News - November 2011 RSS Feed

I look into my NBA crystal ball and see good and bad for the New Orleans Hornets. First, there will be a team called the New Orleans Hornets. Before and during the NBA lockout, there was plenty of speculation about contracting the league and eliminating the Hornets’ franchise.

At age 16, Kevin Trower was in attendance at the first CYO basketball tournament. That was 61 years ago. In 1963 he coached his alma mater, Jesuit, to its first CYO championship. Trower, who spent a lifetime teaching young men and women the fundamentals of basketball and enlightening their minds as a classroom teacher, will be honored for his contributions by the state’s longest-running tournament during its championship match.

Throughout most of the 1940s, the city’s Catholic Youth Organization staged a post-season football game matching the best local Catholic high school against a national prep power. The game became popular but was too expensive to continue.

For me, the “sorry, no vacancy” sign is the flashing neon symbol of Advent. Just as there was no room at the inn for Mary in which she could give birth to the savior of the world, how often do we – 2,000 years later – allow our crowded lives to make “no room” for Christ?

How did your first experience go in celebrating the Mass using the new Roman Missal? Just from the look of the book, it is much bigger and thicker. I was very pleased to celebrate my first Mass with the new missal at St. Mary of the Angels last Sunday.

The group began out of a desire of one Catholic, Lena Nuccio-Lee, to travel to Medjugorje to get closer to the Lord. But now FLOCK – Family for the Love of Christ the King – includes feeding Jesus’ flock as part of its mission.

A steady flow of individuals and families passed through St. Jude Community Center on North Rampart Street Nov. 20 to receive a turkey with all the trimmings just in time for Thanksgiving dinner. St. Dominic’s Young Adult Group partnered with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul to make the holidays a little brighter for 150 families who were identified as in need by Our Lady of Guadalupe Church.

Deadline: Due to being biweekly during the summer, submissions due 14 days before each issue calendar@clarionherald.org (504) area code unless noted Events from July 8-23 DON’T MISS SOCIAL ACTION SUMMER INSTITUTE: “FOCUS ON THE WORKER: ‘NEW THINGS’ IN LABOR 120 YEARS AFTER ‘RERUM NOVARUM’” July 10-13 Loyola University New Orleans National presenters: Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala, Archdiocese of Los Angeles; Kathy Saile and Bill Quigley; Jesuit Father Fred Kammer; Tricia Hoyt; Joe Grant; Abdulrahman and Kathy Zeitoun.

Why should I go to Mass every Sunday? Why can’t I just pray to God in my house? Why do I have to go to a church? St. Pio of Pietrelcina summed up the importance of participating in Mass with the following statement: “It would be easier for the world to survive without the sun than to do without Holy Mass.” In days long past, the parish priest might answer an inquisitive parishioner about the importance of attending Sunday Mass by simply saying it was commanded by God.

If a picture can tell a thousand words, then there really should be no problem with a high school yearbook telling the complete story of an academic year. It’s just that some yearbooks are better storytellers than others.

Many years ago, Jalonda M. Robertson, music director at St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish, composed a Mass setting for use in Catholic churches with predominantly African-American congregations. The Xavier University music major never had that Mass setting formally published, but the experience gave her a good idea of the challenges involved in undertaking such an ambitious project.

Churches and faith-based groups need to organize collectively to pressure public officials to use data-based initiatives that have been proven to reduce high rates of murder and violent crime in several U.S. cities, a New Orleans pastor told the PICO National Gathering of Clergy Nov. 15.

Reminding the world each day of “the saving acts of Jesus” is the greatest privilege of the priesthood – and one that Archbishop John Favalora still marvels at 50 years after his ordination. “What a powerful thing the Lord left us in the priesthood and in the holy Eucharist that the priest makes present for us!” said New Orleans-born Archbishop Favalora, at a Nov. 20 Mass at St. Agnes Church marking his Golden Jubilee as a priest and his 25th year in the episcopacy.

After months of preparation for the implementation of the Third Edition of the Roman Missal , Catholics in the pew finally will hear and recite new English translations of Mass prayers and responses on the First Sunday of Advent Nov. 26-27.

With construction completed on the James B. Branton Chapel, there is no doubt where the center of campus now is at Brother Martin High School. “This chapel summarizes what Brother Martin High School has been, is and will be,” Archbishop Gregory Aymond said at a dedication Mass held Nov. 19 on the Gentilly campus.

A Mass on Nov. 13 at Blessed Seelos Church proved that the spirit of the Garifuna people is alive and well in the Archdiocese of New Orleans. From the song in the opening procession, “We’re Coming from the Homeland of Our Ancestor,” to the final blessing and recessional, those of Garifuna descent sang and danced in their native customs.

If you or a family member has been abused or victimized by a member of the Catholic clergy, please believe in the possibility for hope, help and healing. We encourage you to come forward and speak out.

I’m going to love Mass come Nov. 26-27. I love Mass now, of course. I loved Mass back in 1963 when I was an altar boy and “Ad Deum qui laetificat juventutem meam” was rolling off my tongue, although I had not a clue what it meant.

Why should I go to Mass every Sunday? Why can’t I just pray to God in my house? Why do I have to go to a church? St. Pio of Pietrelcina summed up the importance of participating in Mass with the following statement: “It would be easier for the world to survive without the sun than to do without Holy Mass.” In days long past, the parish priest might answer an inquisitive parishioner about the importance of attending Sunday Mass by simply saying it was commanded by God.

Usted sirvió durante seis años, incluyendo tres años como presidente de los obispos de U.S. en la Secretaría del Niño y la Protección para la Juventud, por lo que sin duda usted está más consciente de lo que la mayoría de las personas están  acerca de cómo los pedófilos acechan a los niños.