Sunday Homily, February , 1st Lent

Readings: Genesis 2, 7-9, 3, 1-7; Psalm 51; Romans 5, 12-19; Matthew 4, 1-11.

Genesis: The great book: supposedly put together by Moses some 1500 years B.C.  The title means "origin." It is the first book of the bible, the first of the five first books that make up the Pentateuch, a Greek word, or Torah, for the Jews.  It covers ca. 2000 years of history and has 5 main characters: Adam (& family), Noah, Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob.

Today’s delightful little story tries to explain in simple terms how bad came into our world.  Guess how: it is the woman’s fault.  Could a man have put this little myth-story together?  A woman?  I invite you to read the book of Genesis.  It is fascinating.  Remember that it is myth, not literal.  Like, notice how many creation stories are presented.

Chloe_maggie

No Perfect Marriages, only Perfect Moments

Last week we talked about the first of the Seven Secrets of Marriage, namely Divorce, Never, Murder, Always.  Meaning you can threaten your spouse with murder, which is play, but divorce is a non-negotiable with the exception of the three "A’s."  Remember the "A’s?"  Abuse, addiction, & adultery. 

This morning I would like to talk about this: No Perfect Marriages, only Perfect Moments.  Four observations. 

First, from childhood I think we all come to understand that there are no perfect marriages, while at the same time romantic movies, TV, and novels snooker us into false expectation.  Like,"When I find the perfect person, I will live happily ever after…"  False.  There can be, however, healthy marriages.  To have a healthy marriage, perfect moments are needed. 

Secondly, what are perfect moments?  Being a novice, I don’t always know, but I would suggest that when I have a perfect moment I have two feelings: peace in my spirit and affection for my spouse.

Some years ago a woman who was dear to me and who has passed away very unexpectedly described to me a set of her perfect moments.  Every night she & her husband would go to bed 15 minutes early and wake up 15 minutes early in the morning.  During the 15 minutes they would cuddle.  They would talk. They would ask each other about the day they just finished or the day ahead.  Any fears, any blessings, anything touch you, how are we doing, what next, and so forth.   It was her morning & evening perfect moment.

I wanted to do the same thing when Rosemary & I got married.  But, seeing as I started a little late and my shoulders and hips don’t have the flexibility to cuddle like I wished, Rosemary & I have a stand up hug every night before climbing into bed together, which is also one of my daily perfect moments.  We hold onto each other standing there in the dark and count our blessings of the day.

We had a number of perfect moments this past Christmas in Mexico, like taking out to lunch Maria Luisa & her daughter Karina, probably the first time they have eaten in a restaurant in maybe years. 

Another: our anniversary party every Cinco de Mayo, May 3 this year.  And dancing.  When we are on, it is perfect.

Servers

A third observation: perfect moments can happen.  They can also be set up to happen.  Some need to be set up.  Like Cinco de Mayo, like dancing, like cuddling in bed or hugging.  In other words, they take planning and discussion.  They are worth it.

A final observation: you can substitute the word "friendships" for "marriages."  Perfect moments can take place with friendships just as much as with marriages.  Like marriages, they also involve planning and effort.  There are no perfect marriages and no perfect friendships.  Only perfect moments.

What & when was you last Perfect Moment?  Your next?

AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2008-02-10.mp3

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  • Sunday Homily 2-20-11, 7th Ordinary Time

    Readings: Leviticus 19, 1-2, 17-18; Psalm 103, The Lord is Kind and Merciful (the best); 1 Corinthians 3, 16-23; Matthew 5, 38-48.

     

    Homily

     “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  But we are not, and so the Sacrament of Penance, the fourth in the list as we learned it! 

     So far we have discussed the first three sacraments, Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist, and come to the understanding that they are best identified as Sacraments of Initiation.  Moreover, in their original expression, they would all have been celebrated as one sacrament. 

    As we received the sacraments as children, we almost received them in this order.  Except that Penance was dropped in before we made our First Communion, and so intruding in the sequence.

