24th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Thoughts from Fr. Ryan
Hypocrisy, when we stop and think about it in the most generic sense, is not that big of a deal. There are a ton of times where good advice that would be genuinely helpful to someone else does not apply to the one giving that advice and does not really depend upon the virtue of the one giving it.
Basically every medical appointment, every self-help program, every consultation for car repair and the like involves someone telling someone else what they ought to do without reference to the advice giver’s personal example… “You should eat less salt,” says the diabetic doctor. “You should stretch more,” says the nurse with a sore back. “You should really make a conscious effort to forgive your dad,” says the therapist with no family pictures in her office. All good advice even from whomever it comes…
But still, when religion is involved, nothing is so frustrating as hypocrisy. In the Gospel today, there is the central lesson about forgiveness, but that lesson depends upon just how annoying we find hypocrisy to be.
We could argue it’s different with religion (than it is with doctors) because we’re all held to the same standard. But that’s not true. To whom much is given, much will be expected. Parents of children are held to very different religious standards than a cloistered nun who has been entirely focused on prayer and holiness for the past 40 years. Their moment of eternal judgement is going to look different. And, in this life, the spiritual advice of that nun is going to be better than the advice of the busy parents. But the financial management advice of the parents will be superior to the nun’s.
Still, with religion, the underlying assumption - at least for modern people - is that all advice comes from a place of personal experience. (This is the result of the idea that Protestant Christianity is somehow “normal” or baseline Christianity.) But for all Christians, religious and spiritual truths don’t come from our personal experience, they come from Jesus… Sure, I may be able to give advice from my personal experience about how to manage human distraction in prayer, but that’s a fundamentally different kind of instruction from saying “we have to forgive even our enemies.”
And, as someone who personally struggles every day with forgiving a few specific people from my past who really tried to hurt me, I can give that advice/instruction without blushing not because I have fully and completely forgiven all MY “enemies” but because the advice is teaching that comes from Jesus, not my experience.
Hypocrisy, understood rightly, is actually a fairly specific kind of thing that Jesus uses to indict people who confuse their personal aims with the truths of the Jewish Faith. Jesus’ use of the word is almost always addressed to the professional religious people (the Scribes and Pharisees). In one place, He says “you who pack up heavy burdens for others to carry, but don’t lift a finger yourselves…” The indictment is not that they teach the truth while falling short of the glory of God themselves, it’s that they instruct or demand things which God does not.
In another place, Jesus uses the image of a splinter and a log… “Don’t try to remove the splinter from your brothers’ eye until you remove the log from your own eye.” This is the quintessential image of hypocrisy in scripture. We could modernize the idea as something like “don’t manage other peoples’ lives unless your own lives are in order!” The psychologist and controversialist Dr Jordan Peterson caused a ruckus by responding to a Gen Z question about Climate Change by saying something like: there is absolutely a place for activism and public advocacy, but that should follow from having your own house in order. You shouldn’t be telling other people how to live their lives without knowing how to live your own well. In this way, a lot of advocacy is just avoiding dealing with your own issues. (paraphrased)
So we end up with a nice distinction when it comes to questions of hypocrisy. On the one hand, we have our Christian obligation to share the teaching of Jesus about doctrinal and moral questions which we should do, whether or not we, ourselves, are religious or moral paragons. (Something we should be striving toward.) On the other hand, we must be cautious of advising or teaching from our own experience lest we hurt others even as we deceive ourselves.
Upcoming Events
- Sep 7-18 Fr Ryan on Pilgrimage with about 10 members of our parish. Please pray for them!
- Sep 13 No Traditional Latin Mass
- Sep 13 No Sunday Morning Catechism
- Our Pastoral Council Meeting for this month has been rescheduled to Wednesday the 23rd at 6p in the Parish Hall due to Fr Ryan being out of town.
For Your Information:
NEXT WEEKEND, SEP 19-20 is our unassessed/untaxed second collection which compensates the parish for expenses associated with providing for retired priests and religious. 100% of the second collection remains here at St Edward without the usual diocesan assessment. We have two of these collections each year, next weekend and Easter Sunday. Please be prayerfully generous.
ROSARY GROUP meets on Monday at 5:30p for prayer and supper. Everyone is welcome. Contact Louise Magoun (318-341-2403), coordinator for more information.
FORMED.ORG has weekly features at https://watch.formed.org/this-week-on-formed. Remember to sign in using our parish’s zip code (71282) at https://signup.formed.org
MAUSOLEUM construction is expected to begin in the next two months. If you have any questions or you know of anyone else interested in making a purchase, please encourage them to call the church office for additional information.
