When Ron Cambias, the president of the St. Rita conference of the St. Vincent de Paul Society in Harahan, heard Joe Barbara tell him offhandedly that he planned to make a solo bike ride from Oregon to Virginia beginning the first week of May to raise money for the society’s work among the poor, he didn’t know whether to respond with his mind or his heart.

May is the time for high school graduations. Will you be attending some? I’ve let our Catholic high schools know that I am more than happy to attend any graduation that I can schedule within my calendar.

¿Qué piensa sobre la decisión del juez federal en Nueva York por permitir la venta sin receta de la píldora del Plan B “del día siguiente” a los niños de cualquier edad? En muchos sentidos, me conmocionó y me sorprendió, pero creo, que cuando lo pienso, no debería haberme conmocionado ni sorprendido, dado a lo que algunos de los tribunales están haciendo ahora, y algunos valores que se promueven en los Estados Unidos.

Cheryl Landrieu, the wife of New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, distributes Tibetan “prayer flags” to Archbishop Gregory Aymond, Buddhist monk Tichh Thein Ngo and tourism leader Mark Romig April 20 at the French Market in advance of the May 16-18 visit of the 14th Dalai Lama.

All around the world, engagement proposals are being presented in creative ways this season. Did you know that December is the No. 1 month for couples to get engaged? Once the excitement settles down, couples will usually attend a bridal show as their first step.

If something around the house isn’t working right, we’re quick to “Google search” a way to fix it. Maybe we run the anti-virus software on the computer or even call out a service technician for the dishwasher.

George Foltz was leaning against the stage of the Msgr. Screen Gymnasium at St. Pius X Parish in 2010, wondering when he would decide to dip his toe into the water. A few feet away from the 59-year-old lifetime bachelor, a circle of men and women waited for their initial instructions from swing dance instructor Darlene Allen.

Durante la Semana Santa, usted celebró la Misa Crismal, y la Catedral de San Luis estaba repleta. ¿Qué sacó de esa masa? La Misa Crismal, para mí, es uno de los aspectos más destacados espirituales cada año, porque tengo el privilegio de bendecir el aceite de los catecúmenos y el aceite de los enfermos y consagrar el aceite Crismal que se utiliza durante el año en todas las parroquias de la arquidiócesis.

Deadline: Submissions due Thursday (10 days before each issue) calendar@clarionherald.org (504) area code unless noted April 20-28 PARISHES SACRED HEART OF JESUS ENTHRONEMENT MISSION, April 21-24, 7 p.m. An hour-long family mission.

Why may the people of the Earth sing a joyful song in praise? ’cause He loves you and He loves me and He loves everyone. His name is written on our hearts. He was born on Christmas Day. He died for you and He died for me and He died for everyone.

As the saying goes, you’d have to be living “under a rock” not to have noticed that New Orleans is in the middle of a biking boom, fueled partly by a growing network of “bike-only” paths and street lanes.

Rocky Rico had an unsettling realization while rehearsing his school’s presentation of the Living Way of the Cross. As one of the Roman soldiers in the dramatization of Christ’s passion and death, most of his time was being spent making sure that Jesus, portrayed by his classmate, Matthew Gonzales, kept marching forward to his execution.

Father Joseph Van Pham Tue, the pastor of St. Agnes Le Thi Thanh, was an indispensable priest who helped thousands of Vietnamese refugees make a transition to south Louisiana after they escaped the war in their native country in the mid-1970s, Bishop Dominic Luong said at Father Tue’s funeral Mass April 13.

Seventy-eight young people were honored April 10 as Altar Servers of the Year at a Mass celebrated by Archbishop Gregory Aymond at St. Rita Church, New Orleans. The Serra Clubs of Metropolitan New Orleans sponsored the Mass and reception.

Jesus said, “Let the children come to me.” However, I don’t recall him saying anything about chimps. You see, after one summer Sunday Mass in our “pew of perpetual motion,” my brother (the celebrant) chuckled as he had noted that juggling our then-2-year-old boy in the pew was about as comical as “bringing a chimpanzee to church!” I know my brother well enough to know that absolutely no offense was intended, just a mere observation.

A Christian isn’t a person who simply follows some commandments, but is a person who tries to think like Christ, “act like him, love like him,” Pope Francis said at his weekly general audience. More than 30,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the audience April 10; the crowd included a group whose presence Pope Francis described – with a smile – as “very important”: directors of Argentina’s San Lorenzo de Almagro soccer team, which has been his favorite team since he was a child.

I hear complaints from both sides. Many young adults claim that as newcomers to a parish, they were not welcomed. Parish ministers say they are doing everything they can to attract young adults, but just don’t know how to pull Gen X into their pews and church activities.

Thirteen members of the Our Lady of Holy Cross College Student Nurses Association (SNA) attended the 61st annual National Student Nurses Convention (NSNA) April 2-5 in Charlotte, N.C. Before we left New Orleans, the SNA executive board worked diligently to prepare a resolution to present to the 2013 House of Delegates calling for “an increase in exposure to spiritually competent care in undergraduate nursing education.” A resolution is a written motion that establishes NSNA’s position on matters that affect nursing students and healthcare worldwide.

Archbishop Hannan’s Fab Four of softball have designs on graduating this year with a third Class 1A state softball championship. As sophomores and juniors, the foursome of Kimberly Nilsson, Sydney Finch, Maddi Shelton and Brooke Laigast were key players in the Lady Hawks winning back-to-back titles.

Tick … tick … tick. The clock is ticking on the Saints’ window to win another Super Bowl in the Sean Payton/Drew Brees era. Brees turned 34 in January. Two more of the Saints’ best players, guard Jahri Evans and wide receiver Marques Colston, will celebrate their 30th birthdays before the start of the 2013 season.