The 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time
From The Font
“He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him.”
Modern culture teaches us not to give radical personal change a second thought. If we have an offer for lucrative work in Alaska or Asia, no one would fault us for taking that job, despite the distance and all that comes with it. In the ancient world, though, life didn’t change much at all. Work was largely generational and most people lived within walking distance of the house in which they were born. Sons took up the work of their fathers and very few people moved away. So one the overlooked shockers of the Gospel today is not that Jesus called or even that Peter, Andrew, James, and John went - it’s that they left their fathers behind.
St. Matthew wrote his Gospel predominantly to convert Jews to Christianity and so his choice of words and his emphasis on many of the apostles stepping away from their families are deliberate. He wants to make very clear that, from the first moment of contact, Jesus was able to convince people that He was the real deal. People met Him and immediately, they knew He was special.
Modern readers will struggle with the idea of anyone leaving behind not just a home or a job to follow Jesus, but also their parents and even their spouses and children. Of course, the ancient notion of family was radically different from ours. Family groups lived together and while Peter’s departure would’ve been taxing emotionally, he certainly didn’t leave his wife and children destitute! Later, when Jesus meets Peter’s mother in law and heals her, she doesn’t show any special animosity or even disagreement with his choice to follow Jesus.
Once again, St. Matthew is emphasizing just how radical and how essential it was to follow Jesus. While most of us are not called to follow Jesus in the radical sense, some of us do have vocations to the priesthood or the religious life. Some of us are called to deep change as a part of honestly following Jesus. And as hard as that may be to consider and to do, it’s not something lost to the past nor is it something fraught with sadness and woe. To follow Jesus is the height of human potential and of joy! To follow Jesus is the single most fulfilling thing that any of us can do in this life - regardless of the challenges or trials that come from it!
Thoughts from Fr. Ryan
It’s Catholic Schools Week! I’ve shared a variety of my own experiences with Catholic Schools and I genuinely love Catholic education. For better or worse, we are a small, rural diocese that has only three Catholic High Schools and so Catholic education is hard. Still, I’ve been privileged to serve two of our Catholic High Schools directly, to consult for the third, and to be actively involved in about a quarter of our elementary schools.
Sadly, we don’t have a Catholic School in this part of our diocese, but we have JGS and St. Fred’s to our west and St. Paul’s to our east and some of our families have availed themselves of those schools over the years. Of course, many of our families have invested themselves in TA - which, while not a Catholic school, is a deeply religious school with a lot to offer!
Without putting TA down at all, I just want to laud Catholic education in general. Our modern system was largely structured by St John Neumann in the yankee north of Pennsylvania. What separated Catholic education from John Dewey’s model (which became the US Public system) was a strong emphasis upon the humanity of the students… That may seem very obvious, but in my experience US public schools don’t exist to educate real human beings… They exist to meet arbitrary standards, and really, to line pockets, employ on the public dime, and give politicians heart strings to pull to pass legislation.
In short, they objectify children and reduce them to tokens and pawns. And if that seems harsh, just visit the website of the NEA or BESE or any public sector education union around the US. It’s nauseating and depressing that we haven’t incarcerated or publicly shamed the people who run those groups. They’re disgusting. And, honestly, they don’t represent the vast majority of well-meaning, good hearted teachers who love kids and struggle to teach them good lessons!
Catholic education, though, is designed to focus on the humanity of the students. Skills are secondary to thinking. Literature is, by design, just as important as “STEM”. Religious study and athletics and language and music are all seen as components of a complete education. To that end, Catholic “classical academies” are popping up all over the US - where the old model of teaching second and third graders Greek and Latin so that they can read the Iliad and the Aeneid in the original languages is preserved. Why? Because that type of education worked for 1000 years and modern education simply doesn’t work at all - it just imparts arbitrary “skills.”
Where Catholic Schools have associated themselves with the putrid NCEA (a nominally Catholic version of the NEA) and adopted the anti-human, “skills-driven” model of education, tragedy has been the universal result and it breaks my heart. Where the humanity of the kids is the focus, everything, including the improves!
And this is where I want to praise TA. Whatever else may matter there, the teachers and the stakeholders care about turning out good, well- rounded kids! And good kids will become happy, holy, and whole adults. And in this crazy world, that’s worth 100 times whatever stale filth NEA (or the NCEA) is pushing!
