Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
From The Font
“...there were six stone water jars there… each holding twenty to thirty gallons…”
It takes six ordinary bottles of wine to make one gallon, so Jesus made about nine hundred bottles of wine for this wedding party… There are LSU fraternities that couldn’t get through that in a month. So what gives?
Well, there are three factors. First, Jewish weddings were five or six (or more) day-long parties back-to-back rather than the rehearsal supper plus reception that we have. People went home to sleep and came back. They went to work and came back. A wealthy family could end up feeding most of the village for a week. An average family wouldn’t be able to foot the bill for everything, and so regular folks would just bring their own food and booze. Free food or not, a party was a party.
Second, Jewish life was hard. Farming and fishing in the desert is a tough gig. When an opportunity to find some joy in the drudgery of life arose - whether it was a religious feast or a family celebration - they took it seriously and lived the good life for a little while.
Third, wine had strong religious connotations. Unlike ordinary food, wine “cheered the heart” and had a sort of mystical effect on everyone. Certainly, people understood what alcohol was and what it did. There were other distilled spirits as well in the ancient world… But wine was seen as a gift from the Lord that lifted people out of themselves for the moment and gave them a euphoric sense of joy. And while the habit of drunkenness was condemned by Jesus more than once, the fact that He began His ministry by making A LOT of wine has powerful symbolism in the ancient mind.
Most of us reading this are, by comparison, unthinkably wealthy. We rarely go whole days without eating and even hot and cold weather don’t really affect us. We have “first world problems.” Even death is mitigated by our Christian Faith. For people facing threats like famine, starvation, and death without any sense of eternity, the miracle of the Water and Wine pointed to a God who actually cared about His people. He didn’t just care about getting His worship and sacrifices… He cares about their lives and their joy. It’s a powerful message!
Thoughts from Fr. Ryan
Calendars aren’t exactly exciting stuff! But I marvel at how different our religious calendar looked like only sixty years ago…
So Advent and Christmas were like they are now. When Epiphany was celebrated on the 12th day of Christmas (not some random Sunday), the Christmas Season ended. That didn’t begin the season of “ordinary time” because “ordinary time” is a terrible name for anything! Traditionally, the time after Epiphany was called… the “Time After Epiphany” because spiritually and religiously, the idea was to reflect upon that specific Christmas Season and apply those lessons to our lives. That’s something we should still be doing.
Now, depending on how long the time between Epiphany and Ash Wednesday was that year and depending upon where you lived, the overlapping season of Carivale (literally: “farewell to meat”) might begin right away or it may be only the last week or two before Lent began.
Religiously, there was actually a whole extra season of the Church year called “Septuagesima” (literally “Seventy Days”) that functioned as a kind of pre-Lent. At Mass, it was like Lent was already happening, but outside of Mass, the fasting and other Lent stuff didn’t start until Ash Wednesday.
Lent itself had an unofficial three-part structure. You had Lent, “Passiontide,” and “Triduum.” (literally, “three days”). Because the Lenten season required real fasting (not just giving up coke or chocolate) every day except Sunday, the arrival of Rose Sunday was an exciting sign that we were well fast halfway. The statues were covered for Passiontide. And Holy Week, of course, ended with the Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. After nine weeks of Lent at Mass and 40 days of fasting on a single meat-free meal each day, Easter was a serious time of rejoicing and fasting. It certainly helps us to get in the headspace of today’s Gospel where Jesus multiplies the wine for a party.
The Easter season began with celebration. After forty days, on a Thursday and not a Sunday, we celebrated the Ascension. Then, ten days later, the Pentecost. Like with Epiphany, the time after Pentecost wasn’t “ordinary” but directed toward the spiritual lessons that we had learned in the forty days of Lent and the fifty days of Easter.
The old calendar made a lot of sense from a human perspective. The new one is most antiseptic and bland and tends to prioritize a minimum of effort for everyone - clergy and laity alike. That’s not a very good thing for anyone.
For us here in Louisiana, where so much of our culture and history is deep in Catholicism and where that history and culture should be a benefit when it comes to making converts, it’s sad that the Church has thrown out much of her own history. But there’s a good lesson in that, too.
Simply put, nothing exists without context. Something wonderful like Mardi Gras or the Wedding Feast and Cana - if it becomes divorced from its context, will lose all of its meaning and spiritual value and ultimately become meaningless or even destructive. It’s up to us to remember and re-teach the context and meaning of the things we care about and love!
