Two times each year all the priests of the Diocese of La Crosse gather to strengthen our fraternity in the priesthood of Christ, to hear presentations by various speakers, and simply to enjoy some time of relaxation together. The Fall assembly also includes our deacons and pastoral associates. This gathering in La Crosse ? called the ? Fall Clergy Conference? ? is Monday and Tuesday of this week. Please pray for the priests and deacons who serve you!

Also, please keep in your prayers the young people of our parishes who have been diligently preparing to receive the one promised by the Risen Christ, the Holy Spirit. The Sacrament of Confirmation for Spring Valley, Elmwood, and Menomonie will be conferred at Saint Joseph (Menomonie) on Saturday, October 18, at 6:30 PM (There are no Confirmation candidate from Boyceville this year). All are welcome to assist at that Mass. Due to a scheduling conflict, Bishop Callahan has delegated me, as Dean of the Durand Deanery, to confer the Sacrament of Confirmation throughout the entire Deanery that weekend including the Mass at Menomonie.

Last week I began a multi-part answer to the question posed by a parishioner: ? Who is a person to call if somebody needs the last rites before death? if the Pastor is gone? You will recall that the first part of the answer likened today?s parish Priest to a volunteer fireman ? always on-call but not always able to personally respond to every single request. A Priest is ordained not as an isolated individual ?contractor? to one or multiple communities. Rather, a diocesan priest is ordained into a presbyterate ? that is, the body (or college) of priests of the Diocese. Under the direction of the Bishop the group as a whole serves the many and varied pastoral needs of the faithful of the Diocese. So although the Bishop entrusts a specific group of people ? members of a parish ? to the care of a particular Priest as Pastor, nevertheless every Priest as part of the diocesan presbyterate stands ready to meet the pastoral needs of anyone should the Pastor be unavailable. And this happens very frequently in this day and age.

Now on to part two! Just how does a parishioner request pastoral care in case of urgency? First and foremost, right now instruct your family members that you want them to secure the pastoral care of a priest should you experience a medical emergency. Please have that conversation with your family today and impress upon them just how important that is to you! I encourage you to instruct your family now because it is becoming more and more common that it never even occurs to family members to have a priest tend to the spiritual needs of their loved ones in a health crisis. Sometimes it is due to the stress of the moment, but most often the reason is that your family members have given up the regular practice of their Catholic faith and they no longer habitually see the events of life with the eyes of faith. Family members themselves can contact the Pastor by calling the Pastor?s residence or the Central Office or the Boyceville Office. In case no one picks up, the caller is given the cell phone numbers of the Pastor and Deacon so that they can be contacted by phone or text message. All of that contact information ? including the cell phones of the Pastor and Deacon ? is also listed each week in the printed bulletin and is available 24/7 on our parish website www.svecatholic.org. Our Central Office and Boyceville staff as well as our Deacon are always ready to assist the family in contacting the Pastor or finding another Priest should the Pastor be unavailable. In the unusual event that the family cannot reach any of our parish staff or clergy through any of these means, then it is most appropriate to call area priests who are always ready to assist in time of need.

If the sick person is in a healthcare facility ? nursing home or hospital, for example ? or at home under the care of a healthcare provider, all the family need do is notify the healthcare staff who will contact the Pastor or other Priest. They are used to fulfilling such requests and, indeed, I receive these calls from hither and yon almost weekly. Since the hospitals used by parishioners cover such a far flung territory ? from Eau Claire to Menomonie to Baldwin to River Falls to the Twin Cities to Red Wing to Rochester ? keep in mind that the larger ones have full-time Priest chaplains and the smaller ones have local Priests on-call should the situation be critical. Even though it may be necessary to rely on the Priest chaplains or local priests for immediate assistance, I am always happy to visit parishioners who are in healthcare facilities. Also, please be reminded that due to federal privacy laws enacted several years ago, hospitals and other health care facilities no longer automatically provide to the parishes the list of parishioners who are hospitalized or institutionalized. The bottom line is that unless you or your loved ones notify the parish, your Pastor has no way of knowing when you are hospitalized or institutionalized. Stay tuned for part three next week!

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