Showing posts with label Most Holy Trinity. Show all posts

Sunday, May 31, 2026

Sunday Angelus with Pope Leo XIV 05.31.2026

Pope

Pope at Angelus: We find our home in the Trinity

On the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Pope Leo reminds the pilgrims gathered for the Angelus prayer that the life of the Triune God “gives peace to our heart, which is often very restless.”

By Kielce Gussie

Celebrating the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Pope Leo XIV joined thousands in St. Peter’s Square for his weekly Angelus prayer and greeting. Reflecting on the Mystery of the Triune God, he explained gives us a chance to look back at our own journey, beginning with God’s life given to us in Jesus.

This life, the Pope said, “is a dynamic, inexhaustible and faith communion that draw us in.” The Holy Spirit, who brings together the Father and the Son, has been placed on our hearts. Through this, he continued, the Church “becomes a sacrament of communion, a place of encounter, love and life where heaven and earth already touch.”

The truth of the day

Reflecting on the Gospel of the day, Pope Leo turned to the person of Nicodemus, who was deeply drawn to Jesus. Despite his eagerness to get to know and understand who Jesus was, Nicodemus sought him out at night to avoid being seen.

Jesus, however, welcomed Nicodemus and surprised him with an answer: that even an adult can be reborn. Nicodemus learned that God could transform his life.

As Jesus spoke about the Holy Spirit, Nicodemus’ “interior darkness was illuminated with the truth—the same truth that resounds throughout the Church in our celebration of today’s feast.” This is the truth that “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (vs. 16) and that “God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (vs. 17).

We are all made for communion

Pope Leo explained that in the mystery of the Triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—“we are at home” like Nicodemus was in Jesus’ presence. The life of God is captivating. “It gives peace to our heart, which is often very restless, and it allows us to encounter our brothers and sisters in the joy of the Spirit.”

The Trinity helps us to love everyone and everything because through it, we understand that every created thing is made for relationship, communion, and encounter. Yet, on the other hand, we learn why polarization, a dislike of diversity, and division lead to sadness, destruction, and an emptiness in the world.

When Nicodemus, a member of the Sanhedrin (council of the high priests of Israel), heard any hateful words against Jesus, he would challenge everyone to listen before condemning him. Nicodemus has received the Spirit of communion, which opens hearts to new truths and to true renewal.

“Whoever does not welcome this Spirit grows old quickly, in sorrow, feeling all alone and without joy in their hearts,” Pope Leo shared.

Today, the Pope continued, is a day of celebration because God’s feast is ours as well. With the Angelus prayer, he urged everyone to be like Mary and say “yes” to God’s will. “May our ‘yes’ to the love of the Most Holy Trinity also bear fruit.”

Sunday, June 15, 2025

Pope Leo presides over Holy Trinity Sunday

Pope Leo XIV on Holy Trinity Sunday: God’s ‘Dynamic’ Love Opens Humanity to Encounter

The Holy Father asked for the intercession of Our Lady, Queen of Peace before praying his first Angelus in the square in Latin and urging his listeners to pray for the end of conflicts in different parts of the world.

Pope Leo XIV waves to those gathered for Mass for the Jubilee of Sport on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity on June 15, 2025, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. (photo: Daniel Ibañez / EWTN News)

Pope Leo XIV presided over the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity in St. Peter’s Basilica on Sunday and invited Catholics to enter the “dynamism of God’s inner life” and be open to encounter with others.

Celebrating the solemnity, which coincided with the June 14-15 Jubilee of Sport, in the Vatican on the morning of June 15, the Holy Father asked pilgrims who belong to sports teams and associations to glorify God through their daily training.

“Dear athletes, the Church entrusts you with a beautiful mission: to reflect in all your activities the love of the Triune God, for your own good and for that of your brothers and sisters,” the Holy Father said in his Sunday homily.

Though the “juxtaposition” of celebrating the Trinity and sport may seem “somewhat unusual” at first, Leo said the relationship between the two reveals God’s infinite beauty is reflected in “every good and worthwhile human activity.”

“For God is not immobile and closed in on himself, but activity, communion, a dynamic relationship between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, which opens up to humanity and to the world,” he said.

“Sport can thus help us to encounter the Triune God, because it challenges us to relate to others and with others, not only outwardly but also, and above all, interiorly,” he explained.

