On Saturday, May 21, 2022, at 10:00 AM at St. Louis Cathedral, we will ordain Da- vid Michael Doyle, Cory Paul Ford, Long Thanh Pham and Kevin Alden Seay to the Transitional Diaconate for the Archdiocese of New Orleans. You are cordially invited to attend the ceremony. … [Read more...]

Thanks to our volunteers who greeted pilgrims taking part in the Nine Church Walk on Good Friday.  The pilgrims started arriving almost at the completion of our Holy Thursday vigil at 6:00am, and they continued even into the afternoon and evening.  There were many new faces in the church for the Stations of the Cross at 6:00pm.  We had our handy clicker to count numbers, so we know that more than 2,000 people came to visit St. Stephen’s on Friday.  I sat in the confessional from 9:00-11:00 am and Father Doug from 11:00am – 1:00pm, and we were rarely alone.  The line was continuous for the entire time.  Anybody who doubts the vitality of the Catholic Church in New Orleans need only to have seen the busloads of high school groups, CYO groups, and large families taking part in the walk to … [Read more...]

As most parishioners know, the Archdiocese imposes a “tax” on the total annual collection of each parish to support the work of the Archdiocese.  An exception to this policy is that the Archdiocese allows parishes to take up a second collection at the Easter and Christmas Masses each year, and those collection are not included in the parish “taxable income.”  Please consider giving generously to our second collection next weekend to help our parish budget! … [Read more...]

Fighting the Good Fight Against Temptation and Sin Fr. Michael Champagne, CJC, STD The Reverend Father Michael Champagne was ordained a Catholic priest in 1994 for the Community for Jesus Crucified (CJC) in Lafayette.  In 1995 he received an STD in theology from the Angelicum University in Rome; he currently serves as the religious superior of the CJC and Spiritual Director to the lay CJC community.  Among his many activities, Fr. Michael is an instructor in Dogmatic Theology at Notre Dame Seminary, retreat master at Our Lady of Sorrows Retreat Center and serves on numerous committees dealing with end-of-life issues.  Known and loved in southwest Louisiana for his Spiritual Care Unit (mobile confessional), he is involved in several ministries to the poor and disadvantaged. Fr. Champagne … [Read more...]

There will be Stations of the Cross and Confession on Fridays of Lent with Confession at 5:30pm and the Stations at 6:00pm in St Stephen’s Church.  Remember that Msgr. Nalty is also in the Confessional from 3:00-3:45pm on Saturdays and 9:00-10:15 a.m. on Sundays. … [Read more...]

Our wonderful and able business manager, Dianne Caverly, is preparing to retire soon.  We will provide more information about her “send off” after Mardi Gras.  In the meantime, Good Shepherd Parish announces an upcoming opening for the pastor’s assistant/business manager who is responsible for several different aspects of parish operations as business manager, maintenance coordinator, supervision of office/custodial staff and overall coordination of parish activities. Skills required:  Quick Books, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, ability to organize and attend to multiple tasks, good communication skills, ability to work with a variety of personality types, practicing Catholic. Click here for a detailed job description or contact the parish office ststephenpar@arch-no.org or … [Read more...]

Our neighbor, St Alphonsus Parish, is offering a Parish Mission February 14-16, beginning each evening at 7:00pm.  The themes are the Bible, the Cross and the Easter Candle.  The presenter is Fr. Thomas Donaldson, C.Ss.R, who is active in working with people who have addiction issues.  We will have our own parish mission March 27-29.  Details to follow! … [Read more...]

In all the Dioceses of the United States of America, January 22 shall be observed as a particular day of prayer for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life and of penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion. The liturgical celebrations for this day may be the "Mass For Giving Thanks to God for the Gift of Human Life” (no. 48/1 of the Masses and Prayers for Various Needs and Occasions), celebrated with white vestments, or the Mass “For the Preservation of Peace and Justice” (no. 30 of the Masses and Prayers for Various Needs and Occasions), celebrated with violet vestments.” This Tuesday, January 25, the Church in the United States observes the annual “Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children.” … [Read more...]

Recently, the group Americans United for Life released their annual “Life List,” a well-respected ranking of the 50 states based on their on-going legal efforts to create and sustain a culture of life. While the “Life List” notes legislative accomplishments from the previous year, it also takes into account each state’s cumulative record in defending and protecting the lives of their citizens – from conception to natural death. THE 2021 LIFE LIST honors the accomplishments of the top most pro-life states: This year Arkansas gained the highly coveted #1 ranking, closely followed by #2, Louisiana. On one hand, it is very heartening that Louisiana is high on the list in the efforts, but it also gives us a special responsibility to pray that the right to life is granted to those babies in … [Read more...]

The Church has been singing the "O" Antiphons since at least the eighth century. They are the antiphons that accompany the Magnificat canticle of Evening Prayer in the Divine Office from December 17-23, a time called the “Golden Nights.” They are part of a magnificent theology that uses ancient biblical imagery drawn from the messianic hopes of the Old Testament to proclaim the coming Christ as the fulfillment not only of Old Testament hopes, but present ones as well. Their repeated use of the imperative "Come!" embodies the longing of all for the Divine Messiah. The seven "O Antiphons" (also called the "Greater Antiphons" or "Major Antiphons") are prayers that come from Vespers of the Liturgy of the Hours during the Octave before Christmas Eve, a time which is called the “Golden … [Read more...]