While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. (Lk 15:20)
When we hear the Gospel for this Sunday, our mind immediately identifies it as the “Parable of the Prodigal Son.” It’s so familiar that we could probably recite it from memory and likely explain it to others. We call the son “prodigal” because what he did was “prodigious” meaning “extraordinary in size and degree.” Calling someone a “prodigious” spender means they are a person who spends a lot of money. And the son is call “prodigal” because he spent his money with a wasteful extravagance.
Our eyes tend to be fixed on the prodigal son rather than on the father or the other son. He’s the protagonist. He’s the one who carries the action of the parable by demanding his inheritance, skipping town, spending all of his money and then finding himself in the lowest place possible – the one who feeds the pigs. We keep our eyes on him with a small sense of scorn. “How could he do that to his family?” we wonder. And we begin to compare him to other “prodigal sons” we might know in our own lives.
But there’s something else about the son. We might also see a little bit of ourselves in his conduct. We might recall how we’ve “squandered” gifts given to us by our family and by God. And we might then shift our gaze to another character in the parable: the father.
In the “return home” of the son, we can visualize the sad father looking out across the fields, longing for the return of his beloved son. Then we see his eyes widen he recognizes the distant figure of his son walking downcast toward the family home. And then we see the joy on the father’s face and the tears in his eyes, as he jumps to his feet and runs out with abandon to embrace his lost son!
How can the father be so forgiving? Why doesn’t he condemn the scurrilous conduct of his son? It only makes sense because Jesus is talking about our heavenly Father, who isn’t concerned about His own pain. He is concerned about us – how we are hurting ourselves by taking the gifts of God and turning away from the giver, as if the gifts alone can bring us happiness. That’s what we do when we sin. And sin puts us in the mud with the pigs.
Sure the story is rightly called the “Parable of the Prodigal Son,” but it could also be the “Parable of the Prodigious Father” because of the extraordinary way that the Father forgives us. His is not a conditional forgiveness putting us on a “restrictive allowance” so it won’t happen again. He doesn’t “clip our wings” but restores us to the same status we had before. And that’s when we realize how generous He really is. Lent is a good time to realize how much Our Father wants to restore us to our souls to their original, unstained status through the Sacrament of Confession. Don’t forget your “Easter duty” coming in a few weeks!
(Rev. Msgr.) Christopher H. Nalty
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
If any of you have access to sago palms (the kind pictured here), we would love to get some for decorations in the church and to bless in two weeks on Palm Sunday (April 13, 2025). Please don’t cut your palms until a few days before Palm Sunday! Please bring them to the rectory or leave at the back door of the sacristy.
At 2:30pm on Sunday, March 23, 2025, at St. Catherine of Siena Church, Archbishop Aymond will present the Order of St. Louis IX Medallion to our parishioners Michael Shanklin and Gil D’Aguin. 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 Michael and Gil, you know of their work! Michael is one of our faithful sacristans who opens the church, sets up and serves the 8:00am Mass. Gil is an usher at the 10:30am Mass and is also our “parish artist,” responsible for beautifully painting our Stations of the Cross and repairing our statues. “Whatsoever you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me.” (Mt 25:40).
During the next three weeks the Archbishop has asked every parish in the Archdiocese to offer Confessions from 5:00-6:30pm on Wednesday. The basilica will be open for Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and Confessions over the next two Wednesdays, March 26, April 2 and April 9. The Eucharist will be exposed on the throne above the tabernacle.
There will be Stations of the Cross and Confessions on Fridays of Lent at the Basilica of St. Stephen with Confession at 5:30pm and the Stations at 6:00pm. Remember that Msgr. Nalty is also in the Confessional from 3:00-3:45 pm on Saturdays and 9:00-10:15 am on Sundays.
Knights of Columbus will be hosting the Lenten Fish Fry on the Fridays of March 14th, March 21st, April 4th and April 11th. Food will be served after the Stations of the Cross at St. Stephen Church. Plates consist of Fried Fish, French Fries, Cole Slaw, Vegetable, Dessert, and a drink. More details will follow next Sunday!
Proceeds benefit the K of C’s and Good Shepherd Parish.
Some of the most beautiful and fragrant reminders of Easter morning are Easter lilies. We will be purchasing them for the altar for use over the Easter season. If you would like to donate an Easter lily in the name of a loved one, there are envelopes in the back of church. Please return by April 11, 2025.
During the next three weeks the Archbishop has asked every parish in the Archdiocese to offer Confessions from 5:00-6:30pm on Wednesday. The basilica will be open for Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and Confessions over the next two Wednesdays, March 26, April 2 and April 9. The Eucharist will be exposed on the throne above the tabernacle.
Solemnity of the Annunciation
Tuesday, March 25, 2025
Masses 6:30am (St. Henry) & 6:00pm (Basilica of St. Stephen)
If Jesus was born on December 25, then he was conceived nine months earlier. And that’s why the Church singles out March 25 as the Solemnity of the Annunciation – the day when Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel. As any mother can tell you, although a child’s birthday is the day that the world gets to see him in person for the first time, her baby was alive in her womb long before he was born! Jesus became incarnate in Mary’s womb at the Annunciation. God became man on March 25, not December 25. Let’s celebrate at Mass! And since the Solemnity falls on a Friday, the feast of a Solemnity is celebrated rather than the abstinence of a Lenten Friday. You can eat meat and celebrate the incarnation of Jesus!
This Sunday is “Lætare” Sunday, which comes from the introductory antiphon of Mass “Laetare Jerusalem” shown above (meaning “O be joyful, Jerusalem”). On this Sunday we are called to have a restrained joyfulness because we’re halfway through the pilgrimage of Lent and getting closer to Holy Week. While we should strengthen our resolutions regarding our penitential sacrifice, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
The rose vestments testify to this special Sunday which also has several other meanings attached to it throughout the centuries. Since the Jews frequently referred to the city of Jerusalem as “Mother Jerusalem” the early Christians began referring to the Church as “Mother Church.” And since Jerusalem was mentioned in the introit, Lætare Sunday began to known as “mothering” Sunday.
Years ago, in remembrance of the “Mother Church,” people often visited the church where they were baptized (their personal mother church) and even made a special effort to visited their own mothers. As Pope Francis recently mentioned, it’s also a reminder to remember our own baptismal date, the day we became a child of Mother Church.
In many ways, Mothering Sunday might be a better day for Catholics to remember their own mother than Mother’s Day, which is a twentieth century innovation without a connection to our faith. So whether you’re in the church where you were baptized or not (mine is St. Francis Xavier), or whether your mother is alive or has passed away, remember that you are a child of Holy Mother Church, which was given to us by Christ as the means of our salvation. But come to think of it, it might not be a bad day to remember your Mom!
This is a widgeted area which is called Home Middle #3. It is using the Genesis - Featured Page widget to display what you see on the Metric child theme demo site. To get started, log into your WordPress dashboard, and then go to the Appearance > Widgets screen. There you can drag the Genesis - Featured Page widget into the Home Middle #3 widget area on the right hand side. To get the image to display, simply upload an image through the media uploader on the edit post screen and publish your page. The Featured Page widget will know to display the post image as long as you select that option in the widget interface.
Copyright © 2025 Good Shepherd Parish · New Orleans WordPress site hosting and maintenance provided by Amaze Media | Privacy Policy