December 29 Consecration to the Holy Family O Jesus, our most loving Redeemer, who having come to enlighten the world with Thy teaching and example, didst will to pass the greater part of Thy life in humility and subjection to Mary and Joseph in the poor home of Nazareth, thus sanctifying the Family that was to be an example for all Christian families, graciously receive our family as it dedicates and consecrates itself to Thee this day. Do Thou protect us, guard us and establish amongst us Thy holy fear, true peace and concord in Christian love: in order that by living according to the divine pattern of Thy family we may be able, all of us without exception, to attain to eternal happiness. Mary, dear Mother of Jesus and Mother of us, by the kindly intercession make this our humble … [Read more...]

Holy Day of Obligation Saturday, December 8 (4:00pm Vigil December 7 and 10:30am on December 8  in St. Stephen Church)An interesting icon representing Jesus on the lap of the Virgin Mary who is herself on the lap of St. Anne, the mother of Mary.The dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854:  The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin (Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus, 1854: DS 2803).This doctrine was revealed through the Scriptures (Mary was “the absolute fullness of grace”) and the long Sacred Tradition of the Church.  But it was finally … [Read more...]

The Advent wreath is a set of four candles which are lit each Sunday of the Advent Season. Three of the candles are violet-colored, and one is rose-colored. The violet candles symbolize faithful expectation, and the rose candle symbolizes joy and hope. These colors mirror the colors of the priest's vestments used during the Sundays of Advent. In earlier times, the season of Advent had stronger penitential and ascetic aspects, and a relaxation of disciplines was offered on the third Sunday of Advent, called Gaudete Sunday, from the Latin for "rejoice", the first words of the Introit. This turn is reflected in the shift from violet to rose. One violet candle is lit on the first evening of Advent (a Sunday). On successive Sundays, the second violet candle is added, then the rose candle on … [Read more...]

 Traditionally, the Church dedicates each month of the year to a certain devotion. In November, we remember the Holy Souls in Purgatory – faithful Christians who have died and gone before us but who still must atone for their sins. The time they spend in Purgatory cleanses them so that they may enter Heaven free from all effects of sin.Praying for the dead, especially for those we have known, is a requirement of Christian charity. Our own prayers and sacrifices can be offered up to relieve their suffering.  The following prayer, among others, can be incorporated into our daily prayers during this month: Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.A … [Read more...]

Want to help mark the beginning of the end of abortion in New Orleans?The 40 Days for Life New Orleans campaign is Sept. 26 through Nov. 4 at Women’s Health Care Center, 2701 General Pershing St., New Orleans. This is a new location for 40 Days for Life. For more information on the campaign, contact campaign director Shanon Snyder at snyder@prolifelouisiana.org or 504.835.6520. … [Read more...]

The Archdiocese of New Orleans Retreat Center in Metairie will hold a Men's Retreat on October 19- 21, 2018, with Fr. Joe Kraft presenting on the theme, "Man Up! Living Our Call to Discipleship and Holiness." This is the only retreat currently scheduled there for men, as the retreat center's weekend group retreats are open to women during most of the year. For more information, call Lou Piazza at 504-628-6593. … [Read more...]

Msgr. Nalty with Mother Teresa in in 1996.Sometimes I tell stories in my homilies about the summer that I spent working in Calcutta with the Missionaries of Charity. Saint Teresa of Calcutta used to have a little card that she gave to people she met. She called it her “business card.” I’ve reproduced one she gave to me after I worked in Calcutta one summer:It’s nice having her autograph, but that’s not the point. The point is how she connects silence to prayer to faith to love to service to peace. We all want peace. Mother Teresa provided me that recipe. … [Read more...]

Feast Day September 5On 10 September 1946, on a train journey from Calcutta to Darjeeling, Mother Teresa received what she termed the “call within a call,” which was to give rise to the Missionaries of Charity family: “to quench the infinite thirst of Jesus on the cross for love and souls” by “laboring at the salvation and sanctification of the poorest of the poor.” On October 7, 1950, the new congregation of the Missionaries of Charity was officially erected as a religious institute for the Archdiocese of Calcutta.Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, Mother Teresa expanded the work of the Missionaries of Charity both within Calcutta and throughout India. From the late 1960s until 1980, the Missionaries of Charity expanded across the globe and in their number of members. Mother … [Read more...]

OCTOBER 1, 2018The Saint Thomas More Catholic Lawyers Association, in conjunction with the Catholic Bishops of the State of Louisiana, announce the celebration of the 66th Annual Red Mass, invoking the Holy Spirit upon the bench and bar of the State, on Monday, October 1, 2018 at 9:30 AM at St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans. The Most Reverend Gregory M. Aymond, Archbishop of New Orleans, will be the principal celebrant. Reverend Paul Scalia, a priest of the Diocese of Arlington and son of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, will be the homilist. Members of the bench and bar of the State, as well as the public, are invited to attend. … [Read more...]

“In the celebration of Mass the faithful form a holy people, a people whom God has made his own, a royal priesthood, so that they may give thanks to God and offer the spotless Victim not only through the hands of the priest but also together with him, and so that they may learn to offer themselves.”  This is the basis for the “full conscious and active participation” of the faithful demanded by the very nature of the Liturgy.  Because the gathered liturgical assembly forms one body, each of its members must shun “any appearance of individualism or division, keeping before their eyes that they have only one Father in heaven and accordingly are all brothers and sisters to each other.”  Singing is one of the primary ways that the assembly of the faithful participates actively in the Liturgy. … [Read more...]