Reminder for Sunday, December 2, 2018, First Advent

Readings:

2 Samuel  5, 1-3,  They anointed David king of Israel.

 Psalm 122,  Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

 Colossians 1, 12-20,  Let us give thanks to the Father.

 Luke, 22, 35-43,   If you are king of the Jews, save yourself.

Special Advent reflection by Deacon Mike:   Download Bible Study by Deacon Mike.10-20-16docx

"Hi," says the beautiful Victoria, "Welcome in."

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.

And not to be outdone in hospitality, this cute little girl likewise says,  "Hi, Everybody."

Author: Pius XI, pope 1922-39

Reason(s): at least 2 factors–The Times and Modernism/Secularism

1. The Times:
   1.  End of WW I and build up to WW II   
   2.  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:
   1.  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.
   2.  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

Even Kevin says, "I may not be a cute little girl, but I still say, 'Welcome!'"

Observations on Samuel:

What: This is a 4 book series, 1 & 2 Samuel & 1 & 2 Kings.  The first two are all about Samuel, the last of the Judges of the tribe, and about Saul and David, the first two kings.

Author: Numerous authors.  Some say even Saul put together some of the parts that pertain to him.

When written: Over a period of even centuries.  However, it seems to have come together in the present form around the Babylonian Captivity, 555 before Christ.

Our selection: David is anointed king.

Sources: Jerusalem Bible, Good News Bible. 

Guess who has herself a nice letter jacket!  Congratulations Kara and Hi, James.

Thanksgiving

When Christ the King Sunday rolls around every year I am always tempted to tell good old stories about my childhood growing up in Christ the King parish here in Dallas.  Suffice it to say Christ the King was one reason why I became a Jesuit instead of a diocesan priest.

Instead of Christ the King, therefore, I would prefer to focus on my most favorite topic, Thanksgiving from my perspective.  Of course, when I ran my idea by Rosemary, I got a “Thanksgiving again. You just talked about it and you will wear everybody out.”  The problem: I don’t think I can ever focus on thanksgiving enough.  And that holds for all of us. 

Offertory, The Ekes, Marlene, Mabel, Bill, and Cindy.

So, hang on Everybody, I want to talk about four special blessing that have given me life and joy this year.  I pass on the Big 4 you know about, the Jesuit experience, East Africa, Marriage, and our community.  Instead, this year it is biking, backpacking, learning, and priesthood.

Because of biking, which in turn I can do because of my two new hips, I have this summer ridden 500 miles across Iowa, ridden 100 miles the last Saturday in August in the Hotter ‘N Hell out of Wichita Falls, circled White Rock Lake with Rosemary  dozens of times, and made some dear friends at the Jewish Community Center where I put in a strenuous workout every week day. 

"Nothing like Grandma's hugs," says Victoria.

Backpacking this past September took us to Idaho and the 7 Devils region, 7 of us, 7 nights, and a great time. 

As a spinoff of this I have also been blessed by our Friday Romeos luncheon at Jason’s Deli.

Muy Buenos Dias and Bienvenidos, Senora Alisia et Senor Jose.

From the first day I entered the Jesuits we were vaccinated with the idea that we never stop learning.  French has been my learning this year and for the last 6 years, since I got my new hips in ’10.  Because of this I have had the opportunity to get to know some really special people in L’Alliance Francaise, the office of which is, you will never guess, at the corner of Central and Royal Lane. 

The final blessing is the privilege of continuing to act as a priest.  Just recently I have been part of two superb weddings, Lisa Anderlick, the daughter of John and Karen, and Scott Simari, the son of John and Michelle.

What do you think, Buddy, am I doing a good job?  You are awake anyway.

Besides weddings, I have had the enormous privilege of walking with some people on their last walk.  John’s mother, Pat.  Jerry Gleason. Curtis Ekes. And Mike Miller.

These are some of my blessing for 2016.  What are yours?

Says Zoe, "Leo, may I go for a ride in your car?"

I heard a nice idea for sitting around the Thanksgiving table.  Each person is invited to thank one other person at the table and to give thanks to or for one person not at the table. 

