My dear friends in Christ:

When I chose my episcopal motto in 2007, I felt the Lord lead me to choose the words from Isaiah 40: 1: “Comfort my people.” I chose those words because I have known the Lord’s comfort in my life at diffficult times.

Never more do we need those words from the Lord as we do now. The historic events surrounding Hurricane Ida will change all our lives. Times such as this elicit a variety of emotions. Many of us are afraid, some of may feel overwhelmed, and still more of us have questions. I myself have felt all of those, as these past days have felt like an interior roller coaster. Wherever you are and whatever you are feeling, I want to be with you and invite you to hear the words of the Lord: “Comfort my people.”

The Lord wants to comfort us in prayer. I invite you to spend these hours of uncertainty in prayer. As you watch the television or listen to the radio, may I invite you to consider praying a decade of the Rosary or forms of prayer.

The Lord wants to comfort us with prudence. Times such as these can tempt us to act out of emotion rather than wisdom. I urge you to stay safe and use prudence in your decision making.

The Lord wants to comfort us with community. My friends in Christ, we will get through this. We will persevere together. Since my moving here in 2013, I have come to discover many things about the people of Houma-Thibodaux and one of them is that we are a resilient people. God is with us, and often times we experience his presence through others. While I don’t know what our future holds post Hurricane Ida, what I do know is that we are stronger together.

The Lord also wants to comfort us in and through our needs. If you would like to respond though funds, food or supplies, or to volunteer to help, visit our Catholic Charities Ida Relief webpage at  catholiccharitiesht.org/ida.

With you, dear brothers and sisters, I believe that our hope is in the Lord, who made haven and earth, and the Lord is with us now and will be with us in the coming weeks and months.  Blessings and peace to you!  Our Lady of Prompt Succor, hasten to help us!

+ Bishop Shelton Fabre