The Ascension of Our Lord

May 30

Thoughts from Fr. Ryan

The Ascension of the Lord is meant to be celebrated exactly forty days after Easter - which would be on a Thursday. “Ascension Thursday” mirrors Holy Thursday (AKA 'Maundy' Thursday) on which the Last Supper was celebrated. At the Last Supper, Jesus commanded us to offer the Holy Eucharist in His memory. At the Ascension, the Lord tells us that He will remain with us always, even until the end of the Age. As He says this, He ascends to Heaven and visibly disappears. These two Thursday feasts are bookended by the third of the great Easter Thursdays - The feast of Corpus Christi - which is meant to be celebrated three weeks after the Ascension.

These three Thursday feasts are connected in the theme of “presence.” On Holy Thursdays, Jesus’ Human presence is coming to an end and He prefigures the Holy Eucharist as the way in which He will remain with us, even until the end of the age of the Human race. On Ascension Thursday, His visible presence among us comes to an end and he prefigures the establishment of the Church by means of the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. He will be made present via the Church and via the Holy Spirit who will be present but invisible. Finally, on the first Thursday of what we now call “Ordinary Time” and what used to be called “Time after Pentecost” (representing Christian history), the Church celebrates Corpus Christi as a way of symbolically initiating the age of Christianity. In the age of the Church, the Death and Resurrection of Jesus will be lived out every week with Holy Thursday (the Holy Eucharist) giving us the strength to face struggles and trials (Good Friday) and leading us through the dark moments of life to the Resurrection of Jesus in moments of quiet reflections (Holy Saturday) and genuine joy (Easter Sunday).

Of course, all of this is a means of recognizing that Jesus is, indeed, with us in the person of the Holy Spirit, the Advocate. The Eucharist, then, is the mode in which Jesus remains really, physically with us even until the end of the Age. St. Thomas Aquinas, in the "Tantum Ergo" (which we sing at Benediction), says "Praestet fides supplementum Sensuum defectui" which comes into English as something like "Faith provides for all our defects, where our feeble senses fail." The visible loss of Jesus at the Ascension is actually, then, an aid for our Faith to perceive Him present in the Holy Eucharist.

Perhaps more than any idea of Christianity, this notion that "it is better to have not seen and yet believed" is hard to get our heads around. Again, this question of presence comes to the center. Common sense tells us that if Jesus had just set up a regular old kingdom with a headquarters and a PR team, there would be a lot more Christians…

But our Human common sense tends to fail us more often than we usually realize. Even today, the best place to look for folks taking their faith seriously is among the poor and the weak. The worst possible place to be if you want to grow in holiness is among the rich and the idle. That seems to be totally backward! Wouldn’t the blessed be aware of their blessings? There's also a certain paradox in study. One would think that the more someone looks into the sordid history of the Church with Her bad popes and sketchy priests and questionable monks and nuns, the more someone would want to keep their distance from Catholicism and instead lean toward the Baptists or the Methodists. But the opposite is true. The more a Christian studies history, the more likely he is to want to become Catholic. Common sense would say an easy sermon would be more popular than a hard one, but the opposite is generally true. Common Sense would say that Mass in English with familiar music and more participation would be preferable to incomprehensible Latin prayers and chants, but the data shows the opposite...

So it is that we return to the idea that the departure of Jesus from the visible part of our world is actually an aid to our Faith. The celebration of the Ascension, then, is a genuine time for rejoicing, even if it seems to be something of an extra burden. Whatever our common sense may tell us, we should be thankful to God today for His choice to ascend and to leave us relying upon the Holy Spirit and one another for strength and courage.

Mass Intentions for the Coming Week

Sat 5:30 pm In memory of Jason Jumonville/family
Sun 9:30 am Pro Populo for the Living & Deceased Members of our Parish
Mon NO MASS
Tue 9:00 am In honor of Father Alan Mackey (ordination anniversary)/Boothe
Wed 9:00 am In honor of Father Scott Dugas (ordination anniversary)/Boothe
Thu 9:00 am In memory of Carol Folk LaHitte/P Lancaster
Fri 5:30 pm In celebration of a special birthday/Magoun
Sat 5:30 pm In memory of Payton and Donald Trichell/family
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 Vickie Ernst Morelli

Assistants at Holy Mass

Date	Servers	Lector(s)	EMHC(s)
5/30 5:30p	-	A Farlow	L Magoun
6/1 9:30a	Courtland, Michael, Finley, Ashlyn	K Collins	-
6/7 5:30p	-	MA Gilfoil	M Rome
6/8 9:30a	Kathleen, Evelyn M, Daniel M	S Marsh	-

Upcoming Events

Confessions every Friday & Saturday from 5p until Mass and Sunday from 9a until Mass

May 31 / June 1 First Sunday Benediction following Mass
June 6 First Friday devotions following Mass

For Your Information:

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.

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

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.

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

FYI … The Tallulah Arts Guild (212 S. Chestnut St. Tallulah, La 71282) presents JOY FEST! A Celebration of Faith & Joy. Saturday, June 7 at 3pm. Bring a Dish to Share! Bring a Smile to Share! Bring a Song to Share! Bring a Testimony to Share! Bring Joy to Share! Contact Barbara Gamboa at (318) 493-5163. The Art Gallery will provide an informal forum for various church groups to offer presentations regarding their current and near future plans for the community. The presentations will be made during a potluck lunch. Each group also has the option to perform music, recitations, or other oral performances or games. The goal is to connect community minded persons, share ideas and build relationships within the religious community and the arts.

CONGRATULATIONS Betty and Kenny Smith are celebrating 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.

Our Return to the Lord

Stewardship We have a somber warning that Jesus is coming soon and will bring to each person the reward that his or her conduct deserves. Has my stewardship of the blessings entrusted to me been such that I could respond joyfully, “Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!”?

SECOND COLLECTION for our Building Fund


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 25 Collection	$ 1,110
May Collections To Date	$ 12,231

Let us Rejoice in the Lord!

Happy Birthday Billy Marsh (June 8)

Happy Anniversary Betty and Kenny Smith (June 1)

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,Cole Norris, 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

Fr. Ryan Humphries