The Fifth Sunday of Easter
Thoughts from Fr. Ryan
For better or worse, I’ve started a blog online at FrHumphries.com...
One of the most challenging and tempting things for me as a priest is what I call “holding court.” It’s a common social situation. I’m sitting with some of y’all enjoying a cup of coffee or a glass of wine. There’s pleasant conversation. Someone asks an innocent question of opinion: “Father, what’s your take on...” And I, who have been thinking about this question, begin to opine... MOST of the time, this is no big deal. I share my thoughts on how catechism classes should work or the state of BitCoin or why the cheese that’s in the long cooler at Kroger is better than the pre-packaged stuff - whatever. And then the conversation moves along and everyone enjoys their evening. “Holding Court” is when a priest can’t or won’t limit himself. Sometimes, as is happening now, there are a lot of questions! There’s a new pope! Father has a unique perspective. There are a lot of questions about the new guy and Father is able to compare and contrast him with Pope Francis. Also, what’s with the name Leo? What does it mean that he is an “Augustinian?” I saw an article on NewsMax about the conclave, I thought that was supposed to be secret? What about Cardinal PizzaHut, why didn’t he win? And these are perfectly good questions! PizzaHut is actually Pizzaballa - which is even more absurd - but still.
The problem with Holding Court is not the curiosity or the questions or the social setting, it’s the inevitable swollen head of the priest! And don’t be deceived, every priest I’ve ever known closely - myself included - LOVES to hold court. And most of the laypeople I’ve befriended in my 20 years of priesthood, love it too. It’s fun. And a little wine can loosen the tongue and we ask questions that we’d otherwise never get a chance to ask.
In addition to the ego boost for the priest, Holding Court tends to require the priest to answer questions in a quick-fire way that makes it hard to give proper context to the answer and makes it REALLY hard to avoid what a teacher of mine used to call “lying by oversimplification.”
Hence, my blog. Immediately after the conclave, I got probably 30 texts with some variation on “is Pope Leo liberal or conservative?” Which is like asking, “is ocean swimming dangerous?” The answer isn’t yes or no... When the first of those texts came in, I sat down and wrote an article which I shared in the bulletin last week: The 10 Spectra of Left v Right Catholicism In that article, I’m able to give some adequate context and provide a resource that can be passed along in a text if your friends are interested.
I wrote another article this week about the ordinary duties of being a Catholic Pastor. A Five Tool Pastor A lot of people have asked about the Church this week because of Pope Leo’s election. In my latest post, I explain the day-to-day work of the pastor using a baseball analogy. It’s an analogy I came up with while Holding Court over a glass of wine a few years ago. It’s a good analogy, but it took me two hours to get the details right and Substack tells me that it takes fifteen minutes to read... That’s definitely more practically valuable than me explaining it over coffee. And, to be honest, there’s a both/and. I’m hoping to build out my blog so that I can answer questions AND easily share a link to a post with detailed explanations and links to further resources...
In the meantime, I am NOT saying that I don’t want to drink coffee or wine with you and answer questions! Just give me a time and place! I’ll keep working on my blog and working on keeping my head-size under control!
Mass Intentions for the Coming Week
- Sat 5:30 pm In memory of Joe Farlow/Bullard
- Sun 9:30 am Pro Populo for the Living & Deceased Members of our Parish
- Mon 9:00 am In memory of Patrick Thomas/family
- Tue NO MASS
- Wed 9:00 am In honor of Father Ryan’s 20th Anniversary of Ordination as a priest
- Thu 9:00 am In celebration of Isabell McFall’s first birthday/family
- Fri 5:30 pm In memory of Mary Agnes G York/D Ervin
- Sat 5:30 pm In memory of Vicki Morelli/Ernst
- Sun 9:30 am Pro Populo for the Living & Dead members of our Parish Family
ALTAR CANDLES this week are burning for the special intentions of Margo Corulla
Assistants at Holy Mass
| Date | Servers | Lector(s) | EMHC(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5/17 5:30p | None Scheduled | A Keene | N Ernst |
| 5/18 9:30a | Michael M & Cooper | Youth-Courtland | - |
| 5/24 5:30p | None Scheduled | L Bullard | A Keene |
| 5/25 9:30a | Annie, Thomas Meyers, & Katelyn | J Howington | - |
Upcoming Events
- Confessions every Friday & Saturday from 5p until Mass and Sunday from 9a until Mass
- May 18 End of School social following Mass. See notes inside.
