Homilies

Sunday Homily, September 24, 2017, 25th Ordinary Time

ByRosemary September 24, 2017

Says Our Dear Emma, "Hi, Everybody, Welcome."

Readings:

Isaiah 56, 6-9, Seek the Lord while he may be found. (Isaiah 2)

Psalm 145, The Lord is near to all who call upon him

Phlippians 1, 20-24 &27, Conduct yourself in a way worthy of the gospel.

Matthew 20, 1-16, The vineyard owner and how he compensated his laborers, The last shall be first; the first last.

And likewise from our dear Sophia, "Come in, Folks, it is fun here."

Isaiah 55 observations—

Who: My favorite prophet. In fact , Isaiah 2 is my favorite of the 3 composers of the Book of Isaiah, and our selection today is the very last chapter of Isaiah 2.

When: remember these 3 writers wrote more or less before, during, and after the Great Babylonian Captivity, ca. 555 before Christ. So, we can guess that today’s selection from Isaiah 2 comes from the time during the Captivity.

What: Isaiah 2 has some of the best and most beautifully consoling passages. Check out The Messiah. Unfortunately, our little selection today talks about scoundrels and the wicked, in other words, about us. Maybe these people are mentioned in connection with the people who grumble in the Gospel today. See what you think.

And not to be outdone by her daughter and Sophia, our dear Beth says, "Better hurry up and get a seat before these two girls take over."

That is not Fair!

This morning, Folks, I would like to talk about these workers hired by the vineyard owner. We hear how the workers who worked all day got the same wages as those who worked one hour and we want to yell, “Hey! That is not fair!”

Want to know what this parable is basically saying? Two things. First, it is all Gift. Everything is Gift. Secondly, negative comparison is poison. “How come he got this and I did not?” “How come I got sick and he did not?” Our lives are all Gift. Comparing myself with others poisons my spirit.

The Best Music, plus with good news.

A story about one of my best long time friends to illustrate.

I think I asked this last week. Anybody remember Myron & Chris Hubble from St. Mark’s?

I first met Myron around 1995. In those days I had a men’s group. We met probably every other Wednesday or Thursday evening for an hour or two. The question: what has been your blessing or gift since our last meeting? Or whatever a person wanted to talk about.

Sez Buddy, "Okay, let's get to the fun part (cupcakes)."

We had maybe 20 guys plus or minus. Everybody sat on the carpeted floor of my little office in the Jesuit residence at Jesuit. Myron was one of the first members.

I remember Myron as a really nice looking guy, soft spoken, very emphatic and tuned into everyone who spoke. He had a beautiful wife in Chris and two beautiful kids, Jon and Emily. I did Emily’s wedding some years back, to a marvelous boy, who is Jewish.

The family had a nice home in Plano and Myron had worked at TI. He was probably in his 40’s. He was retired.

Our Candle Lighter of The Week in action.

Want to know why he was retired? He had hepatitis C.

Want to know where he got it? Maybe connected with Viet Nam. Myron had been a medic during Viet Nam. He worked with the wounded coming back when they arrived in Tacoma. Want to know what it was like in Viet Nam? Check out Ken Burns’ epic now half way through the two week event. Tonight features the Tet Offensive of 1969 more or less. Burns’ project is mind numbing & shocking.

Let me tell you, Myron’s hepatitis ruined his beautiful life. Not only could he not work. But every morning he would painfully roll out of bed and throw up. This went on for years.

Welcome in, Jim Shropshire. You got a lot of courage to come visit your old teacher from Jesuit. And this guy used to be a great athlete, a football player.

Recently Myron fell down on the front stairs of his house and broke numerous bones. He went to the hospital where the bones cannot be dealt with because of the hepatitis. He asked for me. Chris called me and I went right away. Myron tells me his liver is gone and his kidneys are going fast. He will follow.

Why not me instead of Myron? I could have ended up in Viet Nam, if not for being in the Jesuits. I’ll say it again. It is all gift. Gratitude is the response.

What are you grateful for?

Hey, Mike, this cupcake is guaranteed to help you heal your knee, your foot, your elbow, and all the other places you are falling apart. Enjoy!

