Messages from the Pastor - Archive

October 4, 2009

Dear parishioners and friends of St. Joseph Cathedral

This weekend is the annual Stewardship of Ministry weekend here at the Cathedral. This past week you received a letter from me urging you to volunteer (or remain active) in some kind of parish ministry. Please pray over this carefully, listen to the voice of the Lord speaking to you in your prayer, and then fill out the “Ministry Commitment† form I enclosed with my letter. Each parishioner can be – and should be! – actively involved in some way.

Sometimes I get asked, “Father, what do you need me to help with most?† Well, as I look around the thing I notice most is two liturgical ministries, reading and distributing holy communion, and especially at the Sunday 12 noon Mass. If you regularly worship at this time, or could come to that Mass if scheduled for it, say, once a month – oh, and if you can be trained to read well and/or handle the distribution of the Blessed Sacrament reverently and properly! – please let me know.

Last week I had a very good meeting – despite the rain outside – with members of our former Parish Pastoral Council, the Parish Finance Council, and a few other parishioners. It was just a first meeting, to be sure, and over the next few months we will need to reorganize our consultative structures and their membership a bit, but we got off to a good start.

The Councils were most pleased to hear that we are forging ahead with plans to renovate the Parish Hall and its bathrooms and other facilities. In about two weeks we should have some more refined conceptual drawings, and basic plans and figures, from Post Architects. Construction costs in our area have come down recently, and with careful planning – and sacrificial generosity! – it appears this long-needed project is doable.

Certainly the most disappointing but necessary thing that I had to share with the Councils was the need to change the daily Mass schedule. The Church’s canon law wisely restricts a priest to offering only one Mass on weekdays; he may celebrate a second Mass (or even a third Mass on Sundays) in case of necessity. While for decades the Cathedral Parish has had the assistance of other priests – assigned or in residence here, or unassigned or retired – this is no longer the case. The very first time I met with Bishop Muench last February when the prospect of my returning to the Cathedral first began to be considered in earnest by him he indicated his understanding that the two daily Masses would need to be reduced by one. I have to admit I immediately asked not to have to do this the very first week I was here, but that I would address the daily schedule in due time.

That time has come, although I’ve been dreading bringing it up. A careful study of the situation has been made and it is very clear the Cathedral uniquely serves more persons – the vast majority working downtown – with its noontime confessions and Mass. Those who have been attending the 7:00 am morning Mass are far fewer in number and principally made up of persons who are retired or who have more flexible schedules. I’m happy to add that our neighbor, Father Paul McDuffie at Sacred Heart Parish, has indicated that he will reschedule the daily Mass there to an earlier time to accommodate persons for whom an earlier hour is more convenient.

Accordingly, beginning right after the All Saints/All Souls observances, that is, as of Nov. 3, only one daily Mass will be celebrated at the Cathedral, at noontime, preceded by confessions as usual. About 20 Mass intentions will need to be transferred to available times in December or January, but this will not be difficult since we have so few. I must admit that this revised schedule will better enable me to devote the necessary time and attention to the other priestly prayer that I am obliged to offer each day. But it is no doubt going to be a disappointment to those who were accustomed to coming to Mass in the morning, so please join me in remembering these parishioners and guests in prayer and asking God’s spirit to lead them swiftly into a new routine of daily worship.

Finally, plans continue to come together for our “GRAND DAY† on Sunday, Nov. 8. Have YOU contacted YOUR grandchildren – or for that matter maybe even YOUR grandparents! – to make sure that EVERYONE COMES to the special noontime Mass and family fun that day?

In Christ,

Father Paul

September 27, 2009

Dear parishioners and friends of St. Joseph Cathedral,

Well, my announcement last week of our upcoming “GRAND Day† on Nov. 8 has certainly generated a lot of interest already! Everyone seems so excited. A number of our parishioners have told me already they’ve made plans to make it a big family weekend as they bring their beloved grandchildren to church! Have YOU contacted YOUR grandchildren – or for that matter, your grandparents! – to make sure that they will join you at the special Mass and family fun day that will follow?

We’re also thrilled that the Greater Baton Rouge Children’s Chorus will be helping to provide the music on GRAND Day. It’s so inspiring to have a full church and many voices providing the ministry of music to aid in our prayer.

