The Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord
Thoughts from Fr. Ryan
The evolutionary process from the cooling of the Earth about 4 billion years ago to the life around us now can be thought of as trillions of tiny steps. Or we can think about it as relatively few giant leaps.
Earth began with non-life… Then came the Spark of Life which was entirely different than just rocks and Wind - it was bacteria and single-celled organisms. Then came complex multicellular plants which had specialized cells that worked together and was marked by growth and reproduction. Then came animals which were a whole different kind of life. Animals move and interact based on instinct and form communities. Then came mankind, which looks like animals but (again) there’s a fundamental difference - because of mind and self-awareness.
But what comes next? Some people like to think about humans as becoming immortal or some other scifi sort of thing. But what is the next giant leap?
If we believe that this evolution has come from a supernatural mind rather than merely random chance, then each step of that evolutionary process makes sense. Each step is a new perfection pointing toward being like that creating mind.
The rocks and protein exist, but the bacteria procreate. The plants grow, but the animals move and commune. People think and love, but what remains is the perfection of the spirit which is as beyond the mind just as the mind is beyond the flesh and the flesh is beyond the cell and the cell is beyond the lifeless protein.
Baptism is where Jesus reveals that evolution - not as something which happens to us, but as something we choose. He instantiates it by invoking the Holy Trinity and revealing Himself as God among us… He does so at the same instant that He empowers John (who is one of us) to do a divine act on His behalf…
When a dog tries to do a human act it’s amusing. Think about walking on hind legs or yowling out what sounds like a human word. When a plant tries to do an animal act it’s unnerving. Think about a flytrap or even Little Shop of Horrors.
But when Jesus tells John to Baptize Him, it’s something entirely different. Jesus reveals Himself as the actor / spokesman for God. We know - in hindsight - that Jesus is, in fact, the second person of the Most Holy Trinity and that He is fully God, Himself. But before we knew that, John, himself, says that he should not be doing the baptizing but he should be receiving it.
So often in our world, God is reduced to a force for general goodness or a kind of universal reality, rather than a personality. Jesus is often reduced in our thoughts to a kind of spokesman \ mascot or a kind of penpal \ confidant or a kind of superhero \ deus ex machina who we hope will fix a bad situation. All too rarely, though, is He considered as a personality.
Jesus is, in fact, God. He is unlimited perfection. Present equally everywhere and every time. He exists without any dependence upon anything and, because He is our creator, He loves us in roughly the same way that a parent loves their child even if the child is willful or difficult.
The fullness of humanity is to be transformed as much as possible into the image and likeness of the God who created us. And just as an animal is easily understood to be different - in a deep and fundamental way - from a plant or a nonliving rock, so a saintly Christian spending time daily in prayer and genuinely seeking to be transformed by the Grace of God is deeply and fundamentally different than a human person content to just mark time in life, minimizing discomfort and inconvenience. Our Human nature is made in the Image and Likeness of God and the evolution toward perfection of that nature begins with Baptism - with the making of the soul and the body with the name of God the Most Holy Trinity and the washing away of Original Sin.
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
- Jan 16 Quarterly Mass for Healing - 5:30p - Church
- Jan 21 Pastoral Council Meeting - 6 pm - Parish Hall
- Feb 15 First Quarter Social - Mardi Gras theme for Potluck Brunch following Sunday Mass
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 5:30p 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.
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 other Sunday Mass for whatever intention you may wish to request.
Second Collection this weekend….The Church Today. This week, we will be taking up a special collection for the Church Today. Every month, this 20-page newspaper is mailed FREE to every Catholic household in the diocese. All donations to this special collection go directly to the Church Today to help defray the cost of printing and mailing. Your donation also defrays the cost of our digital outreach via the diocesan website www.diocesealex.org. If you, or someone you know, would like to receive the Church Today FREE each month, call 318-445-6424, ext 209 to request it or sign up at https://www.diocesealex.org/the-office-of-communications/
FIRST QUARTER SOCIAL …. The First Quarter (Jan, Feb, March) Social, a Potluck Brunch, will be in the Church Hall on February 15 following the 9:30 Mass. Margo Corulla and Darryl and Abby Ellerbee will serve as co-chairs. Other committee members include Norman and Marie Ernst, Brian Johnson, Sidney and Mary Jane Johnson, Robbie and Tori Kivett, Brian and Brittany McFall, Ed Mills, Billy and Courtney Nadeau, Teddy and Alyssa Oliver, Mike and Sue Rome, Jason Trichell, Mary Trichell, Levi Washington. Mark your calendars and plan to join in the Mardi Gras celebration. OUR CONDOLENCES …. to our parishioners, Elizabeth and Paul Naya, on the death of Elizabeth’s father, Lonnie Hollowell, earlier in the week. Services were held in Vicksburg on Saturday morning.
Mass Intentions for the Coming Week
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Curt Farlow (death) and Anna May Farlow (birth)/VanderVieren
- Sun 8:00a (Traditional Latin Mass) PRO POPULO for the living & deceased members of our parish
- Sun 9:30a In memory of Louise Testa (birth annni)/Magoun
- Mon NO MASS
- Tues 9:00a In memory of Jimmy Howington (birth anni)/family
- Wed 9:00a In memory of Delia and Thomas Trichell/B Hayes
- Thu 9:00a In memory of Bryan Stamey/family (Legacy Nursing Home)
- Fri 5:30p In memory of MaryAgnes YOrk & Gail Graugnard/P Gilfoil
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Eva Reynolds (death anni)/Bullard
- 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 Howington & Bolton families
Altar Candles this week are burning in memory of Anna May Farlow.
Assistants at Holy Mass
| Date | Servers | Lector(s) | EMHC(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1/10 5:30p | - | P Wilks | M Ernst |
| 1/11 9:30a | MaryKatherine, Maura, Elizabeth | J Howington | - |
| 1/17 5:30p | - | L Bullard | A Keene |
| 1/18 9:30a | Cooper, Courtland | Youth | - |
Our Return to the Lord
| Weekly Budget FY 2025-2026 | $ 2,500 |
| December Budget | $ 10,000 |
| December Collections | $ 26,843 |
| December Expenses | $ 10,227 |
| January Budget | $ 10,000 |
| January 4 Collection | $ 3,131 |
| Collections To Date | $ 3,131 |
Stewardship Our Baptism, like the Lord’s, is a consecration to service. The bishops’ pastoral on stewardship reminds us that “...there is a fundamental obligation arising from the sacrament of baptism that people place their gifts, their resources–their selves–at God’s service in and through the Church.”
SECOND COLLECTION this weekend is to support our Diocesean Newspaper “The Church Today”.
Community Celebrations
Happy Birthday to Matilda Johnson (Jan 10), Pat Gilfoil (Jan 15)
Happy Anniversary to Alyssa and Teddy Oliver (Jan 10)
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), 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), 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
