The Ascension of the Lord
From The Font
“Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
This simple verse from the end of St Matthew’s gospel should be a source of profound comfort for us. Despite the assurance that the Lord Jesus will send the Holy Spirit as an advocate, He, Himself, promises to remain with us.
The immediate question does arise, of course, where is He exactly? If He has promised to remain with us, why isn’t He... visible to us?
Well, He is... Jesus chooses to remain with us in the guise of the Holy Eucharist. Remember that we, as Catholics, profess that the Holy Eucharist is the 1 Body, 2 Blood, 3 Soul, and 4 Divinity of Jesus Christ. It is Him truly present among us, radiating life and love. The amazing Catholic novelist Flannery O’Connor famously wrote “If the Holy Eucharist is just a symbol, to hell with it!” She’s 100% right! The consecrated bread isn’t a symbol, it’s the person of Jesus Christ. The consecrated wine isn’t “a fuller sign,” it’s the person of Jesus Christ. From the perspective of Heaven, there is no distinction between the hosts in the Tabernacle and the person of Jesus Christ appearing to St. Faustina or St. Therese!
And so we can and should understand with confidence that Jesus does remain with us always, even until the end of the age. He is truly present.
In the coming weeks, when we start to distribute Holy Communion from the chalice at Mass again, we want to avoid vulgarities like describing Holy Communion as “ the wine.” Phrases like that aren’t harmless mistakes or imprecise language, they’re detrimental and they reveal a deep misunderstanding about what we believe. “The host” IS Jesus. “The wine” IS Jesus. And so we want to speak about “the Holy Eucharist” or, better, “the Most Holy Eucharist.” We want to speak about “the Precious Body” and “the Precious Blood” of Jesus rather than the physical appearances of bread and wine.
For whatever reason, Jesus has chosen to fulfill His promise to remain with us by means of the Holy Eucharist and so our Faith really does demand that we entrust ourselves to that by thinking and speaking of the Holy Eucharist with due respect, awe, and reverence.
Thoughts from Fr. Ryan
It’s been a wonderful run in these past few weeks in that we’ve had tons of guests and visitors celebrating First Holy Communions, Graduations, school awards, sporting accomplishments, birthdays, anniversaries, and plenty more! With the summer upon us, vacations and weekends at the lake will mean that life will slow down here at the Church. But we’ll still be doing what Catholic Churches do.
We’ll have Mass every Sunday morning at 9a (until August, when it will be 9:30). We’ll also have Mass on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 9a and on Friday at 5:30p. We’ll typically have two Masses on Saturday: a Latin Mass at 9a and our Anticipated Mass at 5:30p.
I’ll also be in the Confessional on Friday and Saturday at 5p and I’ll be available for confession, counseling, or whatever you might need at basically any time. Just call my mobile (it’s listed at the bottom of this page) and we’ll make plans. If it’s at all possible, please give me at least 24 hours notice. I may be available to meet with you right now, but I may also be weeding the yard, installing light fixtures, repairing the toilet, or just exercising in the garage... It’s the kind of stuff that small town pastors do. And I know from experience that I'm not at my best in confession if I have to “shift gears” from toilet repair to sin forgiving with only an hours’ notice. Still, I’m here for you pretty much all summer long.
Summer is also a good time for a few gentle reminders about Catholic practice.
Dress Code Even at the beach, we should try to dress up for the Lord. No flip flops, beach clothes, graphic t-shirts or coverups at Church.
Fasting Before Mass Every Catholic has to fast from food and drink (water and medicine excepted) for one (1) hour before receiving Holy Communion. It is 100% ok not to receive Holy Communion at Mass if you’re just coming from a restaurant or hotel breakfast.
Arriving Late While we’re out of town, we may run into problems finding the Church, parking, etc. That’s ok! In order to fulfill your obligation, you need to be in Church before the gifts are brought up and you need to stay through the final blessing.
