The Eucharistic Miracles of the World
Catalogue of the Vatican International Exhibition

With an extensive assortment of photographs and historical descriptions, the exhibition presents some of the principal Eucharistic Miracles that have taken place over the centuries and throughout the world. Most Eucharistic miracles involve incidences in which the Host has “turned into human flesh and blood.”  Certainly, the Church teaches (and we believe) that the consecrated Host is the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ under the appearances of bread and wine. Through Eucharistic miracles, Christ manifests His Presence in a more tangible and visible way. Interestingly, many Eucharistic miracles have occurred during times of weakened Faith. For example, a number of Eucharist miracles have taken place as a result of someone, often the priest himself, doubting the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

Included in the exhibit are descriptions of many of the most famous miracles, including those of Lanciano, Orvieto and Siena. Each of them has received full approval by the Church. By means of the exhibit, one can “virtually visit” the places where the miracles occurred.
It is important for us to remember that while Eucharistic Miracles can help us more fully understand and live our faith (with Christ the Eucharist as its source and summit), these Miracles are only useful as long as they are closely focused on Jesus Christ. They cannot become autonomous. Miracles can strengthen the faith of believers and even non-believers, but they are valuable only if they direct us to the Eucharist instituted by Christ and present at each celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. They must serve the faith. They must not and cannot add anything to the one and only, definitive gift of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. They are a humble reminder of the Real Presence and can impart a more fruitful and deeper knowledge of it.
Join us and see the different ways that Christ has manifested His Real Presence to increase our faith!

Once when Jesus was praying in solitude,
and the disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” (Lk 9:18)
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We might skip over the first part of today’s Gospel without thinking too much. Jesus asked: “who do the crowds say that I am.” We might not think about it because we already know who Jesus is. We know He’s the incarnate Son of God. He’s the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. He’s the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He’s the suffering servant. He’s the Good Shepherd. He’s the Son of Mary. He’s our Savior. He’s our Redeemer. He’s God.
But that’s the point. Since Jesus is God, He’s “everything.” And He came to proclaim Himself as the fulfillment of all of our dreams and desires. As Scripture said: He came “to bring glad tidings to the poor... to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free.” (Lk 4:18). Whatever our deepest human need might be, Jesus is the remedy. So when Jesus asks us “who do you say I am,” He wants us to examine what our deepest needs are. And He wants us to see Him as the way toward satisfying them. Am I depressed? Then Jesus is the one who will help me carry my cross. Am I lonely? Then Jesus is with us in the Garden of Gethsemane to pray with us. Am I stressed? Then Jesus is the Prince of Peace. Am I searching for something to give my life meaning? Then Jesus is the way. Am I confused and frustrated by the passing things of the world? Then Jesus is the truth. Am I tired of living in the darkness of sin? Then Jesus is the light.

This past Church year has been bittersweet for me. It began with the announcement of the Year for Priests, and I said to Jesus “you’re my model.” Then less than a month later, my Dad died. And I had to say to Jesus “you are my refuge and my strength.” I started the Year of the Priest with great ideas about how I could promote it and live it. And immediately, I recognized my own need for priests to minister to me. I needed Jesus, the Eternal High Priest.
Last Thursday, I attended a lunch given by the Willwoods Community to honor three priests: Fr. Tom Chambers, CSC; Fr. Neal McDermott, OP; and myself. And it made me think about how Jesus had come to me through these two holy men over this past year. They have been my “refuge and my strength.” They have supported me for a long time, but especially when I needed it so much at the death of my Dad.

As we celebrate “Father’s Day” this year, I’m sad for not having my own Dad here. But I’m grateful for the “Fathers” in my life. I’m grateful for their bringing Jesus to me. And I’m grateful to Jesus Himself. Because if one my greatest human needs is the desire to be back together with my own Dad one day, then Jesus is the way. He’s the way to Our Heavenly Father, and He’s the way to my earthly Dad.

And since Jesus is also the Bread of Life, then my celebration of the Eucharist brings me closer and closer to my Heavenly Father, as well as my earthly Dad in Heaven. Happy Father’s Day!

Rev. Msgr. Christopher H. Nalty

Afterward he journeyed from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. (Lk 8:1)

This Sunday’s Gospel recounts one story in the life of Christ. It’s one visit to a household, one sinner anointing the feet of Jesus, one lesson taught, and one sinner forgiven. When Jesus was on earth in the flesh, He limited Himself to being in one place at a time, and those encounters – so beautifully recounted in Sacred Scripture – reveal him reaching out and touching and healing specific individuals through the power of His love. And Jesus was accompanied by the Twelve Apostles and some women who were witnesses to His love.

