Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh. (Lk 6:21)
In watching the Super Bowl last weekend, I was reminded of the joy that we experienced in 2010 when the Saints won the Super Bowl. And it’s hard to argue with the sadness we felt when we lost Drew Brees and Sean Peyton.
It seems that after Katrina, we needed a symbol for the “renaissance” of our city. It could have come from the outpouring of support we received from people living outside of the state, or even from the revamping of our own city government. It could have come from the outside businessmen, artists, musicians, actors, and celebrities who have taken an interest in our home. But it is fitting that the symbol of our renaissance was one of our own. It was the team that was never supposed to win. It was the team that lost its home to the storm. It was the team that traveled like refugees for a year, like so many of our friends. And as you heard it back then, the Saints did it for us, and they did it with us, especially our prayers and our noisy help.
But as we head into the season of Lent, we should be reminded that the saints in Heaven got there through the same hard work that enabled the New Orleans Saints to win a Super Bowl ring. Now, I’ve written about the heresy of “Pelagianism” before, the mistaken belief that man is saved by his own goodness and efforts, rather than by Jesus. So I’m not saying that the saints in Heaven got there “on their own.” And, in fact, many commentators (and friends) have attributed the success of our football team to “Divine intervention.” I can promise you that I said my share of prayers in the year we won the Super Bowl!
But still, the New Orleans Saints begin each season with a goal, and each year they work hard to achieve it. And the saints in Heaven had a goal, and they worked their entire lives to achieve it. The paths are similar. Football teams work hard, they sacrifice, prepare, support each other, and many believe that God will help them. And the saints in heaven worked hard (in whatever vocation they had), sacrificed (fasting & abstinence), prepared (by confessing their sins and seeking purity of heart), supported each other (by communal prayer and Mass) and believed that God helped them. Lent is a time of particular preparation for Heaven – following the sacrificial practices of the saints. We are joyful that our team won in 2010, and we are sad about where we ended up this year. But earthly joy is just a glimpse of the everlasting joy of Heaven. Let this year’s Lent allow us to keep our eyes on the prize. We should all have a desire to be Saints!
(Very Rev. Msgr.) Christopher H. Nalty
msgr.nalty@gmail.com
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
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
Mass at St. Henry at 8:00 a.m. There will not be Adoration or Mass on Tuesday evening.
The distribution of ashes will take place at 8:00 a.m. at St. Henry and 12:00 noon and 6:00 p.m. at the Basilica of St. Stephen. Before the 6:00 p.m. Mass in the church there will be a Holy Hour of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament beginning at 4:45 p.m.
There will be Stations of the Cross and Confessions on Fridays of Lent at the Basilica of St. Stephen with Confession at 5:30pm and the Stations at 6:00pm. Remember that Msgr. Nalty is also in the Confessional from 3:00-3:45 pm on Saturdays and 9:00-10:15 am on Sundays.
It’s almost Lent! This season provides us as Catholics an opportunity to “repent and believe in the Gospel.” One of the ways we can best do this is by going to Confession, where we have the opportunity to accept the many graces God has in store for us through this beautiful – and often underutilized – Sacrament. But Lent isn’t the only time to make Reconciliation part of your schedule. Frequent Confession has so many benefits, including:
The words of absolution in the Confessional are beautiful: “I absolve you from your sins, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Jesus is waiting to forgive you – all you have to do is ask! Don’t miss out any longer on the healing power of Confession…go to Confession this week, and invite someone else too, as part of this “Year of Mercy” called for by Pope Francis.
Also, consider sharing this article or our Good Confession.com site with someone in your life whom you believe would benefit from the graces of Sacramental Reconciliation!
Each year the blessed palms from the previous year’s Palm Sunday are burned to make the ashes for Ash Wednesday. We will burn them on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday. Since the palms are blessed, burning is the suitable way to dispose of them. We’ll start asking for them them in February.
This past legislative session, the pro-life movement faced many challenges including pro-abortion ballot initiatives and legislation targeting pregnancy resource centers. However, several states stood firm in their courageous defense and advocacy for life. For the fifth year in a row, Arkansas is at the top of the Life List as the most pro-life state in America. Continuing in its momentum from last year, Louisiana comes in second after enacting numerous life-affirming laws, including a law that protects unsuspecting pregnant women from the fraudulent provision of chemical abortion drugs. Tennessee secured its spot as the biggest mover on the Life List, advancing from 13th to 6th. The state enacted strong protections against abortion trafficking of minors and allocated funds to pregnancy resource centers. Kentucky also jumped five spots to 9th. On one hand, it is very heartening that Louisiana is high on the list in the efforts, but it also gives us a special responsibility to pray that the right to life is granted to those babies in their mothers’ wombs who are in danger.
