Readings:
Mark 11, 1-10, Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem, read as we process in
Isaiah 50, 4-7 I gave my back to those who beat me.
Psalm 22, My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?
Philippians 2, 6-11, God greatly exalted him.
Mark 14, The Passion in 4 parts.
Sorry, Everybody. Because of the length of the readings, especially the Passion, no homily this Sunday. Next Sunday, Easter.
Jeremiah 31, I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel.
Psalm 130, Create a clean heart in me, O Lord.
Hebrew 5, He became the source of salvation
John 12, Sir, we would like to see Jesus.
Thanks……
Music, Ben
Readers, Jackie & Brent, & Buddy, the candle blesser
Gospel, Mike Carrell
Homily, John Cade
Eucharistic Prayer A & B, Stack & John Cade
The Magic Zoom makers, Hue & Richard & Mike
Final Blessing, Rosemary
For hosting us at Legacy, Becky
Christine Dullenty's Memorial, Breckenridge Park, Saturday, 3-20-2021
Readings for Sunday, March 21, 2021
Download Reading 5th Lent 03-21-2021
Homily for Sunday by John Cade, March 21, 2021
Download Cade Homily 3-21-2021
Please Remember these special people:
For Carrie's ex, Larry with Corona; For Alan Stryker; For Joe Sullivan; For Rosemary's great niece, Rylie ; For Richard's grand daughter, Madeleine; For Esparza's new great grandson baby, son of Monique; 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, and for Hue & Linda's daughter, Doctor Rosemary Beavers; For Mary & Dave Hall's g-daughter Allison Keller working at St. Lukes, The Woodlands, For Loretta's aunt Alicia; For Sir Charlie & Jan; Shonda's mom & Cody & Leo & all of Shonda's dear family; For Ursuline Sr. Mary Troy
John Cade sharing his homily on Sounds of Silence.
Jackie's mom, sister, & friend, Lynn; For Rick Turner searching for a kidney donor, Type O neg; For Meredith, cancer free & John Schanot; For John O'Donnell & Jean; For Jean & Cliff Wright; For Dee, and for her daughter, Lisa; For Anthony & Sabrina; For a young man who is suffering from depression; John Cade's mother in law, Kalliopi Piskiouli and Lambrini, plus John's daughter, Joey, with cancer; from Barbara, a little 4 month old boy undergoing an operation; for David McKeon's brother, Hugh; for the medical staffs, teachers, and coaches in our public & private schools.
Our Brain Team, Richard, Hue, & Mike.
Birthdays: John Cades' mother in law, Kaliope
Anniversaries:
Community Finances, March 21, 2021
Expenses: $900.00
Outreach: $250.00
Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.
Ben, The Music Man.
A note about our Easter Celebration.
We now welcome 20 people to our Easter celebration, all vaccinated and coming with mask. Seating will be spread around the large cafeteria. Please don't show up without signing up. Let's see if this goes so well that we can increase the number the Sunday after Easter.
Concelebration.
Rosemary's Blessing:
Oh God who made me absolutely unique,
Help me to value more the Person You made Me to be.
And protect me from comparisons and envy and discouragement over what I am not.
Andrew Greeley, Irish American Blessings
JSM Mission-Faith Statement
Help create a Catholic Community that welcomes all God’s People, provides for & challenges spiritual & total growth.
Reaches out to help people who are disadvantaged & make the world we live in a better place to live.
Readings: Habakkuk 1, 2-3, 2, 2-4; Psalm 95, If today You hear His Voice, harden not Your Hearts; 2 Timothy 1, 6-8, 13-14; Luke 17, 5-10.
Habakkuk (What a Name!), Observations:
Author: Habakkuk, one of the 12 minor prophets (small book, only 3 chapters. Less known about Habakkuk than any other scripture writer.
Date: Probably right before the great Babylonian Captivity, i.e., around 600.
Subject: The Babylonians are coming. Get ready for bad times, because you Jewish people have been bad. Like all prophets, prophesy of doom and disaster for sin, followed by peace after purification by Yahweh. There is an imaginary dialogue between Yahweh & Habakkuk. We'll read all of chapter 1 & the first 4 verses of chapter 2 for a richer view of the writing.
