Thanks to all who attended and brought dishes to the Good Shepherd Parish Christmas Dinner

A good time was had by all!  And thanks to Kathy Fayard and all our tireless volunteers for all of their help!

“There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding.
When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’
And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.’
His mother said to the servers, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’”
(Jn. 2:1-5)

The Gospel this Sunday is the very first Gospel that I preached about as a newly ordained deacon in October of 1998. The Mass took place in a very small chapel called the Clementine Chapel, which is located under the main altar of the Basilica of St. Peter at the Vatican. It’s the closest altar to the Tomb of St. Peter the Apostle. I had decided that I wanted the Mass to be a Votive Mass for the Blessed Virgin Mary, since I felt that Mary had carried me through all of my priestly discernment. Although I was only going to be preaching to a small group at that Mass, I really wanted to be super-prepared for my first “official” homily. I spent days and days praying about the Wedding Feast at Cana. I examined the idea of the “wedding banquet” in the history of the Church. I gained insights into the idea that Christ turned water into wine, and then turned wine into His blood at the Last Supper. I meditated on the “old wine” as the blood of the passover lamb of the Old Covenant and the “new wine” as the blood of the Lamb of God of the New Covenant. I wanted to be witty, erudite and to the point.

And then I remembered something that my Greek teacher had told me: “You should never preach on the Gospel unless you have read it in the original Greek.” Okay, I know you think that sounds crazy, because I thought it sounded crazy at the time. And my Greek is not that good, although I can usually sound out the words and read them in concert with the translation. So, on the evening after my Ordination to the Diaconate, as I was praying about my homily one last time, I pulled out the Greek version.

Now, understand that I had been a deacon only about 7 hours. And as I struggled to read John 2:1-11 in Greek I got to the last line in the passage above. Mary told “the servers,” “do whatever He tells you.” And the Greek stopped me cold. The word used for “servers” was . Now, seriously, it’s not too hard to see the actual transliteration of that word. The “v” looking thing is an “n” in Greek. The word is “diakonois” or “deacons” in Greek. Mary told “the deacons” to do “whatever He tells you.” The translators translate the word as “servers” in the Gospel of John because the Order of Deacons was not established by the Apostles until after Pentecost, as recounted in the Acts of the Apostles. But for me, the moment was a “wow” moment as a newly ordained deacon. Mary told the deacons to do whatever He tells you. I still try to follow that advice from my Blessed Mother Mary on a daily basis.

Rev. Msgr. Christopher H. Nalty

Each day at noon and 6:00 p.m., the church bells at St. Stephen Church ring to remind us of the Angelus. The Angelus is a recollection of the salvific event in which the Word became flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary, through the power of the Holy Spirit in accordance with the salvific plan of the Father.

The recitation of the Angelus is deeply rooted in the piety of the Christian faithful, and strengthened by the example of the Roman Pontiffs. In some places changed social conditions hinder its recitation, but in many other parts every effort should be made to maintain and promote this pious custom and at least the recitation of three Hail Marys. The Angelus “over the centuries has conserved its value and freshness with its simple structure, biblical character [...] quasi liturgical rhythm by which the various time of the day are sanctified, and by its openness to the Paschal Mystery.”

The Angelus

V. The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.

R. And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

V. Behold the handmaid of the Lord.

R. Be it done unto me according to thy word.

Hail Mary...

V. And the Word was made Flesh.

R. And dwelt among us.

Hail Mary..

V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.

R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that we, to whom the Incarnation of Christ Thy Son was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection. Through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.

The Advent wreath is a set of four candles which are lit each Sunday of the Advent Season. Three of the candles are violet-colored, and one is rose-colored. The violet candles symbolize faithful expectation, and the rose candle symbolizes joy and hope. These colors mirror the colors of the priest’s vestments used during the Sundays of Advent. In earlier times, the season of Advent had stronger penitential and ascetic aspects, and a relaxation of disciplines was offered on the third Sunday of Advent, called Gaudete Sunday, from the Latin for "rejoice", the first words of the Introit. This turn is reflected in the shift from violet to rose. One violet candle is lit on the first evening of Advent (a Sunday). On successive Sundays, the second violet candle is added, then the rose candle on Gaudete Sunday, and finally, the third violet candle. So enough about the colors, what about the flame? The flame signifies Christ, the “Light of the World.”

The Legion of Mary is an association of Catholic laity that was founded in Dublin, Ireland in 1921, and today numbers in excess of 10 million members worldwide.  It is the largest apostolic organization of lay people in the Catholic Church. Active members serve God under the banner of Mary by practicing the Spiritual Works of Mercy.  In weeks to come, we will have another presentation by members of the Legion in our parish, as we are hoping they become the driving force behind a parish census and Catholic outreach.

