The Ascension of the Lord
From The Font
“Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He answered them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority."
As Christians, we know that much of what Jesus did was meant to be understood spiritually... He IS king of the whole universe, for example, but his authority in this world is not felt physically in the way the local sheriff’s authority is felt. Jesus, as another example, remains with us always, but in ways which are not necessarily physically or detectable by our human senses.
The reasons for the Lord’s choice not to make Himself continuously visible to us are tied into human nature and they go back to the Original Sin of Adam and Eve.
But we expect, as the Jews did at the time of Jesus’ Resurrection, that a time will come in our real, tangible history, in which Jesus will conquer the enemies of heaven - both the demons of hell and those living here who reject the Christ. As with so many things, it’s easy to err on either side of this expectation. It is, for
example, not a proper Christian attitude to dismiss the return of Jesus as just something that’s off in the future. The return of Jesus is very much a possibility every single day we wake up. Despite the way our modern world treats the supernatural - there are a lot of supernatural things taking place on the regular! I just got back from Lourdes... Modern people are VERY GOOD at ignoring things they don’t want to see. God is active in our world and His return is not some meaningless future hope - it’s genuinely possible tomorrow afternoon!
At the same time, it’s not a proper Christian attitude to dismiss this world as irrelevant just because Our Lord intends to return. The world matters because this is the place in which the Lord has us now... Whatever may be, the here and now is where we are... This is where we encounter the Holy Spirit. This is where we make good or bad moral choices. This is where we show love and mercy to our neighbor. This is where we “live in a manner worthy of the call you have received” as Paul says. And when Jesus returns, much of our salvation will depend upon how we have used the time we have here to live our faith in spirit and in truth.
Thoughts from Fr. Ryan
The Ascension of the Lord is meant to be celebrated forty days after Easter on a Thursday. Ascension Thursday mirrors Holy Thursday (AKA 'Maundy' Thursday) on which the Last Supper was celebrated. At the Last Supper, Jesus commanded us to offer the Holy Eucharist in His memory. At the Ascension, the Lord tells us that He will remain with us always, even until the end of the Age. As He says this, He ascends to Heaven and visibly disappears.
These two Thursday feasts are connected in that the Eucharist is the mode in which Jesus remains physically with us even until the end of the Age. St. Thomas Aquinas, in the "Tantum Ergo" (perhaps the most famous hymn ever written), says "Praestet fides supplementum Sensuum defectui" which comes into English as something like "Faith provides for all our defects, where our feeble senses fail." The visible loss of Jesus at the Ascension is actually, then, an aid for our Faith to perceive Him present in the Holy Eucharist.
Perhaps more than any idea of Christianity, this notion that "it is better to have not seen and yet believed" is hard to get our heads around. Common sense tells us that if Jesus had just set up a regular old kingdom with a headquarters and a PR team, there would be a whole lot more Christians… If you add to that the not-patented JesusCuresYou™ health care plan and the super cool miracles that come with it, it would seem that everyone would want to sign up to be a Christian.
But our Human common sense tends to fail us more often than we usually realize. Even today, the best place to look for folks taking their faith seriously is among the poor and the oppressed. The worst possible place to be if you want to grow in holiness is among the rich and the idle. That seems to be totally backward. There's also a certain paradox in study. One would think that the more someone looks into the sordid history of the Church with Her bad popes and sketchy priests and questionable monks and nuns, the more someone would want to keep their distance from Catholicism and instead lean toward the Baptists or the Methodists. But the opposite is true. The more a Christian studies history, the more likely he is to want to become Catholic. Common sense would say an easy sermon would be more popular than a hard one, but the opposite is generally true. Common Sense would say that Mass in English with folk hymnody would be preferable to incomprehensible Latin prayers and chants, but the data shows that to be a faulty assumption as well.
So it is that we return to the idea that the departure of Jesus from the visible part of our world is actually an aid to our Faith. The celebration of the Ascension, then, is a genuine time for rejoicing, even if it seems to be something of a setback or an extra burden. Whatever our common sense may tell us, we should be thankful to God today for His choice to ascend and to leave us relying upon the Holy Spirit and one another for strength and courage.
