Welcome in!

Rosemary's Blessing:

A Summer Blessing

May you walk with God
This summer
In whatever you do
Wherever you go

Walking with God means…
Walking with honesty
And with courage,
Walking with love
And respect
And concern for the feelings of others

May you talk to God
This summer
And every day and
In every situation

Talking with God means…
Praying words of praise
For the beauty of creation
Saying prayers of thanks
For friends and good times,
Asking God's help
In all your decisions
Expressing sorrow
When you have failed

May you talk with God
Every day. Amen.

www.jesuitresource.org  Author unknown

Mike doing his magic.

Readings:

Wisdom 12, 13, 16-19, There is no God besides you.

Psalm 86,  Lord, you are good and forgiving.

Romans  8, 26-27,  The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness.

Matthew 13, 24-43,   A sower went out to sow.  Three agricultural parables.

Thanks to the Team

Music,  Ben & Shonda

Readers,    John & Connie & Buddy, the candle blesser

Gospel & Homily,  John Cade & Stack

Eucharistic Prayer, John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers, Mike & Richard & Ben

Final Blessing, Rosemary

Download Readings Week 7-19

Please Remember these special people:

For Cindy recuperating from a procedure 3 Mondays ago;   For our Bill;  For Carrie Bieda's son;   For Esparzas, Frank & Mary, who lost their son Jim to sepsis;   For all the medical personnel struggling to treat the tsunami of sick people, in particular, locally, Cindy's staff at Presby, Dallas, and at Frisco Presby, the mother of Harper and Betsy, Kendle, working in labor & delivery;   For Joe Hogan with cancer;  For Loretta's aunt Alicia;    For Sydney;  & For Sir Charlie & Jan;  Shonda's mom;   for Michelle;  

For Jackie's mom;  For a friend, a neighbor, & a doctor, Karen, with brain cancer; For Rick Turner searching for a kidney donor, Type O neg; For Meredith, cancer free.;    For Hue;  For John O'Donnell;    For Dee, and for her daughter, Lisa; For John Schanot's continued health;  For Anthony & Sabrina;    For a young man who is suffering from depression;  John Cade's mother in law, Kalliopi Piskiouli and Lambrini;  for Virginia Mattingly.

Birthdays:  Reth Robonson

Community Finances, July 19, 2020

Expenses: $  360.00

Outreach   $  100.00   (often for Souls Harbor, Legacy, etc.)

Thanks, Folks, for doing what you can.

The Hidden Blessings & Graces of COVID-19

I would like to talk this morning about the hidden blessings & graces available to us in this time of the COVID-19.  There are special gifts for us.  There are always opportunities for us to grow and be richer in body, mind, & spirit.  Today we have  extraordinary opportunities to grow into even better and richer people.

For example, take body.  What are you doing today to exercise, to get in better shape and to do it leisurely.  Jackie Johnson just got an airedyne bike for her house.  Rosemary & I have an airedyne  we bought when the J & the gyms were all closed.  I felt bereft when I could not go to work out with my friends at the J at 5:00 in the morning. 

Ben working his magic with Shonda sharing from home.

We also have been riding our bikes weekday mornings from Northwood Park at Royal Lane to White Rock Lake on the W. R. Creek Trail.  Granted, it was the way I was mounting my bike that injured the soft tissue around my left recycled hip.  I have learned. 

Did you know there has been a run on bikes & some bike stores were sold out?  In our neighborhood lots of families, parents and kids, ride by every day.  Biking, great exercise.  To say nothing about the people whom we have never seen walking by.  Some come by probably just to witness the devastation of our Tulip Lane corner.  So, what are you doing to improve or maintain your health? 

Richard consulting from a distance.

What about the mental component?  I remember that when I was laid up 10 years ago getting new hips I took up learning French.  Learn Spanish.  Rosemary & I are reading some really good books.  Across our street, Joyce Scott at 90 years & who did not read nor study Spanish, she loves the massive jigsaw puzzles.  Her house was one of the houses totally demolished that famous October 20 night.  But she loved her puzzles and she was mentally totally sharp.

