When a weekend really comes together; thanking God for many blessings

 I hope you had a great weekend; I did, but I bet for many different reasons than perhaps you did.  In the idyllic small town I live and work in the buzz was the annual Fall Fest which brings locals and visitors to the park in the middle of town.  Of course, middle of town means about a block from our beloved and beautiful St. Jane de Chantal Church.  And we are just as busy as the comings and goings of our surroundings.  On Friday we have our 1st Friday all-day Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament with Benediction at 6 pm.  I normally preside at Benediction and share a homily/reflection focused on the Blessed Sacrament.  Being November, I was able to reflect on the unique connection of the Eucharist and those souls in Purgatory.  Thankfully, Benediction went on without any interference from all the frivolity going on down the street.  We also fared well for our rehearsal later in the evening for our Saturday afternoon wedding.  Now this will take a little more effort for keeping festival crowds away from the wedding logistics, mostly parking.

But lo and behold, come Saturday, after 45+ days of no rain, rain came and kept coming.  Now the rain was necessary and beneficial, but nobody wants rain to fall on their special event, be it a wedding or an outdoor festival.  So right on time, the rain ended before the closing acts at the park and the wedding of Wesley and Angela.  Our parking dilemma was solved by the much-appreciated volunteer efforts of local Knights of Columbus and help from the local town government.  The wedding was beautiful.  I really do love witnessing a wedding and preaching for the bride & groom.  As is always the case, it was both delightful and spiritually fulfilling to be there.  We pray for our newly married couple wishing them a lifetime of happiness.

So, what do you do on a Saturday evening in November after a beautiful wedding.  You settle in to watch the LSU/Alabama football game from Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge.  Little did I know as I settled in what I was about to watch.  Alabama usually wins, is almost always the favorite and almost always much higher ranked than LSU.  The game was awesome from the beginning, my LSU Tigers playing great and leading much of the game.  When Alabama took a late lead then later tied the game after a brief LSU lead, you had to sigh, and wonder would this be another disappointing repeat.  After all, we go into overtime and Alabama scores first.  But then LSU scores on their first snap of OT and to the shock of all they decide to go for two.  One way or the other, this game was about to be over, one way or the other.  And with great joy and relief I watched the 2-point conversion work and yes, LSU beats Alabama.  Wow!  What a game.  And it came on the same night we "fall back" and gain an extra hour of sleep; I sure needed that too.

I was assigned the early mass on Sunday; 8 am and I was ready.  Mass was, as usual, awesome and I headed to Slidell, with Wendy, to pick up grandkid Brennan for a two-day visit.  She brings lots of joy and excitement to our house.  Her activities range from playing dolls, doing crafts to riding her little 4-wheeler.  I snuck away for a while to attend my church parish picnic which was very nice and well attended.  By 5 pm the sun was now setting, and a great weekend was over.  Giving thanks to God for great times and great memories made from days such as these.

Long time coming: an update from the Abitadeacon

 This Friday morning finds me in my office at my parish church, working on some projects, listening to Gregorian chant and contemplating the realities of the day, of this time, of this season of my life.  Overall, 2022, despite its many everyday blessings and God's always abundant graces, has been a year of challenge.  Both my wife and I battled through some health issues; bless her heart Wendy is still battling.  It has been a year of extended hospitalizations, doctor visits and even confronting head on the possibility that we should began the process of moving to a less demanding home; one that does not require endless grass cutting and maintenance no longer easily accomplished.

Very recently, due to some of what I share above, I discerned that it was time for me to step away from my 14+ year ministry at Rayburn Correctional Center.  During that time, I was called the Catholic pastoral care chaplain for the men who clung to their Catholic faith despite incarceration.  I have written many times here of the joy of this ministry, the unexpected gifts of grace and peace as I went about my responsibilities as a prison chaplain.  To leave this ministry was not easy to do; it was not easy to admit how necessary it became.  In a big state-run prison, there is lots of walking, really a lot of walking.  There is also lots of waiting and my chronic rheumatoid arthritis was not holding up to the rigors of the long walks and waits through the control room, halls and walkways of Rayburn.  Thankfully, Archbishop Aymond graciously accepted my decision, and we await, with joyful anticipation, the assignment of a deacon, much younger than I, to take my place.  I am also thrilled to learn of the recent commitment of a local priest who will be visiting once a month to hear confessions and offer Mass.  I hope to still be able to go into the prison on occasion, so I did arrange to have my security clearance updated.  We will see where this leads, but the most important thing is that these men be fed spiritually from the deposit of faith and the fullness of Truth and hear the word of God and feast on the Body & Blood of Jesus.

