We lined the sidewalks, packed closely for we were many. Some of us stood among the rose bushes they planted to keep us out. Our fingers grasped our rosary beads. It was Tuesday morning, but D.C.’s Planned Parenthood hid behind closed doors.

My experiences on three March for Life trips to Washington, D.C., with the Archdiocese of New Orleans consistently change my outlook on life. As a member and this year’s president of the Right to Life club at the Academy of Our Lady, I have attended the march for three consecutive years.

Well, so much for the notion of, at the very least, a partial reunification of the Louisiana state football playoffs. On a Thursday afternoon in late January, high school principals slammed the door shut on that in a vote of all five football-playing classes.

Quinto Domingo Tiempo Ordinario Febrero 9, 2014 Mat 5:13-16 Nos dice Jesús hoy: “Ustedes son la luz del mundo, y ustedes son la sal de la tierra.” Al mismo tiempo, nos hace saber que hay  peligros serios: la sal puede perder su sabor, y la luz puede esconderse  debajo de la cama.

It has become painfully obvious to principals and coaches of this state’s non-public high schools that their public school peers consider their football programs persona non grata. And if a large percentage of these public school leaders, which make up three-fourths of the Louisiana High School Athletic Association membership, had their way, the private and parochial schools would just go away.

“From Ocean to Ocean,” a pro-life journey of a pilgrim icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa, Poland, will stop Feb. 15-16 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, 1908 Short St., in Kenner. Veneration will be Feb. 15 after the 4 p.m. vigil and 5:30 p.m. Latin Masses, and Feb. 16 after the Masses at 7:30, 9 and 10:30 a.m., and 12:30 and 5 p.m. Father Peter West, vice president of Human Life International that sponsors the event, will speak at each Mass.

Many Catholic parents go to great lengths to ensure their children are baptized, and they must make similar efforts to see that their children are confirmed, Pope Francis said. Without confirmation, he said, young people will remain “halfway” on the path of Christian maturity and membership in the church.

One would never have known by looking at Georgette Mims on Jan. 10 that she was shy or someone who wasn’t always dressed to the nines. Her hair was coiffed, her makeup impeccable and her dress formal.

Father Wilmer L. Todd will celebrate his 50th anniversary of ordination with a Mass of Thanksgiving Feb. 16 at 2 p.m. at St. Bernadette Church, 409 Funderburk Ave., in Houma, La. A reception will follow.

As Lent approaches, so do the six issues of meatless recipes that the Clarion Herald publishes in our popular “Holy Smoke” section. We know there are terrific cooks of every ethnic background in New Orleans, and, this year, we are asking you to participate in Holy Smoke by submitting your favorite meatless recipe for publication in the Clarion Herald.

“It felt like Pentecost.” That’s how Rev. Rob White, pastor of Covington Presbyterian Church, described an ecumenical prayer service held Jan. 23 at Mary Queen of Peace Church in Mandeville. “I could feel the presence of God with all of us together,” he said, adding that as a fairly new pastor in the area, he is looking forward to more ecumenical efforts in the community.

Long before he became a national literary figure – before the runaway success of “Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America” and its apocalyptic implications for coastal Louisiana – John M. Barry was a largely invisible graduate assistant football coach on Benny Ellender’s 1973 Tulane staff.

The Vietnamese culture in New Orleans has been on full display the past few weeks as Vietnamese Catholics have celebrated the Vietnamese New Year or “Tet Nguyen Dan,” at church parishes throughout the archdiocese.

The following interview took place before Christopher Sepulvado's scheduled execution was postponed by the Louisiana Department of Corrections for at least 90 days. The state and attorneys for Sepulvado agreed Feb. 3 to the delay after the Department of Corrections made changes to the lethal drug protocol used to carry out the execution at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.