Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
From The Font
“You shall love the Lord, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”
One of the principles of human nature, expressed in legend by one of the architects of the Oracle at Delphi, is that to thrive, we must know ourselves. Self-awareness precedes any meaningful personal growth. In fact, we tend to measure our lives from the first moments in which we are aware of making an informed choice rather than just following the instructions of our parents. Ultimately, this is why philosophy matters. It’s why priests have to study philosophy before they can study theology.
Jesus’ speech in Matthew 22 is really just a series of questions in which He lays out the principle aspects of human nature. In essence, Jesus tells us who we are. The Second Vatican Council says it this way: “Jesus Christ, and He alone, fully reveals man to himself.” If we are made in the image and likeness of Jesus, then we should turn to the image in which we are made in order to understand who we, ourselves, are.
Specifically, Jesus reveals that our nature is in part “heart,” in part “soul,” and in part “mind.” But what does that mean? Should we try to identify these with components with our modern understanding of psychology or medicine? Should we try to read into the words of Jesus some apocryphal meaning? In short, no.
Lengthy explanations of these components of human nature can be found in Jewish philosophy well before Jesus shows up. In the early Church, many great saints dug in deeply to these words of Jesus to give explanations both simple and complex. St. Augustine wrote the master-work on the topic of Human Nature in his amazing “City of God.”
The take-away for us is not the details of the philosophical explanation, but the importance of the philosophy, itself. These ideas matter enough that Jesus ties His explanation of our Nature to our purpose and to the heights of the moral law and to our Creator. The thinking matters. The ideas matter. The philosophy itself, whether we understand it deeply or not is an essential part of what Jesus came to reveal about the Lord.
Thoughts from Fr. Ryan
This Wednesday, October 28, is the traditional reckoning of the so-called Battle of the Milvian Bridge. After a years-long, bitter, and bloody civil war, the six Roman emperors who all had a claim to the throne of the Roman Empire had been whittled down to two. Maxentius had the better army. On the evening of October 27, 312, Constantine had a dream in which he saw an image of Heaven. Jesus stood before the would-be Emperor and said “In this sign, conquer” (Latin: In Hoc Signo Vinces). Constantine awoke early and insisted each soldier under his command paint the sign that he saw in the Heavens… Historians argue whether the sign was the simple cross (✝) or the more complex ChiRho (☧). Both were common symbols of Christianity at the time… Either way, the soldiers painted and then they fought and they won and Constantine went on to remake the Roman empire and establish Christianity as its Faith. In honor of that moment, it became common for Christians to paint or inscribe an image of heaven with the letters IHS on them for the Latin “In Hoc Signo.” As a coincidence (or something God did on purpose), the letters IHS in Roman Script are exactly the same as the first three letters of Jesus’ name written in Greek Capitals (IHSOUS). And so the IHS symbol became a popular reminder of Constantine’s victory over the anti-Christian Maxentius and of the victory of Jesus and the Church over those who would persecute them.
You know I’m a big fan of the stories of history because they provide context for what we believe and why we believe it. Even if the story itself is embellished or the event took place in a different way than our info says it did, the story still defines our understanding of it.
It’s important not to lose touch with our stories. In a world where woke goofballs are hell-bent on erasing the past, our stories are essential. Tallulah was a center of slavery for a long time. That’s not fun to remember, but it’s essential to remember. It provides context, both historical and spiritual, for what we experience now. The great flood shook our confidence in our ability to control nature. That still affects us in ways we rarely consider. There are fears and hopes and biases and passions that are hard to explain until you tell someone about that one Joe Burrow pass and how everybody exploded in Tiger Stadium. There’s something about Mardi Gras and Saturdays on Lake Bruin that you can only communicate by telling a story.
Storytelling is increasingly a lost art but it doesn’t have to be. All of us need to set aside more time to tell our stories to one another. We need less time staring at tweets and Instagram pictures and more time TELLING the stories behind the posts. It’s part of our human nature and it’s part of our own processing of the event. In a certain sense, I can’t really understand my own story until I’ve been forced to put it into order and tell it to someone else. Stories are a part of our humanity that is truly irreplaceable.
