What happened to January

Tomorrow we say goodbye to January and what should be the coldest month of the year in the deep south.  January ranks right up there as one of my favorite months because I embrace the winter and the coldest days we get because we sure get a ton of hot days for an extended period of time.  For us near the city of New Orleans we get maybe a month or so of winter while we struggle with about six months of summer. 

This January did see a few of those classic cold mornings; but only a few.  Unlike past winters when we roll out the extra heat lamps for the plastic pipes and faucet covers as early as November, this year that task was delayed to about 3 weeks ago.  And temperatures did not get into the 20's more than 3 or 4 mornings.  In this very January we have had a few 82 degree afternoon highs and several mornings with lows above 60.  This produces plenty of fog and that creates some driving hazzards with Lake Pontchartrain seperating New Orleans from the Northshore.

January brought us much excitement in our area as we prepared for Saints postseason and LSU's attempt to win a 2nd national championship in 4 years.  But alas, the Saints managed but one victory in the playoffs before being dispatched by the SF 49'ers and LSU suffered epic failure in being blown out by Alabama.  Disappointment abounding, it only took a little while to recover recognizing the joy of having both a great NFL and college football program in these neck of the woods, year in/year out.

January is always a time for new beginnings; resolutions, return to work and school, getting organized, starting fresh, and, for me, a robust schedule of many ministry opportunities.  This last week of January was one such example as I survived a funeral, a wedding, a baptism, a prison prayer service, preaching, adult faith formation and more.  It is kind of nice to have a quiet, peaceful evening on this cool Monday night before the week turns hectic again and we transition to February.

So at least February remains among one of my happier months as it is both a winter month and the beginning of Mardi Gras.  We certainly do have quite a celebration in these parts as we continue the many Mardi Gras balls and customs and soon the street parades begin too.

I look forward as a Permanent Deacon to the continued opportunities for assisting at Masses, prison ministry, continued formation activities for our Deacon candidates, along with the beginning of Lent and the Confirmation celebration of our young adults in a few weeks.

So we simply say so-long to January and prepare for February; may God bless our new month abundantly.