If my spouse and I have been married outside of the church, how can we get our marriage “blessed?”

Dr. Melanie Palmisano, superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Baton Rouge, announced she will be stepping down effective June 30, 2022.

Father Tomi Thomas IMS briefly pushed back from his desk, his exuberance evident as a smile widened. With simple yet heartfelt words, Father Thomas simply said, “Thank you the people of the Diocese of Baton Rouge!”

As the Advent candles brightly radiate the light of hope, perhaps you have made time for silence, prayer, penance and good works.

Though I have no personal experience being a parent, I have witnessed the beautiful and instantaneous transformation that occurs between mothers and fathers once their baby is born.

Teachers at Most Blessed Sacrament react to the news that the school had been chosen a Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education in September 2013. Most Blessed Sacrament was the first elementary school in the Diocese of Baton Rouge to win the award. “I am extremely excited,” said then MBS principal Maria Cloessner. File photo by Debbie Shelley | The Catholic Commentator

Members of the Hispanic community filled St. Helena Church in Amite on Dec. 12 for the Our Lady of Guadalupe Mass, which was celebrated by Father Roberto Merced OP, pastor at Holy Ghost Church in Hammond. The Hispanic community throughout the Diocese of Baton Rouge celebrate the patron saint of Mexico. Photo by Richard Meek | The Catholic Commentator

The Diocese of Baton Rouge will be holding a series of listening sessions in every deanery during the next several months in response to Pope Francis’ call to engage in a synodal process titled “Toward a Synodal Church:  Communion, Participation, Mission.”  

Mary, in carrying the Son of God, had no other response but to praise and delight. In her presence, Elizabeth could see the goodness. Her joy was so overflowing that the baby in her womb leaped for joy. Both were walking intimately with God the Father and so had the eyes to see each other as they were: beloved, sacred and whole.

Dr. Melanie Palmisano, superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Baton Rouge, announced she will be stepping down effective June 30, 2022. She made the announcement in a letter that was released Dec. 8. Palmisano said she will begin service as a consultant and coach to schools through her company Inspir-Ed.

Dr. Melanie Palmisano, superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Baton Rouge, announced she will be stepping down effective June 30, 2022. She made the announcement in a letter that was released Dec. 8.  

After 13 years of service as the Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Baton Rouge, Dr. Melanie B. Palmisano, will be stepping down from her position effective June 30, 2022.

Under the patronage of St. Katherine Drexel, a new Women’s Giving Circle has been launched by the Diocese of Baton Rouge with its mantra “pray, give, bless.”

For my first year of mission in Ireland, I left home the August right after graduating. Knowing I wouldn't see them again until my Christmas break, I said goodbye to all my family and friends. For the first few months, it was great! I was traveling and making new friends, and we were always so busy. Still, the anticipation and desire for home grew, especially in those quiet moments of prayer. Much like we desire the coming of Jesus Christ this Advent season, my heart was longing for something it didn't quite know how to prepare for.

Nestled in a stunningly beautiful corner of southwest Mississippi, Our Lady of Hope Retreat Center features 400 acres of Mother Nature’s finest work. Far removed from a main highway, or even a small town, the rolling property offers a welcome tranquility, a place where deer roam freely, where native woods house species of every sort, where a picturesque lake featuring a gazebo and a canoe are the center’s welcome mat. For Father Mark Beard it is a 400-acre answer to a prayer.

I was raised in a generation that taught that God gave each of us a vocation to live out.

Apocalyptic writings, such as those of Daniel and the passage from St. Mark that we heard in Sunday Mass two weeks ago, use vivid imagery to depict old ways destroyed and new ones begun