Reminder for Sunday, January 13, 2019, The Baptism

Amos 6:  Thus says the Lord the God of hosts: Woe to the complacent in Zion!

1 Timothy 6:  But you, man of God, pursue righteousness,  devotion,  faith,  love, patience, and gentleness.

Luke 16:  Jesus said to the Pharisees: "There was a rich man ….  And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus,… 

 

 

Denni reading from Amos

 

 

Thanks…      

Music,    Ben 

Readers,  Denni & Tom

Gospel,   John Cade

Homily,  John Stack

Eucharistic Prayer A & B,  John Stack & John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers,      Hue & Richard & Kevin

Final Blessing, Rosemary

 

         

Tom reading from Paul's letter to Timothy

Readings:  Download 09-25-22- Readings – 26th Sunday Ord

Homily:   Download 09-25-22- Notes- 26th Sunday Ord

 

 

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 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; 

       

Paul putting the cross together

 

 

 

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.

 

 

Geri visiting from North Carolina

   

Birthdays:   

Anniversaries:   Becky & Tom Good 9/26, John Cade – Ordination 9/30

      

Community Finances:   

Expenses: $   815.00

Outreach: $  

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

                 

Allen, Aggie and Cindy

 

 

Rosemary's Blessing:  

 

“Rivers do not drink their own water;

trees do not eat their own fruit;

the sun does not shine on itself

and flowers do not spread their fragrance for themselves.

Living for others is a rule of nature.

We are born to help each other.

No matter how difficult it is.

Life is good when you are happy

but much better when others are happy because of you.

Let us remember that pain is a sign that we are alive,

problems are a sign that we are strong and

prayer is a sign that we are not alone.

If we can acknowledge these truths and

condition our hearts and minds, our lives will be

more meaningful,

different and

worthwhile.”

 Unknown

               

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

Readings: Sirach 35, 12-18; Psalm 34, The Lord hears the Cry of the Poor; 2 Timothy 4, 6-8, 16-18; Luke 18 9-14.

Introduction to the Readings 

A brief word about our first reading.  We have heard from Sirach eight weeks ago on the twenty second Sunday of Ordinary Time.  At that time I had told you that this book was written by Sirach, it is part of the Wisdom literature, and probably written around the year 180 BCE.  The writing is also known at Ecclesiasticus, because early in the life of the church it was one of the most used of the Old Testament books.  I love that contrast between the statement in the first two lines “The LORD is a God of justice, who knows no favorites” with what then follows, namely how God hears the cry of the poor, the widows, the orphans, the oppressed. 

 

Our second reading is the final one from Paul’s Letters to Timothy.  We have been reading from these two letters for the past six weeks.  The letter is perhaps the last one written by Paul from prison in Rome before he is executed.  The two letters to Timothy and the letter to Titus, form what is known as the Pastoral Letters.  The style is very different from Paul’s other letters.  He is writing to these two to encourage them as leaders in communities that Paul had set up.  Remember, Timothy, who is mentioned in Luke’s Acts Chapter 16, was a companion to Paul.  Our reading today is the conclusion of the second letter and sounds like Paul’s farewell.

 

 Homily

 Main Point – A simple parable, humility trumps pride, especially when we pray.  I could stop there but won’t because there is a second layer to this simple parable.  We need to understand the setting for the story.  The two men going into the temple were not like two men going into church here any afternoon. 

 First of all, they were going into the Temple in Jerusalem.  They were going into a “Prayer of Atonement” service held each afternoon in the Temple.  The Pharisee would have naturally joined with the other Pharisees at the front and the tax collector would have hung around inside the door.  In the eyes of the Law, or Torah, the Pharisee was a very good person, and what he declared went even beyond the Law. 

 Where he failed, was realizing that everything about his “holiness” was due to his own efforts and nothing came from God.  The tax collector on the other hand was all too well aware of his shortcomings and acknowledges that he is totally dependant on God and His mercy.

 

 Our catholic tradition has always given me the impression that if I was good, went to Mass every Sunday, obeyed the commandments, fasted at the appropriate time etc. then I was all set for heaven.  It would seem that God had very little to do in it.  And of course this was the whole crux that caused the Reformation. 

 One would think we could have learned from our mistakes.  At that time Martin Luther was appalled at the practice of selling indulgences, as if folks could purchase their way into heaven.  His position was: “Salvation by faith alone” and the church preferred to add that “good works” were also important. 

 But back to the two in the temple.  There are several interesting little hints given which tell us a whole lot more.  The Pharisee stands apart, he does not seem to belong to the gathered community.  When the tax collector prays “have mercy on me a sinner” the word he uses in the original Greek is not the common word “eleison” which we use when we say Lord have mercy, or Kyrie Eleison, but a very different word connecting to the liturgy which he was part of that afternoon. 

 In other words the tax collector saw himself as part of a community, and absolutely in need of God’s forgiveness, the Pharisee saw only himself!!  It was being part of a community and recognizing his total need for God, which allowed for him to go home justified. 

 
 

 The message:  we must be aware that even though we are here each Sunday, this should not lead us down the same path of the Pharisee. 

Picture 1:  Mass with Tony

Picture 2:  Tom, Lynda, & Nina packing up food for this Saturday at the Habitat House

Picture 3:  Maggie with her dad & granddad, Tom & Bob

Picture 4:  Sienna with her mom & dad, Erin & Payton

 

Readings:

Malachi  3, 19-20,  There will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays.

