The 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time
From The Font
“Whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones... because the little one is a disciple... he will... not lose his reward."
I mentioned last weekend in my sermon the so-called “Gospel of Prosperity.” It’s a concept of Christianity in which God works tit for tat. If I give $20 “to the Lord,” then God will reward me with some blessing in this world. Most errors and heresies are just the result of taking some truth and twisting it. Satan, after all, cannot create, he can only manipulate.
The truth is that God does reward us. He loves us and gives us good gifts. When I devote myself to Him in prayer, I receive the Fruit of the Holy Spirit which includes desirable traits like peace, joy, patience, and self-control. When I fast, I gain both physical benefits as well as spiritual ones. When I do works of mercy, I feel connected to my fellow man along with the spiritual promises found in scripture. On top of all this, God gives us so many blessings in this life. Even those of us who have it hard can identify a multitude of reasons to be grateful for or appreciative of the good things in our lives!
The error comes when we pray and fast and do works of mercy not for the love of God and neighbor, but for the rewards themselves. If I reduce prayer to mindfulness or the modern idea of meditation, then I’m not praying, I’m just trying to calm my heart and reduce my cortisol level. If I fast not in repentance of my sin but just to lose weight, there’s no spiritual benefit there. And if I do works of mercy just for a tax benefit or to alleviate guilt, then I shouldn’t expect any reward beyond that tax or feeling.
We shouldn’t give to the Church just to keep the lights on! We shouldn’t practice our Faith just for the side benefits! What we do, we should do for the love of the Lord. And when that love compels us to give “a cup of cold water to one of these little ones” because he or she is a servant of God, then we should act on that compulsion. If we, rather, try to game the system... If we try to hack the Lord, so to speak, then we will be sorely disappointed. Often what we need for salvation is a trial or a cross. Often, the best gift the Lord can give is an unanswered prayer. That’s why the very best prayers include something about “Thy will be done!”
Thoughts from Fr. Ryan
Well, this past weekend was my last in Delhi. I’ll admit, it was tough for me to say farewell. I’ll fight the temptation to climb on my soapbox about why I absolutely hate the idea that pastors are moved around so much.
An old priest once joked that he was going to make every person in the parish happy. He said some were going to be happy that he arrived. Some would be happy while he was there. And the rest would be happy when he left. It caused some uncomfortable laughter... But moving priests is hard on the priest and on the people. It really is. The reasoning for it, which originated out of thin air in the 1960s, is that priests only have so many new things to say and that the people will benefit from new perspectives from time to time. Of course, this assumption is based on the idea that the priest isn’t there just to share the truth of Jesus Christ, but also to inform and entertain and whatever else. Basically, the assumption is that Jesus isn’t interesting enough on His own to satisfy the Christian Faithful. And so we need to change out pastors every few years to keep the whole thing interesting. But I’m dangerously close to a soapbox again, so I’ll leave the problems and turn to solutions.
The modern world does obsess over the new and so many people agree that a steady change in clergy is somehow helpful or good. I agree with that only to the degree that a good pastor is constantly interested in what will be genuinely helpful for his people. Is our congregation more tech savvy now and so we need to have a regular series of livestreams? Are we in a very Protestant
area and would benefit from regular bible study talks and opportunities for catechesis? Should we be trying different strategies for evangelization and youth ministry? Should we make repairs to this or that building?
This is why I take our pastoral council quite seriously and it’s why I ask all of you to be open and honest with me about anything in the parish. If my preaching style is too fast or too frenetic or too academic or too esoteric, please feel free to tell me! If I made a joke or made light of something or failed to be charitable in some regard, please feel free to call me out on it. If I’ve lost my temper with you or you caught me on a bad day, come over for a cup of coffee and let’s talk about it.
At Vatican II, the bishops specifically discussed the modern issues that pastors face. They were concerned about “the times” changing too quickly but they agreed it would be better for pastors (and bishops) to go to a parish (or diocese) and plan to stay there until retirement or death. Their solution was to recommend pastoral councils, both for the parish and the diocese. The purpose of these pastoral councils would be to give the priest, who is certainly in a bit of an ivory tower, a real, direct perspective from “the other side of the altar rail.”
