Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time | St. Edward Catholic Church, Tallulah

A Prayer for Hurrican 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. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen

Our Lady of Prompt Succor, hasten to help us.

From The Font

“Be doers of the word and not hearers only”

No amount of hard work, good deeds, kind words, or charitable giving is going to get any of us to Heaven. Salvation comes through Faith in Christ Jesus. BUT… What IS Faith in Christ Jesus? That really is the crux of the whole thing. As with all of religion, we have to be careful about imposing our own definitions and assumptions upon the Lord.

For the Jews, Faith was entirely a function of action. As we read in Deuteronomy: “hear the statutes and decrees which I am teaching you to observe, that you may live.” A good Jew did what God commanded. Period. It’s the same with Islam actually, the word “Islam” means obedience.

Because Judaism was a religion of external action rather than internal disposition, and because they were the Chosen People, it’s logical that Christianity would retain some aspects of that way of thinking. Christianity isn’t the opposite of Judaism, it’s a fulfilment of Judaism. So it is that Jesus says we must be doers AND we must love the Lord within our hearts. The two aren’t opposed to each other, they complement one another. Which brings us back to the question I posed: what is Faith in Christ Jesus? Simply put, Faith, in the Biblical sense, is a holistic (mind, body, spirit\soul\heart, will) configuration of the self to the worship, love, and teaching of God as He has revealed Himself in the person of Jesus Christ. And so Faith includes the intellect and the outer actions and the passionate heart and the deliberate freewill and all that goes with it.

One of the most common ways we see this explained in popular religious talk is that the Christian Faith is Both\And - meaning that we must be doers AND hearers, prayerful and charitable, forgiving and aware of our own sinfulness, etc. Rather than think in terms of yes or no questions, we do better to recognize that God tends to bring together ideas which seem like opposites or paradoxes… God, Himself, after all, is Three Divine Persons in one, singular and indivisible Godhead! Jesus is fully Human and fully Divine. There are limits to the way our minds can comprehend and while most human judgement is separating things into categories, the Lord tends to be bigger than that.

Thoughts from Fr. Ryan

This Tuesday is a bit infamous in history in that the two worst Roman emperors share August 31st as their birthday. Caligula (born AD 12) and Commodus (born AD 192) were both given nearly absolute authority as very young men after being placed in the custody of those who believed that they could run the Empire soundly from behind the scenes… Hindsight is, of course, 20/20, but both of these disastrous emperors function as good reminders of how quickly the government can turn from friend to foe. US President Ronald Raegan, known for his quick wit and turn of phrase, famously said “The most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'”

After more than a century of hard, clear, tragic evidence of just how dangerous large, centralized governments are, I’m astounded by the attitudes of so many of us nowadays. Why are we placing our trust in the government at any level? Why are any of us so daft as to believe even a single word uttered by the talking heads standing at pulpits with large circular seals who claim to bring to us a gospel of vaccines or policies or treaties or anything whatsoever… As one of my old professors said: “Some things are so stupid, you have to be educated to believe them.”

I don’t say this to indict any of us specifically or even to address any one issue. I say it because history and the study of history provide a much needed context that we, as Christians, need to keep in mind. There is nothing new under the sun and Human nature never changes… Power corrupts and all men long for power over others...

Priests were murdered in the street in 17th Century England, 18th c France, 20th c Germany, Russia, Mexico, etc… The excuses changed a little, but the fact is that true religion is a threat to human power and the powerful always want to find a way to suppress the Church of which we are sons and daughters.

Daniel Ortega, for example, found a priest willing to sell his soul for power and brought the Jesuit Fr. Cardenal into his government as a “religious advisor.” He helped create an alternate version of Christianity using so-called ‘Liberation Theology’ to take over and ultimately destroy the religious faith of the people. (Pope St. John Paul II actually swatted Cardenal in the face when he met him!)

“Wokeness” and “Virtue Signaling” among Catholics use the same techniques as Fr. Cardenal. Every time I see a Catholic claiming that getting the vaccine is an “act of love” or that accepting someone’s “chosen gender” is what Jesus would do, I get a little sick...

Both are untrue and deceptive at best. This way of thinking is a cancer in the Church and history shows that it has always spelled death for the Church wherever it metastasizes…

Still, Jesus Christ is Lord, now and forever. When the Church dies somewhere, the Lord resurrects Her, and even those who suffer greatly as She dies here or there are rewarded with abundant graces and aids to salvation. And that’s an incredible blessing which the saints would tell us to be eager to gain! So let us pray for one another, seek to learn from history, and fight against dishonesty and the deceit of wokeness.

