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From the Pastor – July 19, 2026

“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants, and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.’” (Mt. 13:32-31a)

One of the memorable scenes from the Acts of the Apostles is when the Pharisees are deciding what to do about the Apostles, who seem content to suffer persecution as they courageously preach about the Resurrection of Jesus. One of the Pharisees, named Gamaliel, orders the Apostles out of the Sanhedrin, and makes the following appeal to the members:

“Fellow Israelites be careful what you are about to do to these men. Some time ago, Theudas appeared, claiming to be someone important, and about four hundred men joined him, but he was killed, and all those who were loyal to him were disbanded and came to nothing. After him came Judas the Galilean at the time of the census. He also drew people after him, but he too perished and all who were loyal to him were scattered. So now I tell you, have nothing to do with these men, and let them go. For if this endeavor or this activity is of human origin, it will destroy itself.” (5:35-39)

Now we can’t cite Gamaliel for “tolerance” in Jewish doctrine. He was a strict Jewish teacher. On one hand, he might be afraid of making the Apostles martyrs for their cause. Or he could have been afraid of the crowds and reasoned that the whole “Jesus business” would burn itself out. On the other hand, there is some evidence that Gamaliel might have been a “closet Christian” himself, especially in the writings of Clement, Josephus and St. Augustine.

Perhaps Gamaliel had actually heard today’s Gospel being preached. Perhaps he actually understood the parable of the mustard seed. Many of the Church Fathers compare the mustard seed to the Gospel, but several, including St. Hillary and St. Gregory the Great, compare the mustard seed to Christ Himself. Remember that the body of Christ was buried, like a seed. But what happened is that the buried body yielded the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ that grew and spread throughout the whole world.

And what about those “birds of the sky” that “dwell in the branches”? Here Jesus is quoting from the Book of Daniel, where the birds of the sky are the members of the Kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar. So, if the mustard plant is the Body of Christ, then we are the “birds of the sky” that are called to “dwell in the branches” of the Body of Christ, the always growing Catholic Church.

We should remember our status as faithful Christians. We don’t just meet in a building on Napoleon Avenue (and General Pershing and Louisiana Avenue!), we’re part of the Catholic Church, with “branches” that spread throughout the world. If (God willing!) you are able to take a vacation out of town this summer, don’t forget to visit another branch!

(Very Rev. Msgr.) Christopher H. Nalty
msgr.nalty@gmail.com

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Masses

St. Stephen
Saturday Vigil at 4:00 pm
Sunday at 8:00 am and 10:30 am
Sunday at 5:00 pm at OLGC

 Our Lady of Good Counsel (OLGC)
Center of Jesus the Lord
Charismatic Mass
Sunday at 10 am

 Weekdays Masses
Monday – Friday 6:30 am  St. Henry
Tuesdays 6:00 pm  St. Stephen
First Fridays 6:00 pm Latin Mass

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament 
Tuesdays 4:45 – 5:45pm St. Stephen
Thursdays 7:00 – 8:00am St. Henry

Learn More about Adoration

Confession Times at Good Shepherd
Saturdays  3:00 –  3:45pm  St. Stephen
Sundays 9:30 – 10:15am  St. Stephen
Sundays 10:00 – 10:30am   OLGC
First Fridays 6:30 – 7:00pm   OLGC

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Christmas in July!

The St. Vincent de Paul Society needs your help. During the hot summer months, we have many asking for help with their utility bills. A Christmas Giving Tree has been set up next to the St. Anthony Statue. All you have to do is pick an envelope and place in a donation. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul will do the rest!  God bless you!

Ignatian Volunteer Corps

ENRICH YOUR RETIREMENT – ENRICH THE LIVES OF OTHERS

Are you retired or finished raising your family?  Do you want to give back, enrich your spiritual life and build community with other mature adults?  Then consider joining the Ignatian Volunteer Corps (IVC) here in New Orleans.  At IVC we believe the life experience, wisdom, and skills of 50+ women and men, rooted in Gospel values, can bring justice, and transform the world. For more details, visit our website at ivcusa.org/ivc-offices/welcome-to-ivc-new-orleans, or contact Becky Goff (Regional Director) at bgoff@ivcusa.org.

Feast of St. Henry Mass July 11th Vigil Mass

Saturday, July 11, 2026
THE VIGIL MASS IS MOVED TO ST. HENRY CHURCH!

Next Saturday at 4:00pm, there will be the annual St. Henry Feast Day Mass at St Henry Church, followed by a small reception at Grits Bar, located at 530 Lyons Street. If you went to St. Henry’s School, attended Mass at St. Henry, are named Henry, been to Henry’s bar, or have ever met anyone named Henry, you are invited!