The Best, Mary, Bethany, and Ray.

Readings:  

Ezekiel 17, 22-24, Birds of every kind shall dwell beneath it.

Psalm 92, Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.

2 Corinthians 5, 6-10, We are always courageous.  

Mark 4, 26-34, Through it all the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how.

Leo & his momma, Shonda

Observations on Ezekiel

Who:  Ezekiel is one of the Big 3 prophets.  Why?  48 chapters.  The other 2: Isaiah & Jeremiah.  Lots of chapters.

Ezekiel was born into the priest class.  He later was considered a prophet.  When he was about 25 he was swept up in the Babylonian captivity, around 590. 

Emma wiating for the cookies

When: It covers the period of the Captivity, but it is composed toward the end of the Captivity, around 550, before Christ.  This is Ezekiel’s material, but it has been saved and edited by his fellow priests.

Brooklyn ready to roll

Message:

1.  Ezekiel warns the people that they will be punished for their bad ways, for example, the Captivity.
2. He promises comfort and a brighter future for the captive, especially envisioning a restored temple (which was done until when?  The year 70, when the Romans finally destroyed the temple & the priestly cast ceased to function, to this day).
3. An amusing vision: The Dry Bones, chapter 37.

Today’s selection: Consolation.  Watch for a comforting message about a cedar tree.

As Sienna escapes across the stage, Brian climbs the stairs two at a time in hot pursuit. Who won?

Sources: Good News Bible, New Interpreter’s Study Bible, Wikipedia

All males in the community receiving a special community Father's Day Blessing

Father’s Day

In honor of Father’s Day I want to tell you 4 vignettes that I saw this weekend at a wedding Rosemary & I celebrated in Marshall, TX.  Two of the fathers are the couple’s dads.  The other two are guys I saw in action.

The community blesses

The wedding was for Kyle Dansby, a boy whom I have known and loved since way back in the nineties when he & often his two younger brothers helped me as altar servers at St. Mark’s.  Ashli Marie Acker was Kyle’s fiancé’.

Robyn & Erin offer their blessings

The first time I noticed something special was at breakfast yesterday morning in our motel, Comfort Suites.  Rosemary & I were seated at a table in the dining room about 9:00.  In comes a young couple with a girl about 3 and a boy who was placed in a high chair. 

This little boy fell immediately in love with Rosemary.  To see her he had to turn around left in his chair.  Despite dad’s efforts to interest him in eating, the little boy just watched Rosemary.  Food went uneaten and even on the floor.

The Dansby Family, Clark, Charlie, Kyle, Janet, & Randy. The Marshall Court House is where Kyle works as an Assistant D.A.

We talked with the little boy who never spoke, just watched.  Despite dad’s plans and despite the mess, dad never lost his cool.  When it was time for them to leave, he simply cleaned up, held out his arms, and the little boy put up his arms to be held.  I was touched, especially by his not placing project over people.

Later at the wedding, which was outdoors across the plaza from the pretty Marshall courthouse in a small park with a gazebo attached to a building.  So there was a stage effect.  We had two little flower girls, Lily & Abby.    Kids are always a delight at a wedding and these little girls were no exception. 

Ashli & Kyle Married

First, they got lost trying to choose which access to get up on the gazebo stage.  So I went and helped them up.  Then, as the wedding progressed, they were everywhere.  They went up and down, they went to pick up their flower baskets, and they were chatting with the bride’s maids.  Dad never got flustered.  Nor did anyone on the stage.  Instead of being seen as distractions, they were celebrated as delights.

Another example of people over project.

Then there was Ashli’s father.  Nice guy, congenial, probably in his fifties.  Then I discover he has recently obtained his doctorate and is teaching at a college maybe in Beaumont.  I am most impressed because I was trained as a Jesuit and still believe it that we never stop learning.  Life is an adventure in learning.  And here is an example.

Our very entertaining flower girls

Finally, Kyle’s dad.  I discovered that when Kyle was about 2 or 3 his mom died of cancer.  She was only about 34.  I cannot imagine how difficult this must have been.  I talked with him just a little bit about the event and he admitted that it was really, really tough. 

