—Help Wanted
)
Mail to: The Catholic Commentator, P.O. Box 3316, Baton Rouge, LA 70821.
Enclosed is $9.50 for the Àrst 15 words + 15¢ for each word thereafter + 25¢ per line for each special effect (all caps,
centered line, bold lettering); for a total of $___________for each issue.
NAME
ADDRESS
CITY
PHONE
ClassiÀeds Work!
YOUTH MINISTRY COORDINATOR
Print Your Ad Here
—Positions Wanted—Legal Notices (other
HELP WANTED
Advertisements will
not be published
without full payment
in advance.
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www.wordgamesforcatholics.com
news
Events
From page 20
of the bereaved. Tickets are $50 each and can be
purchased by calling 225-924-6621 or visiting
www.grcbr.org.
Good Friday Way of the Cross – St. Joseph Cathedral, 412 North St., Baton Rouge, and
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Baton Rouge
will sponsor “The Way of the Cross: Passion of
Christ, “Passion of the World,” on Friday, April
10, 9 -10:30 a.m., starting at the cathedral. Participants will travel a 14-station route to the state
capitol and return to the cathedral. For information call 225-336-8770 or 225-766-0500.
Discalced Carmelites – The Secular Order
of Discalced Carmelites welcomes those who
are interested in developing their prayer life according to the teachings of the Carmelite Saints.
Meetings are held on the second Sunday of each
month at Our Lady of Mercy Parish Activity
Center in the St. Gabriel Room, 444 Marquette
Ave., Baton Rouge, at 1:30 p.m. Since Easter is on
the second Sunday of the month, April’s meeting
will be Sunday, April 19. For information call
225-774-8413 or 225-926-6962.
HELP WANTED
Summer camp counselors. Fun
with kids! No nights or weekends!
High school through adults may apply at www.kidcamcamp.net <http://
www.kidcamcamp.net> Interviews
being held now! Locations at St. John,
Plaquemine; Dunham and Episcopal,
Baton Rouge. Apply now!
In sales employment advertisements, the advertiser must name
the product or service to be sold.
Ads must state how wages will be
paid (salary, commissions, etc.) if
money is mentioned. The ad must
also state if there is an investment
required.
TEACHER POSITIONS AVAILABLE
An elementary school in the
Diocese of Baton Rouge is seeking qualiſed
applicants for the following positions:
• Middle School Math
• First Grade
Please e-mail resume to:
[email protected]
PRINCIPAL
THE GOOD SHEPHERD
NATIVITY MISSION SCHOOL
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
APPLICANT MUST:
Salary is
commensurate
with experience
and the
extended work
day and year.
AVAILABILITY:
On or before
June 1, 2009
is desirable
APPLICATION
DEADLINE:
April 6, 2009
St. Joseph Altars throughout
the Baton Rouge Diocese
St. Margaret Mission – St. Margaret
Church, Hwy. 43 South at 1-12, Albany, will host a
mission April 26-29 at 7 p.m. to kick off its Centennial Celebration. Transportation will be provided
and childcare is available. For information call
the St. Margaret Church office at 225-567-3573
or 225-567-3375.
• CLASSIFIED ADS • CLASSIFIED ADS •
HELP WANTED
21
• Be a practicing Catholic
• Masters Degree – in education preferable
• Be sensitive to the ethnic, racial,
socioeconomic and religious
backgrounds of the student body
PREFERRED:
• Have experience as a principal or
assistant principal
• Have minimum Àve years experience
teaching or school administrative
experience
To obtain application go to
www.anocs.org
Personnel Resources/Administrative
Application Form
Please mail completed application to:
GSS Search Committee
c/o Bobby Talbot
747 Magazine Street, Suite 7
New Orleans, LA 70130
Contact: Ronnie Briggs, President
[email protected]
HELP WANTED
At St. Joseph Cathedral, Bishop Robert W. Muench blesses
the St. Joseph Altar at the beginning of the noon Mass March
19. A meatless lunch was served to all attending the Mass as
well as many others after the Mass. Photo by John Ballance
We are seeking a full time nanny
in our home for our newborn son
beginning April 6th.The ideal person
has experience with infants, is a nonsmoker and has own transportation.
M-F, 8-4:40. If interested please call
Jessie at 225-439-5993.
Catholic family owned lawn maintenance and irrigation company is hiring. Must have at least 1 yr. exp., DL,
salary DOE. Call Eagle Lawn Service
225-315-5677 or e-mail eaglels@
cox.net.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
While we at The Catholic Commentator do our best to bring reliable
advertisers to our readers, we are
not responsible for any claims
made by any advertiser.
CAMPS
Andrew LeBlanc explains the tradition and story of the St.
