This month’s Mission Monthly focuses on two ministries funded by the Catholic Service Appeal: The Catholic Connection magazine and the ongoing care of our retired priests.
A monthly magazine and retired clergy care might seem worlds apart, but both rest on the foundation of family. They remind us that our Catholic faith doesn’t end at our parish parking lot.
Faith at the Kitchen Table
Every month, the Diocese of Shreveport mails nearly 10,000 copies of The Catholic Connection directly to homes across North Louisiana, completely free of charge to all Catholic households.
The Diocese of Shreveport’s 16 civil parishes naturally spread our people across a massive territory. A family attending Mass in Lake Providence might not know what the youth group in Many is doing. Someone struggling with sickness at home might not see our social media updates.
When The Catholic Connection arrives in the mailbox, it brings the wider Church right to the kitchen table. Inside, readers find clear explanations of Catholic teachings, reflections on Scripture and prayer, updates on Catholic schools, and stories about ordinary local Catholics living out their faith. More than just another news service, it’s an instrument of evangelization that meets people right where they live. Your gifts to the Catholic Service Appeal cover printing and distribution so that cost never stands between a family and their diocesan community.
Honoring Decades of Sacramental Service
While our communications work focuses on sharing the Gospel today, we also carry a sacred responsibility to the men who laid that foundation.
Priesthood is never just a 9-to-5 job you punch out of at age 65. Our retired priests gave their entire adult lives to walk with us. Think back to the defining milestones in your own family: the priest who poured the waters of baptism over your baby’s head, the one who heard your quiet confession when you felt lost, the one who stood at the altar on your wedding day, or the pastor who held your hand by a hospital bed when you said goodbye to your parents.
These men answered God’s call decades ago and spent the rest of their adult lives serving us. Even now, many continue to help hear confessions or celebrate weekend Masses when their health allows.
As a diocesan family, we have a duty to ensure they’re never forgotten or left unsupported in their elder years. Through the Catholic Service Appeal, your generosity helps provide for our retired and infirm priests. They spent their lives caring for our families. Now, we are simply being family back to them.
Being the Hands of Christ Together
These ministries belong to all of us. No single parish can print 10,000 magazines every month, and no single parish carries the retirement care of our priests alone.
Your gifts to the Catholic Service Appeal make this shared life possible across North Louisiana. If you would like to join us in supporting these ministries, you can give online here: https://www.dioshpt.org/service-appeals/
