Americans United for Life released the 2021 LIFE LIST after analyzing progress made legislatively or in litigation in 2020. The Life List takes into account the 50 states’ overall advances since Roe v. Wade toward re-building a culture of life, including events of the last year. This year, the State of Louisiana ranked Number Two. Catherine Glenn Foster, President & CEO of Americans United for Life said, “Working with state leaders and lawmakers to create the Life List this year has been so encouraging because it is clear that Life is winning in our country. There is so much to be thankful for throughout the list this year, but the bipartisan, courageous, life-affirming work accomplished by legislators and pro-life advocates in Louisiana is truly a marvel. The fact that through the … [Read more...]

January 1, 2023 Some 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 Catholics call Mary … [Read more...]

Holy Day of Obligation Thursday, December 8 6:30 am at St. Henry Church and 9 am and 6pm the Basilica of St. Stephen An interesting icon representing Jesus on the lap of the Virgin Mary who is herself on the lap of St. Anne, the mother of Mary. The dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854:  The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin (Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus, 1854: DS 2803). This doctrine was revealed through the Scriptures (Mary was “the absolute fullness of grace”) and the long Sacred Tradition of the Church.  But it was finally declared … [Read more...]

St. Vincent de Paul Society needs your help. A Christmas Giving Tree has been set up next to the St. Anthony Statue. The ornaments on the tree have names and ages of children along with their Christmas gift wish. We also will be helping the Veterans and needy in our community that frequent our food pantry. If you can, please pick an ornament from the Tree then return the gift with the ornament and place under the tree by Sunday, December 15th following the 10:30am Mass. … [Read more...]

Masses on Thursday, November 24 and Friday, November 25 will be at 8:00am at St. Henry Church … [Read more...]

The St. Vincent de Paul Society would like to thank everyone for your help in providing Thanksgiving Baskets for the needy of our parish. With your help we are hoping to feed over 40 families for Thanksgiving this year.  Thanks for sharing your blessings with others.  “For I was hungry, and you gave me food; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink; a stranger, and you welcomed me.”  (Mt. 25:35) … [Read more...]

The North American Martyrs October 19, 2022 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...]

October 9 at Noon Feast Day - October 4 Many of the stories that surround the life of St. Francis of Assisi deal with his love for animals. Part of his appreciation of the environment is expressed in his Canticle of the Sun, a poem written in Umbrian Italian in perhaps 1224 which expresses a love and appreciation of Brother Sun, Sister Moon, Mother Earth, Brother Fire, etc. and all of God's creations personified in their fundamental forms.  Francis' attitude towards the natural world, while poetically expressed, was conventionally Christian. He believed that the world was created good and beautiful by God but suffers a need for redemption because of the primordial sin of man. He preached the universal ability and duty of all creatures to praise God (a common theme in the Psalms) and … [Read more...]

The first Rosary Congress was held in Poland.  Pope John Paul II wanted to visit his native country in 1979. The government with sanctions made the visit impossible. A prayer group went to God in prayer. Through inspiration they came to pray 7 days and nights, with Masses, Eucharistic Adoration and the Rosary hourly at their National Shrine to Our Lady of Czestochowa. On the seventh day, all government sanctions were dropped. The Pope was allowed to visit his native country. In 1988, The Rosary Congress came to the United States. John Downs, a quadriplegic, was inspired to organize the first Rosary Congress at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, in Washington, D.C. Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception is patroness of the United States. Imitating the Polish people who … [Read more...]

October 8-9, 2022 Would you like to break away with your spouse and spend quality time enriching your marriage? Then join us on our upcoming Married Couples Retreat at the newly renovated St Joseph Abbey’s Christian Life Retreat Center in Covington, LA. A Married Couples Retreat does not mean that someone is failing but rather it is a falling into the arms of our Lord. It is a weekend dedicated to giving you and your beloved the opportunity to find rest, strength, and enrichment, which is something we all need! A once a year commitment to attending a retreat as a couple is a great habit that will bless and deepen your love for God and each other! You may download a flyer here. To register call (504) 830-3716 or visit www.FaithandMarriage.org . A suggested donation is requested but … [Read more...]