And finally, the spirit.  What are you grateful for?  What is the blessing of today?  Make a list.  I’ve mentioned this before: Rosemary & I before we go to bed mention two or three special gifts of our day.

And you?  How are you growing in body, mind, and spirit during this unique time in our lives?

We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.

Winston Churchill

Readings: 1 Kings 19, 9-13 (or 1-15); Psalm 85; Romans 9, 1-5; Matthew 14, 22-33.

1 Kings:  Even though 1 Kings focuses mostly on King Solomon & his accomplishments, the latter half of the work shows how at Solomon's death the kingdom split into two hostile & petty states, Israel in the north & Judah in the south around Jerusalem. 

As I have pointed out concerning prophets, Elijah condemns the behavior, especially of the rulers, and promises punishment.  I am going to have all of chapter 19 read, because it is an interesting story.

In chapter 18 Elijah has had a faith duel with 450 prophets of another god, Baal, a god whom the  king of Judah, Ahab honored.  Elijah not only triumphs over the 450, he also kills them all.  Ahab is impressed and spooked.  But not his wife, the famous Jezebel.  She wants to kill Elijah and tells him so. 

Elijah is so afraid he runs away and wants to die.  Along the way Yahweh meets up with him and invites hims to hike up the mountain of Sinai (Horeb).  Here is what happens on the mountain.

The Whispering Sound

Just like Elijah and just like Jesus in the Gospel,  7 of us have been to the mountain the past two weeks.  We have felt the wind, felt the earthquake, and felt the fire.

On our first day in we had to go about 6 miles from a place called Rowell Meadow to a camp area called Comanche Meadow.  There was a bear box at the campsite.  It was a long, hot uphill hike all day.  We were carrying food for 8 days in packs that ranged from fifty plus pounds to seventy.  The wind was what we did not have in our lungs. 

We spent two nights at Comanche, a third night at Roaring River, and the fourth night at Upper Ranger Meadow, one of the most beautiful campsites, beautiful because it was a lush moraine with groves of pine & fir surrounded by a cirque at the head, cliffs on two sides, and the valley we had climbed out of behind.  We camped as usual by a mountain stream.

Next morning we got up before dark at 5:00 and started a 2 thousand foot climb up 11 thousand foot Elizabeth Pass.  We left early to take advantage of the cool early hours and to get to our next campsite in the middle of the afternoon instead of night.  It was on the ascent of Elizabeth that we felt the fire, in our legs.  There were steps four feet high in the trail and always up, up, and up some more.   The legs & hips would scream, "Enough."  But up we went steadily to the top, arriving around 11:00. 

At this point one thinks, "I got it made now."  No way.  We had to descend 3 thousand feet in 3 miles.  This is the dangerous part because it is easier to slip on a loose rock or gravel and fall down.  Our packs were lighter, but here we felt the earthquake when we stepped off a step so high we had to turn sideways.  Boom, you land on one foot and the earth quakes right through the bones.

Finally, about 5:00 we all reached an unplanned campsite beside a mountain stream and decided to go no further.  We were all gassed and ready to set down for a two nighter in the same campsite.

This was how we felt in our bodies the wind, the fire, and the earthquake.  Unlike Elijah, for me, God was in all three.  Connected to all was beauty, exhilaration, and the awareness of the privilege it is to be able to hike through such remote high sierra spectacle. 

For me also there was the whispering sound, the small voice.  Almost every day we would hear the sound of a jet flying overhead, perhaps heading to or from Oakland-San Francisco.  Frequently, I would search the sky, following the sound trail to find the tiny silver tube hurtling through the heavens.  Almost never did I see them  When I did see one, it was so small, so insignificant.  Yet, I knew that inside that little dart people like me were snoozing, reading, looking at the mountains below them, and totally unaware of me.  I had been in those darts and would be in one again in a few days.  I had such a feeling of smallness in the universe.  A blessing.

