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December 22, 2022Fr. Otis Young
Fr. Otis Young was the former pastor of St. Peter's Parish in Covington, LA. Fr. Young suffered a severe stroke which caused him to retire from the parish as pastor this past summer. But he was a devotee of Our Lady.
Our Lady brings us to Jesus
According to Fr. Brouillette, who was associate pastor under Fr. Otis, he prayed the Rosary, prayed his breviary, wore his scapular, and did so many things for St. Peter's Parish; namely, he made confession available daily.
At Fr. Otis' funeral Mass, Fr. Brouillette said the increased availabiity of confession "changed the spiritual life of our parish, and we are all the better for it."
A tragedy
But, on November 27th, 2022, a tragedy occurred. A tragedy where the least amount of details would be best.
On the first Sunday of Advent, Fr. Otis Young and Ruth Prats (helper of Fr. Otis) were brutally murdered in a random act of violence, according to police. After they were murdered, their bodies were doused with 5 gallons of gasoline and burned beyond recognition.
Surviving the fire
And yet as their physical bodies were greatly damaged, there was only one item which was recovered - the Brown Scapular.
Fr. Brouillette pointed out, "nothing was able to be recovered from his body. Nothing. Except the Brown Scapular. Lord, what are you trying to teach me here?"
Eternal hope in the face of mortal tragedy
And so, what is the Lord trying to teach us?
The idea that Fr. Otis' scapular survived is a miracle: wool burns at 220-230 degress Farenheit while gasoline burns at around 1100 degrees Farenheit.
It is clear that Our Lord is pointing us to His Mother's Garment. That the promise of the Brown Scapular is real; that you will not suffer the eternal fire just as Fr. Otis' Scapular did not suffer the earthly fire.
Please pray for the repose of the souls of Fr. Otis Young and Ruth Prats. May they rest in peace.
To watch the funeral mass and listen to Fr. Brouillette's homily, click here.
