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Deacon John Miller Retiring
This weekend, we give thanks to God for the vocation of Deacon John Miller. Deacon Miller was ordained in 1977 and for some 39 years has served our Church as a deacon, most of which has been here at St. Landry Church. Deacon Miller is going to retire from active ministry other than his service at Mass, and we want to thank him for the many years of service to our church community. As Deacon Miller put it, it's time to spend more time with his family, as he is seeing the fruitfulness of his family life expanding into Great-Grandfatherhood!
Deacon Miller has always had a willingness to serve, and most recently he has served as a facilitator for our Monday bible studies and as an RCIA facilitator, among his other work here at St. Landry. Through the years, he's done it all and has helped many people learn about their faith and enter the Church. He saw a need for more social activity in our church, so he suggested and implemented our Sunday morning coffee and donuts after the 8am and 10am Masses, which is still going strong today! As a new pastor, he was so supportive of me in offering his assistance, his willingness to help with whatever was needed, and his good advice to me as I got to know our community. His service in the parish will certainly be missed, and we wish him well in his golden years.
At this time, we should also remember Deacon Miller's loving wife, Laura, who passed away just a few short years ago. She supported him in all his vocations - husband, father and deacon. Deacon Miller paid her the greatest compliment after her funeral: “She made me a better person.” I know Deacon Miller and his family continues to miss her, and so we remember her and thank her for her support of Deacon Miller throughout the years. May she rest in peace!
After all the Masses this weekend, Deacon Miller will be in the south sacristy to visit and reminisce. Please stop by to thank him for his service and to enjoy some food and drink. Thanks again Deacon Miller!!
Sabbatical
Friday last week marked the 10th Anniversary of my priestly ordination. What a great gift it has been to me, especially because it has led to my pastorate here at St. Landry Church. In light of Deacon Miller's retirement and my anniversary, this weekend we will talk about the joy of religious vocations in the homily.
Because of my 10th Anniversary, I am eligible to take a sabbatical. We've talked about this in our Parish Advisory Board Meetings and it seems all agree that it would be a good thing for me to take advantage of this benefit provided by the diocese. The sabbatical will begin shortly after the first of the year 2017 and will conclude in the first week of May 2017. During that time, I will be participating in the sabbatical program at the Institute for Continuing Theological Education located at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, Italy.
A sabbatical program is intended to help a priest reflect on his vocation, be further educated in scripture and theology, enrich his understanding of the world and our faith by travel and a retreat, help him to see his faults and weaknesses in his priestly service and take concrete steps to improve on them, and to be renewed in energy and zeal in his priestly service. The cost is paid one-third by the priest, one-third by the parish and one-third by the diocese. A priest is able to take a sabbatical after every 10 years of service, and it is recommended that a priest take at least one sabbatical during the time of his priestly service.
One of the obstacles to taking a sabbatical is the availability of replacements for the priest while he is gone. We are so blessed to have both Monsignor Melancon and Fr. Jerry Mesley to cover the priestly needs of our parish during the sabbatical, and to have Deacons Diesi and Joubert to assist in the pastoral needs of our community during that time. A sabbatical would also not be possible without an outstanding staff, and I am thankful that we have such a staff. Although I will sorely miss all of you during the sabbatical, I do think in the long run it will help me provided better service to you and help me grow in my faith. That's not only the goal of a sabbatical, but the goal of each of our lives. Most people don't get the opportunity given to me in taking a sabbatical, so I am very appreciative of this opportunity and the blessing that it is. I'll keep you posted on the details as they become more firm during the fall and as we approach the start of the sabbatical.
I will be out the next two weekends on vacation, during which time I will focus on being a "fisher of fish." The care of the parish will be left in the competent hands of our deacons, Msgr. Melancon and Fr. Leger. I'll look forward to returning the weekend of July 29 as we begin a new school year! May God bless you and keep you during this time!!
This weekend, we give thanks to God for the vocation of Deacon John Miller. Deacon Miller was ordained in 1977 and for some 39 years has served our Church as a deacon, most of which has been here at St. Landry Church. Deacon Miller is going to retire from active ministry other than his service at Mass, and we want to thank him for the many years of service to our church community. As Deacon Miller put it, it's time to spend more time with his family, as he is seeing the fruitfulness of his family life expanding into Great-Grandfatherhood!
