Pastor’s Corner – Jan 15

Pastor’s Corner – Jan 15

The oldest Priest in the Diocese of Lafayette, Father Raymond Robitaille, died on January 4. He had been a Priest for over 72 years and was 97 years of age. Father was born in St. Romuald Quebec, Canada on January 4, 1919. He was of a family of nine children. As a young adult he entered Our Lady of the Prairies Trappist Monastery in St. Norbert Manitoba, Canada and was ordained a Priest on June 18, 1944. Father Raymond lived at the Trappist Monastery for eight years and because of personal health reasons, especially the very cold winters, he came to the Diocese of Lafayette in 1952 to live with his uncle, Msgr. Martele, at St. Anthony Church in Eunice. Father Robitaille served for twelve years in Eunice until he was assigned Pastor of St. Marcellus Church in Rynella near Avery Island. For seventeen years, Father served the people of St. Marcellus in a faithful, generous, gentle and devoted manner. His years at St. Marcellus were some of the most blessed of his long and beautiful life. As a newly ordained Priest in 1969, I was assigned to St. Peter Church in New Iberia and got to know Father Robitaille. He was kind, helpful, encouraging and inspirational to me as a young Priest. Over the years, my admiration and my appreciation of Father and his Priesthood grew and became even more affectionate. Several years after his assignment at St. Marcellus in Rynella, for reasons of poor health, Father moved in to Consolata Nursing Home. During his years there he was the Chaplain and cared for the residents as well as the other Priests of our Diocese who were at Consolata. His gentle spirit, his pleasant demeanor, his caring attitude and his prayerful disposition enabled Father Robitaille to be an instrument of great priestly service to all who were at Consolata including the Staff, the residents, the family and friends of the residents who came to visit. Father Raymond Robitaille lived an exemplary life as a Priest for 72 years as one of the most humble, caring and sincere Priests that I have ever known.

Father Robitaille’s Funeral Mass was celebrated at St. Marcellus Church in Rynella on Monday, January 9, at 10 AM. Bishop Douglas Deshotel, the Ordinary of the Diocese of Lafayette, was the Celebrant of the Mass of Christian Burial; over fifty Priests of the Diocese concelebrated the Mass. A large number of friends, former parishioners and a few relatives of Father Robitaille from Canada (two nieces and a nephew) were at the Funeral Mass. Father Donovan Labbe gave the Homily for the Mass. Father Labbe had served as Pastor at St. Marcellus and Father Robitaille had selected him to preach the Homily at his Funeral Mass. Father Labbe is to be commended for his excellent Homily on the importance of the Priesthood of Jesus Christ and how Father Robitaille was such a model and a disciple of service following the example of Jesus Christ, the true Priest. In my heart and in the hearts of many, Father Robitaille will long be remembered and esteemed as a wonderful, humble and faithful Priest. May he rest in peace! May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, especially his loved ones who have gone before him, rest in the peace of the heavenly Father.

In the Gospel of today’s Mass from John 1:29-34, we read: “John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.’ ” These powerful words are prayed at every Mass after the sign of peace as we prepare to receive the Lord in Holy Communion. May our minds and our hearts be more and more attentive to the meaning of these words of John the Baptist as we know that only the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, the Savior and the Redeemer, can take away our sins and the sins of the world. May we faithfully, contritely and sincerely open our consciences to the healing mercy of the Lord Jesus who forgives us our sins, cleanses us from our guilt and shame and delivers us from all our fears, hurts, worries and regrets. At every Mass, Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world and gives us a new heart, a forgiven spirit and a healed conscience. My prayers, good wishes, love and gratitude to you and to your loved ones for who you are, for all you do for the Lord and for the good of St. Elizabeth Seton Church Parish. May the new year 2017 be a time of blessing, a time of hope and a time of renewal for each and every one of us. May we seek to be obedient to the will of God in our lives.

SHALOM!
Fr. Gary

Homework for the week of January 15 – January 21
Hebrews 4:12-16

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