The 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Thoughts from Fr. Ryan
I grew up around softball… I didn’t enjoy sports, myself. I was intellectual and enjoyed brain teasers and logic problems. But my youngest sister Carlie was super-duper serious about sports. And so, for better or worse, I grew up around softball. I kept score, sold concessions, and even announced games from the booth. I still remember vividly the first time I saw a coach call for a bunt; I was about 9. My sister had just moved up from T-ball to coach-pitch, and her coach signaled a bunt. I was flabbergasted! And, unsurprisingly, the girl was thrown out at first base. What? Why would you ever bunt?!?
It wasn’t too long after that that I went to my first live football game - it was a high school game. Toward the end, our team was up by a ton and the coach took out all the good kids and put in these tiny little guys who immediately got trounced into losing yards and even getting a touchdown scored against them. Again, why?!?
I finally asked my dad why coaches would make such bad decisions… I expect everyone reading this can appreciate my naivete and already know that there’s more to the game than one or two plays… There’s a larger purpose that we have to keep in mind. If we obsess over every single moment going our way, we can do damage to our larger goals. Sometimes a failure or a bad thing can work to the greater good even more than a success can.
As Christians, our goal is eternal life with the Lord in Heaven. Entry into Heaven requires repentance, Faith, knowledge of God, love of God, and service of God. In fact, Jesus tells us that entrance to Heaven REQUIRES us to take up and carry a cross custom-made for us by the Lord.
Every single one of us can point to some aspects of our lives that we would like to be different. Maybe it’s health or wealth or circumstances or opportunities. Maybe it seems gigantic to us and inconsequential to others.
St Therese famously lost her cool when a nun sitting in front of her in the chapel took to clicking her fingernails. That seems like a very, very small problem - especially given that she was going to die from Tuberculosis only a year or two later.
All of us, in our human nature, see the world in a limited way. All of us have moments like 9 year old me watching a softball coach call for a bunt and a football coach put in the JV kids so they could get their letter in football.
It’s amazing how much peace we can find when we adjust the way we think about our circumstances. It’s transformative when we ask the Lord, in humble honesty, to help us to see and understand our situations as He does.
The letter to the Hebrews in today’s second reading begins with my favorite quotation in scripture:
Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God.
There is freedom in truth. Jesus is the truth. And He hasn’t left us alone even for a moment. At the moment of judgement, we will be more thankful for our sufferings than for anything else in our lives… It’s true! Without the cross and the sufferings we endure, we cannot truly embrace our limitedness and we cannot come to rely upon Jesus and His mercy. So long as we believe that we can do it ourselves, our way, we will be slaves to our own pride, vanity, and self-delusion.
When we carry our crosses in such a way as to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, He becomes the leader and perfector of our Faith. And it’s in that Faith that we come to understand the joy of loving the Lord even in difficult or painful circumstances.
Mass Intentions for the Coming Week
- Sat 5:30 pm In memory of Donald and Payton Trichell / family
- 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 Trichell (anni death) / Hayes
- Mon NO MASS
- Tue 9:00 am In celebration of the wedding anniversary of Sue and Mike Rome/family
- Wed 9:00 am For a special intention of the Guizerix family
- Thu 9:00 am In memory of Kathleen Mills/Crothers Legacy
- Fri 5:30 pm In memory of Joe Farlow/Bellard
- Sat 5:30 pm In memory of Lillie “MaMe” Jumonville (death anni)/family
- Sun 9:30 am In memory of Bryan Stamey/family
Altar Candles this week are burning for special intentions of Blanche and Skeeter Wilks
Assistants at Holy Mass
| Date | Servers | Lector(s) | EMHC(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8/16 5:30p | - | P Wilks | A Keene |
| 8/17 9:30a | Kathleen, Evelyn, Daniel | Youth-Mary Katherine | - |
| 8/23 5:30p | - | A Keene | L Magoun |
| 8/24 9:30a | MaryKatherine, Maura, Elizabeth | M Lancaster | - |
Upcoming Events
- Confessions every Friday & Saturday from 5p until Mass and Sunday from 9a until Mass
- Sun, August 17 Third Quarter Social - Potluck Brunch following 9:30 a m Mass
- Wed, August 20 Pastoral Council
- Sun, September 7 Sunday Morning Catechism resumes after 9:30 a.m. Mass with Coffee & Donuts
For Your 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
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.
MAUSOLEUM We have reached the end of our sales period for the Mausoleum. It will, of course, be possible to purchase spaces in the future, 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 call the church office.
THIRD QUARTER SOCIAL will be a Potluck Brunch on Sunday, August 17 in the Church Hall. The Committee for the event includes Shannon and Bart Wood and Betty and Kenny Smith, co-chairs, MaryKathryn Book, Kendra and Dave Collins, Connie and Dan Copes, Kaci and Norman Ernst, Lance and Stephenie Marsh, Peggy and Phil Scurria, Beth and Chip Sullivan
PASTORAL COUNCIL …will hold its regular meeting on WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2025 at 6:00 p.m in the Church Hall. Appointed members of the Council are: Kathleen Ellerbee, Norman Ernst, Jamie Howington, Elizabeth Naya, Mike Rome, and Shannon Wood.. Appointed as Trustees by the Bishop are Michel Lancaster and Cathy VanderVieren. Appointed by the pastor to serve as Finance Council Chair is Darryl Ellerbee. All members are requested to make a special effort to attend. Parishioners are encouraged to attend and contribute to the discussions.
Our Return to the Lord
Stewardship in today’s second reading, St. Paul encourages us not to grow weary or lose heart, but to persevere in following Jesus. Our willingness to give of ourselves, even in the face of conflict and division, is one way to measure our discipleship.
| Weekly Budget FY 2025-2026 | $ 2,500 |
| July Budget | $ 10,000 |
| July Collections | $ 14,417 |
| July Total Expenses | $ 6,599 * |
| August Budget | $ 10,000 |
| August 10 Collection | $ 3,563 |
| August Collections To Date | $ 9,162 |
* July’s expenses are actually a few thousand dollars higher than this number and are just about average for us for July for the past few years. The number looks much lower due to dates on which some checks were deposited. Our August totals will seem off in the other direction for the same reasons.
Let us Rejoice in the Lord!
Happy Birthday Elizabeth Crothers (Aug 21), who is celebrating her 95th birthday!
Happy Anniversary Sue & Mike Rome (Aug 19),Susan and Johnny Gilfoil (Aug 22), Mary Jane and Sidney Johnson (Aug 26)
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 representative
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, 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 Cummins, 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), Patricia Lively (Wilks), Lonnie Hollowell (Naya), 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), Frank McKinney, 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
