Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is 49 and worth $27.2 billion. In scriptural terms, that’s lots and lots of talents. When little Jeff was 3, he was crafty enough to disassemble his own crib, a real-life example of the more recent computer-generated image of the infant in the crib pleading his case against the unreasonable mother who takes away his tablet computer for conduct unbecoming a young Wall Street maven.

Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving Dec. 21 at 11 a.m. at St. Francis Xavier Church in Metairie in honor of the beatification of four Sisters Sevants of Mary who were martryed for their faith during the Spanish civil war in 1936.

He’s only 20 years old and already has determined what he wants his life’s work to be – worshipping the Lord through music. John Finch of Pearl River considered himself an average Catholic youth and teen who attended Mass, was an occasional altar server, choir member and CYO participant at his parish of Sts.

The Office of Black Catholic Ministries, Office of Racial Harmony, Catholic Schools Office, Office of Religious Education, CYO & Young Adult Ministry Office and Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New Orleans will sponsor the “MLK Day: On, Not Off.” Individuals are asked to volunteer Jan. 20 for a day of service in and for the  community, beginning with a prayer service at 8:30 a.m. at Jesuit High School led by Archbishop Gregory Aymond.

As we prepare for Christmas, it is so easy to become swamped by the multiple tasks that need to be accomplished. Last week, I asked Catholics of the Archdiocese of New Orleans to make a conscious effort to devote more quality time to each other during Advent, to pray together as a family during the Sundays of Advent and to reconcile with relatives and friends who may have been hurt by or grown distant from us.

Every week, Father Ronald Calkins calls those who have registered as new parishioners at Mary Queen of Peace in Mandeville, offering words of welcome. Sometimes he has nice conversations, sometimes he leaves a message, and every now and then he gets a surprise.

Terri Hingle was able to fulfill a life-long dream this year. As an Arc of New Orleans day center participant, she danced and sang her heart out as a go-go dancer in the musical “It’s About Time.” “My dream is the play,” said Hingle, 46, whose performance was her second with Arc’s InterACT NOLA, a new theater troupe open to participants with intellectual and other developmental disabilities.

A painting hanging in a St. Michael Special School hallway shows two men, parked in a remote Western locale, seated inside a 1930s jalopy. The landscape’s big sky and emerald mountains were rendered by the artist in bold strokes of acrylic paint.

Click for Peter Finney's favorite Columns. Here are a few of Clarion Herald editor Peter Finney Jr.'s favorite columns (in PDF format).

On Wednesday, Dec. 4, between 2-10 p.m. (EST), 20 Catholic colleges will be participate in CollegeWeekLive during Catholic Colleges Day, presented by the National Catholic Educational Association. This free online college fair explores the advantages of attending a Catholic university.

Pat Lambert Archbishop Hannan Coach of the Year Leonard Fournette St. Augustine Player of the Year – Offense Kelly Aguillard St. Augustine Player of the Year – Defense Veteran Coach of the Year Pat Lambert guided Archbishop Hannan to an 11-2 record and into the Select Division I championship game.

April Hagadone, who led Mount Carmel Academy to a 44-4 record and the Division I runner-up trophy in the recent LHSAA/State Farm Volleyball Tournament, is named the Clarion Herald’s Elite Team Coach of the Year.

In 2014, another step forward for head coach Curtis Johnson and his Green Wave will be far more daunting. The Wave leaves Conference USA for the American Athletic Conference. Among the American’s best teams are Central Florida, Cincinnati and Houston.

➤ Age: 32 ➤ Seminary/Formation Year: Regina Apostolorum Pontifical Univ./ 1st Year Theology/ Legionaries of Christ ➤ Home parish: Divine Mercy, Kenner ➤ Elementary School: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton ➤ High School: Archbishop Rummel ➤ College: Loyola University New Orleans ➤ Confirmation saint: St. Patrick ➤ Why did you choose this saint?

On the road. That’s where ACCESS Pregnancy and Referral’s new mobile unit was unveiled Nov. 19 in front of the Holy Angels Congregational Center in Bywater. Four days a week, ACCESS will situate its 35-foot-long “office on wheels” at various locations around town to offer free and confidential pregnancy services and resources such as ultrasound, four-minute pregnancy testing and any pregnancy and adoption-related services.

Just as a cold snap hit the New Orleans area, the Caring Center in Slidell opened its doors to an additional 750 square feet Nov. 26, giving more women and children in need of temporary shelter a place to stay.

Deadline: Submissions due Thursday (10 days before each issue) calendar@clarionherald.org (504) area code unless noted Dec. 7-15 PARISHES Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, 411 North Rampart St., celebrates Our Lady of Guadalupe feast, Dec. 7, 4 p.m. bilingual Mass with mariachi band.

El Adviento es tiempo de espera. El Adviento nos pide unirnos a los israelitas del pasado, que esperaron con esperanza –  durante miles de años – por el Mesías prometido. Hoy en día, el Adviento es también un tiempo de espera, y abrir nuestros corazones al nacimiento del Señor Jesús.

Students at St. Anthony of Padua in New Orleans recently came together to celebrate their school’s annual Spanish-language Mass. With students in first through seventh grades taking the lead as lectors, all readings, the Responsorial Psalm and petitions were read alternatively in Spanish and English, while most of the Mass’ responses and prayers were recited exclusively in Spanish.

When Barbara Green asks students at Xavier University what they do to offset the typical college stresses of writing papers and preparing for exams, she occasionally will receive a surprising answer: Some of them like to take out their Crayons and color.