News - February 2023 RSS Feed

The Friday fish fry is a well-known and beloved New Orleans tradition with deep roots. While it is a popular Friday tradition all year long, it is especially popular during Lent. But where did this tradition come from? Why are we the keepers of the best Fish Fries? Well, besides being located on the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico, the answer is rooted in several parts including the Catholic Church and our city’s history of European immigration.

The Catholic Faith when it finds itself in a culture that does not know or has forgotten God, it does not castigate, but rather, Catholicism helps the culture to find Him. By finding seeds of goodness in what already exists, baptizing, and even preserving important holidays and cultural elements by imbuing them with new Christian meaning, Catholicism elevates and presents as a sacrifice to God the best elements and the Love of the people! Since “taking back” presents a valid method of restoring worthy traditions to God, let us call for and practice the re-Christianizing of the ancient Catholic tradition of Mardi Gras!

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. The holiday, which takes its name from multiple early Christian martyrs named Valentine, is now an overwhelmingly secular celebration, not to mention a highly profitable one for greeting card companies, chocolatiers, and florists. And there isn’t much in the way of a “Keep Valentine in Valentine’s Day” movement to restore its lost religious meaning.

Divine Mercy Parish is preparing to launch a Men’s Ministry group entitled That Man is You! That Man is You! honestly addresses the pressures and temptations that men face in our modern culture, especially those relating to their roles as husbands and fathers. The program harmonizes current social and medical science with the teachings of the Church and the wisdom of the saints to develop the vision of man fully alive!