The 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Thoughts from Fr. Ryan
“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”
Agrarian societies - like our local community - understand the hurry-up-and-wait mindset that comes with agriculture. I assure you it was MUCH worse in the ancient world where the weather report came from the wise old farmer who sat around in the village. Everyone was waiting on signs and portents that were more like old wives’ tales than AgScience.
So it would have been common for a landowner to struggle to find laborers for his vineyard if he started harvesting grapes at the same time as other farmers did. But if he started earlier than his neighbors or waited until later, he risked other problems.
Our Gospel admonition about asking the Lord to send laborers into His vineyard comes as Jesus sent out the seventy-two disciples, especially chosen by Jesus. Now, these aren’t the apostles, these are followers of Jesus who ostensibly received some training and had been following Him for quite a while. These almost certainly included folks whose names will appear later like Matthias (who replaced Judas), Apollo, and various others who appear alongside the Apostles in the book of the Acts of the Apostles. These disciples were able to teach, to perform miraculous healings and to do exorcisms. So when Jesus says to them that the laborers are few, that must have been both a challenge and a compliment.
But He also charges them to ask the Lord to send out more disciples. Remember that Jesus hadn’t really told anyone that this Church He was establishing would be anything other than a reformed version of Judaism. They didn’t have any reason to think they would need a large support staff or a big crew of helpers. At this moment in the timeline, everyone was basically under the impression that the Jewish leadership would eventually get on board with what Jesus was doing and that Jesus would organize a large-scale revolt against the Romans by the Jews… And so the disciples understood the need to convince the Jews of Jesus’ reform-plan and they knew they would need more temporary helpers. But they probably expected that no one was going to be doing this full-time… Jesus hadn’t yet implied that He would be dying or rising from the dead. He hadn’t yet intimated that He would be establishing a Church which was entirely distinct from the Jewish temple and the Jewish Law. And so the call to ask the Lord for more disciples seems more perfunctory than urgent.
The obvious oddity here, too, is that Jesus IS God. Why is Jesus asking these folks to pray that God will send more laborers? For one, Jesus hasn’t yet made clear His nature to the crowds… So there’s that. But, also, Jesus isn’t thinking about prayer as an entirely internal, spiritual exercise like so many of us nowadays do! Jesus is encouraging them to invite the people who are moved by their preaching to become preachers in turn. He’s telling these disciples to ask the Lord for the specific blessing of “speaking well” and for the courage to ask others to follow Jesus as they have done. The word Benediction, which we use to describe an opening or closing prayer, is Latin for ‘speaking well.” He’s telling them that the work of prayer, itself, is necessary for the work of evangelization and sharing the Faith. It’s not just about God making something happen - it’s about God working through these disciples AND it’s about these disciples LETTING GOD work through them.
This last bit is truly the challenging part! So much of serving Jesus is passive. It’s about knowing myself well enough to let Jesus work through me with minimal friction or restriction. And that’s genuinely challenging! There is a sense of trust in Jesus that you need to have before you’re willing to open your mouth in public. There’s a certain freedom from fear of embarrassment or shame that you need before you challenge or admonish someone else. The more we pray, the more natural it is for us to pray aloud with someone. The more we listen to the Lord, the more we’re able to find the right words to say.
Mass Intentions for the Coming Week
- Sat 5:30 pm In memory of Marion Roy/Johnson
- Sun 8:00 am (Traditional Latin Mass) PRO POPULO for the living & deceased members of our parish
- Sun 9:30 am In memory of Thomas and Delia Trichell/T Trichell
- Mon NO MASS
- Tue 9:00 am In memory of Paul VanderVieren/family
- Wed 9:00 am In memory of Irvin Rome (birth anni)/family
- Thu 9:00 am In memory of Kathleen Mills/Massey
- Fri 5:30 pm In memory of Becky, Beverly, and Edgar Lancaster/family
- Sat 5:30 pm For a special intention of the Magoun family
- Sun 9:30 am In memory of Jack Ellerbee/family
ALTAR CANDLES this week are burning in memory of Vicki Morelli
Assistants at Holy Mass
| Date | Servers | Lector(s) | EMHC(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7/5 5:30p | - | A Keene | M Rome |
| 7/6 9:30a | Michael/Finley/Ashlyn | K Collins | - |
| 7/12 5:30p | - | L Bullard | L Magoun |
| 7/13 9:30a | Kathleen/Evelyn/Daniel | D Ellerbee | - |
Upcoming Events
- Confessions every Friday & Saturday from 5p until Mass and Sunday from 9a until Mass
- July 5 & 6 First Sunday Benediction following Mass.
- July 6 Latin Mass moves to 8 a.m. on Sunday morning. We have no Mass or devotions currently scheduled on Saturday Mornings in the Church.
For Your Information:
ROSARY GROUP meets on Monday at 5:30 p.m. to pray the Rosary. Everyone is invited to join in prayer. For more information, contact Louise Magoun (318-341-2403), coordinator.