Mass Intentions for the Coming Week

Sat 5:30p In memory of Payton Trichell/P Gilfoil
Sun 9:00a Pro Populo for the Living & Deceased Members of our Parish
Mon No Mass
Tue 9:00a In memory of Gus Gremshell
Wed 9:00a In memory of May DiTomasso
Thurs 9:00a In memory of Pooche and Bill Adams/Regan
Fri 5:30p In memory of Josephine Hodge and Sarah and Charlie Phillips/Weaver
Sat 5:30p In memory of Enoul “Jim” Jumonville/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 Blanche & Skeeter Wilks

Assistants at Holy Mass

Date	Servers	Lector(s)
8/28 5:30p	None Scheduled	P Wilks
8/29 9:00a	Preston and Evelyn	C Guizerix
9/4 5:30p	None Scheduled	L Bullard
9/5 9:00a	Chandler, Cooper, Maura	Volunteer
9/11 5:30p	None Scheduled	C VanderVieren
9/12 9:00a	Henry and MaryKatherine	M Lancaster

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
August 29 SUNDAY MORNING CATECHISM in Hall after 9:00 a.m. Mass.
Sept 3 First Friday...Devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus - 5:30 p.m.
Sept 4 First Saturday... Devotions to our Blessed Mother - Mass and Holy Hour - 9 a.m.
Sept 3-6 Labor Day weekend

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.

ARE YOU INTERESTED, OR KNOW OF ANYONE INTERESTED….in a piano that is in the Church Hall. Originally, the piano belonged to Pearl Luckett, grandmother of Abby Wood Ellerbee, and was given to the church when Pearl’s household was dispersed. If you are interested, please contact the Church Office.

FIRST FRIDAY…SEPTEMBER 3 ...Holy Hour and Mass....5:30 p.m. ...make a special devotion to the Sacred Heart and attend first Friday devotions for nine consecutive months.

FIRST SATURDAY …SEPTEMBER 4 … Mass and Holy Hour … 9 a.m. Our Lady of Fatima called for special devotions to be offered on the first Saturday of each month. Father Ryan will offer Mass on the first Saturday of each month in the Church. All are welcomed and encouraged to attend.

Stewardship “Every worthwhile gift, every genuine benefit comes from above,” says St. James in the second reading. But, he reminds us, true worship of God involves using those good gifts to benefit the less fortunate. Good stewardship is not optional; it is the hallmark of our faith!

Second Collection this weekend for the victims of the recent earthquake quickly followed by a tropical storm in Haiti. Catholic Relief Services and its partner agencies are assisting.

Our Return to the Lord


Weekly Budget FY 2020-21	$ 2,111
July Budget	$ 8,444
July Income	$ 7,574
July Expenses	$ 9,001
August Budget	$ 8,444
August 21/22 Collection	$ 1,019
August Income To Date	$ 7,431

Let us Rejoice in the Lord!

Happy Birthday Bruce Copes (Aug 29), Alyce Keene (Aug 31), Chandler Brook Wood (Aug 31), Sug Regan (Sept 4)

Happy Anniversary Kendra and Dave Collins (Aug 29)

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, 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

Our friends and relatives who need our prayers: Lee Adams (Smith), Ashley Alexander (Regan), Kathryn Wood Allsopp (D Wood), Jenna Faye Allen (Florence), Pam Amacker (Gilfoil), James Arceneaux (Book), Marie Farlow Bellard, Molly Corulla, 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, Sharon Jackson (Wilks), LaLa Lopez (Hernandez), Michelle McGuire(Gilfoil), Cameron and Katie Murphy Murray, Caryn Oliver, Sue Perrilloux (D Wood), Wayne Pitre (Gilfoil), Frances Robinson, Lee and Tiffney Rome, Dianne W. Roper (Murphy), 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, Calli Ezell, Chris Hall (USMC), Nick Hall, Emmy Lu Marsh, Maddie Oliver, Bailey Rome, Carter Sullivan, Walker Sullivan, Brice Wood, Marsh Wood

Those Catholics residing at Christian Acres, Louisiana Transitional Center for Women, and our local Detention Centers and for their families and loved ones.