Parishioners at St. Henry, Bridge City, found comfort during a Mass celebrated by Bishop Curtis Guillory Sept. 28.
"Before I came to church this morning I decided to get here a little early and drive around the neighborhood and see things for myself. I saw things that gave me hope. One of the things I saw was a pile of rubbish that had, on top of it, a statue of Christ kneeling. I saw that as a sign of faith and hope," Bishop Guillory said.
The Mass was celebrated in the parish hall because of the damage the church suffered during Hurricane Ike. Bishop Guillory spoke about coming through tragedies during his homily.
"I met a man on the road who was having problems with his truck. I came back to his house with him to look at the damage, and I saw something on the floor. He said it was their little survivor. It was a small donkey made of iron which made me think of faith and also survival," Bishop Guillory said.
For a parish hall full of parishioners who had suffered major losses during the storm, the message from Bishop Guillory was one of comfort and of community support.
“I think that is was comforting for the parishioners to have bishop come and celebrate Mass with us. It was a real comfort to have him voice his support and the support of the larger community. It was very reassuring to be able to worship together again,” parishioner Faye Dismukes said.
Bishop Guillory spoke about how the love of Christ and His sacrifice can get people through hard times.
"In tragedies like this, if we look we see the hand of God in our lives. No one has ever cared so much for us that they would become a slave except for Christ," Bishop Guillory said.
Bishop Guillory ended his homily by telling the congregation what to look for in times like these.
"Sometimes during tragedies such as this we question God. That’s OK. On the level of faith we see God and we see things clearly. During these times we see God's work in our lives through others,” Bishop Guillory said.
The community of St. Henry is slowly beginning the healing process with the help of volunteers from parishes throughout the diocese.
“We’ve had so much help from Our Lady of the Pines in Woodville, St. Charles in Nederland and St. Elizabeth in Port Neches. St. Elizabeth’s youth group got together and bought all the members of our youth group a new Bible. It’s these kinds of things that make the diocese the community that it is,” Dismukes said.