     

     

    Beginning 2-20-11 

    Today I want to try to cover, briefly, the history of the sacrament of Penance.  The very early Christian community didn’t have the sacrament.  The thinking was quite simple, if one repented and believed in Jesus and was baptized, one would not sin again! 

     This early community was a very close community, and was also being persecuted for its faith, and so they knew each other very well and we have several references in Paul’s letters to the need to throw someone out if they sinned. 

     The Nursery 2-20-11

    By the year 150 we do find that the communities recognize three sins, which required special handling; murder, adultery and heresy.  For this there began a practice of what we will call “Canonical Penance”.  It was not pleasant! 

     Since it seemed inconceivable that a baptized person would sin, then they were excluded from the community.  They had to perform all kinds of public penance, wear special clothes and fast; and maybe, after many years of this, they might be welcomed back into the community on Holy Thursday.  And by the way, you could only ask for forgiveness once in your lifetime!  And so began the practice of “death bed” forgiveness. 

     Leo 2-20-11

    Baptism was generally recognized as the sacrament for having sins forgiven, and so it became common to delay receiving baptism until one was an adult and past the youthful years of indiscretions.  This almost ended the life of the sacrament of Penance. 

    But then along came the Irish Monks!!  Sitting around in their monasteries, they began to talk with one another and there developed the practice finding a “Soul Friend” or Anam Cara to tell ones sins to.  This was the beginning of Confession as we know it, but there was still one missing ingredient.  Absolution. 

     This action did not get officially added until the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215.  But back to the Irish Monks.  They ended up bringing Christianity back to Europe since it had been all but wiped out there by invading barbarians. 

    To help with this type of confession, they began to develop penances appropriate to the sin and thus developed books with prescribed penance.  And these penances were extremely harsh, no three Hail Marys for the Irish! 

    Torri 2-20-11 

     Of course given man’s ingenuity, the next thing we find is that those with some money could hire others to do the penance for them! 

     It was Peter Lombard in the twelfth century who first listed Seven Sacraments, with penance being number four, and it was also in this century that we first meet the famous words “Ego te absolvo” which were quickly defended in the next century by St. Thomas Aquinas as the only way to have sins forgiven. 

     By the time the Reformation came some four centuries later, we find the Council of Trent only further declaring that this was the way penance always was and would always be celebrated!! 

     Now in our time, with the aid of better church history, the Second Vatican Council began to restore the communal aspect of the sacrament, and focused on Reconciliation rather than on penance and confession.  

    That effort has tended to fall on barren ground as two things have happened.  One was that we all stopped going to confession altogether and, secondly, it seems that the current hierarchy are bound and determined to undo much of what Vatican II introduced.

     Why did we stop going to confession?  I believe there are a couple of reasons.  Traditionally people were not well educated and therefore took everything which the church said without question. 

    In the last century, most of us have been educated at least to secondary level and a large number thru third level.  We are able to think for ourselves.  The push by Vatican II towards ‘personal responsibility’ in our relationship with God further aided this. 

     Right after Vatican II came the Encyclical Humane Vitae, on birth control, which most adult Catholics choose to ignore.  Follow that with the current pedophile crisis and who wants to confess to a priest!!

     But as I said at the very beginning, we do sin.  So now what can we do about it?  Well recall that penance is not the only sacrament in the business of forgiving sins.  Baptism does, so does the Sacrament of the Sick, (more about that sacrament on another Sunday) and so does the Eucharist. 

     Recall that there are numerous times in our celebration when we acknowledge our sinfulness and even hear the words “this is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world”.  So the church is possibly heading towards greater recognition of the need for reconciliation rather than confession. 

     I am going to suggest that during one of the Sundays in Lent, we have a celebration of Reconciliation with our Eucharist.  There are even two Eucharistic Prayers for Reconciliation in our missals, but more about this later.  There is no question, but that we sin.  There is also no question but that the whole message of Jesus was one of reconciliation: remember the Prodigal Son, the Lost Sheep.  God does love us, and definitely does not want us to stay away when we fail. 

