Mission and Vision

Mission Statement of Divine Mercy Parish
We, the parish of Divine Mercy, a Catholic community, are committed to Christ, valuing faith, love, trust and unity. Inspired by the image of Divine Mercy and relying on the Holy Spirit, we are called to reach out with endless mercy to those who are searching for God and gather all into Our Lord’s home; to spread His Word; to educate our youth and to assist those in need.

Divine Mercy Catholic Church is a vibrant and faith-filled parish family of the Archdiocese of New Orleans serving the people of God by our common witness to the Lord Jesus Christ. We, the clergy and lay faithful of Divine Mercy, seek to be instruments of God’s grace for the sanctification of His people through divine worship, evangelization, catechesis, and service.

• We are committed to proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe, through our words and deeds, and we aspire to lead others to a saving knowledge of the Paschal Mystery by the way we live and pray together.

• We seek to grow in holiness of life and strive for a deeper relationship with Christ and His Church through a mature understanding of our Catholic faith, faithful to the magisterium of the Church, and a worthy sacramental participation in the Paschal Mystery. Mindful of the example of our patron, we are committed to ongoing faith formation and spiritual development through Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the Teaching Magisterium of the Church.

• We acknowledge the special gift we have been given in the Blessed Virgin Mary – Mother of the Church and Queen of the Clergy – and in the Communion of Saints. We strive to offer all believers the occasion for a deepening conversion, a step forward in the journey to God, with Mary as the model for that journey and the Saints as our intercessors during our earthly pilgrimage.

• We strive to promote genuine Catholic devotions, maintain time-honored Catholic traditions, and further Eucharistic Adoration so as to be formed into the likeness of Christ through repentance and conversion.

• We endeavor to promote strong marriages and healthy families and to make each household in the parish a vibrant domestic church.

• We aspire to give special attention to the integral formation of our youth, to enable them to meet the unique challenges of our modern world. Through spiritual, academic, human and apostolic formation of our children, especially through St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School, we seek to teach them to be faithful disciples of Jesus Christ and to prepare them to become vibrant adult witnesses to the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We invite our children to consider the possibility of serving God and His Church in the priesthood or religious life.

• We seek to serve all of our brothers and sisters, most especially the poor, the sick, and the elderly. In responding to their spiritual, emotional, and financial needs, we serve Christ and promote the human dignity of those in distress. We also seek to protect and enroll the unborn and to promote the Gospel of Life by bearing witness to the human dignity of all persons from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death.

• We strive to cultivate an environment in which authentic Christian stewardship of time, talent, and treasure is understood, accepted and practiced throughout the parish.

• Finally, we find the source and summit of our Christian life in the sacred liturgy, most especially in the celebration of the Holy Mass. We desire to live in the grace of our baptismal consecration by a constant conversion from sin in the sacrament of Penance and a faithful adherence to the Gospel and thus to bear witness to the Lord Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit, with whom we were sealed in Confirmation. Above all else, for our creation and redemption, we give thanks and praise to the Father, in the Son, through the Holy Spirit by a solemn, reverent, and dignified celebration of the Most Holy Eucharist, in which the Paschal Mystery is recalled and renewed for our salvation and sanctification.

          By our teaching of the Gospel, our celebration of the Sacred Mysteries of the new and everlasting Covenant, our family lives, and our loving service to our brothers and sisters, we proclaim by the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God the Father that Jesus Christ is Lord!