Meanwhile, my life and my service as a Deacon has taken on new meaning and purpose since I joined the staff at my parish in Abita Springs.  I spend a good part of everyday at St. Jane de Chantal assisting both the pastor and parishioners in a myriad of activities, projects, plans and ministries.  One unexpected joy has been working very closely with our RCIA program and team as well as my expanded opportunities with Bible studies and more.  I am very happy to be available during the day to assist at funerals, plan weddings in a more complete way and experience the gift of the many parishioners who call or visit every day, many in need of help, someone to listen, someone to be present to them.

It is also a great joy, as a grandparent, to be able to spend so much time with the 2 grandchildren who live nearby.  Wendy and I bring them to school a couple of times a week even though that requires us to be on the road long before the sun comes up.  Brennan and Walker keep us busy and smiling a lot as we are able to interact with them often.  My other 2 grands live so far away from us and our physical time with them is very limited.  We often Skype, something I started doing with the family even as Calvin was a mere newborn.  He and his sister Katelyn are a joy, and it always lifts our spirits when we can catch up, either in person (the best way) or via Skype.

I mentioned earlier that we have at least entered into discussions about staying in our current home or moving elsewhere.  We have been in our current place for nearly 27 years and have always been "at home" and comfortable on my almost 10 acres.  We still can recall fondly those days when the place was home to 5 horses, a goat, chickens and critters galore.  The early days when deer roamed freely on the property in the fall and winter and the turkeys in the spring are also fond memories.  We've grown our own food on this place and marveled at beautiful scenery that comes with acreage in a real country setting.  Our first major accomplishment was the emptying out of our overfilled attic and barn.  We filled up two huge dumpsters with our accumulated stuff and made several runs to charities with numerous items.  It seems that the reality is not so much if we move but when we move; I do not anticipate it will be that soon, probably a year or so from now.  I don't think it would be easy to move but reality may be the eventual decision point that requires a move.  If we move, we will stay close so we can remain in the area we have grown to love, close to the family also here in Louisiana and close to my parish ministries.

So, as I return to the duties of the day and continue to listen to this beautiful Gregorian chant, I ready myself for a weekend of ministry, family and the dreaded trip to Wal-Mart this afternoon.  Peace and prayers to all.  

November 6th was one year since this happened to me

 On November 6th I realized it was one year to the day since my long-time banking career came to a most disappointing end.  When I look back at my social media back then I was both angry and somewhat devastated.  In truth, I was simply concerned about immediate and possibly long-term impacts on my family, our finances and future security.  When I also glance at that same social media I received so many encouraging and uplifting comments, prayers and other offers of support.

Many reminded me to be open to whatever God's plans for me might be and that's my main focus in writing this post.  Less than one week after the events of that fateful Friday, I was asked to join the staff at my parish church and help with  various administrative and liturgical functions.  Since we were still in the middle of Covid19 chaos and our pastor was on a short leave, I accepted.  Of course as many of us know, a part-time salary at the church is not going to approach banker income.  However, going to work with the church has been more blessings than ever and so many grace-filled opportunities to serve the people of God.  Needless to say, my wife and I worked on other opportunities to recover other income opportunities and we have come out on the other side ok.  God truly was in charge of everything and helped guide me in ways that have made the loss of a career far less painful.  

So as that one year mark passed there is no looking back as I can concentrate on faith, family and health.

No matter what may come your way in life, never give up on prayer, never doubt and always depend completely on God for everything.  He indeed opens windows when others try and slam shut doors.

Disappointed and sad, but determined to persevere

If you know me personally, family, good friends, parishioners, Bible study folks, the men at Rayburn, brother deacons here in New Orleans, then you know how much I have struggled with a chronic bad knee for several years now.  In September, I finally got the gumption up to agree to total knee replacement, scheduled for December 2nd.

In a most uncharacteristic manner I approached this with the great and sincere hope that this was it; date set, cut it out, replace, rehab through the holidays and the earliest days of the New Year, then move on.

Today I had a setback as one of my blood tests, the one concerning all things sugar, was off the safe scale to endure such surgery.  I got the call this afternoon and I tried bargaining with the doctor, let me sign some kind of waiver.  Sadly, he was firm and the answer was not now.  So I aske today, what about the pain, what about the time carefully accumulated at work to make this happen, how long, what's next?  The answer seems to be patience; you need lot's of patience.  You also will need perseverance because it is up to me and me alone to get control of my A1C.

So I am very disappointed tonight; I realize this is minor compared to what many of you are dealing with.  And it's fixable, provided I, with my other doctor's help, attack this diabetes.  I have to deal tonight with the reality that this is my fault, no one controls their A1C but self; and I guess I punted.  So I ask you all to pray for me to beat this and to get over the disappointment.  Meanwhile, I will work harder and use December for good as we begin Advent and the Christmas season.

Let me feel your prayers.