Speaking of music, last weekend we extended a special welcome back to the Cathedral Choir at our 10:00 am Sunday Mass. They took a well-deserved break during the summer, but now not only their lovely voices but their smiling faces again are part of our prayer each week. Be sure to thank our choir and its director, Mr. Robbie Giroir, for all they do to provide consistently lovely music here.

Oh, and remember that the best way to show your appreciation is to sing out yourself as part of the liturgical assembly. St. Augustine (d. 430) is often quoted as having said “The one who sings, prays twice.† Well, actually, he didn’t: it doesn’t appear in anything he wrote that’s been preserved. But he did write “cantare amantis est† – “Singing belongs to one who loves,† which in my opinion is just as beautiful a saying. And it applies to us here at the Cathedral: our love of God and each other is so often expressed in song.

Here’s a final reminder of our special “Ministry Focus† evening meeting and meal on Tuesday, Sept. 29, at 6:30 pm for all of our liturgical ministers (readers, servers, ushers, communion ministers, sacristans, choir members, etc.). I’m looking forward to this chance to offer appreciation to all of these wonderful people for all they do, and to share with them some ideas on helping our work “in church† enrich our worship and give God even greater glory.

The first weekend in October will be Stewardship of Ministry weekend for us. Each of our parishioners can be – and should be! – actively involved in various ways in assisting our Parish and serving God. Please spend some time in prayer before then in discerning how best to utilize your gifts and talents.

You will be receiving in the mail this week a Ministry Intention card listing the many opportunities for service which our Parish family provides. Fill it out and bring it with you to Mass on Oct. 3/4: you may wish to continue helping in the “same old, same old† ways, but I would especially encourage you to consider offering your gifts of time and talent in new or untried ways.

In any case, thank you for your involvement in every way. When you take the lead in sharing yourself, you not only do the work of the Lord, you honor the faith tradition that is the Cathedral’s special legacy in Baton Rouge.

Finally, you may be wondering about the meetings I had last week with our Parish Pastoral Council and Finance Council, and with our architects who continue to develop plans to renovate our Parish Hall and its bathrooms and other facilities. Well, I have to write my Bulletin article so early that I cannot yet tell you anything, for as of this writing they haven’t happened yet! I suspect that I will be writing more about these and some other plans in upcoming weeks. Stay tuned!

In Christ,

Father Paul

September 20, 2009

Dear parishioners and friends,

Even though I’ve been at the Cathedral as pastor since July 1, many people continue to ask me if I’ve “settled in† yet. The quick answer to that question remains “yes,† of course, since I’m sleeping well at night, have my favorite cereal in the pantry, finally have the computers hooked up, pretty much know where everything is, and that sort of thing.

But I don’t want to give the impression that everything always runs smoothly. Surprises happen! For instance, last week our business manager Sheila Juneau suddenly took ill. It turned out she had a badly inflamed gall bladder, which was then removed. (I can relate to that, actually, since I went through the same thing just after Easter!) Happily, Sheila is recuperating just fine now. But our Cathedral Parish operates with such a small office staff it’s a challenge to redistribute the workload when someone is out for a week. The other two “worker bees† in our hive – Glenda Wright and Stephanie Emrick – did a fine job in picking up the slack.

This week I want to share with you plans being made for Sunday, Nov. 8. From time to time, as you know, we have special weekend observances here at the Cathedral, and it’s the next one on the schedule. We’re calling it our “GRAND Weekend,† and it will be something enjoyable for young and old.

The idea came from the many Catholic schools in our diocese, which typically sponsor a “grandparents’ day† each year. These are always very well-attended, very enjoyable gatherings of young and old. Well, here in the Cathedral Parish we may not have as many children running around as in some others, but we sure have parents and grandparents!

So on Nov. 8, make plans to come to the 12 noon Mass. If you’re a grandparent, bring your grandchildren! If you’re a grandchild, bring your grandparents! And if you’re a parent, bring both your parents and children along with you to church! Even if these are from out-oftown. I’m anticipating that noon Mass will be full of youngsters that day: if we have to invite them forward to sit on the floor in front of the altar, we will! Even though Bishop Muench is not a grandparent, he’s promised to come and – surprise! – maybe tell a few corny jokes to make the kids giggle and the adults groan! We’re doing our best to enlist the help of a children’s choir for our worship. Once Mass is over that day we’ll have a nice family festival: there will be a spacewalk and other activities for the children, hamburgers and hotdogs and ice cream, some music and lots of opportunities to visit and smile. Thanks already need to go out to our Development Committee, headed by Bobbie Carey, which is hard at work planning all the details.

