Mike helping us with the persistent widow.

Readings: 

Exodus 17, 8-13  Joshua mowed down Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

Psalm 121,  Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

2 Timothy 3, 14-4, 2,  Remain faithful to what you have learned.

Luke 18, 1-8, Because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her.  

Grace enters, sans bike.

Introduction to Exodus:

 Recall that the Book
of Genesis ends with the Israelites still in Egypt.  When the Book of Exodus begins, a new Pharaoh
ordered that all newly born Hebrew males were to be thrown into the Nile River
to die, for he feared the sheer number of the Israelites. The Egyptian men
would continue to take their young women and use them as slaves, the older
would die, and the Israelites would vanish from the face of the
earth—genocide.  

Cole ready to take off.

The inspired writers tell us that God had something else in
mind.  He used Moses, who had been hidden
at birth, to have Pharaoh change his mind and set the Israelites free.  The ensuing journey of the Israelites to
receive the Law, a covenant with God, and finally their own land is presented
in the rest of the first five books of the Bible.

That journey would take forty
years.   Our First Reading from the Book
of Exodus is from the first month of that journey.  

The reading from Second Timothy is also part
of today’s theme of having faith in God.

Georgie ready for service.

Homily

 Jesus presented a
parable to his disciples to teach them to pray always. Widows, along with the
orphans, are the poorest of the poor.  The
widow who had been ripped off in our gospel was from apparently a very small
village.   The judge is her worst
nightmare!  He does not respect God or
neighbor. He’s unwilling to even listen to her.

 However, we are told
that she doesn’t lose heart.   Why?  Because Jesus’ words have taught her that
women do have rights and power, and that ‘one with God is a majority.’  In faith she perseveres; and her prayer is
answered.  

Cupcakes of The Week to Bill and CC (on opposite edges of the age spectrum).

I visualize her using a walking stick as she comes to the
gate of the village where this judge arrogantly resides for business.  Each day she stands a little closer to him as
she speaks; and each day, to the judge, the size and appearance of her walking
stick becomes a little larger and more ominous. 
Finally, standing very close to him one day, he decides that he will
deliver her a just decision so that she will not strike him! 

Harper accepting Cathy's Cupcake of the Week.

Jesus states that his Father will bring justice to those who
put their faith in him.  But today’s
parable story ends with the question, ‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory
will he find faith on earth. 

Offertory, Brent and Meredith.

The answer was given by the poor widow of the parable.  His faithful bride, who prays without ceasing,
who listens to, and obeys his words, will be waiting for him when he comes in
glory.

Harper happy with that Cupcake.

Today, as always, we have come together to be united in
prayer. We have come to pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks,
for that is God’s will for us in Christ Jesus.’  

Robyn and Brian .

This Liturgy is the Prayer of the People of God, and it
joins us at this moment with people celebrating it all over this world as we
ask the Spirit to come upon us through the Gospel and the Bread about to be
blessed and broken. 

Mr. Leo, the photogenic.

We are Christ’s body
especially when we join our hands and raise them toward God in prayer with the
words that Christ taught us to bring about his kingdom by forgiving others,
like the unjust judge, as we have been forgiven.

Rosemary with her blessing.

Readings:  

Isaiah 49, 1-6, I will make you a light to the nations.

Psalm 139, I praise you, for I am wonderfully made.

Acts,  13, 22-26, To us this word of salvation has been sent.

Luke 1, 57-66, 80, John is his name.  

Beginnings

Isaiah observations:

What:   Remember last week we had Ezekiel, one of the Big 3 Prophets.  This week we have The Big Prophet, Isaiah.   Because of its 66 chapters this work is a long one.  And a rich one.  Remember, also, that at least 3 writers contributed to the book. 

The first 39 chapters, Isaiah 1, present a strong criticism of the rampant corruption of the ruling class with their oppression of the ordinary people.  This Isaiah lives around 750 years before Christ.  He knows how the Assyrians destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel.  He predicts the same for the southern kingdom, Judah. 

