Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church Kenner Louisiana

06/13/2026

06/13/2026

Today’s Gospel - Luke 2:41-51 Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Each year Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover,

and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom.

After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it.

Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances,

but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.

After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions,

and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers.

When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, "Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety."

And he said to them, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"

But they did not understand what he said to them.

He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart.
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Reflection:
Not Everything Is Clear From the Outset: Mary has a mother’s heart that wants to love the loves of her Son. For Mary the road was not always clear. There would be many trials and difficulties. Nevertheless, Mary is resolved to follow her Son. She wants to follow him, understanding the mission. She cares for him in every way – even spiritually. There were many surprises in store for her as Christ matured and prepared for his mission. She never expected this one: losing her son for three days, at such an early age. Her son desired to be in his Father’s house and prepare his work. He loved being there and was preparing for the day when he would go out and actively do the work he had been sent to complete. Mary too was preparing for that day and Christ helped her get ready.

She Stored All These Things Up In Her Heart: It was hard for Mary to understand the full meaning of this moment. Being a woman of prayer and contemplation, she stored all these things up in her heart where she could recall them, reflect on them and compare them to other moments of her mission. What did all this mean? What did it point to? God’s plan would only reveal itself with time and Mary would be ready for it. It was not so much understanding that she needed but rather acceptance and fidelity to complete it. Mary had a contemplative heart that sought to unite itself and identify itself to the mission of her Son. She knew that she had a part to play in that mission and that she would need to prepare herself for it through prayer.

Take Mary’s Hand: We will never understand the purpose and meaning of our life unless we pray and contemplate like Mary did. It takes time, patience and a great deal of simplicity and trust. “Blessed is she that believed that the promises made to her would be fulfilled!” exclaims her cousin Elizabeth after the annunciation by the angel Gabriel. We are blessed when we can believe. It may take a long time to see the fulfillment of God’s designs in our lives too. We need to be like Mary and follow through by faithfully walking the path that is marked out for us. It can be a path that is not clear. We don’t need to know all of what lies ahead – just where we need to walk. Mary identified with her Son’s mission with her whole heart. She invites us to identify with it too. She will not fail to take you by the hand and lead you along that unclear, difficult and unknown path.

Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus Christ, when you had already given us everything – your life, your love, your Body and Blood in the Eucharist – from the cross you gave us the gift of your Mother. I thank you for this great gift. I want to be her faithful child. I want to imitate all her virtues, especially her faithfulness to you up to and beyond the moment of the cross. Grant me the grace to accompany both you and your mother at the foot of the cross. I want to follow you closely and perfectly as Mary did. I want to belong only to you and do only your will.

Resolution: I will ask Mary to shape all Christian virtues in me by my daily prayer to her in the Rosary. I will also make a special visit to her at one of her statues or images this week.
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Mary is the sure path to our meeting with Christ. Devotion to the Mother of the Lord, when it is genuine, is always an impetus to a life guided by the spirit and values of the Gospel.
- Pope John Paul II

06/13/2026

Join us in prayer for Fr. Jeffrey Montz. God Bless!!

06/13/2026

Reflection on today’s readings - Immaculate Heart - Keep meditating so that your heart is immaculate like Mary's. Tap on the link below to watch this short video clip. God Bless!

Action Item: Keep meditating so that your heart is immaculate like Mary's. Listen to the Daily Readings here. Sign up at Formed Daily to receive these daily reflections directly to your inbox. Sta...

06/13/2026

🌹🙏Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus looked to Mary not as someone distant and unattainable, but as a tender mother who walked the path of faith with simplicity and trust. Thérèse's "Little Way" echoes the disposition of Mary's Immaculate Heart: offering small acts of love, embracing humility, and surrendering everything to God.

As Saint Thérèse beautifully wrote:

"My vocation is love!"

These simple words reveal the secret of both Mary's heart and the Carmelite vocation. Love is not found primarily in extraordinary works, but in a heart that belongs entirely to God. Mary's Immaculate Heart teaches us how to love with purity, generosity, and trust. Thérèse reminds us that even the smallest act, when done with great love, has immense value in God's eyes.

Today, let us ask the Immaculate Heart of Mary to form our hearts after her own. May she teach us to trust God in every circumstance, to remain faithful in prayer, and to walk the Little Way with confidence, knowing that holiness is found in loving God wholeheartedly in the present moment.

**Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.**
**Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, pray for us.**
❤️
Source: Third oder of Carmelites - St. Therese of the Child Jesus Pampanga

06/13/2026

Readings for June 13th, tap on the link below to listen.

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06/12/2026

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Saint Joseph Abbey Retreat Center is looking forward to hosting The Mystery of Redemptive Suffering Retreat, put on by Fr. Montz. This inspirational weekend will take place Septmeber 4-6, 2026 and you can register now at https://saintjosephabbey.secure.retreat.guru/program/the-mystery-of-redemptive-suffering/?lang=en.

06/12/2026

Today’s Gospel - Matthew 11:25-30

At that time Jesus exclaimed: "I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.

Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.

All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him."

"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."
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Reflection:
At that time Jesus exclaimed: "No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him."

Showing Off His Heart. Since Jesus is both God and man, then there are two things that must always be found together in the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus: His Heart of flesh and His love for us - both of which are found in streets of Nazareth, on the Cross, in the Blessed Sacrament, in His teaching and healing, and in His praying and working.

When we speak of the Sacred Heart, we mean Jesus showing off His heart.

What will you offer to me? As Christ holds His heart in one hand, He extends the other as if to say, "I give my heart to you. Now what will you give to me? My heart has become like a burning bush that will never be consumed."

Love is never threatened or consumed by giving or sacrifice; It is only renewed and purified by it. Hence, surrounding the Lord's heart are the thorns that pierced His human flesh but never His holy Will. These, along with the Roman's lance, may have scared the Lord's sacred body, but never damaged His sacred Heart, for suffering and sacrifice are the fires that forge human hearts into the heart of God.

I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to little ones. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.

What's in your heart? Are they the same things that are in your wallet? What's in your wallet?

We need to be careful not to store earthly treasures in heavenly vessels. Credit cards, money, identity cards do not belong in our hearts. They belong in our wallets. What belongs to the heart are heavenly things: God's Will, God's Commandments, God's identity card: "They will know you belong to me by the way you love one another."

Forgiveness comes easy to all of us when we are left with no alternatives. Likewise, service to the Church comes easy when we are advanced in age; that is, when family and friends have rejected us (or died) and there is nothing else to do.

We must learn to serve at an early age and to forgive and serve others when our options are wide open. Only in this way, will our hearts be filled with the same (and right) stuff that keeps the Lord's heart burning with passion for sinners.
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To follow Jesus means putting him first, and stripping ourselves of all the things that oppress our hearts.
- Pope Francis