September 18, 2020

For The Good

Well, my first month as our bishop has been quite a ride! I know for all of us in Southeast Texas these days in preparation and recovery from Hurricane Laura have presented great challenges. In discussion with our friends from the American Red Cross, they told me that there have been more “Level 3/Level 4 disasters in the Texas Gulf Coast Region in the last five years than anywhere else in the nation.” That is a staggering statistic! In the midst of it all, I have seen the faith, courage and resiliency of our faithful as we help to repair not only our own neighborhoods, but as we reach out across the Sabine River and help our brothers and sisters who took the brunt of the storm.

The witness and service of our Catholic Charities, the service offered by our youth, the responsiveness of our clergy and faithful, and the collection for relief that we have taken up exhibits to me the incredible altruism of the Diocese of Beaumont, the holy people of God! One image stands out for me as an amazing example of courage and charity. The day after the storm passed and after I had spent two mornings surveying the damage on the eastern side of our diocese, I heard from the religious sisters who staff Catholic Charities in Lake Charles, and they shared the fact that they had no running water in their part of the city. With the help of Catholic Charities in Beaumont, we were able to quickly put together a box-truck with five palettes of water and three palettes of MRE’s. As we were unloading and Bishop Glen Provost of Lake Charles was describing to me the devastation of his entire diocese, he went on to tell me that his Vicar General no longer had any gas in his car to continue to get around and visit the damaged parishes. At that very moment, a family in an SUV drove up with ice chests of ice and water and multiple gas cans (gas for the VG to get around!). This was a family from Lake Charles who had evacuated to Houston and were returning with supplies. They has just seen their home in ruins, and were headed to their family business with a similar expectation. AND YET, even in this moment of loss they were still thinking of others – that is faith in action, that is the faith I have seen lived over and over in these past few weeks as I visit our parishes and schools – YOU are an inspiration to me and I feel so honored to be a part of this great Diocese of Beaumont.

As your new shepherd, I am humbled to be a part of this great community of believers, and I look forward to walking with you through the challenges of life for many years to come. Together we will get through these moments, as our diocese has done before. Please count on my ongoing presence and prayers as we continue to assist those in need during this time of COVID-19 and storm recovery. Let us trust in the Lord who promised us in the very last words he said before the Ascension: “And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Mt. 28:20). Indeed, He is with us and so we cry out in the midst of it all: Jesus, I trust in You!

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Bishop David L. Toups