Different Paradigm: Gifted and Giving
I recently had the occasion to reacquaint myself with a bad old friend from my youth. The friend is Stein’s Bakery.
Stein’s today is located at Preston & LBJ, southwest corner When I was a kid it was located at Preston & Northwest Hwy., southwest corner, what is called now Preston Center.
I had a Dallas Morning News paper route when I was in high school and covered three streets just north of Northwest Hwy, Deloache, Woodlawn, and Park Lane. When I would finish throwing my papers about 4:30 ( I walked in those days ), I would stop in at Stein’s on my way back home to buy a small fried cherry pie. They were terrific.
During my recuperation this year, someone I will name, Cindy Cramer, brought me a new taste temptation from Stein’s, something called cinnamon crisps. I could not resist.
So, I headed back to Stein’s for the first time in 50 years. I am thinking this is a momentous event, my return to Stein’s. I order my half dozen & explain to the sales girl I have returned for the first time in 50 years. I expect maybe she will play a trumpet or Fanfare for the Common Man, at least give me the cinnamon crisps gratis as a welcome home gesture.
You guessed it. She was totally ho hum. I was deflated. Does she not know who I am, what a great guy I am, where I have been all these years?
I am reminded of this event because I am intrigued by the notion in the reading that we, I, are all unprofitable servants, just doing what we have been commanded by the master. This has not been my understanding. Were we not taught that we are special in the eyes of the creator?
I see a trap in considering myself simply as an unprofitable creature, in other words, fairly useless. If I have such a low self image of myself, I will certainly not be excited about my life. In fact, I probably could be pretty negative.
I would propose two thoughts:
1. Let me change the paradigm from master & servant to Gifted and Giving. Servant & master is not what we are into. This is not our language.
2. Then, let me observe that we are both, both gifted and giving. Not just gifted or giving. Moreover, we are even more gifted when we are giving, not as unprofitable and useless creatures, but as also gifted.
Sometimes we think we are one or the other. I’m worthless or, like when I went to Stein’s, I am hot stuff.
So what are you & how do you know what you are?
Picture 1: Fred & Patricia's wedding at The Parsonage
Picture 2: Erin & Brian under the Pecan Tree, Heritage Ranch, Fairview
Picture 3: Sienna with Eva pulling
Picture 4: Eva
Welcome to our marvelous community, Clare & Joe, from Hilton Head. Clare is Rosemary's sister (but not her twin sister).
Readings:
Zechariah 12, 10-11, 13, 1, I pour out on the house of David a spirit of grace.
Psalm 63, My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
Galatians 3, 26-29, Through faith you are all children of God
Luke 9, 18-24, If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily.
Genevieve, too, not to be outdone in hospitality, says, "Hi, Joe & Clare. Welcome. And Welcome, Everybody."
Zecheria observations :
Who:
one of the 12 minor prophets. Why? Small work. Only 14 little chapters. Vs the Big 3, who have chapters numbering into the 60’s. Zecharia is really the author of this work.
Time:
post Babylonian Captivity, therefore, after 555 before Christ. How do we know? Reference is made to Darius, the king of the Persians.
Content:
part 1 involves visions about the restoration of Jerusalem. Part 2, our part, talks about future prosperity. Maybe a slightly forgetable book. I have not one line highlighted in my bible.
Sources: Good News Bible, Wikipedia
Kevin, also, says, "Welcome in, Joe & Clare, and Welcome, Everybody?
Deny Myself and Take up a Cross Daily
This morning I would like to talk about this notion of taking up my cross daily. Every time I hear this it creeps me out. It is so depressing and gloomy. I have known people who have followed this scrupulously and they were not happy. In fact, I could describe them as psychologically infirm.
I think there was some of this in my original decision to enter the Jesuits to be a priest in 1958.
Our Professional Candle Lighter of The Week, Brandon.
Certainly in those early years of Jesuit training, we practiced this. We took up the cross daily. We lived in silence most of the time, worked hard on the beautiful Jesuit farm at Grand Coteau, and we never went back to our original homes, even for Christmas or weddings. A really regimented monastic life, up at 5:00, lights out at 10:00, every day, month after month, year after year.
