Center of Jesus the Lord at Our Lady of Good Counsel

06/11/2026

06/05/2026

Friday, 5 June 2026
Memorial of St.Boniface
Friday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time, Year A, Mk. 12: 35-37
A TRUE IMAGE OF CHRIST
At the time of Jesus’ ministry, the Jews understood that the Messiah would come from the line of David. Furthermore, many thought that the Messiah would simply be a nationalistic leader who would lead the Jewish nation out of the oppression of the Romans. Thus, they reduced the Messiah to a descendant of David who would set them free in a more political way. In today’s gospel, Jesus gives clarity to this common understanding of the Messiah as the “son of David.” The Messiah would not only descend in human form from David’s ancestral line, but He was also David’s “Lord.” Jesus shows this by pointing to Psalm 110 in which David refers to the Messiah as his Lord. Although this subtle distinction may not at first seem to be that important to us today, Jesus clearly makes an intentional effort to teach this. Thus, we must work diligently to have a correct image of Jesus. Though today we may not see Jesus as a nationalistic leader who came to set us free from polit!
ical oppression, we can often form other erroneous images of Him. For the Jews at that time, the idea that the Messiah was also the “Lord” of King David was new. This points to the divinity of the Messiah and His eternal nature. Jesus gives this subtle clarification, and “The great crowd heard this with delight.” We also must work to delight in a clear and correct understanding of Who Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God and Son of Man truly is. So Who is Jesus for you, your family and for the world? Reflect, today, upon the image you have of Jesus. Jesus, give us the grace we need to shed the erroneous and limited images of you that we have, to come to know you as you are. Amen. “YOU ARE THE LIGHT”

05/28/2026

Letter from Archbishop Checchio
May 26, 2026

My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

It seems like I have always had the Sacred Heart of Jesus in my life, at home, my parish growing up, schools, seminaries, my parish assignments and now in my residence! I’ve always loved the Sacred Heart – I guess because it is so simple yet profound, theological, which I didn’t know as a child, yet practical. The Sacred Heart of Jesus reminds us of God’s intense love for us but also quietly urges us to emulate it, as He calls us to be like him: to be merciful to one another, especially those in need. The Sacred Heart of Jesus offers us comfort in times of distress in our lives, our families, our Church and world. How grateful we are for the Sacred Heart of Jesus!

So, it is an exciting time for us all as we prepare to consecrate our archdiocese, our families and ourselves to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as the Bishops of the United States will do for our whole country as we mark the semiquincentennial anniversary of the founding of our country. This is an opportunity for us to receive a new life, mercy and healing flowing from the very heart of Jesus. I am grateful to our priests and other parish ministers and staffs for ensuring that we are preparing for the consecration to the Sacred Heart. I am grateful to the faithful of our archdiocese for the way you have responded with such faith and enthusiasm. It is my hope that this consecration will bear great fruit in our local Church and bring us all closer to our Lord who desires to accompany us and our families every day. How we need His help, love and guidance in our lives, Church and world.

We have been preparing throughout the nine weeks prior to the consecration with various common prayer intentions. More immediately, we will prepare by every parish offering a Holy Hour of Eucharistic Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament on Thursday June 4, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. I will lead the Holy Hour at our St. Louis Cathedral and hope to see those able to come there.

We have transferred the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart this year so it will be celebrated at all our parish Masses the weekend of June 13 and 14. Each parish has received 8x10 inch images of the Sacred Heart – one for every active household in each parish – which will be blessed and distributed at all Masses on that weekend. Every family is invited then to enthrone the Sacred Heart in their home that same weekend. Instructions, prayers for the enthronement, and a recommended novena are available at nolacatholic.org/sacredheart.

Parishes are sharing this information too. Many parishes have been praying on Sundays the Novena Prayer to the Sacred Heart in preparation for the Home Enthronements.

Following the consecration, we will begin a period of formation and evangelization. In his encyclical on devotion to the Sacred Heart, Pope Pius XII speaks of the three greatest gifts given from the Sacred Heart of Jesus to the world: the Eucharist, the Blessed Mother and the Priesthood (cf. Haurietis Aquas, no. 69). We will concentrate on these gifts during this period of time.

