It will be obvious when you come to St. Stephen Church on Saturday or Sunday that we were hard hit by Hurricane Ida.  We lost the entirety of the roof to our school gym as well as much of the copper covering our gorgeous steeple. We are already in the process of mitigating our damages and repairing things so that we can get our children back in school.  The steeple might take a little longer to evaluate.  Notwithstanding the forgoing, we have maintained our Mass schedule since the hurricane hit, although we had to move it around over the last two weeks.  But beginning Monday, September 13, we will resume our normal Mass schedule at St. Stephen and St. Henry Churches. Due to the storm and the numbers of people who evacuated, we are pushing the start of our fall adult education and our … [Read more...]

The desire to love and be loved is the deepest need of our being.  We long to be known, accepted, and cherished by another. Yet, the ability to fully give or receive this love is unattainable on our own. As Catholics we believe Jesus Christ has entered our broken world to conquer sin and restore us to new life. Throughout every age he continues to invite all women and men to follow him through his Church, to whom he has entrusted his teaching authority, so that all can know and follow him. Only God can give us the unconditional love and acceptance that we desire. Yet, he has created marriage, a holy union, to mirror this supreme love on earth. At the heart of their married love is the total gift of self that husband and wife freely offer to each other. Because of their sexual … [Read more...]

Mary was called “Magdalen” because she was either from Magdala near Tiberias (on the west shore of Galilee) or possibly from a Talmudic expression meaning “curly women's hair,” which means an adulteress. In the New Testament Mary is mentioned among the women who accompanied Christ and ministered to Him (Luke 8:2-3), where it is also said that seven devils had been cast out of her (Mark 16:9). She is next named as standing at the foot of the cross (Mark 15:40; Matthew 27:56; John 19:25; Luke 23:49). She saw Christ laid in the tomb, and she was the first recorded witness of the Resurrection. The Greek Fathers, as a whole, distinguish the “sinner” of Luke 7:36-50; Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, and Mary Magdalen. On the other hand most of the Latin Fathers hold that these three … [Read more...]

Religious liberty is the first liberty granted to us by God and protected in the First Amendment to our Constitution. It includes more than our ability to go to Mass on Sunday or pray the Rosary at home. It also encompasses our ability to contribute freely to the common good of all Americans. Prayer for the Protection of Religious Libery Almighty God, Father of all nations, for freedom you have set us free in Christ Jesus (Gal 5:1). We praise and bless you for the gift of religious liberty,  the foundation of human rights, justice and the common good. Grant to our leaders the wisdom to protect  and promote our liberties. By your grace may we have the courage to defend them,  for ourselves and for all those who live in this blessed land. We ask this through the intercession of Mary … [Read more...]

A special Eucharistic Miracles Morning of Reflection, sponsored by the Catholic Women in Action Committee of the Catholic Community Foundation, will be held on Tuesday, June 8, 2021 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 A.M. at St. Stephen Church on Napoleon Avenue in New Orleans. Rev. Jeffrey A. Montz, Director of Spiritual Formation and Professor of Theology at Notre Dame Seminary, will celebrate Mass and offer a reflection. Displays of 30 or more of Eucharistic miracles will next be available for viewing. In-person seating for the event is limited and reservations are required. For more information and to R.S.V.P., please contact Kathi Zimmerman at 504.527.5794 or kzimmerman@ccfnola.org. Eucharistic Miracles Exhibit A special Eucharistic Miracles Exhibit will be in St. Stephen Church June 5 - 13, … [Read more...]

In 1914 the U.S. Congress passed a Joint Resolution, and President Woodrow Wilson signed it, establishing “Mother’s Day” to emphasize a women’s role in the family. One thing important to note is that the apostrophe in “Mother’s Day” is in between the “r” and the “s,” indicating the original meaning of the day, which is to honor one’s own Mother, rather than Mothers in general. We are bound by our love and through God’s command to honor our own mother, but we have to always remember that we have another mother in Heaven.  When Jesus became a human being, He also became our brother.  And as He hung on the cross He gave us his Most Holy Mother to be our mother:  “When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son.”  Then he said … [Read more...]

On Saturday, May 22, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. at the St. Louis Cathedral, Archbishop Aymond will ordain Lennin Arroyo, Joseph DiMaggio III, Jeffrey Merritt and Andy Gonzalez to the Transitional Diaconate for the Archdiocese of New Orleans and Joseph Odongo for the Archdiocese of Tororo. On Saturday, June 5, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. at the St. Louis Cathedral, Archbishop Aymond will ordain Daniel Dashner, Ajani Gibson, Michael Lamy, Truong Pham and Andrew Sanchez for the Archdiocese of New Orleans and Thomas Bamoah for the Diocese of Yendi. … [Read more...]

Please take a baby bottle after Mass on April 10/11, 2021 and return it the following weekend with a donation to support this life-affirming ministry or give online at womansnewlife.com/babybottle … [Read more...]

Thanks to those who decorated and provided the decorations for the St. Joseph Altar.  And thanks to those who attended! … [Read more...]

An article in the Times-Picayune several years ago woke me up a bit.  It said that out of all religious groups in America, the group that gave the smallest percentage of their income to their church were Catholics.  While Mormons generally give the Biblical 10% we call “tithing,” and while the average churchgoer in the United States gives 2.4 %, Catholics give the lowest percentage of every other religion. And I don’t write this because we still haven’t completely funded our Restoration (but we haven’t!) or because we need more money to operate (but we do!), but let me tell you the real reason: giving to charity shows a great reliance on God, and God rewards a cheerful giver.  Ever since I began “tithing,” God has given me more blessings than I can imagine.  And as He gives me more, I … [Read more...]