St. Henry (6 May 973 – 13 July 1024) was the fifth and last Holy Roman Emperor of the Ottonian dynasty, from his coronation in Rome in 1014 until his death a decade later. He was crowned King of Germany in 1002 and King of Italy in 1004. He is the only German king to have been canonized.

Henry was the son of Henry, Duke of Bavaria. As his father was in rebellion against two previous emperors, he was often in exile. This led the younger Henry to turn to the Church at an early age, first finding refuge with the Bishop of Freising, and later being educated at the cathedral school of Hildesheim. He succeeded his father as Duke of Bavaria in 995 as Henry IV.

Henry’s most significant contributions as emperor came in the realm of church-state relations and ecclesiastic administration within the Empire. He supported the bishops against the monastic clergy and aided them in establishing their temporal rule over broad territories. He strongly enforced clerical celibacy in order that the public land and offices he granted the church would not be passed on to heirs. This ensured that the bishops remained loyal to him, from whom they received their power, and provided a powerful bulwark against rebellious nobles and ambitious family members. Henry founded the Diocese of Bamberg, which quickly became a center of scholarship and art.

Henry had been working with the pope to call a Church Council to confirm his new system of politico-ecclesiastical control when he died suddenly in 1024, leaving this work unfinished. Henry was canonized in July, 1147 by Pope Clement II; and his wife, Cunigunde, was canonized in the year 1200, by Pope Innocent III. His relics were carried on campaigns against heretics in the 1160s. He is buried in Bamberg Cathedral. Because as king he supported the Church, Henry is usually portrayed wearing a crown and holding a small model of a church.

Solemnity of Peter and Paul

On Monday, June 29, the Solemnity of Sts. Peter & Paul, the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV will bestow the pallium (pictured above, plural “pallia”) on the metropolitan archbishops named during the last year, including our own Archbishop James Checchio. The pallium 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 4th century, and it has been given to each Metropolitan Archbishop since at least the 9th century.

The story of how the pallium is made gives clues to its symbolism. The wool comes from lambs raised by Trappist monks. On, January 21, the Feast of St. Agnes (“agnes” is from the Latin word for lamb), the lambs whose wool is destined for the making of the pallia are solemnly blessed at the Basilica of Saint Agnes. Wool from these lambs is then given to the Benedictine nuns of the Basilica of St Cecilia in Trastevere, and they weave the pallia. The new pallia are solemnly blessed at the Basilica of St. Peter after the Second Vespers on the feast of Sts Peter & Paul, and are then stored in a special golden chest located directly above the original tomb of St. Peter. It is called the “Niche of the Pallia.” There are two connections here, the wool on the shoulders calls to mind the Good Shepherd and storing the pallia over the tomb of St. Peter symbolizes the unity of the bishops with St. Peter and his successors.

Worn by the Pope, the pallium symbolizes the plenitudo pontificalis officii (i.e., the “fullness of pontifical office”). When worn by metropolitan archbishops, it signifies the power which the metropolitan, in communion with the Roman Church, has by law in his own province. If you’re ever at St Louis Cathedral on a Sunday, notice Archbishop Checchio’s pallium. It’s a great reminder of the universality and long history of our Church.

Eucharistic Procession!

Thanks to all who took part in the Eucharistic Procession on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, especially the organizers!

[Read More…]

Feast of St. Mary Magdalene July 22

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 they were one and the same. It is impossible to demonstrate the identity of the three through the Scriptural texts. Yet it is certainly Mary Magdalen who, according to all the Evangelists, stood at the foot of the cross and assisted at the entombment and was the first recorded witness of the Resurrection. And while St. John calls her “Mary Magdalen” in 19:25, 20:1, and 20:18, he calls her simply “Mary” in 20:11 and 20:16.

Many Scriptural scholars observe that the “sinner” in Luke comes early in the ministry of Jesus to seek for pardon; Mary is described immediately afterwards as Mary Magdalen “out of whom seven devils were gone forth”; shortly after, we find simply “Mary” “sitting at the Lord’s feet and hearing His words.”

To the Catholic mind it all seems fitting and natural. The sinner has repented, and she is no longer considered an “adultress.” At a later period Mary and Martha turn to “the Christ, the Son of the Living God,” and Jesus raises their brother Lazarus. Only a short time afterwards Mary and Martha make Jesus supper and Mary repeats the act she had performed when a penitent. At the Passion she stands nearby; she sees Him laid in the tomb; and she is the first Scriptural witness of His Resurrection (although it would have been only fitting for Jesus to have appeared first to His Mother) St. Mary Magdalen, patroness of penitent sinners, pray for us!