Good Shepherd Parish is very grateful for the faculty and students of St. Stephen’s School who collected a large amount of canned good during their recent food drive.  That food will be very useful in providing for the needs of the poorest members of our parish during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

Some months before I went to seminary, I was having dinner with some friends and talking about the Catholic faith. One friends was a Catholic who attended daily Mass and the other was a self-acknowledged agnostic. During the course of our conversation, the agnostic asked me: “what would it do to your faith if it could be proved that Jesus was conceived and born in the normal way? What if the Immaculate Conception never happened?” I told him that he was confusing the Incarnation with the Immaculate Conception, and that the Immaculate Conception was the belief that MARY was conceived in HER mother’s womb without the stain of original sin. My friend, the Catholic, jumped in: “you don’t know what you’re talking about; the Immaculate Conception is the conception of Jesus!” So I asked him if he wanted to bet. He pulled out a hundred dollar bill, and put it down on the table. And I went to my office and pulled out my Webster’s Ninth Collegiate Dictionary, and opened it to “Immaculate Conception: “the conception of the Virgin Mary in which as decreed in Roman Catholic dogma her soul was preserved free from original sin by divine grace.” So I won the bet.

This doctrine was revealed through the Scriptures (“full of grace”), and the long Tradition of the Church. But it was finally declared as dogma on December 8, 1854. Why that date? Because it’s exactly nine months before the celebration of the Birth of Mary on September 8, a feast that has been celebrated since the 7th century. But the doctrine is quite logical. How could the flesh of the Son of God be formed through the flesh of one who was a slave to sin? So Jesus redeemed his mother’s soul before her birth. In other words, He applied His death on the cross to the Blessed Mother before it happened in time. How did He do that? As one theologian stated: “Potuit, decuit, ergo fecit, or, in English: “God could, it was appropriate, therefore, He did it.” O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us!

Poinsettias in the Sanctuary during Christmas can be purchased in the name of a deceased love one. The cost will be $25.00 per plant, and names will be recorded in the bulletin and on the parish website: www.goodshepherdparishNOLA.com. Please use the forms in the back of church.

A Statement from Most Rev. Gregory Aymond, Archbishop of New Orleans

At the most recent meeting of the United States Conference for Catholic Bishops, Bishop Roger Morin gave a report on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development and addressed the concerns of some people regarding the use of funds to support effectively the mission of the church. The grants are carefully reviewed. No group who opposes Catholic teachings is eligible for funds. If a group violates the conditions of the grant, funding is immediately terminated. Careful attention has been given to this matter.

The teachings of the Church on Indulgences

Many of us have a poor understanding of some of the Church’s teachings on sin, forgiveness and punishment for sins. We know that we sin. And we know that we can be forgiven if we confess our serious sins (which we are obligated to do as Catholics once a year). But sometimes we don’t remember that we will have to suffer some temporal punishment in Purgatory for sins that we have committed – even if we have confessed them. But there is a remedy for that, and it’s a powerful one. Jesus gave the Church the power, through St. Peter and his successors, to take away that temporal punishment. The Catholic doctrine of the Communion of Saints teaches that this work of cleansing or sanctification does not have to be done entirely by the person directly concerned, since all Christians, living and dead, are united as a single body that has Christ as head. The holiness of one profits others, well beyond the harm that the sin of one could cause others. Thus through the communion of saints, recourse not only to the merits of the saints in heaven but above all to those of Christ Himself lets the contrite sinner be more efficaciously purified of the punishments for sin.

Jesus told the Apostle Peter that “whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Mt 16:19). When the Church takes away temporal punishment, it is called an “indulgence,” which can be a partial or full (“plenary”) remission of the temporal punishment of purgatory.

In view of the Church's interpretation of the power of binding or loosing, the Church considers that it may administer to those under its jurisdiction the benefits of the merits of Christ and the Communion of Saints in consideration of prayer or other pious works undertaken by the faithful.

There is a common misconception that indulgences forgive sins; however, they only relieve the punishment due because of the sins. A person is still required to have their sins absolved by a priest to receive salvation.

Further, since those who have died are also members of the Communion of Saints, the living can help those whose purification from their sins is not yet completed not only by prayer but also by obtaining indulgences for them. Since the Church on earth has no jurisdiction over the dead, indulgences can be gained for them only per modum suffragii, i.e. by an act of intercession.

Besides special indulgences, which the Holy Father extends from time-to-time, one can always gain a plenary indulgence by some common devotions, including Adoration of Jesus in the Eucharist for at least half an hour, the pious exercise of the Stations of the Cross and recitation of the Rosary in a church. And there are conditions: We have to make a good sacramental Confession. We have to receive the Eucharistic. We have to pray for the intentions of the Holy Father. And we have to be completely unattached to any form of sin. If you had the chance to remit all of the pains of Purgatory, wouldn’t you want to take it? I know I will! I just need to get a priest to hear MY confession!