Divine Mercy Sunday
From The Font
“Peace be with you.”
Most Catholics hear the words “be with you” and automatically respond “and with your spirit” unless they’ve not been regular massgoers for the last 10 years, in which case they reply “and also with you.”
“Peace be with you,” which Jesus says three times in today’s Gospel, is easy to overlook.
In the same way, the word peace, itself, has been redefined twice in the modern world.
On the one hand, the John Lennon redefinition from the 60s turned peace into a Utopian pipe dream... Peace, for them, is just the absence of violence or war. It doesn’t matter why the war has stopped or that the violence has ended. Lennon was silly enough to believe that “peace” could come from a totalitarian government - just so long as the utopian goofballs were the ones in charge.
On the other hand, the Pop-Psychology / Self-help movement has tried to redefine peace as an internal state of anything other than “negative.” It might be mindfulness, inner quiet, or some other even vaguer words.
Christian peace is about the presence of the Holy Spirit which fills us with a trust that God is good, loving, and in charge. Peace is what filled St. Therese as she lay dying of TB at the age of 24. Her peace - which was visible to her visitors - wasn’t the absence of anything. It was a positive, real thing akin to joy and love.
What Jesus is bestowing upon His apostles is more than just a greeting or encouragement, it’s a real fruit of the Holy Spirit which forces out fear, anxiety, pride, and doubt.
The same way of thinking is necessary when we speak of mercy - as we do today. Mercy isn’t the absence of Justice. It’s a positive truth unto itself. Mercy is God’s love made manifest. It’s not pretending that something isn’t a sin or even pretending that I shouldn’t be punished. Divine Mercy is about the presence of the Holy Spirit which fills us with a trust that God is good, loving, and forgiving. Mercy is what Augustine came to know when he gave the Lord his guilt and genuine sorrow for sin and the Lord called him to become a bishop rather than a humble beggar. Peace and Mercy aren’t about absence, they are about fullness!
Thoughts from Fr. Ryan
The devotion to Divine Mercy had a rocky start. But that’s actually a good sign. Most of the modern devotions in the Church also had a rocky start. The pattern for a devotion like the Miraculous Medal in France or Our Lady in Guadalupe was that Jesus or Mary would visit a humble person. The humble person would receive the devotion humbly (imagine that) and would have to be encouraged specifically to approach the bishop or the religious superior about making it public. The superior would push back. They would repeat this step a few times. Then there would be some miracle or at least a bizarre coincidence, and then the superior comes around. Then, like a lightning bolt, the devotion spreads.
With the Divine Mercy, Sr. Faustina was given a lengthy series of visions and locutions from Our Lady about her vocation to the convent and His plans for the world. Of special importance is the timing of this, just a few years after the Fatima miracle, and the political experience of Poland in and around the two World Wars. Once the image of Divine Mercy was specifically given to Faustina there were two crazy coincidences that followed. First, Faustina couldn’t paint, but her spiritual director found himself on a faculty with someone who could and who was willing to help. Second, and more important, Faustina made a heck of an impression upon a young priest who would go on to become the Bishop of the Diocese in which she lived and then went on to become the Pope. John Paul II was deeply devoted to our Lady of Fatima and to the Divine Mercy. He made both essential parts of his Papal ministry. And with that kind of support, the devotion to Divine Mercy was ready to enter its last stage: publication and spreading out to the world.
The only caveat that I always want to make very clear when I mention Divine Mercy is more about an error that gets made by people preaching it than it is an error or problem in Sr. Faustina’s writing... Divine Mercy is NOT about excusing sin! Too often preachers will claim that it’s merciful to accept people wherever they are... They’ll say that it’s opposed to mercy to preach about sin and hell. Those people are wrong. Nowhere does Sr. Faustina write that Jesus said that the moral law doesn’t matter or that sin doesn’t matter. Quite the opposite! Jesus says that we should weep for the sins that are committed without repentance and that those sins wound the hearts of Jesus and Mary. There’s nothing merciful about pretending that sin won’t condemn a soul to Hell. There’s nothing merciful about looking the other way. In fact, that’s callous, cowardly, and it’s a sin every time we do it.
Rather, Divine Mercy is about calling back to God’s love those who sin. It’s about the fact that God will forgive any sin - no matter how horrific - if the sinner humbles himself and asks God for forgiveness. But if the sinner doesn’t repent, no amount of niceness, acceptance, or whatever is going to get them into Heaven. The freeing truth of Divine Mercy is that Jesus wants us back! He can and will forgive any sin of which we repent. The only sin He will not and cannot forgive is the pride of thinking that I don’t need to repent.
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-Fri No Mass
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Alex “Boyzie” Jumonville/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 Margo Corulla
Assistants at Holy Mass
| Date | Servers | Lector(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 4/15 5:30p | None Scheduled | A Farlow |
| 4/16 9:00a | Cooper and Maura | Youth - Cortland & Preston |
| 4/22 5:30p | None Scheduled | L Bullard |
| 4/23 9:00a | Kathleen and Evelyn | D Ellerbee |
| 4/29 5:30p | None Scheduled | M Rome |
| 4/30 9:00a | Chandler and Annie | M Lancaster |
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
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 season that are worth checking out at https://watch.formed.org/easter. Remember to sign in using our parish’s zip code (71282) at http://signup.formed.org
NO DAILY MASS THIS WEEK... as Father Ryan is away from the parish.
Stewardship Jesus meets the need of each disciple. To the fearful in the upper room, He speaks words of peace. To doubting Thomas, He provides the tangible proof of His resurrection. What do I need to become His disciple” What do I have to share that might meet someone else’s need?
THANKS the Infirmed Priests collection taken last weekend totaled $7,895. That collection remains in our parish to offset the monthly payment we are required to contribute to the Diocesean fund for Infirmed Priests and is untaxed by the Diocese.
Our Return to the Lord
| Weekly Budget FY 2022-23 | $ 2,111 |
| March Budget | $ 8,444 |
| March Income | $ 9,529 |
| March Expenses | $ 10,108 |
| April Budget | $ 10,555 |
| April 8-9 Collection | $ 2,285 |
| April Income To Date | $ 4,020 |
Let us Rejoice in the Lord!
Happy Birthday Skeeter Wilks (April 17), Marie Ernst (April 21), Ann Keene (April 23)
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, Delia Trichell
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), 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), Frances Robinson (Wilks), Janie Saxon (Lancaster), Bailey, Scott and Tiffney Rome, Dianne W. Roper (Murphy),Tuleta Sasser (Wilks), Albert Thom (Rome), Barbara Thomas (Gilfoil), 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
