25th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Thoughts from Fr. Ryan

Our daily Mass goers know that there are certain mistranslations of the Bible that really get my goat. Today is one of them. The usual daily wage for a laborer was a coin called a Denarius. It's the same coin that Jesus talks about when He asks “whose name and whose face is on this coin?” It's the same coin that Jesus talks about right before He gets into the story of the prodigal son. And it’s a real thing…

A Denarius is “incarnate.” It’s real. It has history. It has shape. It has a name. The “usual daily wage” is an idea. Besides being a clunky phrase, it has no reality to it. The whole Gospel today depends on the idea that everyone who started work early agreed to work the day for one Denarius. And so when the people who worked only one hour got a Denarius - as opposed to a copper coin or some kind of in-kind payment like wheat or bread - the whole-day people assumed they would get a bonus… But the point of the story is that the Denarius symbolizes salvation. And so the bonus doesn’t matter…

But the usual daily wage is such a modern idea that it feels more like a bank doing direct deposit than it does something real and tangible.

This is a good soap box for me to stand on because it illustrates how much the incarnational - the REAL, TANGIBLE, SENSIBLE - images that Jesus uses matter. Modernity LOVES to replace the real with the theoretical. Dr Thomas Sewell says that all of Modernity is replacing that which works with that which sounds good. The teachings of Jesus are not ideas… The Pearl of Great Price that costs us everything is not an idea - it’s a visceral image. The image of the weeds and the wheat works the same way. If we reduced that to the parable of the “poorly managed crops…” Well, it loses more than a turn of phrase.

The same sort of thing happens when we replace the Jewish way of counting hours with the modern o’clock system. This is the gospel that gives us the idea of the “11th hour.” And the idea of the hours is that there is a limit. Five O’clock doesn’t really mean anything to us… When darkness falls, we just turn on a light. Heck, in my house, all the lights are automatic… They change colors around 5pm… It’s neat, but for us the idea of late afternoon doesn’t really mean anything. The idea of the hours passing, though, is a very different kind of image. As the hours tick by, the landowner keeps going out and finding people wasting the day… And when he goes out at the 11th hour, there is a sense of pity and condemnation when he says “Have you been standing around all day?” When they say, “No one has hired us,” we all ask the same question, where were you all day when this guy came to this same place hiring people? The 11th hour is a more visceral and a more incarnate way of thinking about the finite nature of the day. The modern o’clock usage depends on that idea-based way of modern thinking where everything is continuous. Like the Denarius, the original words of Jesus - as opposed to this modern translation - really communicate the finite and scoped and incarnate nature of the story.

I think this story is one of the main reasons that I strongly recommend the RSV (Revised Standard Version) of the Bible. It does a great job of avoiding pitfalls and mistakes like this which have such a larger impact on our understanding than we might immediately realize.

It’s also a strong reminder of our need to think about the Bible properly. On the one hand, the Bible is a powerful tool for prayer. The inspired stories are amazing and uplifting and challenging. At the same time, every Bible we read is a translation… an interpretation of what is being said. Today’s Gospel, for example, is a story about the urgency of serving the Lord and how salvation requires REAL WORK. But with problematic translations like “usual daily wage” and “o’clock”, we can read this same Gospel and come away thinking it’s about being ok with not getting extra pay for extra work… Which is NOT the point of this Gospel.

And so we should be supremely cautious of reading the Bible in English in order to draw doctrinal, moral, or theological conclusions. Rather, we should prioritize using a good translation and praying with scripture over and above studying or analyzing it.

Upcoming Events

Confessions every Fri & Sat ~5p until Mass and Sunday ~9a until Mass
Sunday Morning Catechism (with Coffee & Donuts) after the 9:30a Mass unless otherwise indicated
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:

THIS 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, this 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.

Mass Intentions for the Coming Week

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
Mon NO MASS
Tue 9:00a In memory of Pat & Marleigh Bullard, Patrick Thomas, & R L & Eva Reynolds/family
Wed 9:00a For healing for Patricia Guizerix/family
Thu 9:00a (Legacy Nursing Center) In memory of Bryan Stamey/family
Fri 5:30p In memory of deceased members of the Bolton and Howington families
Sat 5:30p In memory of Donald and Payton Trichell/family
Sun 8:00a (Traditional Latin Mass) PRO POPULO for the living & deceased members of our parish
Sun 9:30a In memory of Dan Fordice/Scott

Altar Candles this week are burning in memory of Becky, Beverly, and Edgar Lancaster

Assistants at Holy Mass

		Acolytes	Lector
9/19	5:30p	-	P Wilks
9/20	9:30a	Cooper and Courtland	Youth
9/26	5:30p	-	A Dawson
9/27	9:30a	Annie, Thomas Meyers, Katelyn	J Howington

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 13 Collection	TBD
September to Date	TBD

STEWARDSHIP The first son in today’s Gospel said he would do his father’s bidding, but did not. The second son balked at first, but then repented and did as he was asked. What service is God calling me to do? Which son am I more like?

OUR SECOND COLLECTION this weekend is the un-taxed collection to benefit the Infirmed Priests assessment that we pay each month.

Community Celebrations

Happy Birthday to Chris Cagnolatti (Sept 21), Matthew Mason (Sep 21), Leslye Ellerbee (Sept 25), Blake Sullivan (Sept 26), Todd Spinks (Sep 27)

Happy Anniversary to Isabell and Sylvester Hernandez (Sept 23), Peggy and Phillip Scurria (Sept 23)

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.