Bishop's Reflection
Solemn High Mass and Blessing of St. John Berchmans Church in January 1928.
We all mark our time in different ways. Even though the year begins on the first of January and ends on December 31, in reality other events shape our experience of time. For many the beginning and end of school is a more important division. For others the fiscal year ending June 30th is more important. For those involved in parish life, the end of May marks the beginning of a quieter, ordinary time in Church life. All the Confirmations, First Communions, First Reconciliations, school plays and graduations are coming to an end. What follows in June is a slower schedule that allows us to catch our breath a bit and prepare for the wake up time in August. It is during this time that I look forward to my vacation and time to catch up on my reading and desk work.
Before I slip into this slower time, I would like to call your attention to one event that will happen this month and two initiatives that will be taking shape this summer.
On June 22, 2010, I invite you all to a Mass at our Cathedral of St. John Berchmans to mark the 24th anniversary of the establishment of the Diocese of Shreveport and the 100 Year Anniversary of the establishment of the Diocese of Alexandria, our Mother Diocese. I am inviting each parish to send one or two parishioners to this Mass so each parish can be presented with a commemorative candle from the Diocese of Alexandria to light in their parishes throughout this anniversary year. We are working to have a combined choir with members coming from the Dioceses of Alexandria and Shreveport. At this Mass we will also recognize the ordination anniversaries of our priests and deacons. It should be a great event. Bishop Ronald Herzog from the Diocese of Alexandria will participate in this special Mass.
At this Mass I will officially announce a diocesan-wide Convocation, Mass and day of celebration at the Shreveport Convention Center on June 11, 2011 to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Diocese of Shreveport. It is my hope that this will be a day of workshops, prayer and celebration on the occasion of this exciting milestone. We will plan events for the whole family. Mark this day on your calendar now and more concrete plans will be sent out as we emerge from the hot days of summer.
Finally, during the quiet of summer we will be shaping and establishing the last pieces of the Catholic Charities Office for the diocese. This will take some time, but I suspect as we move into the cool of the fall, the office will be well established and reaching out in concrete ways to serve the poor of our diocese. If you feel a desire to know more or to give some financial support to establish our new Catholic Charities Office, contact me or Sister Pat Cairns, C.S.J. at the Catholic Center 318-219-7251.
Even though summer, like other quiet, in-between times in our life, seems uneventful, it can be a wonderfully productive time spiritually. In times of transition, between what we left or lost and before we find a new direction, we are in a time when God can really work because we are truly listening. We have no answers and are willing to consider all kinds of different options, to recover old dreams long since laid aside or to find and accept a new purpose in life. If we are patient we will find an answer from God who will surprise us and restore our hope into the future.
I pray the gatherings and initiatives above will allow us to first, on June 22, celebrate our past 24 years as a diocese and our roots in the larger Church history of Louisiana; then to enrich the Church of the present with a Catholic Charities Office that will extend an ever widening outreach to the poor; and lastly on June 11, 2011 we will set our sights on the future and the next 25 years.
by Bishop Michael G. Duca
2010 Diocese of Shreveport