Missing Mass If it is possible for you to attend Mass on Sunday, you are obliged (under pain of sin) to do so. Missing Mass is not less of a sin just because you’re on vacation. On the other hand, if it is impossible for you to attend Mass, you are not obliged to do the impossible. If you’re in the hospital or on a sea day on a cruise or the Church you’ve planned to attend has changed their schedule, then you can’t be obliged to do the impossible. If you’ve made a real, genuine, good-faith effort, then you’re ok. Of course, if you’re not 100% positive you’ve done the best you can do, why not go to confession anyway?
Go to Confession to a priest you’ll never see again If you’re a bit embarrassed to go to confession to your local priest, why not go to the priest you’ll never see again somewhere else...?
Mass Intentions for the Coming Week
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Patrick Thomas/Bullard
- Sun 9:00a Pro Populo for the Living & Deceased Members of our Parish
- Mon-Thu No Mass
- Fri 5:30p In memory of Lee Rome/Lancaster
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Payton Trichell/family
- Sun 9:00a Pro Populo for the Living Deceased Members of our Parish
ALTAR CANDLES this week are burning in memory of Delia Trichell as requested by Angel Farlow
Assistants at Holy Mass
| Date | Servers | Lector(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 5/20 5:30p | None Scheduled | M K Book |
| 5/21 9:00a | Kathleen & Evelyn | A Oliver |
| 5/27 5:30p | None Scheduled | L Bullard |
| 5/28 9:00a | Chandler and Annie | B Sullivan |
| 6/3 5:30p | None Scheduled | A Farlow |
| 6/4 9:00a | Mary Katherine & Courtland | K Collins |
Upcoming Events
- Confessions every Friday & Saturday from 5p until Mass at 5:30p
- Pastoral Council meeting monthly on the third Tuesday at 6p unless otherwise indicated
- May 21 Second quarter social - Potluck Brunch - following 9 a.m. Mass
- May 23, 24, 25 NO MASS as Father Ryan is visiting his parents
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
POTLUCK BRUNCH …. this weekend following 9 a.m. Mass. All faith family members are encouraged to participate.
Setting up the Hall and providing cleanup afterwards will the the Second Quarter (April, May, June) Social Committee consisting of Libby Bullard, Angel Farlow, Margaret and Pat Gilfoil, MaryAnne Gilfoil, Terry and Andy Hall, Isabell Hernandez, Cindy and Jamie Howington, Ann Keene, Alyce and C.W. Keene, Frances Kennedy, Elizabeth and Paul Naya, Bobby Reynolds, and Cathy VanderVieren.
Stewardship Today we take up the collection for the Catholic Communication Campaign (CCC). Your support helps the CCC engage and build Catholic communities in the United States and around the world using the internet, television, radio, and print media. Half the funds we collect remain here in the Diocese of Alexandria to support our local efforts such as the Church Today newspaper and our diocesan website. Be a part of this campaign to spread the gospel message. Support the collection today! To learn more, visit www.usccb.org/ccc
Our Return to the Lord
| Weekly Budget FY 2022-23 | $ 2,111 |
| April Budget | $ 8,444 |
| April Income | $ 19,642 |
| April Expenses | $ 10,737 |
| May Budget | $ 8,444 |
| May 13-14 Collection | $ 1,809 |
| May Income To Date | $ 4,926 |
Let us Rejoice in the Lord!
Happy Birthday Dave Collins (May 24), Anna Ginn (May 29), Mary Katherine Marsh (May 29, 2011)
Happy Anniversary Father Ryan Humphries (Ordination) (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 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
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), 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), LaLa Lopez (Hernandez), Caroline Marcello (Watts), Michelle McGuire(Gilfoil), Mona Martin (MA Gilfoil), Boyce Miller, John Neill, Caryn Oliver, Wayne Pitre (Gilfoil), Levi and Kristin Reagan and their infant twins, Mary Anne and Adam Todd (Gilfoil/Ginn), 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
