When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He then said to Simon Peter a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” Jesus said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed that Jesus had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.” (Jn 21:15-17) Simon Peter is one the most intriguing characters in the New Testament. Unlike people like John the Baptist, Mary … [Read more...]
Archives for April 2022
Nine Church Walk
Thanks to our volunteers who greeted pilgrims taking part in the Nine Church Walk on Good Friday. The pilgrims started arriving almost at the completion of our Holy Thursday vigil at 6:00am, and they continued even into the afternoon and evening. There were many new faces in the church for the Stations of the Cross at 6:00pm. We had our handy clicker to count numbers, so we know that more than 2,000 people came to visit St. Stephen’s on Friday. I sat in the confessional from 9:00-11:00 am and Father Doug from 11:00am – 1:00pm, and we were rarely alone. The line was continuous for the entire time. Anybody who doubts the vitality of the Catholic Church in New Orleans need only to have seen the busloads of high school groups, CYO groups, and large families taking part in the walk to … [Read more...]
Divine Mercy
Divine Mercy Sunday is dedicated to the devotion to the Divine Mercy promoted by St. Faustina , and is based upon an entry in St. Faustina's diary stating that anyone who participates in the Mass and receives the sacraments of confession and Eucharist on this day is assured by Jesus of full remission of sins. According to the notebooks of Saint Faustina, Jesus made the following statements about this day: "On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though … [Read more...]
From the Pastor – April 17, 2022
We are witnesses of all that He did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put Him to death by hanging him on a tree. This man God raised on the third day and granted that He be visible, not to all the people, but to us, the witnesses chosen by God in advance, who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead. (Acts 10-39-41) I told this story before, but one year when I was living in Rome, my parents came to visit me in the weeks before Easter. Since my Dad was a permanent deacon, he sat next to me on the altar when we went to celebrate Mass at the beautiful church of St. Alphonsus near St. Mary Major where the original image of Our Lady of Perpetual Help is enshrined. As it came time to read the Gospel, my Dad asked for the blessing, and then began to … [Read more...]
How to Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet
Instructions on how to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet, using as a Rosary Start at the Crucifix Make the Sign of the Cross. “Thou didst expire, Lord Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty Thyself out upon us.” (3 times) “O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in Thee!” 1. Pray the Our Father. 2. Pray the Hail Mary. 3. Recite the Apostles' Creed. * On the large bead before each of the five decades (set of ten prayers) say: “Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Thy Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and … [Read more...]
From the Pastor – April 10, 2022
It was now about noon and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon because of an eclipse of the sun. Then the veil of the temple was torn down the middle. Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit”; and when he had said this he breathed his last. (Lk. 23:44-46) “Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion” begins Holy Week. If you have never really experienced all of the services of Holy Week, consider doing so this year. Commemorating the events of the Lord’s Suffering and Death help us to have a greater understanding of the importance of the Easter Resurrection. Jesus had to suffer and die before he rose. On Holy Thursday we will celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper at 7:00pm, which commemorates the night when Jesus instituted … [Read more...]
Sacred Relics of the Saints
The relics on display in the church are in the custody of the Community of Jesus Crucified, and highlight the Year of the Family. They include: the True Cross, large bones of St. John the Baptist, St. Zachariah, and St. Elizabeth. St. Therese of Lisieux and her parents Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin. St. Cosmas and his brother St. Damian, St. Benedict and his sister St. Scholastica, Saint Peter and his brother Andrew, Saint James and his brother John, Saint Martha, St. Mary and Lazarus, all the Apostles, Mary’s mother St. Anne and the Veil of the blessed Virgin Mary, the cloak of St. Joseph, the veil of St. Rita of Cassia, the veil of St. Rose of Viterbo, the manger of the Lord, the column of flagellation, the titulus of Jesus’ Cross, St. Agnes and St. Ursula, St. Louis King of France and … [Read more...]
Second Collection on Easter Sunday
As most parishioners know, the Archdiocese imposes a “tax” on the total annual collection of each parish to support the work of the Archdiocese. An exception to this policy is that the Archdiocese allows parishes to take up a second collection at the Easter and Christmas Masses each year, and those collection are not included in the parish “taxable income.” Please consider giving generously to our second collection next weekend to help our parish budget! … [Read more...]
Why are the Statues Covered?
The tradition of covering (or “veiling”) the crucifix and statues this Sunday dates from the Church calendar prior to the Second Vatican Council when the Fifth Sunday of Lent was called “Passion Sunday” and the period from this Sunday until Holy Saturday was called “Passiontide.” Elements of Passiontide remain in the liturgy in that the Preface of the Passion of Our Lord is read at all weekday Masses from now until Holy Thursday. In the Roman Missal we find this instruction: “In the Dioceses of the United States, the practice of covering crosses and images throughout the church from [the fifth] Sunday [of Lent] may be observed. Crosses remain covered until the end of the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday, but images remain covered until the beginning of the Easter … [Read more...]
From the Pastor – April 3, 2022
I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having any righteousness of my own based on the law but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God, depending on faith to know Him and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of His sufferings by being conformed to his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. (Phil. 3:8-11) St. Paul constantly used the words “in Christ” to speak about his goal. He wanted to “gain Christ” and gain righteousness from faith “in Christ.” The great spiritual classic “Imitation of Christ” and even wrist bands asking “What Would Jesus Do,” remind us that we are called to configure our life to Christ. We don’t just follow His … [Read more...]
