The 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time
From The Font
“Who do you say that I am?”
In the United States, many Christians believe that detailed theological statements about Jesus don’t matter - only personal Faith does. But this Gospel passage, in particular, reveals that Jesus cares very much that His apostles understand who He is as the Christ (the Jewish Messiah), as the Son of God, and, even more specifically, the Son of the Living God (a matter of subtle theological nuance).
What’s more, Jesus recognizes in this detailed understanding a profound connection with God through the Holy Spirit. And Jesus specifically establishes Peter as His Vicar in His soon-to-be-established Church because of Peter’s nearness to the Holy Spirit - which is verified by theological understanding.
As icing on the cake, Jesus confirms that this whole question of understanding and right knowledge matters when He commands that only certain people are allowed to know this about His nature at the moment. Of course, after His death and resurrection, everyone will be free to know the truth of His Divine Sonship, but the concern that Jesus has for truth is very clearly established. That’s something we take for granted in a world which is increasingly schizophrenic about information. On one hand, we hear constant panicked warnings about mis-information and dis-information and, on the other hand, any talk about God, religion, and moral truths is cast aside with ramblings about “my truth” and the idea that there is no one truth in the universe.
An old Spiritual Director of mine used to say that you have to be educated into that kind of stupidity!
Truth matters! There is one truth: Jesus Christ. He is THE Truth (and the Way and the Life). His teaching - all of it - matters. It’s not just a matter of personal Faith. If Jesus took the time to teach it, then it matters for our salvation. Gaining access to that truth is both a matter of intellectual study and of infused wisdom that comes from prayer, especially listening prayer, time with the Lord.
Ultimately, each of us is going to be confronted with the question in today’s Gospel: who do YOU say that I am? Better to prepare ourselves as best we can in the here and now.
Thoughts from Fr. Ryan
St Monica has a dubious title. She is the patron of disappointing Children! Monica was a Christian married to a pagan in North Africa in the 300s. She had a son whom she named Augustine. That son was incredibly brilliant and had a meteoric rise intellectually and politically. But Monica’s main concern for her son was his spiritual health.
Spiritually, Augustine first embraced an atheistic philosophy. He took up a playboy lifestyle and set aside his mom’s concerns for his spiritual well-being. Monica prayed and prayed. It’s all she could do. Although she was a smart woman, few people in world history could’ve kept up with her brilliant son.
After several years, Monica’s prayers seemed to have some success as Augustine took up a type of heretical Christianity called Manicheism which was not really Christianity, but just another wrong philosophy with a lot of Christian vocabulary. Rather than just be deflated, Monica prayed and she shared her Faith with Augustine who, by now, was weighed down by the consequences of his lifestyle and was looking for a richer sense of meaning. It helped that the world was collapsing around him and that the Roman Empire was on its last legs. People start to take eternity more seriously when the here and now is a mess.
Finally, after three decades of prayer, Augustine listened to his mother and became a real Christian. He took responsibility for his hedonism and his past lifestyle. And, as he did with everything else in his life, he studied and mastered everything there was to know about Christianity, the Church, and Jesus Christ.
It may seem crazy to us, but Augustine was made a bishop almost immediately. And he was a great bishop, but this article is about his long-suffering mother who prayed and managed to hold on to her hope even when everything seemed lost. And, perhaps even more heroic, she held onto her Christian conviction that her son’s salvation and spiritual well-being were more important than his intellectual or political success. She wasn’t content with sketchy ideas of good enough.
How many of us are praying for each other daily? What does that prayer look like? Are we just saying something like “Lord Jesus, look after Mary and Bob?” Are we repeating that prayer? Are we attaching that intention to our Rosary? Are we being more specific: “Lord Jesus, please bring Bob back to Mass and convince him to go to Confession. Lord, please soften his heart and humble him and bring him back to You!”