Communion helpers

Our selection: Isaiah 2 begins at chapter 40 and is called The Book of Comfort.  You will see why.  Picture the people now enslaved by the Babylonians.  Isaiah 2 consoles the people with visions of a second Exodus & a return to Jerusalem 

Isaiah 3 speaks to the people now resettled in Jerusalem in chapters 55-66.  Emphasis is on justice, Sabbath observance, sacrifice, and prayer.  In other words, behave now that God has resettled you.   

 Resources: Good News Bible 

Leo preparing to sing

John the Baptist Figures

After five weeks, folks, of extraordinary events, I expected that for a while Rosemary & I would have a period of relative quiet, less emotional activity.  Not so. 

Yesterday she, John Cade, and myself, we went to the Corpus annual meeting.  Corpus is the national organization of married priests.  Corpus in this context means body and, in particular, we are the body.   We married priests are still the body of Christ.  The conference took place at the American Airlines Training Center, an excellent venue.

Brooklyn

Three observations.

First, these married priests and their wives are John the Baptist figures.  That is, like, John, they are pointing the way to the Lord.  They are pointing to a better way.  If Jesus was living today, I could easily see him being a member of Corpus.

Secondly, these men and the wives have spent time in the desert.  This is at least because they have been rejected and not allowed to share their charism as priests.  Folks, these are beautiful people.  They make marvelous priests, but they cannot officially share their gifts.

Harper Bambanek, Welcome!

These men & their wives are also walking in the desert today.  The last time I met with these people was two years ago and there was optimism and hope everywhere in the people.  Both John & I sensed less optimism about the Catholic Church this year.  It was brought up now & then.

One of the great men of this group is Anthony Padovano and he, an eternal optimist, constantly affirms that in the reform of Catholicism history is on our side.  Many of us who were at the conference see the reform and the principles of Vatican II going nowhere if not backwards. 

Thirdly, want to know where these people tell me they find hope and optimism?  You will never guess.  In You!  You who make up this community.  You who come every Sunday to a cafetorium instead of a pretty church, you who are so generous, you who support so many outreach projects.  Look at your Habitat involvement these weeks.  You are a John the Baptist symbol for these priests and their wives. 

Corpus prayer moment

I even had a married priest from Ontario, Canada come across the room to me and say what inspiration he takes from you. 

How does it feel to be considered an inspiration and a John the Baptist symbol?

How are you doing it? 

Corpus prayer moment, including John & Rosemary

The Feast of the Holy Family, Fr. Tony

The Church for the Feast of the Holy Family is generous in offering us several readings to choose from.  I have selected for our First ReadingFirst Samuel 1:20-22, 24-28, and the Letter to the Colossians 3: 12-17 as our Second Reading, the Gospel is from Luke 2: 41-52.

The story in our first reading about the birth of Samuel to Hannah and her presentation of the boy Samuel to the priest Eli happens at a time of great change for the Israelites.  The time is around the year 1000 BCE. 

Remember that after the People had been lead from slavery in Egypt, passing thru the desert with Moses and then coming to the Promised Land, they had basically invaded the place under Joshua.  After this they had continued their worship of Yahweh as a loose Confederation of Twelve Tribes.  They would meet each year at Shiloh, which we shall hear referred to in our reading today.  But external forces were beginning to invade. 

At this time they were under pressure from the Philistines and also the Ammonites.  The Tribal Federation was not proving effective in defending them.  In this period the People were ruled by a series of Judges and our boy Samuel turns out to be the last of these Judges.  He is the one who anoints Saul as the First King, and of course King David immediately follows Saul.  

And so the People move from this Tribal Confederation to a Monarchy.  One which was to split after the death of Solomon into the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah.

Homily for the Feast of the Holy Family

The gospel reading today from Luke tells of an incident in the early life of Jesus.  It serves as a bridge between the Infancy stories of the Birth of Jesus and the beginning of His public ministry with His baptism by John at the Jordan.

