THE CATHOLIC PAGE 4 Pope releases ‘The Joy of Love’ April 15, 2016ommentator Vol. 54, No. 5 SERVING THE DIOCESE OF BATON ROUGE SINCE 1963 thecatholiccommentator.org C ‘TODO SE HA CUMPLIDO’ Aristides Alvarez, who portrayed Jesus in the Hispanic Apostolate’s production of the Pas- sion on Good Friday, is shown on the cross. Nearly 500 spectators gathered on the grounds of St. Pius Church in Baton Rouge for the moving dramatization. Para leer la ver- sión en español, por favor vaya a las páginas 14-15. Photo by Richard Meek | The Catholic Commentator Hispanic Apostolate puts on moving performance of the Passion By Richard Meek the past 13 years, felt every lash of a Ro- sion put on by the Hispanic Apostolate people who had gathered on the sun- The Catholic Commentator man soldier’s whip, the ridicule of on- on Good Friday at St. Pius Church in kissed church grounds wept openly. At lookers, every painful step of the walk Baton Rouge. other times, silence, emotions numbed The pain was all too real, the emo- to Calvary and the indignity of being The performances were moving and by the suffering they were witnessing. tion of the moment overwhelming. placed on a cross to die. Alvarez had the amazingly realistic. During the reenact- Even those who portrayed the Ro- Aristides Alvarez, a native of El Sal- difficult role of portraying Christ dur- ment, especially during the crucifixion, man soldiers, wielding their whips to vador who has been in Baton Rouge for ing a powerful reenactment of the Pas- men and women among the nearly 500 SEE PASSION PAGE 12 Divine Mercy Sunday celebrated with special Mass at St. Michael Church By Debbie Shelley tion of Divine Mercy Sunday at with the Year of Mercy was to in which Jesus tells Thomas to but doubt the traditions and The Catholic Commentator St. Michael Church in Convent be greeted at the church’s des- put his hand is his side, is bal- divine revelation of him, the April 3. ignated Holy Door to receive lein or “thrust.” Jesus, there- priest said. “ ‘Jesus, I trust in you.’ St. Michael Church joined an indulgence. fore, encouraged him to thrust But as relationships are That’s a homily in and of itself churches throughout the dio- Referring to that Sunday’s his hands in his side to dispel built with a person, God, peo- right there. Enough said ... ,” cese and world to pray the ro- Gospel, John 29:19-31, in his disbelief. ple must realize relationships stated Father Bill Blazek SJ to sary, celebrate Mass, sing the which Thomas expresses his “He (Thomas), said, ‘My are built on trust. He told the emphasize that those few sig- Divine Mercy chaplet and pray doubt in Jesus’ resurrection, Lord and My God,’ he be- attendees that just as St. Faus- nature words accompanying the benediction to celebrate then belief in him as Lord after lieved,” said Father Blazek. tina was the apostle of the di- the Divine Mercy image not the compassionate and merci- his encounter with him, Father The world needs the mes- vine mercy, they must carry only capture the core message ful nature of God highlighted Blazek talked about the criti- sage, “Jesus I trust in you,” forth the same message. of Divine Mercy Sunday, but by the church this year. cal role trust plays in mercy. noted Father Blazek. “Jesus resurrected the in- the Jubilee Year of Mercy dur- The first connection people He noted in that reading, the People believe in Jesus ar- carnation of mercy. Blessed are ing an “extra special” celebra- coming to St. Michael made Greek word written for “put,” cheologically and physically SEE MASS PAGE 7 2 The Catholic Commentator The LIGHTER SIDE of FAI t H April 15, 2016 | TREASURES FROM THE DIOCESE | DID YOU KNOW The bronze bell often heard Taxing questions ringing its eu- phonious Tax day, perhaps But as he did so chimes at Sacred the most dreaded often, Christ turned Heart Church in and undoubtedly this brief encoun- Baton Rouge the most stressful ter into a moment was originally day of the year, is of evangelization, intended for use upon us. emphasizing his re- in another Take heart, how- peated message of church. But ever, knowing that not judging others. when the tower paying taxes, and He was equally at that church to some degree even tax collectors, were adamant about the paying of taxes, which was deemed too never what one could call beloved. In Bib- in the old Roman Empire, as is in the weak to support lical times, tax collectors, the forerunners United States today, is mandated by law. the 3,000-pound to the modern day IRS, were Jews