Have we perhaps lost some of our hope and fallen into bad thinking like: “well, at least he’s going to Church somewhere?” Whew! That’s a bad, bad way of thinking. St Monica understood that just because some church identifies itself as Christian doesn’t make it so. Half of the New Testament is made up of letters saying “do NOT assume that every teacher is truthful - obey the true teaching of the apostles as reject false teachings!” St Monica is a remarkable saint and one that every parent of every child should be invoking every day.
Her disappointing child went on to become one of the greatest saints in the Church! Prayer works!
Mass Intentions for the Coming Week
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Payton Trichell/family
- Sun 9:30a Pro Populo for the Living & Deceased Members of our Parish
- Mon No Mass
- Tue 9:00a In memory of Kathleen Mills/Magoun
- Wed 9:00a In memory of Kathleen Mills/D Ervin
- Thu 9:00a (Legacy Nursing & Rehab) In memory of Rosa & Gus Gremshell and May DiTomasso
- Fri 5:30p In memory of Becky Lancaster/family
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Lee Rome/Lebeu
- Sun 9:30a Pro Populo for the Living Deceased Members of our Parish
ALTAR CANDLES this week are burning for the special intentions of Blanche and Skeeter Wilks
Assistants at Holy Mass
| Date | Servers | Lectors | EMHCs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8/26 5:30p | None Scheduled | MK Book | C VanderVieren |
| 8/27 9:30a | MaryKatherine and Courtland | A Keene | None Scheduled |
| 9/2 5:30p | None Scheduled | L Bullard | N Ernst |
| 9/3 9:30a | Cooper and Maura | S Guizerix | None Scheduled |
| 9/9 5:30p | None Scheduled | A Farlow | M A Gilfoil |
| 9/10 9:30a | Kathleen and Evelyn | M Lancaster | None Scheduled |
Upcoming Events
- Confessions every Friday & Saturday from 5p until Mass and on Sunday from 9a until Mass
- Sunday Catechism with Coffee and Donuts after Mass unless otherwise indicated
- Wednesday Morning Catechism about 9:30 a.m in Church and on Facebook and YouTube
Pastoral Council meeting monthly on the third Wednesday at 6p
September 1 First Friday…devotions to Sacred Heart following the 5:30 p.m. Mass
- September 2 First Saturday…devotions to the Blessed Mother during the 9:00 a.m. Mass
- September 3 First Sunday Benediction following Mass
- September 10 Sunday Catechism begins following the 9:30 a. m. Mass
For Your Information:
ROSARY GROUP… a group of parishioners is meeting on Monday at 5:30 p.m. to pray the Rosary. Everyone is invited to join the group. If you need additional information, please contact the Coordinator, Louise Magoun, at 318-341-2403.
PILGRIMAGE... Fr Ryan is leading a Pilgrimage to Assisi and Rome in Italy in September of 2024. There will be an informational (no obligation) meeting on August 30 in the Parish Hall. Fr Ryan can also answer any questions you have. More information is availale at www.holytravels.org/FrHumphriesItaly. Please pass the word around!
FORMED.ORG… FORMED has an entire page of weekly featured videos that are worth checking out at https://watch.formed.org/this-week-on-formed. Remember to sign in using our parish’s zip code (71282) at http://signup.formed.org
FIRST FRIDAY…SEPTEMBER 1 ...Holy Hour and Mass....5:30 p.m. ...make a special devotion to the Sacred Heart and attend first Friday devotions for nine consecutive months.
FIRST SATURDAY …SEPTEMBER 2 … Mass and Holy Hour … 9 a.m. Our Lady of Fatima called for special devotions to be offered on the first Saturday of each month. All are welcomed and encouraged to attend.
FIRST SUNDAY BENEDICTION…SEPTEMBER 3 …. at the conclusion of weekend Masses as part of our larger program to improve Eucharistic Devotion and to understand what a gift we have in the Most Holy Eucharist.
Stewardship In today’s readings, St. Paul reminds the Romans–and us–that all things come from God. “For from Him and through Him and for Him, all things are.” Good stewards understand that ALL is gift and share generously the gifts of time, talent, and treasure with which they’ve been blessed.
