For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted. (Lk 14:11). * * * * * * * * * What is humility? The word origin comes from the Latin word “humus,” which means “dirt.” It can have negative connotations as being “lowly” or “abased,” but Catholics tend to see humility as a virtue. And the reason for that? It’s because Our Savior, Jesus Christ, is the epitome, the essence of humility. He came from the highest station possible: He is the Lord, the Creator of the Universe, the Word made Flesh, the Alpha and the Omega. And from the highest station, He chose the lowliest station on Earth. He was born in a stable. He grew up in one of the smallest backwaters of the Middle East. He became an “itinerant” preacher, and had nowhere to lay his head. He owned nothing but the clothes he wore. And then, in His greatest act of humility, He allowed Himself to be judged by evil, power-hungry men. He allowed them to sentence Him to death. He allowed them to scourge Him, to torture Him and to crown Him with thorns. And then He willingly carried His own cross to the spot where He allowed men to nail Him to the cross and leave Him to die.
It’s difficult to relate, and it’s virtually impossible to believe that God would allow that to happen. But the story was the will of God, the Father. It was His plan to redeem us. He wanted us to be saved by one like ourself. And by doing so, He raised the dignity of mankind to something above the angels. God didn’t become an angel. He became a man.
Humility. It’s an intrinsic part of our faith. And we find humility attractive. Instinctively, humble people please us, and prideful, boastful people put us off.
But we sometimes have a hard time actually being humble. Why is that? It helps when we understand that the first sin of the angels and the original sin of man is the sin of pride. It’s a sin when we have a higher opinion of ourselves than we have of God. As the great British writer, C.S. Lewis once said: "A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you're looking down, you can't see something that's above you.”
Pride is a self-love that doesn’t put God into the context of one’s own existence. But there’s a remedy for pride. And it’s a relationship with Jesus Christ in the midst of a Christian community. Christ reminds us that we are mortals, and other Christians remind us that we are sons and daughters of God. We’re not God. We’re not in charge of the universe. But we’re something even better. We’re God’s children. And He loves us so much that He died for us. And when we come to understand that, we are humbled to be loved – even when we don’t feel that we deserve it. And that’s humbling.
(Rev. Msgr.) Christopher H. Nalty
Katrina Relection
I don’t know if anyone sent in a Katrina reflection to the Clarion Herald; they didn’t give us a whole lot of notice. But I guess I can offer a bit of my own. As some of you know, I was working at the Vatican when Katrina hit New Orleans. But it turned out that I flew into town on the Saturday before the storm on the last Delta flight before the airport was closed for the hurricane. My Dad was having his last week of radiation treatment for a small cancer in his throat, and I took some vacation time to be with him and my Mom.
It was an eerie feeling walking off of a plane into a closed airport. And my Dad told me that he thought we might have to evacuate. The next morning, since I was jet-lagged, I woke up at 4:00a. One look at the weather radar made me know that we had to evacuate. My parents had already prepared the house, so all we had to do was pack the car and drive to Brewton, Alabama, where my family has some property. Because we had room, we invited my friends, Jude Trahant, and Pat & Susie Veters and their sons, to join us. Little did we know how our lives were about to change. Although we all watched the storm on live TV throughout the day on Monday, we thought we had gotten through everything fairly unscathed. That was until Pat & Susie got a call Monday evening from a friend who was riding out the storm in their Lakeview house. I can still remember Susie’s face as she turned to Pat and said: “The water is over our kitchen counters.” That phone call would be the first news about how our lives were about to be affected.
St. Stephens Church will be sponsoring a Spiritual Adoption program for the ACCESS Pregnancy & Referral Center. We will be “adopting” a virtual unborn baby and will follow the baby’s progress and growth each month by describing a child’s development until its virtual birth. After 9 months, we will be giving a shower for the baby, and the gifts will be provided to ACCESS to be given to mothers in need of baby items. Our program will begin on August 29, with the expected due date May 29. Pamphlets with more information are located in the back of the church. Please remember the importance of every life, and pray on a regular basis for the unborn.
Each Sunday at 10:10 a.m. we will pray the Rosary before the 10:30 Mass, in front of the Marian Altar (left of the main altar) for pro-life intentions.
Every Saturday at 11:00 a.m. we will pray the Rosary at the Woman’s Heath Center, 3500 St Charles Avenue (on the left of the Capital One bank near Louisiana Avenue). This facility is one of four abortion centers in the New Orleans area and within our parish boundaries. For more information please contact our new Parish Pro-Life Coordinators, Jim and Martha Liston at
40 Days for Life
Want to help mark the beginning of the end of abortion in New Orleans?
You are invited to get involved in the 40 Days for Life New Orleans campaign this September 22nd to October 31st. 40 Days for Life is a national pro-life campaign that consists of 40 days of prayer and fasting for an end to abortion AND a constant peaceful and prayerful vigil outside of the 3044 Ridgelake Avenue abortion facility in Metairie near Lakeside Mall.
