Recent partisan impasses in Congress raise the question: Can the two parties agree on anything? One issue they should agree on may come up this spring, as appropriations bills for the next fiscal year are debated.

This column is a “fond farewell” to those who have enjoyed my writing over the years. Writing a column is like putting a note in a bottle and tossing it into the river so it can float down and across the bay and out into the ocean.

Statement of the Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops Three centuries ago in the year 1722, our state of Louisiana performed its first recorded legal execution. Since that act we have dealt with this stain of the death penalty carried out by our state in the names of its citizens.

On Divine Mercy Sunday April 23, parishioners of Assumption of Mary Church in Avondale dedicated its new entrance and bell tower with a procession of their patroness, Assumption of Mary, and also a Divine Mercy picture as well as a blessing and Mass celebrated by Archbishop Gregory Aymond.

The “paschal laugh.” I had never heard of it until our priest began his homily for Easter Sunday with a joke. During the medieval period, priests and monks would tell their congregations jokes or stories, designed to elicit laughter, and offer a moral at the end.

With five of the first 103 picks in next week’s NFL draft, the Saints are not only looking for outstanding players but also for value, especially in the later rounds. Here’s my top 10 value picks in Saints draft history: 10.

More than half of the 32 Cabrini High School students who competed in the Literary District Rally qualified to the State Literary Rally competition April 1 at Louisiana State University. Advancing to state competition were first-place finishers: senior Hannah Brayden, business computer app; and juniors Taylor Rogge, accounting; and Marielle Scott, psychology.

Seniors Alexis Neely, Caitlyn Callais and Ashley Lassere were honored by their teammates and coach Robert Chauvin (pictured second fronm right) on March 8 for their dedication to the sport of bowling throughout their years at Academy of Our Lady.

St. Mary’s Dominican High School collected 20,228 cans of food during its annual, one-week food drive for Second Harvest Food Bank. That total equates to 19,378 pounds of food, enough for 16,000 meals for needy families across south Louisiana.

The cross, loving service and humble sacrifice are the only way to overcome evil and give hope to the world, Pope Francis said. Those who love their own lives and always hunger for more are the losers, the pope said at his weekly general audience April 12.

Twenty-eight AP and honors-level science  students attended a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mather)-based field trip and  participated in demonstrations at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Oberservatory in Livingston, Louisiana, and were allowed to interact with some of the exhibits facility in Livingston, Louisiana.

Cabrini Senior Olivia O’Neil has been named a Camras Scholar by the Illinois Institute of Technology. The highly selective honor and $44,150 annual tuition scholarship is awarded to less than 2 percent of this year’s applicants the university announced.

Cabrini High School Science teacher Kathy Gosciniak received the prestigious 2017 Drake Award April 19 by the Louisiana Section of the American Chemical Society. The Drake Award goes to an outstanding local high school teacher who is using innovative pedagogy in the classroom.

St. Mary’s Dominican High School honored its student winter sport athletes with the 2016-17 Lou Reilly Memorial awards, presented to athletes who continually try to improve their skills and who have listened to their coaches and teammates.

Deadline: Submissions due Thursday (10 days before each issue) calendar@clarionherald.org (504) area code unless noted April 22-May 21 EVENTS GOD’S NORTHSHORE BLESSINGS, Mass for individuals with special needs, April 23, 2 p.m., Our Lady of the Lake Chotin Center (gym), 312 Lafitte St., Mandeville.

Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond will celebrate the annual Jubilarian Mass April 30 at St. Rita Church, New Orleans, at 3 p.m. for 60 priests, brothers and religious men and women – 11 archdiocesan priests; and 49 religious men and women, including 14 priests, one brother and 34 sisters celebrating major anniversaries of ordination or religious commitment.

Sophomores Spencer Roques and Gabriella Cipriani and junior Spencer Mullen – members of the Archbishop Rummel-Archbishop Chapelle band – earned positions in the Louisiana Stars Drum & Bugle Corps of Lafayette.

“Current of grace” in the church and for the church – a phrase used by Pope Francis to describe the Catholic Charismatic Renewal – was the theme for the Golden Jubilee Conference of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal March 31-April 2 in Metairie.

“The Case for Christ” is a film adaptation of Lee Strobel’s best-selling book of the same name, one that has made an enormous splash in evangelical circles and beyond. It is the story of a young, ambitious (and atheist) reporter for the Chicago Tribune, who fell into a psychological and spiritual crisis when his wife became a Christian.

Ursuline Academy’s “Beyond our Borders” immersion program sends students on service learning trips to teach others and build structures in impoverished areas such as Guyana, South America and Belize.