Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Dear St. Peter Parish family, 
I continue to be overwhelmed by your warm welcome of me. I had the pleasure last week of attending the Knights of Columbus’ monthly meeting. The Knights do so much good throughout the world, and I’m excited to see all the ways they serve our parish as well (including the chicken dinner this Sunday). I am honored to be a Fourth Degree Knight of Columbus, and I recommend it to any man who is looking for ways to serve his church, his community, and his God. Giving of ourselves in service of course brings joy to our souls, but even more so when we serve alongside a band of (mostly) honorable brothers. Nobody likes gutting houses after a hurricane or flood, for example, but when you have a small army working with you, a normally daunting task becomes achievable, putting hope where there were feelings of despair, and joy in work that might normally be unenjoyable. Many hands make light work, and joyful work at that! And even the more fun activities, like chicken dinners and fish fries (yes, this is southeast Louisiana and we like to cook), become deeply satisfying and hilariously entertaining events for the Knights who give of their time and hopefully talent. If you’re an adult male Catholic, and you are not yet a Knight, I encourage you to join the Knights of Columbus. Let’s build up our parish’s KC Council so we can do even more good for our church and community! Each of you men has something to contribute! You don’t have to be able to fry fish or lead the Rosary in order to join. You just have to be open and willing to learn, and to offer your own talents that others may not have. There is a place in the KCs for every man, and even the most zany characters find themselves setting a good example for others in the community through their service and leadership as a Knight of Columbus. And despite the stereotype, it’s not a group only for retired men. If you’re younger, join me in dropping the average age of our members and bringing fresh ideas and energy to our council, to benefit our families and parish in even more ways! Speak to me or another Knight to learn how to join. It has never been easier to join the KCs. 

In other news: Fr. Cyril at Ascension of Our Lord Catholic Church in LaPlace invites all of you to sign up for an hour every week to adore the Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament in their perpetual 24/7 Eucharistic Adoration chapel. I think all the Catholic parishes in our area should promote this chapel to their parishioners, if they don’t have a perpetual adoration chapel of our own, because it is a great gift and privilege to our whole community, not just Ascension Church, to have perpetual Eucharistic adoration available 24/7—not something to take for granted! We all need that silent prayer time with the Lord on a regular basis, so signing up for an hour enables the chapel to stay open AND ensures that, no matter what else you have going on in your week, you will at least have one hour of silent prayer to speak heart to heart with the Lord and to deepen the most important relationship in your life. Go to their website at aolparish.org to learn more and sign up! You can also call their parish office at 985-652-2615 to sign up. 

Yours truly in Christ,