The blessing was doubled Thursday when I got into one of the little darts, which at Fresno looked pretty big.  I ended up in row 19 and in row 17 was a young family with a little boy about 4 or 5 and a little girl just learning to walk.  The little boy busied himself with stuff in his seat next to his father.  But the girl needed to move around, which the parents allowed.  She walked up the aisle, she crawled down the aisle.  And the parents watched over her, as did we all.  The gentleness of the parents juxtaposed upon my reflection that I was in the little insignificant dart moved me.  I could see me from below searching for this little dart by following its sound and I could likewise view the treasure of the family. 

Once I told the husband and once I told them both that I admired they way they played with their kids. 

Jesus went up the mountain to pray.  Elijah went up to meet the lord.  We 7 went up the mountain.  Unlike Elijah I found him in all the elements, the wind, the fire, the earthquake, and the whispering sound.

Where do you find him?

AUDIO:  http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2008-08-10.mp3

Readings:                          

2 Samuel   12,  7-10, 13, David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”

Psalm 32,  Lord, forgive the wrong I have done.

Galatians 2, 16, 19-21     A person is not justified by work or the law

Luke 7, 36-8, 3,  The woman who bathed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair.

Welcome into our beautiful world, Everet.  You are marvelous.

2 Samuel observations: (Following upon last week)

What :  2 Samuel is the second book in a 4 book semi-history of the early tribe of Israelites.  The books, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings.  The story goes from Samuel, the last of the judges, to Saul, the first of the kings, to King David (with Goliath, Jonathan, Mikah and dancing, Bathsheba & Solomon).

The two books of Samuel focus on Saul & David and their difficult relationship.

Victoria says, "Hi, Everybody, Welcome in.

When composed:   during the Babylonian Captivity, ca. 555 before Christ.  Why at this time?  Same reason why so much was composed at this time, to explain why the Captivity, to keep the tribal identity, and to provide hope for a brighter future.

Who composed:   Tradition said Jeremiah the prophet, but contemporary studies show at least 3 writers.

Today's selection:  the prophet Nathan is chastising King David because he has been really bad.  See the homily, a Bible story today.

Sources: New Jerusalem Bible, Wikipedia

The Team

A Bible Story

This morning I would like to tell a bible story.  It is about the great Jewish hero, King David.  I tell the story because it is background to today’s first reading from 2 Samuel.  More than likely you have not a clue about where today’s passage is coming from.

Here we go.  This is the way the composers put it together, not necessarily how it was.

Anybody notice?  Buddy has his own robe.  Congratulations, Buddy.

There was a man named Jesse who had 8 sons.  Samuel, the last of the judges is sent by Yahweh to find a successor to Saul, the present king who is misbehaving and Yahweh has decided to reject him. 

Read about Saul and you can’t help but see bipolar symptoms.

The Best Music.

So Samuel goes to Bethlehem to the house of Jesse, who has 8 of sons.  The first 7 pass by and Yahweh tells Samuel, "Not this one."   Eventually number 8 comes in, Little David.   When Samuel sees him, Yahweh tells him, “That’s the one.”

So, David is especially chosen by Yahweh, a hero quality.

David goes to Saul’s court and becomes a favorite.  Then in a fight with the Philistines, little David kills the giant Goliath.  Another hero quality.

The Play Center.

Time goes on, Saul gets jealous because David is so popular and he decides to kill him.  The second part of 1 Samuel details all the struggles between Saul and David.  David even has a chance to kill a sleeping Saul in a cave, but he simply cuts off a piece of his cloak to show Saul later.  Saul cries, swears he will stop trying to kill David, but then continues.  David’s mercy, another hero quality.

Time goes on, Saul actually commits suicide, and David becomes the popular king of the Jewish nation.  His army is defeating all their enemies.

Sandra with her granddaughter, Maddie, from Nebraska who now goes to TCU.

One morning our hero king is strolling on the roof of his palace.  While walking he spies a beautiful woman on another roof taking a bath.  He invites her over for dinner and, behold, she becomes pregnant.  David is already married to Saul’s daughter, Michal, but Yahweh has rejected her because she mocked David for dancing before the people in a victory parade.  The woman, Bathsheba. 