Homilies

Sunday Homily 4-1-12, Palm Sunday
ByRosemary April 1, 2012

Readings: John 12, 12-16 (Story of Jesus entry into Jerusalem); 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, He emptied himself, taking the form of a slave; Mark 14, 15, 1-39, The Passion.

The community processes out of the cafetorium into the hall where the singing begins and Mike & Ryan lead the procession back into the main celebration area

Because of the extraordinary amount of reading in this celebration, there is no homily.

The reenactment of the Entry into Jerusalem with palms

Special Note: Holy Thursday & Good Friday Services, the home of Curtis & Mabel, 7:00 P.M.

As each person enters into the cafetorium they and their palms are blessed and cleansed with water

Emma with the help of her mother, Beth, lights the 6 candles of Lent

Read More Sunday Homily 4-1-12, Palm Sunday
Homilies

Sunday Homily, November, 18, 2007, Thanksgiving
ByRosemary November 18, 2007

Readings: Sirach 50 22-24; Psalm 113; 1 Corinthians 1, 3-9; Luke 17, 11-19 (these are the readings for Thanksgiving, Nov. 22, page 88 in our booklets)

Sirach: Another book from the Apocrypha, a book of religious, moral, and practical sayings. Our selection is a benediction reading in the spirit of thanksgiving.

My Blessing of the Year

Last October when we were having that gorgeous stretch of Indian summer, I took the Dart train downtown to have lunch with a friend. I got on at Forest Lane and got off at Pearl just down from Thanksgiving Square. Because I love to look out the front window as well as the side windows, I grabbed as usual a seat in the first car.

At the Walnut Hill Lane Station or Northwest Highway a young, attractive woman in her late twenties got on, crossed the aisle, and sat in the seat reserved for handicapped. She had with her a beautiful male golden retriever who sat in front of her with his handsome head slightly out in the aisle. The woman was blind.

How I admired this woman’s courage I can hardly tell you. Here she is blind, with a beautiful dog, riding public transit, and going down town. All sorts of accidents can happen. She gave me one of those gratitude moments.

With all she had, she could not see, could not see the marvelous blue of the sky that day, the sparkling shades of green that passed the windows of our train, she could not see the variety of people who shared the car with her. That woman’s presence moved me.

I was humbled and became aware of the gift I have. I can see the colors and the people, and how often do I not savor nor appreciate. That day I did.

We are coming to the end of our year. Thanksgiving arrives Thursday. It is time to contemplate our past and ask ourselves, What are my blessings this year?

I can think of three and I bet you may know what they are.

First was our February trip to East Africa, Tanzania & Kenya. For me it was a double gift. The more important part was that I was coming home after 20 years, that I felt immediately at home, and that I had no rancor in my heart of how my time ended there.

Secondly, our Sunday morning community. I look forward to being with you people all week and I live for days on the consolation of our celebrations. The contributions we have been able to make as a community: the blood drives, the pharmacy in Mexico, the house we helped to renovate, and yesterday’s house project in union with Lakepoint Church. An amazing year.

Third and most important, being married to Rosemary. It is continually better than I could have dreamed. I am a better priest, a better psychotherapist, and a better, more whole human being.

Ever since I witnessed that blind girl & her retriever get on the Dart train, I have been in a more grateful state.

What are you most grateful for this year?

To help us focus on gratitude we have a Thanksgiving Tree which will morph into a Christmas Tree each of the Sundays leading up to Christmas. Near the tree, which is bare now, you will find paper ornaments with a ribbon attached. You may write your blessing of the year on one of the ornaments and attach it to the tree.

Kids will find ornaments that have a picture to color and a blank space on the back for the blessing. You can even take one home, discuss the blessing with the family, and attach it next week. Each week I may read anonymously a couple of blessings. Welcome.

What are you most grateful for this year?

AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2007-11-18.mp3

Read More Sunday Homily, November, 18, 2007, Thanksgiving
Homilies

Sunday Homily, Sept. 2, 2007, 22nd of Ordinary Time
ByRosemary September 2, 2007

Readings: Sirach 3, 17-29; Psalm 68; Hebrews 12, 18-24; Luke 14, 1-14

Sirach: this book was written after Jesus died. It is basically a compilation of traditional Jewish wisdom material. Our reading focuses on being humble and wise.

Humility a Side Effect?