     Just because Confession has vanished, sin has not.  And we can too easily become very casual about our relationship with God and our community.  There is a place for reflection and acknowledgement of our sins, we have it each time we celebrate mass at the beginning with the Penitential Rite, and maybe its time we found an Anam Cara, a Soul Friend.

    Picture 1:   Mass beginning    

    Picture 2:   The Nursery, Zoe, Michelle, Torri & Buddy, Randolph, Georgie, Leo & Bernadette

    Picture 3:   Leo with Wendy

    Picture 4:   Torri with her granddad, Gilberto

     

  • Sunday Homily, November 2, 2014, All Saints

    Readings:

    Wisdom  3, 1-9,  The souls of the just are in the hand of God.

    Psalm 23,   The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want.

    1 John 3, 1-3,  See what love the Father has bestowed on us.

    John 6, 37-40,  I will not reject anyone.

     

    Emma 2

    Emma says, "Hi, Everybody, Welcome."


     

    All Souls Day observations–

    Let me give you a bit of history and the thinking behind this All Souls' Day.  Five observations: the theology, purgatory-limbo, a legend, pre-Christian practices, and today.

    1.  The Theology.  All Souls' Day is part of a package with All Saints.  The idea is: on All Saints' Day we honor all those who are enjoying the beatific vision, that is, heaven, the saints.  On All Souls' Day we honor those who have died but have not reached heaven because they had penance to do. 

    We are talking mortal & venial sin here.  If the person died with mortal sin, they are you know where. Those with venial sins have to go through purification and purging, which brings us to All Souls' Day and purgatory.

     

    Georgie

    And Georgie, too, "Come in, Everybody."

     

    2.  Purgatory & limbo.  People ended up in purgatory to purify themselves with suffering, before being allowed into heaven.  Limbo was for whom?  It was for people, especially children who died without being baptized.  They remained there how long?  Forever.  Can you imagine a baby there or even in the old purgatory?

    At least the Catholic Church recently acknowledged that the limbo idea was bogus.  The pope said it does not exist and never did.  Though many consider purgatory to be in the same class, it still exists.  Want to know how we know?  A previous pope was offering indulgences.  The indulgence is for the soul in purgatory.  It speeds up the process.  There are partial & total indulgences.  We can win them for these souls and get them out or we can win them for ourselves. 

    For instance, on the last feast of Peter & Paul Rome offered an indulgence if you visited a church named after one or both of these two, and you recited a prescribed menu of prayers. 

     

    Zoe

    And Zoe says, "It's fun here."

     

    3.  The legend.   It happened around 1000 A.D. that a monk, St. Idolo, from the French monastery of Cluny was shipwrecked on a desolate island as he returned from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, i.e., Israel.  On the island he met a poor hermit.  The hermit told him that among the rocks was a crevice from which came the anguished voices of the many suffering in purgatory.  Likewise, listening carefully you could hear the devils cursing that living people were speeding up the sufferings of these souls by praying and doing penance for them. 

    Some time after this, i.e., 1000 A.D., the Cluny Monastery established an All Souls' Day.  Ca. 1300 Rome followed suit.  

     

    Buddy 2

    Buddy asks, "Any cupcakes left over this morning?"

     

    4.  Pre-Christian times.  There is evidence that at least in Mexico numerous tribes had a day or period when the departed ancestors were honored.  The purpose was to honor them, remember their example, and to communicate with them.  Today in Mexico & in Hispanic families the Day of the Dead is still celebrated.  This custom has been celebrated for 3,000 years.

    5.  Today.  Limbo has been discarded by Rome and many scholars consider purgatory a dinosaur idea from antiquity.  Consequently, All Souls' Day celebrates Samantha, my mom & dad, Rosemary's mom & dad, and all our loved ones pictured on the stage.  All Saints' Day handles the canonized.   Hell is also considered today a mental concept, not real.

    So we say, What special blessing did you receive from one of these people pictured or whom you remember in your heart?

