Uptown New Orleans Catholic Church on Napolean Avenue - Monsignor Nalty
Rectory 504-899-1378 | Fax 504-899-0480
School 504-891-1927
ststephenpar@archdiocese-no.org
From the Pastor – June 29, 2025
Brothers and sisters: For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. (Gal 5:1)
As we prepare to celebrate Independence Day next Friday, we might reflect a little bit about what it means to be “free.” In the context of the Fourth of July holiday, freedom means being separated from the political control of a king as had been the case prior to the American Revolution. But “freedom” means many things. Webster’s Dictionary has a very lengthy definition of freedom. In part it reads: “a : the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action b : liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another : independence c : the quality or state of being exempt or released usually from something onerous.”
In all of these contexts, freedom seems to be something good. But even Webster’s goes on to note that freedom without responsibility can degenerate into something that is undesirable: something called “license.” License implies a freedom specially granted or conceded and may actually connote an abuse of freedom. Imagine a bunch of teenagers being left alone in a house for a week while their parents are out of town. “We’re free!” they might proclaim. So they raid the freezer and pantry to fill themselves up with ice cream and snacks and whiskey while trashing the kitchen. They invite friends over for a party during which they play dodge ball in the living room, destroying the furniture. Some of them decide to use the bedrooms for immoral acts. Someone drops a lit cigarette, and the dining room burns before they’re able to put out the fire with the garden hose. Theirs is not true freedom. Their abuse of freedom will have repercussions when their parents return. And in the meantime, they’re now living in a house that’s more fit for animals than human beings.
Christ calls us to a freedom that gives us peace in this life and points us to a life to come. But it’s sometimes hard to understand what that means. The reason is that mankind abused his freedom at the very beginning of history when he succumbed to temptation and did what was evil. Even though we still desire the good, our nature bears the wound of original sin, and we are inclined to evil and subject to error.
What are some examples? Well, the law of the US allows a mother the “freedom” to kill the child in her womb. We’re free to commit whatever sexual acts we want as long as they’re done “in the privacy of our own bedroom.” We’re free to gorge ourselves on food until we’re obese, to drink ourselves to death, and to destroy our health with cigarettes. But are any of those things “true” freedom?
Catholic teaching says otherwise:
“Freedom is the power, rooted in reason and will, to act or not to act, to do this or that, and so to perform deliberate actions on one’s own responsibility. By free will one shapes one’s own life. Human freedom is a force for growth and maturity in truth and goodness; it attains its perfection when directed toward God, our beatitude. But by deviating from the moral law man violates his own freedom, becomes imprisoned within himself, disrupts neighborly fellowship, and rebels against divine truth.
“There is no true freedom except in the service of what is good and just. The choice to disobey and do evil is an abuse of freedom and leads to ‘the slavery of sin.’ … Freedom makes man responsible for his acts to the extent that they are voluntary. Progress in virtue, knowledge of the good, and asceticism enhance the mastery of the will over its acts.” (CCC 1730 et seq.)
We have true freedom in Christ. May we use this freedom – this mastery of our own minds and bodies – to set ourselves free, and to avoid becoming slaves to sin. And when our own sins place us in chains of misery and despair, may we reach out for the freedom provided by Sacramental Confession. The world is not our final destiny. May we always keep our eyes on Eternity.
(Very Rev. Msgr.) Christopher H. Nalty
msgr.nalty@gmail.com
Masses
St. Stephen
Saturday Vigil at 4:00 pm
Sunday at 8:00 am and 10:30 am
Sunday at 5:00 pm at OLGC
Our Lady of Good Counsel (OLGC)
Center of Jesus the Lord
Charismatic Mass
Sunday at 10 am
Weekdays Masses
Monday – Friday 6:30 am St. Henry
Tuesdays 6:00 pm St. Stephen
First Fridays 6:00 pm Latin Mass
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
Tuesdays 4:45 – 5:45pm St. Stephen
Thursdays 7:00 – 8:00am St. Henry
Confession Times at Good Shepherd
Saturdays 3:00 – 3:45pm St. Stephen
Sundays 9:30 – 10:15am St. Stephen
Sundays 10:00 – 10:30am OLGC
First Fridays 6:30 – 7:00pm OLGC
Solemnity of Peter and Paul
On Sunday, June 29, the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, Pope Benedict XVI will bestow the pallium on 38 metropolitan archbishops, including 14 from Europe and six from North America. The Americans are: Archbishops Jerome Listecki of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Dennis Schnurr of Cincinnati, Ohio; and Thomas Wenski of Miami, Florida.