A good friend of mine told me recently about a trip he made to Central Market. It was a week day, so the store was not so crowded. He went to the deli counter and there about a half a dozen people waiting. Normally, when it is more crowded, customers take a number and wait to get the number called to get served.

Because of the small number of customers this afternoon, people were not taking numbers. My friend said that often in a case like this people might try to jump ahead or get the sales person’s attention before it went to another customer. However, on this occasion people actually told the sales person, "No. It is not my turn. He is ahead of me." And everyone was doing this. No jumping the line. Waiting with patience and courtesy.

In Luke today he talks about taking the first place. In fact, it is suggested that you take the second or last place so that you may be called up to the front of the line. Some observations about this.

First, when I was going through the 2 year Jesuit novitiate emphasis was put on being humble. Folks, I never felt comfortable with this. Today I would rather focus on healthy humility being self acceptance. Humility is really a side effect of self acceptance. Self acceptance says, "Who cares whether I am first or last."

Second, I would even propose that if I have to be last or first, that need could be a symptom of something else, like a low self image or a sense of inferiority. Maybe religious scruples or a religion addiction.

Thirdly, I would suggest that if I am choosinjg the last place or acting humbly so I will win esteem, whoa. As the (famous?) poet David Budbill says,

I want to famous so I can be humble about being famous. What good is this humility when I am stuck in this obscurity?

Fourth, about inviting the guests to dinner. Rosemary says that the reason I get invited to so many dinners is because I fulfill all the requirements: poor, crippled, lame, and blind.

Not to beat the acceptance idea to death, but I think a possible healthy approach is through acceptance of others as well as myself. Ultimately, it is irrelevant whether you or I are rich or poor. We are all rich and poor. If I only focus on the materially rich or white or being from Plano Senior High or whatever, then maybe I got a problem and this may be the leading symptom. Remember low self image?

Those folks in Central Market seem to have had some level of humility or acceptance.

So, how are you doing accepting, yourself & others?

Megan, our September bread baker:

AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2007-09-02.mp3

Take this profile to find out your possible length of life: http://www.poodwaddle.com/realage.swf I will let you know my results next Sunday.

Read More Sunday Homily, Sept. 2, 2007, 22nd of Ordinary Time
Homilies | Music

Sunday Homily 2-21-10, Lent 1
ByRosemary February 21, 2010

Readings: Deuteronomy 26, 4-10; Psalm 91, Be with Me, Lord, when I am in trouble; Romans 10, 8-13; Luke 4, 1-13

Deuteronomy:

What: This work is the 5th and last book of the Pentateuch/Torah. The first 4 books are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, & Numbers.

Deuteronomy has basically 3 speeches delivered by Moses before the people enter the promised land. He reviews all they have endured the past 40 years and how Yahweh has shown his care and power to save them.

Author: Not Moses. Moses may have spoken some of the ideas in the speeches, but others have put the work together. In fact, in chapter 34 the death of Moses is described. Someone other than Moses probably covered this episode.

Date: Ca. 700 years BCE.   In other words, about a century before the Babylonian Captivity and just after the destruction of the northern kingdom, Israel, by the Assyrians (ca. 720 BCE).

Our Selection, chapter 26: the end of the second speech. Moses is reminding the people of how Yahweh cared for them since the time they were slaves in Egypt and why they must honor him for this as their one and only god. Instead of being history, this presentation is more like a pep talk to people in trouble, like had been the case in Egypt.

Have a Happy Lent

In Eccliastes 3 it says, "there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens; a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to harvest, a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build."

If you are a New Orleans Saints fan, after decades of grief, your time to celebrate has come. And you have celebrated as only people in N.O. know how to celebrate. We have all just passed through the season of Christmas. We, too, have celebrated.

Today we enter another season, the season of Lent. How do we have a happy Lent? How do we make this a time to build and a time to be born, again?

When I was talking with Rosemary about this homily, she asked me if there was not a new way I could talk about this subject. I thought that, no, there really is not a new way for me to talk about this subject. Some of you have heard these ideas or something similar for maybe 20 years. Please forgive me if I repeat some of the same thinking.

My thinking always comes down to how do I, how do we have a happy Lent? How can it be positive and not a negative, depressing, and dreaded event? Two thoughts.

