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Second Sunday of Lent

March 8, 2020

From The Font

“Behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him.”

The Jewish Faith is one of the so-called “Religions of the Book.” Judaism is a religion based upon a law. Being a good Jew is about following the rules. Jewish religious leaders are presiders over the rituals and experts on the law. While Christianity is concerned with spiritual realities like love and virtue and holiness, Judaism simply isn’t.

When Jesus goes up Mount Thabor and is transfigured, He is seen with the two pillars of the Jewish religion: the Law (represented by Moses) and the right interpretation of the Law given by God to the Jewish people through the Prophets (represented by the greatest of them, the Prophet Elijah).

For us as Christians, this seems, at first, to be so very limited. If Judaism is about the Law, then someone could obey the Law but be a hateful, evil person. After all, it’s easy enough for any of us to obey a traffic law but rage about bad drivers around us. We might be furious, but we’re hopefully not going to speed past them on the shoulder! And for many Jewish scholars, this was considered to be a fine way to live. The role of the prophets was to correct these scholars and to help people understand that good acts flow from good character. The prophets structured the way in which the law was to be understood and fleshed out the meaning behind the rules and regulations of the Covenant between God and Abraham.

In bringing the Law and the Prophets together with Himself, Jesus is sending a powerful message! First, the Law is true and good and it must be followed. It’s the essence of the Covenant with Abraham. Second, the Prophets are the true interpreters of the Law. Third, and most importantly, God Himself has come to fulfill that old covenant with Abraham and establish a new, far superior covenant with Himself as the bond.

Why? The very short answer is that the old covenant was limited to the chosen people and a few, select outsiders. The new covenant will be open to any and all who bind themselves to it.

Thoughts from Fr. Ryan

I am not having a good Lent!

Lent is one of my favorite times of the year. It’s a chance to reflect and reset myself. Since I began taking my faith seriously in my teens, I have mostly had good Lents. I’ve mostly made good decisions about what to give up and what kind of prayer schedule to keep. Some of the very best Lents I’ve had, though, have started off very, very badly. As I said, this Lent has started off poor for me. I’ve been distracted. I’ve been in a sour mood. I’ve not kept my Lenten penance as well as I’d like and I have generally been out of sorts.

But why?

I think the reason that some of the best Lents have begun so badly is that the bad starts make me ask myself this very question. They make me stop and ask why a little penance is such a problem. They stop me in my tracks and make me take notice…

We, as human beings, are shockingly good at tuning out things we don’t want to see. Science tells us that 99.5% of what our eyes see gets filtered out by our brains. Our brains use pattern recognition to filter out what we don’t believe we need to see and to help us focus in on what we want to see or what we believe we need to see. Mostly that’s what is changing around us...

When I’m driving I see the lawns on the side of the street, but my brain doesn’t care about them because there’s nothing there that presents a threat or anything else worthy of attention. The same is true of our other senses. I hear so many things at every moment. I smell lots of things. I feel my back and my legs and the temperature of the air. It’s no different with my emotions and even my soul. I feel any number of feelings even as I type these words. Spiritually, I’m anxious about who will be our new bishop and the decisions being made in Churches around the world. I’m concerned about people who have asked for my prayers and for friends experiencing difficulties in life… But most of that is filtered out of my immediate attention just like most of what I sense is filtered out by my brain. Lent is meant to shake up that pattern and to help us shift our focus onto some of those things which are too often filtered out by the immediate concerns of daily life.

In my own life, some of the best Lents start off badly because the shake up needs to happen more deeply…

Thankfully, that’s not up to me to decide. In part, that’s good because I might be tempted to avoid a good hard look at myself. In part, it’s good that God alone gets to make the call because I might over attend to self-reflection at the expense of living life. God knows me better than I know myself and so He knows best if I need a “good” Lent or a “tough” Lent. He knows best if I need a pat on the back or a kick in the teeth.

Thankfully, He knows all of us that way and so whether your Lent has started off “good,” “bad,” or somewhere inbetween, let’s all pray for one another and trust that all things work to the good of those who love the Lord!