Sport as a School of Virtue, Encounter and Sanctity

According to the Holy Father, in a society marked by solitude, digital communications and competition, sports are “a precious means for training in human and Christian virtues.”

He said families, communities, schools and workplaces can be places where genuine encounters among people can take place.

“Where radical individualism has shifted the emphasis from ‘us’ to ‘me,’ resulting in a deficit of real concern for others, sport — especially team sports — teaches the value of cooperating, working together and sharing,” Leo said.

“These, as we said, are at the very heart of God’s own life,” he added.

Comparing healthy and unhealthy attitudes toward sport, the Holy Father emphasized that sport is more than an “empty competition of inflated egos” and is also a means of sanctification and evangelization.

“St. John Paul II hit the mark when he said that Jesus is ‘the true athlete of God’ because he defeated the world not by strength but by the fidelity of love,” he said.

“It is no coincidence that sport has played a significant role in the lives of many saints in our day,” he continued.

Reflecting on the life of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, the patron saint of athletes who will be canonized on Sept. 7 alongside Blessed Carlo Acutis, Leo told the congregation — several of whom belong to sport teams and associations — “just as no one is born a champion, no one is born a saint.”

“It is daily training in love that brings us closer to final victory and enables us to contribute to the building of a new world,” he said.

Angelus Address

In spite of 95-degree summer heat, thousands of pilgrims spilled into St. Peter’s Square after Mass to listen to Leo’s first Angelus address delivered in front of the basilica.

Continuing his message of sports as a means to foster a “culture of encounter and fraternity,” the Holy Father emphasized the “great need” for peace and an end to “all forms of violence and aggression” in the world.

Calling for the end of conflicts in countries, including Myanmar, Ukraine and the Middle East, the Holy Father gave particular attention to the persecution of Christians in the African countries.

“Some 200 people were murdered, with extraordinary cruelty,” the Pope said, referring to a massacre that took place in the village of Yelwata in Nigeria overnight.

“Most of the victims were internal refugees who were hosted by a local Catholic mission,” he lamented.

The Holy Father also appealed for the end to the civil war in Sudan, which began in 2023 and has since claimed thousands of lives, including the life of parish priest Father Luke Jumu, who died from his wounds after a bomb attack in El Fasher.

He continued: “I call on the international community to intensify efforts to provide at least basic assistance to the people affected by the grave humanitarian crisis.”

Saturday, June 14, 2025

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity Sunday

The Mystery of the Most Holy Trinity

Corrado Giaquinto, ‘The Blessed Trinity and the Sacred Heart of Jesus,’ 1754 (photo: Public domain / Wikimedia Commons)

Msgr. Charles Pope Sunday GuideJune 12, 2025

Sunday, June 15, is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. Mass readings: Proverbs 8:22-31; Psalm 8:4-5, 6-7, 8-9; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15.

On the feast of the Most Holy Trinity, we do well to remember that we are pondering a mystery that cannot fit in our minds. Perhaps we do best to begin by quoting the Catechism, which says:

The Trinity is One. We do not confess three Gods, but one God in three Persons: [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit]. … The divine Persons do not share the one divinity among themselves but each of them is God, whole and entire (Catechism, 253).

So, there is one God, and each of the three Persons of the Trinity possesses the one divine nature fully. The Father is God; He is not one-third of God. Likewise, the Son, Jesus, is God; He is not one-third of God. And the Holy Spirit is God, not merely one-third of God.

Scripture also presents images of the Trinity:

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness …” (Genesis 1:26).

God speaks of himself in the plural using “us” and “our.” Some claim that this is just an instance of the “royal we.” Perhaps, but I see an image of the Trinity.

And the Lord appeared to [Abram] by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent… He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men stood in front of him… (Genesis 18:1-5).

The Lord (singular) appears to Abram, yet Abram sees three men (some have said that this is just God and two angels, but many think it hints of the Trinity).

Having come down in a cloud, the Lord stood with Moses there and proclaimed his Name, “Lord.”… The Lord, the Lord, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity” (Exodus 34:5).

When God announces his name, he does so in a threefold way: Lord! … The Lord, the Lord. There is an implicit threefold introduction or announcement of God. Is it a coincidence or is it significant? You decide.

Jesus says, “The Father and I are one” (John 10:30), and “To have seen me is to have seen the Father” (John 14:9).

And, have you ever noticed that in the baptismal formula, Jesus uses “poor” grammar? He says, “Baptize them in the name [not names] of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). God is one (name) and God is three (Father, Son and Holy Spirit).