One. Despite what comes up in the liturgies and scriptures, we are not sinners on the road to hell or purgatory paying ransom for our endless sins.

Second. These 5 weeks can be Maslow time. Abraham Maslow, an American psychologist, ca. 1940 said that, "What a man can be, he must be." After 4 stages of development, Maslow thought that healthy people arrive at a place of self-actualization.

I call this becoming a person fully alive. "A person fully alive is the Glory of God." This was said in ca. 200 by St. Irenaeus, a bishop of Lyon, France.  It is what we are about this season.

How do we fertilize and how do we prune so that we are more fully alive on April 4? Each person has their own recipe, their own path, and most of us know what our path is.

Want a quicky insight into yourself? What are you addicted to? What are you obsessed by?   There are the usual culprits, alcohol, fast food, TV, work, smoking, whatever. You can be brain dead and know this. However, we can equally use denial to avoid the obvious. We are aiming at becoming more fully alive people.

I, for my part, plan to give up all alcohol, take French baths to learn French better, not go out at night, in fact, not leave the house at all for 30 days, and I will give up salads, spinach, and greens veggies, and Wednesday I will get rid of this crabby hip that is slowing my life down. All this because the doctor orders it. I will truly enjoy April 4. A real Resurrection.

How are you going to have a happy Lent?

Sources: Wikipedia for Maslow & Irenaeus; Human Development, Philip Rice for Maslow

Picture 1: Mass with Tony and Kevin

Picture 2:  Altar helpers

Picture 3: Emily and her mom, Julie

Picture 4: Communion helpers

Read More Sunday Homily 2-21-10, Lent 1
Homilies | Reminders

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 18, 2020
ByRosemary October 18, 2020

Readings:

Isaiah 45, 1, 4-6, I have called you by your name.

Psalm 96, Give the Lord glory & honor

Thessalonians 1, 1-5, We give thanks to God always for all of you.

Matthew 22, 15-21, Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.

Thanks to the Team

Music, Ben & Shonda's help

Readers, Sandra & Patricia & Buddy, the candle blesser

Gospel, Deacon Mike

Homily, Stack

Eucharistic Prayer A & B, Stack & John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers, Mike, Ben, Richard, & Hue

Final Blessing, Rosemary

For hosting us at Legacy, Becky

Isaiah observations:

Who : Can you guess which Isaiah this is in chapter 45? 1, 2, or 3? A little more difficult than the last two Sundays. This is Isaiah 2, going from chapter 40 to 55.

Today’s selection:  this is not Isaiah 2 at his best. I like the line, I have called you by your name.  Otherwise, the passage is mildly comforting to the people who are living in Babylonian slavery, around 555 before Christ.

Cyrus: So, who is Cyrus?

Cyrus the Great of Persia, modern Iran, built the first great empire, which extended as far as Athens in Greece.   He was a benevolent emperor of his people and the people he conquered, for instance, the Israelites.

Isaiah 2 is championing Cyrus because he hears of Cyrus coming and hopes Cyrus will defeat the Babylonians and set the Israelites free to return to Jerusalem. This is exactly what Cyrus does. Where is Babylon? Try 50 miles south of Baghdad on the Euphrates River. What is left? Rubble.

Note: Watch out for the alleluia verse just before the gospel. A good one.

e.g., Shine like lights to the world, as you hold on to the word of life.

Download Readings Week 29

Please Remember these special people:

For Alan Stryker; For John Doherty with back pain; For David Dismore's bad shoulder from a biking accident; 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 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 & Ben & Leo & all of Shonda's dear family;

For Jackie's mom, sister, & friend, Lynn; For both Jean & Cliff Wright; 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, plus John's daughter, Joey, with cancer, For the students, teachers, and coaches in our public & private schools.

Homily for 10/20

I bet you don’t know what special anniversary Rosemary & I are celebrating this Tuesday, October 20. Yep, one year ago Tuesday we were visited by that massively destructive tornado.

Actually, I personally cannot tell you what the tornado was like. It hit at 10:00 P.M. Saturday and Aviana & I had already been sound asleep in bed for an hour.   What woke us up was an enormous crash. Rosemary came running in saying we needed to get into the hall closet.   We made it, but it was mostly over, leaving the front bay window on the south side of the house all blasted into the living room. A lot of roofing was also blown away.

