Father William Saunders, who writes the “Straight Answers” column for the Arlington Catholic Herald in Virginia, says although the Advent wreath is part of a “long-standing Catholic tradition,” its actual origins are unknown.

Catholic Community Radio (CCR) has launched a weekly Contemporary Catholic music program titled, “Overflow,” said CCR president David Dawson Sr. “Overflow” is a groundbreaking, one-hour program, distributed nationally to Catholic radio stations. It is hosted by Kara Klein-Oubre and Chris Price.

St. Mary’s Dominican High’s annual Thanksgiving basket drive filled 100 baskets with donations from homerooms, clubs, athletic teams; 20 baskets from St. Rita Catholic Church and School; and 12 from Dominican alumnae, who also contributed to $25 Walmart gift cards.

As we navigate the “holiday season” here’s our David Letterman style “top 10 things families can do to observe advent. Beyond our Catholic churches and schools, Advent is a lost season. In our “25 Days of Christmas” world where Christmas décor overtakes our stores well before the Thanksgiving turkey is carved, it is a challenge to observe Advent, but we, as families and as individuals, try.

St. Scholastica Academy’s theology department revived the “Senior Outreach Day” by helping 12th-graders  connect with the needy through volunteer service at various sites on Oct. 12.

As the first summer without professional baseball in New Orleans since 1992 approaches, here’s more than a hint of optimism: Minor league baseball could return, as early as 2021.

On an outcropping of limestone just outside a gate of Jerusalem, two men who had committed crimes and one who had not were “hanging.” They were hanging in crucifixion, suspended from nails driven through their wrists and ankles.

Once again, the Crescent City is the capital of high school volleyball in Louisiana. And the epicenter is Kenner’s Pontchartrain Center. In a sport whose majority of outstanding teams are strewn along the Interstate 10 corridor from Pearl River to Vinton, the cream of the volleyball crop again comes from Catholic schools in Orleans Parish and Slidell, and from an elite private school located in Old Metairie.

I was setting up a booth at my son’s school fair. It was a beautiful day, and I was happy to have the time to volunteer at his school in the first place. Some days it can be challenging to juggle a full work day and school volunteering.

Pope Francis warned that violence against Jewish people, which reached a state of horror during World War II, is on the rise again. During his weekly general audience Nov. 13, the pope reflected on the lives of Priscilla and Aquila, a first-century married couple who accompanied St. Paul in his ministry and were among the Jews expelled from Rome by Claudius Caesar.

Every October, Catholics across the United States participate in Respect Life Month, where Catholics “realize … our personal call to help others encounter God’s transforming, life-giving love and to defend the sanctity of every person’s life, at every stage and in every circumstance.” – United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

What did Richard C. Colton Jr. do when he was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic squamous cell skin cancer in June 2012 and told to get his affairs in order? This Catholic convert, New York Yankees fan, avid art patron and collector, thoroughbred horse owner and world traveler made a pact with God.

Nestled in the heart of Kenner’s Rivertown neighborhood, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish has not only survived but thrived for 150 years as a hub of faith under the “perpetual” care of the Blessed Mother, said Archbishop Gregory Aymond, celebrating the church’s 150th Anniversary Mass on Nov. 16.

There are many things I was told during my pregnancy that were meant to prepare me for motherhood. I had heard about the sleepless nights, the resulting sleep deprivation and the seemingly insatiable feedings. I was told to sleep while my twin boys were sleeping, to neglect household chores, to recruit help when and where I could get it.

The highly successful #iGiveCatholic online crowdfunding campaign has kicked off its fifth year with Advanced Day Giving that began Nov. 18 and continues through Dec. 2, the day prior to the actual 24-hour Giving Day on Tuesday, Dec. 3.

Please note these are my personal notes and not an official summary of the meeting of the United States Conference of Bishops (USCCB) recently held in Baltimore.

Archbishop Gregory Aymond blessed and dedicated St. Scholastica Academy’s new Angelus Hall on Oct. 28. The $3.2 million, two-story building houses eight classrooms for math, theology for all grades, a science lab, a TV production studio and a yearbook/video production studio.

Reunión de noviembre de 2019 de la USCCB 1. Enviamos saludos a nuestro Santo Padre, el Papa Francisco, asegurándole nuestras oraciones y, pidiéndole su continuo apoyo espiritual a nuestro ministerio episcopal.

Queridos hermanos: llegamos al último domingo del año litúrgico en el que celebramos la solemnidad de Cristo Rey. La liturgia nos dice así, gráficamente, que al final Dios, el Bien, la Verdad, la Justicia y la Vida triunfarán sobre las aparentemente invencibles e insuperables fuerzas del mal, la mentira, la injusticia y la muerte. Y esa victoria, pese a todas las apariencias, está ya operando en la historia. La Iglesia y la liturgia, al decirnos que Jesús es Rey y que ha vencido, nos presentan una imagen de esta realeza y su victoria que no puede dar lugar a equívocos o asimilaciones.

The annual collection for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), which helps fund the U.S. bishops’ anti-poverty initiatives, will be taken up at all Masses in the Archdiocese of New Orleans Nov. 23-24.