While a good portion of the country awaits the start of summer I can tell you we are about 6 weeks deep into the hottest season of the year. June has ushered in some August like tempertures and many days of officially declared heat advisories and warnings. We have even had more than our fair share of summer time rain showers. We have July and August still to go! Ouch! The heat wave is mild in comparison to the heat about 75 miles south of my location as the BP Oil disaster grinds on for now more than 60 days. And there appears no end in sight.
Tempers are flaring and patience is wearing thin in our coastal parishes and across the area. Direct and indirect impacts are beginning to make their way north as New Orleans tourism, not to mention the seafood industry, begins to feel some pain. We are prayerful and hopeful that the rest of the nation will not give up on New Orleans, the Gulf Coast and the region in general. We still need your help; much like you helped us post Katrina.
Pardon us in south Louisiana if we feel beseiged and beleaguered. And don't even go there that as a people we are whining and begging the federal government for bailout after bailout. No other area has been under the strain of a catastrophic hurricane, a complete failure of a flood protection system that failed due to governmental and human ineptness and now the most devastating oil related disaster in the history of the United States. For our part; we are dealing with these crisises as best we can. We lean on each other. We turn to prayer. We support some of our local politicos who at least seem to give a darn; unlike a very weak and misguided federal response. For us, we can truly say; been there done that!
In these first few weeks of June I have recovered from the frenzy of a family vacation that was highlighted by the wedding of my son James and his new wife Sara. The Mrs. and I are thrilled that they had a great honeymoon in Belize and are now truly starting those first exciting married days at home, back at work and settling in to the new home. And now we move on to adventure of the summer #2 as just this past week we placed our youngest, Elizabeth, on a plane Europe bound. She will be across the Atlantic long enough to take some college credit for LSU and see some sights. It's certainly a leap of faith to trust one so young to be so far away and so independent. Yet, as parents, we hopefully long for the many years of love and lessons learned producing strong responsible children; frustrations and disappointments along the way. Much like we did when the wedding approached, our prayers are for God to watch over Elizabeth and to trust in faith.
I did get my car back; 30 days after massive damage from a freak lightning strike fried the thing. For some reason, although pleasantly surprised at the overall performance of the reonfigured Acadia, I can't get reception on the AM radio. Now I realize most of you are saying, who cares! But I like AM radio. A battle to fight another day!
Ministry takes no time off in these hot weary months. Gleefully, I am excited about the early stages of another inquiry period for possible new aspirants pursuing the possibility of a vocation to the Permanent Diaconate. This while we all prepare with great joy for an ordination in less than 6 months for our class of 2010. I am currently fully involved with both these activities and am also busy preparing a couple for a wedding in October; the 1st that I will be the officiant. And Father's Day brings another Baptism that I so find beautiful and fulfilling. I have been blessed over the past few months to be more involved in our parishes Baptisms as we have to share this responsibility with several Deacons and Priests; a blessing for our parish that is the envy of many neighboring parishes.
My last visit to the prison reminded me in no uncertain terms how much I love air conditioning. While there is some modest cooling in the gathering rooms, it don't cut it for this spoiled minister. And a visit to the dorms where the men sleep is all but unbearable this time of year. But our Catholic community presses on and grows and soon we will have another Baptism and a Confirmation. God's will is being done at Rayburn.
So as many of us settle in for this Father's Day weekend and the long summer still ahead of us, I'm content to work hard, try to keep up with cutting the grass and minister as best I can always praying that it be God's will that I'm participating with.
Continue to pray for the people of the Gulf Coast and southeast Louisiana as we endure this oil disaster and always pray for one another!
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