     

    Arianna 2

    Arianna, another one of Our Saints.

     

    Today's Saint

    I would like to talk today about a saint for the day.  Every day has its saint. I want to talk about one.

    Ever hear of a 67 year old black guy named Johnny Lindsay?  I read about him in the Dallas Morning News this summer.   Another of the army of exonerees. 

    Johnny spent 26 years in prison for a rape he did not commit. He got out in 2008.  Can you believe that, 26 years!  Oh, but how he had grown.  

     

    Richard F.

    Richard Froebe painting The House.

     

    He came out of prison without anger, bitterness, or desire for revenge.  In fact, he came out with a desire to do one thing positive for someone.  He had reached that acceptance state where peace lives.  

    Ever since Johnny was 12 years old music had touched his spirit.  What kept his spirit alive those 26 years was music.  He sang in a choir the prisoners formed.  He said music was his saving grace and he dreamed all those years of finally being exonerated one day and doing one thing good for others.

     

    Richard E.

    Richard Eshelbrenner doing fence removal ai the yard of The House.

     

    At his release he was given $2 million.  So his wife, Sherita, and he decided to actually take piano lessons.   He met Debbie Beach and she became an inspiration for him.  She taught them and shared her dream to have her own music school.  Johnny & Sherita bought her all the keyboards she needed to open her school. 

    Has Johnny come out of prison eager for revenge?  Does he hate?  Is he angry?   I think I would be.  However, he, like so many, many of these  exonerated men is at peace. 

     

    Jackie

    Jackie painting The House, her house with Rick.


    Even this past Wedneswday, two men were exonerated and released after 14 years in prison.  They are not angry and not looking for revenge.   Johnny loves and accepts others.  He is at peace, with others and with himself. 

    With whom are you not at peace?  What do you need to do to attain the peace Johnny has?

    Reference:  Dallas Morning News, June 23, 2014. 

     

    Malphurs

    The Malphurs, Arianna with her parents, Ryan (an old friend) and Nicole.

     

     

     

     

  • Sunday Homily, May 26, 2013, Trinity, C

    Readings:

    Proverbs 8, 22-31,  When the Lord established the heavens I was there.

    Psalm 8,  O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth.

    Romans 5, 1-5,  We have peace with God.

    John 16, 12-15,  I have much more to tell you.

     

    Beginning 5-26-13

    And now to begin….

     

    Observations on Proverbs

    What : basically a collection of moral and religious teachings.  Pretty boring.  Some amusing like—

    “The lord hates people who use dishonest scales. 11, 1

    If you don’t punish your son, you don’t love him. 13, 24

    Better to eat a dry crust of bread with peace of mind than to have a
    banquet in a house full of trouble.  17, 1

    Children naturally do silly things, but a good beating will teach them.
    22, 15

    And my favorite….

    Better to live on the roof than share the house with a nagging wife. 25, 24

    Author: 
    Who knows.  Not Solomon, as was thought for a long time.

     

    Olivia-Emelia 5-26-13

    Olivia and Amelia with their grandparents, Sandra and Chuck.

     

    A Trinity

    Last Friday Rosemary & I made one of our usual morning bike trips around White Rock Lake.  We come down the White Rock Creek Trail from the north and proceed south, clockwise along East Lawther Drive by the Arboretum, to the dam, where we take a vista stop. 


    Buddy-Torri

    Buddy and Torri.

     

    The bike path running along the south shore of the lake and Garland Road is pretty high over the lake and the dam.  There is an observation deck extending out over the lake and dam, which is about 20 feet above the lake and the spillway.  We are looking north across the whole expanse of the lake at this observation point.


    Emma-Zoe 5-26-13

    Zoe and Emma with her sling from breaking her collarbone falling out of bed.

     

    Friday when I rode up and stopped just ahead of Rosemary, there was a
    young dad with his one or two year old little boy.  Dad had a trailer for the boy and he towed the trailer with his bike.

