Announcements

Rosemary's Blessing:

“Father and Mother of all:

We give thanks for food and remember the hungry,

We give thanks for health and remember the sick,

We give thanks for friends and remember the friendless,

We give thanks for freedom and remember the enslaved.

May our giving thanks stir us to service, that our blessings may be shared with others. Amen.”

A Thanksgiving prayer from a Dear Abbey column

 Mary reading from Daniel.

Thanks to these special people

• For  the Readings:  Mary  &   Bernadette
• For The Team:    Buddy  &  Georgie
• For the Communion Bread:   Alison & John
• For the Special Communion Cups: Jan & Charlie
• For the Pictures:   Rick & Mike  &   Connie
• For the coffee and extras:  Jackie & Becky & Tom
• For the altar & sound:  Jackie & Hue 
• For the Music:     Ben  
• For Becky & her generous hospitality at Legacy
• For all who helped with communion

Bernadette reads from 2 Corinthians.

Birthdays:   Diane McMahon (Sunday, 81), Frank Esparza (Monday), Ron Ackerman (Thursday)

Rosemary reading her Blessing of The The Week. 

Remember these special people

For Meredith, cancer free;  For David Dinsmore's cousin in W. VA & for Darbyanne;  For Jerry Brophy, a high school classmate of mine  For Tom Quinn’s brother,Tim;  For Hue;  For John O'Donnell & Mary Ellen;   For Carol's recuperation;   For  Joe Mazzei's sister, Nina with cancer; For Dee and her daughter, Lisa; For John Schanot's continued recuperation;   For a young man who is suffering from depression;  For Cliff & Jean, plus Jean's brother Terry;   For Rosemary's niece, Beth and her partner, Sarah with cancer;   For Laura's sister Claudia;   For Dawn;    For Anthony & Sabrina; 

Our Dearest Emma, you are a natural.  You do everything so well.

For John & Jean's son John Louis;   For our good friend Kay (at 90 years!) in Ontario;  For Jackie's friend, Barbara, plus Angela & her mom;    or Sr. Patricia Otillio, a nun I worked with for years in Grand Coteau;   John Cade's mother in law, Kalliopi Piskiouli;  for Frank’s brother with advanced Parkinsons;      For Steve Barrett, Rose, & Katie;  Dick Thompson's daughter, Teri Jill, and Judy's aging parents;  Barb & Warren's grandbabies, Leighton Elizabeth and Warren Phillip and Ethan Michel, & their friend Chris, plus Barb's  Annie & Kaitlen; 

Happy 81st birthday today, Dearest Diane.  You are still one of my classiest dancers.

Tom and Teresa Quinn's niece, Chawna, with cancer, their granddaughter, Mikayla;   plus Neva Flynn, Angel, and Diane Kreeitzer;   Connie Doherty's mom and her sister, plus Kevin's cousin, Peter; For a number of David McKeon's family who are having a rough time with health issues; for our friends, sons, and daughters in the military, including Ryan McClurg and Chebino; cure for autism from Laura Chollick; for our President.

And Happy Birthday to you Dear Frank.

Your Finances, November 18, 2018

Expenses:    $5235.00

Outreach:    $315.00

Thanks for your Generosity, Everybody

We donated $2,000.00 to Soul's Harbor today.

Jim, you got that cupcake because everyone felt sorry for you, being a student in my classes back at Jesuit in the 60's.

Have a Great Week, J.S.

(214-783-0443)

Welcome, Brent, to our monthly contribution to souls Harbor, the great work you do.   Wish it could be more.

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.

Trouble makers brewing up some trouble?

Acts of the Apostles 10:  While Peter was still speaking these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the word.

1 John 4:  Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.

John 15:  I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy might be complete.

Acts of the Apostles 1:  When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.

Ephesians 1:  And he put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.

Matthew 28:  All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, ….

