The Feast of the Holy Family
Thoughts from Fr. Ryan
Each of us is made in the Image & Likeness of God… Right?
Gen 1:26 says God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
BUT in the same breath, the Lord says that He created man - HIM, singular - in His image and likeness and then He says male AND female He created THEM - plural.
And of course we have Genesis 2 which tells the story in a slightly different way, emphasizing even more the distinction between male and female…
Well, we CAN say that we are made as individuals in the image and likeness of God… We have the spiritual capacity for understanding and for free will which makes it possible for us to love. This is at the individual level - the way we resemble God.
Pope St. John Paul II loved to say that Jesus and He alone reveals us to ourselves. How? We are made in his image and so we can only know ourselves by coming to know Him.
But that’s not the whole story. Just as God is one Divine Godhead, He is also three divine persons…
So to be made in His image as a singular Godhead is to be an individual with heart, mind, soul, and body. To be made in the image of the Most Holy Trinity is to be gendered, to be joined together in a way that is not individual, but communal. And for that, we’re going to need a family.
The way that we understand the Holy Trinity is that all three persons exist beyond time. It’s not as if the Father came first and then begot the son and they put their heads together to spirate the Holy Spirit. It’s more like the three exist perfectly united and that their relationship one to another is expressed by this theological vocabulary. The Father loves the Son - the Son loves the Father and their bond of love IS the Holy Spirit.
In a family, a man loves his wife, the wife loves her husband and their love for one another becomes something new in their children. We all live in time, so this is only an analogy to the way the Holy Trinity exists, but you can see that the family is made in the image and likeness of God.
When a family lives as it should - in shared love, prioritizing the other before the self, in shared sacrifice for the good of the whole - the family becomes a kind of living icon of God’s love. Not just of God’s love for Himself, but of His love for us.
The same is true of the individual who lives as he or she should - they become a sign of God’s love. We call these people saints.
Remember that saints are sinners who keep returning to the Lord and trying again - so holy families are just real families who keep at it.
The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, is, after all, no shining paragon of the easy life or the pastel religious painting. Joseph was very likely a widower. Mary was young. She was pregnant in a way that looked adulterous. Jesus was hunted by the military for the first several years of their lives!
Our families aren’t easy either. Our families are going to be real. There’s going to be a certain amount of mess. We’ve got scars and wounds. But so did Jesus. The feast of the Holy Family is a reminder to us of just how important the FAMILY is. Not because our families are healthy and make us feel wonderful - but because they are willed directly by God. This is the forum and the context in which the Lord calls us to live out our faith.
Holiness is found in our families and so let’s be thankful for them and for the model of all families, the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!
Mass Intentions for the Coming Week
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Joseph Testa (birth anni)/Magoun
- Sun 8:00a (Traditional Latin Mass) PRO POPULO for the living & deceased members of our parish
- Sun 9:30a In memory of Paul VanderVieren (death anni)/family
- Mon NO MASS
- Tues NO MASS
- Wed 5:30p New Year’s Eve In memory of Rosa and Gus Gremshell and May DiTomasso
- Thu 9:00a (Legacy Nursing Home) New Year’s Day In memory of Leon Humphries/FrRyan
- Thu 5:30p New Year’s Day In memory of Bryan Stamey/family
- Fri 5:30p In memory of Becky, Edgar, and Beverly Lancaster/family
- 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 deceased members of the Roy and Johnson families
Altar Candles this week are burning for the special intentions of Margo Corulla
Assistants at Holy Mass
| Date | Servers | Lector(s) | EMHC(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12/27 5:30p | - | M Rome | C VanderVieren |
| 12/28 9:30a | Michael, Finley, Ashlyn | D Ellerbee | - |
| 1/3 5:30p | - | C VanderVieren | M Ernst |
| 1/4 9:30a | Kathleen, Evelyn, Daniel | C Guizerix | - |
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
- Jan 2 First Friday devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus - 5:30 p.m.
- Jan 3/4 First Sunday weekend Benediction following Masses
For Your Information:
SOLEMNITY OF MARY, THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD (NEW YEAR’S) is a Holy Day of Obligation. Mass will be offered:
- New Year’s Eve (Wed, Dec 31) 5:30pm
- New Year’s Day (Thu, Jan 1) 9:00am Mass at Legacy Nursing Home and 5:30 pm in the Church
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.
NO MASS on TUESDAY as Fr Ryan will be out of town.
FIRST FRIDAY DEVOTIONS on January 2, 2026 will be offered at the conclusion of the 5:30pm Mass.
Make a special devotion to the Sacred Heart and attend first Friday devotions for nine consecutive months.
FIRST SUNDAY BENEDICTION will be offered after all Masses on the weekend of January 3-4, 2026 as part of our larger program to develop Eucharistic Devotion and to appreciate the gift we have in the Most Holy Eucharist.
IRS TAX DONATION LETTERS will be prepared and mailed as soon as possible after the collection is counted and recorded this weekend. If you would like to make any last-minute donations for the 2025 tax year please let Fr Ryan know by midday this Sunday.
THANK YOU to all who have been so generous with their time and talents (and treasure) over the past few weeks to make Advent and Christmas such a wonderful celebration here at St Edward. Thank you to those who oversaw sanctuary decorations and flowers! Thanks to those who served the altar, served as lector, or sang in the choir! Thanks to those who organized the Angel Tree program, Birthday Party for Jesus, and Christmas Party and to all those who donated to them.
AS THE YEAR COMES TO A CLOSE, THANK YOU to our incredible parishioners whose efforts and donations are easily overlooked! Thank you to those who provide donuts and juice throughout the year! Thanks to those who clean the Church and the parish Hall! Thanks to those who see to repairs and maintenance on our pews and infrastructure! Thanks to those who maintain and refresh the altar candles and the devotional candles in the back of the Church! Thanks to those who organize and attend the Rosary Group meetings on Mondays! Thanks to those who are intentional and conscientious in their prayers for our local Church, for our parishioners, and for our pastor!
Our Return to the Lord
| Weekly Budget FY 2025-2026 | $ 2,500 |
| November Budget | $ 12,500 |
| November Collections | $ 17,012 |
| November Expenses | $ 11,641 |
| December Budget | $ 10,000 |
| December 21 Collection | $ 2,462 |
| Collections To Date | $ 10,491 |
Stewardship Joseph's obedience to God was not a one-time thing. His attention to the angel’s warning kept Jesus from being murdered by Herod and led to the fulfillment of the prophecy that the Messiah would be a Nazorean. Fidelity to God’s will assures the best use of my talents, too!
Let us Rejoice in the Lord!
Happy Birthday to Emmy Lou Marsh (Dec 27), Emory Dukes (Dec 30), Jamie Howington (Jan 1), Beth Sullivan (Jan 4)
Happy Anniversary to Elizabeth and Paul Naya (Jan 4)
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, 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), Sarah Cannon (Gilfoil), Albert Christman, Jeannie & Donald Collins, Teresa Carney Condra, Jami Cook (Wilks), Craig Cox, Gene Cox, Carol Dipert (Rome), Mac Donaldson (Ellerbee), Mike Farlow, Patty Farlow, Judy Fortenberry, 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), Lonnie Hollowell (Naya), 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, 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