We who are made in the image and likeness of God ought to experience something of the mystery of the Trinity within us, and, sure enough, we do. We are all distinct individuals. I am not you; you are not I. Yet it is also true that we are made for communion. We humans cannot exist apart from one another. We depend on our parents, through whom God made us; but even beyond that, we need one another. There is no such thing as a self-made man or woman. We are individuals, but we are social. We are one, but we are linked to many. We do not possess the kind of unity that God does, but the “three-oneness” of God echoes in us. We are one, yet we are many.

So, as we extol the great mystery of the Trinity, we look not merely outward and upward to understand, but also inward to discover that mystery at work in us, who are made in the image and likeness of God.

Friday, April 12, 2024

Pope Francis schedule for upcoming Holy Days includes a Jubilee proclamation

POPE

Solemn proclamation of Jubilee set for Ascension Thursday

Pope Francis is set to preside at the celebration of Holy Mass for the Solemnities of the Ascension, Pentecost, and the Most Holy Trinity, with the latter also being observed as the first World Day of Children.

By Christopher Wells

Pope Francis will preside at various liturgical ceremonies in May, the Vatican has revealed, with the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff publishing a renewed calendar for the coming weeks.

On Thursday, 9 May, Pope Francis will celebrate Second Vespers for the Solemnity of the Ascension, during which the Bull of Indiction of the Jubilee will be proclaimed and published. The Solemnity commemorates Jesus’ Ascension into Heaven forty days after the Resurrection.

Ten days later, on May 19, Pope Francis will offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for the Solemnity of Pentecost, marking the Descent of the Holy Spirit.

And the following week, for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, the Holy Father will once again preside at the Eucharistic Liturgy. The celebration on 26 May will also be observed as the first World Day of Children.

The World Day of Children was suggested by a young boy, 9-year-old Alessandro, during a “Popecast” with the Pope Francs ahead of the most recent WYD, in Lisbon. The suggestion was enthusiastically welcomed by the Pope, who made the official announcement of the initiative in December 2023.

The liturgies of Ascension Thursday and Pentecost will both take place inside St. Peter’s Basilica, while the Mass for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity will be held in St Peter’s Square.

The coming weeks will also see the Pope make a pastoral visit to the Italian city of Venice on 28 April.

Saturday, June 3, 2023

Sunday we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

Ordinary Time: June 4th

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

MASS READINGS

June 04, 2023 (Readings on USCCB website)

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COLLECT PRAYER

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity: God our Father, who by sending into the world the Word of truth and the Spirit of sanctification made known to the human race your wondrous mystery, grant us, we pray, that in professing the true faith, we may acknowledge the Trinity of eternal glory and adore your Unity, powerful in majesty. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

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The fundamental dogma, on which everything in Christianity is based, is that of the Blessed Trinity in whose name all Christians are baptized. The feast of the Blessed Trinity needs to be understood and celebrated as a prolongation of the mysteries of Christ and as the solemn expression of our faith in this triune life of the Divine Persons, to which we have been given access by Baptism and by the Redemption won for us by Christ. Only in heaven shall we properly understand what it means, in union with Christ, to share as sons in the very life of God.

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity was introduced in the ninth century and was only inserted in the General Roman Calendar of the Church in the fourteenth century by Pope John XXII. But the cultus of the Trinity is, of course, to be found throughout the liturgy. Constantly the Church causes us to praise and adore the thrice-holy God who has so shown His mercy towards us and has given us to share in His life.

Mass Readings for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Year A
The First Reading is from Exodus 34:4-6; 8-9. Exodus, the second book in the Old Testament, describes the exit of the Israelites from the slavery of Egypt under the leadership of Moses whom God appointed as their deliverer. The verses read today describe Moses's second meeting with the LORD on Mount Sinai. The LORD had told him to come there again so that he would rewrite the ten commandments on two new tables of stone. The mystery of the Blessed Trinity—was not revealed to the Jews of the Old Testament. They were not yet fit to accept this truth. Surrounded as they were by nations that practiced polytheism (many gods) there would be danger that the Jews would see three Gods in the Trinity—it would look like polytheism to them. Hence it was not revealed to them and therefore we have no Trinitarian text in the Old Testament which could be read on this feast of the Blessed Trinity.