Tulip Lane house after the tornado.

At that time Rosemary, still dressed, went out to check on some of our neighbors, especially two widows, one, Joyce, in her 90’s and Betty a little younger. Joyce would have been killed in her bed if she had also gone to bed as usual at 9:00.    The roof was blown down on her bed. Because her daughter was in town, they were up and they both got in a hall closet. It took a neighbor’s chain saw to get them out.

Betty was funny because she was getting ready for bed when the tornado hit and when she was pulled out of her collapsed house by neighbors, she said, “My pants are in there. I have to go back in.” She had no pants on.

To stay in this house for any time we had to fix the roof. We stayed until Sept. 1

Actually, on that corner of Tulip & Camellia 5 houses were totally ruined. One of the five had been a quasi mansion owned by the Dallas hockey player, Tyler Sagan. One couple moved into our den for the remainder of the night. I ran around the house putting buckets in place to catch the leaks, about 20 all together. TV broadcasts were taking place right in front of our house and police were everywhere. The couple who spent the night in our den are still in an apartment waiting to get their house rebuilt.

You have heard me talk already about how I was humbled and stunned at how many people from the neighborhood just showed up early in the morning.   They mainly pulled, dragged, and carried tree branches from around the face of the house to the curb for pick up. The yard was a battle scene with limbs from our beautiful trees lying everywhere. Doug LeBlanc showed up the first morning with plywood. He & his buddies boarded up the bay window. I was stunned, grateful, and humbled by how hard those people worked.

House belonging to the Dallas hockey player, Tyler Sagan.

And that was just the first day. There were still loads of clearing to be done. Kids from the neighborhood & St. Marks Boys School joined in and really worked. A day or so later a bunch of our community members showed up and helped to load trucks with debris. Loretta Garcia Williams fed us that day.

Even Central Market on our south east corner of Preston Royal joined in. They set up a mobile kitchen under a big tent and served breakfast, lunch, and dinner for four or five of days.

8 houses destroyed at the Tulip Lane & Camelia corner.

These were real meals. I can vouch for breakfast because some kids brought me a Central Market hot breakfast one morning.

We had known for years that our house on Tulip Lane was falling apart. Built in 1950, the piers were deteriorating and the walls and ceilings had cracks. You should have seen it after the tornado!   Which got us house hunting at full throttle.

And look at what we have. We have been blessed. It was worth waiting, though a number of days it all seemed to be going no where.

You can even see into the St. Mark's Boys School parking lot.

You know how Rosemary found this house? With the help our agent, a good friend, Rosemary mailed out 90 personal letters to home owners. One of them was our present house, which is a story by itself.

The one downer right now is our old house. I thought it would be bulldozed during this month we have been gone. I do not want to ride by and look at it. But just riding by on Royal Lane I can see it.   It looks forlorn and I have abandoned it and all the improvements I put into the place. All the trees that shaded and beautified that corner are gone. Tuesday, Rosemary & I will celebrate and give thanks. What has been your blessing?

Late addendum to this homily. Our old house has just been bulldozed. How do I feel? Both sad and relieved. Yes, blessed that it is finally done.

6107 Tulip Lane this past Friday.

Birthdays: Donna Dinsmore, Chuck Pratt, 82

Community Finances, October 18, 2020

Expenses: $450.00

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

Thanks, Folks, for doing what you can.

Rosemary's Blessing:

Loving God, give us

eyes that see the best in people;

words that repair and reconnect rifts and divisions;

courage to reshape the heart of the world; and

wisdom to “see things the way they are, not the way we are.”

We ask this in Jesus’ name who taught us the truth and the way.

Amen.

Sister Jean Amore, CSJ, Principal, Sacred Heart Academy, Hempstead, N.Y.

Just in case you missed our new address, 7017 Helsem Way 75230. (notice the same Zip Code as Tulip Lane?)

Read More 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 18, 2020
Homilies

Sunday Homily 6-27-10, 13th Ordinary Time
ByRosemary June 27, 2010

Readings:  1 Kings 19-21; Psalm 16, You are my Inheritance, O Lord; Galatians 5, 1, 13-18; Luke 9 51-62.