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

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  • March 17 Pastoral Council Meeting - following 5:30 p Mass
  • March 22 St Joseph Altar - Church Hall following 9 a.m. Mass
  • March 25 Holy Day of Obligation -- The Annunciation of the Lord -- Mass on Tuesday at 5:30 p., at 9 a.m. at Legacy Nursing Home, or 6 p.m. at St Theresa, Delhi.
  • April 3 Lenten Soup Supper following Stations and Mass -- Church Hall

For Your Information:

STATIONS OF THE CROSS … will be at 5:30 p.m. each Friday of Lent, followed by Mass SOUP SUPPER….On Friday, April 3, we will gather in the Church Hall, following Stations and Mass, for supper and a short Lenten educational session.
MISSION … we will NOT have a Mission this year but Father Ryan will be conducting a Mission at St. Patrick in Lake Providence on Monday, March 9 and Tuesday, March 10, at 6 p.m. if anyone would like to attend..

LENTEN REGULATIONS. Fridays of the season of Lent are days of abstinence from meat. The obligation to abstain from meat binds Catholics 14 years of age and older. The obligation to fast, limiting oneself to one full meal and two lighter meals in the course of the day, binds Catholics from the age of 18 to 59. Those who are younger or older may freely embrace these disciplines. But Lenten disciplines should never endanger your health. Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fast and abstinence. This means that we do not eat meat and we have only one full meal.

It is obvious that abstaining from meat is meaningless for vegetarians, who must choose some other form of abstinence. It is equally obvious that replacing meat with a gourmet seafood meal is not in keeping with the spirit of Lent.

KEENE-LEWIS...Chelsea Keene and Andrew Lewis invite you to join with their families to witness the Renewal of their Vows before the Lord on Saturday, March 14, 2020 at 7 p.m., St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church.

Our Return to the Lord

  • Weekly Budget FY 2019-20 $2,111
  • February Budget $8,444
  • February Income $7,619
  • February Expenses $8,804
  • March Budget $10,555
  • Collection March 1 $2,286
  • March Income to Date $2,286

Stewardship “Bear your share of the hardship which the gospel entails,” St. Paul tells Timothy in today’s second reading. What sacrifice is asked of me for the sake of the Gospel? How willing am I to bear my share?

Mass Schedule & Intentions for the Coming Week

  • Sat 5:30p In memory of Bill Adams/Regan
  • Sun 9:00a Pro Populo for the Living & Deceased members of our Parish
  • Mon NO MASS
  • Tue NO MASS -- Mission in Lake Providence
  • Wed 5:30p In memory of John and Marie Johnson/family
  • Thu 9:00a In memory of May DiTomasso Legacy Nursing Home
  • Fri 5:30p In memory of JCB “Chipper” Jumonville (death on 15th)/family
  • Sat 5:30p For the special intentions of Chelsea Keene and Andrew Lewis
  • 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

  • 3/7 5:30p
    • Lector: L Bullard
  • 3/8 9:00a
    • Servers: P Collins, M Wood, E Kivett
    • Lector: A Oliver
  • 3/14 5:30p _ Lector: A Farlow 3/15 9:00a _ Servers: C Marsh, H & K Ellerbee * Lector: Walker & Henry
  • 3/21 5:30p
    • Lector: M Rome
  • 3/22 9:00a
    • Servers: W Sullivan, M Wood, C Ellerbee
    • Lector: B Sullivan

Let us Rejoice in the Lord!

Happy Birthday Levi Washington (March 10), Bobby Reynolds (March 12), Abby Ellerbee (March 12), Shannon Wood (March 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, Mary Ernst, 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 Cedota Our friends and relatives who need our prayers: Lee Adams (Smith), Ashley Alexander (Regan), Pam Amacker (Gilfoil), Jenna Faye Allen (Florence), James Arceneaux (Book), Marie Farlow Bellard, Sara Cannon (Gilfoil), Georgie Gilfoil Breard, Hattie Brown (Lancaster), Jerry Bullard, Richard Chappuis (Johnson), Karen Cobb, Jami Cook (Wilks), Carol Dipert (Rome), Carol Dunning, Joe Farlow, Mike Farlow, Melinda and son, Will, Fewell (Farlow), 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), Wayne Pitre (Gilfoil), Lee and Tiffney Rome, Dianne W. Roper (Murphy), Linda Sanchez (Wilks), Beverly Sibile (Gilfoil), Theresa Thom (Rome), Elaine and James Trimble (Rome), Teresa Vidrine (Wilks), Todd Windham

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.