Deacon Miller has always had a willingness to serve, and most recently he has served as a facilitator for our Monday bible studies and as an RCIA facilitator, among his other work here at St. Landry. Through the years, he's done it all and has helped many people learn about their faith and enter the Church. He saw a need for more social activity in our church, so he suggested and implemented our Sunday morning coffee and donuts after the 8am and 10am Masses, which is still going strong today! As a new pastor, he was so supportive of me in offering his assistance, his willingness to help with whatever was needed, and his good advice to me as I got to know our community. His service in the parish will certainly be missed, and we wish him well in his golden years.
At this time, we should also remember Deacon Miller's loving wife, Laura, who passed away just a few short years ago. She supported him in all his vocations - husband, father and deacon. Deacon Miller paid her the greatest compliment after her funeral: “She made me a better person.” I know Deacon Miller and his family continues to miss her, and so we remember her and thank her for her support of Deacon Miller throughout the years. May she rest in peace!
After all the Masses this weekend, Deacon Miller will be in the south sacristy to visit and reminisce. Please stop by to thank him for his service and to enjoy some food and drink. Thanks again Deacon Miller!!
Sabbatical
Friday last week marked the 10th Anniversary of my priestly ordination. What a great gift it has been to me, especially because it has led to my pastorate here at St. Landry Church. In light of Deacon Miller's retirement and my anniversary, this weekend we will talk about the joy of religious vocations in the homily.
Because of my 10th Anniversary, I am eligible to take a sabbatical. We've talked about this in our Parish Advisory Board Meetings and it seems all agree that it would be a good thing for me to take advantage of this benefit provided by the diocese. The sabbatical will begin shortly after the first of the year 2017 and will conclude in the first week of May 2017. During that time, I will be participating in the sabbatical program at the Institute for Continuing Theological Education located at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, Italy.
A sabbatical program is intended to help a priest reflect on his vocation, be further educated in scripture and theology, enrich his understanding of the world and our faith by travel and a retreat, help him to see his faults and weaknesses in his priestly service and take concrete steps to improve on them, and to be renewed in energy and zeal in his priestly service. The cost is paid one-third by the priest, one-third by the parish and one-third by the diocese. A priest is able to take a sabbatical after every 10 years of service, and it is recommended that a priest take at least one sabbatical during the time of his priestly service.
One of the obstacles to taking a sabbatical is the availability of replacements for the priest while he is gone. We are so blessed to have both Monsignor Melancon and Fr. Jerry Mesley to cover the priestly needs of our parish during the sabbatical, and to have Deacons Diesi and Joubert to assist in the pastoral needs of our community during that time. A sabbatical would also not be possible without an outstanding staff, and I am thankful that we have such a staff. Although I will sorely miss all of you during the sabbatical, I do think in the long run it will help me provided better service to you and help me grow in my faith. That's not only the goal of a sabbatical, but the goal of each of our lives. Most people don't get the opportunity given to me in taking a sabbatical, so I am very appreciative of this opportunity and the blessing that it is. I'll keep you posted on the details as they become more firm during the fall and as we approach the start of the sabbatical.
I will be out the next two weekends on vacation, during which time I will focus on being a "fisher of fish." The care of the parish will be left in the competent hands of our deacons, Msgr. Melancon and Fr. Leger. I'll look forward to returning the weekend of July 29 as we begin a new school year! May God bless you and keep you during this time!!
The bulletin for the week of July 10, 2016 has been posted. Click here to see it.
The calendar on the website has been updated with all events for the coming week along with prayer intention information and information on the second collection for all of the masses. Take some time to look at our calendar here.
Updates are also being made to our St. Landry Catholic Church blog. You can get to the blog from the church home page under the Bulletins and News section or you can just click here to go to it.
Don't forget, we're also sending out live updates via Twitter. Our Twitter name is StLandryCath. You can see updates by clicking here.
And we're also on Facebook --- friend us! You can see our updates on our page SaintLandryCatholicChurch.
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