The Lord blessed our Diocese abundantly on Saturday, June 10! At 10 AM on June 10, Bishop Douglas Deshotel, the Ordinary of the Diocese of Lafayette ordained four young men to the Sacred Priesthood of Jesus Christ at St. John’s Cathedral. These four newly ordained Priests are: Father Christopher Cambre from St. Pius X Church in Lafayette who will be the Associate Pastor at St. Joseph Church in Rayne; Father Matthew Hebert from St. Mary Magdalen Church in Abbeville who will be the Associate Pastor at St. Anthony in Eunice; Father Rene Pellessier from St. Mary Church in Lafayette who will be Associate Pastor at Our Lady of Wisdom Church at UL in Lafayette, and Father David Rozas from St. Peter Church, Carencro who will be Associate Pastor at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in Church Point. Please remember these new Priests in your prayers. May the Lord bless them as they live their Ordination according to the example of Jesus Christ, the gentle, merciful, humble and great High Priest.
This Sunday, June 11, is the sixth anniversary of Ordination for our new Pastor, Father David Hebert. Father David was ordained on June 11, 2011. We thank God for Father David and we pray that the Lord will guide, bless and inspire him in his priestly vocation now as he completes his ministry as Pastor of St. Augustine Church in Basile and in his service as Pastor of St. Elizabeth Seton Church Parish beginning on Monday, July 3, 2017. It was announced recently that in addition to being Pastor here at St. Elizabeth Seton, Father David will also be Chancellor of Sts. Leo-Seton Elementary School. Father David is up to this challenge! The Lord will provide and all of us will pray for, support and encourage him in every way possible. As a community of faith, hope and love here at St. Elizabeth Seton and as a school of faith, love and hope at Sts. Leo-Seton, with Father David as our shepherd we will share in the blessings of the Lord and be faithful to the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Together, we will give witness to the grace of the Lord!
Sunday, June 11, is an important date for St. Elizabeth Seton Church Parish. June 11 is the anniversary of the death of our founding Pastor, Father Gene Maurice Lafleur. Father Gene was the first Pastor of St. Elizabeth Seton from September 15, 1975 to December 2, 1987. Father Gene was an excellent Pastor, he served with a loving and caring spirit, he loved people and was able to help form a true spirit of community in the early years of St. Elizabeth Seton Church Parish. His memory is cherished, appreciated and honored by all who knew him, especially among those who were the founding members of the parish in 1975. Father Gene passed away on June 11, 1989 while he was Pastor of Assumption Church in Mire. At the time of his death, Father Gene was 59. May he rest in the peace of the heavenly Father.
We celebrate today the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. The second reading for Mass is the last few verses of the Second Letter to the Corinthians, 13:11-13. At every Mass, I am honored to say, you hear the last verse of this reading at the greeting of Mass: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” This verse expresses simply but beautifully our belief in the Holy Trinity. The most profound of all our dogmas as Catholics and as Christians is that God is a trinity of Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Only with the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the early days of the Church did the Popes and Bishops come to the doctrine of the Trinity. We who are created in the image and in the likeness of God, reflect in our lives and in our identity as human persons the reality of the Holy Trinity. We are created for relationships and to be in harmony with one another as the Father, Son and Spirit are. As creatures of the Lord and as sons and daughters of the living God through our faith in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, we are to live as persons relating to one another in love, with respect and kindness, and filled with the Spirit of the heavenly Father. May each one of us live our lives in the dignity and in the wonder of our God who has loved us so much in giving us his beloved Son, Jesus Christ. May our daily lives give honor and glory to the awesome God who has created us and sustains us with his own life breath.
My love, prayers, best wishes 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 Paul’s words in the second reading teach us: “mend your ways, encourage one another, agree with one another, live in peace and the God of love and peace will be with you.” (2 Corinthians 13:11-12)
SHALOM!
Fr. Gary
Homework for the week of June 11 – June 17
2 Corinthians 1: 3-7
