The Lord is always with us': Houston priest kayaks through floodwaters to celebrate mass

A Catholic priest in Houston, Texas, used his kayak to celebrate mass in the wake of Tropical Storm Harvey, KTRK-TV reported Sunday.

According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the Rev. David Bergeron, originally from from Quebec, Canada, has served at a Catholic parish in Houston for two years.

Bergeron told KTRK that he tried to return home from a trip to Galveston on Saturday, but he became stranded in his truck on an overpass as floodwaters rose.

“I tried to go back home for mass and I guess I didn’t make it,” he said.

Bergeron’s kayak was in his truck, so he decided to use it to explore the damage around his neighborhood and celebrate mass with those who were stranded.

He went to a nearby store to purchase supplies for his fellow priests and neighbors, but his plans to celebrate mass were temporarily thwarted by Texas’ liquor laws, which prohibit the sale of alcohol before noon on Sundays.

“I even tried to buy wine right now to say mass with some of the people who are stranded here but that didn’t happen because it’s not noon yet. But we need to wait for noon to buy alcohol on Sunday,” Bergeron said. “It’s not that I usually buy alcohol that early in the morning, but I had wanted to be able to say mass with the few people who are stranded.”

Bergeron said using a kayak for evangelization is nothing new.

“I guess this is how the Americas were evangelized as well with a canoe and this is a kayak,” Bergeron said. “I hope that can bring a smile to a few people.”

Bergeron said he is praying for all the victims of the storm.

“The Lord is alive and the Lord is always with us as well, so I really pray for the protection of all the people,” adding “There are a few Psalms that implore for the grace of God and the washing and the rain, but now we have enough rain so we just want to repent from whatever we need to repent and go on.”

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported that Bergeron also brought a man to safety with his kayak.

"So I was just there beside him to escort him so that he was not swallowed by the currents," Bergeron told CBC News.

(H/T: Texas Catholic Herald)