Fort Polk, St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Community

02/25/2026

Join us for all Power Wednesday classes this evening, 6:30-7:30pm! Potluck will begin at 6pm!

02/25/2026

✝️ WHY INFANT BAPTISM?
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Many people ask:

“How can a baby believe?” “Shouldn’t someone choose Baptism for themselves?” “Why not wait until they’re older?”

Those are serious questions.

But the Church baptizes infants for one simple reason:

Baptism is not primarily about your decision.

It is about God’s action.

✝️ BAPTISM IS A GIFT, NOT A REWARD

Baptism is the sacrament through which a person is:

Freed from original sin

Made a child of God

United to
Jesus Christ

Incorporated into the Church

A baby cannot earn that.

But neither can an adult.

Grace is not earned by understanding.

It is given.

✝️ THE BIBLE PATTERN

In the New Testament, entire “households” were baptized (Acts 16:15, 16:33; 1 Cor 1:16).

In the ancient world, households included children.

From the earliest centuries, Christians baptized infants because they understood Baptism as entry into a covenant, similar to circumcision in Israel, which was given to infants as a sign of belonging.

Covenants are not postponed until adulthood.

They are lived into.

✝️ WHAT ABOUT FAITH?

An infant does not profess faith personally.

But neither did the paralyzed man lowered through the roof, he was healed because of the faith of those who brought him.

In infant Baptism:

The parents profess faith.

The Church professes faith.

The child is raised within that faith.

Later, in Confirmation, the person ratifies that faith personally.

Grace begins first. Understanding follows.

✝️ WHY NOT WAIT?

Because Baptism is not a graduation ceremony.

It is new birth.

No loving parent says:

“I’ll wait to give my child life until they choose it.”

If you believe Baptism truly gives supernatural life,
you don’t delay it.

✝️ IS IT COERCION?

No.

The child still retains freedom.

They can later reject the faith.

But they were first given the opportunity to receive grace.

Love does not wait for maturity to begin giving.

✝️ THE DEEPER LOGIC

Christianity is not built on:

“I chose God.”

It is built on:

“God chose me first.”

Infant Baptism makes that visible.

Before the child can speak, before the child can reason, before the child can earn anything,

God claims them.

And that says something profound about grace:

It always comes first.

✝️

02/25/2026

🍽Join us this Friday, February 27th at 5pm!!

02/24/2026

For most of us, instruction in going to confession took place in the second grade, right before First Holy Communion. We were taught how to confess like children and most of us have never received any further instruction. So we still think in terms of “I disobeyed Mommy, I pulled the dog’s tail,...

02/24/2026

✝️ WHAT HAPPENS SPIRITUALLY WHEN YOU HIDE A MORTAL SIN?
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Some people think:

“It’s embarrassing.” “It was just once.” “I’ll confess everything except that.”

But deliberately hiding a mortal sin in Confession is not small.

It is serious.

The Church teaches that for Confession to be valid, all mortal sins must be confessed in kind and number as best as we remember. If someone knowingly withholds a mortal sin, the confession itself becomes invalid.

Why?

Because Confession is not information management.

It is surrender.

When you hide a mortal sin, three things happen spiritually:

First, grace is blocked.

Absolution covers what is brought into the light. What is deliberately kept in darkness remains unhealed.

Second, another grave sin is added.

Intentionally concealing a mortal sin in Confession is itself a serious act, because it turns the sacrament of mercy into an act of dishonesty.

Third, the heart hardens.

The more you hide, the easier it becomes to hide again. Shame grows. Distance grows. The soul becomes divided.

Here is the deeper truth:

God already knows the sin.

You are not protecting Him from shock.

You are protecting your pride from exposure.

But pride is precisely what Confession is meant to break.

The enemy wants you to feel:

“If I say it out loud, I will be judged.”

Grace says:

“If you say it out loud, you will be freed.”

A mortal sin hidden is a wound untreated.

A mortal sin confessed is a wound washed.

And here is the mercy many forget:

If you realize you hid something intentionally, do not panic.

Go back. Confess that you withheld a mortal sin. Confess the sin itself.

God is not waiting to punish you. He is waiting to heal you.

Confession is not about maintaining dignity. It is about surrendering it.

The question is not:

“Can I get away with not saying it?”

The question is:

“Do I want to be completely free?”

Light only heals what it touches.

Bring everything into it.

✝️

02/23/2026

✝️ SHOULD CATHOLICS FAST ON SUNDAYS DURING LENT?
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Many people assume:

“It’s Lent. So fasting continues every day until Easter.”

But Sunday is different.

Sunday is never a penitential day.