Joseph Altar to Ascension Catholic fourth graders March 20. The
St. Joseph Society prepares and sponsors the altar annually at
Ascension Catholic Church in Donaldsonville. Photo by Gayle Nizzo
Arts/Painting Camps
Adult canvas camp; birthday parties;
Easter break camp; summer break
camp morning and afternoon classes
beginning June 8th. 33 years experience. Call today, space limited. 225933-8420/225-928-5984.
Summer camp for kids! KidCam
at Dunham, Episocpal and St. John,
Plaquemine. Great activities for children ages 3-13. Camp runs from June
1-July 24. Register your child online
at www.kidcamcamp.net <http://www.
kidcamcamp.net>
POSITION WANTED
Compassionate person to care for
elderly loved one. Light housekeeping, prepare meals, have references,
background check. 225-698-9362.
FOR RENT
Hall Rentals with kitchen, VFW Post
3784, 13214 S. Choctaw Dr., B.R. All
occasions. 225-273-1999.
LEGAL NOTICE
Anyone with knowledge of the whereabouts of Maurice Albert Edmond, Jr. is
asked to contact the Diocesan Tribunal
at 225-336-8755.
Father Howard Adkins, parochial vicar at Our Lady of Mercy
Church in Baton Rouge, blesses the St. Joseph Altar at St. Joseph
Hospice in Baton Rouge on March 19. Photo by Penny Saia
Tax-Deferred Annuities • IRA • Rollovers
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them over to Catholic Life Insurance and watch them grow! Because our
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we guarantee that you’ll have more in our IRA or Annuity tomorrow than
you have today.
Anyone with knowledge of the whereabouts of Jesi Corin Young (nee Johnson) is asked to contact the Diocesan
Tribunal at 225-336-8755.
Anyone with knowledge of the whereabouts of Willis Gilderoy Adams, Jr. is
asked to contact the Diocesan Tribunal
at 225-336-8755.
Call now: Frank Lamulle
504-458-0957
*Interest rates are subject to change & vary by plan. Rate guaranteed for 1st year. Minimum guarantee is 2.50%
22
youth
Students named to EBR Parish Honor bands
Eleven St. Michael the Archangel
High School Band members were
named to the East Baton Rouge Parish
honor bands.
Earning spots in the Symphonic
Band were Leigh Ann Benbow, clarinet;
Mary Bernard, horn; Nicklaus Settoon,
baritone; and Marshall Leavoy, tuba.
Students named to the Concert Band
were Dane Monic, tenor saxophone;
Rebecca Broussard, flute; Taylor Stoma,
clarinet; Danielle Bunch, clarinet; Dylan Parker, saxophone; Michael Borne,
trombone; and Christopher Simoneaux,
bass clarinet.
Four members of the St. Michael
Jazz Ensemble earned spots in the East
Baton Rouge Parish Honor Jazz Band.
Students representing St. Michael were
Alex Holeman, bass; Dane Monic, tenor
sax; Hayden Serio, drums and Eric
Peters, trumpet.
These musicians were featured soloists in a concert conducted by Dr. Bill
Grimes, of the Louisiana State Univer-
St. Michael the Archangel High School Band members named to the East
Baton Rouge Honor Jazz Band are, from left, Hayden Serio, Eric Peters, Dane
Monic and Alex Holeman. Photo provided by St. Michael the Archangel High School
sity School of Music, in a concert on
Feb. 18 at Woodlawn high school.
OUTDOOR SCIENCE CLASS – As part of a science unit on how birds
gather their supplies and make a nest, Holy Family School third graders
brought items from their home to create a nest. A shoebox was used to
hold the nest that each group constructed. Making a bird nest are, from
left, Molly Scalise, Ryan Quint, Madeleine Simpson, Landen Gremillion and
Andrew Bradley. Photo provided by Holy Family School
Holeman was also named to the
Louisiana All-State Jazz Ensemble.
Y outh
Beat
St. Michael football players
Joseph Buss, Jonathan Drone,
Jared Duenckel, Douglas Ferrara
and John Roberts Jr. were name
to the Louisiana High School
Athletic Association All-State
team. Members of the All-State
team must maintain a 3.0 GPA or
higher for three or more years.
\\
St. Thomas More School was
the top earning school in Baton
Rouge and overall in Community Coffee’s Community Cash for
Schools Program. STM earned
$3,564 from Community Coffee,
which exchanges UPC bar codes
from its products for money
to buy textbooks, computers,
classroom items or playground
equipment.