Times have certainly changed since Vatican II and I have obviously changed. I think there is a healthy way to understand taking up one's cross. I have three positive comments.
Buddy, Is that a little mouse admiring you?
First, it can be a invitation or a challenge to self-improvement. I see a lot of this every morning I go to work out at the Jewish Community Center. These people are healthy and not depressed.
Secondly, the self-improvement involves obvious things, like the big three:
Healthy eating, that is, watch out for salt, sugar, and fat or butter, the major seducer ingredients of fast food places, like McDonald’s.
Hannah, who is that loving up on you?
Exercise, that is, keep moving. 2 a days are coming for high school football players. You want to see self discipline? 27 days from now I will join 15 thousand other wakos to ride across Iowa in a week, about 500 miles. I’m exercising, getting in shape.
I know a couple here who will remain nameless, who when the husband was discovered to have the beginning of Diabetes 2, he decided to eat healthy and exercise. He did it, lost a good bit of extra weight, and controlled his diagnosis. Following his example, his wife joined him and she, too, lost weight and got into shape.
Folks, that seems to be Victoria who loves Hannah.
Thirdly, taking breaks, days off, vacation periods. A day off a week
or 3 once a month. Contemplate and reflect during the breaks. Contemplate what? My blessings & gifts & joys. Number one, number two, and on.
The final comment, the goal of all this discipline & self-improvement? Be fully alive. This is what it means to take up a cross in a healthy way.
Where are you being invited by God to become more fully alive?
Sez Genevieve, "Is it not my turn to play that guitar?"
Readings: Daniel 7, 13-14; Psalm 93, The Lord is King, He is robed in Majesty; Revelation 1, 5-8; John 18, 33-27
History of the Christ the King Feast: date, author, reason it was declared
Date: Not during the early church, not during the time when Constantine made Christianity the religion of the Empire, not during the time of Luther & the Reformation, not during the time of Pius IX with the Italian Resorgiamento & his Infallibility statement (1870), but in 1925. Fairly Recently.
Author: Pius XI, pope 1922-39
Reason(s): at least 2 factors–The Times and Modernism/Secularism
1. The Times:
a) End of WW I and build up to WW II
b) Mussolini & Hitler: the same year Pius XI became pope, Mussolini became prime minister. By 1925 he had become a dictator. The feast was to counter the dictatorship.
2. Modernism & Secularism:
a) Modernism. Despite being scholarly and pro-scientific methods, Pius XI was suspicious of biblical scholarship which questioned, for example, biblical inerrancy, the nature of bible miracles, the virgin birth, the resurrection, the atonement theory that God demanded his son suffer & die for a single sin by a human.
b) Secularism coming out of the Enlightenment said that all people were equal, people should have a say in government as in democracy, and backed the separation of church/state, like proposed by Jefferson.
Sources: Living with Christ, Nov., 2009; Wikipedia
Requiem for a Chevy Pickup
When I first returned to Dallas after my time in East Africa, I determined that I would like to stay here and I would help to make Dallas a prettier place to live in by planting a few trees. I started the fall of 1987 by planting on the Jesuit campus 88 trees plus. The next year, with no more room on the campus, we went down Inwood Road and Willow. I watered the trees out of buckets in the back of a Chevy Celebrity sedan.
A year or so later I was using the school pick up. I remember it conking out on us the Sunday we planted Royal Lane. The red trailer was tearing up the transmission.
So I said to my Jesuit community brothers, "Hey, I am needing a new truck." And they said, "Sure. But you got to get the money yourself." "Thanks, guys." This was early in 94.
I'm thinking to myself, 'where can I get all this money?' I called Claude Smyth. The former pastor of St. Mark's, Monsignor Claude Smyth.
I ask him, since this is my community, may I contact some of the parish people whom I know? He says yes, but then gives me a long list of things I cannot do under any circumstances, like no appeal at Mass, no public announcements on Sundays, and so forth. "No problem," I say. Then I proceed to contact maybe a dozen families I think can help me personally or who can spread the word quietly that I need help.
