The 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time
From The Font
“If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.”
St Augustine said that if anyone wishes to be a saint and go to Heaven, he needs three things: Humility, humility, and humility.
The entirety of our modern world is just the opposite of that. Modernity is about ambition and self-branding and success at all costs. Mother Teresa wisely observed that Jesus does not call us to success, but to faithfulness. It’s entirely possible for a Christian to live his or her entire life in obscurity and become a greater saint than someone who accomplished a lot in the public eye.
Of course, this isn’t new or unique to us as modern people or even modern Americans. The desire to think of oneself as god-like goes back to Adam and Eve. And even the Church hasn’t done an especially good job of keeping these words of Jesus front and center. We tend to think of the Church as a hierarchy with the Pope at the top, then the bishops, then the priests, then the parish secretaries (who may, in practice, be a few rungs higher than the priest 😄) and then the lowly laity... That way of thinking prioritizes POWER. Jesus tells us, though, to prioritize holiness and service. Seen rightly, the Pope is the “Servant of the Servants of God.” The Bishops, then, are there to order and assist the priests in their work to serve the people of God - who are, rightly, at the top and not the bottom.
The history of the Church is chock full of examples of the Lord speaking to zealous and prayerful believers who then begin great movements of holiness among the laity. All too often, these movements are encumbered rather than encouraged by the priests and bishops. I’m thinking especially of St Francis of Assisi who was a lay person who simply wanted to serve the Lord by serving the least of his neighbors.
None of this is to say that the clergy aren’t good or helpful. Rather, it’s a good reminder that human nature never changes. All of us are still Adam and Eve desiring to be masters over good and evil. All of us are Judas. And all of us are St Francis and Mother Teresa. The potential for good and evil, for service or pride are within us all. Which will we choose?
Thoughts from Fr. Ryan
This Monday is the feast of Padre Pio!
The well-known part of his story is that he was a mystic and miracle worker living in a small community in central Italy. He had the “gift” of “Stigmata” by which we mean that he had physical, bleeding wounds in his hands, side, and feet which lasted for exactly 50 years. What’s more, he could read souls in the confessional... (Imagine going to confession and the priest says, “are you going to confess that lie you told about Bob Jones? You know his daughter heard about it and it’s contributing to her eating disorder...” Yikes!!)
The lesser known part of Padre Pio’s story is less dramatic, but more important for us to understand because his story exemplifies the larger problems we have in the Church. For the last 100 years or so, there have been increasingly complex divisions in the Church. To oversimplify, a group of clergy have become obsessed with being accepted by the world. To that end, they’ve made quite an effort to suppress any aspects of our Catholic Faith which could be considered incompatible with “being modern.” In Padre Pio’s instance, several local Bishops outright denied the possibility of miracles or that the Lord works in any supernatural way nowadays. Hence, they claimed Padre Pio was lying about the miracles and that his stigmata were just self-inflicted wounds, caused by a secret acid that he used...
Of course, this is idiotic! It’s hard to imagine being religious and not wanting to discuss the supernatural... It’s what the whole thing is about!
Still, there remains a large group of clergy today who are desperate for the approval of the media and the powerful people of the world. They deny what Jesus taught about Heaven, about the necessity of Faith, and about the moral life. They overemphasize politically correct social issues which are only superficially moral. Immigration, Gun Control, and the Death Penalty, for example, look very moral, but rather than discuss the underlying problems, they obsess over one potential solution to the exclusion of all others... It’s all a pageant, meant to give the façade of concern.
Nothing in the Gospels leads us to believe that being concerned for the environment or global politics are moral in and of themselves or that they will get anyone nearer to Heaven.
In his own time, Padre Pio pointed out this raging hypocrisy and was treated in the same way that a modern “canceled” person is treated. What made him so special is that he was just so obviously supernaturally gifted! It’s hard to dismiss a man who has wounds in his hands that smell like fresh roses and that immediately calm the most anxious people and heal those who touch them...
Padre Pio was, and is, a remarkably important saint as the Church faces the many crises of our modern world. He is definitely an intercessor we all need whether our concerns for the Church are specific or generic, local or universal, great or small.