Mass Intentions for the Coming Week
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Fred Wyly/Magoun
- Sun 9:30a Pro Populo for the Living & Deceased Members of our Parish
- Mon No Mass
- Tue 9:00a In memory of deceased members of the Howington family/family
- Wed 9:00a For special intentions of the family of Matthew Schnur
- Thu NO MASS (Fr Ryan in Europe, Returning May 31)
- Fri NO MASS (Fr Ryan in Europe, Returning May 31)
- Sat 5:30p Services as usual, no Proper Intention
- Sun 9:30a Services as usual, no Proper Intention
ALTAR CANDLES this week are burning for the special intentions of MaryAnne Gilfoil
Assistants at Holy Mass
| Date | Servers | Lector(s) | EMHCs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5/11 5:30p | None Scheduled | MA Gilfoil | M Ernst |
| 5/12 9:30a | Cooper & Maura | A Oliver | - |
| 5/18 5:30p | None Scheduled | M Rome | - |
| 5/19 9:30a | Kathleen & Evelyn | Youth | - |
| 5/25 5:30p | None Scheduled | C VanderVieren | - |
| 5/26 9:30a | Annie & Thomas Meyers | B Sullivan | - |
Stewardship Jesus is the perfect steward–watching carefully over all who had been entrusted to Him by the Father and then sending them all out into the world in service. May I similarly protect and wisely use the gifts entrusted to me!
Our Return to the Lord
| Weekly Budget FY 2022-23 | $ 2,111 |
| April Budget | $ 8,444 |
| April Income | $ 11,478 |
| April Expenses | $ 12,122 |
| May Budget | $ 8,444 |
| May 5 Collection | $ 2,966 |
| May Income To Date | $ 2,966 |
Upcoming Events
- Confessions every Friday & Saturday from 5p until Mass and on Sunday from 9a until Mass
- May 13 Final Sunday Catechism until new School Year
- May 14 Pastoral Council meeting - 6 p.m. - Parish Hall
- May 16-31 Fr Ryan on Pilgrimage / Camino
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, 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
THE WORD AMONG US… a monthly publication serving as a daily devotional guide, can be found on the table at the entrance of church. Please feel free to take a copy to use in your daily prayer life. In addition to the daily scripture and meditation, there are interesting theme focused articles for study.
PASTORAL COUNCIL... will hold its regular meeting on TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2024 at 6:00 p.m in the Church Hall. Appointed members of the Council are: MaryKathryn Book, Kendra Collins, Norman Ernst, Jamie Howington, Jason Trichell and Shannon Wood.. Appointed as Trustees by the Bishop are Michel Lancaster and Cathy VanderVieren. Appointed by the pastor to serve as Finance Council Chair is Darryl Ellerbee. All members are requested to make a special effort to attend. Parishioners are encouraged to attend and contribute to the discussions.
CONGRATULATIONS… to Charlize Richardson, granddaughter of Blanche and Skeeter Wilks, who is graduating from St Frederick High School.
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY
Let us Rejoice in the Lord!
Happy Birthday Skipper Guizerix (May 11), Mary Anne Gilfoil (May 13), Eddie Mills (May 14)
Happy Anniversary Priesthood Ordination to Father Ryan (May 21)
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: MaryKathryn and Nap Book, 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
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), David Cagnolatti, Willetta and Mac Cagnolatti, Sarah Cannon (Gilfoil), Fran Castile (Keene), Jeannie and Donald Collins, Teresa Carney Condra, Jami Cook (Wilks), Bobbe and Gene Cox, Marla Evans Cummings, Carol Dipert (Rome), Mac Donaldson (Ellerbee), Joe Farlow, Mike Farlow, Patty Farlow, Monique Florence, Jimmy Fordham (Gustafson & Fordice), Judy Fortenberry, April Franklin (Wilks), Thom Gilfoil, Wyly Gilfoil (Gilfoil), LaVonne Givens, Gail Gilfoil Graugnard, Charlotte Green, Theresa Gunter, Rita Hargrave, Ralph Harris (Gilfoil), Arlice Evans Headley, Evie Hilburn (Lancaster), Charles Howington, Will Irby (P Gilfoil), Diane Johnson, Chelsea Keene & Andrew Lewis, Emery and Kale Kirkland (Gilfoil), Calvin “Beans” and Lynn Lisonbee, LaLa Lopez (Hernandez), Caroline Marcello (Watts), James Albert Martin, Ruth McDonald (Copes), Michelle McGuire(Gilfoil), Kiely McKellar (S Gilfoil), Mona Martin (MA Gilfoil), Boyce Miller, Vickie Morelli (Ernst), John Neill, the family of Caryn Oliver, Wayne Pitre (Gilfoil), Bailey, Scott and Tiffney Rome, Dianne W. Roper (Murphy), Janie Saxon (Lancaster), Tuleta Sasser(Wilks), Debbie Kedrick Sims, Tommy Trichell, LeeAnn Rome Tranchina (Rome), Mary Claire Warner and her parents, MaryBeth and Steve, Randy Watts, Jr
Our collegiates: Aidan Collins, Preston Collins, Henry Ellerbee, 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
