Catholic Prayer Services

At Prayer Service, Family, Friends Of Duesterhaus 'Wrestle With Situation That ...

Tom Duesterhaus was never one for accolades: He taught, worked with troubled youth and served in community organizations because that’s just who he was; that’s what he thought he was supposed to do, his father Rich said.

So he would likely never dream of the scene that unfolded at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church on Tuesday night, where a few hundred family members and friends gathered to pray for a sign that their missing son, brother, teacher and friend was okay.

“I believe we also have to recognize that Tom would not have expected this kind of outpouring of support for him. Tom would just expect us to go on with our own everyday responsibilities,” Rich Duesterhaus said from the altar toward the end of the service. “I think we need to be prepared for him to be gone for a longer period, a period of reflection on his part. When he’s ready, we’ll welcome him back, so he can continue what was a life ministry for him,” Rich said.

The 37-year-old Vienna native never returned to the McLean home he shared with other Youth Apostles on June 17 . He was spotted three times in Virginia Beach in the two days that followed.

Bishop O'Connell High School administrators confirmed on Saturday t hat Duesterhaus is no longer an employee at the school. It's not clear when Duesterhaus, who began teaching English at the school in 1999, was told about the decision. Rich Duesterhaus said last week he believed such news would cause his son distress and could have led to his disappearance.

Rich Duesterhaus said he gets daily reports from the lead detective on the case. He said Police also think Tom is alive and spending time alone somewhere; they think they may find him when his car –which has not been recovered– turns up, Duesterhaus said.

As friends and current and former O’Connell students learned of Duesterhaus’ disappearance, they wished – on Twitter, Facebook and in message board s – for some way to gather with each other, parents and Duesterhaus’ former colleagues, to pray for his safe return and find support as they search for answers.

As of Tuesday night, the group "Find Tom Duesterhaus" had more than 1,800 members.

For many, Tuesday night’s prayer service was a refuge, Father Jack Peterson said. A mass is a safe haven, a gathering of a presence, and in that way it is a comfort as well, he said; a place to “wrestle with situations that just don’t make sense.

African American Commission lift up prayers « East Texas Catholic

Bishop Curtis Guillory, SVD, attended the annual prayer service for the African American Commission June 22 at Our Lady of the Assumption, Beaumont. Bishop Guillory prayed with the commission and blessed them in their upcoming endeavors.

“If you look around the church you’ll see that each window offers a glimpse of a certain part of the church. You need to look in all the windows to see the whole church and that’s very much what our ministries are. They all make up different parts of the Church,” Bishop Guillory said.

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