The reading itself is interesting.  If we were to put it into today’s world, it would be like taking a trip from Dallas to San Francisco by bus.  Imagine the scene.  A couple, with their 12 year old, going all that distance in say a caravan of buses.  They spend a few days in San Francisco and then are heading back. The first overnight stop on the way back is in Salt Lake City.  The parents have been in separate buses and figure the kid is with the other!  To their consternation, he is still in San Francisco.  Imagine the dialogue as they try get back to the City. Imagine three frantic days of searching for a 12 year old!  And then in desperation going to the Cathedral of the day and finding him there.  I am not too sure my dialogue would have been as gentle as Mary’s, and I certainly wouldn’t have appreciated the comment about being about my Father’s business!! 

All families are different!  But they seem to have a common purpose.  A safe place for humans!  At least that would seem to be the current intended purpose.  I suspect in earlier times the purpose had much more practical terms, namely making kids who could become helpers in the fields so that we could produce more crops. 

I want to turn to the second reading though as a kind of recipe for a successful family.  In Paul’s time it was for a successful community, which indeed I feel a family is also.  I would like to think that our community here is an extended family, where we can care for each other and support, encourage, and share in success or cry with loss and failure.  Paul talks about putting on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, and then over all these put on Love.  What kind of a family would you have if we could follow this advise! 

As we begin another year, a time when we take stock of our lives, perhaps we can try to implement this behavior.  Imagine what it would be like.

Picture 1:  Tony Begins the Mass of the Holy Family

Picture 2:  Vivian Miller's baptism

Picture 3:  Vivian's family

Picture 4:  The Beautiful Zoe

: Great clip on the Nativity Drama (if pressing the arrow does not start the video, move the red dot)
 

Readings: Acts 4, 8-12; Psalm 118, The stone rejected by the builders has become the corner stone; 1 John 3, 1-2; John 10, 11-18, The Good Shepherd 

Acts:  A review–

Date: ca. 70-100 A.D.

Author: Luke, who wrote both the Gospel and Acts

Setting:  Just like the last 2 Sundays, Peter & John have just healed a lame man outside of the temple gate.  The people rush to question them.  They say it happened because of God's power and that Jesus was raised from the dead.  The high priests hear about this and have them arrested.  After telling them to stop saying Jesus was raised from the dead, the two are released.

Our Selection: last week we read Peter's discourse to the local believers in a room.  The week before we read about the quality of life of the local believers, communal.  Today's account is Peter talking to the high priests and elders of the high court.  They are on trial.

John:

Date of Gospel: A.D. 85-95

Author: scholars have doubts that the Apostle John is the writer of the 3 works attributed to John, the Gospel, 3 letters, & Revelation.  Doubts exist even that one writer composed all the works.

The Shepherd Who lays down His Life

Back in the beautiful old days of St. Mark's, during the time when Duffy was our super hospitable pastor, Rita was the housekeeper and the to die for cook, and we had a fun staff with priests like Dean Pratt & Fr. Rudy, we had three marvelous deacons, Arnold Pichon, Mike Carroll, and Bob Scoggins. 

I had the privilege to get to know Arnold especially well when he started out as a novice deacon.  For years we did the Hispanic Mass in the cafetorium at 9:00.  I watched him move from being a rather nervous homilist to being a confident, caring deacon as the years went by.  He was faithful to the community.  He gave his heart to those people and so far as I understand, he still does.  Every Sunday and days in between, whoever the priest is who shows up.

Everybody at St. Marks knew Mike Carroll.  Not only did he tell numerous smaltzie stories in his homilies, standing right down at the base of the altar like I loved to do.  He also made good points and he was always there.  I would arrive for evening penitential services during Lent & Advent.  Who was running the services?  He also dedicated his heart to the people and in particular to the kids in formation programs.

Finally there was Bob Scoggins, whom I love just as much as Arnold and Mike.  Scoggins was always at the 10:30 cafetorium Mass, and from the beginning I admired him for something special.  Bob's wife Trula had MS.  When I started saying the 10:30, Trula was always there in a wheel chair or some kind of conveyance.