work- Jesus, when questioned by the Pharisees bell, the Mc- ing for the despised Romans. Their fellow whether it was right to pay taxes, said, Neely Foundry Jews often perceived tax collectors as “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and offered the bell traitors, one reason being is they were not to God what is God’s. (Mt 22:15-22) to Sacred Heart paid a salary but compensated by what Along with disarming his dissenters, in 1927 for the they charged taxpayers. Hence, a propen- Jesus taught followers a powerful lesson bargain price of sity for overcharging or cheating others about materialism and where our priori- $3,000. At that might be expected. ties should be placed. time, Sacred Right or wrong, the perception of these St. Paul also had a message for those Heart was still a so-called turncoats was they were steal- who might, let’s politely say, finagle some mission and did ing money from their fellow countrymen items to save a few tax dollars. In his let- not become a to line their own pockets. The Pharisees ter to the Romans, St. Paul said, “If you parish until Dec. were not shy about expressing their own owe taxes, pay taxes. Consequently, he 21, 1928. The dismay toward tax collectors to Jesus. who rebels against the authority is rebel- bell, which was But Jesus, who judged no one, stunned ling against what God has instituted and christened “Mary observers when he asked Zacchaeus, a tax those who do so will bring judgment on Elizabeth,” hung collector in Jericho, to come down from themselves.” (Rom 13:6-7, 13:2) from a tempo- the spot in a tree he was using as a perch April 15, or even tax season as a whole, rary structure to view the Messiah. Jesus mentioned he will never be pleasant for most. But as in until the current wanted to visit Zacchaeus’ house, which all things in life, we can draw comfort and church was completed in May 1942. Originally, it was feared there would not be adequate angered the crowd even more, consider- guidance from Christ, knowing we are fol- funding to build the bell tower but 26 families donated the money. Their names are in- ing the tax collector’s social standing in lowing his words, even as we write out the scribed on a bronze plaque in the tower. Information provided by Mary Lee Eggart | Sacred Heart Church the community. check. cided to carry him with us everywhere we injured my foot and fell out of the habit of went. It was amazing how many people running for a while until a friend told me came up to talk with us about Barnabas about the annual marathon. The thought and we were able to talk about Christ, the of running again made me nervous, but I ...with FATHER BRENT MAHER, pastor, church, March for Life and much more. figured if there was ever a place to run a St. Ann Church, Morganza It’s neat how little things like a stuffed ti- marathon it would be through the Eternal ger can be used to spread the good news. City. It was an amazing experience be- Tell us what items you like to cause we were able to run by the Colise- Qmake when woodworking and why You recently participated in a um, St. Peter’s, the Spanish Steps, count- they’re your favorite. QMaratona Di Roma marathon in less churches, and beautiful sights, which Rome. What were the joys and challenges helped distract from the pain of running I wanted to have a little chapel at of participating in that race? 26.2 miles. The better part was doing it Athe rectory, so my stepdad helped with a group of friends and making some me to build an altar, tabernacle and small I did, even though I still have trou- great memories along the way. It was also bookshelves. I was impressed with my I’ve always loved animals, espe- Able believing it. I ran a half-mar- really great to come back home and see amateur effort and I enjoyed doing it so Acially cats. When I became pastor athon when I was in the seminary but I SEE COLLAR PAGE 6 much that I decided to continue with oth- at St. Ann, I made the leap and adopted er projects. We cleaned out a workspace two adorable 5-month-old kittens: a male here at the parish and I have spent the last I named Dominic and a female I named few months buying the tools, setting up Gemma. They have provided many hours the workshop and learning about the art of amusement for me in the last year-and- thecatholiccommentator.org | Facebook.com/TheCatholicCommentator of woodworking. Now that Christmas and a-half, but even more interestingly they Easter have passed I am hoping to have a have often drawn my mind to contempla- Bishop Robert W.