Signing with Courage - Charles Carroll of Carrollton The legal separation of the American colonies from Great Britain occurred on July 2, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence that had been proposed in June by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia. After voting for independence, Congress turned its attention to the Declaration of Independence, a statement explaining this decision, which had been prepared by a committee with Thomas Jefferson as its principal author. Congress debated and revised the Declaration, finally approving it on July 4. A day earlier, John Adams had written to his wife Abigail: The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by … [Read more...]
Happy Father’s Day
God our Father, We give you thanks and praise for fathers young and old. We pray for young fathers, newly embracing their vocation; May they find courage and perseverance to balance work, family and faith in joy and sacrifice. We pray for our own Fathers around the world whose children are lost or suffering; May they know that the God of compassion walks with them in their sorrow. We pray for men who are not fathers but still mentor and guide us with fatherly love and advice. We remember fathers, grandfather, and great grandfathers who are no longer with us but who live forever in our memory and nourish us with their love. Amen … [Read more...]
From the Pastor – June 16, 2024
“To what shall we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it? It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.” (Mk 4:30-32) The people listening to the parables of Jesus didn’t always understand the meanings of His parables, but they surely understood agriculture. A farmer can work as hard as he wants, but he can’t “make” a seed grow into a plant. All the farmer can do is create the best environment for growth by planting in good soil and watering. In the end of the day God causes the growth to occur. So when Jesus is describing the Kingdom of God, … [Read more...]
Divorced People Are Not “Outside” the Church
[What follows is a clarification from the Holy Father. Pope-Emeritus Benedict XVI, that you might consider handing along to any of your Catholic friends who are divorced and remarried] We sometimes hear from our friends who are divorced and remarried: “I’m excommunicated.” That’s not true at all. During the World Meeting of Families held in 2012 in Milan, a Brazilian family raised the issue of divorced couples who have remarried and cannot avail themselves of the Sacraments. Pope Benedict XVI affirmed that “this is one of the great causes of suffering for the Church today, and we do not have simple solutions. Naturally, one very important factor is prevention. This means ensuring that, from the beginning, the act of falling in love is transformed in a more profound and mature … [Read more...]
Msgr. Nalty’s Pilgrimage in Paris at St Etienne du Mont Church
The Saint-Étienne-du-Mont Church is a Gothic sanctuary located at Place Sainte-Geneviève next to the Panthéon in the 5th arrondissement. Built between 1492 and 1626, the sanctuary was intended to accommodate the growth of the neighboring abbey of St. Geneviève and the parish of St. Étienne. The impressive façade is made up of three superimposed Renaissance pediments flanked by the soaring belfry from the 16th century. In particular the rood screen (jubé, probably by Pierre Beaucorps in 1530) crossing the nave like a bridge with spiral staircases on either side is an unique feature of the church, being the only rood screen which survived in Paris. Most of the church’s stained-glass windows date between the 16th and 17th centuries and those from the ambulatory and chancel are of … [Read more...]
Ministry to the Poor at the Rebuild Center
Many of you know that our parish, largely through our St. Anthony Poor Box, feeds the poor at the Rebuild Center on almost every Thursday of the month. The meals are cooked at Our Lady of Good Counsel rectory, and then volunteers serve the food at the Rebuild Center. The list below shows how many people we have fed a nutritious meal since the beginning of this year, nearly 3000! Thanks for all you do to feed the poor through your donations to the St. Anthony Poor Box! If you would like to assist directly in cooking and feeding the poor, please call the parish office, or email Eddie Connick at edwinconnick@gmail.com. … [Read more...]
From the Pastor – June 9, 2024
Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables, “How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand; that is the end of him.” Mk 3:23-26) Today’s Gospel tells us that the devil is not divided. In the earlier part of Mark’s third chapter, Jesus had been curing people and performing exorcisms, and He had incurred the wrath of the Pharisees by curing the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath. Mark specifically tells us that “[t]he Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel with the Herodians against him to put him to death.” So several of Jesus’ relatives came to … [Read more...]
Religious Liberty is the Foundation of the United States of America
Below is an example of how the Founding Fathers understood the issue of “religious liberty” in our country from the beginning. It is a letter written by then-president Thomas Jefferson in response to a letter from the sisters of the Ursuline Convent, New Orleans, Louisiana, after the French colony of Louisiana was transferred to the jurisdiction of the United States of America via the Louisiana Purchase. The sisters were concerned about how the United States would regard their religious freedom. * * * * Washington May 15, 1804 To the Soeur Terese de St. Xavier Farjon, Superior, and the Nuns of the Order of St. Ursula at New Orleans. I have received, holy sisters, the letter you have written me wherein you express anxiety for the property vested in your … [Read more...]
How Should I Dress for Mass?
by Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond Summer is here, which in New Orleans usually means dressing down even more casually than we do at other times of year. I know the issue of church attire is a sensitive one – especially in an area where it's hot nine months out of the year. What's your perspective on how people should dress for Mass? I have a variety of feelings about this. There’s a part of me that remains grateful to God that a person is in church, regardless of how he or she is dressed. I certainly realize there are individual circumstances where a person may have other responsibilities and is not able to dress in what we might consider an appropriate manner, so I want to be sensitive to that. At the same time, the church is a sacred place – truly holy ground. It is a consecrated … [Read more...]
Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Friday, June 7, 2024 Margaret Alacoque was born in Burgundy, France on 22 July, 1647. From her early childhood Margaret showed intense love for the Blessed Sacrament, and preferred silence and prayer to childish amusements. During her time before the Blessed Sacrament, Christ even made Himself visually apparent to her. This did not surprise her, because she thought others had the same Divine assistance! Although tempted by the luxuries and distractions of the world, Margaret Mary entered the Visitation Convent in 1572, where her visions became known. Because of her perceived “special status,” she was subjected to many trials to prove her vocation. She showed obedience, humility, and invariable charity towards those who persecuted her. Margaret Mary was inspired by Christ to … [Read more...]