After the Ascension and Pentecost, the Apostles obeyed the commands of Christ to go out to preach, sanctify (by the Sacraments) and govern the whole world. Priests take part in that mission by sharing in the mission of their bishop, who is himself a successor of the Apostles. And the mission is the mission of Christ. The Holy Father, the Bishops and the priests take part in the mission of Christ by going to individuals. Even today, it’s one visit to a household, one lesson taught, and one sinner forgiven at a time. Christ is present in each of those encounters.

This past week, the Church celebrated the closing of the Year for Priests. As you might remember from articles that I have written throughout the past year, the Holy Father had dedicated this past year to the priesthood: to pray for them, to support them, and to focus on their role in the body of Christ. I was so fortunate to have been able to work on the earliest stages of this project while serving as an official at the Congregation for the Clergy in Rome. This week, I am also fortunate to be in Rome to attend the conferences, Holy Hours and Masses to mark the closing. Everything culminated in a Mass this morning (I’m writing on Friday, June 11) where the Holy Father concelebrated with about 15,000 priests! I remember attending the Jubilee for Priests during the Holy Year of 2000, and there were about 8,000 priests. It’s hard to believe there was double the number for this Mass!

I feel so fortunate to be here, and to be able to reconnect with so many of my brother priests still living and working in Rome. And we were all able to be part of the largest concelebrated Mass in the history of the Vatican! And we were able to hear the words of our Chief Shepherd, Pope Benedict XVI, words of encouragement and of hope. You might read about this event in the secular press, but I suspect it will not be highly covered. There might be mention that the Holy Father “once again” addressed the scandal of sexual abuse in the Church. Or you might read that the Pope apologized for the sins of some of the clergy. But you probably won’t hear one thing that actually drew applause in the middle of the Homily. The Holy Father made direct reference to the devil. Recognizing that the abuse crisis reemerged during the Year for Priests, he said: “It was to be expected that this new radiance of the priesthood would not be pleasing to the ‘enemy’; he would have rather preferred to see it disappear, so that God would ultimately be driven out of the world.”

It’s an important thing to point out. We are all sinners. But even the worst sinner is human being made in God’s image and redeemed by the blood of Jesus. God wants us all to be saved, and to come to a knowledge of His Truth. The devil hates God, and attacks God by attacking us – the Children of God. Today’s Mass was a triumph of God’s love. It permeated the air. And love conquers all – even sin and death. Jesus won the victory. Priests bring that victory to people: one sinner at a time.


Rev. Msgr. Christopher H. Nalty

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit are gifts which assist us in furthering our sanctification and help “complete and perfect the virtues of those who receive them.” The term “gift” means that the Holy Spirit bestows them; they are supernatural gifts operating in a supernatural manner. They are not gifts one simply invokes in times of emergency. The gifts are enumerated in Isaiah 11:2-3.

The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit are:
Wisdom – The gift of wisdom allows us to see God at work in our lives and in the world. For the wise person, the wonders of nature, historical events, and the joys and sorrows of our lives take on deeper meaning.

Understanding – The gift of understanding allows us to comprehend how we should to live as a follower of Jesus Christ. A person with understanding is not confused by the conflicting messages in our culture about the correct way to live. Similar to “common sense,” the gift of understanding perfects a person’s speculative reason in the apprehension of truth. St. Thomas Aquinas described it is as a gift “whereby self-evident principles are known.”

Counsel (Right Judgment) – The gift of right judgment allows us to see the difference between right and wrong, and to choose to do what is right. A person with right judgment avoids sin and lives out the values taught by Christ. This gift of truth allows the person to respond prudently and happily to God’s commandments.

Novena to the Holy Spirit for the Seven Gifts

The novena in honor of the Holy Spirit is the oldest of all novenas since it was first made at the direction of Our Lord Himself when He sent His apostles back to Jerusalem to await the coming of the Holy Spirit on the first Pentecost. Addressed to the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, it is a powerful plea for the light and strength and love so sorely needed by every Christian.

ACT OF CONSECRATION TO THE HOLY SPIRIT AND PRAYER FOR THE SEVEN GIFTS
On my knees before the great multitude of heavenly witnesses, I offer myself, soul and body to You, Eternal Spirit of God. I adore the brightness of Your purity, the unerring keenness of Your justice, and the might of Your love. You are the Strength and Light of my soul. In You I live and move and am. I desire never to grieve You by unfaithfulness to grace and I pray with all my heart to be kept from the smallest sin against You. Mercifully guard my every thought and grant that I may always watch for Your light, and listen to Your voice, and follow Your gracious inspirations. I cling to You and give myself to You and ask You, by Your compassion to watch over me in my weakness. Holding the pierced Feet of Jesus and looking at His Five Wounds, and trusting in His Precious Blood and adoring His opened Side and stricken Heart, I implore You, Adorable Spirit, Helper of my infirmity, to keep me in Your grace that I may never sin against You. Give me grace, O Holy Spirit, Spirit of the Father and the Son to say to You always and everywhere, "Speak Lord for Your servant is listening." Amen.

