This Sunday is “Laetare” Sunday, which comes from the introit (the introductory antiphon) of Mass “Laetare Jerusalem" ("O be joyful, Jerusalem"). We are called to have a restrained joyfulness because we're halfway through the pilgrimage of Lent and getting closer to Holy Week. While we should strengthen our resolutions regarding our penitential sacrifice, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The rose vestments testify to this special Sunday which also has several other meanings attached to it throughout the centuries.  Since the Jews frequently referred to the city of Jerusalem as “Mother Jersusalem” the early Christians began referring to the Church as “Mother Church.”  And since Jerusalem was mentioned in the introit, Lætare Sunday began to known as “mothering” … [Read more...]

What's the Big Deal with Stem Cells??? Last week, President Barack Obama gave a speech wherein he reversed a policy which strictly limited the Federal money that could be spent on research involving embryonic stem cells. As someone who has followed this issue over the last several years, I thought as your pastor, it would be good to briefly explain the science, ethics and morality involved in his decision. Let's start with a few facts: (1) AREN'T STEM CELLS JUST STEM CELLS? No. President Obama's speech is not about “stem cells” per se. There are different types of stem cells. Some stem cells come from living adults, and some stem cells come from destroyed human embryos. There are no ethical arguments against doing research on adult stem cells that are voluntarily donated for … [Read more...]

Last week, I admit I might have thrown a “curve ball” to you – I changed the liturgy without explaining my reasoning: I decided to distribute the Eucharist only under one species during Lent. Let me tell you the reasons behind my decision. It started on Ash Wednesday, when I was pleasantly surprised by the large crowds that came for Mass and ashes. When I saw the crowds, and realized that everyone would come to the altar twice (one for ashes and once for Communion), I decided that it would be faster if we had 4 stations for ashes and 4 stations for the Body of Christ (rather than two for the Body and two for the Blood, since we only had 3 Eucharistic ministers). After all, most people didn't anticipate a 90 minute Mass on Ash Wednesday! This “short term” decision led me to reflect … [Read more...]

This week we celebrate the “Rite of Election” when the new catechumens will be inscribed in the “Book of the Elect.” In the early Church, the word  “Catechumen” was the name applied to those who had not yet been initiated into the sacraments, but who were undergoing a course of preparation for that purpose. The word can be found in Galatians 6:6: "Let him that is instructed (katechoumenos, the “catechumen”) in the word, communicate to him that instructs him [the (katechounti, the “catechist”) in all good things." Other parts of the verb “to catechize” occur in 1 Corinthians 14:19; Luke 1:4; and Acts 18:24.  Since the acceptance of Christianity involved belief in a body of doctrine and the observance of the Divine law  (“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations... teaching … [Read more...]

In this week's Gospel we hear a story about Jesus forgiving sins. In the long history of religion, Jesus was the first person to claim that one's sins can be forgiven by God here on earth. While there is hardly a virtue or moral teaching of Christ that cannot be found in the beautiful writings of Aristotle, Socrates, Plato or Cicero, the idea of forgiving sins on earth was so novel that the scribes called it “blasphemy” – literally speaking evil of God! Last Sunday, the Holy Father spoke about rediscovering the value of Confession for the forgiveness of sins.  Commenting upon the Gospel reading from last Sunday's Mass, in which St. Mark recounts Jesus' miraculous healing of a leper, the Pope explained how "according to ancient Jewish Law leprosy was considered not just as an illness but … [Read more...]

This Sunday we hear the story of Jesus healing a man struck with leprosy. Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by the bacillus lepr, and is characterized by the formation of growths in the skin, mucous membranes, peripheral nerves, bones, and internal viscera, producing various deformities and mutilations of the human body, and usually terminating in death. Without treatment, people with leprosy are visibly disfigured and often have significant disability; they have long been feared and shunned by others. Since leprosy is mentioned so often in the Bible, most of us in developed countries think of it as something from the past. Not so. During 2007, over 250,000 new cases were reported. About 90% of these cases occurred in the following eight countries: India, Brazil, Indonesia, … [Read more...]

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...]