07/08/2026
Blessing the Shrimp Fleet. An annual tradition that began in Europe and was picked up in America in 1929 in Biloxi, Mississippi. It is always a memorable event, attended by State and Federal officials who are key to promoting and sustaining the life of the Gulf Coast sh*****ng industry. It is always a privilege to pray for this industry and the families that work so hard to sustain it and put the best wild-caught shrimp from the Gulf on our tables. Here are our thoughts and prayers.
Blessing the Shrimp Fleet, Brownsville, Tx
(w/ Fa. Joel Flores, Immaculate Conception Cathedral)
We gather again at the beginning of this sh*****ng season to remind ourselves that like the fishermen on the Sea of Galilee, who followed Jesus Christ, we are men and women who work with God to provide for our families and put the best shrimp on the tables of those who enjoy great shrimp. We are honest with ourselves. This work is dangerous, even as we remembered those six precious lives in a moment of silence just now. Sh*****ng demands great skill, insight, patience and perseverance; working unsociable hours to be rewarded by the fruit of the deep. Like all industries, it is exposed to the vicissitudes of costs and market prices, affected by war and peace, and the forces of nature. This is no work for the fainthearted, but it is for those, who, like the first disciples, will cast their nets upon the sea once again, after a wasted night’s fishing, at the word of their Lord, to catch a harvest He knows to be there. Thus, as we look to this new sh*****ng season, we bring, once again, not only our skill and experience to the work, but also our faith. For without faith, it is impossible to take the risks and make the sacrifices that are made by those who go sh*****ng. In Psalm 107 the Lord speaks to us, saying:
23 Those who go down to the sea in ships,
Who do business on great waters;
24 They have seen the works of the Lord,
And His wonders in the deep.
25 For He spoke and raised a stormy wind,
Which lifted the waves of the sea.
26 They rose up to the heavens, they went down to the depths;
Their soul melted away in their misery.
27 They reeled and staggered like a drunken man,
And were at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
And He brought them out of their distresses.
29 He caused the storm to be still,
So that the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 Then they were glad because they were quiet,
So He guided them to their desired harbor.
31 They shall give thanks to the Lord for His mercy,
And for His wonders to the sons of mankind!
32 They shall also exalt Him in the congregation of the people,
And praise Him at the seat of the elders.
The psalmist reminds us that those who go down to the sea in ships, shrimpers, work with God, as they behold His wonders and works at sea. He reminds us that God holds their life in His hands during times of desperation and exasperation, during times when our soul melts from the pressures of life and the forces of nature, times, when men stagger because they have lost control and are at their wits end. IN SUCH TIMES men cry to the Lord, and HE HEARS THEM, and brings them out of their desperation. WHEN CALLED UPON, He causes every storm to be still and from the stillness leads them to the perfect solution. Shrimpers are people of gratitude for they have tasted God’s mercy and been touched by His wonders at times of great vulnerability. For this reason, they are a people who honor God and praise Him amongst those of authority.
Let us pray for this coming sh*****ng season, as we entrust our lives, our work and the rewards of our labors to our faithful and almighty Father in Heaven.
Most gracious heavenly Father,
As we stand on the threshold of a new sh*****ng season, we entrust to You our safety and look to You for the blessing and rewards of our work. Yours are the cattle on a thousand hills and all the shrimp of the Gulf. We ask that You lead us to them. We pray for those who set sail, that you would keep them and their families safe, both going and coming. We pray for the shrimp harvest, that You would multiply it. We pray for our vessels, the cost of maintaining and fueling them, that the harvest would generously cover all our expenses and reward the laborers who are worthy of their hire. We pray that Gulf Shrimp would be known worldwide as a delicacy that is valued amongst the finest delicacies on earth, for You made them so. As we stand on the threshold of this new season, we place our hope and confidence in Your faithfulness, which has come to us through Jesus Christ our Lord, through whose resurrection we also look to our own and that of our work. Amen.
The Brownsville shrimp fleet received a double dose of prayer Wednesday courtesy of Chaplain Andreas Lewis, head of the Port of Brownsville’s International Seafarer Center, and Father Joel Flores, rector of Immaculate Conception Cathedral in downtown Brownsville.
