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 – January 19, 2025
“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.
(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
What is Ordinary Time?
The Easter Season officially concluded on the Feast of Pentecost two weeks ago, and and on the following Monday we began “Ordinary Time” anew with the colors of the vestments and altar furnishings returning to green from the violet of Lent and the white of Easter. What’s so “ordinary” about it? Actually, “Ordinary Time” is the English translation of the Latin Tempus Per Annum (“time throughout the year”) and gets its name from the word ordinal, meaning “numbered,” because we begin to count the weeks rather than the seasons. Ordinary Time, depending on the year, runs either 33 or 34 weeks, and makes up the time in the Church calendar that does not fall within the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, or Easter.
The Church celebrates two periods as Ordinary Time. The first period, ran from the end of Christmas until the evening of Mardi Gras when Lent begins, followed by Easter. The second period begins on the Monday after Pentecost and runs until Advent begins again in November. This period includes Christ the King Sunday, the final Sunday of Ordinary Time.
The use of the term “Ordinary Time” was used before the Second Vatican Council, but it was not until after the council that the term was officially used to designate the period between Epiphany and Lent, and the period between Pentecost and Advent. The older names for those seasons were the “Season After Epiphany” and the “Season After Pentecost.”
Ordinary Time celebrates the mystery of the life of Christ in all its aspects, and contains many important liturgical celebrations, including, Trinity Sunday, Corpus Christi, the Assumption of Mary, he Exaltation of the Holy Cross, All Saints, All Souls and Christ the King. In addition, the Church continues to celebrate other feast days of Mary, feasts of many saints, and the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul.
Proclamation of Epiphany Sunday
The Proclamation of the Date of Easter on Epiphany dates from a time when calendars were not readily available. It was necessary to make known the date of Easter in advance, since many celebrations of the year depend on its date.
Although calendars now give the date of Easter and the other feasts in the liturgical year in advance, the Epiphany proclamation still has value as a reminder of the centrality of the Resurrection of the Lord and the importance of the great mysteries of faith that are celebrated each year.
Dear brothers and sisters, the glory of the Lord has shone upon us, and shall ever be manifest among us, until the day of His return. Through the rhythms of times and seasons let us celebrate the mysteries of salvation.
Let us recall the year’s culmination, the Easter Triduum of the Lord: His Last Supper, His Crucifixion, His burial, and His Rising celebrated between the evening of the 14th of April and the evening of the 16th of April, Easter Sunday being the 17th of April.
Each Easter – as on each Sunday – the Holy Church makes present the great and saving deed by which Christ has forever conquered sin and death.
From Easter are reckoned all the days we keep holy. Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, will occur on the 2nd of March.
The Ascension of the Lord will be commemorated on the Sunday, the 29th of May. Or Thursday, the 26th day of May.
Pentecost, the joyful conclusion of the season of Easter, will be celebrated on the 5th of June.
Likewise the pilgrim Church proclaims the Passover of Christ in the feasts of the Holy Mother of God, in the Feasts of the Apostles and Saints, and in the commemoration of the faithful departed.
To Jesus Christ, who was, who is, and who is to come, Lord of time and history, be endless praise, for ever and ever. R. Amen.
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Feast Day January 4
Elizabeth Bayley Seton was the first native born American to be canonized by the Catholic Church. Born two years before the American Revolution, Elizabeth grew up immersed in New York society. In spite of her high society background, Elizabeth’s early life was quiet, simple, and often lonely. As she grew a little older, the Bible was to become her continual instruction, support and comfort; she would continue to love the Scriptures for the rest of her life.
In 1794, Elizabeth married the wealthy young William Seton, with whom she was deeply in love. The first years of their marriage were happy and prosperous. Within four years, Will’s father died, leaving the young couple in charge of Will’s seven half brothers and sisters, as well as the family’s importing business. Unfortunately, Will’s business and his health failed. In an attempt to save his life, the Setons sailed for Italy, hoping that the air would be better for his tuberculosis. Unfortunately, he died there.
In Italy, Elizabeth captivated everyone by her own kindness, patience, good sense, wit and courtesy. During this time Elizabeth became interested in the Catholic Faith, and over a period of months, her Italian friends guided her in Catholic instructions. Elizabeth’s desire for the Bread of Life in the Eucharist was to be the strongest force leading her to reunion with the Catholic Church. A strong devotee to the Blessed Mother, Elizabeth joined the Church in 1805.
When Elizabeth returned to the United States, she started a school in Baltimore, MD, and began plans for a Sisterhood. She and her original sisters established the first free Catholic school in America. When the young community adopted their rule, they made provisions for Elizabeth to continue raising her children. On March 25, 1809, Elizabeth Seton pronounced her vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. From that time she was called Mother Seton.
Although Mother Seton was afflicted with tuberculosis, she continued to guide her children. The Rule of the Sisterhood was formally ratified in 1812 and was based upon the Rule St. Vincent de Paul had written for his Daughters of Charity in France. By 1818, the sisters had established two orphanages and another school.
For the last three years of her life, Elizabeth felt that God was getting ready to call her, and this gave her joy. Mother Seton died in 1821 at the age of 46, only sixteen years after becoming a Catholic. She was canonized on September 14, 1975.
Because of the longstanding presence of the Daughters of Charity at St. Stephen, we are blessed to have a relic of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton at the back of our church.
Twelve Days of Christmas
I always loved Christmas when I was growing up. It wasn’t just the gifts, the lights, the holly or the music. It was the magical feeling of awaiting the Birth of Christ. In our house, we always had a creche scene, an Advent calendar and a Christmas tree with a star on top. But every year, December 26th seemed like such a let-down! Sure, we still had the tree and decorations, but the excitement, the sense of joy, and the feasting gave way to empty wrapping paper and leftovers.
One problem is that Christmas has become an isolated feast day, excised from its place in the liturgical year, especially Advent, Epiphany, and the Baptism of Our Lord. Just as we often ignore the hopeful and quietly expectant mood of Advent, we also forget about the feasting and joy of the full Christmas season. But if we pay attention to those “Twelve Days of Christmas” falling between December 25 and Epiphany on January 6 (even though we celebrate Epiphany on January 3 this year!) we can continue to sing the carols, read the Scriptures and experience the joy of the birth of our Lord for the whole season! Instead of one isolated Christmas day, the joy and festive spirit of Christmas can permeate the entire “Twelve Days of Christmas!” That’s the story behind the traditional song and the daily gifts!
During the Twelve Days of Christmas and Christmastide the Church also celebrates other major holy days including those of our patron St. Stephen, St. John the Evangelist, the Holy Innocents, and the Holy Family. St. Stephen and the Innocents were martyred for the faith, and St. John suffered. The Holy Family was driven from their homeland into Egypt. The Church places these feasts in the midst of the season of Christmas to remind us that the mystery of the Incarnation is more than just the Lord’s Birth: it is also about His suffering and death! As followers of Christ, our celebration of Christmas is more than just trees and presents. It’s about our obligation to lead radical Christian lives that say that we would be willing – like St. Stephen and the Holy Innocents – to give up our lives for Christ!
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