- May 21 Pastoral Council meeting at 6 pm in the Hall
For Your Information:
CONGRATULATIONS Betty and Kenny Smith will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on June 1, 2025. Their family invites all to join them following Sunday Mass that day for a reception in the Hall. WELCOME TO OUR FAITH FAMILY to ARLO ROBERT HARRIS born May 6, 2025 in Vicksburg, MS to Kathleen and Brian Harris. Welcoming Arlo home are older siblings, Izetta and Abney. FORMED.ORG has an entire page of weekly featured videos that are worth checking out 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 a group of parishioners is meeting on Monday at 5:30 p.m. to pray the Rosary. Everyone is invited to join the group. If you need additional information, please contact the Coordinator, Louise Magoun, at 318-341-2403.
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.
PARISH POTLUCK SOCIAL is this weekend, Sunday, May 18, following 9:30 a.m. Mass. Second Quarter (April, May, June) Social Committee who will set up tables, do decorations and clean up afterwards is composed of Libby Bullard, Angel Farlow, Margaret and Pat Gilfoil, MaryAnne Gilfoil, Terry and Andy Hall, Isabell Hernandez, Cindy and Jamie Howington, Ann Keene, Alyce and C.W. Keene, Elizabeth and Paul Naya, Bobby Reynolds, and Cathy VanderVieren
PASTORAL COUNCIL will hold its regular meeting on WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2025 at 6:00 p.m in the Church Hall. Appointed members of the Council are: Kathleen Ellerbee, Norman Ernst, Jamie Howington, Mike Rome, Jason Trichell 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.
MAUSOLEUM Arrangements have been completed with American Cemetery Consultants LLC to build a beautiful new Garden Mausoleum in St Edward’s Eternal Hope Cemetery (opposite the Church across Bond St). The program has the full approval of Bishop Marshal and the Diocese of Alexandria. A sales representative will be contacting families in our area over the next few weeks to answer questions about the Mausoleum and determine who is interested. The number of crypts reserved before construction will determine the size of the mausoleum. Crypts will be reserved on a first-come-first-served basis. Mr Garth Daniels, ACC Rep, will be available (starting June 1) at (318) 295-4409. More information will be available at that time at AmericanCemeteryConsultants.com/open-projects
Stewardship In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives His disciples–and us–a new commandment: “Love one another.” Good stewards who spend their time and talents in service to others are well on their way to fulfilling this commandment.
Our Return to the Lord
| Weekly Budget FY 2022-23 | $ 2,111 |
| April Budget | $ 8,444 |
| April Collections | $ 18,694 |
| April Total Expenses | $ 12,708 |
| May Budget | $ 8,444 |
| May 11 Collection | $ 2,894 |
| May Collections To Date | $ 8,417 |
Let us Rejoice in the Lord!
Happy Birthday Dave Collins (May 24)
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 Pope Leo, 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, Norman and Marie Ernst, 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), Sarah Cannon (Gilfoil), Fran Castile (Keene), Caroline and Albert Christman, Jeannie & Donald Collins, Teresa Carney Condra, Jami Cook (Wilks), Gene Cox, Marla Evans Cummings, Carol Dipert (Rome), Mac Donaldson (Ellerbee), Wayne Edwards, Mike Farlow, Patty Farlow, Judy Fortenberry, April Franklin (Wilks), Fred and Cathy Fulton, Thom Gilfoil, Wyly Gilfoil (Gilfoil), LaVonne Givens, Charlotte Green, Theresa Gunter, 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), Ruth McDonald (Copes), Michelle McGuire(Gilfoil), Kiely McKellar (S Gilfoil), Mona Martin (MA Gilfoil), Boyce Miller, Randy Parker, John Neill, Bailey, Scott, and Tiffney Rome, Dianne Roper (Murphy), 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, Bruen Johnson, Matilda Johnson, Caroline Marsh, EmmyLu Marsh, Charlize Richardson, Carter Sullivan, Walker Sullivan, Chandler Wood, Marsh Wood