John Stack Ministries now meets at:  The ArtCentre of Plano, 902 E. 16th St, Plano

Readings:

Acts of the Apostles  8, 5-8, 14-17, There was gret joy in that city.

Psalm 66,  Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.

1 Peter 3, 15-18, It is better to suffer for doing good, thank doing evil.

 John 14, 15-21,  If you love me you will keep my commandments.. 

Good Morning, Harper, and thanks for welcoming us all back.

Unconditional Love ?  Certainly !

Did you catch that Psalm 66 ?  Can you believe?!

Let all the earth cry out to God with joy!

Shout joyfully to God…, sing praise to the glory of his name,… proclaim his glorious praise.  Say to God, “How tremendous are your deeds!

I dream of Matterhorn Canyon, Yosemite, whenever I read or hear that last line.

She's back, Everybody, Sabrina, one of our most special people since she was a little girl.  Congratulations on graduation and double congratulations on the double magna cum laude.  Congratulations, also, to you two, John and Alison.

And while we are congratulating graduates, congratulations to Karen Anderlick on her graduation and especially with the summa cum laude.

This is a counter weight to the first line of John’s reading, If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

I want to talk about how I went from being a fear based Catholic, Christian, human being, to living without fear. 

It all started in my first two years as a Jesuit novice in Grand Coteau, 1958-1960, 60 years ago next year.   It is the novice master’s fault. 

Congratulations to you, too, Shonda, on the Air Force uniform.  All these years we have known  each other and this is the first time I see your uniform.  You look Quite Striking!

Tony Mangiaracina was the novice master, about 5’1”, ramrod straight, did not walk, but marched in his cassock.  He could look very rigid and uninviting.  But underneath the rigid exterior, which was mostly what we saw for months, was a softy, all heart.  How many times we saw him in tears at special events.  Christmas carols always got him.

In those days we, too, lived a really Spartan life, silence except for three nights a week when we could talk at dinner, Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays.  These three days were also recreation days, like for touch football or handball games.  Other days we worked inside the building or on the farm, we studied, and we had periods of prayer.  A very monastic life.

The Best Music, Shonda, Bethany, and David.
 

My awakening took place one afternoon when I went to get permission from the master to drink water.  Yes, we had to get permission to drink water at the beginning of each month.   We were told this was to teach us obedience even in the smallest things. 

Now it so happened that around this time an edict came out from Jesuit headquarters in Rome that smoking was prohibited for all Jesuits.  This was no burden for us 50 or so novices because we could not smoke anyway. 

But, guess who did smoke.  Yes, Tony Mangiaracina.

The Best Teammates, Georgie and Buddy.

On this particular day I went in to Tony’s office, I must have gotten my permission to drink and then chatted a few extra moments.   He had two large windows behind his desk, which faced me and the door I entered.  Suddenly I see against the light and even smell, guess what, smoke coming out of his right hand desk drawer. 

I never said a thing, but I was amused and touched.  Tony had put his cigarette into the drawer when I knocked to come in. 

At that moment I began to let loose of the fear that I was a sure bet for hell.   Like, here was my saintly novice master breaking a commandment that came all the way from Jesuit headquarters in Rome. 

Buddies, Cody & Ben, Paul & Carrie.

15 or so years later when I returned to Grand Coteau to establish a spiritual center, Tony was one of my team members.  And guess what. He still smoked.  The ban had been lifted a year or so after Vat. II.

I am grateful today to Tony and his human nature.  I figured bit by bit that if Tony was still going to heaven after being disobedient, I had a  chance, too.  I began to see that God’s love was not conditional, but unconditional. 

So, where are you going, Heaven?

More Buddies, Zoe & Harper

Community Finances:   

  Expenses: $  710.00

  Outreach: $   50.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

Kevin working on the Zoom

Jonah 3: The word of the Lord came to Jonah, saying "Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and announce to it the message that I will tell you."

1 Corinthians 29:  For the world in its present form is passing away.

Mark 1:  "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men."