Good Church Etiquette

An instructive reminder

Remember to keep your Eucharistic fast by abstaining from food and beverages (water excluded) for an hour before Mass.

Always dress modestly and appropriately. Arrive early to allow for personal prayer and/or read the readings of the day.

Turn off all mobile devices while still in the vestibule. This is your time with God and His people.

Use the restroom before or after Mass. Men remove hats or caps before the Lord.

Deposit all water bottles in the waste receptacles.

Make the sign of the cross with Holy Water upon entering.

Genuflect with great reverence towards the Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle before entering your pew. If unable to genuflect, a profound bow is respectful.

Refrain from chit-chat which distracts others who are connecting with God through prayer before Mass.

Join the singing. St. Anselm said that “singing is praying twice.”  Singing with others gives great praise to God, which is really why we are gathered here.

Listen to the readings. God is speaking directly to you.

Receive Communion with laser-like attention. We receive Communion, we do not take it. If choosing to receive the Body of Christ in the hand, place the hand you write with under the hand you will receive, in a way, creating a throne for the Lord. A simple bow of the head to the Eucharist is appropriate as a sign of reverence to Christ before receiving.

Don’t forget to make a prayer of thanksgiving after receiving Communion. “There is no prayer more agreeable to God, or more profitable to the soul than that which is made during the thanksgiving after Communion.” (St. Alfonsus Liguori)

Remember that the point of being at Mass is not to see what we can get out of it, but what you can do to praise and worship the Almighty.

And finally, leave church only after the procession has left the altar. Only one person left the Last Supper early”

The Catholic Church Explained

The Catholic Church is the distinctive name of this holy Church which is the mother of us all. She is the bride of our Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God (for Scripture says: Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her). She is the type and she bears the image of the Jerusalem above that is free and is the mother of us all, that Jerusalem which once was barren but now has many children.

The first assembly, that is, the assembly of Israel, was rejected, and now in the second, that is, in the Catholic Church, God has appointed first, apostles, second, prophets, third, teachers then workers of miracles, then healers, helpers, administrators and speakers in various tongues, as Paul says; and together with these is found every sort of virtue—wisdom and understanding, self-control and justice, mercy and kindness, and invincible patience in persecution. This Church in earlier days, when persecution and afflictions abounded, crowned her holy martyrs with the varied and many-flowered wreaths of endurance. But now when God has favored us with times of peace, she receives her due honor from kings and men of high station, and from every condition and race of mankind. And while the rulers of the different nations have limits to their sovereignty, the holy Catholic Church alone has a power without boundaries throughout the entire world. For Scripture says: God has made peace her border.

Instructed in this holy Catholic Church and bearing ourselves honorably, we shall gain the kingdom of heaven and inherit eternal life. For the sake of enjoying this at the Lord’s hands, we endure all things. The goal set before us is no trifling one; we are striving for eternal life. In the Creed, therefore, after professing our faith “in the resurrection of the body,” that is, of the dead, which I have already discussed, we are taught to believe “in life everlasting,” and for this as Christians we are struggling.

Now real and true life is none other than the Father, who is the fountain of life and who pours forth his heavenly gifts on all creatures through the Son in the Holy Spirit, and the good things of eternal life are faithfully promised to us men also, because of his love for us.

Does this sound like a decent explanation of today’s Catholic Church?  It was written by St. Cyril of Jerusalem in 347 A.D.

Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel – July 16

Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as patroness of the Carmelite Order. The first Carmelites were Christian hermits living on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land during the late 12th and early to mid-13th century. They built in the midst of their hermitages a chapel which they dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, whom they conceived of in chivalric terms as the “Lady of the place.” Our Lady of Mount Carmel was adopted in the 19th century as the patron saint of Chile, in South America.

Since the 15th century, popular devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel has centered on the Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, also known as the Brown Scapular, a sacramental associated with promises of Mary’s special aid for the salvation of the devoted wearer. Traditionally, Mary is said to have given the Scapular to an early Carmelite named Saint Simon Stock. The liturgical feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is celebrated on 16 July.

The solemn liturgical feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel was probably first celebrated in England in the later part of the 14th century. Its object was thanksgiving to Mary, the patroness of the Carmelite Order, for the benefits she had accorded to it through its difficult early years. The institution of the feast may have come in the wake of the vindication of their title “Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary” at Cambridge, England in 1374. The date chosen was 17 July; on the European mainland this date conflicted with the feast of St. Alexis, requiring a shift to 16 July, which remains the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel throughout the Catholic Church. The Latin poem “Flos Carmeli” (meaning “Flower of Carmel”) first appears as the sequence for this Mass.

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