Looking back at the weekly messages of Father Paul Counce, first published in The Carpenter, our weekly Parish Bulletin
Published: October 04, 2015
Dear Parishioners and Friends,
This weekend’s celebration of “GRAND Day” here welcomes and ’specially celebrates grandparents and their grandchildren at our 12 noon Mass and the party afterwards! Everyone is invited, of course, because everybody is somebody’s grandchild!
After Holy Mass at noon, free hamburgers and hotdogs, soft drinks, ice cream, music, balloons, face painting, pony rides, a petting zoo and more will let us – young and young-at-heart! – spend some time together with smiles in our faces and joy in our souls. As I said last week, GRAND Day is always a grand experience not only of the Lord’s blessings to us but also of our fellowship in Christ. Please come!
As I write this our country has just said farewell to Pope Francis, after his GRAND visit to Washington, New York and Philadelphia. His words to us were profound, and his prayers with us were inspiring, but what really captivated the country was his animated smile and the obvious love and concern for us all that it conveyed. The Holy Father clearly enjoyed being with us, and the million or two who got to see him over the five days he was here enjoyed being with him just as much!
I suppose just about everything that could be said about His Holiness was said during his visit, so I hesitate to add much. I just hope that we take to heart what the Pope said. It is possible to advance the will of God in so many ways. Traditional ways include faithful worship and prayer, generous charity, and witness to the dignity of all human life from conception to natural death; the pope urged all of these upon us. Yet Pope Francis (as did Pope Benedict XVI before him) also has begun to challenge our governments and indeed all of humanity to care for the earth and its environment, calling it “our common home.” By noting the desperate human needs of migrants and refugees he has called for fair laws and means to welcome those who cross international boundaries in hope for a brighter future for themselves and their families. And by calling our attention to religious persecution, especially in the Middle East and North America, he has emphasized the basic human right everyone has to religious freedom, and the need for us all to respect and indeed promote this.
Moving on to the more practical, here in St. Joseph Parish we’ve begun collecting monies specially for our “waterproofing” of the exterior of our beloved Cathedral building. By now you should have received at least one letter from me appealing to you for help with this project. If you’ve already given, or made plans to begin, thank you! If you know of other family members and friends who are parishioners elsewhere but who still understand the vital role that the Cathedral plays in the faith-life of the diocese and Baton Rouge area, please invite them to make gifts as well. “You don’t receive if you don’t ask,” the old saying goes, so don’t be shy about asking on behalf of your cherished Mother Church.
Along with the other priests in and of the Diocese of Baton Rouge, this week I will be on retreat at Manresa House of Retreats in Convent, Louisiana. Priests are required to make an annual retreat – always an opportunity to “recharge our spiritual batteries,” as it were. Every other year we are required to do this together: this builds up not only the spirituality but also the fraternity of our diocesan presbyterate. These are essential to us in providing effective leadership within the local Catholic Christian community. While we’re away a few priests from other jurisdictions as well as our corps of permanent deacons in the diocese will provide limited, mostly “emergency” service as needed. Fortunately, few things crop up these days that can’t wait three days ’til we get back!
You know, if you don’t make an annual retreat, I heartily recommend it! For men, Manresa is well-known throughout the South as a profoundly beautiful and inspiring place. For women, the Retreat Center of the Archdiocese of New Orleans (formerly known as The Cenacle) in Metairie is a similar popular place of peace and prayer, and also offers “mixed” retreats and other spiritual programs. The Jesuit retreat house at Grand Coteau, Our Lady of the Oaks, also offers different sorts of retreats for men and women. You can google any of these places and find out more from their websites and Facebook pages. It doesn’t really matter when or where you go, just give some thought to caring for your soul!
Sincerely in the Lord,
