We live in a city that is pretty Catholic. In fact, one would say that we have a good “Catholic Culture” here in New Orleans. Many streets are named after saints (St. Charles, St. Bernard, St. Claude, St. Louis, St. Peter, St. Roch) and holy things (Elysian Fields, Felicity, Hope). Many churches dot our city, although, sadly, many have been closed. And we generally follow a lot of Catholic customs. We have a “king cake” to remember Epiphany and the visit of the “kings” to the baby Jesus. We celebrate the beginning of Lent by our celebration of Mardi Gras, and even non-Catholics come to our churches to receive ashes. We honor St. Joseph and St. Patrick with altars and parades. Throughout the year many restaurants serve fish specials on Fridays because of the pre-Vatican II requirement … [Read more...]

We've got a few weeks before Mardi Gras, and most of our preparation during this time might be on parties and parades and balls and food. But it's not too early to think about Lent. None of us want to wake up on Ash Wednesday with a headache trying to think of something to sacrifice during Lent! The traditional activities of Lent include prayer, fasting and alms-giving. So how will you incorporate that into your Lent this year? Will you go to Daily Mass? Will you abstain from meat or alcohol or sweets? Will you decide to give larger donations to the Church so that it can provide greater outreach to the poor? Now is the time to make some resolutions. Let me tell you what I will be doing in the parish during Lent. Of course, I have my own personal Lenten sacrifices, but there are a few … [Read more...]