I have already asked my brother priests to join me in renewing our filial devotion to the Blessed Mother through a renewed daily commitment to the Rosary. I see so many of our faithful already doing this, but how wonderful it would be to have more of our lay faithful, religious and deacons join in this too, even if just once a week. I love my daily rosary on my morning walk and it reminds me that our Blessed Mother is with me throughout the day. The Blessed Mother offers us her love and protection, and she always brings us closer to Jesus. May she renew our love for and hope in continuing mission of making her Son’s name more known, loved and served here in Southeastern Louisiana.

Further on the priesthood, I continue to ask you to pray for more vocations to the priesthood, so we have enough shepherds for all our parishes. Also, if you know someone whom you think would be a good priest, ask them. You might be the instrument of the Holy Spirit to open their hearts to discerning it. As part of the consecration to the Sacred Heart, we are including our homebound parishioners by asking them to pray for Vocations offering their illnesses or sufferings for an increase of vocations to the priesthood. We have shared a prayer card for doing this on the website and with our pastors.

The Sacred Heart Apostolate is assisting us in compiling a full list of Adoration chapels and times of Eucharistic Exposition in parishes across our archdiocese. We will promote this in various ways and I encourage you to consider a personal commitment to increased time before the Blessed Sacrament. My time with our Eucharistic Lord in the morning, allows me time to rest in Him, to thank Him for all the blessings I have, but also to present our many needs. We have produced and distributed a one–page guide for Eucharistic Adoration which is available on the website for the consecration. If you are able, please help ensure that every open slot for adorers in Eucharistic Adoration chapels throughout the archdiocese are filled by the end of the nine–week period.
Finally, Welcome Home Sunday the weekend of August 15 and 16 is an invitation to all: those who have not returned to Mass since the pandemic, those who have drifted because of hurt, scandal, or division, those who have felt unseen or unwelcome, those who quietly stopped trying, those who are searching, and even those who have never stepped inside a Catholic Church. On this Sunday, I ask that we intentionally open wide the doors of our churches and our hearts. We do not simply wait – we go out and invite. With the Sacred Heart as our model, we receive each person not as a stranger, but as a beloved son or daughter of God being welcomed home. Please consider inviting someone - a family member, friend, colleague - to join you for Mass on this weekend. What a gift to Jesus you will be making and to the person you invite, reconnecting them with the love of Jesus!

Thanks to all for your generous cooperation in this important moment in our lives, our families and in the life of our archdiocesan family. May the Sacred Heart of Jesus renew us, strengthen us, heal us and draw our whole archdiocesan family more deeply into His love.

May we emulate that love, sharing Jesus with all we encounter each day, renewing the face of our archdiocese into the image God desires it to be. Know of my love, prayers and gratitude for you and please, pray for me.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on all of us and on the whole world!

Most Reverend James F. Checchio, JCD, MBA
Archbishop of New Orleans

05/28/2026

Please join us for our Mass and family picnic on Sunday, May 31st!

05/27/2026

From: Rev. Anthony Inam - Director of CJL.
Fr.Anthony's Reflection:

Wednesday, 27 May 2026
Wednesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time, Year A, Mk. 10: 32-45
GREATNESS IN HOLY SERVITUDE
Jesus, in the gospel, responds to his disciples, saying, “…whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.” Jesus, of course, was especially speaking about Himself. Jesus was the greatest and the first among them, yet he humbled Himself as their servant and the “slave of all.” Normally, the idea of being a slave has very negative connotations. Slavery is an abuse of the dignity of another. It is a way of discarding the dignity of the person. But, nonetheless, Jesus says that the ideal way to be truly great is to become a slave of all. When literal slavery is imposed upon another, this is a grave abuse. But there is another form of slavery of which Jesus is speaking, that is the one in which we give ourselves to another in a sacrificial way out of love. And this is what Jesus did to perfection. His death on the Cross was a true physical death. It was a sacrifice of His earthly life, but it was done freely and for the purpose of setting others free. Hence, Jesus explains His “slavery”, saying, “For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus’ greatness is first found in the simple fact that He is God. But His greatness is made most manifest in His human nature when He gives His life “as a ransom for many.” It is the Cross that becomes the greatest act of loving service ever known. The fruit of His selfless sacrifice is the salvation of all who turn to Him. Thus, Jesus turns slavery and death into the greatest act of love ever known. Jesus, we trust in you, Amen. “YOU ARE THE LIGHT”