Later, fortunately, he met his present wife and has two more sons.  Faithfulness.

Technology to the rescue. The Bible was left in the girls' dressing room. So Kyle's brother, Charlie, brings up the Corinthians reading on his iPhone

These four guys touched me each in their own special way.  The two fathers of the little kids reminded me of my own struggle with placing projects over people.  Ashli’s dad exemplifies the ideal that learning is a lifelong adventure.  And Kyle’s dad, faithfulness.

How are you blessed by the dads in your life?

How are you dads blessing our world?

2 Maccabees 7:  It is my choice to die at the hands of men with the hope God gives of being raised up by him;…

2 Thessalonians 2:  May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the endurance of Christ.

Luke 20:  They can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise.

Mary reading from Maccabees

Thanks…     

Music,    Ben & Shonda

Readers,  Mary and Warren

Gospel,   John Cade

Homily,  John Stack

Eucharistic Prayer A & B,  John Stack & John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers,   Hue & Richard & Kevin

Final Blessing, Rosemary

Warren reading from Paul's letter to the Thessalonians

Readings:  Download 11-03-22- Readings – 32nd Sunday Ord

Homily:  

Grace and Aviana

Remember these special people:

For Jan; For Sandra who has been diagnosed with Large B Cell Lymphoma;   For Lambrini, John Cade's wife, who is dealing with cancer and Kaliope, John Cade's Mother-in-law;  For Madeleine, Richard Eshelbrenner's granddaughter;  For Donna and the Dinsmore Family after her brother, Dennis died  from pancreatic cancer;   For Hue; For Jackie;  For John's sister, Kathey recovering from a fall;    For Tom Good;  For a young man, 19 struggling with a brain tumor and cancer;     For Mary Hall's friend Cadence still suffering from a serious medical condition;   For Sir Charlie & Jan; 

Richard reminding us about the Love For Kids Party in December    

Jackie's mom, sister, & friend, Lynn;  For Rick Turner searching for a kidney donor, Type O neg.;   For Jean & Cliff Wright;  For Dee, and for her daughters, Lisa & Lauren;     For a young man who is suffering from depression;  John Cade's daughter, Joey, with cancer; from Barbara, a little baby boy named Ford recuperating from an operation & friends, Annie, a mom of 3 kids and Michael ;    for the medical staffs, teachers, and coaches in our public & private schools.

John, Brent and Tom

Birthdays:   

Anniversaries:   

Community Finances:   

Expenses: $   1,210.00

Outreach: $   360.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

John and Connie

Rosemary's Blessing:  

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks still bravely singing fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead: Short days ago,
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved: and now we lie
In Flanders fields!

Taken from IN FLANDERS FIELDS
By Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae

Composed at the battlefront on May 3, 1915 
during the second battle of Ypres, Belgium

Readings:

Isaiah, 56, 1, 6-7,  My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples

Psalm 67,  Oh, God let all the nations praise you.

Romans  11, 13-15, 29-32,  The gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. 

Matthew 15, 21-28,   Woman, great is our faith!  Let it be done for you as you wish.

ROMEOS, Friday, August 21, 1:00,  as usual.    Welcome!

ROMEOs' Virtual Jason's Deli BYOB lunch
This is a recurring meeting, Friday, 1:00 pm
Link :
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85798571623?pwd=NmFSTW1ocVMzRGdIc0QzUGxKdHM3dz09

Meeting ID: 857 9857 1623
Password: saladbar

Reminder for 20th Sunday Ordinary Time, August 16, 2020

Here are the links for Sunday:

 3.  The Bishop "McCarrick case,  https://www.caller.com/story/news/local/2018/08/10/bishop-mulvey-vows-respond-claims-misconduct-diocese/952389002/ 

Feed the deer, but DON'T feed the bears.   You may feed Mikie.

Genesis 2: The Man said, "Finally! Bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh! Name her Woman for she was made from Man."   Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and embraces his wife. They become one flesh.

Hebrews 2:  Since the One who saves and those who are saved have a common origin, Jesus doesn't hesitate to treat them as family.

