Pentecost Sunday
From The Font
“He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’”
The creation of the world in Genesis 1:2 comes from the “breath” of God (in Hebrew “ruah”). God breaths over the waters - even before He says “let there be light’ - and they take their form.
The creation of humanity in Genesis 2:7 begins with God breathing over the lifeless clay doll that would become Adam.
At the death of Jesus on the Cross, the Gospels all use the words “He breathed his last” to describe it (Mt 27:50, Mk 15:37, Lk 23:46).
When Jesus rises and, for all intents and purposes, “ordains” the Apostles, thus founding the Church, He does so by breathing. The Gospels are in Greek, so there’s no way to know if the same Hebrew word would have been used, but the parallel is unmistakable.
The great intellectual division of our nation when it comes to Christianity is the question of the Church. Did Jesus come to do some things, leave an instruction booklet, and set the stage for many “personal relationships,” OR did He come to establish a Church which would function as His real presence on Earth operating in the power and under the protection of the Holy Spirit until His return in Glory?
Our Protestant Cousins would say the Church is formless and consists of all believers. But God breathed over the waters and over Adam to give form to the formless. Jesus breathed over the Apostles to give form to the formless.
Even at Sunday Mass, the old Latin Mass had a rule that the priest was to breathe over the wine during the words of Consecration, and even in the new Mass, the Bishop must breathe over the Oil of Chrism during Holy Week.
If, as St. Timothy says, every word of Scripture matters, then we can’t dismiss these essential parallels which go right back to the very beginning of our spiritual tradition.
The truth is that the Lord didn’t come to establish an invisible, loosely aligned group of believers, He gathered to Himself a visible, tight group of Church leaders with a special name (Apostles) over whom He breathed and ordained them authority and power to act in His Name and to establish His Church.
Thoughts from Fr. Ryan
My first real interest in Christianity didn’t come through my parish Church or an inspirational pastor, it came from my experience with the so-called Charismatic Renewal - an odd kind of blend of American Pentecostalism shoehorned into the Catholic understanding of the Gifts (aka “the charisms”) of the Holy Spirit.
In the Jubilee Year 2000, Pope St. John Paul II invited any and all members of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal to Rome to join him in St. Peter’s Square for the Solemnity of Pentecost. Every inch of the square was full on that Sunday. I got up in the middle of the night to watch him speak to the crowd in Italian for over an hour. For many Catholics at the time, Charismatic Catholics were seen as eccentrics or oddballs. Some of them were and still are! At the time, our Bishop was, himself, very Charismatic and frequently overplayed his hand in encouraging people to try the spirituality on for size. In spite of his faults, Bp. Jacobs frequently said “we must never be narrower than the Church nor wider than the Church.” I love that little turn of phrase. It’s been an important part of my life and a driving factor in my priesthood. It’s the reason I’m in a parish saying Mass in English rather than a monastery saying Mass only in Latin.
In Christianity today (loosely defined), there are four broad self-conceptions: “Liturgical” Christians (Catholics, Anglicans & Episcopalians, Lutherans, and the “High-Church” Methodists), “Mainstream Protestants” (Presbyterians, traditional Baptists, Low-Church Methodists, Low-Church Lutherans, and some non-Denominational Family Churches), “Evangelicals” (most Baptists, Church of God), and “Charismatics” (most non-Denominational and Pentecostals). Within each of these, there is overlap and a spectrum of what Sunday Worship and day-to-day Christian living should look like.
What’s fascinating is that 75 years ago, Liturgical and Mainstream Protestants were on the rise while everyone else was seen as niche. Now, the only thing that is drawing folks to Christianity is the Charismatic… BUT the Charismatic has gone through a bit of a seismic change in that time.
At first, it was all about praying in tongues and singing rock-and-roll-style praise songs. In the past 20 years since Pope St. John Paul met with the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, the defining characteristic of being Charismatic is all about an experience of the Lord. For some, that’s singing. For others, that’s the choreography of truly Sacred Liturgy. For some, it’s silent meditation…
While the forms differ, what modern man longs for is an encounter, an experience, with God. Modern man seems unable to find that in the casual Liturgies of American religion and in the sermonizing of mainstream Protestantism. The busyness of Evangelicalism only thrives when it’s blended with the Charismatic emphasis on experience. Even the traditionally Charismatic traditions like Protestantism fail when they become disconnected from that central emphasis on experience.
There’s plenty more to say, and I may say it in upcoming bulletins. For now, we’ll just pray the prayer of Pentecost: “Come, Holy Spirit!”
Mass Intentions for the Coming Week
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Michael Mills/Mills-Thompson
- Sun 9:00a Pro Populo for the Living & Deceased Members of our Parish
- Mon No Mass
- Tue 9:00a In memory of C.B. and Inez DeMoss/family
- Wed 9:00a in memory of Kirby Fortenberry & Paul Fortenberry/A Fortenberry
- Thu 9:00a In memory of George Kampa/Fr Ryan
- Fri 5:30p In memory of Jason Jumonville/family
- Sat 9:00a Private Intentions of Father Ryan (Traditional Latin Mass)
- Sat 5:30p In memory of George and Margaret Magoun/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 Mary Anne Gilfoil
ALTAR FLOWERS last weekend were given by Billy & Ginny Marsh in honor of our graduates.
Assistants at Holy Mass
| Date | Servers | Lector(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 5/22 5:30p | None Scheduled | C VanderVieren |
| 5/23 9:00a | Henry and MaryKatherine | A Keene |
| 5/29 5:30p | None Scheduled | P Wilks |
| 5/30 9:00a | Chandler, Kathleen and Mora | D Ellerbee |
| 6/5 5:30p | None Scheduled | MK Book |
| 6/6 9:00a | Preston and Evelyn | B Sullivan |
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
- June 4 First Friday devotions following 5:30 p.m. Mass
- June 5 First Saturday devotions at 9 a.m. Mass
- June 18 Father Thomas Kennedy will celebrate Friday’s 5:30 p.m. Mass at St Edward. Following Mass, there will be a potluck social during which we will present the gift of our faith family to him in honor of his recent ordination.
Stewardship St Paul reminds us today that all of our gifts have their source in the Holy Spirit and that those gifts are given “for the common good.” What gifts are mine to share?
Second Collection this weekend is in support of the Catholic Communication Campaign whose purpose is connecting our brothers and sisters with Christ
Our Return to the Lord
| Weekly Budget FY 2020-21 | $2,111 |
| April Budget | $8,444 |
| April Income | $10,777 |
| April Expenses | $8,759 |
| May Budget | $10,555 |
| May 15/16 Collection | $2,595 |
| May income to Date | $7,938 |
Let us Rejoice in the Lord!
Happy Birthday Dave Collins (May 24), Brittany McFall (May 25)
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, Brittany and Brian McFall, 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), Marie Farlow Bellard, Molly Corulla, Hattie Brown (Lancaster), Jerry Bullard, Sara Cannon (Gilfoil), Truman and Diane Collins, Jami Cook (Wilks), Carol Dipert (Rome), Jared and Ainslie Oliver Duff, Tommy Dunning, Joe Farlow, Mike Farlow, Thom Gilfoil, Charlotte Green, Kathy Garley Hanlon (Gilfoil), Rita Hargrave, LaLa Lopez (Hernandez), Michelle McGuire(Gilfoil), Cameron and Katie Murphy Murray, 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), George and Katie Magoun Williams, Joe Yerger
Our collegiates: Aidan Collins, Chris Hall (USMC), Nick Hall, Emmy Lu Marsh, Maddie Oliver, 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.