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

Thoughts from Fr. Ryan

When I was growing up, my mother used to insist that I help her cook. She baked, she stewed, and she deep-fried. In all that, I stirred, I chopped, I tasted, and I learned an awful lot about food.

To cook a brisket, you need a couple of hours. To fry a turkey, you need to start the night before. To cook some of the dishes that my mom and I made, we had to start sometimes two or three days before. Thanksgiving was a week-long affair in our kitchen. The slow work of preparation itself becomes a quiet school of patience and self-gift—the same virtues the Church asks of us when we approach the altar.

Sure, cooking is necessary to sustain life, but our Scriptures today link food and cooking and eating to something that bridges the gap between the spiritual and the physical. The prophet Isaiah cries out: “Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Hearken diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in fatness” (Is 55:1-2). God Himself sets the table and invites the hungry to feast without price.

St. Matthew shows that spiritual hunger is no less real than physical hunger. The crowds follow Jesus into the wilderness; He first teaches them, satisfying the deeper hunger of the soul, and only then multiplies the loaves and fish so that “all ate and were satisfied” (Mt 14:20). The same Lord who feeds the body also feeds the soul, and the two hungers are never finally separate.

Jesus chose to remain with us always as food. “I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh” (Jn 6:51). The Eucharist is food and more than food—the very Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ. St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that in this sacrament “the whole Christ is contained” and that it is “the perfection of the spiritual life and the end to which all the sacraments tend” (Summa Theologiae III, q. 73, a. 3; CCC 1324). That is not something to be considered lightly.

There are two things we can take from these lessons. First, this physical world reflects and points to the spiritual world in all kinds of ways. Even something as simple as being thankful to God for a bowl of cereal in the morning can draw us closer to the Lord. St. Augustine reminds us that every created good is a trace of the Creator: “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you” (Conf I, 1). Gratitude for daily bread becomes an act of adoration.

Second, cooking, eating, and the other works of hospitality are real Christian works. St. Benedict of Nursia insisted that “all guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ, for he himself will say: I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (Rule of St. Benedict 53; cf. Mt 25:35). In the French School, St. John Eudes teaches that every act of charity done in the name of Jesus becomes a continuation of His own mission of mercy. When we set the table—for friends or family or strangers—we are doing something more than mere duty. We are doing something that is both spiritual and physical, a living icon of the banquet of the Kingdom.

It is so easy to leave the Lord here in the Church when we head home. But do not give in to that temptation. Welcome the Lord into your heart and your home. Pray before meals. Give thanks and recognize the providence of God in everything you do. St. Louis-Marie de Montfort urges us to consecrate even the ordinary moments of the day to Jesus through Mary, so that the kitchen table itself becomes an extension of the altar.

Practical step for the parish: Make a firm habit of the traditional grace before meals—“Bless us, O Lord, and these Thy gifts…”—and teach your children to pause, make the Sign of the Cross, and thank God aloud. Invite one person who might otherwise eat alone to your table this week; in that simple act you welcome Christ Himself.

Let those who are thirsty rejoice in your cooking and—at the same time—let them give thanks to God. In every shared meal, the Church’s ancient prayer is fulfilled: “You open your hand, you satisfy the desire of every living thing” (Ps 145:16).

Upcoming Events

Confessions every Friday & Saturday from 5p until Mass and Sunday from 9a until Mass
August 1/2 First Sunday Benediction - after Weekend Masses
August 8/9 First Friday Devotions and Benediction - after 5:30pm Mass
August 12 Talk #3 about Spain at 6p in Church Hall
August 16 Potluck Brunch following 9:30 a.m. Mass. All are encouraged to bring a dish and join.

For Your Information:

TALKS ABOUT SPAIN As we have a number of folks who will be traveling on pilgrimage to Spain this fall, Fr Ryan will offer talks organized around the geographic regions on the tour. All talks will be in the Hall and are open to anyone. All talks will begin at 6p and will include a powerpoint-style slide show with pictures and explanations of the places and their cultural and spiritual significance.

Wed, Aug 12, 6p Talk 3 - Santiago de Compostela and the Camino of St James (RESCHEDULED)
Wed, Aug 26, 6p Talk 4 - Fatima

ROSARY GROUP meets on Monday at 5:30p for prayer and supper. Everyone is welcome. Contact Louise Magoun (318-341-2403), coordinator for more information.

FORMED.ORG has weekly features at https://watch.formed.org/this-week-on-formed. Remember to sign in using our parish’s zip code (71282) at https://signup.formed.org

MAUSOLEUM Construction will begin in the coming months. If you have any questions or you know of anyone else interested in making a purchase, please encourage them to call the church office.

FIRST SUNDAY BENEDICTION for the weekend of August 1-2 will conclude Masses as part of our larger program of Eucharistic Devotion.

