The 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time
From The Font
“Get behind me, Satan!”
The Jewish language is challenging. So many of the words that we use - even as proper names - have practical and functional meanings in Hebrew as well. (Imagine if we named our kids “fishing-pole” or “saw-blade” or “washing-dishes...”) Satan means “accuser” or “adversary” in Hebrew. As a proper name, it also means the chief Archangel who rebelled against the Lord as referenced in the book of Daniel. As a libel, “satan” works just the same way that it would in English with the recently maligned name of Karen. “Ok, Karen! They burned your steak - RELAX!”
So... Jesus is saying something really quite insulting to Peter. At the same time, He is not actually equating Peter with the Prince of Demons. Nor is Jesus specifically asserting that the devil is in Peter’s heart. Just as Jesus says, Peter’s thinking is out of order. In fact, it’s the way that a demon would think. And so Jesus challenges it powerfully with an image that would be as unwelcome as being called “a Karen” would be in our day and age.
The whole dialogue does bring up a deeper point that I like to reiterate from time to time. Jesus was not afraid of being thought of poorly! Jesus wasn’t obsessed with niceness! Love sometimes demands that we are not nice!
Modern Christianity is often equated with niceness or sweetness. But all-too-often that’s not being Christian, that’s being polite (at best) or cowardly (at worst). Jesus doesn’t teach that niceness is a virtue. St Paul has some things to say about KINDness - which is very different. That has to do with a peaceable disposition and an ability to sluff off rudeness in others. But Jesus isn’t typically nice. In fact, He’s often quite harsh. Why? Because He IS LOVE. And love wants what is genuinely best for the other. Sometimes that’s a pat on the back and sometimes it’s a kick in the pants!
We don’t want to take the lesson from today’s Gospel that we’re free to disregard people's feelings or that Jesus is ok with us being rude. But we can’t ignore that sometimes bluntness and even harshness are what is needed in some situations... Peter isn’t possessed, but he needed a wake up call all the same.
Thoughts from Fr. Ryan
Pope St John Paul II wrote about EVERYTHING! Seriously... He wrote so many incredible and brilliant letters, essays, sermons, speeches, etc.
One of the most moving of those - that got my butt moving when I read it - is his encyclical Laborem Exercens AKA “on Human Work.”
He wrote it as an ongoing consideration of an important document published by an earlier pope.
After a brief introduction, the pope settles into a meditation on Adam and Eve before the Original Sin. He considers that work was given to Adam as a gift. And he points out that when we do something in the garden or the workshop, we really feel like we’ve accomplished something. Psychology calls that feeling “Actualization.” Pope John Paul warns us that technology can make things easier, but it can also rob us of that sense of accomplishment.
In fact, the Pope acknowledges that without some type of work, we can feel like we don’t have a sense of purpose... He says that the story in Genesis isn’t just a cutesy thing... God really did build into us a need to work and to accomplish and to have purpose. He even says that our human dignity depends upon our freedom to work... When I first read this in the late 90s, I was floored by the idea that work is associated with dignity. I grew up with the aspiration to do as little as possible to achieve my goals. Work smarter, not harder! But here’s the pope saying that it’s better to work hard... In fact, you’ll feel more human and you’ll be more in touch with your personal dignity. And it’s easy to see the truth of that all over the place!
When I first became a pastor, I was assigned to the wonderful community of Campti (north of Natchitoches) in West Louisiana. I loved it! I also had my first real encounters with the very poor. It was there that I became completely convinced of the evil of the welfare state. It’s one thing to cast a safety net. It’s another to design a system that incentivizes people NOT to work. I met people in Campti who literally had no one in their families who had ever held a job. The whole extended family lived on welfare checks and if someone wanted to go beyond that, they would have to work for a decade in (even more) crippling poverty to make as much as they got doing nothing at all. It was horrifyingly dehumanizing! As much as I tried, the parade of people knocking on the door to ask for “help until the 1st” led me to treat those people with distrust and, from time to time, rudeness. It was awful. It still hurts my heart that people are forced to live with that indignity.
Pope John Paul goes on to bemoan societal forces and economic policies, but he keeps coming back to the nature of work as a dignifying factor.
To me, at least, it speaks volumes that our young people are encouraged to be anti-work while they complain constantly of a lack of purpose, dignity, and respect from others.
Pope John Paul was so frequently prophetic. He was more amazing than any of us realize. As we celebrate Labor Day, let’s all take a moment to think about work and the blessing it can be for us!
If you'd like to read Pope St John Paul's letter, you can find it at here.
Mass Intentions for the Coming Week
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Lee Rome/LeBeau
- Sun 9:30a Pro Populo for the Living & Deceased Members of our Parish
- Mon No Mass
- Tue 9:00a In memory of Enoul ”Jim” Jumonville/family
- Wed 9:00a In memory of deceased members of Regan, Adams, and Weimer families/Regan
- Thu 9:00a (Legacy Nursing & Rehab) In memory of Rosa & Gus Gremshell and May DiTomasso
- Fri 5:30p In memory of Delia and Thomas Trichell/Tommy Trichell
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Pat Bullard, Patrick Thomas, and Eva and R.L. Reynolds/Bullard
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 9/16 5:30p | None Scheduled | MA Gilfoil | A Keene |
| 9/17 9:30a | Chandler and Annie | Youth | 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 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. More information is available at 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
EMPOWERING GOD’S CHILDREN… parish volunteers must be VIRTUS trained and go online regularly at www.virtus.org for the latest training bulletins. Any questions or issues can be reported to the office. Printed resources are available on the table at the entrance to the Church.
“Protecting our Children, Understanding and Preventing Child Sexual Abuse” includes Resources and Contact Numbers for reporting abuse. “Protecting God’s Children, Teaching Touching Safety Quick Reference Guide”
The Diocesan Policy for the Protection of Minors and The Diocesan Code of Pastoral Conduct for Priests, Deacons, Pastoral Ministers, Administrators, Staff, and Volunteers are available in the Safe Environment section of the diocesan website at DioceseAlex.org or a copy may be requested from the Safe Environment Office (318) 445-2401.
PLEDGE TO HEAL...If you or a family member has been abused or victimized by a representative of the Catholic church or a member of the clergy, please believe in the possibility for hope and help and healing. Dr. Lee Kneipp, Clinical Psychologist, Victim Assistance Coordinator, Diocese of Alexandria encourages those persons to come forward and speak out. Dr. Kneipp is establishing support groups in the central Louisiana area for victims and family members. The focus of these groups is to further emotional and spiritual healing as an adjunct to therapy, in an atmosphere of others who understand the pain, betrayal, and fear associated with abuse. Dr. Kneipp can be reached at 318-542-9805. All calls are confidential.
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 second reading, St. Paul exhorts the Romans to total stewardship. Brothers and sister, he urges, “...offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.”
SECOND COLLECTION this weekend is for our monthly Building Fund.
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 26-27 Collection | $ 1,596 |
| August Income To Date | $ 8,322 |
Let us Rejoice in the Lord!
Happy Birthday Sug Regan (Sept 4), Charlize Richardson (Sept 7), Kathleen Ellerbee (Sept 8)
Happy Anniversary Sally and Bobby Reynolds (Sept 9)
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 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), Jeannie and Donald Collins,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
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
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.
