Back in 1997, while I was just in residence at the Cathedral, Father Young asked me to contribute “a little something” to the Parish Bulletin from time to time. My jobs at the Catholic Life Center meant that I wasn’t around very much, but at least I was able to be present a bit more via the Bulletin back then.
As I said at the time, religiously-speaking my “first love” has always been the liturgy. So I basically dealt with some elements of Catholic worship in those little columns. Over the years, I’ve been asked to “re-run” them a lot.
Okay! If you pray for something long enough, it happens. Starting this week, and going on as often as possible – at least once a month, when calendars and longer articles don’t get in the way – I’ll run them again. Well, actually, what I’ll do is update them and run them again: that way I’ll remain faithful to Jesus’ words in Matthew 13:52 that a learned scribe “is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.”
The same rules as before apply: if you would like me to consider any particular subject, especially regarding the sacred liturgy and worship, please let me know.
Oh, one more thing before we really get going: the name of this column. Back then I just called it “What Now?”, because I decided week to week what to write. This time, I’ve changed the name to reflect what Father Young first asked: write “a little something.” In both colloquial and Cajun French this comes out “un ti morceau” – a short, slang version of “un petit morceau.” Since this will usually be a little thought, the new name really does fit!
So here’s the first “little bit,” which I started with back in August of 1997. I started with the beginning – which religiously-speaking is Baptism, of course. It’s brief, so don’t read too fast:
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Have you ever wondered why the baptismal font at the Cathedral is right inside the front doors of the church? Baptism is the “entrance” into the new life of grace for a person: you “come into the church” through its saving waters!
Each year at the great Easter Vigil service Bishop Muench leads the unbaptized from the lower level of the font up into the nave of the church, to take a place among God’s Holy People. It’s a most solemn moment, one which always strikes observers as a powerful occasion of grace. Watch for it this year, and share in the blessing!
