Widowed? Separated? Divorced? Listen. Accompany. Heal. One weekend … All the difference. Join us for the Beginning Experience of New Orleans Weekend Retreat May 17-19, 2024 at the Cenacle on the Lake Retreat Center located at 5500 St. Mary Street, Metairie, LA. For more information including registration and fees, contact Registrar, Liz Reis at (504) 858-1813 or email lzbthreis@yahoo.com. Weekend program includes materials, two nights’ lodging and five meals. Beginning Experience is an international ministry founded by a Catholic religious sister and her divorced friend offering hope and healing for those who have lost their marriage through death, separation or divorce. The Beginning Experience weekend transforms lives and has helped thousands navigate the road through grief. … [Read more...]

World Day of Prayer for Vocations will be observed on Sunday, April 21, 2024 also known as “Good Shepherd Sunday.” Today the Church throughout the world prays for vocations. Will you make a special effort to ask the Lord for vocations to the priesthood and religious life? Pray for the priests who have ministered to you throughout your life, both living and dead. Encourage your children, grandchildren, or other young people to consider a vocation as a priest or religious brother or sister. Pray a rosary for more young men and women in our diocese to respond to God’s call. Here is the Message of His Holiness, Pope Francis for this 61st World Day of Prayer for Vocations: https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/vocations/documents/20240421-messaggio-61-gm-vocazioni.html … [Read more...]

“Now when they heard [Peter's preaching] they were cut to the heart, and they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). When the people heard Peter and the apostles preaching about Christ, they instinctively asked, “What shall we do?” Over the centuries, the Church has given answers to this question, adapting the unchangeable elements of the Christian vocation to the pastoral requirements of each age. In our times, the responses to this question are summed up in what have come to be known as “The Precepts of the Church,” which are derived from Catholicism's moral and doctrinal foundations. The Cathechism of the Catholic Church, nos. 2041-2043, lists five precepts of the Church, listed and briefly discussed below. Attend Mass on Sundays and on … [Read more...]

It was a common custom in many lands of the ancient Middle East to cover in some way the path of someone thought worthy of the highest honor. In 2 Kings 9:13 Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat, was treated to this honor. Each of the four Gospels report that the people of Jerusalem gave Jesus the honor of walking on a covered path. However, in the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) we hear that the people lay their garments and cut rushes to place on the street. Only the Gospel of John specifically mentions palms. So what is the significance of the palm? The palm branch was a symbol of triumph and of victory in Jewish tradition, and is treated as such in other parts of the Bible (e.g. Leviticus 23:40 and Revelation 7:9). Based on this significance, the scene of the crowd greeting Jesus by … [Read more...]

If any parishioner has access to sago palms (the kind pictured above), we would love to get some for decorations in the church, and for the procession on Palm Sunday, March 24, 2024. Please cut palms and bring them to the church this Thursday or Friday! Please call the office if you can help. … [Read more...]

Altar Servers play a very important role in the Sacred Liturgy. They are part of the procession, handle incense, help prepare the altar for Mass, aid with baptisms, and help with the sacred vessels. Each year the Archdiocese honors altar servers from around the parish that have been nominated by their parish. This year our “altar server of the year” is our newest server: Nathaniel J. Almon! … [Read more...]

On Sunday, March 3, 2024, at St. Catherine of Sienna Church, Archbishop Aymond presented the Order of St. Louis IX Medallion to our parishioners Raymond Bankston and Ken Hamrick The Order of St. Louis IX award was established more than 40 years ago to honor those members of the laity who have contributed their time and talents to the church. Even if you don’t know Raymond and Ken, you know of their work! Raymond is one of our faithful sacristans who opens up the church and sets up for Mass. Ken became very active during COVID in helping us disinfect the church between Masses. He is also very active with the Knights of Columbus. “Whatsoever you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me.” (Mt 25:40). … [Read more...]

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on November 26, 1858, Katharine Drexel was the second daughter of Francis Anthony Drexel and Hannah Langstroth. Her father was a well-known banker and philanthropist. Both parents instilled in their daughters the idea that their wealth was simply loaned to them and was to be shared with others. Early in her life, while on a trip with her parents, Katharine saw the plight and destitution of the native Indian-Americans. This experience aroused her desire to do something specific to help alleviate their condition. This was the beginning of her lifelong personal and financial support of numerous missions and missionaries in the United States. The first school she established was St. Catherine Indian School in Santa Fe, New Mexico (1887). On January … [Read more...]

During the years I lived in Rome, I spent a lot of time trying to decipher and understand early Christian symbolism.  It was a hobby of mine as I visited churches and saw so much iconography.  Recently, someone visited St. Stephen Church in New Orleans and asked me about an image that they saw high over the sanctuary of a pelican feeding its young.  They wondered why someone would have painted the “state bird” in church!  The question gave me a good occasion to reflect upon church symbolism. The image of the mother pelican feeding her baby pelicans is rooted in several ancient Roman legends that precede Christianity. One version is that in time of famine, the mother pelican wounded herself, striking her breast with her beak to feed her young with her blood. Another version was that the … [Read more...]

Saturday, February 11, the Church remembers the apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes to St. Bernadette Soubirous that took place a little over 150 years ago in Lourdes, France.  Since Our Lady of Lourdes Parish down the street on Napoleon Avenue has been closed, I thought a little “refresher course” on the apparitions of Lourdes might be in order. On 11 February 1858, Bernadette Soubirous went with two girlfriends to collect some firewood to sell in order to be able to buy some bread. As she was wading through a river near the Grotto of Massabielle, she heard the wind but did not see the trees and bushes move. As she looked toward the Grotto, she saw a light and a beautiful lady – “Lovelier than I have ever seen” - dressed in white with a blue sash fastened around her waist and two golden … [Read more...]