So there I am, as always, pushing a full grocery cart of both food, diapers and my four children (complete with pregnant belly carrying bambino No. 5) when, yet another stranger comments, “Wow! You sure have do  your hands full.

Imagine, for a moment, Morley Safer of “60 Minutes,” sitting in an easy chair across from Mercedes Wilson. His interview subject, a smiling, straightforward, non-nonsense grandmother from Guatemala who has lived all over the globe, including 21 years in Covington, has a secret to share with the world.

You spent much of last week at a gathering of the 30 seminarians who are studying for the Archdiocese of New Orleans at St. Joseph Seminary College and Notre Dame Seminary. How did the week go? It was a wonderful time for prayer, reflection and fraternity.

Dozens of families at St. Stephen Catholic School will receive a small break on their back-to-school expenses this fall, thanks to the generous faith community at Good Shepherd Parish in New Orleans.

New Orleanians are famous for their love of jazz, beignets and Mardi Gras, but many do not realize this beloved city is also home to far greater treasures – the people and ministries that devote their lives to serving the poor and marginalized.

Corinne “Lindy” Boggs, who blazed a trail from birth in 1916 on a sugar plantation in New Roads, La., to being an eight-times-elected member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Louisiana and U.S. Vatican Ambassador, was “a strong and loud and constant voice for life,” Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond said at her funeral Mass Aug. 1 at St. Louis Cathedral.

Archbishop Rummel has beefed up its academic curriculum for the 2013-14 school year. Incoming freshmen now have options of year-long courses in law studies and biomedical sciences through senior year.

Deadline: Submissions due Thursday (10 days before each issue) calendar@clarionherald.org (504) area code unless noted Aug. 17-25 EVENTS “WORSHIP, THE LANGUAGE OF THE SPIRIT,” day-long CCRNO regional ministries gathering, Aug. 17, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., St. Benilde cafeteria, 1801 Division St., Metairie.

Medical Mission Sister Velma Rose Pomes, a native of New Orleans and former member of St. Maurice Parish, died July 17 at St. Joseph’s Manor in Meadowbrook, Pa. She was 81. Her funeral Mass was celebrated July 23 at the Medical Mission Sisters’ North American Headquarters in Philadelphia.

Sister of St. Joseph Louise Ibert (formerly Sister Mary Edward), who taught for 56 years at schools  in Louisiana, Mississippi and Ohio, died Aug. 2 at Mount St. Mary Convent in Wichita, Kan. She was 86 and had served as a Sister of St. Joseph for 67 years.

In order to provide pastoral governance for the Archdiocese of New Orleans, Archbishop Aymond has made the following appointments: DEANS Reverend Monsignor John Cisewski, V.F., as Dean of the Uptown Deanery, effective Aug. 1, 2013.

Archbishop Gregory Aymond blesses students at St. Katharine Drexel Prep’s official opening on Aug. 9. On hand at the celebration were Joseph Peychaud, school president (above, left of the archbishop); Clerk of Court Dale Atkins (in white), one of the Xavier Prep alumnae who led the campaign to save the school; and Dr. Jan Lancaster (in blue), superintendent of Catholic schools.

Do I really need to be a missionary? A few weeks ago, I was blessed with the opportunity to make a pilgrimage to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for World Youth Day 2013. The theme, as decided by Pope Benedict, was “Go and make disciples of all nations.” I heard the theme repeated over and over again during my time in Brazil.

Many children dream of being astronauts one day and doctors the next. Collin Davis, however, has only wanted one career for as long as he can remember. “I’ve always wanted to be a police officer,” Davis said confidently.

Anyone who has the pleasure of stepping into the enchanted backwoods of Camp Abbey will know from the chant that “Camp Abbey loves God.” Parents will see from the joy of the campers that they, too, love God – and, of course, their favorite summer camp.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – At a weekly public audience earlier this year, the pope underscored one of his characteristic themes: the countercultural implications of membership in the church. “Belief in God makes us bearers of values that often do not coincide with the fashion and opinion of the moment, and calls on us to adopt standards and behaviors that do not belong to the common way of thinking,” he said.

Members of the 2012 Division III volleyball champions from Ursuline Academy show their support for the start of the Catholic League’s football season by donning the colors of the six boys’ schools. The 2013 Lions, coached by Jay Jay Juan, include back row from left, Meghan Mailhos, Lauren Barre, Erin Regouffre, Kristen Landry and Macie Grubbs; front row from left, Rhonda Wilson, Katherine Meiklejohn, Brianna McKay and Lauren Bagneris.

They’re back – and they mean business. After a brief hiatus, District 9-5A is once again a true Catholic League as the 2013 high school football season is about to get under way. The league is six teams strong.

During an evening of celebration in which the Allstate Sugar Bowl welcomed former Newman head football coach Tony Reginelli, New Orleans Saints placekicker Morten Andersen and ex-Tulane tight end Rodney Holman into its Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame, seven athletes who prepped at local Catholic high schools were recognized for monthly outstanding honors for 2012-13.

They look like a better team. They’d better be. In 2013, head coach Curtis Johnson has at least a chance of ending Tulane’s 11-year bowl drought. The magic number is six. “I will be disappointed in six wins,” said Johnson.