Pentecost Sunday
From The Font
“Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’”
Peace is not the absence of war or violence or drama or anything else. Some people use the word peace wrongly to mean that it is the lack of something else. But peace in the ancient world and in scripture is not the lack of something but the positive existence of something specific.
Peace didn’t really get turned upside down until the French existentialist philosophers tried to redefine most of the words of the Western world without reference to God. Men like Camus and Sartre saw the world basically as just pain. For them, the best they could hope for was the absence of pain. They called this incredibly depressing reality, peace.
From the beginning of the West, peace was really about friendship. Peace is the state of soul in which one’s relationships with self, others, job, state, community, etc were working as they’re supposed to work. If I am at peace with a friend, then our relationship is life-giving and challenging and makes me a better person all around. If I am at peace with my community, then my “relationship” with my community is positive and upbuilding. I’m doing my part and it is doing its part. Peace is about concord and right order.
In the Christian sense, peace is a fruit of a life “in the spirit.” If I am living as Jesus teaches us to live, then I will be “at peace” and in rightly ordered relationships with most aspects of my life. That’s not to say that there may not be troubles! But I can be at peace with my friend even if my friend and I are facing hardships. I can be at peace with my body even if my body isn’t healthy. I can be at peace with my society even if my community has troubles.
The biggest thing we have to remember about peace is that it’s about an ordered relationship and not just the absence of something else. We aren’t at peace in a generic sense, we’re at peace WITH someone or something. If I’m not at peace, it’s not about external circumstances, it’s about internal choices and a worldview which is grounded in truth and God’s plan.
This is one of those central aspects of life where philosophy really matters. Don’t let peace get redefined into nonsense!
Thoughts from Fr. Ryan
Even though Easter seems like a distant memory with First Communion, School and Athletic Award banquets, Graduation, and the end of school, we’re still in the midst of the Easter Season.
Just as we set aside 40 days to fast to prepare for Easter, we set aside 40 days plus ten to celebrate Easter. The numbers themselves are symbolic, but that’s not as important as the simple fact that the Lord calls us to celebrate and rejoice.
What’s truly amazing to me is that for most of us, it’s actually harder to feast for several weeks than it is to fast! We all understand that when Lent starts, we’re going to give us something and we’re going to be cautious about our eating plans on Fridays. That’s super concrete and tangible. But we don’t make the same plan to feast as we do to fast. And so it just becomes a kind of mishmash of regular life with some occasional extras…
Still, the plan is only part of the problem. The much bigger part of the problem is that we as modern Americans are comparatively rich - even if we’re not especially wealthy in comparison to our neighbors. Most of us are Richey Rich rich compared to the rest of the world and to historical folks. By which I mean we can afford to eat double or triple the calories we need in any given day and we can afford to indulge in sweets or in rich, savory food really whenever we feel like it. We can afford to eat daily in a way which would have been considered a “special treat” even a few generations ago. We can also indulge in luxuries like art and music whenever we like.
We can and do invest a shockingly significant percentage of our time and income into entertainment. Beyond that, our whole society is ordered around avoiding unpleasant stimuli. So we can avoid boredom or tedium. If we’re lonely, we can call, text, email, video chat, or social media ourselves into comfort with little effort… In short, we live lives of previously unimaginable luxury almost every day.
Surely, our lives aren’t perfect! Of course not. But my point is that it’s hard for us to feast because so much of our lives are already feast. It’s easy to skip dessert for a month, that’s just a minor inconvenience… But to eat dessert for a month in a deliberate way is something quite different. To feast on food or other luxuries is part of our culture and way of living.
There is a growing movement of people in the world who are proposing that mental health depends on reducing luxuries and embracing simplicities. Marie Kondo’s philosophy of less clutter is strongly correlated to happiness. Diets involving intermittent fasting are too. So are programs of limiting TV and mobile screen time. Dating couples and friend groups are increasingly finding joy in leaving mobile devices at home or in another room. Some coffee shops have even begun to disallow laptops and iPads.
Of course, we, as Catholics, understood this hundreds of years ago, but the time is here for us to practice what we preach and strongly consider turning down the indulgence of our daily lives and reducing our investment in entertainment in order to make room for real human happiness.