The text chosen gives the basis for its eventual revelation. The LORD made a covenant with the Israelites. He made them his Chosen People, through whom he would eventually send his divine Son and the Holy Spirit to give man—the whole chosen human race—the possibility and the means of reaching the destination that he had planned for them from all eternity. The covenant made by God with Moses on Mount Sinai was the preparation for the revelation of the dogma of the Blessed Trinity and its relationship with our salvation.

The Second Reading is from 2 Cor. 13:11-13. These three verses are the conclusion of St. Paul's second letter to the Corinthians. The letter was written during his third missionary journey, 53-58, and probably from Ephesus where he was from 54-57. Paul had much advice and correction to give them and he also praises them. In these last verses he repeats his appeal for unity and fraternal charity and wishes the blessings of the Holy Trinity upon them.

By celebrating the feast of the three divine Persons today, we too are invoking on ourselves the blessings St. Paul invoked on the Corinthians. We need the grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ if we are to reach heaven. He has already put us on the right road by baptism, and has made us receptacles of grace, but that is only the first step although a supernatural one. Every human act we perform in the state of grace—even our eating and drinking, and our daily tasks—is moving us along the road to heaven. But if we lose the divine grace through mortal sin, all our actions, even holy actions, are useless as regards our heavenward journey.

The Gospel is from John 3:16-18. We have in these verses a part of the conversation that Jesus had with Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a rich Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, the supreme ecclesiastical court of the Jews. He came to Jesus at night for fear of his fellow Pharisees. Although the Holy Spirit is not mentioned in this text from St. John's gospel, the text is included in the readings for the feast of the Blessed Trinity because two of the Persons are mentioned. They are clearly distinguished one from the other, yet both are the one God. God the Father sent God the Son into the world (in human nature) in order to bring eternal life within the reach of all men.

While we must admit from the evidence so clearly given in the story of our redemption and elevation to adopted divine sonship, that the three Persons of the Trinity cooperated in that work, we cannot claim we understand the mystery of three Persons in one God. We can and must admit the fact on the evidence presented to us, but we must also admit that our human intellects are too finite to grasp the essence, the nature of that fact.

How could it be otherwise? If our limited minds could grasp the divine nature and all its qualities it would no longer be divine—it would be limited like ourselves. There are many finite created things in our world which we cannot fully understand. How then could we claim that we should be able to understand the infinite? Of infinity itself we have only a negative description—something that has no beginning or an end. When we get to heaven our minds will be illuminated with greater grace but even then there will always be something new in God for us to see and admire. In the meantime our attitude toward the Trinity should be one of sincere gratitude for having placed us on the road to heaven.

Trinity Sunday
The dogma of faith which forms the object of the feast is this: There is one God and in this one God there are three Divine Persons; the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. Yet there are not three Gods, but one, eternal, incomprehensible God! The Father is not more God than the Son, neither is the Son more God than the Holy Spirit. The Father is the first Divine Person; the Son is the second Divine Person, begotten from the nature of the Father from eternity; the Holy Spirit is the third Divine Person, proceeding from the Father and the Son. No mortal can fully fathom this sublime truth. But I submit humbly and say: Lord, I believe, help my weak faith.

Why is this feast celebrated at this particular time? It may be interpreted as a finale to all the preceding feasts. All three Persons contributed to and shared in the work of redemption. The Father sent His Son to earth, for "God so loved the world as to give His only-begotten Son." The Father called us to the faith. The Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, became man and died for us. He redeemed us and made us children of God. He ever remains the liturgist par excellence to whom we are united in all sacred functions. After Christ's ascension the Holy Spirit, however, became our Teacher, our Leader, our Guide, our Consoler. On solemn occasions a thanksgiving Te Deum rises spontaneously from Christian hearts.

The feast of the Most Holy Trinity may well be regarded as the Church's Te Deum of gratitude over all the blessings of the Christmas and Easter seasons; for this mystery is a synthesis of Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension and Pentecost. This feast, which falls on the first Sunday after Pentecost, should make us mindful that actually every Sunday is devoted to the honor of the Most Holy Trinity, that every Sunday is sanctified and consecrated to the triune God. Sunday after Sunday we should recall in a spirit of gratitude the gifts which the Blessed Trinity is bestowing upon us. The Father created and predestined us; on the first day of the week He began the work of creation. The Son redeemed us; Sunday is the "Day of the Lord," the day of His resurrection. The Holy Spirit sanctified us, made us His temple; on Sunday the Holy Spirit descended upon the infant Church. Sunday, therefore, is the day of the Most Holy Trinity.
—Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Symbols of the Trinity: Equilateral Triangle; Circle of Eternity; Three interwoven Circles; Triangle in Circle; Circle within Triangle; Interwoven Circle and Triangle; Two Triangles interwoven in shape of Star of David; Two Triangles in shape of Star of David interwoven with Circle; Trefoil; Trefoil and Triangle; Trefoil with points; Triquetra; Triquetra and circle; Shield of the Holy Trinity; Three Fishes linked together in shape of a triangle; Cross and Triangle overlapping; Fleur de Lys; St. Patrick's Shamrock.