FIRST FRIDAY is August 7. Father will offer Devotions and Eucharistic Benediction at the end of Mass. Make a special devotion to the Sacred Heart and attend first Friday devotions for nine consecutive months.

POTLUCK BRUNCH on Sunday, August 16, following the 9:30 a.m. Mass . All are encouraged to bring a dish and join in with celebrating the Beginning of School for our young people and their parents!!!

Mass Intentions for the Coming Week

Sat 5:30p In memory of Marleigh and Pat Bullard, Patrick Thomas, and Eva & R L Reynolds
Sun 8:00a (Traditional Latin Mass) PRO POPULO for the living & deceased members of our parish
Sun 9:30a In celebration of the wedding anniversary of Pat and Margaret Gilfoil/family
Mon NO MASS
Tue NO MASS - Father Ryan is away
Wed 9:00a In memory of Bryan Stamey/family
Thu 9:00a (Legacy Nursing Home) In memory of Rosa & Gus Gremshell & May DiTomasso
Fri 5:30p In memory of Becky, Beverly, and Edgar Lancaster/family
Sat 5:30p In memory of MaryAgnes York and Gail Graugnard/P Gilfoil
Sun 8:00a (Traditional Latin Mass) PRO POPULO for the living & deceased members of our parish
Sun 9:30a In memory of Dan Fordice/Rome

ALTAR CANDLES this week are burning this week for special intentions of the Wilks family.

Assistants at Holy Mass

Date	Servers	Lector(s)
8/1 5:30p	-	M Rome
8/2 9:30a	Kathleen, Evelyn, & Daniel	A Oliver
8/8 5:30p	-	MA Gilfoil
8/9 9:30a	MaryKatherine, Maura, Elizabeth	B Sullivan

Our Return to the Lord


Weekly Budget FY 2022-23	$ 2,500
June Budget	$ 10,000
June Collections	$ 15,612
June Expenses	$ 12,771
July Budget	$ 10,000
July 26 Collection	$ 2,635
July to Date	$ 10,929

Stewardship In today's Gospel, Jesus feeds the five thousand with five loaves and two fish. The message of stewardship is that God’s gifts, shared, will always be more than enough.

SECOND COLLECTION this weekend supports our once monthly Building Fund.

Community Celebrations

Happy Birthday to Enrique Paz (Aug 1), Louise Magoun (Aug 2), Stephen Riddick (Aug 2), Philip Scurria (Aug 6)

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.

For our Pope, Leo XIV, our 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, under full-time care and for those who care for them, and for those otherwise in need of our prayers: MaryKathryn & Nap Book, Chris, Susan, and David Cagnolatti, Connie & Dan Copes, Elizabeth Crothers, Leslye Ellerbee, Ann Claire Fordice and her children, Susan & Johnny Gilfoil, Margaret & Pat Gilfoil,Terry Farlow Hall, Sidney & Mary Jane Johnson, Frances & Bill Kennedy, Ed Mills, Susie Murphy, Bobby Reynolds, Phillip and Peggy Scurria, Mike & Sue Rome, Lori Sullivan, Mary Trichell

Our friends and relatives who need our prayers: Ashley Alexander (Regan), Graham Allen (S Gilfoil), Marie Farlow Bellard, Martha Book, Kay Boolos (S Gilfoil), Chris Breard (Gilfoil), Gayle Brown (Dukes and Oliver), Albert Christman, Jeannie & Donald Collins, Jami Cook (Wilks), Gene Cox, Carol Dipert (Rome), Mac Donaldson (Ellerbee), Mike Farlow, Patty Farlow, Judy Fortenberry, Donna Fulton (Ellerbee), Fred and Cathy Fulton, Morgan, Alex, and Palmer Gilfoil, Thom Gilfoil, Wyly Gilfoil (Gilfoil), LaVonne Givens, Charlotte Green, Rita Hargrave, Evie Hilburn (Lancaster), Patricia Lively (Wilks), Charles Howington, Jimmy Hopson(Wilks), Will Irby (P Gilfoil), Diane Johnson, Andrew and Chelsea Keene-Lewis, Carla Leese (S Gilfoil), LaLa Lopez (Hernandez), Caroline Marcello (Watts), Mona Martin (MA Gilfoil), Jessica McCoy (Reynolds), the family of Lee McCoy (Reynolds), Michelle McGuire(Gilfoil), Kiely McKellar (S Gilfoil), Boyce Miller, Mike Morelli, Randy Parker, Betty Petersen, David Peterson, Quintin Purvis, John Neill, Curt and Brianne Rome, Bailey, Scott, and Tiffney Rome, Debbie Kedrick Sims, LeeAnn Rome Tranchina (Rome), Randy Watts, Jr.

Our collegiates: Aidan Collins, Preston Collins, Henry Ellerbee, Lilly Falgout, Jag Gilfoil, Matilda Johnson, Caroline Marsh, EmmyLu Marsh, Charlize Richardson, Chandler Wood