Diaconate internship or returns home?
By Christine Bordelon
Clarion Herald
Joseph Odongo, who will be ordained a transitional deacon on May 22, said he was enamored by the priesthood from stories his maternal grandmother told him about how priests help people go to heaven, speak directly to God and were holy people who help others in many ways.
“I was like, ‘Wow, I think I want to help people and help people go to heaven,” Odongo said. “My grandmother introduced us to prayer when we were kids. … We knew how to recite our prayers and follow Mass when we were young. This helped me. I saw joy in this. What pushed me to the priesthood was to serve the people of God and to pray for the people.”
Diaconate internship: St. Ann Church and Shrine, Metairie
By Peter Finney Jr.
Clarion Herald
The bronze statue on the front steps of Notre Dame Seminary depicts a boatload of migrants from various epochs of human history fleeing persecution for freedom and security in a new land.
Andy Gonzalez, a third-year seminarian who will be ordained as a transitional deacon for the Archdiocese of New Orleans on May 22, has spent quiet time recently gazing at the statue and considering the parallels to his own faith journey.
Gonzalez was born in Cuba, which has lived for decades under communist rule. He first stepped inside a Catholic church when he was 12, which is when he said his life changed forever.
Rhode Island statue of Jesus vandalized catholicworldreport.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from catholicworldreport.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
May 12, 2021
Five men will be ordained to the transtional diaconate May 22 at St. Louis Cathedral by Archbishop Gregory Aymond. Today, we profile Lennin Dario Arroyo Martinez.
►Age: 40
►Diaconate internship: St. Jerome, Kenner
By Peter Finney Jr. God works in mysterious ways.
Although Lennin Dario Arroyo Martinez’s grandfather grew up in heavily Catholic Colombia, he wanted to showcase his non-belief in Catholicism by naming his son “Lenin” after Vladimir Lenin, the Russian revolutionary.
“And the priest said, ‘No, that is not a Christian name. He cannot be Lenin,’” Arroyo Martinez said. “When my father was growing up, he always heard from his relatives, ‘Ah, the priest didn’t like your name!’ He told them, ‘When I have my first son, I’m going to name him ‘Lenin.’”
My New Orleans
05/03/2021
May Day, last Saturday, was spent at a St. Joseph’s Day altar. I know, according to the calendar, someone got the dates wrong, but a world turned upside down has made the liturgically improbable more possible.
Two local churches – St. Angela Merici and St. Dominic – displayed their food altars on the weekend of May 1 rather than the traditional date of March 19, St. Joseph’s Feast Day. The change was facilitated, of course, by COVID-19. Because of the distancing rules, many places that usually have an altar did not display one this year; some for the second successive year. May 1 became an acceptable substitute day because of and this will surprise you– Communism. Yes, my fellow workers of the world, “the reds” are still occasionally a factor in our lives. Moscow historically celebrated “May Day” to honor workers. That’s when the politburo would stage an endless parade filled with rockets and tanks likely intended to scare the be