News - December 2019 RSS Feed

SchoolA $600,000 grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation will allow the Loyola Institute......

This new year, this new decade, begins much like the past year, the past decade: wars between countries, wars within countries, nations around the globe preparing for future wars and astronomical military budgets cemented in place to ensure all this unholy madness continues. As an elixir to this seemingly hopeless trap the world finds itself in, Pope Francis offers us a hopeful path forward away from the blood and tears of war. In his Jan. 1, 2020 World Day of Peace message “Peace as a Journey of Hope: Dialogue, Reconciliation and Ecological Conversion,” the Holy Father writes “Hope is thus the virtue that inspires us and keeps us moving forward, even when obstacles seem insurmountable.”

The Council of Catholic School Cooperative Clubs awarded its annual “Club of the Year” award to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Home & School Association in Kenner. Catholic Schools superintendent Dr. RaeNell Houston, center, presented the award to co-presidents Jamee Meisner, left, and Angela Gorman, right. Among the club’s many activities were purchasing costumes for the living Way of the Cross; holding forums to discuss human trafficking and internet safety with parents, students and the parish; and hosting a St. Joseph’s Altar that fed the Kenner community and also raised $4,000 in voluntary donations.

On the night Joe Burrow won the Heisman Trophy, there was not a dry eye at the Heisman ceremony or in the state of Louisiana. ​ A quarterback who has completed almost 80% of his passes was on target, again and again. ​He thanked his offensive line by name. ​He thanked head coach Ed Orgeron for “giving me the keys.” ​ He said the Burrow family could never repay Orgeron for the faith he had in Joe. ​ And, he mentioned growing up in southeast Ohio, a place where poverty is still common and opportunity is often lacking. ​Burrow told those in Ohio, that if he could make it, so could they.

When Josephite Father Peter Weiss, the pastor of All Saints Parish in Algiers, was approached by a parishioner during Advent in 2017, he thought her idea was intriguing. Why not celebrate a simple, musically toned down Mass on Christmas Day for those individuals who might be feeling especially gloomy because of a recent loss, such as the death of a loved one, a divorce, a health crisis or a job loss? “She had come across a ‘Blue’ Mass in her travels, and she suggested that we could do the same thing,” said Father Weiss, who first celebrated the Mass for about 10 people in 2017 and then for about 25 in 2018.

The Archdiocese of New Orleans has announced schedules of Masses at business district churches for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. ST. LOUIS CATHEDRAL: Dec. 24, Christmas Vigil Mass at 5 p.m., preceded by carols at 4:30 p.m. Doors will reopen at 11:15 p.m. in advance of the Mass at Midnight, with prelude music performed at 11:30 p.m. by the St. Louis Cathedral Choir under the direction of Dreux Montegut. Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond will celebrate the Mass, which will be televised live beginning at midnight on WLAE-TV. Tickets are not required. Masses Christmas Day will be at 9 and 11 a.m. Masses for the Solemnity of Mary will be Jan. 1 at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.

I’m very happy to wish a very, very blessed Christmas to you and to all those you hold in your heart. As we celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus, we are mindful that God became one of us. God took on human flesh. He is Emmanuel. God is with us. This Lord Jesus has taken up dwelling in your heart, in your family, in your home, in all that you do – and he walks with you.

With the holidays upon us, multiple gatherings of friends and family can also bring joy but also stress and even conflict when discussions about politics or other subjects come up.  We spoke recently with Catholic Relief Services’ Nell Bolton about tactics people can use to avoid or diffuse a testy situation. Bolton lives in New Orleans but travels worldwide as a justice and peace-building expert. Bolton sees division everywhere, including in our own “increasingly polarized society.”

The one through whom God brought everything into existence and gave every living thing life – his Son – received human life from a young woman and became her child. If God’s power and splendor infinitely exceed our understanding, his Son’s taking on our human nature seems even farther beyond our grasp. The mystery is that what is unimaginably great entered so totally into our everyday world as to become virtually invisible. At the end of today’s Gospel, Joseph “took his wife into his home” (Mt 1:24).