Our Return to the Lord
| Weekly Budget FY 2022-23 | $ 2,111 |
| July Budget | $ 10,555 |
| July Income | $ 10,792 |
| July Expenses | $ 11,769 |
| August Budget | $ 8,444 |
| August 19-20 Collection | $ 1,829 |
| August Income To Date | $ 6,726 |
Let us Rejoice in the Lord!
Happy Birthday Dana Daigre Hamilton (Aug 30), Alyce Keene (Aug 31), Chandler Wood (Aug 31)
Happy Anniversary Mary Jane and Sidney Johnson (Aug 26)
In Our Daily Prayers…
PRAYER FOR OUR FARMERS! O God, Source and Giver of all things, Who manifests Your infinite majesty, power and goodness in the earth about us, we giveYou honor and glory. For the sun and rain, for the manifold fruits of our fields,for the increase of our herds and flocks we thank You. For the enrichment of our souls with divine grace, we are grateful. Supreme Lord of the harvest, graciously accept us and the fruits of our toil, in union with Christ Your Son, as atonement for our sins, for the growth of Your Church, for peace and charity in our homes, for salvation to all. Amen.
Please let us know of anyone who is ill or hospitalized and would like to receive a visit from Father. Also, help us keep our prayer list up to date by advising us of those who should be added or removed.
Our Pope Francis; Bishop Robert Marshall, and our Diocesan leaders, our President, Governor, Mayor and national, state and local elected representatives
Our parishioners who are sick, shut-in, or otherwise in need of our prayers: Connie and Dan Copes, Elizabeth Crothers, Leslye Ellerbee, Susan and Johnny Gilfoil, Margaret and Pat Gilfoil, Terry Farlow Hall, C.W. and Alyce Keene, Bill Kennedy, Hannah Wood McCarty, Ed Mills, Terry and Susie Murphy, Bobby Reynolds, Sue & Mike Rome
Those under full-time care: Frances Kennedy, Carol Dunning, Keith Capdepon
Our friends and relatives who need our prayers: Lee Adams (Smith), Ashley Alexander (Regan), Graham Allen (S Gilfoil), Kathryn Wood Allsopp (D Wood), Pam Amacker (Gilfoil), James Arceneaux (Book), Marie Farlow Bellard, Tommy Bickham (C Copes), Chris Breard (Gilfoil), Sarah Cannon (Gilfoil), Fran Castile (Keene),the family of Michael Collins, Jr. (Nadeau), Jami Cook (Wilks), Bobbe and Gene Cox, Marla Evans Cummings, Susan Ward Daigle (Gilfoil & Keene), Don Deweese, Carol Dipert (Rome), Mac Donaldson (Ellerbee), Joe Farlow, Mike Farlow, Patty Farlow, Monique Florence, Judy Fortenberry, April Franklin (Wilks), Thom Gilfoil, Wyly Gilfoil (Gilfoil), Charlotte Green, Rita Hargrave, Arlice Evans Headley, Evie Hilburn (Lancaster), Charles Howington, Dee Jones (Keene), LaLa Lopez (Hernandez), Caroline Marcello (Watts), Michelle McGuire(Gilfoil), Kiely McKellar (S Gilfoil), Mona Martin (MA Gilfoil), Cindy Mathieu (Wilks), Boyce Miller, John Neill, Caryn Oliver, Wayne Pitre (Gilfoil), Bailey, Scott and Tiffney Rome, Dianne W. Roper (Murphy), Janie Saxon (Lancaster), George and Ann Shepherd, Debbie Kedrick Sims, Tommy Trichell, LeeAnn Rome Tranchina (Rome), Mary Claire Warner and her parents , MaryBeth and Steve (Ernst)
Our collegiates: Aidan Collins, Preston Collins, Callie Ezell, Lilly Falgout, Jag Gilfoil, Chris Hall (USMC), Nick Hall, Bruen Johnson, Matilda Johnson, Caroline Marsh, Emmy Lu Marsh, Blake Sullivan, Carter Sullivan, Walker Sullivan, Marsh Wood
