Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, or Sunday of the Word of God
From The Font
"Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed"
The ancient world had doomsday preachers just like the modern world. Sidewalk prophets wandered the cities shouting warnings of all sorts. Some of them were selling magical items to ward off the very disaster they predicted. Some of them were professionals sent by opposing factions or religious sects to incite confusion or violence. Some of them were genuine believers and some were actual prophets.
And just like the modern world, most of the people in the ancient world just ignored these preachers. Some of them were entertaining or fascinating, but very few of them inspired any real change.
The modern Iraqi city of Mosul is built on the ancient city of Nineveh. Ancient Nineveh was a huge, rich, important city in the Assyrian Empire. Assyria was one of the most powerful and religiously diverse empires in world history. So as much as they liked to execute traitors and “war criminals” (from the other side), the laws were fairly lax. The idea that someone from one of those odd-ball monotheistic religions would accuse the city of sin was somewhat bizarre to begin with. When the people listened and repented, it was so shocking that Jonah asked the Lord to kill him.
Perhaps the most important lesson taken from Jonah in both the Old and the New Testament is just how powerful the Lord is and just how important it is to obey His call, even if it seems insane.
The virtue by which we 1) wait on the Lord to call us to action and then 2) act on his call is “docility.” Docility frees us from having to understand the larger plan of God and gives the Lord total freedom to use each of us according to His wisdom. Docility doesn’t mean that we make no decisions at all. It doesn’t mean we’re off the hook for any omissions in our lives. We still need to be prudent in our decisions and we still need to practice moderate and be charitable and the like. Rather, it means that we trust ourselves to the Lord with the big things and that we spend plenty of time listening to the Lord so that when the call comes, we can answer.
Thoughts from Fr. Ryan
When I was in High School, a friend named Peter invited me to attend a daily Mass after school one day at Our Lady of Prompt Succor parish in Alexandria. I had no idea that daily Mass existed! I went with him and I was immediately hooked. After I had been going for a few weeks, a little old lady came up to me after Mass and asked if I had thought about being a priest… I had not… And I didn’t for the next several months. She took the opportunity to ask me the same question once a week for those same months.
A few years later, I was studying Chemical Engineering at LSU when I was invited to attend a retreat in Lake Charles for guys thinking about priesthood. The retreat was titled “Come, Follow Me.” On the last evening of the retreat, I was kneeling in my pew making a holy hour with the other retreatants. I felt like a decisive moment had come. So I said to myself, “I’m going to flip open the Bible. If my eyes land on the words “come, follow me,” I’ll start the paperwork; otherwise, I’m going to finish my degree at LSU. Funny I didn’t choose the passage about putting the Lord your God to the test...
Just as I was about to do my flip, a guy got up and sang a hymn, so I waited a few minutes. This interruption was key because I had planned to cheat a bit. I had planned to open my Bible right to the front. To my knowledge, all the “come, follow me” passages are toward the back, in the Gospels. So when I finally got the chance to open my bible, I forgot to cheat! Sure enough, I opened right to Mark, chapter 2, “Come, Follow after Me.”
While that was the most dramatic and decisive moment of “feeling” like the Lord had chosen me, it certainly wasn’t the only one. Over the course of years, I’ve looked back over my life and seen again and again how the Lord called me in my youth and so many times in school and even since my Ordination as a priest. I recognized these calls looking back, but I missed so many of them in the moment... There are right and wrong ways to take the advice “live in the moment.” The right way is to acknowledge that the Lord is speaking to us at every moment. He’s calling us to virtue. He’s calling us to prayer. He’s calling us to put aside sin. He’s calling us to be courageous and Hopeful. He may be calling you through these words!
In order to hear His call and understand it, we need to develop our hearts, minds and souls. We need to pray and our prayer needs to include some quiet time to listen to the Lord. Not that God is likely to speak to us aloud, but He does speak in the quiet of our hearts. Why not aloud? Because human ideas are so limited and what God has for us goes beyond words that our minds comprehend. Our prayer needs to include both a still and an active component. Fasting, works of mercy, and study are the most common, but anything which lifts the heart and the mind to God is prayer.
