Looking back at the weekly messages of Father Paul Counce, first published in The Carpenter, our weekly Parish Bulletin
Published: June 19, 2018
Dearest Parishioners and Friends,
This week’s column is a difficult one for me to write. Early in the morning of June 16, Mr. Willie Rhines, Jr., died. For almost 16 years, until just a few weeks ago, he was employed as the “maintenance man” here at St. Joseph Parish. I suspect that few among our parishioners and regular visitors didn’t know him both by smile and by name!
We remember him with fondness. He took care of floors and sidewalks, trimmed trees and lawn areas, set up innumerable tables and chairs, guarded the Cathedral building, and watched over the parking lots. God alone knows how many lightbulbs he changed and garbage bags he tossed into the dumpster over the years! And he did it all with a genuine, eager purpose of helpfulness. This endeared him to us all.
It’s going to seem strange moving on into the future without him. Over the past month or so in the Parish Office we’ve already caught ourselves thinking “Willie can take care of this,” or “Willie will know where that is,” but the quick realization that he’s really gone now has an added depth of sadness.
In any event, please pray for the repose of his soul, and in sympathy for his family and friends who mourn his passing. He was not Catholic, but still was part of our broader “family of faith,” and we shall not forget him.
As the month of July looms large ahead of us, please make note of a couple of things. First of all, as you might expect, Independence Day on Wednesday, July 4, will be a holiday not only for our country and the downtown area, but also for us here at the Cathedral. Our Parish Office will be closed that day, and there won’t be any noontime confessions or daily Mass either. Yet I do challenge you – since “In God We Trust” – to offer a few extra prayers for our nation and its peoples, for the ideals like liberty and justice that we prize need to be sustained by earnest concern and cooperative action, strengthened by divine grace.
On Monday, July 16, at 6 pm we are sponsoring another beloved Parish Potluck Supper! It’s always a great deal: if you bring a dish, you can eat from all of the other dishes! Just come to the Parish Hall with your hors d’oeuvre, salad, side, bread or dessert (we’ll supply the main course!). And plan on spending an hour or so visiting with friends – and meeting new ones! – all the while enjoying the wide variety of food which always appears. The Development Committee has proposed that we adopt a French theme for the evening, so the décor will definitely reflect that mother country of Louisiana! Who knows, while the food you bring need not be French in origin, we just might have a few more tarts and pastries and the like this time around.
In Jesus’ Name,
Fr. Paul D. Counce