BELTS AND BUCKLES OF FRIENDSHIP – St. George School
participated in St. Vincent de Paul Society’s Uniforms for Kids Drive by
donating gently used belts. Students and staff participating in a kickoff
presentation for the belt collection, themed “Belt Drive,” are, from left,
Beth Loewe, William Fisher, Lisa Hilburn, Sean Winstead and Gennie
Shannon. Students collected several hundred belts for SVDP. Photo provided
by St. George School
DIVISION CHAMPS – The Most Blessed Sacrament School sixth-grade
basketball team won their division for the first time with a season record
of 10-1.The team played in the Super Six Tournament at St. Michael High
School on Feb. 28. Members of the team are, from left, Nicholas Arcement,
Justin David, Landon Dugas, Coach Ray Sommers, Jeffery Vaccaro, Garrett
Hamilton, Christian Ruch and David Curuso. Photo provided by Renee Caruso
WONDERS OF THE
HUMAN BODY – St. Thomas
More second-grade students
learned about the human body
by participating in interactive
activities during Human Body
Day. Several learning stations
focused on the nervous system,
circulatory system, digestive
system, muscular system,
respiratory system and skeletal
system. Parent volunteer Marci
David, right, gives information
about the skeletal system to,
from left, Nathan Seidenglanz,
Brock Perry and Tyler Rube. Photo
provided by St. Thomas More School
youth
Griffin’s gifts shine through work for God
BY
DEBBIE SHELLEY
Assistant Editor
Jasmine Griffin, 17, state
president of the Junior Knights
and Junior Daughters of Peter
Claver, and a member of Immaculate Conception Church
in Scotlandville, is recognized
for her talents and leadership
ability. She prefers to use her
gifts to focus people’s attention
on the good causes she works
with.
“I don’t have to have the
spotlight. I like to be able to pull
things together,” said Griffin.
She creates artwork and
comes up with promotional
ideas for the junior division of
the Knights and Ladies of Peter
Claver (KOPC), which donates
funds to charitable organizations and participates in community service projects.
Belonging to the junior
KOPC is a family tradition
for Griffin, who is a member of Court 116 of the Junior
Daughters of Peter Claver. Her
grandfather was a member of
the KOPC, her mother, Melanie,
joined the junior KOPC before
becoming a member of the
lady’s auxiliary, and her uncle
was a member of the Junior
Knights and Daughters of Peter
Claver.
Griffin looks up to her
brother and past Junior KOPC
state president Geoffery, for
“everything” and was also
influenced by him to join the
junior. Geoffery is currently a
member of the KOPC.
She also uses her art to improve her school environment.
Known as a “school artist”
at Southern University Lab
School, Griffin helped her art instructor redecorate the school’s
art classroom by creating an abstract mural which features two
Y outh
Focus
CYO AQUATIC
CLUB POOL &
FACILITY RENTALS
Come enjoy our
facility that includes a large meeting room
in addition to 3 pools: Olympic, Junior &
Baby with covered cabana & picnic tables.
Perfect for Reunions; End of School and
Birthday Parties; Church Group; Sports
Team; CrawÀsh Boils; Reception; etc.
Call the CYO at 225-275-3200
for rental information NOW
NOW!
Jasmine Griffin, 17
Hometown
Scotlandville
School
Southern University Lab
Parish
Immaculate Conception
Scotlandville
large ornate eyes and different
icons which convey her and
her peers’ unique perspective
of looking at the world.
Griffin has created backdrops for several school events,
including the coronation of
Miss Southern University Lab
School. The biggest backdrop
Griffin created was for the
school musical, “Dream Girls,”
and she also had a minor role
in the production.
Other activities Griffin is
involved with include Beta
Club, the drama club, the cheerleading squad, where she is
co-captain, and the Southern
University Lab year book as
auxiliary editor.
A soprano in the Immaculate
Conception Youth Choir, Griffin honors God with her talents
and has fun while giving back
to the community. She said
every child should experience
the joy of serving others.
This past October, Court
116 of the Junior Daughters
of Peter Claver sponsored a
“trick or trunk” event at Immaculate Conception. Youth
from the community came
to Immaculate Conception
Church and received candy
23
which was stored in trunks of
cars decorated for Halloween
and played games.
Griffin said many parents
in her community do not take
their children trick-or-treating
due to safety concerns, so she
believes it is good to provide
the children with a safe place to
have fun for Halloween.
The Junior KOPC is raising
funds to combat sickle cell
anemia, a disorder of the red
blood cells.
Since one out of twelve African Americans carry a sickle
cell anemia gene, Griffin, who
is African American, said finding a cure will help the black
population.
Court 116 of the Junior
Daughters of Peter Claver
recently won academic and
community service awards at
the recent state Junior KOPC
Convention in Shreveport.
While Griffin is proud of all
the Junior Knights’ and Ladies’
accomplishments, she still has
other goals for the organization.
One of those is raising
$50,000 for the American Heart
Association within the next
two-three years.
DR. SEUSS DAY –
The preschool students
at St. Jean Vianney
Learning and Growth
Center celebrated Dr.
