Third Sunday of Advent
From The Font
“In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.”
The Jewish Faith, like Japanese Shinto and Zen Buddhism, sees the world through the lens of what modern philosophers might call “determinism.” Simply put, everything that happens, happens because God specifically plans for it to happen whether that thing is good or bad from this or that perspective and holiness\happiness depends on aligning oneself with the way the world is rather than the way it should or could be. Certainly, there’s more to it than that, but many ancient faiths deal with unanswered prayers or bad news by convincing themselves that God wants it that way. Some people accuse Christians of the same thinking. And some Christians, wrongly believing that kind of thinking to be good and pious, do adopt this wrong way of seeing the world and the events in it.
In truth, Christianis do not deal with our disappointments by simply resigning ourselves to what “must be” God’s will. The difference is subtle but essential. We, as Christians, accept that suffering is an essential part of sanctity.
But we embrace rather than endure the trials of this life. Some of those trials are, seemingly, random occurrences: earthquakes, genetic medical conditions, and bizarre accidents seem to come at us without any moral cause. Other trials are clearly the result of the sin or moral failings of others who commit a crime against us or embrace an addiction or simply fail us. We as Christians embrace these trials as opportunities to draw nearer to Our Lord on the Cross Who, in His suffering, sanctified all Human suffering and made it possible for us to find joy in the midst of sorrow. We don’t experience suffering merely as a part of life, we embrace it as a means of nearness to the Lord. For unbelievers, the distinction is just semantics, but for believers, the difference is everything! “In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.”
Original Sin demands more from the Lord than we can ever understand and so God’s mercy - which frees us from all but the least bit of deserved suffering - is more profound and keeps us from more trials than we could ever begin to comprehend. Hence, we rejoice!
Thoughts from Fr. Ryan
As this Sunday is about rejoicing in the Lord, I want to take a moment to be thankful to God and to all of you reading this for the past year. While a lot of people will look back on 2020 with ire or exhaustion, for the parish (and therefore for me as the pastor), 2020 was a remarkable year. When difficulty arose, the people of St. Edward rose to the challenge.
In March, my original plan was to sit tight and weather what was supposed to be a two week lockdown. Mrs Ann Keene called and encouraged me to get on the live-streaming bandwagon. I said “no” and told her there would be plenty of Masses for folks to watch for two weeks. I said there would be no point in buying equipment and software to do all that for just a few weeks. She challenged me and, ultimately, I got all of the pieces together and began to livestream a daily Mass. Working as part of a team of priests, I offered one of two daily Masses and one of three weekend Masses. It turned out to be a big deal for people to see that their Church was working for them, even from a distance.
On a personal note, while the Latin Mass isn’t the preference of most of us, I can’t describe the spiritual benefit of offering it daily for a month!!! It was literally life-changing. I never expected to have the opportunity to offer it regularly. WOW!
After the lockdown ended but before we could get back to Mass, Mrs. Cathay VanderVieren was here to clean the Church and take care of the confusion of standing orders for wine we didn’t need and the chaos of wires, cameras, stands and “stuff” that went into livestreaming Mass. She has been a trooper as we continue to try and figure out how to livestream in the least-intrusive way possible.
I missed Judge Lancaster during Holy Week! The moment we were able to get back to singing, he was here and ready to go. The same was true for Mary Trichel who heads up our grounds and maintenance team. Norman Ernst was also able to help with a pile of needs that arose when professionals were unwilling or unable to come and help. He also led the charge to get the new fence up in the Front Yard which lets everyone know that St Edward has got some life in it! So many of you stepped up when the times got tough! THANK YOU to those who came to our Drive Through confessions. THANK YOU to those who came to our 10-people-at-a-time Communion Services. THANK YOU to those who left your collection envelopes on my car or in Ms Ann’s mailbox. THANK YOU to those who took that extra cash from your missed vacation and directed it toward the Church. THANK YOU to those who have been so encouraging about our efforts to live-stream. We don’t have the biggest numbers and we don’t have the very best equipment money can buy, but we produce more live-streams in a week than almost every Church in Louisiana. Only about a dozen Churches in the state turn out more content than we do… That’s something to be thankful for. To all of you who have helped in any way through this crazy year, my sincerest thanks and appreciation!
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
- Dec 14/15 Advent Mission following 5:30 p.m. Mass in Church Hall. See details elsewhere
- Dec 20 Birthday Party for Jesus following 9 a.m. Mass
- Dec 24/25 Christmas Eve Mass at 6 p.m. and Christmas Day Mass at 9 a.m.
- Jan 2 “Burning of the Greens” following 5:30 p.m. Mass. More info to follow….
For Your Information:
SUNDAY MORNING CATECHISM… Sunday Morning Catechism along with Coffee and Donuts after the 9 a.m Mass. Workbooks for all ages are available in the Hall, free of charge, to anyone who needs one throughout the year. Parents are strongly encouraged to attend these presentations as they will help you, as your child’s teacher, teach your children and, hopefully, increase your own knowledge of our Faith.
ROSARY GROUP … a group of parishioners is meeting on Monday at 5:30 p.m. to pray the Rosary. Everyone is invited to join with the group. If you need additional information, please contact the Coordinator, Louise Magoun, at 318-341-2403
ANGEL TREE … If you still want to be a part of our project, you may want to make a monetary donation to help with the cost of Food Baskets that will be given to our selected ANGEL families. Cash can be put in an envelope, marked “Angel Tree, and given to Father or the Church Office or put in the collection or a check with notation that it is for Angel Tree can be put in the collection.
