1. Parents are expected to be the first and best teachers of their children in the ways of faith. Unfortunately, many parents have forgotten the basic teachings of the faith. Thus, it makes it difficult to teach the children. Spending time at the table discussing these teachings enables both parents and children to learn. It will also provide a forum to understand what your children understand regarding faith. 2. List some of the basic teachings of the faith, such as: a. The Liturgical Year is broken up into Seasons of the year much like our regular calendar. Our Church year begins with Advent (Color is Purple). Christmas Season follows Advent. The color is White. Green is the Color for Ordinary Time which follows Christmas. This leads to Lent, Purple color. Lent melts into Easter … [Read more...]

St. Stephen Catholic School had its first day of classes on Tuesday, August 14, and we had our first weekly school Mass the next day on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary at 9:00 am. I wish each parishioner could come to at least one school Mass (which is normally at 8:30 am on Friday) during the year to see what well-behaved, enthusiastic and attentive students we have at St. Stephen’s. Unfortunately, many of the families that attend St. Stephen Catholic School do not live in the parish and, therefore, attend Mass at their home parish. However, you do know some of our students (and former students) who participate as altar servers at our Saturday 4:00pm Vigil and Sunday 10:30am Mass. Those young men are representative of the quality of the students that we … [Read more...]

Tell a family you know that you appreciate something specific about them, e.g., the way they listen to each other, respect each other, help others, etc. Pray for all families who are hurting because of lack of communication and misunderstanding within the family. Ask someone you see today to share one special experience of his/her family as that person was growing up. Decide one thing you can do to help one person in your own family today. Set definite dates and times to do one of those no-cost family activities each week or month. Encourage someone you know to share one reason it is fun to be a member of his/her family. Remind one person you meet today that she/he is a special gift from God to family and friends. Give someone in your family five extra minutes of your TOTAL … [Read more...]

The following Catehcumens and Candidates entered the Catholic Church at this year's Easter Vigil! Beau AdmireCharles BakerShon BakerJoel DondisRonald DavisMichael GillDevin ReidPatrick SchreiberAnne VanDevenderKaren Wu … [Read more...]

OPENINGS STILL AVAILABLE SUMMER SERVICE OPPORTUNITY FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of New Orleans, and the Office of Religious Education are offering a summer service camp, Students Engaging in Reflective Volunteer Experiences, SERVE. The camp is an opportunity for high school students to give back to the community and achieve the service hours required by many parochial high schools. Sessions run for five weeks with 40-hour sessions, a 20-hour session or 12-hour sessions. SERVE sites include a day camp, food bank, homeless shelter and Head Starts. SERVE is offered on both the Northshore and the Southshore. Students must be incoming freshman. Registration is non- refundable – $30.00 for SERVE and $15 for Mini-SERVE. Registration is open now until full.Limited … [Read more...]

The Sacred Heart is one of the most famous religious devotions in the Church. The devotion is to Jesus' physical heart as the representation of His divine love for Humanity. It is closely associated with Acts of Reparation to Christ. In the encyclical Miserentissimus Redemptor, Pope Pius XI stated: “the spirit of expiation or reparation has always had the first and foremost place in the worship given to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.” The Sacred Heart is often depicted in Christian art as a flaming heart shining with divine light, pierced by the lance-wound, surrounded by a crown of thorns, surmounted by a cross and bleeding. Sometimes the image is over Jesus' body with his wounded hands pointing at the heart. The wounds and crown of thorns allude to the manner of Jesus' death, while … [Read more...]

A final Permanent Diaconate Inquiry “Information Night” session will be held for those men interested in exploring a possible vocation to the ministry of service as a deacon and who were unable to attend the previous sessions. The session will be held on Tuesday, June 18, 2013 6:30p.m. – 9:00p.m at Infant Jesus of Prague/Diaconate Center 700 Maple Street, Harvey, LA. This will be the last opportunity for participation before the discernment process begins. … [Read more...]

The CYO/Youth & Young Adult Ministry Office of the Archdiocese of New Orleans and Camp Abbey Retreat Center, which was renovated during 2011, hosts a summer camp program in June and July. Summer at Camp Abbey brings together some of the best traditions of the former Benedictine/Knights of Columbus-sponsored summer camp and new enhancements to the activities and Catholic spirituality of the program. Summer at Camp Abbey will offer three one-week camp sessions for boys from June 9-29, 2013, and three one-week camp sessions for girls from July 7-27, 2013. Eligible campers are those young people completing 2nd through 8th grades in May 2013. … [Read more...]

Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, an affiliate of Planned Parenthood (PP), the largest abortion business in the nation, plans to open a 7,000 square foot facility on Claiborne Ave in 2014. This multimillion-dollar “New Orleans Health Center” will become a regional abortion center in the heart of New Orleans, leading to an increase in abortions in New Orleans. PP consistently shows a trend of driving women to choose abortion instead of options that are less financially beneficial for PP, such as adoption or prenatal care. PP is the nation's largest abortion business, performing approximately 1/3 of U.S. abortions (PP performed 333,964 abortions in 2011, more than the population of Orleans Parish). PP abortion numbers have continued to increase, as national abortion rates have … [Read more...]

The Catholic Foundation is seeking nominations for the Pope John Paul II Award. The award is presented annually to an outstanding Catholic layperson(s) or permanent deacon who resides in the Archdiocese of New Orleans and who exhibits inspirational examples of Christian stewardship. This year's award will be presented at The Catholic Foundation's Annual Dinner held at the Hilton Riverside on Tuesday, November 19, 2013. Award nominees should be a practicing Roman Catholic with an outstanding record of volunteer service in the Catholic Community, high moral character, volunteer board memberships and exemplary values. A nomination form is available on The Catholic Foundation website (www.archdiocese-no.org/catholicfoundation). Nominations should be no longer than three pages in length. All … [Read more...]