The vestment is called a “pallium,” (plural is “pallia”) and it is a narrow band of cloth woven of white lamb’s wool with a ring in the center which rests on the shoulders of its wearer. The narrow band falls down the front of the chest like a necktie and goes similarly down the back. It is decorated with six black crosses, one on each tail and four on the loop. The pallium has its origin as a liturgical vestment of the Holy Father since at least the 4th century, and it has been given to each Metropolitan Archbishop since at least the 9th century.
Worn by the pope, the pallium symbolizes the plenitudo pontificalis officii (i.e., the “fullness of Pontifical office”). When worn by Metropolitan Archbishops, it signifies the power which the Metropolitan, in communion with the Roman Church, has by law in his own province.
The story of how the pallium is made gives clues to its symbolism. The wool comes from lambs raised by Trappist monks. On, January 21, the Feast of St. Agnes (“agnes” is from the Latin word for lamb), the lambs whose wool is destined for the making of the pallia are solemnly blessed at the Basilica of Saint Agnes. However, during the last three years, the Holy Father has blessed these lambs himself at the Vatican. Wool from these lambs is then given to the Benedictine nuns of the Basilica of St Cecilia in Trastevere, and they weave the pallia. The new pallia are solemnly blessed at the Basilica of St. Peter after the Second Vespers on the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, and are then stored in a special golden chest located directly above the original tomb of St. Peter. It is called the “Niche of the Pallia.”
If you’re ever at St Louis Cathedral on a Sunday, notice Archbishop Gregory Aymond’s pallium. It’s a great reminder of the universality and long history of our Church.
Corpus Christi Mass and Eucharistic Procession
Sunday, June 22, 2025
All are invited to participate in a Eucharistic Procession immediately following the 10:30am Mass. The procession will exit the Church, turn right on Napoleon Avenue and then go around the school and the church before returning into the church for Benediction. It will be led by a crucifer, and we will chant Eucharistic hymns as we bring carry Jesus in the Holy Eucharist throughout our neighborhood!
We would like to invite First Communicants and young children (K-4th) to wear white attire to lead the procession.
Trinity Sunday
Trinity Sunday, also known as the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, is celebrated a week after Pentecost Sunday in honor of the most fundamental of Christian beliefs—belief in the Holy Trinity. We can never fully understand the mystery of the Trinity, but we can sum it up in the following formula: God is three Persons in one Nature. The three Persons of God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—are all equally God. They cannot be divided. As the above diagram shows, each person of the Holy Trinity is a separate person, having been identified as such in the Holy Bible, but each are also the One True God. It’s why we make the sign of the cross in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, rather than the “names.” It’s a profound mystery that many other religions reject. It’s not something that is easily explainable, but it was revealed by Jesus Christ through His Divine Word, and the Holy Spirit has filled our hearts and minds to help us understand it. We reinforce our belief in the Holy Trinity each time we make the sign of the cross.
The origins of the celebration of Trinity Sunday go back to the Arian heresy of the fourth century, when Arius denied the divinity of Jesus Christ by denying that there are three Persons in God. To stress the doctrine of the Trinity, the Fathers of the Church composed prayers and hymns that were recited on Sundays as part of the Divine Office, the official prayer of the Church. Eventually, a special version of that office began to be celebrated on the Sunday after Pentecost, and the Church in England, at the request of St. Thomas à Becket (1118-1170), was granted permission to celebrate Trinity Sunday. The celebration of Trinity Sunday was made universal by Pope John XXII (1316-34).
For many centuries, the Athanasian Creed was recited at Mass on Trinity Sunday. While seldom read today, the creed can be read privately or recited with your family to revive this ancient tradition.
Upcoming Celebrations
The Most Holy Trinity
June 15, 2025
The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
June 22, 2025
PRAYER OF GRATITUDE FOR THE GIFT OF A NEW POPE
Lord Jesus Christ, Good Shepherd and High Priest,
we praise you and offer you our sincere gratitude
for calling Pope Leo XIV to serve as the shepherd of the universal church.
May he lead us as a loving shepherd
who cares for his flock and seeks out the lost sheep.
May he be for us a gentle and listening father,
a faithful teacher and a steward of your sacred mysteries.
Grant him health, strength, and wisdom.
Strengthen the bonds of unity among us
so that we may serve you as one body.
Purify us and sustain us in charity
for your love for us never fails.
Grant that we may boldly answer your call to mission.
You who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen.
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