ADVENT MISSION… On Monday and Tuesday, December 14 and 15th, Mr. Roger Christopher, retired US Armed Forces and Candidate for Permanent Deacon for our diocese will be with us to speak specifically about the Scripture in our Faith. Roger is a remarkable guy who has found a profound love for the Bible in the last few years and has been studying voraciously just how grounded in Scripture the teachings of the Church are! He is enthusiastic to share his passion and his insights. I hope you’ll join us next Monday and Tuesday at 6p in the Hall for Roger’s presentations. Fr. Ryan will offer Mass at 5:30p in the Church on those days to assist our spiritual reception of our Advent Mission. Please plan to attend!!
BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR JESUS…will be on Sunday, December 20, following 9:30 a.m. Mass and all are invited to join the children for this festive event. Kendra Collins will be giving leadership to this event. If you would like to assist, please contact Kendra or Father Ryan.
CHRISTMAS EVE AND DAY MASS SCHEDULE...Christmas Eve Mass will be celebrated at 6 p.m. as Father Ryan will need time to return from Delhi where he will have celebrated Mass at St. Theresa earlier in the afternoon. Christmas Day Mass will be celebrated at 9 a.m.
FLOWERS FOR CHRISTMAS...envelopes can be found at the entrance of Church. Please indicate if you have a Special Intention, In Honor, In Memory. Envelopes can be returned in the collection basket.
Mass Intentions for the Coming Week
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Louise and Joseph Testa (anni)/Magoun
- Sun 9:00a Pro Populo for the Living & Deceased Members of our Parish
- Mon 5:30p In memory of Sue Scurria/G Cox -- followed by Advent Mission
- Tue 5:30p In memory of Gus Gremshell-- followed by Advent Mission
- Wed 9:00a In memory of Josephine Hodge/Weaver
- Thu No Mass
- Fri 5:30p In memory of Dale Magoun/G Cox
- Sat 9:00a Private Intentions of Father Ryan (Traditional Latin Mass)
- Sat 5:30p In memory of J.E. “Boyzie” Jumonville (birth)/family
- Sun 9:00a Pro Populo for the Living & Deceased Members of our Parish
Assistants at Holy Mass
| Date | Servers | Lector(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 12/12 5:30p | None Scheduled | C VanderVieren |
| 12/13 9:00a | Chandler, Mary Katherine, Carter | D Ellerbee |
| 12/19 5:30p | None Scheduled | A Farlow |
| 12/20 9:00a | Preston, Marsh, and Evelyn | Youth |
| 12/26 5:30p | None Scheduled | M Rome |
| 12/27 9:00a | Walker and Cooper | J Howington |
Our Return to the Lord
| Weekly Budget FY 2019-20 | $ 2,111 |
| November Budget | $10,555 |
| November Income | $ 9,828 |
| November Expenses | $8,959 |
| December Budget | $ 8,444 |
| December 5/6 collection | $ 2,726 |
| December income to Date | $2,726 |
Stewardship All of the people in today’s readings--the prophet Isaiah, the Virgin Mary, St. Paul, St. John the Baptist--seemed to understand clearly and rejoice in what God was calling them to be and to do. Do I?
Second Collection The second collection this week is for the Retirement Fund for Religious.
Let us Rejoice in the Lord!
Happy Birthday Norman Ernst (Dec 12), Katherine Ernst Bedgood (Dec 14), Madeline Oliver (Dec 14), Johnny Gilfoil (Dec 15), Peggy Scurria (Dec 16), Bart Wood (Dec 19)
Happy Anniversary Mary Kathryn and Nap Book (Dec 14)
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.
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, Marie and Norman Ernst, Mary Ernst, Monique Florence, Margaret and Pat Gilfoil, Susan and Johnny 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, Sharon Hansen of Gonzales, Consuelo Marsh of Lake Providence, Marie Cedotal
Our friends and relatives who need our prayers: Lee Adams (Smith), Ashley Alexander (Regan), Jenna Faye Allen (Florence), Pam Amacker (Gilfoil), James Arceneaux (Book), Marie Farlow Bellard, Molly Corulla, Georgie Gilfoil Breard, Hattie Brown (Lancaster), Jerry Bullard, Stella & Fernando Calvo (Keene), Sara Cannon (Gilfoil), Karen and Rod Cobb, Truman and Diane Collins, Jami Cook (Wilks), Carol Dipert (Rome), Tommy Dunning, Eli Edgecomb(Gilfoil), Joe Farlow, Mike Farlow, Thom Gilfoil, Charlotte Green, Kathy Garley Hanlon (Gilfoil), Rita Hargrave, Terry Lynn Jones (Howington), LaLa Lopez (Hernandez), Michelle McGuire(Gilfoil), Pops Neumann, Wayne Pitre (Gilfoil), Lee and Tiffney Rome, Dianne W. Roper (Murphy), Linda Sanchez (Wilks), Theresa and Albert Thom (Rome), Meg Keene Thomas , Elaine and James Trimble (Rome), Teresa Vidrine (Wilks), Joe Yerger
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.