Monday, June 29, is the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul. And it is an important day for the Church Universal as well as for our new Metropolitan Archbishop, the Most Reverend Gregory Aymond.  On that date he will be at the Basilica of St. Peter at the Vatican to receive a very special vestment from His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI.  The vestment is called a “pallium,” (plural is “pallia”) and it is a narrow band of cloth woven of white lamb's wool with a ring in the center which rests on the shoulders of its wearer.  The narrow band falls down the front of the chest like a necktie and goes similarly down the back. It is decorated with six black crosses, one on each tail and four on the loop. The pallium has its origin as a liturgical vestment of the Holy Father since at least the … [Read more...]

Next Saturday, May 30, we are seeking volunteers to begin with the work of repairing and restoring our beautiful church. We will meet at the Rectory Chapel (back door) for Mass at 8:30am, and we will go to work after a brief breakfast.  The first order of business will be organizing building materials underneath the church. So bring clothes that can get dirty and a pair of work gloves. The day will end with a late lunch. Please call or email the parish office if you can attend so that we know how much food to order! … [Read more...]

Over the past week, a scandal has ripped through the heart of Spanish-speaking Catholicism and spilled over into the national network morning television programs. At the center of it is Fr. Alberto Cutié, a telegenic 40 year-old priest of the Archdiocese of Miami, who, though largely unknown to most English-speaking Catholics, has for a decade been the country's most well-known Spanish-speaking cleric. He has been dubbed “Padre Oprah” for his work as a host of television talk shows on Telemundo, weekly programs on EWTN Español, call-in shows on Radio Paz and Radio Peace, syndicated advice columns in Latin America newspapers, and best-selling Spanish self-help books. Last week, Father Alberto's parish and priestly apostolates were thrown into chaos as 25 paparazzi photographs of him … [Read more...]

The date for the mounting of the Cross on the top of our steeple is the weekend of November 21-22, which is the Solemnity of Christ the King.  To celebrate this occasion, the Most Reverend Gregory Aymond, the Archbishop of New Orleans will celebrate the 10:30 am Mass on Sunday, November 22! The last day to become a Spirit Giver by donating $1000 to pay for the fabrication and mounting of our new steeple cross is Tuesday, October 27.  All names need to be in by that date so they can be engraved on the base of the cross.   … [Read more...]

This week is the Fourth Sunday in Easter, and it is traditionally known as “Good Shepherd Sunday” because of the Gospel reading today in which Jesus describes Himself as the Good Shepherd. We're all familiar with the images: Jesus standing, staff in hand, with the lamb across his shoulders. Or perhaps we think of Jesus sitting under a tree – a little lamb on his lap. These are beautiful images, but they are incomplete.   For thousands of years, the Jewish people have used the Good Shepherd image to refer to God. It goes back to Genesis 49:24, where Joseph was saved “By the power of the mighty one of Jacob, by the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, the God of your father...” Such imagery was used by Moses and most of the prophets. And it was used most familiarly by David in the 23rd Psalm: … [Read more...]

Our Lady of Good Counsel is a title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary after a miraculous painting found in the Augustinian church at Genazzano, Italy. According to tradition, during festivities for the Feast of St Mark in 1467, the townspeople suddenly heard “exquisite music.” A mysterious cloud then descended and obliterated an unfinished wall of the parish church. The cloud dissipated before the people, and a beautiful fresco of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Christ Child was revealed. The image received its papal coronation on November 17, 1682 from Pope Innocent XI. A report written five days later describes the image as touching the wall only at the upper edge and unsupported by other means. Eyewitnesses testify to extraordinary phenomena regarding changing features of the image. … [Read more...]

Next weekend, we will have our parish “ministry fair.” The purpose of this fair is to present many of the activities and organizations of Good Shepherd Parish, and to encourage participation in them. Lectors, Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, Altar Society, St. Vincent de Paul Society, Altar Servers, Legion of Mary, Ladies of Charity, and others will be represented, so mark your calendars, and consider how you might serve our parish! … [Read more...]

Easter Sunday is the day of the “Alleluia!”Â  After forty days of Lenten sacrifice and fasting, we finally arrive at the most important day of our liturgical year, and the only word we have to express our inner joy is “Alleluia!!”Â In the old Greek version of the Book of Tobias, in the Septuagint Greek translation of the Hebrew psalter, and in the original Greek of the Apocalypse we hear about this most holy word. It is part of the earliest Christian liturgies of which we have record.   It is a word composed of the divinely acclaiming verbal form Allelu and the divine pronoun term Ya (for YHWH or Yahweh).  So, preserving its radical sense and sound, and even the mystical suggestiveness of its construction, it may be literally rendered, “All hail to Him Who is!”--taking “All Hail” as … [Read more...]

It was a common custom in many lands of the ancient Middle East to cover in some way the path of someone thought worthy of the highest honor. In 2 Kings 9:13 Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat, was treated to this honor. Each of the four Gospels report that the people of Jerusalem gave Jesus the honor of walking on a covered path. However, in the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) we hear that the people lay their garments and cut rushes to place on the street. Only the Gospel of John specifically mentions palm fronds. So what is the significance of the palm? The palm branch was a symbol of triumph and of victory in Jewish tradition, and is treated as such in other parts of the Bible (e.g. Leviticus 23:40 and Revelation 7:9). Based on this significance, the scene of the crowd greeting Jesus … [Read more...]

“Lamb of God” is one of the titles given to Jesus in the New Testament by John the Baptist. It refers to Jesus' role as a sacrificial lamb atoning for the sins of man, harkening back to ancient Jewish Temple sacrifices in which a lamb was slain during the passover (the "Paschal Lamb”), the blood was sprinkled on the altar, and the whole of the lamb was eaten. As we prepare for Holy Week, we're called to reflect upon Christ as Lamb of God.  The link between the Paschal Lamb and Christ is made explicit in 1 Corinthians 5:7. For Paul, Christians are saved by Christ as their true paschal lamb. The Old Testament also testifies to the earlier practice of sin offerings as a possible means of atonement. Lambs could be used in these offerings (e.g. Leviticus 4:32-34 and 5:6), and this link is … [Read more...]