There is certainly charity and courtesy to be kept, but if you have a need, a concern, a gripe, a hope, a wish, or a ‘druther, please, please, please come and see me and let’s talk about it! It really is a gift you’re offering to me and to the parish!
Mass Intentions for the Coming Week
- Sat 5:30p In memory of C. L. Keene/family
- Sun 9:00a Pro Populo for the Living & Deceased Members of our Parish
- Mon No Mass
- Tue 9:00a In memory of Leon Humphries
- Wed 9:00a In memory of Carroll Regan (birth 3rd)/family
- Thu 9:00a In memory of Rosa and Gus Gremshell and May DiTomasso
- Fri 5:30p In memory of Paul VanderVieren (birth)/family
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Irving (birth) and Lee Rome/Kev Collins
- 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 | Lectors | EMHCs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7/1 5:30p | None Scheduled | L Bullard | TBD |
| 7/2 9:00a | MaryKatherine and Courtland | J Howington | TBD |
| 7/8 5:30p | None Scheduled | MK Book | TBD |
| 7/9 9:00a | Cooper and Maura | M Lancaster | TBD |
| 7/15 5:30p | None Scheduled | L Bullard | TBD |
| 7/16 9:00a | Kathleen and Evelyn | Youth | TBD |
Upcoming Events
- Confessions every Friday & Saturday from 5p until Mass and on Sunday from 9a until Mass
- Sunday Catechism and Donuts after Mass during the school year 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
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 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
PASTORAL COUNCIL NEWS…… Louise Magoun and Blanche Wilks have just completed a three year term of service to our Faith Family serving as members of the Pastoral Council. We greatly appreciate their input in to the operations of the parish.
Appointed to serve on the Council beginning July 1 are Shannon Wood and Jamie Howington. We look forward to having them on the Pastoral Council.
Other members of the Council include MaryKathryn Book, Kendra Collins, Norman Ernst, and Jason Trichell. 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.
Stewardship Both the first reading and the Gospel today speak of hospitality and welcome. Our ministers of hospitality are a most visible example of using one’s time and talents to welcome the people of God. But the Gospel assures us that all who give even just “a cup of cold water” to one of His lowliest ones will be rewarded..
This weekend the second collection will be our monthly Building Fund collection
Our Return to the Lord
| Weekly Budget FY 2022-23 | $ 2,111 |
| May Budget | $ 8,444 |
| May Income | $ 10,689 |
| May Expenses | $ 10.690 |
| June Budget | $ 8,444 |
| June 24-25 Collection | $ 1,857 |
| June Income To Date | $ 6,095 |
Let us Rejoice in the Lord!
Happy Birthday Candler Hamilton (July 5, 2016), Jude Nadeau (July 7)
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, Margaret and Pat Gilfoil, Bill Kennedy, Ed Mills, Terry and Susie Murphy, Sue & Mike Rome
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 Arceneaux (Book), Marie Farlow Bellard, Tommy Bickham (C Copes), Chris Breard (Gilfoil), Sarah Cannon (Gilfoil), Fran Castile (Keene), Ruthie Coenen (Wilks), Jami Cook (Wilks), Marla Evans Cummings, 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), Josh and Kim Wallace (Gilfoil), LaLa Lopez (Hernandez), Caroline Marcello (Watts), Michelle McGuire(Gilfoil), Mona Martin (MA Gilfoil), Cindy Mathieu (Wilks), Boyce Miller, John Neill, Caryn Oliver, Wayne Pitre (Gilfoil), Levi and Kristin Reagan and their infant twins, Mary Anne and Adam Todd (Gilfoil/Ginn), Janie Saxon (Lancaster), Bailey, Scott and Tiffney Rome, Dianne W. Roper (Murphy),Tuleta Sasser (Wilks), Tommy Trichell, LeeAnn Rome Tranchina (Rome), Joe Yerger,
Our collegiates: Aidan Collins, Preston 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
