On Saturday, December 9, 1531, a neophyte Catholic named Juan Diego was hurrying down Tepeyac hill in Guadalupe Hidalgo to hear Mass in Mexico City, and the Blessed Virgin appeared and sent him to Bishop Zumárraga to have a church built where she stood. She was at the same place that evening and Sunday evening awaiting the bishop's answer. The bishop asked Juan Diego to ask a sign of the lady who said she was the mother of the true God. Juan Diego agreed readily, and the bishop left the sign to the apparition. However, Juan was occupied all Monday with an uncle who seemed dying of fever, so at daybreak on Tuesday, December 12, the grieved nephew was running to the St. James's convent for a priest. As he went along, the Blessed Virgin came to meet him and said: “What road is this thou … [Read more...]

During November, we come to the end of the Church year, and we are asked to consider the end times – our own as well as the world's. The culmination of the liturgical year is the Feast of Christ the King which asserts the supreme authority of Christ over human beings and their institutions. Beyond it we see Advent dawning with its preparation for the birth of Christ and its foreshadowing of the Lord’s coming in glory. The main feasts are the Solemnity of All Saints, (November 1), All Souls, (November 2), St. Charles Borromeo, (November 4), the Lateran Basilica, (November 9), St. Leo the Great, (November 10), St. Martin of Tours, (November 11), St. Josaphat, (November 12), St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, (November 13), St. Albert the Great, (November 15), Sts. Margaret of Scotland and Gertrude … [Read more...]

Friday, October 22, 2015 the Church throughout the world will celebrate the Feast Day of Pope St. John Paul II. Pope St. John Paul II, also known as Saint John Paul the Great, was Pope from October 16, 1978 until his death on April 2, 2005.  He was the second longest-serving pope in modern history after Pope Pius IX, who served for nearly 32 years from 1846 to 1878. Born in Poland, John Paul II is credited as helping to end Communist rule in his native Poland and eventually all of Europe.  John Paul II significantly improved the Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, Islam, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Anglican Communion. One of the most traveled world leaders in history, John Paul II visited 129 countries during his pontificate. As part of his special emphasis on the … [Read more...]

The Eucharistic Prayer  The Eucharistic Prayer is the “center and high point of the entire celebration,” through which “the whole congregation of the faithful joins with Christ in confessing the great deeds of God and in the offering of Sacrifice” (General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 78). This central prayer of the Mass is why we often refer to the entire celebration as Eucharist, which is not a thing, but rather an action – Eucharist (a Greek term) literally means “to give thanks.” Although this prayer is spoken mostly by the priest, the gathered faithful are in no way spectators. We are all doing something even if we are not speaking – our active participation is paramount here, for we are offering our very selves in thanksgiving for all God has done to save us and we join … [Read more...]

Born in 1581 into a farming family in Pouy, France, Vincent's initial desire to be a priest was mainly for social advancement and monetary gain. Through a process of careful planning and being in the right place at the right time, Vincent was ordained a priest at the ripe age of nineteen by an elderly bishop who could barely see or hear. Beginning his ordained life with less than pure motives, Vincent's change of heart began in the middle of one of his visits to the poor tenants of a wealthy estate holder. When Vincent was called to hear the confession of a dying man, the spiritual naiveté of the penitent shocked Vincent. The poor man knew next to nothing about his religion.  Not long after, Vincent preached a sermon on general confession from the pulpit in the village chapel of … [Read more...]

It will be obvious when you come to St. Stephen Church on Saturday or Sunday that we were hard hit by Hurricane Ida.  We lost the entirety of the roof to our school gym as well as much of the copper covering our gorgeous steeple. We are already in the process of mitigating our damages and repairing things so that we can get our children back in school.  The steeple might take a little longer to evaluate.  Notwithstanding the forgoing, we have maintained our Mass schedule since the hurricane hit, although we had to move it around over the last two weeks.  But beginning Monday, September 13, we will resume our normal Mass schedule at St. Stephen and St. Henry Churches. Due to the storm and the numbers of people who evacuated, we are pushing the start of our fall adult education and our … [Read more...]

The desire to love and be loved is the deepest need of our being.  We long to be known, accepted, and cherished by another. Yet, the ability to fully give or receive this love is unattainable on our own. As Catholics we believe Jesus Christ has entered our broken world to conquer sin and restore us to new life. Throughout every age he continues to invite all women and men to follow him through his Church, to whom he has entrusted his teaching authority, so that all can know and follow him. Only God can give us the unconditional love and acceptance that we desire. Yet, he has created marriage, a holy union, to mirror this supreme love on earth. At the heart of their married love is the total gift of self that husband and wife freely offer to each other. Because of their sexual … [Read more...]

Mary was called “Magdalen” because she was either from Magdala near Tiberias (on the west shore of Galilee) or possibly from a Talmudic expression meaning “curly women's hair,” which means an adulteress. In the New Testament Mary is mentioned among the women who accompanied Christ and ministered to Him (Luke 8:2-3), where it is also said that seven devils had been cast out of her (Mark 16:9). She is next named as standing at the foot of the cross (Mark 15:40; Matthew 27:56; John 19:25; Luke 23:49). She saw Christ laid in the tomb, and she was the first recorded witness of the Resurrection. The Greek Fathers, as a whole, distinguish the “sinner” of Luke 7:36-50; Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, and Mary Magdalen. On the other hand most of the Latin Fathers hold that these three … [Read more...]

Religious liberty is the first liberty granted to us by God and protected in the First Amendment to our Constitution. It includes more than our ability to go to Mass on Sunday or pray the Rosary at home. It also encompasses our ability to contribute freely to the common good of all Americans. Prayer for the Protection of Religious Libery Almighty God, Father of all nations, for freedom you have set us free in Christ Jesus (Gal 5:1). We praise and bless you for the gift of religious liberty,  the foundation of human rights, justice and the common good. Grant to our leaders the wisdom to protect  and promote our liberties. By your grace may we have the courage to defend them,  for ourselves and for all those who live in this blessed land. We ask this through the intercession of Mary … [Read more...]

[What follows is a clarification from the Holy Father. Pope-Emeritus Benedict XVI, that you might consider handing along to any of your Catholic friends who are divorced and remarried] We sometimes hear from our friends who are divorced and remarried:  “I’m excommunicated.”  That’s not true at all.  During the World Meeting of Families held in 2012 in Milan, a Brazilian family raised the issue of divorced couples who have remarried and cannot avail themselves of the Sacraments. Pope Benedict XVI affirmed that “this is one of the great causes of suffering for the Church today, and we do not have simple solutions. Naturally, one very important factor is prevention. This means ensuring that, from the beginning, the act of falling in love is transformed in a more profound and mature … [Read more...]