The following Sunday, after saying the Mass in the main church at 9:00, I am walking the breezeway over to the cafetorium for the 10:30. I run into Marcia Kolar and some other women passing out pages saying John Stack needs help to buy a new truck. I walk into the cafetorium and there are plastic containers saying the same thing. A few minutes later, Jim Herman, the lector is announcing the message from the podium.
At that instance, guess who walked in. 'Walked in' is an understatement. 'Stormed in' is more like it. He was taking the pages out of people's hands, running back & forth. Anyway, after screaming at me for a while, I walk up the aisle and start the Mass.
The couple responsible for that event is here today. Fred & Maureen. I will always be grateful to you two. In fact, just before Christmas, that year, 1994, I went over to the old Doran Chev. and paid $15,000 for that white truck I've used all these years to drag the red trailer around watering hundreds of trees.
Today I hand over to Janette Monear and the TX Trees Foundation the keys to the truck & trailer, so the rig can continue to maintain baby trees around Dallas. The truck was given to me for that project and now that I am semi-retiring, I hand over the truck to Janette.
Picture 1: Tree people: Rosemary, The old Geezer, Gayle, Janette, Hugh, Sandra & Chuck
Picture 2: The transfer of the keys to the truck
Picture 3: Janette Monear of the TX Trees Foundation receiving the keys to the pickup and giving everyone a baby live oak tree
Picture 4: Julie reading (Emily's mom)
Bona Responds at work.
Readings:
2 Chronicles 36, 14-16, 19-23, Cyrus, king of Persia, builds a temple in Jerusalem.
Psalm 137, Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you.
Ephesians 2, 4-10, God raised us up.
John 3, 14-21, Jesus and Nicodemus converse
Some of The Team.
Today's Homily, Shared
On February 23 a group of 10-15 of our community went to Dickinson, TX to help people cleaning up from Hurricane & flood Harvey. Our group met up with about 50 students, faculty, and alumni from St. Bonaventure U., near Buffalo. Professor Jim Mahar regularly leads these groups to crisis areas mostly in our country. He titles the group Bona Responds.
Today the community has invited the members of our group to share with us what touched their hearts during their stay in Dickinson. Our group includes John & Connie Bresson, David Dinsmore, Bill Hammond who coordinates us with Bona Responds, and Mike Moran.
Bona does ceilings.
John started by saying how emotional and humbling it was to work along these college kids who were giving up their Spring Break to clean up trash, to tear down dry wall, to wade through filthy flood water left in houses, to crawl back out of holes when the rotten flooring in a house or trailer home collapsed.
Connie described working in the black mold trailer home of an elderly lady who could hardly do anything. They cleared out moldy dry wall, insulation, and even flooring.
Clean up.
There was one house that had 10 family members and relatives during the flood which brought in 4 feet of water inside the house/trailer. A tree fell on the house. Everyone, including a 94 year old grandmother and a dog had to climb to the attic for 10 hours to escape the flood water.
They were finally rescued when they hailed a passing boat, everybody, including the dog. Except one beloved family treasure, a Cockatiel bird. They were broken hearted. They finally were able to return a week later. And what did they find, the pet Cockatiel, his cage half way filled with water, but alive and still loving everyone.
Some of our Community who made the trip to Dickinson.
The family was blessed in that they had friends and family out of state who came to the rescue, cleaning, gutting, repairing, and even repainting. Our group helped with some of the final steps, removing old insulation and installing new.
There was a trailer park, a complete disaster. The first lady our people went to work for was named Theresa, very feeble with MS. Her shower was broken so our people fixed it. Theresa took her first shower in 6 months.Theresa was so grateful to the group that she gave the only gift she had other than love. Theresa handed to each person a hand made artificial flower, gifts more touching than any kind of monetary gift.
Mike shares some of his memories and blessings.
Another elderly lady was living with her 5 dogs in a trailer home that was in like a bowl, a bowl with 3 feet of water. Our people were able to pump out the water, which housed various water creatures like crawdads. In the middle of the process three volunteers crashed through the lady's mobile home floor, uninjured fortunately. Our team gutted the ceiling, walls, and floor. Finally plywood was put back on the lady's floor.
