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Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

February 9, 2020

From The Font

“You are the salt of the earth… You are the light of the world…”

There are few things so easily taken for granted in our world as flavorful food and artificial lighting. Try to go a week without any flavoring on any of your food… Try to go one night without any artificial lighting at all - no screens, no bulbs, no LEDs, just candles and fireplaces… I’ve done both and trust me when I say they are intensely difficult.

As recently as a few hundred years ago, though, that was the norm for almost everyone. In the time of the Gospels, salt was for the rich and light was a gift from the heavens. During winter, the sun rises in the Middle East around 6a and sets around 5:30p - meaning half of daily life was led in semi-darkness. In the summer, that went down to about one-third.

This gives real significance to the lampstand that Jesus talks about and to the virgins who took good care of their lamps and to the portrayal of the New Jerusalem as a place that will not need light from lamps or even from the sun… Night time is scary. It’s the time in which the unknown and the unknowable reign. Light drives away that which is hidden. It runs off bugs and snakes and spiders and predators and whatever lurks in the shadows. It’s as true for us now as it was in the past. Just think about the last time the power was out for a few hours… When the lights go out and the noise of our ceiling fans and refrigerators and appliances turns to silence - there’s an eerie-ness that makes us want to be able to see something.

What Jesus is promising in far more than light as a matter of convenience, He’s talking about something much more deeply human. He’s talking about His disciples showing forth a kind of hope that can only come from the God who makes the sun in the sky. Anyone can build a big enough fire to chase away some of the darkness. Any of us can buy a bulb bright enough to help us see at night. But only the Lord can free us from the deepest anxieties, fears and human apprehensions that the physical darkness represents in our minds and hearts.

Thoughts from Fr. Ryan

This Friday is the feast of two saints: Cyril and Methodius. But from AD 496 to 1968, they were celebrated on another day and the 14th of February was set aside for St. Valentine of Terni. He was an Italian Bishop in central Italy, not far from where Assisi is now. He was arrested by a local Roman official during one of the many persecutions of Christians in that area. The official enjoyed discussing theology with him and was considering converting to Christianity - but he wanted to test the power of the Jesus in whom Valentine believed. The official had adopted a blind girl some years before and he presented the girl to the Bishop Valentine and asked for a cure.

Sure enough, the Bishop cured the girl and the official promised to do whatever the Bishop instructed him to do. Well, Valentine destroyed the pagan idols in the house, instructed the official’s entire household in the Faith, and baptized them. Valentine was released and went about his work evangelizing others.

A short while later, another official arrested him and sent him along to the Emperor in Rome. The same story was playing out again with the Emperor Claudius II about to ask for instruction and Baptism when several royal officials demanded the bishop be killed. He was permitted to write a few letters of farewell before his execution and so he wrote one to the young girl he had cured which he signed “de Valentium tuum” (“from your Valentine). Valentine’s story was broadly told from the early days of Christianity, but it wasn’t until the Middle Ages that stories like his because heroic, even romantic stories of manly bravery. It was in the Middle Ages that Valentine’s name, itself, led to his association with what we think of as valentines.

The word “valentine” comes into Old French as “brave one” or “one with manly honor.” So it was that knights would send letters of chaste affection to their ladies including the story of the saintly bishop who wrote a dying note of chaste love and affection to a young woman he had saved from a life of blindness and they signed their letters with the same kind of signature that Valentine had used… “From your ‘knight of manly honor’, Ser Eldrich of Kent.”

This kind of courtly poetry evolved into the so-called Romance period of music, art, literature and poetry and so the valentine comes to us today as an evolution from a genuine religious miracle to a play on words from the name of the bishop to an embellished way to sign a letter to nostalgic poetic reference to tiny candy hearts that taste like chalk…

Some people would look at a story like this and be dismissive. They’d see it as a bad thing or as a tragic loss of the “real” meaning of something. I see it as the way in which Culture and society grows. Almost everything in our world is a reference to something else. The more we feed in good raw materials like the story of St. Valentine, the better the society. The more we feed in junk and falsities, the more society will be degraded. We need more chalky-tasting Valentine hearts and less “woke,” pseudo-academic nonsense.

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 except Jun & Dec

  • Sunday Morning Catechism in the Hall after the 9:30a Mass unless otherwise indicated

  • Feb 14 Quarterly Healing Mass at 5:30 p.m.

  • Feb 18 Pastoral Council meeting following 5:30 p.m. Mass - Church Hall

  • Feb 19 Wednesday Night Catechism following 5:30 p.m. Mass - Church Hall

  • Feb 23 First Quarter Social - Potluck Brunch following 9 a.m. Mass - Church Hall

For Your Information:

ALTAR SOCIETY DUES PAYABLE FOR 2020…There is a list, on the bulletin board at the entrance, of those who have paid their 2020 dues. If you have not paid your $10 dues, please do so now. There are envelopes at the entrance of church for your convenience. You may return your envelope in the collection basket or to the church office.

