The 17th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Thoughts from Fr. Ryan
Christianity is hard. It’s not like Buddhism or Judaism or even Islam. Christianity is hard because it really is all or nothing. Jesus makes some wildly unreasonable claims about Himself. And those claims are either the ravings of a lunatic or the revelation of a God.
If they are the ravings of a lunatic - then the whole story of Christianity is nonsense. But if they are the revelation of a God, then the WHOLE story of Christianity is non-negotiable. We are supposed to go to everyone in the world and convert them to Catholicism. We are supposed to lay down our lives for Jesus. We are to sell everything we have and buy the pearl of great price - figuratively and spiritually. You either trade it all for Jesus or you don’t get any payout at all.
We are one of the first generations in human history to have a problem with this kind of thinking.
It wasn’t until 1968 that Catholics started to believe - wrongly - that we could pick and choose what we want to believe and not believe. It was when Pope Paul VI wrote a simple document saying that what the Church has always believed, She still believes. It shouldn’t have been controversial. But, a lot of “experts” - priests, bishops and college professors included - had spent the previous decade writing that Vatican II meant everything was up for grabs and that every one of us was supposed to make it up for ourselves. It was a kind of idolatry with this caricature of “conscience” as the golden calf.
The Gospel story for today of the pearl of great price, though, is a rejection of that kind of pick- and-choose way of thinking. We don’t get to just follow our conscience and we don’t get to pick-and- choose our expert or ideology. The pearl is what it is. I can buy it or not, but I can’t change it.
The Lord says that when we truly give ourselves to Faith, when we trade everything, we find peace and joy and kindness and self-possession.
When Jesus offers us the pearl of great price, He says there will be costs. He says that it won’t be easy. He says that it’s no accident that it’s hard - it’s meant to be hard. We’re meant to struggle. Jesus chose the Cross. He chose the crown of thorns. But St. Paul says “We know that all things work for good for those who love God.” Even the hard ones…
The cross He has asked me to carry is exactly what I need to get to heaven. It’s what is perfectly suited to me and my personality and my spiritual gifts and my failings. It was planned for me when I was knit together in my mother’s womb!
And if I devote myself to “taking up my cross and following after Him” and to “working out my salvation in fear and trembling” and to “hearing the word of God and keeping it” then I will find a depth of satisfaction and a nearness to God and a desire for heaven that far surpasses anything this world can offer! This is the pearl - a stone which starts as a painful grain of sand in the innards of an oyster.
None of this is about devoting myself entirely to a Faith that is foreign to us. Our entire culture comes from Christianity. Our notions of family and honesty and goodness and hospitality come from Christians imperfectly trying to live out today’s Gospel.
And we can see that where Christianity is being suppressed how quickly the culture dissolves away - just look at England and France and California.
And why is it getting suppressed? Because we intuit and know that pick-and-choose Christianity is fake and unsatisfying. Jesus says that the Kingdom of God IS like the pearl of great price. Either you buy in 100% or you might as well just cash out.
Getting the pearl takes more than words and token actions, it takes courageous, directed, long-term and serious effort. That is what God wants from us and for us!
And his promises - now, in the course of our lives and in eternity - make for a very compelling deal.
As the infomercials of the 90s always asked, what are you waiting for?
Upcoming Events
- Confessions every Friday & Saturday from 5p until Mass and Sunday from 9a until Mass
- August 1/2 First Sunday Benediction - after Weekend Masses
- August 8/9 First Friday Devotions and Benediction - after 5:30pm Mass
- August 12 Talk #3 about Spain at 6p in Church Hall
For Your Information:
TALKS ABOUT SPAIN As we have a number of folks who will be traveling on pilgrimage to Spain this fall, Fr Ryan will offer talks organized around the geographic regions on the tour. All talks will be in the Hall and are open to anyone. All talks will begin at 6p and will include a powerpoint-style slide show with pictures and explanations of the places and their cultural and spiritual significance.
- Wed, Aug 12, 6p Talk 3 - Santiago de Compostela and the Camino of St James (RESCHEDULED)
- Wed, Aug 26, 6p Talk 4 - Fatima
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 will begin in the coming months. Our sales representative, Garth Daniels, can be reached at (318) 295-4409. If you have any questions or you know of anyone else interested in making a purchase, please encourage them to speak with Garth or to call the church office.
FIRST SUNDAY BENEDICTION for the weekend of August 1-2 will conclude Masses as part of our larger program of Eucharistic Devotion.
FIRST FRIDAY is August 7. Father will offer Devotions and Eucharistic Benediction at the end of Mass. Make a special devotion to the Sacred Heart and attend first Friday devotions for nine consecutive months.
Mass Intentions for the Coming Week
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Payton and Donald Trichell/family
- Sun 8:00a (Traditional Latin Mass) PRO POPULO for the living & deceased members of our parish
- Sun 9:30a In memory of deceased members of the Howington and Bolton families
- Mon NO MASS
- Tue 9:00a In memory of SeSe and Racer Holstead on anniversary of marriage/family
- Wed 9:00a For healing for Patricia Guizerix/family
- Thu 9:00a (Legacy Nursing Home) In memory of Bryan Stamey/family
- Fri 5:30p In memory of Delia and Thomas Trichell/B Hayes
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Marleigh and Pat Bullard, Patrick Thomas, and Eva & R L Reynolds
- Sun 8:00a (Traditional Latin Mass) PRO POPULO for the living & deceased members of our parish
- Sun 9:30a In celebration of the wedding anniversary of Pat and Margaret Gilfoil/family
ALTAR CANDLES this week are burning this week for Vicki Morelli.
Assistants at Holy Mass
| Date | Servers | Lector(s) | EMHC(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7/25 5:30p | - | A Dawson | |
| 7/26 9:30a | Michael, Finley, & Ashlyn | S Marsh | |
| 8/1 5:30p | - | MA Gilfoil | |
| 8/2 9:30a | Kathleen, Evelyn, & Daniel | A Oliver |
Our Return to the Lord
| Weekly Budget FY 2022-23 | $ 2,500 |
| June Budget | $ 10,000 |
| June Collections | $ 15,612 |
| June Expenses | $ 12,771 |
| July Budget | $ 10,000 |
| July 19 Collection | $ 2,562 |
| July to Date | $ 8,294 |
Stewardship “The law of Your mouth is to me more precious than thousands of gold and silver pieces,” says the Psalmist today. Does the amount of my offering suggest that I could honestly say the same?
Community Celebrations
Happy Birthday to Nap Book (July 26), Enrique Paz (Aug 1), Louise Magoun (Aug 2), Stephen Riddick (Aug 2)
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.
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, 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), Patricia Lively (Wilks), Charles Howington, Jimmy Hopson(Wilks), 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), the family of Lee 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, Chandler Wood
