The 7th Sunday of Ordinary Time
From The Font
“Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect."
Perfectionists beware! Jesus is not making an absolute moral statement in this famous verse from the Sermon on the Mount. Context is so very important when it comes to strong, clear teachings like this. And the context here has to do with attitude.
Jesus points out that the Law says “an eye for an eye” and the Old Testament says “love you neighbor and hate your enemy.” Remember in last week’s Gospel, Jesus was talking about going above and beyond morally… He said that the law says “don’t murder,” but He says “don’t even be angry.” The context here is about what’s underneath our choices. He even adds, “if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same?”
So the point is about being perfect in the context of love, not about never making any mistakes or simply about being human. Jesus is not proposing that it’s possible for any of us to be morally flawless! Remember that St Paul is clear that all of us sin and fall short of the glory of God! Rather, Jesus is proposing that REAL MORAL PERFECTION is found in the attitude of total love which underlies the moral life. He’s not so much advising that we should be pushovers by inviting someone to slap us in the face, He’s telling us that we should love even our enemies.
Even for us who have been Christians for years, that’s hard to swallow! Think about those people who treat us poorly… Who disrespect us… That one person who ripped you off in that business deal.. That jerk who you went to school with… Jesus is asking us not to get even, not to seek justice, but simply to love that person… That’s intense!
And so when Jesus is calling for perfection, He’s calling for a perfection of our attitude. And while we cannot be perfectly without sin, we can and must adopt an attitude of love toward God, neighbor (including enemies), and self. That specific perfection of God is one that we are able, even in our human frailty, to embrace and live out day by day.
Thoughts from Fr. Ryan
The “ascetical” parts of Christianity fell out of favor about 60 years ago. That’s all the parts of Christianity associated with the Cross of Jesus. So we’re talking about fasting, doing penances which aren’t required of us, meditating upon the suffering and death of Jesus, considering our own faults, and choosing consciously to see our daily sufferings as gifts from God rather than random annoyances. The classic phrase was “offer it up!”
Priests and pop-psychologists have spent the last 60 years telling us to be “spiritual adults,” and that we are “an Easter People” (gag!), and that personal self-esteem is what Jesus wants for us. Of course that tripe has left us, as Catholics, without one of the most important and spiritually essential components of our Faith! The Cross of Jesus Christ is the spiritual centerpoint of our personal spiritual lives! The Blessed Virgin appeared at Fatimá (1917) and she explained specifically that penance would be ESSENTIAL for us in the coming years! Sr. Faustina got the same message of Divine Mercy around the same time… and yet 50 years later, we start to get nonsense messages about being positive and, functionally, rejecting these miraculous messages from the Lord! Many well-meaning clergy are still trying to do that now!
Every time a priest has said “don’t give something up, do something extra” or “God wants us to be happy,” he is accidentally undermining the way God actually makes us happy.
Lent is not a time for “doing something extra.” Lent is a time for penance and repentance and soberly considering that Jesus has told us that the only way to Heaven is to “take up our cross and follow Him.” Fasting needs to be a regular part of our lives, not just during lent. We need to be fasting at least once per week! That could be something as simple as not eating meat on Fridays or it could be skipping lunch on Tuesday or it could be only eating dessert on Sundays. But it should be part of our regular spiritual lives. So should “offering up” the little frustrations and sufferings in our day. If we get caught by a train or there’s no more hot water or the cable is out, we should say a little prayer like “Jesus, thank you for this little suffering that reminds me that this world will never satisfy me! I offer up this suffering to you for my sins and the sins of the whole world.” Easy enough!
Even the non-religious world is recognizing how important it is NOT to get everything we want when we want it. Psychologists are finally speaking up about the raging narcissism of our younger generations. We can see how diabetes and obesity are killing us. Doctors are praising “intermittent fasting” as a necessary part of a healthy lifestyle. Life-coaches and self-help gurus are falling all over themselves to adopt the wisdom and practices of Medieval Monks and Nuns into their books and teachings…
Bizarrely the only group who seems opposed to these ideas are Catholics! So, don’t just “do something extra,” give something up. And make it something hard! Give up meat on weekdays or tv on the weekend or social media or youtube. Just like in the gym: no pain, no gain…. you can’t get out what you don’t put in.
