Looking back at the weekly messages of Father Paul Counce, first published in The Carpenter, our weekly Parish Bulletin
Published: January 15, 2017
The Church’s liturgical year now moves into the short period of “Ordinary Time” that’s observed between the Christmas season and Lent. It will last just a bit more than 6 weeks, for Ash Wednesday falls on March 1 this year.
But this Sunday morning is hardly an ordinary one in downtown Baton Rouge! It’s the weekend of the Louisiana Marathon. This means that on January 15 the area around the Cathedral will be visited by some 6,000+ runners, and other friends and family members who are dropping them off, cheering them on, and celebrating with them when they finish. Running starts at 7 am, and some won’t be finishing until the afternoon, so we can all pretty much expect to be inconvenienced during all of our Sunday morning Masses.
So what to do? I recommend that if you’re coming to worship with us at the Cathedral this weekend, plan to arrive early, for we’ll only be able to control access to the limited number of parking spaces in our own lot. Parking further away in a garage or on the street probably will mean a bit of a walk for you! And above all, be a good sport! The extra noise, crowds, traffic and parking problems of this event only come around once a year: I know our Parish family is “cool” enough to handle it!
Usually this kind of thing happens on Saturday: as you know, the closed streets and crowds of carnival season and Christmas parades sometimes necessitate canceling our Saturday Vigil Mass. But rearranging our Sunday schedule is more difficult. Fortunately, the Marathon is the only thing each year which is so disruptive, so it’s easier just to grin and bear it! Thanks for understanding.
Last weekend on the Solemnity of the Epiphany, a couple of people asked me, “How come our crèche set does not have the figures of the 3 wise men?” The answer is kind of simple: no one has yet offered to purchase these statues. I’d love to get them, along with the camel, the ox and the donkey – and yet, even the elephant! – but the Fontanini figurines in that size are quite expensive. Yes, by that I mean several thousand dollars per statue. We can’t use capital or maintenance funds for such items, and our operating budget frankly does not have a lot of “extra” in it for seasonal art.
This being said, I don’t mind putting the question out there: is anyone interested in donating such an important part of our Christmas décor? Or perhaps sharing the cost of one with other donors? Give me a call or send me an email if you are or know of someone who might be: it would be a wonderful gift to the Cathedral and a magnificent blessing for such a generous soul.
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Paul