Saturday, June 6, 2020

Louisiana Saturday Night

The song is much better than the current reality...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR7c3dLbEJg

So how are things in your neck of the woods on this Saturday night, June 6th? For me and most of my southeast Louisiana neighbors we are awaiting the arrival of a very early season tropical mess named Cristobal. I've lived only one place in my life; right here in these parts give or take 60 miles; I do not recall any tropical storm or hurricane hitting directly on June 7th. We've had an early one or two here or there but our historic bouts of hurricane hell usually come in August or September.

Now this thing named Cristobal is no hurricane Katrina or Camille or Betsy but if we can believe the forecast it will be another very inconvenient rainmaker with enough wind to disrupt power here and there. On this Saturday night I am wondering if we should look at the remainder of hurricane season with heightened concern; this is the 3rd named storm only one week into a 26 week season and an early visitor to southeast Louisiana.

It's quiet at home tonight; no early signs of a storm, Wendy back in Slidell helping out with all things new baby and me and Delilah left to watch an old movie, maybe a little live Indy Car racing or the endless news stories of the ongoing aftermath of protests after the police murder of George Floyd.

As I'm reflecting on this Saturday night I'm curious about whatever happened to Coronavirus or Covid19? Of course I'm sarcastic but whatever happened to the countless, almost endless warnings about all things social distancing and masks, remember, avoid large crowds. Yes some have been willing to opine that these protests will lead to an uptick in new Coronavirus but it sure got pushed off the non-stop headlines. Ironically, for us in Louisiana, where Coronavirus was tough on us, we finally got to look forward to Phase 2; a further reopening of our local economies and things like getting our people back into church. But the new Phase 2 has been pushed way back into the collective mindset with the ongoing protests and now a tropical storm approaching from the Gulf of Mexico. My family has been playing it super safe concerning Coronavirus since our newest grandchild was just born 18 days ago. I've only seen Walker twice, outside from a distance of at least 6 feet. Even Brennan, my precocious 27 month old can only see old Pops from a distance. My family wears masks and takes every precaution possible. I've finally returned to service inside the church building for things like assisting at Mass, offering Benediction and even one Baptism is the new reality in a Covid19 world.

This very weekend, today and tomorrow is the first weekend we can have up to 150 faithful inside the church building(we can sit 300 according to the fire marshal). Well, along comes Cristobal. I believe this is holding attendance down from what we could have and today we decided to cancel our Sunday evening Mass in an abundance of caution. And what a wonderful solemnity we celebrate this weekend; the feast of the Most Holy Trinity; one God, three persons; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As a reminder to any local Catholics across the four dioceses in Louisiana that will be impacted by the tropical storm; we are all still dispensed from obligatory mass attendance because of ongoing Covid19 concerns so if you can't get to Mass because of the storm, it's good. You are encouraged to watch a Mass on TV or live stream and pray the Spiritual Communion prayer. And relax, we will all be back together again at Mass, in God's time.

My biggest prayer, personally, for me, is that no one suffers unnecessary damage from Cristobal, especially from rain and coastal floods for our neighbors to the south. I also do not want to lose power especially since the generator is on the blink. We all are thankful this is not a strong hurricane because believe it or not, much of our area still suffers from Katrina fatigue, 15 years later.

I also pray tonight that the ongoing protests remain peaceful; it at least appears to be the trend for the last few nights. And I pray that we do not become dismissive or soft in our heretofore strong fight against Coronavirus. It's important.