Padre Pio, pray for us!!
Mass Intentions for the Coming Week
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Payton Trichell/family
- Sun 9:30a Pro Populo for the Living & Deceased Members of our Parish
- Mon NO MASS
- Tue 9:00a In memory of Kathleen Mills/Massey
- Wed 9:00a Intentions of the family of Mathew Schuer
- Thurs 9:00a In memory of Rosa and Gus Gremshell and May DiTomasso Legacy
- Fri 5:30p In memory of Gail Gilfoil Graugnard/Nettles
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Terry Murphy/Curtis
- Sun 9:30a Pro Populo for the Living & Dead members of our Parish Family
ALTAR CANDLES this week are burning for the special intentions of Blanche and Prentiss Wilks
Assistants at Holy Mass
| Date | Servers | Lector(s) | EMHCs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9/21 5:30p | None Scheduled | L Bullard | L Magoun |
| 9/22 9:30a | MaryKatherine & Courtland | C Guizerix | - |
| 9/28 5:30p | None Scheduled | A Farlow | M Rome |
| 9/29 9:30a | Cooper & Maura | J Howington | - |
| 10/5 5:30p | None Scheduled | MA Gilfoil | N Ernst |
| 10/6 9:30a | Kathleen & Evelyn | M Lancaster | - |
Stewardship Today’s second reading warns that a heart consumed with avarice and envy leads to jealousy, strife, conflicts, and disputes. A giving heart, in contrast, can sing instead with the Psalmists, “Freely will I offer you sacrifice; I will praise your name, O lord, for its goodness.”
Our Return to the Lord
| Weekly Budget FY 2022-23 | $ 2,111 |
| August Budget | $ 8,444 |
| August Income | $ 11,285 |
| August Expenses | $ 11,553 |
| Sept Budget | $ 10,555 |
| Sept 15 Collection | $ 7,780 |
| Sept Income To Date | $ 12,446 |
Upcoming Events
- Confessions every Friday & Saturday from 5p until Mass and on Sunday from 9a until Mass
- Sunday Catechism with Coffee and Donuts after Mass 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
Let us Rejoice in the Lord!
Happy Birthday Chris Cagnolatti (Sept 21),“Bugs” Brown (Sept 23), Leslye Ellerbee (Sept 25), Bishop Johnson (Sept 26, 2008), Blake Sullivan (Sept 26), Levi Hamilton (Sept 30, 2018)
Happy Anniversary Isabell and Sylvester Hernandez (Sept 23), Peggy and Philip Scurria (Sept 23)
Happy Anniversary
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; our 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, under full-time care and for those who care for them, and for those otherwise in need of our prayers: MaryKathryn & Nap Book, Connie & Dan Copes, Elizabeth Crothers, Leslye Ellerbee, Susan & Johnny Gilfoil, Margaret & Pat Gilfoil, Terry Farlow Hall, C.W. & Alyce Keene, Frances & Bill Kennedy, Hannah McCarty, Ed Mills, Susie Murphy, Bobby Reynolds, Mike & Sue Rome
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), Marie Farlow Bellard, Tommy Bickham (C Copes), Kay Boolos (S Gilfoil), Dick & Sue Boyd (S Gilfoil), Chris Breard (Gilfoil), David Cagnolatti, Willetta and Mac Cagnolatti, Sarah Cannon (Gilfoil), Fran Castile (Keene), Jeannie & Donald Collins, Teresa Carney Condra, Jami Cook (Wilks), Bobbe & 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, 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, Carla Leese (S Gilfoil), 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, Wayne Pitre (Gilfoil), Bailey, Scott and Tiffney Rome, Dianne Roper (Murphy), Janie Saxon (Lancaster), Debbie Kedrick Sims, Gannon Sims, Robbie Sims, Keri Post, 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, Bruen Johnson, Matilda Johnson, Caroline Marsh, Charlize Richardson, Blake Sullivan, Carter Sullivan, Walker Sullivan, Chandler Wood, Marsh Wood
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... through Christ our Lord. Amen
