In recent weeks I have written about how fragile the arrangement of the pastoral care of souls is in our Diocese of La Crosse. Our priests are expected to take on parish ministry that is increasingly complex involving multiple communities separated by sometimes substantial distances – not to mention other responsibilities entrusted to them by the Bishop that takes them away from their parishes. The pastoral plan for the Diocese does not make any provision for coverage of Masses should a priest become ill or just need to take a break. We rely on the incredible generosity of our retired priests to fill-in. Unfortunately, this past week two of our retired priests died – Father Don Berg and Father Eugene Smith. Pray for the repose of their priestly souls and for the priests and seminarians who serve you.

It is hard to believe that it was one year ago already that our communities welcomed Deacon Kevin Ray. During this past year he has truly been in our midst that sacramental image of Christ the Servant conferred upon him through ordination as a permanent Deacon. So many of you comment on how much you get out of his well-crafted homilies. We are deeply grateful to Deacon Kevin for willingness to serve in our communities and to Bishop Callahan for assigning him here! Deacons, like priests, are often given responsibilities that take them away from the parishes to which they are assigned. Deacon Kevin is no different as he also serves as the Director of Deacon Personnel for our Diocese of La Crosse. May God bless Deacon Kevin and his lovely wife, Jane! Pray for him and all the Deacons serving in our Diocese as well as those preparing to take up this sacramental ministry of service.

Bringing a book to “birth” is not a task for the feint-hearted. Our beloved Brother Michael sure knows that as he continues to labor to bring to term the book on the history of his community of the Brothers of Pius X! The tasks and obstacles of getting a book to publication are numerous – research, writing, editing, formatting, and finally publishing. The whole process involves many different people beyond the author who really has no control on the timeframe. Brother Michael is hoping that the book will be able to be sent to the publisher very soon. In the meantime, we all eagerly await our opportunity to read the fruits of his intense labors! Keep Brother Michael in your prayers.

Only once in my life have I bought a car new. It was the mid-90s and I was Pastor in Plum City. One Fall evening as I was returning to the rectory from Saint Paul I fell asleep at the wheel, hit a culvert, went airborne landing upside down in the ditch. The car was totaled and I was fortunate to escape with minor injuries and an overnight stay at the River Falls Hospital. After the crash it seemed as if the whole village of Plum City was just waiting to see what kind of car I was going to buy. I clearly remember the day I bought a new Chevrolet Lumina from the dealership in Durand. I pulled into the rectory garage with my new purchase and was startled as a parishioner met me as I was walking to the front door of the house. The parishioner didn’t greet me but just asked: “What kind of car did you buy?” I told him the make and model. He just stood there eyeballing me with a very serious stare and finally said: “Oh, that will be OK since it’s an American car. Parishioners wouldn’t take too kindly to you buying some foreign car.” He turned and walked away. I was reminded of this episode as I purchased a new car for the second time in my life this past December. I loved my 2005 Buick Century and had no plans of getting rid of it. Although it had 180,000 miles on it, it still purred like a kitten. I took good care of it and it gave me no troubles. The only problem was that the rocker panels on both sides were rapidly rusting completely through. However, one cold Tuesday night in December as I was making my way along the snow-covered river road to Spring Valley for Mass, all the lights interior and exterior went out. Having no lights on a bitter cold and pitch black night on that winding road is terrifying! Thanks be to God I have travelled that road so often that I know it as I know the back of my hand and I happened to be on one of the few straight stretches of County B. Nothing I tried got the headlights working so I called Deacon Kevin telling him that I was not coming to Spring Valley but was going to turn around and attempt to get back to Elmwood. I really did not know how I was going to safely navigate to Elmwood. My Guardian Angel was with me, however, as I thought to turn on the four-way flashers. They worked and provided enough light for me to avoid a dip into the Eau Galle River. However, now I had lost confidence that my Buick would offer me with safe transportation among our parishes and the other places my various responsibilities take me – La Crosse, Marathon City, and Saint Paul-Minneapolis. I took this as a sign that I needed to get another vehicle. Tune in next week for the rest of the story.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us! Saint Luke, pray for us!
Father Kevin C. Louis, STL