Mass Intentions for the Coming Week
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Lee Rome/Lancaster
- Sun 9:00a Pro Populo for the Living & Deceased Members of our Parish
- Mon NO MASS
- Tue NO MASS
- Wed 9:00a In memory of Pat Bullard (birth)/family
- Thu 9:00a In memory of Rosa Gemshell
- Fri 5:30p in memory of Becky Lancaster/family
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Racer Holstead (birth)/family
- Sun 9:00a Pro Populo for the Living & Deceased Members of our Parish
ALTAR CANDLES this week are burning for the special intentions of Cathy VanderVieren
Assistants at Holy Mass
| Date | Servers | Lector(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1/21 5:30p | None Scheduled | MA Gilfoil |
| 1/22 9:00a | Chandler and Annie | K Collins |
| 1/28 5:30p | None Scheduled | M Rome |
| 1/29 9:00a | Courtland and Preston | C Guizerix |
| 2/4 5:30p | None Scheduled | C VanderVieren |
| 2/5 9:00a | Cooper and Volunteer | J Howington |
Upcoming Events
- Confessions every Friday & Saturday from 5p until Mass at 5:30p
- Sunday Morning Catechism in the Hall after the 9:00a Mass unless otherwise indicated
- Pastoral Council meeting monthly on the third Tuesday at 6p unless otherwise indicated
- Feb 19 - Mark your calendar – Mardi Gras Potluck BRUNCH after the Sunday 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.
FORMED.ORG… Pope Benedict was a remarkable man, a saintly priest, and his significance intellectually is hard to overstate. FORMED has a collection of videos that are worth checking out at https://watch.formed.org/pope-benedict-xvi. Remember to sign in using our parish’s zip code (71282) at http://signup.formed.org
FIRST QUARTER SOCIAL COMMITTEE: Our First Quarter Social will celebrate Mardi Gras on Sunday, February 19, 2023 following Mass. Please mark your calendar and join in a Potluck BRUNCH. The First Quarter (Jan, Feb, March) Committee: Margo Corulla and Darryl and Abby Ellerbee (co-chairs), Norman and Marie Ernst, Katherine Ernst Bedgood, Brian Johnson, Sidney and Mary Jane Johnson, Robbie and Tori Kivett, Ed Mills, Kathleen Mills, Billy and Courtney Nadeau, Teddy and Alyssa Oliver, Mike and Sue Rome, Jason Trichell, Mary Trichell, Levi Washington
PLANT SWAP….. the Tallulah Campus of Louisiana Delta Community College in Tallulah is hosting a Plant Swap on February 4, 2023 on their site and invites the public to join them.
SAINTS ALIVE, ANGELS AT WORK… Thanks to everyone who assisted with the Memorial Service and lunch for the Ernst family as they celebrated the life of Mary.
Stewardship The watchword today is “immediately.” Peter and Andrew, James and John all respond immediately on the call of Christ. May I be as open to God’s call and as ready to use my talents in the service as these first disciples were!
SECOND COLLECTION This weekend is for the Church in Latin America.
Our Return to the Lord
| Weekly Budget FY 2022-23 | $ 2,111 |
| Decemer Budget | $ 8,444 |
| December Income | $ 23,452 |
| December Expenses | $ 9,083 |
| January Budget | $ 10,555 |
| January 15 Collection | $ 2,959 |
| January Income To Date | $ 6,210 |
Let us Rejoice in the Lord!
Happy Birthday Mary Jane Johnson (Jan 22), Brice Wood (Jan 22), Travis Hamilton (Jan 24, 2013), Courtland Jude Collins (Jan 29, 2010)
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, Bill Kennedy, Ed Mills, Kathleen Mills, Terry and Susie Murphy, Sue & Mike Rome, Delia Trichell, and Don Wood
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), 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), Melissa Jennings (Gilfoil & Keene), Dee Jones (Keene), William and Averyell Kessler (Lancaster), LaLa Lopez (Hernandez), Caroline Marcello (Watts), Michelle McGuire(Gilfoil), Mona Martin (MA Gilfoil), Boyce Miller, Caryn Oliver, Sue Perrilloux (D Wood), Wayne Pitre (Gilfoil), Frances Robinson (Wilks), Bailey, Scott and Tiffney Rome, Dianne W. Roper (Murphy), Albert Thom (Rome), Thomas 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
Our sympathy to the family of Mary Agnes Gilfoil York who died on Tuesday. Two of her brothers, Pat Gilfoil and Johnny Gilfoil and their families, are of our faith family.
