Well I've done this before; three previous times to be exact and each one was a personal motivation to encourage me to get to work because things were either very stressful or worse. One of thee motivated me to get away from the toxic work action going on at a previous bank, who I won't name but perhaps something from them is in your wallet!!! This Monday there is no such problem. Work has been very productive, although demanding and I am currently working for a very stable, strong bank that is going through some exciting times with a new brand. In fact the work of my little staff at the financial center I manage in Pearl River has been encouraging and inspirational.
Today I am reflecting on ministry; and as my readers should know, I love ministry and believe there is only one way to minister, robustly! So I plan to review all the activities over a 4 day period that began Thursday. Thursday was May 3rd and the national day of prayer. In the town of Pearl River, the Mayor hosted a prayer breakfast and I was in that number. In fact my bank helped to sponsor the event. Several local area mayors and other politicians spoke about the founding fathers and the nations beginnings based on faith in God. The guest speaker, a local minister, Dr. Michael Sprague spoke eloquently about the need for God in the lives of our political leaders and the political process. He ministers directly to Louisiana's top public officials and leads a Bible Study for members of the Louisiana House and Senate. It was a great morning; very uplifting and a chance for this life long Catholic boy, and Permanent Deacon, to pray with and fellowship with folks from several different Christian faiths.
On Thursday night, after I got my knees fixed(for now), I met about 40 parishioners from St. Jane for dinner at a local eatery. Apparently this group has been doing this for some time, a form of fellowship, and this month my schedule permitted me to attend. It was a nice evening and good to be with these folks in another environment outside of church.
Friday was the 1st of May so of course, our day to offer Adoration & Benediction. While I am at work all day, I return to Church to offer Benediction. We truly have some very devoted adorers who stay for Benediction but truthfully, we could use more worshippers. Immediately after Benediction, we had a late night Friday wedding at the church which always involves my wife who is our wedding coordinator. It made for a very busy night around St. Jane!
After all that Saturday dawned very early for me as I drove up to Angie to participate in the all day retreat for the Catholic Community at Rayburn Prison. I've put up a blog post earlier about this exciting day which included 154 men, a beautiful presentation on love as God commands us to love, and then great food that the men enjoyed. The day lasted from about 8 am until 3 pm. Free from any vigil masses, I spent my Saturday finalizing the homily I delivered Sunday morning at 8 am and then again Sunday at 6 pm. In the middle of the day our parish had a beautiful May crowning, a long standing Catholic tradition. Unfortunately, the good Deacon missed this event because I took a nap that lasted way past my best intentions. After Mass last night, I had a chance to unwind a little bit and now it's off to work.
So it is a good Monday morning, I'm ready to get to work and looking forward to another very busy week of some awesome ministry.
Thanks be to God!
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