Mark 10:  In the original creation, God made male and female to be together.  Because of this, a man leaves father and mother, and in marriage he becomes one flesh with a woman – no longer two individuals, but forming a new unity.

John in Montreal in September

Another Reminder for 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 6, 2024

Says our dearest Harper, "Welcome in, Everybody. 

Readings:  

Daniel 12, 1-3, In those day, I, Daniel, heard the word of the Lord

Psalm 16,  You are my inheritance, O Lord

1 Corinthians 1, 3-9, I give thanks  (selection from Thanksgiving Day)

Mark 13,  24-32,  Learn a lesson from the fig tree.

With Buddy reading the blessing of the candles, Emma lights the candles.

Thanksgiving History: Everyone knows about the first Thanksgiving in 1602 with the Pilgrims and the Indians eating together, the Mayflower, and Plymouth Rock.   Here are 5 facts that people do not hear about usually.

1.  When did Thanksgiving begin?  Our ancestors have celebrated end of harvest feasts of gratitude for centuries.  Lincoln first focused on a national feast; FDR established the national holiday in 1941.

Michelle with her dad, Gil.

1.  The pilgrims did not know they were pilgrims.  They called themselves saints, and non-saints were called strangers.  The word pilgrim came along in the 18 hundreds, 2 centuries later.  They were not even Puritans, but separatists.  They split off from the Church of England, old Henry VIII's church, and the Puritans did not split off. 
2.   The Separatists did not come to establish religious freedom.  They came for religious freedom for their religion and only their religion.  Like the Catholic Church, the Separatists demanded everyone belong to their program.  Failure to conform could result in execution, ala inquisition.

And the Father will Dance, One of our most favorite hymns led by Ben.

1.  The Mayflower returned to England, was torn apart, and its beams were used to build a barn in Buckinghamshire (just north of London & east of Oxford).
2.  How did the Indians & Separatists communicate?   The Indians were Algonquians & one of them, Squanto had actually lived in Briton some years.  He returned to his tribe and taught his friend, Samoset English.  It was Samoset who communicated with the Separatists, & the Indians taught them to raise corn, to fish, and to hunt.  In the first winter half of the 100 Separatists died before the Indians taught them how to survive.

Elevation time.

Thanksgiving

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, my most favorite celebration, I would like to talk about blessings.  Excuse me for the personal focus.  It is my annual assessment.  Rosemary & I do this together more toward the end of the year, but initially I put together my own list.

As an aside, this Tuesday we celebrate the 26^th anniversary of the 6 Jesuits killed in the patio of their residence of their university, UCA, University of Central America, El Salvador.

Offertory with Mike, John, and Connie.

Thanksgiving

Despite the fact that Rosemary says, when she hears that I want to give a Thanksgiving homily this Sunday, “Not another thanksgiving homily.”  I  promise her that  won’t repeat the Big 3 Blessings in my life.  Like entering the Jesuits, spending 10 years in East Africa, and marrying her. 

Instead, I have Ragbrai.  The ride across Iowa in July.  You have heard me talk about this event on numerous occasions.  To me this is an extraordinary event, some 30 thousand riders, 400-500 miles from the Missouri River to the Mississippi.

 Saturday night wedding with Christi and Steve.

 I have my favorite vendor, the Mennonite community, serving home made pie slices and a big bowl of vanilla ice cream.  One flavor of ice cream, a dozen flavors of pie, which the are baking right there on the edge of the road. Like in October we took an ocean cruise in the North Atlantic, starting in Bergen, Switzerland, and continuing through Amsterdam and Portsmouth, England through the Straights of Gibraltar to Barcelona, Spain.

One of the most moving experiences was taking a bus from Bruge, Belgium to the First World War battle lines at Ypres.  This was to be the war to end all wars.

Away they go on a new journey in life.

Thirdly, and this is the best year after year.  This community, you people.  Like what community could you find who would welcome with open arms a crazy woman who wants to tell us about her ancestors who came over on the Mayflower.  Moreover, we loved the presentation, complete with singing and a costume change.

These are just three of my blessings this year.  What are three of yours. 

Even big kids get to play with the toys, as long as the kids don't see them