Doesn’t that sound like a GRAND idea? Please mark your calendars now, call the family and make arrangements to get together that weekend, with Mass here the best part!

Don’t forget two other things coming up on the calendar. If you are a member of the Parish Pastoral Council – or just want to listen and share your wisdom regarding our Parish community – there’s a meeting set for 5:15 pm on Tuesday, Sept. 22. I’ve also asked members of the Parish Finance Council to attend, since it’s hard to dream up ideas that don’t have pricetags on them! And if you’re a liturgical minister of any sort (reader, server, usher, communion minister, sacristan, choir member, etc.) a special “Ministry Focus† evening meeting and meal is scheduled for you on Tuesday, Sept. 29, at 6:30 pm. I’m looking forward to seeing you there!

In Christ,
Father Paul

September 6, 2009

My dear parishioners and friends of St. Joseph Cathedral,

This week I’d like to share some thoughts – announcements, really – of three “new† things happening around the Cathedral Parish. You’re actually holding the first of these in your hand! No, the Parish Bulletin is not drastically different in appearance. But we have “moved up† the printing and mailing date on it, in an effort to get it to you sooner. The Postal Service has been struggling to deliver our Bulletins before the weekend, and with their own economic woes they are threatening to eliminate Saturday home deliveries altogether. So I’ve decided to get the Bulletin to them earlier: maybe this will help.

The Bulletin also will expand to six or eight pages before too long. Since the parishioners and friends of the Cathedral are spread out over such a wide area – our territory takes in the whole Diocese of Baton Rouge! – a top priority for us has to be communication. More space in the Bulletin will allow for more thorough, informative and timely content. The second thing is our upcoming new Parish Pictorial Directory. We’ve contracted with the Olan Mills company again: they will provide the Directory at no cost to the parish.

Please participate! It will help me and the office staff greatly in connecting names with faces. All we ask is that you have a picture taken of you and your family by our professional photographer. You will get a free directory and a free 8x10 color portrait, and you also will have the opportunity to purchase extra portraits if you choose. There is no obligation to buy anything, but the portraits are reasonably priced (and there is a 10% discount for persons over 60 or in the military).

How do you arrange this? There are two ways to sign up. First, we’ll publish instructions in the Bulletin for those who can sign up “on line† over the internet. This is the best way to schedule a date and time to suit your schedule. Online sign-up will run from Sept. 13 through Oct. 4. Beginning on Oct. 10 through Nov. 1 we will set up “sign-up† tables after all weekend Masses. (The actual photography is set up for Nov. 23 & 24, & Nov. 30 through Dec. 5; from 3:00 to 9:00 pm on weekdays and from 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday, Nov. 28).

Please dress nicely, give us your best smile, and make the most of this opportunity! The Directory won’t be complete without you. Oh, and it’s not just registered parishioners who are invited to take part: we would like as many “friends of the Cathedral† – even the more distant ones – to be included as well. Naturally, if you have any questions about the new Directory, please contact the Parish Office at 225-387-5928.

Finally, on Tuesday, Sept. 22, at 5:15 pm, the first meeting of the year of the Parish Pastoral Council will take place in the large Conference Room at the Parish Office. The Church requires a pastor consult his parishioners periodically in this standard way.

While only the official members of the Pastoral Council are expected to attend the meeting, I just want to note that any parishioner is welcome to come as well. As pastor, I need to make wellinformed decisions, and the only way to make sure I get the good advice I need is to tell me! This will be a good opportunity to do this.

What will the Pastoral Council talk about? Well, just about anything might come up. And it’s a first meeting, so I suspect we will only begin conversations, not resolve anything. But surely some things which may be discussed would be the composition and membership of the Council; the plans for renovating/replacing the Parish Hall, and other issues concerning our facilities; and the need for more active parishioners in our various apostolates and ministries. We’ll see.

In Christ,
Father Paul