Third Sunday of Easter
From The Font
“Those who say, ‘I know him,’ but do not keep his commandments are liars, and the truth is not in them. But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him…”
The tension between friendship and lordship is present in human nature from the very beginning. From Adam and Eve to King Saul to the Apostles and through Christian history all the way to right now, it’s hard for people who have authority over one another to be friends. It’s not impossible, but it’s not easy.
In our relationship with the Lord, we are first and foremost disciples and servants and He is Lord. He offers us the hand of friendship and He adopts us as siblings under the Fatherhood of God, but no matter how deeply He loves us and no matter how well we return that Love, God is God and we are not…
In Jesus, friendship with God flows from obedience to God. Unlike personal friendships, though, God really does want what is best for us and only commands us to do what is best for us. A friend, even a very good friend, may advise us to pursue a relationship or make a purchase or choose this or that option, but that friend is, ultimately, guessing about what is best for us and their perspective is genuinely limited. They may love us - which means that they desire what is best for us as they understand it - but no matter how much that friend tries, they can’t really know what is best for us. If that friend happens to be our boss or our superior in some organizational structure, then we'll always have some reservations about whether their “commandments” are really in our best interest. God, on the other hand, both knows and wills what is truly good for us and commands us to do it without any limitation or reservation.
Just as in all aspects of life, we may desire what is not good for us and we may rebel against the instructions of God, but they exist entirely for our good. That’s why God can equate absolutely obedience to His Commands with Love of Him. To Love God is to believe that He is truthful (Faith) and to trust that He is good (Hope) and to choose Him freely and fully (Love).
Those in our day who create a false distinction between love and obedience do so at their own peril and without real understanding of God.
Thoughts from Fr. Ryan
We have two really neat saints on the calendar for this week.
Wednesday is the feast of Anselm of Canterbury, he was one of the first Bishops to be brought in after King Edward the Confessor’s regime was upended at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Our Patron saint’s stinker of a son destroyed the entire royal line within a year of St. Edward’s death. The Danish kings of England ended and the Britain kings (from Brittany, France) took over. They didn’t trust the English clergy, especially with Edward the Confessor’s grave being a major miracle factory and so they imported a pile of French monks to be Bishops and run the Church in England.
One of the very first of those was a Benedictine monk at the Monastery in Bec, France who was actually born in Italy: Anselm of Aosta. What the British Kings didn’t expect was that Anselm was a brilliant and saintly bishop who had zero interest in rolling over to whatever the King wanted. Anselm became the bishop of Canterbury in 1093. Four years later, he was exiled for the first time. Anselm got the Pope involved and managed to get a few years back in his cathedral before he was exiled again. He died in exil in 1109. Sadly, the British Kings never found a comfortable medium with the Pope and despite some good years, England was just back and forth with vicious and violent religious persecution from this point forward. Even today, England is one of the only nations on the planet without religious tolerance in government!
The other fascinating saint this week is St. George the Dragonslayer on Friday. St George’s story is hazy in the historical record. There’s no doubt he was in the mid-200s in what is now central Turkey. He was a Roman Soldier who was born as a Christian. When his parents died, he joined the Roman legions and was killed during one of the persecutions of Diocletian.
That’s a pretty standard story… But in the 1200s, an Italian wrote a story called “The Golden Legend.” In that story, before George was martyred, he was sent to a small city in Libya which was being harassed by a dragon! The people of the city were bribing the dragon with daily payoffs of livestock… One day the dragon demanded humans be sacrificed to him. In steps George the Christian warrior who slays the dragon with a lance named Ascalon (a name Winston Churchill used for his personal aircraft during WWII). After George defeated the dragon, the whole town immediately became Christian and everyone there lived happily ever after. George, though, went on to help others before being martyred by Diocleatian. That plot of the story has since become a staple of medieval literature.
No one’s really trying to claim it’s a true story, but that doesn’t make it any less wonderful. On the contrary, it’s what Christian fiction should be. There’s no reason that whoever writes the next great fiction series doesn’t make it a story of Christ triumphing over the devil in just the same way that George triumphs over the dragon!
Mass Intentions for the Coming Week
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Thomas Trichell/Tommy
- Sun 9:00a Pro Populo for the Living & Deceased Members of our Parish
- Mon No Mass
- Tue 9:00a In memory of Sue Scurria/G Cox
- Wed 9:00a In memory of May DiTommaso
- Thu 9:00a In memory of Alex “Bubba” Jumonville/family
- Fri 5:30p In memory of Thomas Magoun/Magoun
- Sat 9:00a Private Intentions of Father Ryan (Traditional Latin Mass)
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Michael Mills/Mills-Thompson
- 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.
ALTAR FLOWERS are in memory of Jack Ellerbee and in honor of John Ellerbee
Assistants at Holy Mass
| Date | Servers | Lector(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 4/17 8:00p | None Scheduled | M Rome |
| 4/18 9:00a | Caroline, Henry, Kathleen | Kathleen & MaryKatherine |
| 4/24 5:30p | None Scheduled | L Bullard |
| 4/25 9:00a | Walker, Marsh, Cooper | D Ellerbee |
| 5/1 5:30p | None Scheduled | MA Gilfoil |
| 5/2 9:00a | Carter, Chandler, Marsh | J Howington |
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
- April 20 Pastoral Council Meeting – Parish Hall – 6 p.m.
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.
PASTORAL COUNCIL... will hold its regular meeting on TUESDAY, APRIL 20, at 6:00 p.m in the Church Center. Appointed members of the Council: MaryAnne Gilfoil, Louise Magoun, Ginny Marsh, Beth Sullivan, Levi Washington, and Blanche Wilks. Appointed as Trustees by the Bishop are Michel Lancaster and Cathy VanderVieren. Appointed by the pastor to serve as Finance Council Chair is Darryl Ellerbee. All members are requested to make a special effort to attend. Parishioners are encouraged to attend and contribute to the discussions.
Stewardship The disciples in today’s Gospel came to know Jesus in the breaking of the bread. When we share what we have with those who are in need, we, too, will discover Jesus in our midst.
Our Return to the Lord
| Weekly Budget FY 2020-21 | $ 2,111 |
| March Budget | $ 8,444 |
| March Income | $10,871 |
| March Expenses | $ 8,820 |
| April Budget | $ 8,444 |
| April 10/11 collection | $ 3,097 |
| April income to Date | $ 6,642 |
Let us Rejoice in the Lord!
Happy Birthday Skeeter Wilks (April 17), Marie Ernst (April 21), Ann Keene (April 23)
Happy Anniversary Margaret and Edward Yerger (April 19)
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, 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 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, Hattie Brown (Lancaster), Jerry Bullard, Sara Cannon (Gilfoil), Truman and Diane Collins, Jami Cook (Wilks), Carol Dipert (Rome), Tommy Dunning, Joe Farlow, Mike Farlow, Thom Gilfoil, Charlotte Green, Kathy Garley Hanlon (Gilfoil), Rita Hargrave, Justin Rittenhouse and Arielle Lewis (Keene), LaLa Lopez (Hernandez), Michelle McGuire(Gilfoil), Wayne Pitre (Gilfoil), Frances Robinson, 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.