There is no greater loss than to miss the voice of the Lord. Let’s commit to one another to do whatever we can to avoid that loss!
Mass Intentions for the Coming Week
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Pat Bullard/family
- Sun 9:00a Pro Populo for the Living & Deceased Members of our Parish
- Mon No Public Mass
- Tues 9:00a In memory of Margaret Magoun/Magoun
- Wed 9:00a In memory of Rosa Gremshell
- Thu 9:00a In memory of Sue Scurria/G Cox
- Fri 5:30p In memory of Racer Holstead(birth)/family
- Sat 9:00a Private Intentions of Father Ryan (Traditional Latin Mass)
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Alan Horton/Father Ryan
- Sun 9:00a Pro Populo for the Living & Deceased Members of our Parish
ALTAR CANDLES this week are burning for the special intentions of Margo Corulla.
Assistants at Holy Mass
| Date | Servers | Lector(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1/23 5:30p | None Scheduled | A Farlow |
| 1/24 9:00a | Caroline, Henry, Kathleen | Youth |
| 1/30 5:30p | None Scheduled | MA Gilfoil |
| 1/31 9:00a | Walker, Marsh, Cooper | J Howington |
| 2/6 5:30p | None Scheduled | M Rome |
| 2/7 9:00a | Carter, Chandler, Mary Katherine | S Marsh |
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
- January 24 Youth Mass
- February 14 Potluck Brunch following Sunday Mass
For Your Information:
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.
ALTAR SOCIETY DUES PAYABLE FOR 2021 All ladies of the faith family of St. Edward are considered members of the Altar Society which is responsible for the needs of the altar such as candles, wine, hosts, altar cloths and linens and decorations. It is now time to pay your $10 dues for 2021 and there are envelopes at the entrance of the church for your convenience. You may return your envelope in the collection basket or to the church office.
FIRST QUARTER SOCIAL POTLUCK BRUNCH following Mass on Sunday, February 14, 2021. The First Quarter (Jan, Feb, March) group consists of Margo Corulla and Darryl and Abby Ellerbee (co-chairs), Norman and Marie Ernst, Katherine Ernst Bedgood, Brian Johnson, Sidney and Mary Jane Johnson, Robbie and Tori Kivett, Ed Mills, Kathleen Mills, Billy and Courtney Nadeau, Teddy and Alyssa Oliver, Mike and Sue Rome, Jason Trichell, Mary Trichell, Levi Washington
2020 STEWARDSHIP If you gave to St Edward the Confessor during 2020, you should have already received a letter regarding your gift which can be used in filing your income tax. Those letters were sent out about 2 weeks ago so if you did not receive one and think that you should have done so, please contact the church office.
Stewardship There is a certain urgency in today’s Gospel as Jesus calls His first disciples--Andrew and Simon, James and John. Each one follows Jesus immediately, unhesitatingly abandoning nets and boats and father and fellow workers. To what is Jesus calling me-at this moment, in these circumstances? What will I need to abandon in order to follow Him?
The Church in Latin America This week, we will take up the Collection for the Church in Latin America. For many in Latin America and the Caribbean, a rising secular culture, difficult rural terrain, and a shortage of ministers all present obstacles to practicing the faith. Your support for the collection provides lay leadership training, catechesis, priestly and religious formation, and other programs to share our Catholic faith with those who long to hear the Good News of Christ.
Our Return to the Lord
| Weekly Budget FY 2020-21 | $2,111 |
| December Budget | $8,444 |
| December Income | $18,109 |
| December Expenses | $9,405 |
| January Budget | $10,555 |
| January 16/17 collection | $2,639 |
| January income to Date | $7,041 |
Let us Rejoice in the Lord!
Happy Birthday Courtland Jude Collins (Jan 29), Brennan McFall (Feb 1), Hazel Bedgood (Feb 2, 2016), Evelyn Grace Kivett (Feb 2)
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: Harper Bedgood, 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, Charlotte Marsh and Lance and Stephenie, 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), Todd Beene, 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), 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, 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.