From the Desk of Fr. David

Dear friends, I am so excited to announce to you a few new things that we are starting here in St. Peter Parish! First of all, today is Welcome Home Sunday. If you’re coming to Catholic church for the first time, or if you’ve been a Catholic but you’re just coming back to church after being away for a while, welcome home!! God our Heavenly Father wants all His children to celebrate with Him and spend time with Him in His house on the Lord’s Day, just like a good human father and mother want their children in their home on Sunday, sharing a meal and sharing themselves, their attention, and their hearts. If you’re baptized, you aren’t just welcome here… you belong here! Today we all recommit ourselves to being physically present, in person, in church, every Sunday, to give thanks to God for all He has done to save us! (see more)

Dear family, I’m so excited about the emphasis Archbishop Checchio has been putting on evangelization lately. Yes, you are qualified to spread the Gospel! As you will notice on the cover of the latest edition of the Clarion Herald, Archbishop Checchio has given us our mission for next Sunday, August 16, for this year’s Welcome Home Sunday. That mission is: Bring one person to Mass with you whom the Lord has placed on your heart, who you know has not been going to church recently. It doesn’t have to be a Catholic, because everyone’s home is in the Catholic Church (that’s why it’s called “catholic,” meaning universal or for everyone), but it might be easier on such short notice to think of someone who has already been Catholic but just hasn’t been going to church. I plan to have some refreshments in front of church next weekend for y’all and for any guests you brought with you, to help them feel welcomed back to church! (see more)

Dear family, Even though we no longer have a parish school here at St. Peter Parish, this community is still a place where young people can thrive and feel at home if you give them a chance! Did you attend the two community theater summer shows in our town, Shrek and Frozen? All I can say is, wow!!! The talent of these young people (and adults) blows me away! And all of it right here in Reserve, Louisiana, drawing also from our neighboring cities and towns. What other small city in the Gulf South has that much talent? Maybe some rich suburb somewhere in Florida, or Fairhope in Alabama or places like that. So our community is truly rich in talent! I am a musician myself. I play piano, dabble in guitar and organ and a few other instruments, and used to sing in the Notre Dame Seminary schola and choir, where I learned to sing pieces with 4 and even 8 or 10-part harmonies. (see more)

Dear friends in Christ, One of the things I’m learning more and more about our parish is how many volunteers do little things around the parish to keep things beautiful and running smoothly, that nobody even realizes! Did you know, for example, that Ingrid waters the plants in St. Peter Church? Or that Ellis and Joan decorate the front doors of St. Peter Church and keep up the plants under the portico, adding a little beauty and festivity to that space as you make your way into church for Sunday Mass? (see more)

It has been wonderful meeting with so many of you in our parishioner gatherings, also known as “Dessert with Fr. David.” I am noticing that the larger the gathering, the less chance I have of remembering your name, which makes sense. But I’m trying my best! One of the things I have noticed on my own about our parish, from the first few days of being here, is that we have need of generous souls to volunteer for some of our crucial ministries here, especially ministries connected to the Mass and other liturgies, such as altar servers, sacristans, altar society members, lectors, choir members, ushers, and so forth. I think it has been a while since our parish has opened up its ministries to new faces, so it’s time (see more)