So I won't be getting down my fiddle or my bow, I'm here chillin and praying; this is my Louisiana Saturday night...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR7c3dLbEJg

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

Ordinary Time: June 7th

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

MASS READINGS

June 07, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

God our Father, who by sending into the world the Word of truth and the Spirit of sanctification made known to the human race your wondrous mystery, grant us, we pray, that in professing the true faith, we may acknowledge the Trinity of eternal glory and adore your Unity, powerful in majesty. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

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Old Calendar: Trinity Sunday

The feast of the Blessed Trinity was introduced in the ninth century and was only inserted in the general calendar of the Church in the fourteenth century by Pope John XXII. But the cultus of the Trinity is, of course, to be found throughout the liturgy. Constantly the Church causes us to praise and adore the thrice-holy God who has so shown His mercy towards us and has given us to share in His life.

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Friday, April 10, 2020

A quick update on Good Friday morning

Sitting alone in a quiet home as the wife naps away across the room. It's Good Friday and I am off work. Originally I planned to take this whole week off for vacation so I would have no conflicts as I prepared for service as Deacon during these busy days. But with the coronavirus raging I decided to save some vacation days and I only took a few days. Then the SBA phenomena hit and I wound up working yesterday and have already returned emails this morning. For all trying to get the SBA PPP loan, you better be prepared for patience because it's nothing like it is portrayed on the news.

I was happy to assist at our Holy Thursday liturgy. We posted it to our YouTube channel so you can view it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rknL4mH2gD0

It was beautiful to be in the church for this important holy day but it was so surreal, two deacons, our pastor and a cameraman, that's it.

Our current plan is to live stream the Passion of the Lord at 3 pm. Every Good Friday for years I've made it a point to go over to Most Holy Trinity and take in the living stations of the Cross put on by MHT youth. I will miss that this year of course but I understand they will be replaying a previous year's offering on social media. These indeed are different times.

I will update plans for Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday soon.

God Bless all as we journey this thing together, stay safe and follow all the best precautions out there. Remember this Good Friday to be still a bit and sober as we immerse ourselves in the Lord's Passion, His Death on a Cross and look forward to His Easter Resurrection.

Thursday, April 18, 2019

My view of Holy Thursday as a Deacon, for the 11th time

Tonight I reflected after Mass that I've been doing this Holy Thursday worship for the 11th time as a deacon. All of my experiences have been reserved to 2 parishes: St. Jane de Chantal(Abita Springs) and Most Holy Trinity (near the Covington/Mandeville border in the old church). I have been one of many deacons in the sanctuary, one of two, I have proclaimed the Gospel, like tonight, have assisted at altar, have assisted with washing of feet and always participated in the procession to the altar of repose.

This mass is so beautiful as we can reflect on the institution of the priesthood and the Eucharist at that first Holy Thursday night in the upper room some 2,000 years ago. And then there is what is sometimes called the mandatum; the washing of feet, given to us right from the pages of Scripture(as is most of the Mass). Our pastor washed feet tonight, not 12 people as I've witnessed most of the time, but less than 12 is a valid option. Incredibly, one of the options is to skip the washing of feet altogether; I've only witnessed that once.

Perhaps the most beautiful part of the evening is that the mass on Holy Thursday never ends; instead the Blessed Sacrament is gathered together in vessels called ciboria and processed to another location, commonly called the altar of repose. There Jesus, in the Blessed Sacrament, will remain tonight for adoring, in our case, until midnight. It is a somber, beautiful sacred tradition and serves as a reminder that Jesus will not be in all the tabernacles of the world again until the joyful and glorious celebration of the Easter vigil on Saturday at dark.

Once Jesus is relocated the deacons with other helpers return to the church and strip the sanctuary bare. When we enter the church on Good Friday, the altar is adorned with nothing. It adds to the reality that He is not there.

So right now I am home, reflecting on yet another Holy Thursday as a Deacon, happy and thankful that God choose to use me in the manner that He does as one of His deacons. Holy Thursday is one of my favorite evenings of the year in all things faith life and liturgical cycle. Everything about this night is deep - Eucharist, Priesthood, Washing Feet. And we remember the log night Jesus then spent in the Garden, asking his Apostles, and asking us, can we watch with Him just one hour.

The Triduum has begun, on to Good Friday.

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

A new cemetery and funeral home for the growing Catholic communities of the Northshore of New Orleans

Northshore to get new cemetery, funeral home

Posted By: Christine L. Bordelon Archbishop Gregory Aymond, Covington, Grace Funeral Home, Most Holy Trinity, SCI, St. Lazarus of Bethany Memorial Garden

By Christine Bordelon, Clarion Herald
On April 4, a ground-breaking ceremony was held for a new cemetery and funeral home in Covington.
St. Lazarus of Bethany Memorial Garden and Grace Funeral Home are a collaboration between the Archdiocese of New Orleans and Service Corporation International (SCI), a leading provider of funeral, cremation and cemetery services in America.