    When I arrived the little blond haired boy with about two teeth was
    being held by his dad against the black wrought iron railing.  The boy was throwing little sticks into the lake and watching them go over the spillway. 
    He was squealing with delight and when I applauded he was more
    joyful.  We talked a bit and I was enchanted.  


    Cupcake 5-26-13

    Cupcake of The Week for Emma to welcome her back after a bad week.

     

    I want to talk this morning about the marvelous Psalm 8 we have just read. It is talking about us and God’s work in us when it says,

    You have made people a little less than the angels,

    And crowned them with glory and honor.

    You have given them rule over the works of your hands.

    I looked at the nice dad and his delightful son and thought to myself, ‘What beauty.”


    Harper 5-26-13

    Cupcake of The Week to Harper for being so pretty and bringing her grandmother, Cathy.

     

    The psalm writer also talks about the work of His Fingers.  Another striking image.  I saw the work that Friday, also, in the beauty simply in the rich tones of green as we rode along the path in the woods.

    Then he talks about the heavens and says,

    When I behold
    your heavens, the work of your fingers,

    the moon and the stars which you set in place.

    Have you ever done this?  Lie down on the ground on your back and look up at the sky? 

     

    Communion 5-26-13

    Volunteers to help with communion.

     

    I do this when we are backpacking in the mountains and I find it
    terrific. Whatever the sky is doing, clear blue, partly cloudy, or windy, it is
    sensational.  I come away feeling
    humbled, awe-struck, and blessed to be here. 

     Why I never do it except in the mountains, who knows.  Every year I
    intend to.


    Toy World 5-26-13

    Toy World with Emma, Zoe, Buddy, and Torri.

     

     Take a look at that marvelous Psalm 8.   When is the next time you will look at the sky?  When look at the colors of nature.  When look at a child, like the kids running around here,  and say to yourself, 'What beauty!'?


    Butterlies 5-26-13

    The Butterlies, Jim, James (being strangled) Denise, and Kara.

     

  • Sunday Homily, August 30, 22nd Ordinary Time

    Readings:

     Deuteronomy 4, 1-2, 6-8, The commandments to Moses

    Psalm 15,    The one who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.

    James 1, 17-18, 21-22, 27,  Every perfect gift is from above.

    Mark 7, 1-8, 14-15, 21-23,  All these evils come from within.

     

      Zoe 1

                            Zoe says, "Welcome in, Everybody."

     

    Observations on Deuteronomy

    What is it about: Moses is addressing the people just before they are to enter into the Promised Land, the land of the Canaanites.  They have escaped from Egypt and have been wandering around in the desert for about 40 years.  Moses is dying and knows he will not go into Canaan.

    The theme of the staged talk is that God has saved and blessed his beloved people.  To help them live better he has given them the 10 commandments and a whole bunch of other laws.  This is a book on the laws.

     

    Byddt 1

                 Buddy says, "Last day here?  Dunno, I like it here."

     

    This is the 5th book of the original bible and the fifth of the Big 5, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, & Deuteronomy

    Authors:  Inferring from the work, it is obvious that the judges and teachers of the people compiled the material.

    Time composed: as with so much else, after the Babylonian Captivity, around 500 before Christ.

     

    Tori

                   "Hi, Tori, Want to see how you like Sigler?"

     

    Observations on James

    1.   We have James for 5 Sundays
    2.   James was not an apostle, but head of the community after Jesus.    He gets stoned in 62.

     Sources: The New Interpreter’s Bible Study; The Good News Bible

            3.    Ever hear the story of Santiago de Compostella?    There is a large, ancient basilica in the Spanish province of Galicia, which, even up to today, has been a pilgrimage site for centuries, one of the big 3 sites in the world.  The other 2? Jerusalem & Rome.

    The tale?  Briefly.  

     

     

    Genevieve 3

            Genevieve says, "Well, it is all new to me.  Let's try it."

     

    The Apostle James supposedly went from Jerusalem to the North West province of Galicia in Spain to convert the people.  He baptized with a sea shell which is his symbol on the pilgrimage route.