St. Stephen has adopted 1 day – Wednesday October 6. We are asking for two volunteers for each hour from 7am to 7pm. A sign-up sheet will be posted in the back of the church. Also, please consider joining us for one or more hours during any time of the 40 days, and spread the word to others about this important life-saving effort.
For more information, or to volunteer to help, please contact Jim or Martha Liston at 504-304-3592 or visit us online at www.40daysforlifenola.com. All are welcome!
Bible Timeline Adventure Series Class
Beginning Thursday, September 16, we will offer the “Bible Timeline Adventure Series Class” at Good Shepherd Parish. The class will begin at 7:00 P.M. and will end at 8:30 P.M. It is a 24-part series by Jeff Cavins , Sarah Christmyer and Tim Gray.
History of the Catholic Church: Our Faith; Our Family
Did you miss the history class last year? We are considering it again on Tuesday evenings beginning September 28. Classes will meet in the rectory at 7:00pm, and the course lasts 20 weeks. Please let us know if you’re interested ASAP!
Please sign up by calling Phillip Bellini (899-1378) to enroll in these classes so we can find out how many study kits we need to order. More information can be found on the fliers in the back of church.
Thanks for all of the help!
Thanks to all who helped with the cooking, set-up and break-down of the Funky Fusion Fajita luncheon in the cafeteria last Sunday! Special thanks to Hunter Harris, Renee Torina and Kathy Fayard for organizing, and for Dan, Dana, Urtha, Bob, Joyce, Laura, Sister Joe, Ramona, Lilly, Dixie, Barbara, Inez, Lennie and Matthew, the St Ann crew and John for the meat. And to many others!
In the end we served over 120 people the dish that beat Bobby Flay on the Food Network. Father Leo also signed myriads of books and aprons promoting his “Grace Before Meals” movement to bring the family back around the dinner table. Just a note that my cut finger (actually six stitches!) is healing well, and it was no hindrance to my cooking and slicing forty pounds of flank steak single-handedly last Sunday! But thanks for the sympathy (and even the sarcasm)!
It's a Holy Hour!
It’s really a Holy Hour, isn’t it? Because Jesus told his disciples “Could you not wait with me one hour?” (Mt. 24:40). It wasn’t 45 minutes. And that’s been on my mind since we started our Holy Hour on Tuesdays before our 6:00pm Mass. The problem is that we’ve been starting the Holy Hour at 5:00pm, and we have to end it by 5:45pm so that we can set up for the 6:00pm Mass. Although those who attend can stay in prayer for an hour, the servers and I shortchange the Lord for 15 minutes! So I’ve changed the schedule. Now we’ll begin our Holy Hour at 4:45pm; the Eucharist will be exposed for an hour. Please join us!
Porn Addiction
The internet has opened up an easy access to pornography which has become a major addiction in our society and a burden to many men. And the Church wants to help. The Archdiocese of New Orleans is beginning a confidential Catholic 12-step program for men struggling with an addition to pornography called the “My House Men’s Group.” For more information contact (504) 430-3060 or email
Rosary at Our Lady of Good Counsel
On Wednesdays from 6:00pm – 7:00pm, Our Lady of Good Counsel Church is open. Parishioners are invited to pray the Rosary and other prayers to ask Our Lady to aid us in preventing any more damage from hurricanes or as a result of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Assumption of Mary
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church on the Assumption of Mary Celebrated on August 15, 2010 After her Son's Ascension, Mary aided the beginnings of the Church by her prayers. In her association with the apostles and several women, we also see Mary by her prayers imploring the gift of the Spirit, who had already overshadowed her in the Annunciation. Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death.
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son's Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians: In giving birth you kept your virginity; in your Dormition you did not leave the world, O Mother of God, but were joined to the source of Life. You conceived the living God and, by your prayers, will deliver our souls from death.
When we speak of the origin, mission, and destiny of the Church, we can find no better way to conclude than by looking to Mary. In her we contemplate what the Church is at present through its "pilgrimage of faith," and what the Church will be in the homeland at the end of the Church’s journey. There, "in the glory of the Most Holy and Undivided Trinity," "in the communion of all the saints,” the Church is awaited by the one she venerates as Mother of her Lord and as her own mother.
In the meantime the Mother of Jesus, in the glory which she possesses in body and soul in heaven, is the image and beginning of the Church as it is to be perfected in the world to come. Likewise she shines forth on earth, until the day of the Lord shall come, a sign of certain hope and comfort to the pilgrim People of God.
Holy Father’s Prayer Intentions
August 2010
General Intention That those who are without work or homes or who are otherwise in serious need may find understanding and welcome, as well as concrete help in overcoming their difficulties.
Missionary Intention That the Church may be a ‘home’ for all people, ready to open her doors to any who are suffering from racial or religious discrimination, hunger or wars forcing them to emigrate to other countries.
Please pray for the intentions of the Holy Father!
For every one who exalts himself will be humbled,
After her Son's Ascension, Mary aided the beginnings of the Church by her prayers. In her association with the apostles and several women, we also see Mary by her prayers imploring the gift of the Spirit, who had already overshadowed her in the Annunciation. Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death.