Saturday, February 11, the Church remembers the apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes to St. Bernadette Soubirous that took place a little over 150 years ago in Lourdes, France. Since Our Lady of Lourdes Parish down the street on Napoleon Avenue has been closed, I thought a little “refresher course” on the apparitions of Lourdes might be in order. On 11 February 1858, Bernadette Soubirous went with two girlfriends to collect some firewood to sell in order to be able to buy some bread. As she was wading through a river near the Grotto of Massabielle, she heard the wind but did not see the trees and bushes move. As she looked toward the Grotto, she saw a light and a beautiful lady – “Lovelier than I have ever seen” - dressed in white with a blue sash fastened around her waist and two golden … [Read more...]
St. Blaise Throat Blessing after 4 pm Mass
Saturday, February 3 is the Feast of St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr. St Blaise was the bishop of Sebaste in Armenia who was martyred in the year 316 AD. The oldest accounts tell us that Blaise was a physician at Sebaste before he was made bishop. In the 4th century persecution of Licinius, St. Blaise was taken prisoner. After suffering various forms of torture he was beheaded. The most popular story attributed to St. Blaise occurred while he was in prison, when he cured a young a boy who was in danger of choking to death because of a fishbone in his throat. That story, and the fact that St. Blaise was a doctor, made the saint very popular for intercessory prayer for throat ailments. At an early date, the veneration of this Eastern saint was brought into Europe, and Blaise became … [Read more...]
Ever Wonder about the Pelican High in Our Church above the Altar?
The symbolism of the pelican feeding her young is rooted in a legend preceding Christianity that when food was scarce, the mother pelican would wound her breast with her beak and feed her young with her blood to prevent starvation. Given this legend, one can understand why the early Christians adapted it to symbolize our Lord, Jesus Christ. The pelican symbolizes Jesus our Redeemer who gave His life for our redemption and continues to feed us with His body and blood in the Holy Eucharist. The pelican is also part of our liturgical tradition. The image of the pelican is popular artwork for altar frontals, tabernacles and arches. In the hymn “Adoro te devote,” (written by St. Thomas Aquinas, whose feast day we celebrate on January 28, and translated into English by Gerard Manley … [Read more...]
From the Pastor – January 28, 2024
I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kindred, and will put my words into the mouth of the prophet; the prophet shall tell them all that I command. Whoever will not listen to my words which he speaks in my name, I myself will make him answer for it. (Dt. 18:18-19) In the Acts of the Apostles, both St. Peter (3:22) and, St. Stephen (7:37) quote the above passage as referring to Jesus. Jesus is the prophet who came to teach us (in word and deed) how to live according to God’s plan and attain the Kingdom of Heaven. And when the time came, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit upon His Apostles to guide them and us through the Holy Catholic Church. But Jesus foretold that some would not listen to His words, and He warned us that we would be persecuted for following Him. When … [Read more...]
From the Pastor – January 21, 2024
As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. (Mt. 4:18-20) One afternoon while I was in seminary, I was having lunch with some classmates, and we were joined by another seminarian who was a member of another religious community. He was younger than my classmates, and pretty “gung ho” about being a seminarian. With eager eyes and enthusiasm, he turned to my classmate, Mike Woods, and asked “So when did you get your call??!!” Now, you’d have to know Mike, but suffice it to say that Mike was about 10 years older than the other seminarian. He’s from … [Read more...]
From the Pastor – January 14, 2024
John was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” (John 1:35) One of the aspects of the Gospel reading for today is that of discipleship. I wrote about the word in an earlier edition of the bulletin when I distinguished “disciple,” meaning “student” or “follower” from the word “apostle,” meaning “messenger.” All Christians are called to be disciples, while some are specifically sent out by the Church to be messengers. The earliest Christians all began as disciples, and some were chosen to be apostles. In the “Catechism of the Catholic Church,” the word disciple is used over and over. Here is a great definition of the role of disciples in the Church: “The disciple of Christ must not only keep the faith and live on it, but … [Read more...]
From the Pastor – January 7, 2024
“And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage.” (Mt. 2:9-11) Why were the “wise men” wise? Were they wise because they knew the movements of the stars in the sky? Perhaps. Were they wise because they understood the seasons of the year or the mysteries of nature? Maybe. Or were they wise because they knew how to navigate according to a star. All of that might be true. But the underlying truth is that they were wise because they were searching for God. Their desire for Him meant that they could detect his coming appearance on earth in the appearance of a … [Read more...]
Mother of God, Mother of the Church
January 1, 2024 Some fundamentalist Christians become offended when Catholics refer to the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Mother of God. But it’s not a complicated teaching. If (a) Mary is the mother of Jesus, and (b) if Jesus is God, then, therefore, (c) Mary is the Mother of God. There is no escaping the logic here. However, saying Mary is the Mother of God, does not mean that she is older than God or the source of her Son’s divinity. Rather, Mary is the Mother of God in the sense that she carried in her womb the divine person of Jesus Christ, and that her body provided the genetic material for His body. Although most Christians understand Jesus Christ as both fully God and fully human, the term Mother of God must be understood through its origins. Orthodox Christians and … [Read more...]
From the Pastor – December 31, 2023
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.” (Col. 3:16 ) On this Feast of the Holy Family, I think it’s a good time to reflect upon our family lives, and to examine whether we’re being good family members. When we contemplate the Holy Family, we note the fact that when Jesus became man – when the Word became flesh – He became flesh as a little child within a family. That was a divine choice; because Jesus could have chosen any way he wanted to manifest Himself. He could have arrived on earth as a 33 year old or an 80 year old man. But Jesus was conceived and began his existence in Mary’s womb, and was born as a baby in a family. Mary became the … [Read more...]
From the Pastor – December 24, 2023
“Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High.” (Luke 1:31-32a) A number of years I was praying the Rosary with our small group at 11:00am in front of the abortion clinic on St. Charles Avenue near Louisiana (before it closed), and I got yelled at by a Fundamentalist. Although I’m used to experiencing taunting while I’m praying in front of abortion clinics, I’m not used to being yelled at by a fellow “Christian” because I’m praying the Rosary. One would think we could take a moment to set aside our differences in a mutual effort to pray for an end to abortion! The point of the man’s rant was that I was “glorifying” Mary by saying the “Hail Mary.” He was yelling at us “Mary is dead. Why … [Read more...]