So David decides to invite Bathsheba’s husband to dinner.  Her husband, Uriah, is with the army in the field.   David gets him drunk and tells him to go home to his wife.  Then Uriah will assume that Bashsheba’s baby is his. 

Leo the Candle Lighter of The Week.

However, Uriah tells David he won’t sleep under a roof while his men are sleeping in the field.  So that plan won’t work. 

Then David tells his commander to put Uriah on the front line, get into a battle, then pull the other men back, leaving Uriah.  So Uriah is killed.

 So David, our hero king, invites Bathsheba to join his household. 

At this point the prophet Nathan of our story is told by Yahweh to visit David.   Nathan tells David a little story.

Guess who now walks.  Beware.  "Good Morning, Genevieve."
 

There were two men, a rich man who had everything, large flocks and every convenience.  The second man, a neighbor had nothing more than a little lamb which he had bought.  The man loved the lamb and even slept with it.

Two visitors come to the rich man’s house.  Instead of preparing a meal from one of his own lambs, the rich man takes the poor man’s lamb for his meal.  Nathan asks David what should happen to that rich man.  David says he should be severely punished. 

 Nathan says, “You are that rich man!”   David is stunned and goes into penance and mourning.  This is where our story comes in.  All this happened before our little reading.

Collin Classic Bike Rally.

A lesson?   Even the hero, the chosen of Yahweh, fails and commits sin.  We are all King Davids.   

Lesson 2: Yahweh forgives and accepts.  This theme is exemplified by our gospel, the woman bathing Jesus’ feet with her tears.  Forgiveness and acceptance.

I would suggest it also involves self forgiveness and self acceptance when we fail to be what we would like ourselves to be.

Crossing the dam at Lake Lavon. 

David was accepted by Yahweh and Bathsheba, although she loses her first child with David, goes on to have another son, who is considered the ancestor of Jesus.

How good is your self acceptance?

Rest stop # 3 on the shore of The Lake.

Says Harper, "Welcome in, Everybody."

Readings:

Zacheriah 9, 9-10,   He shall proclaim peace to the nations.

 Psalm 145,   I will praise your name forever, my king and my God.  

Here it is again, The Terrific Line: "The Lord is gracious & merciful, slow to anger and abounding in love."  Watch for it.

Romans 8,  9, 11-13,  You are not in the flesh, you are in the spirit.  (?)

 Matthew 11, 25-30,  All creation is groaning in labor pains.

Likewise, Gil, too, says, "Come on in, Folks."

Zechariah:  Zechariah is the 11th of the 12 Minor Prophets and lived just when the Hebrews were released from the 70 year long Babylonian Captivity, in other words around 555 B.C. He is in Jerusalem and encourages the people to rebuild the temple.

He is called a minor prophet only because his little work has simply 14 chapters, unlike the Big 3, Isaiah, Jeremiah, & Ezekiel, who have many chapters, in fact 66 for Isaiah.

He was a favorite of the N.T. writers because he is rich in messiah predictions.  Today we have one of those visions.   You might picture how this message is coming across.  The people have been crushed, they have been slaves in Babylon, and the Jerusalem they have returned to is nothing but disaster. 

Tori, what happened to your tooth?  Are you a rich girl now?

The Lord is Gracious and Merciful, never gets Angry, and is abounding in Love

I was asking myself, how did this line come to say so much to me about the nature of our God.  Here is what I found.

I can tell you the time of day it first hit me, a sunny morning.  I can tell you exactly where I was, Nairobi, Kenya, in the little chapel of a house run by a small group of American religious teaching brothers.    

Zoe, did you snatch Tori's tooth?  You got beautiful teeth.

It was my second year working in East Africa.  I was taking a day off at this American brothers’ place because it was just around the corner from a really nice arboretum and because they were Americans.  The Jesuits in Nairobi were mostly Indians with a few Quebecois.  I liked to hang out once in a while with fellow Americans. 

So why at this time and place?  Two reasons.

Emma, just seeing you & your mom here today makes my day.

