Pope Saint Pius X was an Italian named Giuseppe Sarto, who was born in 1835 near Treviso, Italy. He was the second born of ten children of Giovanni Battista Sarto, the village postman, and Margherita Sanson. He was baptized on June 3, 1835. Though poor, his parents valued education, and Giuseppe walked 4 miles to school each day. As a poor boy, he was often teased for his meager lunches and shabby clothes, but he never complained about this to his teachers. He eventually came to the attention of the parish priest because of his devotion to the Mass as an altar server. In 1850, at the age of 15, he was given a scholarship from Cardinal of Venice (who his parish priest had written) to attend the Seminary of Padua, where he finished his classical, philosophical, and theological studies … [Read more...]
From the Pastor – August 6, 2023
Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother, John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. (Mt. 17:1-2) Most of the Church Fathers saw the Transfiguration as a glimpse of the glory of Christ given to his disciples so that they might be strengthened to witness the scandal of the Cross. And this is certainly true. But three things immediately jump out of the reading. First, is the number of apostles. Not all of the twelve are present – only Peter, James and John, the same three apostles that would accompany Jesus into the Garden of Gethsemane. Even though they were strengthened by their witness to the glory of the Transfiguration, they would still flee at the beginning of … [Read more...]
From the Pastor – July 30, 2023
Jesus said to his disciples: “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. (Mt. 13:44-46) A few years ago, after Katrina, a friend who is in the marine construction business told me a story about a man who owned some property on the Northshore of Lake Pontchartrain. It was basically swamp land that the man used for hunting and fishing. At that usage, the land couldn’t have been worth more than $1000-2000 an acre. And then something happened. A survey found that there was a large vein of clay on the property. With all of the coastal protection projects going on, the need for local clay was enormous. Small amounts of clay are not that expensive, but clay is … [Read more...]
From the Pastor – July 23, 2023
“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants, and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.’” (Mt. 13:32-31a) One of the memorable scenes from the Acts of the Apostles is when the Pharisees are deciding what to do about the Apostles, who seem content to suffer persecution as they courageously preach about the Resurrection of Jesus. One of the Pharisees, named Gamaliel, orders the Apostles out of the Sanhedrin, and makes the following appeal to the members: “Fellow Israelites be careful what you are about to do to these men. Some time ago, Theudas appeared, claiming to be someone important, and about four hundred men joined him, but he was … [Read more...]
From the Pastor – July 16, 2023
Thus says the LORD: Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; my word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it. (IS. 55:10-11) The Gospel for this 15th Sunday in Ordinary time is the parable from Matthew 13 about the field sown with good and bad seed. We might have heard the expression “bad seed” as referring to someone who came from a “bad family.” While it’s true that one’s environment can have a serious effect on our personalities, attitudes and habits, the Church teaches that we are all God’s children. You might also hear … [Read more...]
The Catholic Church Explained
The Catholic Church is the distinctive name of this holy Church which is the mother of us all. She is the bride of our Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God (for Scripture says: Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her). She is the type and she bears the image of the Jerusalem above that is free and is the mother of us all, that Jerusalem which once was barren but now has many children. The first assembly, that is, the assembly of Israel, was rejected, and now in the second, that is, in the Catholic Church, God has appointed first, apostles, second, prophets, third, teachers then workers of miracles, then healers, helpers, administrators and speakers in various tongues, as Paul says; and together with these is found every sort of virtue—wisdom and understanding, … [Read more...]
Kateri Tekakwitha
July 14, 2018 First Native American Saint On Sunday, October 21, 2012 the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI canonized the first Native American Saint, Kateri Tekakwitha. St. Kateri was born in 1656 near Auriesville, New York, the daughter of a Mohawk warrior and a Christian mother. At the age of four, smallpox attacked Tekakwitha's village, taking the lives of her parents and baby brother, and leaving Tekakwitha an orphan. She was adopted by her two aunts and an uncle, and although forever weakened, scarred, and partially blind, Tekakwitha survived. The brightness of the sun blinded her and she would feel her way around as she walked. When Tekakwitha was eighteen, Father de Lamberville, a Jesuit missionary, came to Caughnawaga and established a chapel. Her uncle disliked the … [Read more...]
From the Pastor – July 9, 2023
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” (Mt 11:28-30) “Come to me,” the Lord asks us in today’s Gospel. The word used for “come” in the original Greek is “?????” – pronounced “dyoo-teh.” It’s a command, and it’s directed to the entire group to whom Jesus is speaking. The same word is used by Jesus a number of times in the New Testament, speaking to a past event, a present event and a future event. In the past event, Jesus first used the word: “Come, after me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Mk 1:17). In the future event, Jesus gives us the parable of the talents, and uses the word as … [Read more...]
From the Pastor – July 2, 2023
Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life. (Romans 6:3-4) As we prepare to celebrate Independence Day next week, 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 … [Read more...]
Feast of St. Henry Mass July 15th Vigil Mass
The Vigil Mass on Saturday, July 15 will be celebrated at St. Henry Church to honor one of our patrons on his feast day. Next Saturday at 4:00pm, there will be the annual St. Henry Feast Day Mass at St Henry Church, followed by a small reception at Grits Bar, located at 530 Lyons Street. If you went to St. Henry’s School, attended Mass at St. Henry, are named Henry, been to Henry’s bar, or have ever met anyone named Henry, you are invited! St. Henry (6 May 973 – 13 July 1024) was the fifth and last Holy Roman Emperor of the Ottonian dynasty, from his coronation in Rome in 1014 until his death a decade later. He was crowned King of Germany in 1002 and King of Italy in 1004. He is the only German king to have been canonized. Henry was the son of Henry, Duke of Bavaria. As his father … [Read more...]