    He went back to Jerusalem, was killed, and buried.  The angels transported his body to Galicia and buried it there.

    One day a little shepherd boy was in the fields and a light shone from heaven on a spot.  A voice told him to tell the bishop to dig there for St. James' bones.  He did, the bishop dug up the bones, and he built a chapel over the site.  

     

    Leo 1

            Leo says, "I like this place and I'll have fun at Sigler, too."

     

    This was about the year 700, just after the time the Moors had crossed into Spain from Africa and swept all the way up into France.  From this time until 1492 when Queen Isabella finally kicked them back to Africa, the Moors lived a lifestyle and culture that was far superior to Spain and Europe in those times.

    Meanwhile, James became the patron of the effort to remove the Moor. He was called the Matamoros, killer of the moors.

    Over the years the chapel gave way to bigger and bigger until this large basilica was built.  It was a great economic boon, because thousands of pilgrims came.  Cures were apparently taking place.

     

    John Retiring

               After 32 years working at TI, John is retiring.  Give that                       man a cupcake.

     

    The basilica is famous for its huge thurible, which is swung at the end of most Masses from side to side in the apse, not the nave.  This was supposedly to lessen the aroma of the unwashed pilgrims who were allowed to shelter in the balconies around the basilica.

    Rosemary & I & even Mary Ellen have visited Santiago de Compostella. Moreover, a former Jesuit classmate of mine from Washington State is this day making the pilgrimage which goes from Europe, like from Paris, over the Pyrenees, and along the northern part of Spain to Galicia.

     

      Harper 2

                Harper says, "What is that man talking about now?" 

     

    Grateful Reminiscing

    Seeing that this morning we are doing our last regular Mass in our old home, I would like to do a little grateful reminiscing.  This started out pretty simple, then it got overwhelming, and finally I have narrowed it down to 4 main points.

    First, remember the first time we celebrated Mass here, Thanksgiving weekend 10 years ago?  I can remember it clearly.  It had been about 5 months since I had seen most of you and certainly all those people who poured in that Sunday.  I was at the entrance greeting everybody with tears rolling down my cheeks.

     

    Leo & Candles 2

                                   Leo the Candle Lighter.

     

    There used to be a middle aisle here.  Remember?  That Sunday I walked down the aisle, turned around, and then could not say anything for probably half an hour. 

    That was one of the special events in this room and one of the special events in my life.

    Secondly, three special events. 

    1.  Christmas Eve celebrations with the little kids presenting the nativity.  Remember some of those days when we had a whole bunch of baby Jesus, both boys & girls?

     

    Offertory

                     Offertory, John & Jean, Louis, Judy & Mike

     

        Connected with that is the way the community has welcomed the kids     each Sunday, and the babies, like Genevieve and last week, Vivian.      Those kids give me so much spirit to my life.

    1. Another special event was Fred’s memorial.  One of our best buddies. 
    2. Then there is our music, with Ray and Shonda pulling it all together.   I get so high on what we sing I can dance all week.
    3. After all this, thirdly, I have been touched by three special people who give me life, Mike, John, and Tony O’Donovan.

     

     

     

    Music

                               The Best, Shonda, Bethany, & Ray.

     

    I remember that it was at Sigler one Sunday when his son Paul brought Mike to the community. 

    Without John & his open spirit, I would really feel tied down.  You two help keep the community together.

    With regard to Tony, do you realize that we would have been in a bind if he had not stepped forward before I was out some months with my new hips?

    The final event I am grateful for is you folks, you people.  I am both touched that you keep coming back, week after week, and because of your presence I begin the week on a high, full of joy and sacred memories. 

    Thanks for the 10 years of marvelous memories.

      Genevieve 4

                 Genevieve says, "Wake me up, please, when he is finished                   talking. 

  • Sunday Homily, May 25, 2014, 6th Easter, Cycle A

    Readings:

    Acts 1, 12-14,   All these devoted themselves to prayer, together with some women.