05/26/2026

From: Rev. Anthony Inam - Director of CJL.
Fr.Anthony's Reflection:

Tuesday, 26 May 2026
Tuesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time, Year A, Mk. 10: 28-31
MEMORIAL OF SAINT PHILIP NERI, Priest
AN EXCHANGE OF GIFTS
In today’s gospel, Peter said to Jesus, “We have given up everything and followed you.” Truly, they did give up everything from their former life. They left home, their occupation, their relationships and everything that had been part of their daily established life in response to the call of Jesus. They were truly all in. In hearing this statement from Peter, Jesus does not give the expected response. He does not say to Peter, “Yes, you have, that is very impressive, Peter. Good job and thank you!” Instead, Jesus immediately explains to Peter that the sacrifice he and the others have made is worth it. Their unwavering commitment to follow Jesus would be repaid with gifts beyond their imagination. Thus, Jesus was saying that the gifts that He would bestow upon them would be exponentially greater than every sacrifice they made. This was not a belittling of Peter’s self-sacrifice; rather, it was a form of encouragement by Jesus. He was encouraging Peter and the other disciples to have full confidence in their decision to follow Him. Their sacrifice would yield a hundredfold return. That is truly a good investment. It can be tempting for us all, at times, to feel as though God asks too much of us. Yes, God indeed asks much of us. He asks everything from us. He asks for the complete and total gift of our lives to Him. He calls us to abandon all selfishness and to dedicate ourselves to His holy will without exception. But if we understand the reward of our self-giving, then the sacrifices we make will pale in comparison to the reward. Reflect, today, upon whether or not you can say those words of the Apostle, Peter: “Lord, I have given up everything to follow You.” Jesus, we trust in you, Amen. “YOU ARE THE LIGHT”

05/25/2026

Monday, 25 May 2026
Monday after Pentecost, Year A, Jn. 19: 25-34
Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church
YOUR HEAVENLY MOTHER
The memorial we celebrate today, which was added to the Roman Liturgical Calendar in 2018 by Pope Francis, highlights the truth that the Blessed Virgin Mary is not only the Mother of the Person of Christ, and, therefore, the Mother of God, she is also the Mother of the Church, that is, the Mother of all the faithful. Mary is your mother. She is truly tender, compassionate, caring and merciful, bestowing upon you everything that a perfect mother desires to bestow. She is the fiercest of mothers who will stop at nothing to protect her children. She is a mother wholly devoted to you, her dear child. Thus, today’s gospel depicts our Blessed Mother standing at the foot of the cross as He endured His last agony. As she stood by her Son in His hour of suffering and death, Jesus turned to her and entrusted the Apostle John to her maternal care. From the early Church Fathers to the most recent teachings of the Church, this act of entrusting John to Mary and Mary to John by Jesus has been understood as an entrustment of all the faithful to the maternal care of Mother Mary. Mother Mary is, therefore, not only the Mother of Christ, but also the Mother of all the redeemed, the mother of us all, the Mother of the Church. Reflect, today, upon Mother Mary standing by you in every moment of your life. See her there in your joys and your sorrows, during your moments of temptation and struggles, in your moments of confusion and clarity. See her there by your side, bestowing every good spiritual gift upon you when you need it the most. She is a true mother, and she is worthy of your love and gratitude. Mother Mary, pray for us, Amen. “YOU ARE THE LIGHT”. A pleasant new week to your family, and may God grant you success.