Every Sunday, even during Lent, is a celebration of the Resurrection. The Church calls Sunday a “little Easter.” That identity does not disappear just because we are in a penitential season.

Here is the important distinction:

The Church’s required Lenten fasting applies to Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

Fridays of Lent require abstinence from meat.

Sundays are not days of fasting or abstinence.

Why?

Because you cannot fast on the day of the Resurrection.

Lent prepares us for Easter. Sunday proclaims Easter has already begun.

Even in the middle of repentance, the Church refuses to let joy disappear.

Now, what about personal sacrifices?

If you chose to give something up for Lent, sweets, social media, coffee, you are not obliged by Church law to maintain that sacrifice on Sundays.

Some people pause their sacrifice on Sundays to honor the feast. Others continue as a matter of personal discipline.

Both can be legitimate.

Here is the deeper principle:

Lent is forty days. Sundays are not counted in the forty.

Why? Because penance is not meant to suffocate joy.

Christian discipline always lives in balance:

Cross and Resurrection. Fasting and feasting. Sorrow and hope.

If you treat Sundays like ordinary Lenten days of strict fasting, you risk forgetting that Christ is risen.

If you ignore the penitential character of Lent entirely, you miss conversion.

The Church holds both together.

So should Catholics fast on Sundays during Lent?

Not as an obligation.

Because even in the desert, the Resurrection still echoes every week. ✝️

02/23/2026

✝️ WHY CATHOLICS STAND, KNEEL, AND SIT AT MASS, THE THEOLOGY IN EVERY POSTURE😳🤔
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Most Catholics do these gestures automatically…
Stand. Sit. Kneel.
But very few know why we do them.

Yet every posture at Mass is a theological statement, a physical expression of what the soul believes.

Let’s break it down in simple language, so anyone can understand, and so your scholars, priests, and bishops will appreciate the depth.

✝️ 1. WHEN WE STAND, WE ARE A PEOPLE READY TO ACT

Standing is the posture of respect, readiness, and resurrection.

In ancient Israel, people stood before a king. At Mass, we stand because:

We are before the King of Kings.

We are a risen People, standing symbolizes resurrection life.

We are ready to listen and respond to God’s Word.

This is why we stand:

- At the start of Mass
- During the Gospel
- During the Creed
- During the Lord’s Prayer

Standing says:
“Speak, Lord. Your servant is ready.”

✝️ 2. WHEN WE SIT, WE ARE A PEOPLE WHO RECEIVE AND LISTEN

Sitting at Mass is not laziness.
It is the posture of a disciple learning from the Master.

In Scripture, rabbis taught while sitting. That’s why Jesus “sat down and taught them” (Matt 5:1).

We sit because:

- We are listening to the Liturgy of the Word
- We are reflecting interiorly
- We are letting the Word sink into the heart

Sitting says:
“Lord, teach me.”

This is why we sit:

- During the First Reading
- During the Second Reading
- During the Homily
- During the Offertory

The posture itself is catechesis:
We receive before we offer.

✝️ 3. WHEN WE KNEEL, WE ARE A PEOPLE WHO WORSHIP

Kneeling is the most misunderstood posture, yet the most powerful.

In the Bible, people kneel only before God.
Not angels.
Not kings.
Only God.

So Catholics kneel during the Eucharistic Prayer because:

The bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ

Christ becomes truly, really, substantially present

We are before the Living God

Kneeling expresses:

- Adoration
- Humility
- Total surrender

It is the body saying:
“Lord, You alone are my God.”

This is why we kneel:

- During the Consecration
- After the Holy, Holy, Holy
- Before receiving Communion (in many places)
- During silent adoration

Kneeling is the only fitting posture when Heaven touches earth.

✝️ THE BEAUTY OF CATHOLIC WORSHIP

Mass is not random movement.
It is a sacred rhythm:

We stand to honor and respond
We sit to learn and receive
We kneel to worship and adore

Body and soul move together.

This is why the Catholic Mass is not just something you watch.
It is something you enter, with your whole being, mind, heart, and body.

✝️ FINAL TAKEAWAY

Every posture at Mass is a silent profession of faith:

Standing: I am ready to listen.
Sitting: I am ready to learn.
Kneeling: I am ready to adore.

The body prays with the soul.


_________________

02/23/2026

Happy feast day of St. Polycarp!

02/22/2026

Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, Apostle.
Today’s feast places the Chair or “Cathedra” of Saint Peter at the center of our attention – or rather the specific mission Jesus entrusted to Peter.
Saint Peter, pray for us!

02/22/2026

Our kids starting Lent with crafts...

02/22/2026

Sunday Bulletin

02/22/2026

Children's Liturgy

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