BEAUMONT REVISITED
PLEASE PRAY FOR THE PEOPLE OF SOUTH TEXAS
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A FEW DAYS MAKE
Week before last, I led the priest retreat for the Diocese of Beaumont, Texas. I flew home the day before Hurricane Harvey struck the area where the retreat was held.
My connections in Beaumont tell me that half of the parishes are under water.
Please pray for the Bishop, priests and deacons of the Diocese of Beaumont as they minister to their parishioners and neighbors in need.
MY DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CHRIST,
THE PAST FEW DAYS HAVE BEEN HEART WRENCHING AND TRYING FOR ALL OF US. I HAVE SEEN THE DEVASTATION MANY OF YOU HAVE SUFFERED BOTH THROUGH THE MEDIA AND FIRSTHAND. KNOW THAT I AM IN SOLIDARITY WITH YOU AND HOLD YOU IN PRAYER. NOT ONLY HAVE I WITNESSED THE DEVASTATION, I HAVE ALSO WITNESSED YOUR COURAGE, YOUR COMPASSION, AND YOUR WILLINGNESS TO HELP EACH OTHER. IT IS THIS COMPASSION THAT BINDS US TOGETHER AS A COMMUNITY. IT IS THIS COMPASSION THAT SUSTAINED US THROUGH HURRICANES IKE AND RITA AND WILL DO SO AGAIN. OUR REBUILDING AND RESTORATION WILL TAKE TIME. AS YOU CAN IMAGINE THE HUMANITARIAN NEEDS WILL BE UNLIKE ANY THAT WE HAVE EVER KNOWN BEFORE. MANY OF YOU HAVE ASKED, “HOW CAN I HELP? WHAT CAN I DO?” I AM ASKING OUR PASTORS TO TAKE UP A SPECIAL COLLECTION ON THE WEEKEND OF SEPTEMBER 9 & 10. THOSE GIFTS WILL BE GIVEN TO CATHOLIC CHARITIES OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS TO ASSIST OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS WHO HAVE SUFFERED BECAUSE OF THE CATASTROPHIC FLOODING AND WINDS OF TROPICAL STORM HARVEY. MANY OF YOU MAY BE EAGER TO HELP TODAY. YOU MAY GO TO THE CATHOLIC CHARITIES WEBSITE AT WWW.CATHOLICCHARITIESBMT.ORG AND MAKE A GIFT THERE TO BENEFIT DISASTER SURVIVORS. PLEASE ENTER “HARVEY” IN THE DESIGNATION BOX. ALL THESE GIFTS WILL BE USED IN OUR AREA. BECAUSE OF YOUR OWN DEVASTATION SOME OF YOU MAY FIND IT DIFFICULT TO HELP IN THIS WAY. I ASK THAT YOU BE WITH US IN PRAYER. AS I WRITE THIS I AM REMINDED OF PAUL’S LETTER TO THE PHILIPPIANS. I HOPE HIS WORDS WILL COMFORT AND SUSTAIN US ALL. “I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO EMPOWERS ME, STILL IT WAS KIND OF YOU TO SHARE IN MY DISTRESS.”
SINCERELY IN CHRIST,
MOST REV. CURTIS GUILLORY, SVD
BISHOP OF BEAUMONT
PRAYER FOR HURRICANE SEASON
GOD, MASTER OF THIS PASSING WORLD, HEAR THE HUMBLE VOICES OF YOUR CHILDREN. THE SEA OF GALILEE OBEYED YOUR ORDER AND RETURNED TO ITS FORMER CALMNESS; YOU ARE STILL THE MASTER OF LAND AND SEA. WE LIVE IN THE SHADOW OF A DANGER OVER WHICH WE HAVE NO CONTROL: THE GULF OF MEXICO, LIKE A PROVOKED AND ANGRY GIANT, CAN AWAKE FROM ITS SLEEP, OVERSTEP ITS CONVENTIONAL BOUNDARIES, INVADE OUR LAND AND SPREAD CHAOS AND DISASTER.
DURING THIS HURRICANE SEASON WE TURN TO YOU, O LOVING FATHER. SPARE US FROM PAST TRAGEDIES WHOSE MEMORIES ARE STILL SO VIVID AND WHOSE WOUNDS SEEM TO REFUSE TO HEAL WITH PASSING OF TIME. O VIRGIN, STAR OF THE SEA, OUR BELOVED MOTHER, WE ASK YOU TO PLEAD WITH YOUR SON ON OUR BEHALF, SO THAT SPARED FROM THE CALAMITIES COMMON TO THIS AREA AND ANIMATED WITH A TRUE SPIRIT OF GRATITUDE, WE WILL WALK IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF YOUR DIVINE SON TO REACH THE HEAVENLY JERUSALEM WHERE A STORMLESS ETERNITY AWAITS US.
AMEN.
MY FORMER BLOG POST
GETTING OUT OF TOWN
THE PRIESTS OF BEAUMONT ARE MEETING IN GALVESTON
The Moody Gardens Hotel
View out my window.
A view out the other side of the hotel.
The pool is ready for sun worship.
One of many paths around the hotel grounds of Moody Gardens.
Father Jim McClintock, Chairman of the 2017 Beaumont Priest Convocation
Beginning to gather for Evening Prayer on first night.
Bishop Guillory making a few announcement before the first session on the second day.
As always, some priests are on the left......
...and some are on the right.
Along with presentations, I am usually expected to preach at daily Masses.
One of the daily Masses in the room designated as the "chapel."
Conference number three.
Bishop Guillory and I went out Wednesday night for supper to a fine Italian restaurant along the Galveston beach - a beautiful, flat, walking beach. Too bad I don't have time to enjoy it while I am here. The dinner, and the conversation, was wonderful. The bishop is from a Louisiana share-cropper family of 16 kids. We talked a lot about growing up and he told a couple of funny Cajun jokes.
This was after Mass today at 11:30 am when I preached my third homily. After lunch I delivered my fifth and final conference. Tonight the bishop gives his "State of the Diocese Address." Tomorrow I preach the fourth and final time and we leave after lunch.
I really enjoyed my time with this bishop and all these priests. This was my second to be with them. The response was tremendous. I am going home feeling very good. Also, I earned some money for the missions. That, too, makes me feel good.
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