Serving Christ at the altar is an honor that has reaped blessings

Sometimes, it takes an ardent observer to encourage the best in us.

The late Father John Paul (J.P.) Grenham was that observant priest, who, in 2012, invited Cole Justice to the altar at St. Michael the Archangel Mission in Bush to assist him. 

Justice had been bringing the offertory gifts to the altar during Mass when Father Grenham noticed him and extended the initial invitation. 

“I prayed for it since he was young,” his grandmother Dianne Bourg, a Catholic convert, said. “It was Father J.P. – on Cole’s birthday – who said, ‘Come up to the altar to be an altar server.’ You could see had a huge grin on his face.”

But it was Deacon Don Bourgeois, also now deceased, who instructed and encouraged the then-12-year-old – who is on the autism spectrum, suffering from attention deficit disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) – about altar serving. 

Living out his dream
Now, nine years later, Justice, 21, is the lone server at St. Michael’s 4 p.m. Vigil Mass. He had followed his older sister Cheyenne’s footsteps as an altar server and also fills in at St. Jane de Chantal Church in Abita Springs when needed.

For his efforts, Justice was named the 2020 “Altar Server of the Year” for St. Jane de Chantal, which includes St. Michael the Archangel as its mission church.

“He is dedicated and enthusiastic,” said Father Ken Allen, St. Jane de Chantal pastor. “He looks forward to it and loves it. There’s nothing better than that.”

“I really like holding up the book and helping Father (Allen),” Justice said before a recent Mass.

Justice is earnest about his responsibility and arrives at Mass an hour early to ensure that everything on the altar – the chalice, ciborium, linens and cruet set – is situated correctly and that the six candles are lit. He also carries the cross during the processional and recessional and rings the bells during the Liturgy of the Eucharist. His knowledge of turning off the sound system also comes in handy if it is acting quirky.

Simple pleasures
As most young adults do, Justice revels in playing video games and hunting with his great Uncle Mike Rainey and fishing with his uncle Guy Chadwick Jr. on occasion.

He is also entertained by old television series such as “The Rifleman” and “The Andy Griffith Show,” watching with his grandparents Francis and Dianne Bourg, with whom he’s lived since 2005 after Hurricane Katrina. 

His grandparents taught him the Catholic faith by example – praying before meals, praying the rosary, attending Mass and arranging for his baptism at age 7. Dianne Bourg is an extraordinary minister of holy Communion with Francis, who is also an all-around parish handyman.
Justice has a special fondness of the “Our Father” because “we are praying to our father and God and giving thanks.”

He gained a penchant for wearing uniforms while in the ROTC at Covington High School, where he graduated in 2020, so putting on his altar server’s cassock for Mass is special to him.

Before COVID-19 hit, Justice was confirmed by Archbishop Gregory Aymond at St. Jane de Chantal with other candidates. Deacon Bourgeois gave him one-on-one confirmation instruction, and Justice invited St. Michael parishioner Don Haik to be his sponsor.

“He’s a very gentle young man, properly brought up with being respectful to people,” said Haik, who’s known Justice and his family for the past decade. “He takes his job as altar server seriously and hardly ever misses. He really enjoys it. You can tell by the way he acts on the altar that he knows the faith.” 

Justice and his grandparents see Justice’s role as an altar server as a blessing and hope he maintains this role long after they are gone. 
“Me and my wife are getting older, so hopefully, he continues on,” Francis Bourg said.

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