The 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time
From The Font
"On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees…”
I knew a priest who, in a clearly self-serving way, said that he spent a lot of time at the pub because that’s where Jesus would’ve been. That’s manifestly false. Jesus didn’t spend any time at the numerous bars, baths, and brothels which existed in Jerusalem and in some of the larger towns he visited… It’s a direct and pathetic lie to say that Jesus visited these kinds of places or that he would do so if He were walking among us today…
It’s very, very true, though, that Jesus did seek out sinners and that He accepted invitations to eat meals with them. He ate with Pharisees. He ate with Tax collectors. He welcomed women of questionable virtue when he was at meals or just strolling through the street. Jesus generally went wherever He was invited whether the invitation came from a Roman centurion or a regular Joe on the street.
In many ways, today’s Gospel draws us into the question of invitation. We get into some of the social class issues of the Jewish people and into the ways in which hospitality could be weaponized… But the underlying issue is the invitation. Who is welcome at this table? Who is welcome at my table?
It’s a mistake to criticize the idea of social hierarchy. Jesus isn’t criticizing place settings based on social status. He’s criticizing the self-perception of self-importance. It’s not bad that I sit at the head of the table. It’s bad that I think I deserve to and I take it upon myself to choose that spot. It’s not bad that I am invited to a fancy supper, it’s bad that I invite myself. It’s not bad that I invite fancy people or people that I like to a supper I’m hosting, it’s bad that I believe that I’m too fancy to invite ordinary folks or that I should surround myself only with people that I like.
The underlying message goes back to the Golden Rule: “Do unto others…” If I get in the habit of self-importance and thinking of myself as deserving the place of honor, the Lord may be obliged to knock me down… And He would be doing so for my own good! Why? Because all of us will be “repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” Some will be repaid for good, others for self-delusion.
Thoughts from Fr. Ryan
Monday is a morbid feast day. It’s the memorial of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist. In the modern Catholic Church, our liturgical calendar is anemic in the worst way! The post-Vatican II butchers stripped a ton of saints and feasts away and those that remained lack context.
In particular, the feasts of Biblical figures like Moses and St. Joachim and St. Raphael and St. Gabriel give us the idea that the only saints worth celebrating are the new ones. The removal of so many event-based feasts and the transferal of so many Holy Days of Obligation leave us with the sense that our Faith is primarily a moral system based upon teaching and ideas rather than real people and real events… It’s insidious when you think about it. Catholicism is a Faith of real events that happened at real moments in history. Those events happened to real people who learned from them and discerned the way in which the Holy Spirit was speaking to all humanity through these events. Christianity is not a religion of ideas - it’s a religion of the man Jesus Christ, not His teachings and not the Bible. It’s a religion of the Word of God who is the Man Jesus Christ!
Even the morbid feast days are important to tie the supernatuality of our Faith to the tangible, touchable, tastable, feelable world in which we live. So much of Christianity nowadays is reduced to “be nice” and “pray.”
Both of these reductions are so bland. What is praying to most people? You close your eyes and think… Right? And certainly that kind of prayer - which we call “mental prayer” - is good and valuable and effective! But prayer is also about posture (kneeling) and tangible ritual (the Rosary) and even bodily self-sacrifice (fasting). Prayer isn’t just talking into the universe, it ties the world we see to the supernatural world we don’t. Holy water, relics of the saints, candles, spoken words, and art all work along the same lines and are part of our faith because people have experimented over the centuries and found them to be helpful and useful and effective.
The same is broadly true of the reductive Christian moral: “be nice.” It’s a cop out for nervous Christians (“I don’t want to offend”) and an easy way to be dismissive for non-Christians (“leave me alone”). But Jesus often offended people! Even when people paid a high price for the truth, we consider that worth it! John bled for the truth! Good! If we’re going to be followers of Jesus, we need to be willing to do the same! Jesus meant it when He said if you want to go to Heaven, take up your cross and follow Me!
By thinking about and celebrating even a morbid feast like the beheading of John the Baptist, we reiterate for ourselves so many core aspects of our Faith. And when we relegate those feasts (as has been done by the Church for these 75 years) we detriment ourselves!
There’s no upside in mediocrity. Christianity is a bloody faith. It’s soaked in the harshness of this world and the costs of overcoming it. We hang on the walls of our Churches and our homes the implement of the torture and death of our God… That’s not an accident. By embracing that real, historical event, that same God raises us up and fills us with immeasurable love, joy and salvation.