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
ALTAR CANDLES Anyone wishing to provide candles for the altar in honor of their loved one or in prayer for some intention may do so simply by asking. A small donation is recommended, but not required. A list of dates is in the sacristy and a date can be reserved up to one year in advance.
TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS will be offered at 8 a.m. on SUNDAY beginning with the Mass of July 6. There will no longer be a Mass on Saturday mornings. The Sunday Morning Traditional Latin Mass does count for your Sunday Mass obligation. English translations of the readings and prayers will be provided and the sermon will be in English.
SUNDAY MASS INTENTIONS are now available for request. In the past, the Sunday Morning Mass was not available for personal or requested intentions as the Church requires that at least one Sunday Mass be offered for the entirety of the Parish. With the new Latin Mass, Fr Ryan is able to offer our other Sunday Mass for whatever intention you may wish to request.
FIRST SUNDAY BENEDICTION JULY 5 & 6 at the conclusion of weekend Masses as part of our larger program to improve Eucharistic Devotion and to understand what a gift we have in the Most Holy Eucharist.
MAUSOLEUM When the time comes, where will I be buried? Have I made plans for that? How will my loved ones know my wishes? These are questions that we will all have to answer one day. What would you do if something happened in your family tomorrow? We don’t like to think about those things and much less discuss the subject, but death is inevitable. Getting your burial space ahead of time is good family planning and makes good practical sense, especially now that our church has a new mausoleum program. If you buy now, you have choices on three different levels. There are different options for payment as well. If you wait until later to purchase, the options will all be limited. The moment you sign up you are covered. The main thing is that you have the opportunity as husband and wife, and perhaps your entire family, to do your planning together in the privacy of your own home. Taking care of these plans now is a lot easier than to do so following a death. Representative Garth Daniels is now available to meet with you at your home or other designated area to answer questions about the mausoleum and help you to choose the option that is right for you. The number of crypts selected before construction will determine the size of the mausoleum. Spaces are reserved on a first come basis. Anyone wanting information should either go to the QR code on the brochure that was mailed to your home or call (318) 295-4409.
Our Return to the Lord
Stewardship “The harvest is rich,” Jesus tells the seventy-two in today’s Gospel, “but the workers are few.” The situation is the same today. How can I help with God’s harvest? Am I called into the field! Am I one who could provide food or shelter or wages to those who toil in the fields of the Lord?
SECOND COLLECTION this weekend supports our parish building fund.
| Weekly Budget FY 2022-23 | $ 2,111 |
| May Budget | $ 8,444 |
| May Collections | $ 12,691 |
| May Total Expenses | $ 17,475 |
| June Budget | $ 10,555 |
| June 29 Collection | $ 2,935 |
| June Collections To Date | $ 13,982 |
Let us Rejoice in the Lord!
Happy Birthday Jude Nadeau (July 7), Chip Sullivan (July 11), Aidan Collins (July 12)
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, Connie & Dan Copes, Elizabeth Crothers, Leslye Ellerbee, Susan & Johnny Gilfoil, Margaret & Pat Gilfoil,Terry Farlow Hall, Sidney & Mary Jane Johnson, Frances & Bill Kennedy, Ed Mills, Susie Murphy, Bobby Reynolds, Mike & Sue Rome
Our friends and relatives who need our prayers: Ashley Alexander (Regan), Graham Allen (S Gilfoil), Marie Farlow Bellard, Nap and Martha Book, Kay Boolos (S Gilfoil), Dick & Sue Boyd (S Gilfoil), Chris Breard (Gilfoil), Gayle Brown (Dukes and Oliver), Sarah Cannon (Gilfoil), Fran Castile (Keene), Caroline and Albert Christman, Jeannie & Donald Collins, Teresa Carney Condra, Jami Cook (Wilks), Mike Coullard (Oliver), Gene Cox, Marla Evans Cummings, Carol Dipert (Rome), Mac Donaldson (Ellerbee), Mike Farlow, Patty Farlow, Judy Fortenberry, April Franklin (Wilks), Fred and Cathy Fulton, Thom Gilfoil, Wyly Gilfoil (Gilfoil), LaVonne Givens, Charlotte Green, Rita Hargrave, Evie Hilburn (Lancaster), Charles Howington, Callie Halbach Hyams, Will Irby (P Gilfoil), Diane Johnson, Carla Leese (S Gilfoil), LaLa Lopez (Hernandez), Caroline Marcello (Watts), Michelle McGuire(Gilfoil), Kiely McKellar (S Gilfoil), Mona Martin (MA Gilfoil), Boyce Miller,Cole Norris, Randy Parker, John Neill, Bailey, Scott, and Tiffney Rome, Janie Saxon (Lancaster), Sara and Jess Shields (Keene), Debbie Kedrick Sims, Tommy Trichell, 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, Carter Sullivan, Walker Sullivan, Chandler Wood, Marsh Wood