O Lord Jesus Christ Who, before ascending into heaven did promise to send the Holy Spirit to finish Your work in the souls of Your Apostles and Disciples, deign to grant the same Holy Spirit to me that He may perfect in my soul, the work of Your grace and Your love. Grant me the Spirit of Wisdom that I may despise the perishable things of this world and aspire only after the things that are eternal, the Spirit of Understanding to enlighten my mind with the light of Your divine truth, the Spirit of Counsel that I may ever choose the surest way of pleasing God and gaining heaven, the Spirit of Fortitude that I may bear my cross with You and that I may overcome with courage all the obstacles that oppose my salvation, the Spirit of Knowledge that I may know God and know myself and grow perfect in the science of the Saints, the Spirit of Piety that I may find the service of God sweet and amiable, and the Spirit of Fear that I may be filled with a loving reverence towards God and may dread in any way to displease Him. Mark me, dear Lord, with the sign of Your true disciples and animate me in all things with Your Spirit. Amen.

Jesus Brothers and sisters: I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks,
broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."
(1 Cor. 11:23-25)
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In terms of a feast in the Catholic Church, today’s Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ (“Corpus Christi” in Latin) is a fairly recent one. The addition of this special feast to the Church calendar was primarily due to the petitions of a Belgium nun named Juliana of Liège who lived in the 13th century. From a young age, Juliana had a great love for the Blessed Sacrament and longed for a special feast in its honor. Her desire was increased by a vision she had of the Church under the appearance of the full moon having one dark spot. The spot signified the absence of a day specifically honoring the Blessed Sacrament. In 1208 Juliana also had a vision of Christ in which He instructed her to institute the Feast of Corpus Christi. The vision was repeated for the next 20 years, but she kept it a secret. When she finally told her confessor, he relayed it to the bishop.

Juliana petitioned a number of bishops and priests to institute the Feast, including Robert de Thorete, the Bishop of Liège. Since bishops could order feasts in their dioceses, Bishop Robert convened a synod in 1246 and ordered a Corpus Christi celebration to be held each year.

The celebration of Corpus Christi became universal only after Juliana and Bishop Robert died. In 1263 Pope Urban IV (also from Liège) investigated claims of a Eucharistic miracle at Bolsena, in which a consecrated host began to bleed. In 1264 he issued the papal bull making Corpus Christi a feast throughout the entire Latin Rite. This was the very first papally sanctioned universal feast in the history of the Latin Rite.

While the institution of the Eucharist is celebrated on Holy Thursday, that particular liturgy also commemorates the washing of the apostles’ feet, the institution of the priesthood and the agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. Corpus Christi was established to be specifically focused on the Holy Eucharist.

A new liturgy for Corpus Christi was composed by St. Thomas Aquinas. This liturgy has come to be used not only on the Feast of Corpus Christi itself but also throughout the year at events related to the Blessed Sacrament. The famous hymn that Aquinas composed for Vespers of Corpus Christi, Pange Lingua, is also used on Holy Thursday during the procession of the Blessed Sacrament to the altar of repose and at Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament along with O Salutaris Hostia the last two verses of Verbum Supernum Prodiens, Aquinas' hymn for Lauds of Corpus Christi.

Since Jesus Christ is truly present in the Eucharist, then we are united to Him and to each other whenever we are united to the Eucharist. So even though I am in Rome for the closing of the Year for Priests, I am with everyone at Good Shepherd Parish whenever we are each gathered around the Altar. What a great consolation and what a great reminder of Heaven! Heaven is being with Jesus forever, and each Mass is a small taste.

Rev. Msgr. Christopher H. Nalty

Jesus said to his disciples:
"I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.
But when he comes, the Spirit of truth,
he will guide you to all truth.
He will not speak on his own,
but he will speak what he hears,
and will declare to you the things that are coming.
He will glorify me,
because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.
Everything that the Father has is mine;
for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you." (Jn 16:12-15)
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Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. In the early days of the Church there was no special day to honor the Holy Trinity, but that changed in the 3rd century when the Church was confronted with one of the first great heresies: Arianism. Although this heresy seems strange to us today, it stated that God the Father was always existing but that He was separate from the lesser Jesus Christ, who was created by Him. Then, the Father, working through the Son, created the Holy Spirit, who was subservient to the Son as the Son was to the Father. This belief was declared to be false by the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D.

