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Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

November 17, 2019

From The Font

"Lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven, when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire.”

If you look up the word “Jeremiad” in the dictionary, you’ll find that it means a “fire and brimstone” sermon, so named because the Book of the prophet Jeremiah is chock full of them. In fact, most of the prophets of the Old Testament are tough to read for that reason.

Still, there’s a great wisdom in a hard fire-and-brimstone sermon. Despite the pop-psychology of the 1960s, people don’t do well if they only ever hear positive words. People need the carrot and the stick, so to speak. Experience teaches us that if we want to be serious about learning something or changing something about ourselves or taking something more seriously, we need to come to realize that the endeavor has consequences good and bad. If I want to lose weight, I need reasons to be thin and I need to fear being fat. If I want to do well on a test, I need reasons to get an A and I need to be anxious about getting an F. If I want to be a good spouse, I need to want to make my spouse happy and I need to be wary of making them sad or angry.

So it is with religion. We should long for heaven and fear hell. We should want to please God but we should also realize that one day a reckoning is coming and that sin can and will condemn me to Hell for all eternity.

The pop-psychology boom of the 1960s ignored human nature and tried to pretend that we can all just get along. Many of those same goofs are still arguing that we can get rid of poverty by getting rid of racism… Or that Jihadi Muslims are only angry because of something that we’ve done to offend them… Or that all wars are the result of, well, something other than our Human Nature. But that’s demonstrably false. Human Nature is sinful. Human Nature is self-serving. We all feel the temptation that Adam and Eve felt to make gods of ourselves and our desires. That’s why we need encouragement AND we need discipline. We need the carrot of Heaven and the stick of Hell. We need to know that God is good and He loves us, but that He won’t force us into Heaven if Hell is where we condemn ourselves to spend eternity.

Thoughts from Fr. Ryan

I have to pick on my sister Carlie a bit. She’s getting ready to put up her Christmas lights - before Thanksgiving… Why? Because half of her hip, Houston-suburb neighborhood has their lights up already.

The problem that I - and the Catholic Church with me - have with celebrating Christmas months before Christmas actually comes is that the celebration isn’t actually a celebration of Christmas… Christmas is reduced to little more than an excuse to indulge in “holiday festival.” What the holiday is doesn’t matter. What the holiday means is utterly lost. And I’m not talking about the Grinch’s heart growing three sizes… I mean the reason for celebration in it’s deepest meaning is that we are genuinely happy and grateful for something and so our hearts are compelled to rejoice…

BUT how many of us are rejoicing and how many of us are putting up our lights because our neighbors are putting up theirs? How much of our holiday cheer is authentically a joy we can’t keep inside one second longer and how much of it is just what’s expected for this time of year.

Advent - which used to start about now - is a time for holding in… It’s a time for containing our excitement so that when Christmas arrives, we feel like we have to let it explode out of us. Like so much of Catholic Tradition, Advent reveals an understanding of our Human Nature that psychologists are just developing words for. We - as humans - love to anticipate. Psychology tells us that anticipation of gifts is actually more psychologically rewarding than getting them. But when we put up the tree and start celebrating six weeks early, we trade in all the anticipation and we’re left with a flatness and a blandness. Without the buildup, the payoff isn’t any fun. And so our kids aren’t as excited about the presents that they feel like they’re entitled to get. Whereas if we really anticipate - without celebrating in advance - then psychologicaly speaking, we will enjoy both the waiting and the payoff all the more.

It’s not by accident that nostalgia works the way it does. Psychology has words, but the Church understands human nature more deeply. Nostalgia almost always ties into the buildup that we felt in youth. It recalls the optimism, the excitement of the “no yet” and the electricity of what could be. That’s what makes hunting and fishing so much fun. It’s what makes presents under the tree exciting. It’s what makes the interchange of fasting and feasting such a powerful part of religion and holiness. But when the fasting is replaced with feasting - when Advent is replaced with Christmas - then the whole affair becomes less and less human and more and more artificial.

I pick on my sister for decorating her house so early and for the reason that she does it - but there’s a deeper concern that we all ought to share… The reason for the season, Advent, and nostalgia for the less material-driven days of yore aren’t just secondary parts of American Holiday Excess, they’re the only parts of it which really make us happy… And the more we embrace them, the more we’ll enjoy the holiday season.