Mass Intentions for the Coming Week
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Payton Trichell/Rome
- Sun 9:00a Pro Populo for the Living & Deceased Members of our Parish
- Mon NO MASS
- Tue NO MASS
- Wed NO MASS
- Thu NO MASS
- Fri NO MASS
- Sat 5:30p In memory of Pat Bullard/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 Margo Corulla
Assistants at Holy Mass
| Date | Servers | Lector(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1/15 5:30p | None Scheduled | A Farlow |
| 1/16 9:00a | Henry & MaryKatherine | Youth |
| 1/22 5:30p | None Scheduled | P Wilks |
| 1/23 9:00a | Chandler, Kathleen, Maura | S Marsh |
| 1/29 5:30p | None Scheduled | MK Book |
| 1/30 9:00a | Preston, Evelyn, Courtland | 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
- Jan 22 Bishop’s Pastoral Visit – 5:30 p.m. Mass
- Jan 24 Repeat of DEALING WITH STRESS AND ANXIETY AS A CHRISTIAN…6 p.m.
- Jan 25 (Date Change) 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 the group. If you need additional information, please contact the Coordinator, Louise Magoun, at 318-341-2403.
PASTORAL COUNCIL..CHANGED…..will hold its regular meeting on TUESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2022, at 6:00 p.m in the Church Center. Appointed members of the Council: MaryKathryn Book, Kendra Collins, MaryAnne Gilfoil, Louise Magoun, 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.
DEALING WITH STRESS AND ANXIETY AS A CHRISTIAN has become increasingly important to all of us. Our first workshop was very interesting….SO MUCH SO THAT IT WILL BE REPEATED!!! Monday, January 24. The workshop is open to the public and free. It will begin at 6 p.m. and last about an hour.
DOORS AND TABLES….to dispose of…..if you are interested, you can check them out in the Hall….
- 2 Hollow core doors 3‘ x 6’7”
- 1 Hollow core door 2’ x 6’ 6”
- 2 folding tables 6’ x 2’ 6” – Metal frame and particle board top with brown surface
Our Return to the Lord
| Weekly Budget FY 2020-21 | $ 2,111 |
| December Budget | $ 8,444 |
| December Income | $ 11,897 |
| December Expenses | $ 9,174 |
| January Budget | $ 10,555 |
| January 8/9 collection | $ 1,221 |
| January To Date | $ 3,697 |
Stewardship In today’s second reading, St. Paul tells the Corinthians (and us) that all of our gifts are from God and that they are given, not for ourselves alone, but for the common good. But, the generosity of God knows no limits –the miracle at Cana reminds us that whenever we faithfully do as God asks, He can change our gifts of water into wine!
Next weekend… Second Collection for the Church in Latin America.
Let us Rejoice in the Lord!
Happy Birthday Pat Gilfoil (Jan 15), Renee Wood (Jan 18), Mary Jane Johnson (Jan 22), Brice Wood (Jan 22)
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, Leslye Ellerbee, Mary Ernst, Monique Florence, 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
Our friends and relatives who need our prayers: Lee Adams (Smith), Ashley Alexander (Regan), Graham Allen (S Gilfoil), Kathryn Wood Allsopp (D Wood), Jenna Faye Allen (Florence), Pam Amacker (Gilfoil), James Arceneaux (Book), Judy and Danny Beard (Keene), Marie Farlow Bellard, Ruthie Coenen (Wilks), Molly Corulla, Sara Cannon (Gilfoil), Truman and Diane Collins, Jami Cook (Wilks), Amelia Florence Cowart and her family (Florence), Don Deweese, Carol Dipert (Rome), Mac Donaldson (Ellerbee), Tommy Dunning, Joe Farlow, Mike Farlow, April Franklin (Wilks), Cogan Fulton (Ellerbee), Thom Gilfoil, Charlotte Green, Kathy Garley Hanlon (Gilfoil), Rita Hargrave, Carroll Holmes and family (Keene), Lyn and Calvin Lisonbee (Keene), LaLa Lopez (Hernandez), Michelle McGuire(Gilfoil), Mona Martin (MA Gilfoil), Caryn Oliver, Sue Perrilloux (D Wood), Wayne Pitre (Gilfoil), Frances Robinson (Wilks), John and Martha Rogan, Bailey, Lee, and Tiffney Rome, Dianne W. Roper (Murphy), Saldana Family (Book), Theresa and Albert Thom (Rome), Meg Keene Thomas, Lucy Thomason (gr-dau of Bentley Curry)(Book), Elaine and James Trimble (Rome), Joe Yerger
Our collegiates: Aidan Collins, Callie Ezell, Chris Hall (USMC), Nick Hall, Emmy Lu Marsh, Maddie Oliver Bridges, Carter Sullivan, Walker Sullivan, Brice Wood, Marsh Wood