The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
From The Font
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.”
Most of us don’t make a habit of repeating long sentences as greetings in our daily speech. Even when we’re writing a letter or an email, most of us tend to prefer short and simple to long and flowery. And yet at Mass, we frequently hear some variation on this salutation from St Paul.
A decade ago when the response to these salutations was “and also with you,” many people argued against the change to “and with your spirit.” The most common argument was “that’s not how people speak.” And the response to that argument was “Duh! of course it isn’t! Mass isn’t meant to sound like a BBQ.”
Ritual language is far more important than we generally realize... Human beings have a lot of rituals: familial, social, and religious. In our families, we have traditions that are part of “getting in the Christmas spirit” or making us feel “at home.” When we’re traveling, it’s easy to see how social rituals differ from a small town like ours to a big US city like Houston to European cities like Rome or Paris. Even something as simple as greeting a store clerk can vary wildly from culture to culture. That’s a ritual. In religion, our rituals are less organic and more deliberate, but they’re certainly no less important!
The more Mass feels casual and organic, the less significant it will feel for us emotionally. We believe that what we’re doing at Mass is not causal or organic - it’s supernatural. We believe that what we’re doing is not human but divine.
Take something simple like Holy Communion in the hand. It’s almost always bad for us. It may seem practical or personally empowering, but the ritual act of having someone else feed us isn’t part of common life. And that act, in itself, draws us out of the common and into the consecrated. The same is true of kneeling or hearing archaic language like St. Paul’s salutation. It’s why Latin is so effective in making something “feel reverent” even if we don’t understand the words. Silence has the same power. We have to shed the ordinary to find what is beyond it. Ritual does that for us!
Thoughts from Fr. Ryan
In seminary, we take a full semester course on the Most Holy Trinity. For all the books that we read, there are only really four specific things that it boils down to:
There is 1 God.
God exists in Himself as 3 Divine Persons.
These persons should not be thought of as modes, masks, titles, names or natures, but as persons.
The Father is not the Son and the Son is not the Father and neither is the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son.
The Son proceeds from the Father and the Holy Spirit spirates from the Father and the Son, these are the two Divine Processions.
And, baring some very specific matters, when God acts in the world, He does so in His entire divinity as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit even though we frequently address our prayers to the Father, through the Son, and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
It’s tempting to say “that’s great and all, but it doesn’t matter...” That would be really, really dumb to say, though. It’s like saying that it doesn’t matter how the car engine turns gas into motion. It matters quite a lot. It’s just that I don’t have the capacity, commitment, or concern to learn those details. And, hey!, as Christians, most of us don’t need to know the ins and outs of how or why God exists in the way in which He does. I am definitely not an expert on theology. I’m competent to explain the Faith in preaching and catechism, but a lot of what God has revealed about Himself is right at the edge of our human capacity to know, understand, or even comprehend. It’s easy enough to say that God is 1 and 3 at the same time. It’s really hard to visualize that. St Patrick used the image of a shamrock. St. Augustine used the image of water (which can be ice, liquid, or steam). He also used the image of the human soul (memory, understanding, and will). Others have used other images. None of the images gets it right, of course. They’re just analogies.
But let’s be clear, just because you or I can’t fully understand something, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter! It would be an act of narcissistic and sinful arrogance to decide that anything that God revealed to us through Jesus doesn’t matter. Can you imagine!?! Everything Jesus did and said was God explaining Himself to us! Who are we to say that this verse or that sermon doesn’t “really” matter just because we don’t understand it... We have to be incredibly cautious with our thinking about God. Plenty of Protestant Churches proudly list a few bullet points on their websites which explain that most of what Jesus said is fine, but what you really need to know are these “fundamentals.” Whew! Danger danger!!
Even in our Catholic Creeds (there are several), we don’t ever want to get into our heads the idea that the revelation of God should be summed up. Even the Bible isn’t enough! The Word of God isn’t a book - it’s the person of Jesus Christ! He and He alone is the living fullness of God’s self-revelation. Nothing He taught is unimportant even if you or I are unable to understand it. If we get this idea straight, then theology is easy!
Mass Intentions for the Coming Week
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Mary Agnes York/P Gilfoi
- Sun 9:00a Pro Populo for the Living & Deceased Members of our Parish
- Mon No Mass
- Tues 9:00a In memory of Pat Bullard and Patrick Thomas/family
- Wed 9:00a In memory of deceased members of Regan, Adams, and Weimer families/family
- Thu 9:00a In memory of Rosa and Gus Gremshell and May DiTomasso
- Fri 5:30p In memory of Becky Lancaster/family
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Inez and C.B. DeMoss/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 MaryAnne Gilfoil
Assistants at Holy Mass
| Date | Servers | Lector(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 6/17 5:30p | None Scheduled | M Rome |
| 6/18 9:00a | Kathleen and Evelyn | Youth |
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
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 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
Stewardship The Gospel Today is sometimes called “the Gospel in miniature” because it so concisely sums up the Gospel message. In even more condensed form, “God loved…God gave…” it is the paradigm for stewardship–we give because we love.
SECOND COLLECTION this weekend is for our Monthly Building Fund.
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 27-28 Collection | $ 1,180 |
| May Income To Date | $ 7,409 |
Let us Rejoice in the Lord!
Happy Birthday Billy Marsh (June 8)
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
