The Second Sunday of Lent
Thoughts from Fr. Ryan
I am not having a good Lent!
Lent is one of my favorite times of the year. It’s a chance to reflect and reset myself. Since I began taking my faith seriously in my teens, I have mostly had good Lents. I’ve mostly made good decisions about what to give up and what kind of prayer schedule to keep.
Some of the very best Lents I’ve had, though, have started off very, very badly. As I said, this Lent has started off poor for me. I’ve been distracted. I’ve been in a sour mood. I’ve not kept my Lenten penance as well as I’d like and I have generally been out of sorts.
But why?
I think the reason that some of the best Lents have begun so badly is that the bad starts make me ask myself this very question. They make me stop and ask why a little penance is such a problem. They stop me in my tracks and make me take notice…
We, as human beings, are shockingly good at tuning out things we don’t want to see. Science tells us that 99.5% of what our eyes see gets filtered out by our brains. Our brains use pattern recognition to filter out what we don’t believe we need to see and to help us focus on what we want to see or what we believe we need to see. Mostly that’s what is changing around us...
When I’m driving I see the lawns on the side of the street, but my brain doesn’t care about them because there’s nothing there that presents a threat or anything else worthy of attention. The same is true of our other senses. I hear so many things at every moment. I smell lots of things. I feel my back and my legs and the temperature of the air. It’s no different with my emotions and even my soul. I feel any number of feelings even as I type these words. Spiritually, I’m anxious about decisions being made in Churches around the world. I’m concerned about people who have asked for my prayers and for friends experiencing difficulties in life… I’m concerned about world events and economics and what the Pope might or might not say or do. But most of that is filtered out of my immediate attention just like most of what I sense is filtered out by my brain.
Lent is meant to shake up that pattern and to help us shift our focus onto some of those things which are too often filtered out by the immediate concerns of daily life.
In my own life, some of the best Lents start off badly because the shake up needs to happen more deeply…
Thankfully, that’s not up to me to decide. In part, that’s good because I might be tempted to avoid a good hard look at myself. In part, it’s good that God alone gets to make the call because I might over attend to self-reflection at the expense of living life. God knows me better than I know myself and so He knows best if I need a “good” Lent or a “tough” Lent. He knows best if I need a pat on the back or a kick in the teeth.
Thankfully, He knows all of us that way and so whether your Lent has started off “good,” “bad,” or somewhere in between, let’s all pray for one another and trust that all things work to the good of those who love the Lord!
Upcoming Events
- Confessions every Friday & Saturday from 5p until Mass and Sunday from 9a until Mass
- Sunday Morning Catechism in the Hall (with Coffee & Donuts) after the 9:00a Mass during the School Year unless otherwise indicated
- Pastoral Council meeting monthly on the third Wednesday at 6p unless otherwise indicated
- March 1 First Sunday Benediction following Masses
- March 6 First Friday devotions
For Your Information:
LENT The Season of Lent is meant to be penitential. It’s meant to be a time of deliberate and conscious discomfort in order to shake up our normal ruts and clarify our attention to the Lord and His Sacrifice for us and for our sins.
Catholics aged 18 and up are obliged to abstain from meat on every Friday in the Lenten season. If your doctor advises otherwise, feel free to check in with Fr Ryan.
Catholics between the ages of 18 and 59 are obliged to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. On Fasting Days, only one meal should be eaten and that meal should not include meat or meat broth. If your work is strenuous, you may take some extra food once or, at most, twice. That extra food should be genuinely necessary and should also exclude meat and meat products. If your doctor advises otherwise or if your medicine must be taken with food, exceptions can be made. Feel free to check in with Fr Ryan. Please note, ice cream before bed doesn’t count as medicine...
All Catholics are expected to “give something up” for Lent. As good as it might be to “do something extra” such as attend Daily Mass, say an extra Rosary, etc, Lent isn’t about doing something extra - it’s about giving something up. It’s a penitential season, not merely a virtuous one. As such, every Catholic from about the age of 14 should choose a food or activity which they generally enjoy and from which they can medically abstain for the entirety of Lent. As with all penances in the Church, Sundays are the Lord’s Day and fasting is not allowed! And so whatever you give up, you CAN have on Sunday.
LENTEN DEVOTIONS On the Fridays of Lent, Confession is available at 5:00 p.m. Stations of the Cross at 5:30 p.m. followed by Mass. On February 27, March 13, and March 27, we will have a simple meat-free Lenten potluck after Stations and Mass as we have done in years’ past. Fr Ryan will make a hearty soup. 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 5:30p for prayer and supper. Everyone is invited. Contact Louise Magoun (318-341-2403), coordinator for more information. MAUSOLEUM Construction will begin in Summer 2026. 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.
Mass Intentions for the Coming Week
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Norman Stephen Ernst/ (birth anni)/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 Johnson and Roy families/family
- Mon NO MASS
- Tue 9:00a In memory of Carol Folk LaHitte/P Lancaster
- Wed 9:00a In memory of Racer Holstead (death anni)/family
- Thu 9:00a (at Legacy Nursing Home) In memory of Alexis Marie Foret
- Fri 5:30p In memory of Becky, Beverly, and Edgar Lancaster/family
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Pat & Marleigh Bullard, Patrick Thomas, & Eva & R L Reynolds/family
- Sun 8:00a (Traditional Latin Mass) PRO POPULO for the living & deceased members of our parish
- Sun 9:30a In memory of deceased priests of the Diocese of Alexandria
Altar Candles this week are burning in memory of Vicki Morelli
Assistants at Holy Mass
| Date | Servers | Lector(s) | EMHC(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2/28 5:30p | - | P Wilks | N/A |
| 3/1 9:30a | Annie, Thomas Meyers, & Katelyn | B Sullivan | - |
| 3/7 5:30p | - | L Bullard | TBD |
| 3/8 9:30a | Michael, Finley, Ashlyn | K Collins | - |
Our Return to the Lord
| Weekly Budget FY 2025-2026 | $ 2,500 |
| January Budget | $ 10,000 |
| January Collections | $ 13,821 |
| January Expenses | $ 11,284 |
| February Budget | $ 10,000 |
| February 22 Collection | $ 2,834 |
| February to Date | $ 17,864 |
Stewardship “Bear your share of the hardship which the gospel entails,” St Paul tells Timothy in today's second reading. What sacrifice is asked of me for the sake of the Gospel? “ How willing am I to bear my share?
SECOND COLLECTION Our second collection this weekend supports our once-monthly Building Fund,
Community Celebrations
Happy Birthday to Cindy Bailey (Mar 5)
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, 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
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), Craig Cox, 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, Callie Halbach Hyams, Jimmy Hopson(Wilks), Will Irby (P Gilfoil), Diane Johnson, Carla Leese (S Gilfoil), LaLa Lopez (Hernandez), Caroline Marcello (Watts), Mona Martin (MA Gilfoil), Ruth McDonald (Copes), Michelle McGuire(Gilfoil), Kiely McKellar (S Gilfoil), Boyce Miller, Mike Morelli, Cole Norris, Randy Parker, Russell and 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