Thirteenth Sunday Ordinary Time

Introduction to the Readings

Our three readings today come from the First Book of Kings, the Letter to the Galatians and Luke’s Gospel. I suspect that the only reason for the selection of the first reading is because it contains a sentence which is very similar to one found in today’s gospel, namely a request to say good bye to my parents, similar to the gospel response to a calling namely “let me first say farewell to my parents”.

The Book of Kings selection describes the transfer of power from the prophet Elijah to the prophet Elisha. Don’t be confused by the fact that in the reading Elisha slaughters the oxen and burns the plow. This is to show that he is abandoning his old life for the new one.



And maybe the second reading was selected because the word “yoke” would connect it to the first reading! And of course the word plow shows up in the gospel, tying the three readings together!!   But we have been reading from this letter for the past several weeks.

Remember Paul is trying to show that having Christ inside is all that is really needed, not observance of the Law of Moses. In fact we will see a very powerful statement that the whole law is fulfilled by loving your neighbor as yourself.

One clarification about the gospel reading; when the young man asks to be able to bury his father first, Jesus’ response seems harsh to our ears. However, you need to understand that custom had it in those times that the eldest son would live on the land of his parents and was responsible to bury them when they died. His father is not dead, the son simply wants to put off following Jesus until some unknown time in the future.



Homily

Reconciliation and Forgiveness

Last Saturday I had a chat with an aunt of mine in Dublin. She is an Ursuline nun and will be 95 in September. I asked her if she was following the World Cup and she said, “Oh yes, we keep hoping that England will be beaten”!!

It is an attitude not unlike what Jesus came across in the gospel today. To the Jews the Samaritans were the modern day English to the Irish!   There are several references to Samaritans in our gospel stories, the Good Samaritan, the Samaritan woman at the well and if we don’t understand the animosity that existed between the two groups we miss a whole lot about those incidents. To talk about a ‘good Samaritan’ is like talking about a good Palestinian to an Israeli or a good English man to my Aunt!

When apartheid was abolished in South Africa and Nelson Mandela was elected president, in order to try and create a single unified country he established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to try and put the past in the past.

The week before last, the Saville Report was issued in England and it was a 10 year study of a very sad day in Derry in the North of Ireland when 13 civil rights people who were marching in a parade back in January of 1972 were shot dead by British troops.

The report finally laid to rest the claim by the army that they had only fired in self-defense, the report said the army had lied, the victims were all unarmed. The new British Prime Minister, David Cameron, publicly apologized for the incident. These were first steps in reconciliation over a terrible wrong.

The need for reconciliation doesn’t stop just with countries and nations. Most of us know only too well the pain caused by separations within families or longtime friends. I find it funny when you see little kids playing and they get in a row over something. One will run home saying “I am never going to play with Jimmy again”. Just as the parents are getting ready for a face off, they had better look around, because the kids will be back together as best friends.

But by the time we are adults something seems to change. Fear, blindness or pride seems to enter into the equation and keep us apart. And then pretty soon we are finding all kinds of additional items to throw on the resentment heap to justify our position.

We can’t afford to let this happen. We need to reach for forgiveness, we need to remember the words of Jesus, “Peace be with you” “Take the mote from your own eye before reaching for the splinter in your brothers eye”

Each one of us at least knows of situations where family members have become estranged from each other, or lifelong friends have parted ways over some perceived or real wrong done. These are very sad situations, because we will never have the chance to recapture and live the time days, weeks or years lost. In our gospel today we see a classic example.

The Samaritans and Jews had parted ways during the exile. In the eyes of the Jews they were not fully Jewish because they had intermarried with pagans and I’m sure the list is long. After the Exile, when they returned to rebuild the Temple, the Samaritans did nothing but harass their efforts. By the time we get to Jesus there is nothing but pure hatred between them. When Jesus is passing thru a Samaritan village and is not welcomed, James and John want to call down fire on the place. Jesus simply moves on.

Irreconcilable differences can be over come, but it takes both parties to want this. At least we must ask ourselves, have we done everything we could. Then be at peace.

I am going to keep working on my aunt’s opinion of the English!

Picture 1:   Mass begins

Picture 2:   Communion

Picture 3:   Chloe

Picture 4:   Zoe

Read More Sunday Homily 6-27-10, 13th Ordinary Time

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