Mass Intentions for the Coming Week
- Sat 5:30p In memory of John Johnson/family
- Sun 9:00a Pro Populo for the Living & Deceased Members of our Parish
- Mon - No Mass
- Tue 9:00a In memory of Mary Agnes York/P Gilfoil
- Wed 9:00a In memory of Lee Rome/Kevin Collins
- Thu 9:00a In memory of Rosa Gremshell
- Fri 5:30p In memory of George Hymel/Keene
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Pat Bullar, Patrick Thomas, and Eva and R.L. Reynolds
- 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) |
|---|---|---|
| 2/18 5:30p | None Scheduled | MK Book |
| 2/19 9:00a | Kathleen and Evelyn | Youth |
| 2/25 5:30p | None Scheduled | L Bullard |
| 2/26 9:00a | Henry, MaryCatherine, Maura | S Marsh |
| 3/4 5:30p | None Scheduled | MA Gilfoil |
| 3/5 9:00a | Annie and Chandler | A Oliver |
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 Mardi Gras Potluck BRUNCH after the Sunday Mass
- Feb 21 Pastoral Council Meeting – Parish Hall – 6 p.m.
- Feb 22 Ash Wednesday - Lent begins - Day of MANDATORY FASTING and ABSTINENCE FROM MEAT
SOME NOTES ON LENT
- Lent begins with Ash Wednesday this week (Feb 22). It is NOT a Holy Day of Obligation, but it’s a great way to start Lent. We have Mass with the distribution of Ashes at 9a (and 6p in Delhi).
- Ash Wednesday is a day of mandatory fasting for everyone over the “age of majority” which means ~14 years old.
- Every Friday of Lent is a day of mandatory abstinence from meat for everyone over the “age of reason” which means ~7 years old.
- Every Sunday is still a day of Lent, but it is NOT a day of fasting. We don’t fast on the Lord’s Day.
- Everyone over the “age of reason” (~7) is expected to do some “positive act of penance” which means we should give something up, usually a food item, for the 40 fasting days of Lent (Ash Wednesday - Good Friday, excluding Sundays). You can enjoy whatever you give up on Sundays, just don’t be gluttonous.
- On every Friday of Lent at 5:30p, we will say the Way of the Cross together followed by the usual Friday evening Mass.
- On Fridays Feb 24, Mar 10, and Mar 24, we will have a small soup & salad potluck in the parish hall after the 5:30p Stations and Mass. Fr Ryan will also show a short video from “The Chosen” series.
- Good Friday (Apr 7) is also a mandatory day of fasting. That makes it a VERY BAD CHOICE for a party, cookout, etc. I know that there are various traditions in our area of treating the last few days of Lent as if Easter has already come (something which has already done much damage to the religious aspects of Christmas), but the law of the Church says that deliberately failing to fast on Good Friday is a mortal sin… We only have two total fast days in the whole year…
- For your calendars:
- Apr 2 is Palm Sunday which begins Holy Week.
- Holy Thu (Apr 6) and Good Fri (Apr 7) services are at 5:30p.
- Holy Saturday must begin, by Church Law, after dark. The internet says that Sunset on Apr 8 will be ~8p give or take 5 minutes. So we’ll begin with the “New Fire” around that time.
- Easter Sunday is Apr 9.
If anyone has any questions at all, just give me a call or send me a text/email. My prayers that we all have a blessed Lent! -- Fr Ryan
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
PASTORAL COUNCIL... will hold its regular meeting on TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2023 at 6:00 p.m in the Church Hall. Appointed members of the Council are: MaryKathryn Book, Kendra Collins, Norman Ernst, Louise Magoun, Jason Trichell and Blanche Wilks. 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
Our Return to the Lord
Stewardship In today’s first reading, the Isarealites are urged to love their neighbors as themselves. In the Gospel, Jesus spells out how we are to do that–to give generously to those who ask of us and not to turn our backs on those who seek to borrow.
SECOND COLLECTION on ASH WEDNESDAY is to support the Church in Central and Eastern Europe where people continue to struggle to overcome Communism rule.
| Weekly Budget FY 2022-23 | $ 2,111 |
| January Budget | $ 10,555 |
| January Income | $ 9,721 |
| January Expenses | $ 10,433 |
| February Budget | $ 8,444 |
| February 11-12 Collection | $ 1,060 |
| February Income To Date | $ 5,091 |
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, 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), Charles Howington, 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), 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
