Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time | St. Edward Catholic Church, Tallulah

From The Font

“Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?”

In the ancient world, there was no meaningful distinction between spiritual realities and the world around us. Every event or circumstance in the world was understood to be controlled by or at the least approved of by the spiritual world. If the weather was good, the gods were happy. If the enemy king had a case of gout, it was because our local god had scored a victory against their local god. Even for the Jews, success in battle, a booming economy, an especially good crop of wine grapes or the safe childbirth of the king’s granddaughter were signs that God was rewarding the Jews for their good behavior, good morals, superior holiness, or whatever. So lots of prayers from lots of people began with a request that our local gods would smite our neighbors.

Given that Jesus was a well-known worker of miracles and that His disciples had watched Him work wonders, it’s not at all odd, then, that they would ask Jesus if He would like to call down fire from Heaven to smite someone for being unwelcoming.

Even today, there is a legitimate place for asking God to smite our enemies! I know that seems crazy, but we do ask the Lord in the Our Father to protect us from the evil one. We ask St. Michael after Mass to thrust Satan and all his demons into Hell. We can and should ask the Lord to deal with the enemies of His Church according to His will!

Jesus taught us to love our enemies. He taught us to do good to those who hate us. He also taught us not to judge others, lest we ourselves be judged. And so unlike the ancient peoples, our prayers aren’t that God would send down fire on such and such a person living at 2211 Dasher Circle, Baton Rouge, LA! Rather, our prayers are that God would - according to HIS will - smite the enemies of His Church. It’s not for us to decide who those enemies are nor is it for us to decide how the Lord does His smiting. But neither is it for us to deny that God’s Church has enemies and that there are real spiritual perils in our world. Just as it’s dangerous to make ourselves the arbiters of good and evil, it’s dangerous to deny that evil, itself, exists.

Thoughts from Fr. Ryan

While our daily Mass crowd has known that we’re back in Ordinary Time for a few weeks, this weekend is the first time most of us are seeing green vestments since February.

For the most part, it’s easy enough to dismiss the color of the Mass vestments as my personal fashion choice. Green this week, while last week, violet for March and most of April… who cares? And I’m not going to make the argument that holiness is contingent upon a deep knowledge of religious color theory… But these details aren’t random or meaningless. Liturgical Vestments go back to the book of Exodus! They were specifically prescribed by the Lord to Moses as an essential part of the religious identity of the Jewish people.

While the 1960s brought us a generation of casual clergy who downplayed the Liturgy and took a lot of short cuts (to our very real and easy-to-see detriment), the Liturgical symbolism is still there…

Technically speaking - when everything is done properly - the priest wears three white linen under-vestments, over them he wears three “fine” vestments of matching color, and the altar “wears” three more “fine” vestments of matching color. The under-vestments are the “amice” (which symbolizes the helmet of salvation), the alb (which symbolizes purity), and the cincture (which symbolizes obedience). Over them, the priest wears a maniple (which symbolizes the difficulty of his labor), the stole (which signifies office) and the chasuble (which signifies the work of the Liturgy at hand). The altar is vested as well

in three “fine” vestments. The tabernacle should be veiled symbolizing the true presence of Jesus. The chalice, too, is veiled indicating its connected with the Holy Eucharist in the tabernacle. And the linen corporal is secured in a burse or envelope made of the same fine material as the veils and vestments.

The altar itself contains the relic of a martyr and is covered with three white linens. While the altar may have other decoration, the essentials are the three altar linens, the three chalice linens, and the three fine vestments.

All of these vestments and linens are directly related back to the instructions of God to Moses in the second book of the Old Testament! They were in continuous use from the earliest days of the Church and where Churches take them seriously, the people find that they make a huge contribution to the sense of reverence, beauty, and holiness of the Church itself and the Mass celebrated there.

Often, people joke about there not being a “liturgy police” that is going to come by and bust us if we don’t do everything right. And that’s true enough, i’ve never gotten a fine or a citation from the liturgy police. But I’ve been a priest long enough to know that withholding our best from the Lord is a slippery slope to offering only our leftovers to Him. The details and nuances of Church decor and Sacred Liturgy are far more important than we might first realize. And the more energy we devote to getting them right, the more we will find that they contribute to our sense of connection with the Lord.