Mass Intentions for the Coming Week
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Payton Trichell/family
- Sun 9:00a Pro Populo for the Living & Deceased Members of our Parish
- Mon No Mass
- Tues 9:00a In memory of Jason Jumonville/family
- Wed 9:00a In memory of George and Margaret Magoun
- Thu 9:00a In memory of Delia and Thomas Trichell and for healing for Tommy/B Hayes
- Fri 5:30p In memory of Lee Rome/Kevin Collins
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Mary Agnes York/P Gilfoil
- Sun 9:00a Pro Populo for the Living Deceased Members of our Parish
ALTAR CANDLES this week are burning for the special intentions of MaryAnne Gilfoil
Assistants at Holy Mass
| Date | Servers | Lector(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 5/27 5:30p | None Scheduled | L Bullard |
| 5/28 9:00a | Chandler and Annie | B Sullivan |
| 6/3 5:30p | None Scheduled | A Farlow |
| 6/4 9:00a | Mary Katherine & Courtland | K Collins |
| 6/10 5:30p | None Scheduled | MA Gilfoil |
| 6/11 9:00a | Cooper and Maura | D Ellerbee |
Upcoming Events
- Confessions every Friday & Saturday from 5p until Mass and on Sunday from 9a until Mass
- Sunday Catechism and Donuts after Mass during the school year 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
June 2 First Friday Devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus - 5:30 p.m.
- June 3 First Saturday Devotions to our Blessed Mother - Mass and Holy Hour - 9 a.m
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.
FORMED.ORG… FORMED has a collection of videos for Easter and Pentecost season that are worth checking out at https://watch.formed.org/easter. Remember to sign up using our parish’s zip code (71282) at http://signup.formed.org
FIRST FRIDAY…JUNE 2 ...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 …JUNE 3 … 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.
SAINTS ALIVE…ANGELS AT WORK…Thanks to the Second Quarter Social committee for putting together the Potluck Brunch last Sunday. As always, lots of good food!!!!
MEMORIAL DAY... (originally known as Decoration Day) is a holiday in the United States for honoring and mourning the U.S. military personnel who have died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. Please keep all those who have died, and the families of those, in your prayers.
Stewardship In the second reading today, St Paul reminds the Corinthians, “There are different gifts, but the same Spirit; there are different ministries but the same Lord.” How am I using my gifts “for the common good”?
SECOND COLLECTION: this weekend is for the Catholic Communication Campaign.
Our Return to the Lord
| Weekly Budget FY 2022-23 | $ 2,111 |
| April Budget | $ 8,444 |
| April Income | $ 19,642 |
| April Expenses | $ 10,737 |
| May Budget | $ 8,444 |
| May 20-21 Collection | $ 2,483 |
| May Income To Date | $ 7,409 |
Let us Rejoice in the Lord!
Happy Birthday Anna Ginn (May 29), Mary Katherine Marsh (May 29, 2011)
Happy Anniversary Betty and Kenny Smith (June 1)
In Our Daily Prayers…
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 Holy Father 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, MaryJane Johnson, Bill Kennedy, Ed Mills, Terry and Susie Murphy, Sue & Mike Rome
Those under full-time care: Frances Kennedy, Carol Dunning
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 and Carolyn Arceneaux (Book), Marie Farlow Bellard, Tommy Bickham (C Copes), Chris Breard (Gilfoil), Sarah Cannon (Gilfoil), Ruthie Coenen (Wilks), Jami Cook (Wilks), Marla Evans Cummings, Susan Ward Daigle (Gilfoil & Keene), Don Deweese, 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), Mona Martin (MA Gilfoil), Boyce Miller, John Neill, Caryn Oliver, Wayne Pitre (Gilfoil), Levi and Kristin Reagan and their infant twins, Mary Anne and Adam Todd (Gilfoil/Ginn), Frances Robinson (Wilks), Janie Saxon (Lancaster), Bailey, Scott and Tiffney Rome, Dianne W. Roper (Murphy),Tuleta Sasser (Wilks), Albert Thom (Rome), Tommy Trichell, LeeAnn Rome Tranchina (Rome), Joe Yerger,
Our collegiates: Aidan Collins, Callie Ezell, Lilly Falgout, Chris Hall (USMC), Nick Hall, Bruen Johnson, Caroline Marsh, Emmy Lu Marsh, Blake Sullivan, Carter Sullivan, Walker Sullivan, Marsh Wood