Mass Intentions for the Coming Week
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Lee Rome/P Gilfoi
- Sun 9:00a Pro Populo for the Living & Deceased Members of our Parish
- Mon NO MASS
- Tue 9:00a In memory of Lee Rome/Bullard
- Wed 9:00a In memory of Rosa Gremshell
- Thurs 9:00a In memory of deceased members of Regan, Adams, Weimer families/Regan
- Fri 5:30p In memory of Becky Lancaster/family
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Jim 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 Blanche and Skeeter Wilks
Assistants at Holy Mass
| Date | Servers | Lector(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 8/27 5:30p | None Scheduled | L Bullard |
| 8/28 9:00a | Henry and MaryKatherine | A Oliver |
| 9/3 5:30p | None Scheduled | A Farlow |
| 9/4 9:00a | Chandler, AnneMarie, Maura | Beth Sullivan |
| 9/10 5:30p | None Scheduled | MA Gilfoil |
| 9/11 9:00a | Preston, Cortland, Evelyn | Blake Sullivan |
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
September 2 First Friday Devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus - 5:30 p.m.
- September 3 First Saturday Devotions to our Blessed Mother - Mass and Holy Hour - 9 a.m.
- September 11 Sunday Morning Catechism will begins
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.
FIRST FRIDAY…SEPTEMBER 2 ...Holy Hour and Mass....5:30 p.m. ...make a special devotion to the Sacred Heart and attend first Friday devotions for nine consecutive months.
FIRST SATURDAY …SEPTEMBER 3 … Mass and Holy Hour … 9 a.m. Our Lady of Fatima called for special devotions to be offered on the first Saturday of each month. All are welcomed and encouraged to attend,
PRAYER FOR HURRICANE SEASON… .Our Father in Heaven through the intercession of our Lady of Prompt Succor, spare us during the Hurricane Season from all harm. Protect us and our homes from all disasters of nature. Our Lady of Prompt Succor, hastened to help us. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen
Our Return to the Lord
| Weekly Budget FY 2020-21 | $ 2,111 |
| July Budget | $ 10,555 |
| July Income | $ 10,849 |
| July Expenses | $ 11,185 |
| August Budget | $ 8,444 |
| August 20/21ollection | $ 1,364 |
| August Income To Date | $ 7,330 |
Stewardship In the Gospel today, Jesus warns us not to give in hopes of repayment, but to give open handedly to the poor and needy. That sort of giving mirrors the bountiful giving of God, and Jesus assures us it is blessed indeed!
Let us Rejoice in the Lord!
Happy Birthday Dana Daigre Hamilton (Aug 30), Alyce Keene (Aug 31), Chandler Brook Wood (Aug 31), Sug Regan (Sept 4)
Happy Anniversary Kendra and Dave Collins (Aug 29)
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 and Pope-Emeritus Benedict XVI; 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, Mary Ernst, Susan and Johnny Gilfoil, Bill Kennedy, Ed Mills, Kathleen 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), Jenna Faye Allen (Florence), Pam Amacker (Gilfoil), James Arceneaux (Book), Marie Farlow Bellard, Sarah Cannon (Gilfoil), Ruthie Coenen (Wilks), Kevin and AnnaBeth Collins (Book), Truman and Diane Collins, Jami Cook (Wilks), Susan Ward Daigle (Gilfoil & Keene), Don Deweese, Mac Donaldson (Ellerbee), Ashley and Chuck Edwards (Keene), Joe Farlow, Mike Farlow, Patty Farlow, Monique Florence, Judy Fortenberry, April Franklin (Wilks), Thom Gilfoil, Charlotte Green, Rita Hargrave, Arlice Evans Headley, Evie Hilburn (Lancaster), John and Carlyle Ashly Hoogland, Melissa Jennings (Gilfoil & Keene), Dee Jones (Keene), Lyn and Calvin Lisonbee (Keene), LaLa Lopez (Hernandez), Caroline Marcello (Watts), Michelle McGuire(Gilfoil), Mona Martin (MA Gilfoil), Caryn Oliver, Sue Perrilloux (D Wood), Wayne Pitre (Gilfoil), Frances Robinson (Wilks), Bailey, Scott and Tiffney Rome, Dianne W. Roper (Murphy), Albert Thom (Rome), Janice Spencer and family (Wilks), Meg Keene Thomas, Lucy Thomason (gr-dau of Bentley Curry)(Book), Gabby Trejos (Wilks), Paul Wayne and 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, Maddie Oliver Bridges, Blake Sullivan, Carter Sullivan, Walker Sullivan, Brice Wood, Marsh Wood