Mass Intentions for the Coming Week

Sat 5:30p In memory of Lee Rome/K Collins
Sun 9:00a Pro Populo for the Living & Deceased Members of our Parish
Mon NO MASS
Tue 9:00a In memory of Patsy Tryon/Mills-Thompson
Wed 9:00a In memory of Gus Gremshell
Thu 9:00a In memory of Dorothy Neill/Gustafson
Fri 5:30p In memory of Becky Lancaster/family
Sat 5:30p In memory of Lee Rome/Bullard
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

Assistants at Holy Mass

Date	Servers	Lector(s)
6/25 5:30p	None Scheduled	L Bullard
6/26 9:00a	Cooper and Maura	Blake Sullivan
7/2 5:30p	None Scheduled	MK Book
7/3 9:00a	Henry and Mary Katherine	K Collins
7/9 5:30p	None Scheduled	L Bullard
7/10 9:00a	Chandler, Kathleen, Maurs	D Ellerbee

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
July 1 First Friday Devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus - 5:30 p.m.
July 2 First Saturday Devotions to our Blessed Mother - Mass and Holy Hour - 9 a.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.

CATHOLIC MOMS GROUP is meeting Monday June 27 at 530 pm in Glynn Hall at St. Paul's.

FIRST FRIDAY…JULY 1 ...Holy Hour and Mass....5:30 p.m. ...make a special devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and attend first Friday devotions for nine consecutive months.

FIRST SATURDAY …JULY 2 … 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. All are welcomed and encouraged to attend.

PRAYER FOR HURRICANE 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. Our Lady of Prompt Succor, hastened to help us. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen

Our Return to the Lord


Weekly Budget FY 2020-21	$ 2,111
May Budget	$ 10,555
May Income	$ 14,090
May Expenses	$ 11,671
June Budget	$ 8,444
June 18/19 Collection	$ 1,665
June Income To Date	$ 5,768

Stewardship In today’s second reading, St. Paul provides a wonderful one sentence summary of Christian stewardship “Out of love, place yourselves at one another’s service.”

SECOND COLLECTION This weekend is Peter’s Pence and supports the Holy Father’s charitable projects of the church on behalf of those most in need..

Let us Rejoice in the Lord!

Happy Birthday Margo Corulla (June 26)

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: Libby Bullard, Connie and Dan Copes, Elizabeth Crothers, Leslye Ellerbee, Mary Ernst, Monique Florence, Susan and Johnny Gilfoil, Jamie and Cindy Howingston, C.W. and Alyce Keene, Bill Kennedy, Ed Mills, Kathleen Mills, Terry Murphy, Sug Regan, 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, Sarah Cannon (Gilfoil), Ruthie Coenen (Wilks), Molly Corulla, Truman and Diane Collins, Jami Cook (Wilks), Don Deweese, Carol Dipert (Rome), Mac Donaldson (Ellerbee), Ashley and Chuck Edwards (Keene), Joe Farlow, Mike Farlow, Patty Farlow, April Franklin (Wilks), Thom Gilfoil, Charlotte Green, Rita Hargrave, Evie Hilburn (Lancaster), John and Carlyle Ashly Hoogland, Melissa Jennings (Gilfoil & Keene), Dee Jones (Keene), Lyn and Calvin Lisonbee (Keene), LaLa Lopez (Hernandez), Caroline Marcello (Watts), Michelle McGuire(Gilfoil), Mona Martin (MA Gilfoil), Caryn Oliver, Sue Perrilloux (D Wood), Wayne Pitre (Gilfoil), Frances Robinson (Wilks), Bailey, Scott and Tiffney Rome, Dianne W. Roper (Murphy), Beverly Sibille (Gilfoil), Albert Thom (Rome), Meg Keene Thomas, Lucy Thomason (gr-dau of Bentley Curry)(Book), Paul Wayne and LeeAnn Rome Tranchina (Rome), Elaine Trimble (Rome), Joe Yerger

Our collegiates: Aidan Collins, Callie Ezell, Lilly Falgout, Chris Hall (USMC), Nick Hall, Bruen Johnson, Caroline Marsh, Emmy Lu Marsh, Maddie Oliver Bridges, Blake Sullivan, Carter Sullivan, Walker Sullivan, Brice Wood, Marsh Wood.