Real presence under the stars

As the sun hung low in the sky, parishioners arrived at Holy Family in Port Hudson on a Sunday evening to spend a little time with Jesus outside.

Parishioners arranged several rows of folding chairs in the parking lot in front of a makeshift altar with candles. Over the din of crickets and tree frogs, musicians Melanie Bush and Leonard Murphy played gentle praise and worship music on a guitar and keyboard.

Father James Holbrook processed the Eucharist from the church to the altar as the sun fell to the horizon. As dusk moved to darkness, the clouds over the church grounds broke to reveal a velvet sky pocketed with bands of brightly shining stars. The adorers sat in stillness as they kept watch over Jesus.

This was the third Adoration Under the Stars, a biannual event held in the spring and fall, organized by Holy Family, St. Gertrude in Krakow and St. Ann in Clover Bottom. Father Holbrook is the pastor for the three parishes.

Outdoor adoration is one of several activities that a faith formation committee has organized to bring together parishioners from the three communities, said Lori Voss, who coordinated the Oct. 12 gathering.

Voss had participated in outdoor adoration at a parish in nearby Washington and thought it would be something nice to offer at Holy Family, which is surrounded by farms in western Franklin County — an ideal location off the beaten path.

The sounds, sights and smells serve as a reminder of God’s creation all around us, Voss said. At adoration last fall, “you could hear the calves bawling because they had just been weaned, the coyotes howling” and the hooting of an owl, she said. “In the spring, we had more birds.”

The faith formation committee has organized other activities to bring together the three parishes, including an Advent night featuring a speaker, food and Catholic trivia; a Divine Mercy mission; and a date night for married couples. Outside of the faith formation efforts, Holy Family, St. Gertrude and St. Ann have hosted social events, rotating the host location among the three.

“The attraction of this is that people are willing to come” to adoration, Father Holbrook said, adding that about 50 to 60 people attend on average. “The idea of being outside and having adoration under the stars — I think it has appealed to a lot of people.”

After Benediction, Father Holbrook invited parishioners forward to make an act of consecration to the Blessed Mother. Thirty-three people prepared for the consecration by reading “33 Days to Morning Glory: A Do-It-Yourself Retreat In Preparation for Marian Consecration” throughout the month of September. Voss organized several meetings for the group to discuss how they grew in devotion to Mary through the process.

Sandra Jett became interested in the consecration after hearing friends talk about their devotion to the Blessed Mother.

“How much Mary leads you to Jesus is something that drew me in,” said the St. Gertrude parishioner. “Throughout this process, they ask you to surrender everything to Jesus through Mary, and that was a kind of different thought to me. They mentioned how Mary knows your prayers and where your intentions are best needed — much better than we do.”

Jett was among a few dozen people at adoration who were enrolled in the Brown Scapular, a sacramental associated with the Carmelites and worn as a sign of devotion to the Blessed Mother.

Father James Foster, longtime pastor at Holy Family who was assigned as senior associate pastor at the three parishes in 2023, continues to live on the grounds of Holy Family. He said he’s pleased to see how well the parishes are collaborating, and the outdoor adoration is one example of that.

“It’s worked. People come out and pray, and, well, this is my little corner of heaven,” he said. “There’s no ifs, ands or buts about this. I love it out here, so to be able to share that with others is good.”

Carolyn and Ray Roettger of St. Ann in Clover Bottom said that adoration has been a wonderful way of finding peace and quiet amid the noise and busyness of everyday life.

“I mean, there’s a football game on tonight — the Chiefs — and to see this many people, it’s really good,” she said.