    Psalm 27,  I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.  (good verse for homily)

    1 Peter  4, 13-16,  If you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you.

    John  17, 1-11,  I pray for them.

     

    Cole

    Cole says, "Welcome in Everybody."

     

    Reminders on Acts:

    What : The second half of Luke’s work, the first part being his gospel.  Acts starts after the Resurrection.  We will read Acts all through May and read the last selection June 1, then June 7, Pentecost.  The work focuses on the spread of the early church with special attention given to Peter and Paul and their conflicts over who was to be a Christian, and Jewish laws, like circumcision.  The conversion of Paul is described.  

    Who: Luke, an educated and civilized Jew who wrote in Greek.

    Date:  around the year 65, or about 30 years after Jesus’ death.

    Our Selection: Activities in the community after the Ascension.

    Watch for two words in Psalm 27, gaze and contemplate, see the response above.

     

    Sienna-Brooklyn

    Sienna and one-eye Brooklyn say," Come in, Everybody, it's fun here."

     

     Gaze and Contemplate

    I want to talk about two words that come from Psalm 27, gaze and contemplate.

    This past week a great black lady died at 86, Maya Angelou  I wish I had known her better.  I memorized one of her poems once, but did not look her up. 

    One aspect of her life stuns me.  She went silent for 5 years, from the age 7 to 12, more or less.  Why?  She had been abused by her mother’s boy friend, she told her brother, and a day or so later the boy friend was discovered beaten to death.  Maya was sure her words had caused his death and she was mortified into silence.

     

    Celeste

    Celeste also says, "Hi, Folks, come in."


     
    It was her mother telling her that she was a special person that eventually convinced Maya to begin talking again.  Yes, I wish I had known her.

    I was fortunate, however, to know my own Maya, a black lady named Juanita Craft, who lived in south Dallas, near Fair Park, and was a leader in the NAACP in the ‘50’s & ‘60s.  I got to know her really well because of three events.

     

    Harper

    Harper says, "Any extra cupcakes today?"

     

    One, the summer of ’66 or ’67 I was looking for something special to do.  I was in the middle of a three year delightful internship teaching at Jesuit as part of my 13 year formation program to be a priest, a Jesuit priest. 

    Somehow, I got to meet Juanita and next thing I know I am the only whitey on a Greyhound bus to the National NAACP annual convention in Atlantic City with stopovers in D.C. 

     

    Cole & Candle 2

    Cowboy Cole, the Candle Man, at work.

     

    I was probably too dumb to know I was in some danger on the trip.  We had a large number of teenaged kids.  If the bus was headed toward Birmingham or Selma in those days, I may have taken a pass. 

    One of the highlights of the trip was how the Jesuit community of Georgetown went all out in their hospitality to our group, even having us all into the community dining room for dinner and providing a bunch of cars and drivers to tour everyone around the city.

     

    Sienna-Zoe

    Sienna and Zoe solving World Problems.

     

    Secondly, when I returned from the trip, I moved into Juanita’s little two bedroom, white frame house in South Dallas, and stayed for the rest of the summer.  I worked with her at her NAACP meetings, understudied her ways, and helped with kids in the neighborhood.  She called me her “white boy.”  I was ca. 26.

    My poor mom was mortified by all this.  One evening when they had invited a number of their friends in for dinner, and I was asked to help out, she asked me if I would not tell people what I was doing and where I was living.  A few days later she asked me to forgive her.   I had to laugh.  My dad did not seem to be bothered.

     

    Emma

    Emma waiting to check out any extra cupcakes.

     

    Thirdly, I learned how a simple person can make a difference.  As head of the Dallas NAACP, she helped integrate UNT, UT Law School, the State Fair, as well as other places like restaurants, theaters, and public buses.  I saw how she got the city to focus on the roads in her neighborhood and how she loved the kids.  She had none of her own and, in fact, I don’t think she ever married.  Juanita was elected to two terms on the Dallas City Council in the ‘80’s.   There is a Dallas park and a rec center named for her. She came to my ordination in '71 at St. Rita's in a squad car.  Impressed all the neighborhood kids.