Calendar of Events

  • Confessions every Fri & Sat from 5p until Mass at 5:30p and on Sun from 9a until 9:30a Mass
  • Pastoral Council meeting monthly on the third Tuesday after the 5:30p Mass
  • Sunday Morning Catechism in the Hall after the 9:30a Mass unless otherwise indicated
  • Nov 17 Potluck Brunch following 9 a.m. Mass - Fourth Quarter committee
  • Nov 19 Pastoral Council Meeting – Parish Hall – following 5:30 p.m. Mass
  • Dec 8 Christmas on the Bayou - crafts, parade, music program, fireworks
  • Dec 15 Advent Retreat given by Father Dale Mead following 5:30 p.m. Mass

For Your Information:

CHRISTMAS PARTY ON THE BAYOU RAFFLE...The Bar Cart consisting of holiday items, foods, and beverages which is being raffled with a drawing around December 15, is on display at Tensas State Bank.

ANGEL TREE... This weekend, you have the opportunity to select Angels that you may want to purchase gifts for during the Christmas season. Dana Dukes is giving leadership to our Angel Tree project again this year. If you have questions, please contact her or the church office.

PASTORAL COUNCIL..will hold its regular meeting on TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, at 6:00 p.m. (after 5:30 p.m. Mass) in the Church Center. Appointed members of the Council: MaryAnne Gilfoil, Josephine Hodge, Michael Lancaster, Ginny Marsh, Beth Sullivan and Levi Washington. Appointed as Trustees by the Bishop are Brian Johnson and Dale Magoun. Appointed by the pastor to serve as Finance Council Chair is Darryl Ellerbee. Additionally, serving on the Council in an ex-officio capacity as President of the Altar Society is Cathy VanderVieren. All members are requested to make special effort to attend. Parishioners are encouraged to attend to contribute to the discussions.

CHRISTMAS ON THE BAYOU …. DEC 8 … Craftsmen and vendors will be at the Courthouse lawn from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.,the parade is scheduled for 4 p.m., and the Christmas Choir Concert is at 6 p.m. at First Baptist Church, followed by fireworks on the Bayou at 7:15 p.m. Father Ryan is the Narrator for the Choir Concert and choir members include Michael Lancaster, Mike Rome, MaryKathryn Book and Patty Watts. The Grand Marshall for this year’s parade is Mike Rome.

ADVENT MISSION … DECEMBER 15 … following 5:30 p.m. Mass. Father Dale Meade, St Mary Catholic Church, Winnsboro, will be our presenter.

PRAYER FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF A NEW BISHOP...Praise to you, Lord our God, our eternal shepherd and guide. In your faithfulness, grant to the Diocese of Alexandria a new bishop whose watchful care will serve to continue the good work of his predecessors. In your Love, give us a shepherd who will lead us in being Christ’s heart of mercy, voice of hope,and hands of justice. Help him to fill our minds and hearts with the truth of the Gospel, the power of the sacraments, and the desire to build up your holy Church. We ask this through Jesus Christ,your Son our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen

Our Return to the Lord

  • Weekly Budget FY 2019-20 $2,111
  • October Budget $8,444
  • October Income $8,556
  • October Expenses $8,475
  • November Budget $8,444
  • Collection November 9/10 $2,552
  • November Income to Date $5,562

Stewardship Today’s readings paint a somewhat frightening picture of the end of time. But, the Gospel ends with the assurance to faithful stewards that those who persevere will be saved.

Mass Schedule & Intentions for the Coming Week

  • Sat 5:30p In memory of C.B. and Inez DeMoss/family
  • Sun 9:00a Pro Populo for the Living & Deceased members of our Parish
  • Mon NO MASS
  • Tue 5:30p In memory of Anna May Farlow/death anniversary/family
  • Wed 5:30p In memory of Billy Hodge/family
  • Thu 9:00a In memory of Eva and R.L. Reynolds/Bullard Legacy Nursing Home
  • Fri 5:30p In memory of Louise Testa/Magoun
  • Sat 5:30p In memory of Bitsy Adams Weiner/Regan
  • Sun 9:00a Pro Populo for the Living & Dead members of our Parish Family

ALTAR CANDLES this week are burning for the special intentions of Margo Corulla.