Without going into too much theological detail about the controversy, we simply affirm the Nicene Creed which we recite each Sunday. In the Creed we declare that we believe in one God: “the Father, the Almighty”; his Son Jesus Christ, who is “God from God” and “one in being with the Father”; and the Holy Spirit who “proceeds from the Father and the Son” and who “with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified.” But this isn’t the only time we proclaim the Trinity. Each time we make the sign of the Cross we are praying “In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” This is our declaration of our belief in the Holy Trinity: One God in Three Divine Persons.

Since it is sometimes hard to wrap our minds around the concept of “One God in Three Persons,” the Holy Trinity is best described as a mystery. But this shouldn’t trouble us, because the infinite grandeur of God is obviously so much greater than our finite minds can comprehend!

In truth, it’s not our minds that need to comprehend but our hearts. As Pope Benedict said several years ago, the Holy Trinity is a communion of love: “Jesus has revealed to us the mystery of God. He, the Son, has made us know the Father who is in heaven, and has given us the Holy Spirit, the Love of the Father and of the Son. Christian theology summarizes the truth about God with this expression: only one substance in three persons. God is not solitude but perfect communion. For this reason, the human person, image of God, is fulfilled in love, which is the sincere gift of oneself.” So the Holy Trinity may not be easily grasped in the mind, but since we’re made in God’s image, it can be experienced through love. Through the self-giving love of husband and wife God generates a child, a fruit of their love. In love we find the Trinity, because God is love.

Rev. Msgr. Christopher H. Nalty

Photo by David Grundfield, The Times-Picayune

Obviously, we finally did it!  Thanks to parish sexton, Liam Cousino; B & G Crane, LLC; CIS Steeplejack, LLC; and all who worked so hard to raise the Cross fabricated by Thomas Bruno.  Although the Times Picayune declined to tell the story of the Cross in the paper (apparently “good news is no news” is the order of the day with our local paper!), they did send a brave photographer, David Grundfield, who went up in the crane to take some spectacular photos of the cross towering high above the City of New Orleans.

Saturday, May 28, 2010 at 7:00pm
Live performance of Damien, one man play by Aldyth Morris.  New Orleans native Casey Groves will perform the play at St. Henry Church for the benefit of the poor parishioners of St. Bernard Parish affected by the oil spill.  Adults $15, children $5.

Sunday, June 6, 2010 at 10:30am
Corpus Christi Mass and Eucharistic Procession.  Exhibition of Vatican Exhibit of Eucharistic Miracles.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010 at 6:00pm
“Grace Before Meals” presentation by Father Leo Patalingug of Food Network fame.

If you can help with set-up, organization, ideas, food, drinks or even moral support (!) for these parish events, please contact the parish office (899-1378) or Kathy Fayard ( ), Phillip Bellini ( ), Renee Torina ( ), or Hunter Harris (417-6066)

The beginning of Mother’s Day in the United States is usually attributed to a declaration made in 1873 by Julia Ward Howe in which she asked all woman to come together to work for peace. Julia is best known as the author of the “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” which she wrote in 1862.  After the publication of the poem, Julia became more famous, and she began to give public speeches, many of which were against war. Julia had witnessed first-hand some of the worst effects of the Civil War – not only the death and disease that killed and maimed the soldiers, but the widows and orphans who were left behind.

In 1870, Julia Ward Howe took on a new issue and a new cause. She determined that peace was one of the most important causes of the world. She wanted women to come together across national lines, to promote common values and to commit to finding peaceful resolutions to conflicts. Her original idea was to seek formal recognition of a “Mother’s Day for Peace.” Her idea was influenced by Anna Jarvis, a young Appalachian homemaker who in 1858 had attempted to improve sanitation through “Mothers’ Work Days.” She organized women throughout the Civil War to work for better sanitary conditions for both sides, and in 1868 she began work to reconcile Union and Confederate neighbors.

Anna Jarvis’ daughter was also named Anna, and she continued the work of her mother and the work of Julia Howe. Much later, when her mother died, the second Anna Jarvis started her own crusade to found a memorial day for women. The first such Mother’s Day was celebrated in West Virginia in 1907 in the church where the elder Anna Jarvis had taught Sunday School. On that day she passed out 500 white carnations – one for each mother in the congregation. The custom caught on – spreading eventually to 45 states. In 1914 the U.S. Congress passed a Joint Resolution, and President Woodrow Wilson signed it, establishing “Mother’s Day” to emphasize a women’s role in the family (and not as activists in the public arena, as Howe’s Mother's Day had been). One thing important to note is that the apostrophe in “Mother’s Day” is in between the “r” and the “s,” indicating the original meaning of the day, which is to honor one’s own Mother, rather than Mothers in general. It’s interesting that the Anna Jarvis who succeeded in making Mother’s Day a national holiday never became a mother herself.