Archives for November 2025

Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come. (Mt 24:42-44) A lot of times, the analogies of Jesus are just that – analogies. But sometimes they hit closer to home. At times, we have had problems with security at St. Stephen Church. We have had incidents where people have tried to get into our church by breaking door handles and even using pry-bars. Every time we put up our pro-life signs in front of the church, someone steals them. We’ve had chalices and even a collection bag stolen. And then … [Read more...]

The rulers sneered at Jesus and said, “He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Christ of God.” Even the soldiers jeered at him.  As they approached to offer him wine, they called out, “If you are King of the Jews, save yourself.” Above him there was an inscription that read, “This is the King of the Jews.” (Lk 23:35-38) How many times have we gazed at a crucifix and seen that inscription: “I.N.R.I.”  We know it means something about Jesus being “King of the Jews,” even if we don’t remember that it comes from the first letters of the Latin inscription meaning “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews:  Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum.  The key is understanding what’s behind that inscription.  Is it just a “mocking” inscription provided by Pontius Pilate?  Was it … [Read more...]

“They will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name. It will lead to your giving testimony.” (Lk 21:12-13) What does it mean when Christ tells us that “they will persecute you”? We can easily look at the history of the Church and see persecution, beginning with our very own St. Stephen, the first martyr. The first “official” persecutions began in 1st century Rome and were conducted by the emperor Nero. Those early persecutions led to the Great Persecution of the 3rd century by the Roman Empire, persecutions that didn’t end until Christianity was legalized in 313 A.D. We can look at the persecutions of Christians by the Moslem invasion in North Africa, which led to the … [Read more...]

“And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it [on] the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him [on] the last day.” (Jn. 6:39-40) One of the more obvious jobs of a pastor is presiding over liturgical events, whether it’s Sunday Masses, weddings or funerals. We are currently in the fall New Orleans wedding season, during which I have at least one wedding every weekend. But I’ve also provided over a few funerals recently. Although most people understand the purpose of a funeral, some people don’t. They might call it a “celebration of a life.” While I am always happy that someone led a holy, exemplary life, … [Read more...]