By Clarion Herald staff Barbara Stott, a math teacher and the Mu Alpha Theta moderator at Cabrini High School, was awarded the Sister Scholastica Most Committed Sponsor Award at the Mu Alpha Theta National Convention held in Buffalo, New York.

You thought it was over, didn’t you? You weren’t alone. Two ugly losses at Minnesota and to the Patriots had just about emptied the black-and-gold bandwagon. Sean Payton’s coaching mentor, Bill Parcells, had a description for these moments.

By Peter Finney Jr. As the parents of four young children, Mary-Rose and Ryan Verret of Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, had been involved in Catholic marriage preparation for several years, and they were crestfallen at the high divorce rate they were seeing even among recently married couples.

Approximately 1,400 couples are married each year in the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Planning the perfect wedding is a job that calls for prayer and preparation. The archdiocese requires a 6- to 8-month engagement period for couples to reflect prayerfully on their relationship and their readiness for marriage.

Retirement Father Bernie Terrebonne, Pastor of Sts. Peter and Paul Parish, Pearl River, has requested retirement due to health, effective Dec. 1, 2017. We are very grateful to Father Bernie for his 40 years of faithful service as a priest and pastor.

Congratulations! The Catholic Church joyfully anticipates the opportunity to celebrate this life-changing sacrament with you. St. Paul tells us the Sacrament of Matrimony is the image of Christ’s love for his Church.

By Beth Donze Sharon Ryan Rodi became aware of the scourge of abortion in 1973 – in the wake of the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court case legalizing the practice. Shortly after the landmark decision, Archbishop Philip Hannan called a meeting at St. Anthony of Padua Church to bolster participation in a ministry called “New Life.” Rodi and a few young mothers like her were among those in attendance.

How is true happiness measured? As the world revolves around us every day, and the lives of others continue to change, many people still remain stagnant in their search for true and permanent happiness.

Brides might want to take into consideration the venue at which they will get married when choosing their wedding gown, especially if it is a church, said seasoned bridal consultant, designer, seamstress and boutique owner Yvonne LaFleur.

Dozens of people gathered in Madisonville recently as part of the national Cry Out America program, using the passage from the Book of Joel (1:14): “Proclaim a holy fast! Call an assembly! Gather the elders, all who dwell in the land, To the house of the LORD, your God, and cry out to the LORD!” Leslie Bertucci and Pete Giacone, owner of Skooters Grill & Yogurt, hosted an hour of praise, worship and prayer for the community and the nation.

Fed up with what he considered the humbug of having to travel from the northwest corner of Louisiana to New Orleans to play for a football championship, former Haynesville coach Alton “Red” Franklin once commented that the LHSAA should go back to holding title games at the home fields of the higher seeds.

A 15 th year reunion for St. Mary’s Dominican High School’s Class of 2002 raised memories and funds toward a $10,000 tuition grant. During reunion planning, class members wanted to raise monies toward one-year of tuition at their alma mater.

Almost half of Ursuline Academy’s seventh-grade class qualified for the Duke TIP 7th Grade Talent Search by scoring at or above the 95th percentile on a grade-level standardized test. Qualifying for Duke TIP offers our girls benefits that connect gifted students to programs and resources designed especially for high-achieving scholars.

Saint Joseph Abbey was the recipient Aug. 22 of a donation from the Knights of Columbus Louisiana State Council and the  parishioners of Mary Queen of Peace Catholic Church who helped raise $3,000 this year during a recent shrimp boil.

Deadline: Submissions due Thursday (10 days before each issue) calendar@clarionherald.org (504) area code unless noted Oct. 13-22 FAIRS ST. MARY MAGDALEN , annual seafood festival, Oct. 13: 6-11:30 p.m., The Wiseguys 7:30-11:30 p.m.; Oct. 14: noon-11:30 p.m., students perform noon-1 p.m., Band of Gold band 1:30-3:30 p.m., Lakeshore Drivers 4-6:30 p.m., 5 Finger Discount 7:30-11:30 p.m.; Oct. 15: noon-9 p.m., students perform noon-1:30 p.m., Rock N Soul 2-4 p.m., Top Cats 5:30-9 p.m. Pay-one-price rides, games, food.

By Ron Brocato, Sports Dominican’s Abby Slattery (10) and Kate Baker (24) leap high in an attempt to block the shot of Mount Carmel’s Ellie Holzman in the first set of a best-of-five match on Oct. 4.

By Junno Arocho Esteves, Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) – While societies must find a way to overcome the subjugation of women, pretending there are no differences between men and women or even using technology to change a person’s sex is not the answer, Pope Francis said.

By Christine Bordelon “Use your blinker” is a phrase indicating how drivers show what direction they are heading. In his native Boston accent, Auxiliary Bishop Robert Reed wielded those words Oct. 4 to challenge those attending the annual Willwoods Prayer breakfast to evaluate if people could tell that they were true believers of Christ by how they lived their lives.

I sat staring out the window all day paralyzed. At night, panic attacks hit and in the morning, I wanted to go back to sleep hoping to wake feeling better. Nothing in life held meaning and medicine was useless.

Archbishop Gregory Aymond preached at a Mass in honor of St. Pio of Pietrelcina Oct. 4 at St. Rita Church in New Orleans. Here is his homily: What are famous people known for? What makes them unique, different from others?