Deep South Deacon

This is a very short homily / reflection that I wrote for Ash Wednesday.  It is not my turn to preach and will not be delivering it.  It is based on the readings for Ash Wednesday that can be found here.

Most of you probably heard about the embellished claims that NBC announcer Brian Williams was caught in that has cost him at least a 6 month suspension without pay, and maybe his career.  I have seem hundreds of jokes on-line about it, depicting him being present at every event from the parting of the Red Sea to the landing on the moon.  At first, I though these little cartoons were FUNNY.  But seeing so many of these made me think:  How easy it is to sit in judgment of others. We read and hear so much about people’s wrongdoings in the media.

Why would someone in South Louisiana go to the trouble of making their own king cake when they are available in almost every store, bakery and gas station in town? For me, there are several reasons. 

Reason 1 Cost -The price of king cake continues to go up and up and up.  A large cake from the most popular king cake bakeries cost around $30.  For me, that is just not a good value.

The following is an approximation of the homily I delivered at St. Luke the Evangelist Church in Slidell .  Click here to read the scripture on which these are based for the fifth Sunday in Ordinary time.

Charles’ Jr. life was filled with pain, loss and suffering.  His only sister Olga died as an infant before he was born.  He was nine when his mother died. His brother and best friend Edmund died when he was twelve.