Upcoming Events
- Confessions every Friday & Saturday from 5p until Mass at 5:30p
- Sunday Morning Catechism in the Hall after the 9:00a Mass unless otherwise indicated
- Pastoral Council meeting monthly on the third Tuesday at 6p unless otherwise indicated
- October 27 (MOVED due to Priests’ Retreat) Parish Council Meeting - Parish Hall - 6 p.m.
For Your Information:
Mass Intentions for the Coming Week
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Lillie “Mame” Jumonville/family
- Sun 9:00a Pro Populo for the Living & Deceased Members of our Parish
- Mon NO MASS
- Tues 9:00a In memory of Rosa Gremshell
- Wed 9:00a In memory of Suzanne Wood/Fulton
- Thurs 9:00a In memory of Josephine & Billy Hodge/Bullard
- Fri 5:30p In memory of Thomas Trichell/Family
- Sat 9:00a Father’s Private Intentions (Traditional Mass)
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Pat Bullard/Family
- Sun 9:00a Pro Populo for the Living & Deceased Members of our Parish
ALTAR CANDLES this week are burning for the special intentions of newlyweds, Wilson and Brittany Ogg/Rome
Assistants at Holy Mass
| Date | Servers | Lector |
|---|---|---|
| 10/24 5:30p | None Scheduled | C VanderVieren |
| 10/25 9:00a | Preston/Marsh/Evelyn | A Oliver |
| 10/31 5:30p | None Scheduled | MA Gilfoil |
| 11/1 9:00a | Caroline/Henry/Kathleen | J Howington |
| 11/7 5:30p | None Scheduled | A Farlow |
| 11/8 9:00a | Walker/Marsh/Cooper | D Ellerbee |
Our Return to the Lord
| Weekly Budget FY 2019-20 | $ 2,111 |
| September Budget | $ 8,444 |
| September Income | $10,827 |
| September Expenses | $ 8,480 |
| October Budget | $ 8,444 |
| October 17/18 Collection | $ |
| October income to Date | $ 3,859 |
Stewardship
Let us Rejoice in the Lord!
Happy Birthday Tori Kivett (Oct 25), Don Wood (Nov 1)
Happy Anniversary Stephenie and Lance Marsh (Nov 6)
In Our Daily Prayers…
PRAYER DURING HURRICANE SEASON...Our Father in Heaven through the intercession of our Lady of Prompt Succor, spare us during the Hurricane Season from all harm. Protect us and our homes from all disasters of nature. Our Lady of Prompt Succor, hasten to help us. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen
Our Holy Father Pope Francis and Pope-Emeritus Benedict XVI; 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, or otherwise in need of our prayers: Connie and Dan Copes, Elizabeth Crothers, Mary Ernst, Margaret and Pat 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, Carol Dunning, Margaret Fortenberry of Tensas, Sharon Hansen of Gonzales, Consuelo Marsh of Lake Providence, Marie Cedotal
Our friends and relatives who need our prayers: Especially all of those impacted by Hurricane Laura, Lee Adams (Smith), Ashley Alexander (Regan), Jenna Faye Allen (Florence), Pam Amacker (Gilfoil), James Arceneaux (Book), Marie Farlow Bellard, Georgie Gilfoil Breard, Hattie Brown (Lancaster), Jerry Bullard, Stella & Fernando Calvo (Keene), Sara Cannon (Gilfoil), Karen Cobb, Truman and Diane Collins, Jami Cook (Wilks), Carol Dipert (Rome), Kim Dorbeck (Keene), Eli Edgecomb(Gilfoil), Joe Farlow, Mike Farlow, Meg Gaumnitz (Copes), Thom Gilfoil, Charlotte Green, Kathy Garley Hanlon (Gilfoil), Rita Hargrave, Bo Holloway, Terry Lynn Jones (Howington), LaLa Lopez (Hernandez), James H. Lossin (Keene), Michelle McGuire(Gilfoil), Wayne Pitre (Gilfoil), Lee and Tiffney Rome, Dianne W. Roper (Murphy), Linda Sanchez (Wilks), Theresa Thom (Rome), Meg Keene Thomas , Elaine and James Trimble (Rome), Teresa Vidrine (Wilks), Terri Wilson, Todd Windham
Our collegiates: Aidan Collins, Anna Ginn, Josh Hall, Chris Hall (USMC), Matt Hall (USArmy), Nick Hall, Emmy Lu Marsh, 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 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.