One, education and Jesuit formation.  I had some good, progressive professors when I studied theology in Toronto, like David Michael Stanley in New Testament.

Secondly, people who showed me compassion and sensitivity, intellectual curiosity and acceptance, like the novice master, Tony Mangiaracina, about whom I talked once.  He is the priest I told you I saw cigarette smoke coming out of his desk drawer when I went in to get permission to drink water for that month.

The Offertory Gang, Paul & Carrie & Diane.

Another priest I never have talked about is the assistant novice master, Bobby Rimes, another of the numerous New Orleans guys who made up our province.

Three reasons why Bobby influenced me to perceive the significance of the line, The Lord is gracious and merciful, never gets angry, and is abounding in love.

Where did you get that megawatt smile, Olivia?   It lights up the room.

First, he was disappointed but accepting of his assignment to be assistance novice master.  Bobby really wanted to be a missionary like Francis Xavier.  He wanted to be The Best.  Assistance novice master was not very romantic.  He did not ever complain, but simply shared he would prefer to be in the missions. 

And here I, never dreamed of going to the missions, I end up in East Africa.  I did not yearn to work in the missions because I did not like the cultural imperialism I read about, which played a role in my getting asked to leave.

You, too, Ben, your personality warms the whole room.

Secondly, Bobby was an excellent athlete and probably could have been a pitcher in the big leagues.  Wow, could he pitch.  I got to know this athleticism up close & personal because the second 3 years I spent in Grand Coteau, the noviciate, I spent many afternoons in titanic 2 on 2 handball games.  I never won a game, though we came oh so close  numerous times. 

I had a partner who was quite strong.  He was one of those who did 10 one armed pushups.  He was Mexican from Juarez.  Bobby,  he probably could have asked one of the nuns from the Sacred Heart Academy down the street.  We never won a game in three years, but it was so fun and moving.

So good to have you back, Leo.  The place is not right without you.

Thirdly, Bobby was always a friend, supportive and accepting.  He had every gift, not only a great athlete, but really a nice looking guy.  

Because of the influence of Bobby Rimes, somehow or other, I suddenly saw that  The Lord is gracious and merciful, never gets angry, and is abounding in love.

How does the line strike you?

Readings: Isaiah 9, 1-6; Psalm 96; Titus 2, 11-14, Luke 2, 1-14.

Isaiah: This is another of the great visions of Isaiah 1.  This comes from one of our ancestors who was reflecting some 800 years B.C.  We have enjoyed Isaiah all the four Sundays of Advent because of his marvelous vision.

The Gift of Life

Last Thursday I was at Baylor Hospital ca. 5:30 in the morning.  I was there to give a hug and a blessing to a woman & a friend who was coming to have an operation.  She was donating her left kidney to her sister in law. 

She naturally had some anxiety and we had talked about this earlier.  I felt privileged to be there with her.

Two comments on this event: the receiving & the giving. 

First, we are celebrating this evening the fact that we are the recipients of life.  My friend’s sister in law received life, rather dramatically.  Our parents gave us life, our teachers give us life, our companions give us life, you people give me life, God gives us life.  Even every day.

Secondly, like my friend, we are invited to give life, sometimes as dramatically, sometimes in small ways, probably daily.  In fact, without giving life, we likely stagnate.  This generation of life often involves anxiety, discipline, sacrifice, and pain.  Guess what: giving my life is reciprocal, i.e., I usually get back more than I give.

Looking back at 2007, what was the biggest way you received life & gave life?  And this year?

AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2007-12-24.mp3

Readings:    

Isaiah  53, 10-11,  The Lord was pleased to crush him in infirmity.

Psalm 33,   Lord, Let you mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.

Hebrews 4, 14-16,   Let us confidently approach the throne of grace.

Mark 10, 35-45,  Whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant.

Leo arriving with tie.

Isaiah:

A review:  

Authors: at least 3 because there are 3 distinct parts to Isaiah the book.    

Time of Composition: near the end of the Babylonian Captivity, i.e., ca. 550 BCE.