EMAILED BULLETINS are being sent out by a new service called ButtonDown. The bulletins may be sent to your spam folder as common with bulk emails. If you are not receiving the bulletin as usual, please check your spam folder. You can also sign up again via the form on our website at SaintEdwardTallulah.church
A MESSAGE FROM FR ROBERT DORE, Pastor of St. Michael, Vicksburg
Dear friends in the Lord… A few weeks ago, when I left for vacation, I was experiencing some abdominal pain. The pain continued during that time along with a loss of appetite. When I arrived back home, I made an appointment with my doctor who ordered blood work and a CT scan of my abdomen. The scan revealed that I have a mass on my liver. He ordered a liver biopsy that revealed carcinoma. The final pathological results are not available. When they become available, I will be referred to an oncologist for treatment. I have no idea what the future holds, but I know your prayers, love, and support are with me as I make this journey. With love, prayers, and gratitude, Fr Robert
Please remember Fr Dore in your prayers, especially in the Holy Rosary!
Mass Intentions for the Coming Week
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Beverly Lancaster (birthday)/family
- Sun 8:00a No Traditional Latin Mass - Fr Ryan on Pilgrimage
- Sun 9:30a In memory of John C B “Skeezix” Jumonville/family
- Mon NO MASS - Fr Ryan on Pilgrimage
- Tue NO MASS - Fr Ryan on Pilgrimage
- Wed NO MASS - Fr Ryan on Pilgrimage
- Thu NO MASS - Fr Ryan on Pilgrimage
- Fri NO MASS - Fr Ryan on Pilgrimage
- Sat 5:30p In memory of R L Reynolds/Bullard
- Sun 8:00a (Traditional Latin Mass) PRO POPULO for the living & deceased members of our parish
- Sun 9:30a In memory of Jackie Jumonville/family
Altar Candles this week are burning in memory of Vicki Morelli
Assistants at Holy Mass
| Acolytes | Lector | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 9/12 | 5:30p | - | M Rome |
| 9/13 | 9:30a | Mary Katherine, Maura, & Elizabeth | D Hamilton |
| 9/19 | 5:30p | - | P Wilks |
| 9/20 | 9:30a | Cooper and Courtland | Youth |
Our Return to the Lord
| Weekly Budget FY 2025-2026 | $2,500 |
| August Budget | $12,500 |
| August Collections | $15,298 |
| August Expenses | TBD |
| September Budget | $10,000 |
| September 6 Collection | TBD |
| September to Date | TBD |
STEWARDSHIP In our second reading from St Paul to the Romans, we’re reminded that “None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself.” We live and die for the Lord and the great spiritual writers of the Church remind us to live this reality by avoiding excess attachment to worldly things. This is why the Corporal Works of Mercy are so important and why we must give real thought and concern to our charitable giving of our wealth and also of our time and talents.
Community Celebrations
Happy Birthday to Dan Copes (Sept 12), Teres Saunier (Sep 12), Jojo Alabanzas (Sep 13), Gabriel Paz (Sept 15), Emilio Alcomendras (Sep 16)
In Our Daily Prayers…
For our Pope, Leo XIV, 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, Chris, Susan, and David Cagnolatti, Connie & Dan Copes, Elizabeth Crothers, Leslye Ellerbee, Ann Claire Fordice and her children, Susan & Johnny Gilfoil, Margaret & Pat Gilfoil,Terry Farlow Hall, Sidney & Mary Jane Johnson, Frances & Bill Kennedy, Ed Mills, Susie Murphy, Bobby Reynolds, Phillip and Peggy Scurria, Sug Regan, Mike & Sue Rome, Lori Sullivan, Mary Trichell
Our friends and relatives who need our prayers: Ashley Alexander (Regan), Graham Allen (S Gilfoil), Marie Farlow Bellard, Martha Book, Kay Boolos (S Gilfoil), Chris Breard (Gilfoil), Gayle Brown (Dukes and Oliver), Albert Christman, Jeannie & Donald Collins, Jami Cook (Wilks), Gene Cox, Carol Dipert (Rome), Mac Donaldson (Ellerbee), Mike Farlow, Patty Farlow, Judy Fortenberry, Donna Fulton (Ellerbee), Fred and Cathy Fulton, Morgan, Alex, and Palmer Gilfoil, Thom Gilfoil, Wyly Gilfoil (Gilfoil), LaVonne Givens, Charlotte Green, Rita Hargrave, Evie Hilburn (Lancaster), Charles Howington, Will Irby (P Gilfoil), Diane Johnson, Andrew and Chelsea Keene-Lewis, Carla Leese (S Gilfoil), LaLa Lopez (Hernandez), Caroline Marcello (Watts), Mona Martin (MA Gilfoil), Jessica McCoy (Reynolds), Michelle McGuire(Gilfoil), Kiely McKellar (S Gilfoil), Boyce Miller, Mike Morelli, Randy Parker, Betty Petersen, David Peterson, Quintin Purvis, John Neill, Curt and Brianne Rome, Bailey, Scott, and Tiffney Rome, Debbie Kedrick Sims, LeeAnn Rome Tranchina (Rome), Randy Watts, Jr.
Our collegiates: Aidan Collins, Preston Collins, Henry Ellerbee, Lilly Falgout, Jag Gilfoil, Matilda Johnson, Caroline Marsh, EmmyLu Marsh, Charlize Richardson, Will Richardson, Chandler Wood
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.