    How she affected me? 

    She got me to gaze around and contemplate the neighborhood, see what needed to be done, and do it.  This eventually led me to the tree project.  The interest in tree planting came from Boy Scouts; the mental foundation came from Juanita.

    Secondly, Juanita’s jovial personality got me to gaze at and contemplate the beauty and the loveliness of the Lord in people and nature, as Psalm 27 says it. 

     

    Here they come

    Here they come, Emma, Tori, Buddy, and Zoe.

     

    I learned how to pray in public from Juanita and those people.  I was usually in clerics and they called on me often for a prayer, something I was not used to.  I think I wore clerics then and on that bus to avoid being killed.  Likewise in East Africa, especially when crossing the borders, like between Tanzania and Uganda.  Otherwise, no clerics.

    Today we are called to gaze and contemplate the beauty around us, White Rock Lake, Tom Woodward Park (which I have yet to see), our kids here, our community, Romeos (Maybe not!), and our families.  Jesuit spirituality got me started on this.  Juanita Craft helped me put it into action.

    Who is the Juanita Craft in your life who helps you to gaze and contemplate? 

    For whom are you the Juanita Craft?

     

    Communioon

    Communion helpers.

     

     

     

     

     

  • Sunday Homily for January 6, 2018, Epiphany

     

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    Sir Charlie, you are supposed to be welcoming everybody.  Looks like you are scaring everyone away, like me.

     

    Readings: 

    Isaiah 60, 1-6, Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem. (good one)

    Psalm 72, Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.  

    Ephesians 3, 2-3, 5-6,  The Gentiles are co-heir, members of the same body.  

    Matthew 2, 1-12, The Epiphany or opening to the Gentiles.

     

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    John ready in case I forget.

     

    An Epiphany Day

    This morning I would like to talk about an Epiphany Day, meaning a special day or a wonder day or event or even a person.  December 28 was an epiphany day for me.  Anybody guess why?  Yes, the date of my back surgery, an event I was totally looking forward to.

     

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    Emma sharing her candle lighting gift with the rest of us.

     

    The operation was scheduled for 10:00.  We had to be there at 8:00.  Rosemary & I were there at 7:30.  Somewhere around 8:15 they checked me in and gave me the special operation gown.  I was invited to get on my own special stretcher with 4 wheels. One guy wheeled me around and into a 14 cubicle pre-op room.   Along the way we picked up Rosemary and a good old friend.

     

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    Buddy reading our Blessing of the Christmas Candles.

     

    I did not know it at the time, but I was going to spend 4 hours waiting in that room.   My doctor got delayed was all I was told.  Rosemary had to leave.  I got to know the names of the pre-op room staff, Matt and Deborah. 

     

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    Cody, tell Ben that he cannot go to  sleep until I start talking.

     

    I teased some of the pre-op patients.  Like one lady was begging to have a coffee.  I welcomed back some from surgery.  I had to ask to use the restroom.  I napped.  All these 4 hours my buddy stayed with me.  He read the newspaper when I dozed.

     

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    To join this exalted team, it is required that you are named John and that your are old enough to forget your age.

     

    Finally about 2:00 I was wheeled into the operating room, cold as usual.  An hour or so later I was awake, Rosemary was there, and my good friend was there. 

    Looking back, the day was an Epiphany Day and the operation an epiphany event.  You know what was another epiphany event?   My good friend.  He came and stayed about six hours, from the time I was supposed to have the operation, through the delay, and up to and past the operation time.  The pre-op room staff even told the poor guy we looked like brothers.

     

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    Bill and his special mom, Mabel.

     

    Know who that special friend is?  Mike Carrell, an Epiphany Event.   Thanks, Mike.

     

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    Hi, Tom & Joe & Marsha

     

     

     

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    The Best Teammates

     

     

     

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    Elevation Time

     

     

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    The Healing Touch with John.

     

     

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    Mike, an Epiphany Friend