When Hurricane Isaac hit the New Orleans area and he was spared the devastation that so many others are experiencing, Metairie resident Robert Gilberti knew he had to do something. Instead of making a monetary donation to Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans, he decided to buy shoes.

Deadline: Submissions due Thursday (10 days before each issue) calendar@clarionherald.org (504) area code unless noted Sept. 8-15 PARISHES ST. ANGELA MERICI, Come and See monthly Bible study beginning Sept. 11, 7-8:30 p.m., in the parish board room.

Marking the feast of the martyrdom of St. John the Baptist, Pope Benedict XVI said Christians must not bow to the pressure of the powerful who demand a denial of Christ or of the truth he taught. “The truth is the truth and there is no compromise,” the pope said at his weekly general audience Aug. 29, the day the church remembers St. John the Baptist’s beheading.

As Hurricane Isaac made its slow descent into New Orleans, I watched from a distance, praying for family and friends in the city and surrounding areas as they braced for another storm arriving seven years after the city was seemingly destroyed and devastated.

This offseason, the predictions came pouring in. And so did the bad news for the New Orleans Saints. Bountygate struck. Suspensions followed. Sean Payton? See you in February 2013. Welcome, Who Dat Nation, to the season of “us against the world.” This summer, as training camp kicked off, interim head coach Joe Vitt scoffed at the notion that the Saints will use the bounty penalties as fuel for the 2012 season.

Photo by Ron Brocato | CLARION HERALD St. Augustine’s junior running back Leonard Fournette finds little room to maneuver through the Edna Karr defense despite the blocking effort of tackle Theron Lazard (72) in the teams’ tuneup game at Tad Gormley Stadium on Aug.  25.

The Office of Catholic Schools will host its annual High School Information night Thursday, Sept. 13, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Pontchartrain Center, 4545 Williams Blvd., Kenner 70065. This is a one-stop opportunity for 6th, 7th and 8th grade students and their parents to learn more about Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese of New Orleans, as well as Sacred Heart (Grand Coteau, La.)

A funeral Mass for Mary Jane Capella Silva, the retired principal of St. Michael Special School, will be celebrated by Archbishop Gregory Aymond Friday, Sept. 7, at 11:30 a.m. at St. Dominic Church, 775 Harrison Avenue, New Orleans.

Photo by Christine Bordelon | CLARION HERALD Water lapped at the sides of St. Anthony Church in Lafitte. The town has been flooded many times in the absence of a ring levee. By Peter Finney Jr. On the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina Aug. 29, Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond offered prayers for people in the Archdiocese of New Orleans impacted by slow-moving Hurricane Isaac.

In one sense, the names have changed – from Katrina to Rita to Gustav to Isaac – but in another sense, the names of the people pushed from their homes into the latest day-to-day struggle have not. As Dr. Elmore Rigamer and his health care team from Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans visited Red Cross shelters after Isaac last week, the thought struck him: While agencies such as Catholic Charities and the Red Cross have raised their effectiveness in responding to multiple hurricanes over the last seven years, the “profile” of the repeat storm victim, sadly, has not changed.

You spent the days after Hurricane Isaac visiting all affected areas of the archdiocese. It’s still early to know the full extent of the damage, but what were your impressions? I went with representatives of Catholic Charities to the Plaquemines Parish emergency operations center, the evacuation center in Lafitte, and also to Madisonville, Slidell and LaPlace.

Rafael Delgadillo narrowly escaped to safety on the roof of his Braithwaite home with his wife and daughter in the wee hours of the morning Aug. 29 as Hurricane Isaac’s waters rose around him. “So, you lost everything?” Archbishop Gregory Aymond asked him Aug. 30 while stopping at the temporary shelter established at the Belle Chasse Lions Club.

(The following news release is from the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services:) The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) announced today that the United States Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service has approved the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (DSNAP) for Orleans Parish.