FLOWERS ON THE HIGH ALTAR are in memory of deceased family and friends of Skeeter and Blanche Wilks

Assistants at Holy Mass

  • 11/16 5:30p
    • Lector: M Rome
    • EMHCs: P & B Wilks
  • 11/17 9:00a
    • Servers: C Sullivan & H Ellerbee
    • Lector: C Sullivan & C Marsh
    • EMHCs: C Howington & A Keene
  • 11/23 5:30p
    • Lector: C VanderVieren
    • EMHCs: A Farlow & L Bullard
  • 11/24 9:00a
    • Servers: P Collins & C Wood
    • Lector: D Ellerbee
    • EMHCs: N & M Ernst
  • 11/30 5:30p
    • Lector: MA Gilfoil
    • EMHCs: L Magoun & M Rome
  • 12/1 9:00a
    • Servers: TBD
    • Lector: A Oliver
    • EMHCs: B Smith & K Collins

Let us Rejoice in the Lord!

Happy Birthday Isabel Hernandez (Nov 19), Libby Bullard (Nov 20), Darryl Ellerbee (Nov 22), Monique Florence (Nov 25)

Happy Anniversary Frances and Jim Roemer (Nov 17)

In Our Daily Prayers…

Our Holy Father Pope Francis and Pope-Emeritus Benedict XVI; Archbishop Aymond and our Diocesan leaders, our President, Governor, Mayor and national, state and local elected representatives

Our parishioners who are sick, shut-in, or otherwise in need of our prayers: Terri Brown, Pat Bullard, Connie Copes, Elizabeth Crothers, Susan Gilfoil, Josephine Hodge, C.W. and Alyce Keene, Bill Kennedy, Dale & Louise Magoun, Ed Mills, Kathleen Mills, Sue & Mike Rome, Delia Trichell and Don Wood

Those under full-time care: Frances Kennedy, Sue Scurria (Texas), Jim Farrell of Vicksburg, Margaret Fortenberry of Tensas, Sharon Hansen of Gonzales, Consuelo Marsh of Lake Providence, Jean Cantrell, Marie Cedotal

Our friends and relatives who need our prayers: Lee Adams (Smith), Ashley Weimer Alexander (Regan), Pam Amacker (Gilfoil), Jenna Faye Allen (Florence), Margaret Baker (Magoun), Marie Farlow Bellard, Hattie Brown (Lancaster), Jerry Bullard, Colton Bullock (Farlow), Richard Chappuis (Johnson), Karen Cobb, Jami Cook (Wilks), Carol Dipert (Rome), Joe Farlow, Mike Farlow, Melinda and son, Will, Fewell (Farlow), David Fortenberry, Meg Gaumnitz (Copes), Thom Gilfoil, Charlotte Green, Kathy Garley Hanlon (Gilfoil), Cooper Harris (R Wood), Bo Holloway, Diane Johnson (Johnson), Terry Lynn Jones (Howington), Ben Lenhart (G Marsh), Toby and Karen Lepley (Keene), LaLa Lopez (Hernandez), Michelle McGuire (Gilfoil), Tobie McKowen (Wilks), Keith Melancon (Regan), Tucker Melancon (Johnson), Lindsay Mills, Thomas Joseph O’Dowd (Army Ranger/Italy/M Scurria O’Dowd), Debbie Pettis (Rome), Sam and Betty Phillips (Hodge), Wayne Pitre (Gilfoil), Debbie Prine (Wilks), Lee and Tiffney Rome, Dianne W. Roper (Murphy), Linda Sanchez (Wilks), Walter Scott, Andy Sevier, Spencer and Mary Sevier, Beverly Sibile (Gilfoil), Theresa Thom (Rome), Elaine and James Trimble (Rome), Adam Triplett (Reynolds), Teresa Vidrine (Wilks), Conner and Hudson Wood (nephews of Bart), Max Yerger

Our collegiates: Aidan Collins, Norman Ernst, Anna Ginn, Josh Hall, Chris Hall (USMC), Matt Hall (USArmy), Nick Hall, Emmy Lu Marsh, Maddie Oliver, Bailey Rome, Blake Sullivan, Brice Wood

Those Catholics residing at Christian Acres, Louisiana Transitional Center for Women, and our local Detention Centers and for their families and loved ones.

PLEASE LET US KNOW OF ANYONE WHO IS ILL OR HOSPITALIZED OR WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE A VISIT. PLEASE HELP US TO UP-DATE OUR PRAYER LIST BY ADVISING US OF ANYONE WHO SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM THE PRAYER LIST.