As a head baseball coach, Nick Monica, was among the best in the Catholic League. As a defensive coordinator for Jay Roth’s Archbishop Rummel football squad from 2015-18, he had an uncanny ability to position his players where they would be most effective to foil opposing offenses. And as a head football coach, who oversaw the offense while still calling the shots on defense as a first-year head coach, Monica led the Raiders to the 2019 Division I state football championship.

Alyssa explains her drawing: “This is actually the monstrance that we have the host in during adoration. So, I thought what better way to show that than to literally put Christ on a Christmas tree? I came up with the idea for the piece while I was in adoration. I had a vision. As for the berries in the Christmas tree, I had that idea while I was in Mass. For the holidays, my family and I always go to Christmas Eve Mass.

X-mas is actually a Greek sign of respect During the Christmas season, one is often told to “Keep Christ in Christmas.” What does this even mean? The entire holiday revolves around the birth of Christ, so why is he not being celebrated? Here’s the issue: Many abbreviate Christmas as “X-mas,” and Christians interpret this phrase as Christ’s removal from Christmas. Instead of a holiday meant to celebrate the arrival of our Savior, Christians use “X-mas” as evidence that Christmas has become perverted by materialism, greed and jealousy. However, the letter “X” might not be as bad as society believes. The Greek word for Christos (Χριστός) uses the Greek letter “X” to communicate the “chi” sound. Early Christians, such as Emperor Constantine, abbreviated  “Χριστός” into “Χρ,” directly translating to “chi rho.”

We believe ONE chosen Infant in a manger TWO loving parents to guard Him from danger THREE united in one Holy Trinity FOUR evangelists to explain His Divinity FIVE wounds for our salvation SIX days of His Father’s creation SEVEN loaves fed a tremendous count EIGHT sacred Beatitudes in His Sermon on the Mount NINE fruits of the Holy Spirit for us to internalize TEN Commandments we must recognize ELEVEN of His faithful did not betray TWELVE apostles evolved into our Church today

“The people who have walked in darkness have seen a great light.” This line from Isaiah captures many moments for me. Embracing the fullness of the faith in high school was a moment for me of seeing a great light. Laboring for the birth of my children ended in a great light of their births. This Advent journey is a time of hopeful darkness to the moment of the Incarnation. I desire to see the light of Christ made manifest Christmas morning. Advent is a time of waiting, of longing, of truly begging “Come, Lord Jesus.” Those who genuinely wait upon the Lord will not be disappointed.

An annual event produced by Stuart Hall’s fourth graders recently gave attendees “up-close-and-personal” encounters with more than 30 canonized saints. ► Fourth grader Harrison Serio, dressed in the brown robes of the religious order founded by St. Francis of Assisi in 1209, told guests something they already knew: St. Francis is the patron saint of animals. But did they also know that the three knots in St. Francis’ cincture (rope belt) represented his vows of poverty, chastity and obedience? ► Fourth grader Race Hughes, portraying St. Augustine, reminded listeners that St. Augustine was also the son of a saint – St. Monica. Race noted how St. Augustine’s conversion began when he heard the voice of a child saying, “pick up and read” – leading him to seek out the first passage in the Bible.

If the big city lights were replaced by the star that guided the three wise men, If the craziness of shoppers were replaced by the calmness of viewers at the manger, ...

Sophie explains her drawing: “This girl is helping a homeless man because it’s Christmas. He’s just sitting there alone, and he’s cold. She’s giving him a blanket and a rosary to help him keep on praying to Jesus, and a blanket to help keep him warm at night. I came up with the idea because it’s the meaning of Christmas.

Even after 39 years of teaching third graders at St. Edward Confessor in Metairie – 20 of them as director of the school’s Nativity play – Aimee Gardner admits she is still brought to tears whenever she sees her little ones reverently re-enacting Christ’s birth on the altar, at the close of the final school Mass of the calendar year.

There always will be martyrs among Christians in the world, Pope Francis said. Martyrdom “is the sign that we are on Jesus’ path; it’s a blessing from the Lord that within the people of God there is someone who gives this witness of martyrdom,” he said Dec. 11 during his weekly general audience in the Vatican’s Paul VI hall, which was decorated with a large Christmas tree and Nativity scene.

What do you think of when you think of Christmas? Many people’s thoughts go immediately to “Presents! Toys! Santa!” However, if we stop to think about why Christmas so special or why we get presents, then we would answer differently.