 Subject Matter: warnings about impending doom because of the badness of the people in part 1 up to chapter 39.  The remaining two parts are called the Book of Consolation, letting the people know that a more peaceful & prosperous time is coming. 

Harper cruising the neighborhood with her bus

Today’s Selection:  (read all of chapter 53), Isaiah II,  4 observations—         

          A. This chapter in 2 Isaiah is not included as one of the 4 Suffering Servant Songs, though it presents the same theme.           

          B. The he, the servant that is talked about is

                    –for the Hebrews, the Jewish nation/people;

                    –for Christians, Christ.         

          C.  False Belief number 1?  The Jews thought Yahweh demanded suffering or sacrifice of valuable items ( e.g., sacrificial lamb, scape goat ) as payment for badness.   

          D.  False Belief number 2?  The Jews & Christians believed that an original great sin had been committed by our ancestors & that sin could only be paid for by a human-divine hero, Jesus.  He had to be sacrificed to this god.  Or as the first line of our official reading says, “The lord was pleased to crush him with infirmity.”  

Do you think God crushes people with infirmity?   Was there really an original sin?   Contemporary theology says no.

Harper's granny, Cathy.

If I don’t want to be 1^st, do I have to be a slave?

I want to talk today about being first and being a slave, or if I don’t want to be first, do I have to be a slave?  A story. 

You all know that Rosemary & I love to ride our bikes around White Rock Lake.  We go south on the White Rock Creek Trail from Royal Lane, then circle the lake clockwise with stops at the north bridge and the boat house at the south end, near the dam.  About 20 miles.

Leo & Harper, buddies

Homeward bound from the boat house we use West Lawther Drive, a beautiful little lane running between the lake and gorgeous mansions. Lots of bikers use this road and walkers and runners use the path meandering along closer to the lake.

There can be mini, spur of the moment competitions on this road heading north.

Leo & Sienna, buddies

One day I come down the hill near the boat house and see ahead of me about 3 bikers.  That sight can give me motivation and adrenaline.  “I am going to take those people.”  And so I do, two of them.

The third guy, a young black man, I pull up behind him.  After hesitating a bit because he was moving pretty good, I pass him too.  And I kick on the gas expecting to leave him behind. 

Leo visits the Altar

About a mile later I look in my little helmet mirror to see if I can still see him way back there.  Where is he?  Right on my rear wheel.  I am stunned.  So 2-3 times more I go all out thinking I will get some distance.  Never.  He stays with me all the way under the Northwest Highway Bridge, where Rosemary had her accident, and all the way up the Creek trail to Royal Lane. 

As I prepare to turn off to the parking lot, I signal him to come along, and I thank him for an excellent ride.  He laughed and agreed.  We parted.  I have never seen him again.   

Rob gets a Cupcake of The Week for Sixty Years!

Anybody not want to be first once in a while?  Be best in something?  Absolutely normal.  Look at sports, academics, appearance.  Despite having long ago accepted the fact that I am not first in anything, and that is okay, even at 72 I find the competitive passion kicking in occasionally.

So does that mean I have to be a slave or servant?  Very tricky statement psychologically. 

Sandra receiving Chuck's Cupcake of The Week for Seventy Four Years!

3 Observations:

1.  It is normal and okay to want to be first.  Certainly kids without much experience in life have the desire.
2. When Mark says “servant” and “slave,” do you see Mark’s hyperbole, his exaggeration, and his use of infinite demand?   This is his literary tool to make a point.  Which does not mean we dismiss it straight off.
3. Here is where I have seen the danger.  A person who is religiously obsessed poorly trained, spiritually & psychologically insecure, or scrupulous, this poor person can take the servant idea literally.  The motto, “Always better to give than to receive.”  No way.

I have known & worked with people in this situation.  The person cannot allow anyone to do anything for them.  For that matter, I have some of that stuff.  I don’t always like to be on the receiving end.  Giving and serving can be quite satisfying.

Our dear and U.T.'s special, Holly, with her brother, Ben.

Maturity does two things. It helps me to accept myself as I am.  It also challenges me to make a difference in our world.

How do you handle not being number one?  How do you make a difference?