The Cenacle on the Lake Now Taking Bookings for Parish, School, and Ministry Retreats
Are you looking for the perfect space for your ministry, parish, or school retreat or event? The Cenacle on the Lake in Metairie is a beautiful location, and our 2026 calendar is open for rentals. Whether you’re hosting a retreat, a day of prayer, a meeting, a wedding anniversary, a shower, or any other event, we offer flexible rental options to fit your needs. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to secure the ideal place to step away, encounter Jesus, and find peace. Check out our online calendar and rate information. Call 504-267-9604 today to check availability and get started with your booking.
Tuesday, February 2
The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord commemorates the purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the presentation of Christ in the temple, which took place 40 days after his birth as Jewish law required. According to Mosaic law, a mother who had given birth to a boy was considered unclean for seven days. Also, she was to remain 33 days “in the blood of her purification.” Luke tells us, quoting Exodus 13:2,12, that Mary and Joseph took Jesus to Jerusalem because every firstborn child was to be dedicated to the Lord. They also went to sacrifice a pair of doves or two young pigeons, showing that Mary and Joseph were poor. Once in the temple, Jesus was purified by the prayer of Simeon, in the presence of Anna the prophetess. Simeon, upon seeing the Messiah, gave thanks to the Lord, singing a hymn now called the Nunc Dimittis:
Lord, now you let your servant go in peace,
your word has been fulfilled:
My own eyes have seen the salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of every people:
a light to reveal you to the nations
and the glory of your people Israel.
Simeon told Mary, “Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against, (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed.” Simeon thus foreshadowed the crucifixion and the sorrows of Mary at seeing the death of her Son.
The name Candlemas (“Candle Mass”) comes from the activities associated with the feast. In the Western Church, a procession with lighted candles was popular, and beeswax candles are blessed and may be saved for later use in your home. After an antiphon, during which the candles held by the people may be lighted, there is a procession into the church which commemorates Christ’s entrance into the temple. Since Vatican II, the feast is officially designated “The Presentation of the Lord.”
Patron Saint of the Youth
John Bosco was only two years old when his father died, leaving the support of three boys to the mother, Margaret Bosco. His early years were spent as a shepherd and he received his first education at the hands of his parish priest. At the age of nine, John had a dream, which influenced and gave great meaning to the rest of his life. In the dream he saw himself amidst a great throng of young people whom he was charged to care for by means of goodness, kindness and love, rather than by means of force and compulsion. Even as a boy he commented to his mother on the fact that the priests he met were cold and distant and never bothered to speak to him. “If I am ever a priest,” he told her, “I won’t be like that. I will devote my life to young people. Children will never see me pass by them looking distant. I will always be the first to speak to them.”
In 1835 he entered the seminary, and in 1841 he was ordained a priest on the eve of Trinity Sunday. In the first year of his priestly ministry, another incident made an indelible mark on his future ministry. On a visit to the prisons of Turin, he came upon children who had been abandoned to the most evil influences, and with little before them but the gallows. In February, 1842, Don Bosco (“Don” being the Italian name given to a parish priest) established an “Oratory” for the shelter of young boys, all of whom had been taken from the streets. He spent the rest of his life dedicated to the youth. The name “Don Bosco” became extraordinarily well known throughout Europe – especially Italy, Spain and France as a result of his prolific activity in such a wide range of civil and ecclesial projects. When he died on January 31, 1888, the order he founded, the Salesian Society, ( the Society of St. Francis de Sales) numbered 773. Today there are in excess of 17,000 Salesian priests and brothers, 18,000 sisters, and tens of thousands of lay people working in every continent and most countries of the world to continue the spirit and mission of Don Bosco amongst the young.
The Easter Season officially concluded on the Feast of Pentecost two weeks ago, and and on the following Monday we began “Ordinary Time” anew with the colors of the vestments and altar furnishings returning to green from the violet of Lent and the white of Easter. What’s so “ordinary” about it? Actually, “Ordinary Time” is the English translation of the Latin Tempus Per Annum (“time throughout the year”) and gets its name from the word ordinal, meaning “numbered,” because we begin to count the weeks rather than the seasons. Ordinary Time, depending on the year, runs either 33 or 34 weeks, and makes up the time in the Church calendar that does not fall within the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, or Easter.
The Church celebrates two periods as Ordinary Time. The first period, ran from the end of Christmas until the evening of Mardi Gras when Lent begins, followed by Easter. The second period begins on the Monday after Pentecost and runs until Advent begins again in November. This period includes Christ the King Sunday, the final Sunday of Ordinary Time.
The use of the term “Ordinary Time” was used before the Second Vatican Council, but it was not until after the council that the term was officially used to designate the period between Epiphany and Lent, and the period between Pentecost and Advent. The older names for those seasons were the “Season After Epiphany” and the “Season After Pentecost.”
Ordinary Time celebrates the mystery of the life of Christ in all its aspects, and contains many important liturgical celebrations, including, Trinity Sunday, Corpus Christi, the Assumption of Mary, he Exaltation of the Holy Cross, All Saints, All Souls and Christ the King. In addition, the Church continues to celebrate other feast days of Mary, feasts of many saints, and the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul.
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