“God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.” (Lk 18:11) I recently heard a quote to the effect that “there are only two types of people in the world: saints who think they are sinners and sinners who think they are saints.” That pretty much sums up the two characters in today’s Gospel. The Pharisee has justified his life, and the Publican has condemned his own. In truth, each of these men was a sinner in some way. As the Evangelist John said: If we say that we have not sinned, then we make God a liar, and His word has no place in our hearts (1 Jn 1:10). So what separates the two men? Simply one fact. One acknowledged the reality of his life and the reality of his sin, and one didn’t. And having recognized the reality … [Read more...]
Archives for October 2025
Blessing of the Cemeteries
On All Saints Day, Saturday, November 1, 2025, at 11:00am, Msgr. Nalty will bless the St Vincent Cemeteries on Soniat and Loyola Avenue (behind Newman School). These cemeteries are the resting places for many longtime parishioners of St. Stephen Church, as well as the Vincentian Priests and Daughters of Charity who served our parish for over 150 years. At 11:30am, Msgr. Nalty will bless St Joseph Cemetery located at 2220 Washington Ave. If you care to attend, an indulgence, applicable only to the souls in purgatory, is granted to the faithful who devoutly visit a cemetery and pray, even if only mentally, for the departed. The indulgence is plenary each day from the 1st to the 8th of November; it is partial on other days of the year. To acquire a plenary indulgence, one must fulfill … [Read more...]
All Hallows’ Eve
Halloween or All Hallows' Eve is not a liturgical feast on the Catholic calendar, but the celebration has deep ties to the Liturgical Year. These three consecutive days ”” Halloween, All Saints Day and All Souls Day ”” bring to mind the Communion of Believers. On earth we are called the “Church Militant,” because we are striving to get to heaven. We pray for the “Church Suffering,” the souls in Purgatory, especially on All Souls Day (and even the entire month of November). We also honor and ask the intercession of the “Church Triumphant,” those souls, whether canonized or uncanonized, who are in Heaven. In England, saints or holy people are called “hallowed,” hence All Saints Day was “All Hallow's Day.” The evening before the feast became popularly known as “All Hallows' Eve” or even … [Read more...]
From the Pastor – October 19, 2025
“But when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?” (Lk 18:8) Only a little over 15 years ago, in Ryadh, Saudi Arabia, a Catholic priest and more than a dozen Filipinos were arrested and charged with proselytizing. An easy Internet search can help you find the story. What were they doing? Were they engaged in a Eucharistic Procession? Were they handing out Bibles on street corners? Were they running an illegal radio program trying to convince Muslims to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior? No. None of the above. They were attending Mass in a small Riyadh rest house. Filipinos comprise the vast majority of the more than one million foreign workers in Saudi Arabia. And they are almost exclusively Catholic. There is no freedom of religion in Saudi Arabia; the … [Read more...]
Missionaries and Martyrdom
The North American Martyrs October 19, 2025 The only reason we know about Jesus Christ is that someone told us. More than likely, that person was our parents, but it could have been a priest, a teacher or even a friend. And the person who told us only knew about Jesus because someone had told him or her. And someone told that person, too. And so on. We trace that chain of people passing on their knowledge of Christ back to the Apostles, who were told by Jesus to: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Mt. 28:19-20). This statement of Jesus is called the “Great Commission” - the … [Read more...]
From the Pastor – October 12, 2025
“Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” Then he said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.” (Lk 17:17-19) This Gospel this weekend concerns gratitude. The story is simple. Jesus cures ten lepers, and only one returns to thank Him. The word gratitude is interesting. It’s usually defined as “a feeling of thankfulness and appreciation.” And we might experience gratitude for many things. If we’re late for work, we might feel gratitude that we make it through all of the stoplights. We might wake up and see a beautiful sunny day, and feel gratitude. We might experience gratitude for any of the amazing little things that happen to us during the day – a rainbow, a sunset, a butterfly … [Read more...]
From the Pastor – October 5, 2025
The Apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” (Lk 17:5) By the time the Apostles have gotten to the 17th Chapter of Luke’s Gospel, they’ve seen Jesus do a lot of things. They’ve seen a miraculous catch of fish. They’ve seen Jesus expel demons. They’ve seen Him heal a mother-in-law, a leper, a paralytic, a man with a withered hand, a servant, a woman with a hemorrhage, a crippled woman and a man with dropsy. They’ve seen Jesus calm a storm, feed 5000 people and raise two children from the dead. At this point, they realize that Jesus has some pretty serious authority. And out of all the things they can ask for, they ask him for one thing: “increase our faith.” What is it about “faith” that is so important to the Apostles? There are two ways that we understand faith in the … [Read more...]
Our Lady of the Rosary
October 7 In 1571 Pope Pius V instituted “Our Lady of Victory” as an annual feast to commemorate the victory of Lepanto, where Christian forces successfully thwarted an attempted invasion of Western Europe by the Muslim forces of the Ottaman Empire. The victory was attributed to the Blessed Virgin Mary, as a Rosary procession had been offered on that day in St. Peter's Square in Rome for the success of the mission of the Holy League. In 1573, Pope Gregory XIII changed the title of this feast-day to “Feast of the Holy Rosary". This feast was extended by Pope Clement XII to the whole of the Latin Rite, inserting it into the Roman Catholic calendar of saints in 1716, and assigning it to the first Sunday in October. Pope Pius X changed the date to 7 October in 1913, as part of his effort to … [Read more...]
Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos Feast Day – October 5
Born in Füssen, Bavaria, in 1809, Francis Xavier Seelos was well educated and had a special gift for languages, but his most outstanding characteristic was his humility. He was ordained a Redemptorist priest in Baltimore, Maryland in 1844. Always loyal to the Order's charism, he was at heart a “missionary with a constant smile on his lips and a generous heart, particularly toward the needy and outcasts,” his followers said. His confessional was always open to everyone, and he heard confessions in German, English, and French, from anyone, regardless of their ethnicity. As a priest, he was distinguished for his “simple lifestyle and language,” so much so that his sermons were heard and understood even by the most simple. Of all the souls entrusted to his care, the ones he was especially fond … [Read more...]