HEALING MASS….FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14 …. Every few months, our usual Friday evening Daily Mass will be offered especially for the sick parishioners of our parish and Father will offer the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick for those of advanced age or those suffering serious health conditions.

PASTORAL COUNCIL...PASTORAL COUNCIL..will hold its regular meeting on TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, at 6:00 p.m(after 5:30 p.m. Mass) in the Church Center. All members are requested to make special effort to attend. Members of the Council: MaryAnne Gilfoil, Michael Lancaster, Ginny Marsh, Beth Sullivan and Levi Washington. Appointed as Trustee by the Bishop is Brian Johnson. 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. Parishioners are encouraged to attend and contribute to the discussions.

WEDNESDAY EVENING CATECHISM...WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19 - In the Church Hall, after the 5:30p Mass. Father will answer questions as a part of each talk. Guests are welcome!

FIRST QUARTER SOCIAL … Sunday, February 23, 2020, following the 9 a.m. Mass in the Church Hall. The First Quarter group (Jan, Feb, March) is Margo Corulla and Darryl and Abby Ellerbee (co-chairs), Norman and Marie Ernst, Brian Johnson, Sidney and Mary Jane Johnson, Robbie and Tori Kivett, Ed Mills, Kathleen Mills, Teddy and Alyssa Oliver, Mike and Sue Rome, Jason Trichell, Mary Trichell, and Levi Washington. Mardi Gras be the theme so dig out your favorite recipe and plan to join in the festivities!!!

ACTS RETREAT...APRIL 16-19, 2020 at Maryhill Renewal Center. For additional information, please contact Kendra Collins or check the table at the entrance of church.

SCOTLAND TRIP IN JULY 2020...Father Ryan will be guiding a trip in July to Scotland, and possibly England and Ireland. The trip will be partly tourism and partly pilgrimage. If you are interested, please contact Ginny Marsh for more details.

Our Return to the Lord

  • Weekly Budget FY 2019-20 $2,111
  • January Budget $8,444
  • January Income $9,133
  • January Expenses $8,470
  • February Budget $8,444
  • Collection February 1/2 $1,016
  • February Income to Date $1,016

Stewardship In the first reading, Isaiah urges us in the name of the Lord to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, and clothe the naked. If we do so, he assures us, the Lord will hear and answer our cries for help in time of need.

Second Collection this weekend - Feb 8/9 - is to support our diocesean newspaper, The Church Today, which is mailed to each household monthly. Please be generous with your support.

Mass Schedule & Intentions for the Coming Week

  • Sat 5:30p In memory of Eva and R.L. Reynolds/Bullard
  • Sun 9:00a Pro Populo for the Living & Deceased members of our Parish
  • Mon NO MASS
  • Tue 5:30p In memory of Bill Adams/Regan
  • Wed 5:30p In memory of Marie Phillips Michele/Charles Phillips
  • Thurs 9:00a In memory of Gus Gremshell Legacy Nursing Home
  • Fri 5:30p In memory of Becky Lancaster/Vedros
  • Sat 5:30p In memory of Curt Farlow/VanderVieren
  • 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

Assistants at Holy Mass

  • 2/8 5:30p
    • Lector: L Bullard
    • EMHCs: P & M Gilfoil
  • 2/9 9:00a
    • Servers: P Collins, M Wood, E Kivett
    • Lector: B Sullivan
    • EMHCs: C Howington & N Ernst
  • 2/15 5:30p
    • Lector: A Farlow
    • EMHCs: L Bullard & Volunteer
  • 2/16 9:00a
    • Servers: C Marsh, H & K Ellerbee
    • Lector: C Sullivan & C Marsh
    • EMHCs: N & M Ernst
  • 2/22 5:30p
    • Lector: M Rome
    • EMHCs: MA Gilfoil & C VanderVieren
  • 2/23 9:00a
    • Servers: W Sullivan, M Wood, C Ellerbee
    • Lector: J Howington
    • EMHCs: B Smith & K Collins

Let us Rejoice in the Lord!

Happy Birthday… Mike Rome (Feb 14), Kate Copes (Feb 15), Tim Harris (Feb 15)

Happy Anniversary… Susie and Terry Murphy (Feb 13)

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, Margaret Gilfoil, Susan Gilfoil, C.W. and Alyce Keene, Bill Kennedy, Ed Mills, Kathleen Mills, Sue & Mike Rome, Delia Trichell and Don Wood

Those under full-time care: Frances Kennedy, 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), Marie Farlow Bellard, Sara Cannon (Gilfoil), Georgie Gilfoil Breard, 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), LaLa Lopez (Hernandez), Michelle McGuire (Gilfoil), Tobie McKowen (Wilks), Keith Melancon (Regan), Tucker Melancon (Johnson), Lindsay Mills, 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, Beverly Sibile (Gilfoil), Theresa Thom (Rome), Elaine and James Trimble (Rome), Adam Triplett (Reynolds), Teresa Vidrine (Wilks), Conner and Hudson Wood (nephews of Bart)

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.