The years went on and suddenly it dawned upon me that Trula was not there.  I asked Bob about it and he said Trula had deteriorated and could not get out of bed for long.  I suggested he simply bring her and she could lie on a bed near or on the stage while we had the Mass.  Bob, however, thought it would be too hard & embarrassing for her.

Sometime after that, Trula went on to her reward.  Then, every time Bob gave a homily he would end up in tears talking about Trula's example.  It continued so long that finally I used to tell him before the Mass, "Okay, Scoggins, no tears today!."  Slightly preposterous of me, who deals with tears often enough.  A lot of good it did.  More tears always came.  Finally, somewhere in those golden days, Bob went to stay with Trula.  He gave his heart to the people of St. Mark's and to Trula. 

I was reminded of these terrific guys because we are reading in John about the Good Shepherd who lays down his life.  Scoggins was a Good Shepherd and laid down his life, his whole heart for Trula and the people.

Arnold and Mike are Good Shepherds.  They are still pouring out their hearts and their lives for the people.  It don't get better than these guys.

You might think, "Well, nice, but I don't see anybody else besides these deacons.  Plus, that is their job."  Look around some more.  Try Julia Grenier who started the Collin County Adult Clinic.  Try Rita Dore who played such a marvelously hospitable compliment to Duffy and who baby sat The Man through so much.  She was there in the background, but likewise playing the role of The Good Shepherd, pouring out her heart & her life for us guys.

My old coach, teacher, and Scout Master at Christ the King was a Good Shepherd to me.  Frank Hart.  He gave me his life. 

Two questions:

        1.  Who is your model for The Good Shepherd?

        2.  How are You a Good Shepherd?

AUDIO:  http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2009-05-03.mp3

Picture 1:  Mass with Kevin helping

Picture 2:  Choir, Wendy, Ray, & Celeste

Picture 3:  Our Father, Kevin, Patricia, & Bill

Picture 4:  The Ekes, Zalie, Cindy, Marlene, Bobby, Mabel, & Debbie

Acts 1:  “. . . for John baptized with water,  but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Ephesians 1: May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe, . . . 

Luke 24:  “. . . And behold I am sending the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Mary Jane reading from the Acts of the Apostles

Thanks…     

Music,   Ben & Shonda

Outreach: $   230.00   

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

Shonda gets a cookie for her birthday

Rosemary's Blessing:

Christ has no body now on earth but yours,

     no hands but yours,

     no feet but yours,

Yours are the eyes through which Christ’s

     compassion is to look out to the world,

Yours are the feet with which Christ is to

     go about doing good,

Yours are the hands, with which Christ is to 

     bless all people now.

From a prayer by Teresa of Avila (1515–1582)

Readings: Joshua 5, 9-12; Psalm 34, Taste and see the goodness of the Lord; 2 Corinthians 5, 17-21; Luke 15, 1-32

The Fourth Sunday in Lent – Reflection on the Readings

The first reading today is from the Book of Joshua.  Just to put this book in the context of the Old Testament, it comes immediately after the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament.  It is the account of how the Israelites took possession of the “Promised Land”.  It would be similar I suppose to the landings of the early pilgrims and how we celebrate that event with Thanksgiving.

The book has been edited by the same folks who worked on the Pentateuch, namely those folks whom we know as J, E, P and D.  Our reading today comes just before the famous battle to take Jericho.  The Israelites are making their transition from being feed with Manna to harvesting food from the land.  One continuing concern, which comes up time and again, is the influence of the Canaanites on the relationship of the Israelites with their God. 

On the second reading from Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians we have that amazing phrase which Paul uses to say we are “ambassadors for Christ”.  Remember that an ambassador represents the one who has sent them.  Christ’s focus was always on the underprivileged, the poor and the outcasts of society. 

Picture 1:  The Mass begins at Wilson Middle School

Picture 2:  Bob & John, Marilyn and her guest from Germany, Richard

Picture 3:  The patio at Wilson with Loretta & Gayle

Picture 4:  The Donut Shoppe, Rosemary & Ray