Seuss’ 105th birthday
on March 2. Dressed in
pajamas they wore to
school, students listen
as St. Jean Vianney
School guidance
counselor Chris Redden
reads Seuss’ book “I
Want to be Somebody
New.” The students also
participated in activities
associated with each
book. Photo provided by St.
Jean Vianney
ALL U
CAN EAT
11 a.m. 4 p.m.
Many great entrees including roasted pork loin,
fried & baked chicken, crawfish etouffe, fried
seafoods and more. Large selection of vegetable
sides such as rice dressing, spinach Madeline,
broccoli casserole. Full salad bar. Desserts. $17.95
NEW ELEGANT MENU
Thurs. – Sat. Evenings!
LUNCH BUFFET –
We ca
Mon. – Fri. & Sun.
crawf ter
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DELI – 7 Days a Week b
oils ansh
Hwy. 1 S., Brusly, LA • 225-749-6354
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any
3 mi. from 1-10 bridge
between 3rd & 4th light on left
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event cial
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news
N.O. auxiliary bishop named to head Biloxi Diocese
24
WASHINGTON (CNS) —
Pope Benedict XVI has named
Auxiliary Bishop Roger P.
Morin of New Orleans to head
the Diocese of Biloxi, Miss.
The appointment was announced in Washington March
2 by Archbishop Pietro Sambi,
apostolic nuncio to the United
States.
Bishop Morin’s predecessor
in Biloxi now is the head of the
Archdiocese of Mobile, Ala.,
Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi.
Bishop Morin, 68, has been
a New Orleans auxiliary since
2003. He will be installed
as the third bishop of Biloxi
April 27 at the Cathedral of
the Nativity of the Blessed
Virgin Mary in Biloxi.
In a statement he said he
greeted his appointment with
“open arms” and asked for the
prayers of clergy, religious and
laity, all of whom “will be my
co-workers in this vineyard of
the Lord.”
He said he will go to Biloxi
as a neighbor, as one who
has weathered “the fearsome
storms of years gone by” and,
like the people of Biloxi, as a
survivor of Hurricane Katrina
in 2005.
“Like so many of you, I have
come to know the frustrations
and aggravations entailed in
the process of recovery and
rebuilding that stands, for
us, on the firm foundations
of faith and hope as bases for
an optimistic belief in a better
future for our church and our
communities,” he said.
He added that “the trials
and tribulations” of storms
have only strengthened his
faith and losses have not deprived him of hope but instead
have deepened it, because of
the blessings of those who
have offered assistance “in a
loving and caring manner.”
Archbishop Rodi said in
a statement he was confident
that, “with God’s help,” Bishop
Morin “will powerfully proclaim the word of God, join the
people of Mississippi in praising God and lead in making
the love of God visible to the
poor throughout the charitable
efforts of the church.”
Despite the “challenges and
difficulties involved in hurricane recovery,” Archbishop
Rodi said, “he has fostered
the revival of the church and
the community with faith and
perseverance.”
Bor n i n Lowell, Mass.,
March 7, 1941, Roger Morin
attended elementary and secondary schools in Dracut,
Mass., Lowell and Boston. He
was in seminary studies at
Boston’s Cardinal O’Connell
and St. John’s seminaries, 1962-
Bishop Roger P. Morin
68. He received a bachelor of
arts degree in philosophy from
St. John’s in 1966, and then
pursued graduate studies in
theology there.
He first went to New Orleans in 1967 to work in the
church’s new Witness program, run by the archdiocese’s
Social Apostolate.
A year later he was invited by Archbishop Philip
M. Hannan, then head of the
New Orleans Archdiocese,
to return and help with an
inner-city summer program
for the poor. The future priest
stayed and became director of
a neighborhood social service
organization run by the Social
Apostolate.
He continued his studies
at Notre Dame Seminary in
New Orleans, earning a master of divinity degree in 1970.
In 1971, during a Mass at his
home parish of St. Therese
in Dracut, he was ordained
a priest of the New Orleans
Archdiocese by Archbishop
Hannan.
It’s Not too Early
for Build A Basket
When families are struggling to exist on minimum-wage incomes, just
paying the rent and putting food on the table is difficult. Needy children learn at an early age that there’s
nothing in the budget for extras. Things like Easter
baskets are luxuries their families simply cannot afford.
Last year, our Build a Basket campaign was
a tremendous success and reached so many
children in need. Look at the kids in these
pictures. They were uplifted by this faithful act of sharing the Easter spirit.
St. Vincent de Paul needs your help to
build Easter baskets for thousands of
needy children. To find out how you
can help this year’s Build a Basket effort,
contact Lisa Hubble at (225) 383-7837,
extension 204.

March 25 - The Catholic Commentator

Transcription

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