Archbishop Gregory Aymond blessed the land and the people working on the project and expressed gratitude for being able to fulfill the need of a new cemetery on the northshore.

“One of the most important things we do for individuals and for families is to be present at the time of death, to help the families experience God’s comfort – the comfort of the church – but also to continue to give deep respect to the human body,” Archbishop Aymond said. “The body is a sacred place. It is where God dwells in us during our earthly life, and it is also the gift of God that he gives us to be who we are and do what we do.

Respect for God’s temple
“So, in our Christian tradition, there is a great respect for the dignity of the human body. We believe that we not only give comfort and love to families, but also that we show the very best of respect and dignity for the body and remains. We have no doubt that we can do that with SCI and look forward to that.”
Archbishop Aymond detailed how the names were chosen – one was taken from the Scripture passage in which Jesus wept at the tomb of his friend Lazarus and raised him from the dead, only to bury him again at his death.
“The image of St. Lazarus not only tells us about grief, but also about God breathing life into us and calling us home to the kingdom,” Archbishop Aymond said. “We decided on ‘Grace’ because this is a graced moment as people come into the funeral home. We believe it is a graced moment of God’s comfort and of God’s love.”
Completed in phases
The initial phase of the new development is situated on 54 acres (including wetlands) and includes an 8,500-square-foot funeral home, 800 cemetery plots, 300 mausoleum crypts and 200 cremation niches.
“The new property will be carefully designed and constructed to preserve more than 16 acres of protected wetlands,” said Eric Tanzberger, SCI’s senior vice president and chief financial officer, at the ground breaking.
“It dovetails into the serenity of the park, having this natural beauty there,” said Mike Decell, Service Corporation International’s managing director of real estate and construction, said of the wetlands. “We’re trying to use the benefit of the natural setting of the park.”

Tanzberger lauded Archbishop Aymond and the archdiocese for being “instrumental and such great partners in this project. We couldn’t be more honored to work with Archbishop Aymond to help realize his mission of serving parishioners of Most Holy Trinity Parish, the surrounding parishes as well as all of the northshore community.”
Decell said the architects studied the features of Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church and St. Anthony’s Gardens (across the street) when considering the design of the funeral home.
“It’s a state-of-the-art funeral home that is going to complement the existing development there with the archdiocese,” Decell said, adding it would be tailored to the traditions of residents of the area. “We have visitation rooms and a chapel in the facility and multi-purpose rooms to accommodate both visitation and actual memorial services.”
SCI is using Kenny Whistler Architecture as the funeral home designer, and Clark and Green Associates as the cemetery’s landscape architect, Decell said. In addition, Faulk and Meek General Contractors is the building contractor; while Larry Loyd Construction is site contractor.
Legacy of ownership
The project is part of the development of approximately 370 acres that was donated to the archdiocese by Father Hyacinth Claude Mignot, canon and rector at St. Louis Cathedral, and once used by the Chinchuba Institute for the Deaf in the early 1900s. Most Holy Trinity Church and St. Anthony’s Gardens retirement residence for seniors were also built on this property.
John Eckholdt, former chief operating officer of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, said the archdiocese worked out the details of the project so that SCI leases the land and builds, maintains and runs the funeral home and cemetery. Headquartered in Houston, SCI was selected as partners because of its excellent products and services in the industry, operating 1,488 funeral homes and 473 cemeteries in 45 states and eight Canadian provinces, including the local Lakelawn Metairie Funeral Home and Cemetery, Mount Olivet Cemetery, St. Vincent de Paul Cemetery and Leitz-Eagan Funeral Home.
The Catholic presence is clear throughout the development, Eckholdt said, though people of all faiths are welcomed to use the facility.
Decell projected that Phase I of the project would be completed by the end of 2018 or beginning of 2019. Additional phases on the approximately 34 remaining acres will be built as need dictates, he said.
“The people are excited about it,” said Father Rodney Bourg, pastor at Most Holy Trinity Church and a participant in the initial planning for the church, senior residence and cemetery project. “We need a cemetery on this side of the lake.”
Christine Bordelon can be reached at cbordelon@clarionherald.org.