Mike described how he was touched and impressed with Jim Mahar's practice of delegation and inclusion. Some of the students had never held a hammer or done any of this kind of work. They were still valuable. Every morning and every evening all would gather. In the evening the stories came pouring out in response to Jim's question, What touched you today?
What has touched you today?
Dona reporting on the Community's continued generosity in raising over $200 to help furnish the volunteer barrack with a large coffee maker and a 4 slice toaster (something important missing on the last visit).
Readings:
Acts 5, 27-32 & 40-41, We must obey God rather than men
Psalm 30, I will praise you Lord, for you have rescued me.
Revelation 5, 11-14, Blessing and honor, glory and might forever and ever.
John 21, 1-19, Put your finger here and see my hands.
Homily by Mike
I have an app that makes me aware on my iPhone when there is an important news event. This happened some weeks ago when white smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel. After I looked at it, I turned my sound to off.
What was going though my mind was, ‘How did the conclave decide so quickly.’ I was apprehensive, and didn’t want to know who had been chosen.
When I did turn it back on later that day, I had a number of phone calls to return. All but one came from friends who were not Catholic [however, who are one with us through the power of the Holy Spirit].
One thing each of them spoke about with joy was the name our new Pope had chosen, Francis. The name had been immediately identified to the universal prayer of St. Francis, which seeks to have us become sowers of the good news. It helps us to recognize that all of us are part of the papacy of Francis! Together we are one body; our name has become Francis, too.
For the last decade I have spent a great deal of time studying the structure spiritual writings: all of which have been composed with some type of structure.
Look at the copy that I have made for you. The bold print is a mini summary of the Gospel, where we are to be sowers of the good news! What is not in bold print in the first section are those who have not received or not allowed the seed to take root, to whom we seek to console, understand, and love. Notice that we address God in both the bold and un-bold
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
And it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.
Today’s gospel reading begins after the Lord has witnessed his Peter, a good man, being the buffoon: going fishing for gentiles in darkness, without casting out the net [composed of his good news] to the gentile side of the lake.
Our Lord had chosen a motley group of sinners, and had led them to forgiveness. Today he comes to Peter, whom he had chosen to lead the church, to reinforce within Peter his responsibility to feed his flock! How? In the light of day in this celebration of Word and Sacred Meal. The New Covenant meal fulfills not only all of the Jewish feasts; but their Sabbath Scripture study as well.
Recently I saw a film that made me think about Peter, our first pope. It was entitled, An Afternoon with Marguerite.
It is about a man about 5o who meets Marguerite, 95, in a park. She is a holy, and very educated woman, never married, whose mission has been to serve those in need. She currently resides in an assisted living facility.
He is a large man. He had been severely abused as a child by his mother, whatever man was living with her, and by his teacher at school. He never went back. He had lived all these years essentially illiterate tending his garden and doing odd jobs. He meets Marguerite. He reaches in his pocket and sows some seed to the 19 pigeons that he knows by name. He is known by some as a good man, by others as a buffoon.
She sees the goodness within him and begins to sow words. She always has a book with her, and asks if she can read to him aloud. A friendship has begun. She reads and asks him questions, day after day; and her words enlighten him. She leaves a book with him, later a dictionary.
At first he is frustrated; later, for she is going blind, he reads to her. Her nephew sensing that she has a very short time to live, stops paying her monthly rent and sends her to a public facility to spend the rest if her life.
[ ] searches for her, finds her, and steals her away from her dismal surroundings. The film ends with him driving her to his home where he will take care of her.
These are some of the words we hear coming forth from his heart as they drive away laughing, talking to one another and sharing a sandwich: ‘This is not a typical love affair; but love and tenderness are there. Named after a daisy she lives among the words surrounded by adjectives in green fields of verbs.
Not always are love stories just made of love, sometimes love is not named, but it is love all the same. Don’t die now; just wait, it’s not the hour, my little flower. Not always are love stories made of love; love is not named, but it is love all the same.
Tape this prayer of St. Francis on your bathroom mirror at home. Try to become aware of those who seek to be consoled, understood or loved…for it is giving that we receive; it is in pardoning….