 Psalm 98,  The Lord comes to rule the earth with justice.

 2 Thessalonians 3, 7-12,  See what love the father has bestowed on us.

 Luke, 21, 5-19,   When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified.

Some Sundays the selection of readings are beautiful and touching. Some Sundays they are not.  Such are our readings today as we come to the end of the church readings for this year.

 

Who is this little girl in John's arms welcoming everybody?

 

Observations on Malachi:

What:  The very last book of the O.T.  A little book, only 4 short chapters.  

When:  After the return of the Israelites from the Babylonian Captivity, therefore, the 5th century before Christ, i.e., ca 499 and before.

Message: because of laxity and corruption Malachi is warning the people that they will get punished again.  Such is our reading today. 

 

 

Getting ready: you put your left arm in, Buddy, you put your right arm down, and you shake it all around.

 

 

Thanksgiving I

With the approach of Thanksgiving, my favorite feast of all, I would like to talk about what I am grateful for on two occasions, this Sunday and next Sunday. 

I want to talk today about what I am grateful for because it has been a rough, almost depressing week for me.  Tuesday night, of course, was where it began.  As the evening progressed I began to tell which way the wind was blowing. 

 

 

Got it, show time.

 

As you know, by 9:00 I was ready to go to bed, but I was also tempted to stay up.  Temptation.  So as not to get wound up, I told Rosemary I was going to be as normal and would check in the morning.  I went to bed consciously focusing on my blessings, and in the morning, despite the news, I continued.  This focus really helped me to maintain perspective and hope for the future. 

Want to know what the blessings were?  Here are the big four.

 

 

Our Candle Man of The week, Buddy.

 

First, I was grateful for the relationship Rosemary & I have.  Rosemary does not come to bed with me at 9:00, but she and Aviana are all snuggled in when I get up at 4:00.  The gift of their presence on a cold morning is almost enough to make me change my mind about getting up. 

The second blessing takes place when I get up.  After doing some pushups and crunches at home, I head to the Jewish Community Center where I join 10 – 20 others doing spin class and then I work out in the gym for 15 minutes.  In the winter I take a  shower.   I love the exercise and I love the congeniality.  I know a bunch of  people by name and even know a bunch of birthdays in my spin class.  Guess what I do on their birthdays. 

 

 

Congratulations to Cody and our dear Shonda (marriage).

 

Connected with the exercise at the J, I love the gift of White Rock Lake and my ability to be able to ride around it.  Thursday or Friday The Lake was flat as glass, just beautiful.   

Third blessing, you people, our community.  Every Sunday I head home with Rosemary and sometimes Aviana on a high.  The high continues through the afternoon when I am sorting through all the pictures for about 30 that I plug into the blog.

 

 

Hey, Leo, I am jealous of your glasses.

 

 Fourth blessing.  Thursday morning I was privileged to visit a guy’s mother who was just on the edge of moving to the other side.   She was in one of the retirement homes on Plano Parkway.  I went in.  She was lying on her back in bed.  Her eyes were open but she was oblivious.  Occasionally she had like muscle spasms where she would kind of ball up. 

I blessed her and then leaned down and caressed her cheek.  I put my left hand under her hair and talked quietly to her.  I heard the word mama once, so I started telling her her mama was coming for her.

 

 

The Best, Shonda & Ray

 

This went on for, say, 10-15 minutes.  I had worn my white alb to give her peace.  Then it happened.  She focused and looked right into my eye.  We looked consciously at each other maybe a foot apart.  I continued to reassure her.  Then she was gone again.

These are the daily blessings I focused on to maintain my normal inner peace.

 

 

Welcome Home, Norm, good to see you.

 

If you needed to, what did you do?

 

Welcome home, Kim and Dave, good having you in.

 

 

Wisdom 9:  Or who ever knew your counsel, except you had given wisdom and sent your holy spirit from on high?

Philemon 9:  … but even more so to you, as a man and in the Lord.

Luke 14:  In the same way, anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.

 

Sunset on the Baltic

 

 

Music,    Ben & Shonda

Readers,  Mary Jane & John

Gospel,   John Cade

Homily,  John Cade

Eucharistic Prayer A & B,  John Stack & John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers,      Hue & Richard & Kevin

Final Blessing, Rosemary

         

 

Starting Sunday, September 11th, we will be meeting at:

Art Centre of Plano

902 E. 16th St, Plano

             

 Please use the Haggard Park side entrance.

                 

                

Readings:  Download 09-04-22- Readings – 23rd Sunday Ord

Homily:  Download 09-04-22- Homily – 23rd Sunday Ord

   

Flowers from Giverny, France

 

 

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 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; 

                           

 

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.

 

 

Flowers from Giverny, France
   

 

Birthdays:   Aggie Stryker 9/8

Anniversaries:   Beth & Rob Robinson 9/7,  Aggie & Allen Stryker 9/9

      

Community Finances:   

Expenses: $   875.00

Outreach: $   350.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

                 

 

 

 

Rosemary's Blessing:  

O Lord, you mark the journey of life with change. Once again we witness your creation moving from one season to the other. Change is your instrument of growth that brings us to a deeper relationship with you. May your Word be the lantern that guides the roads of change in our lives. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

www.catholicrurallife.org/resources/spiritual/calendar-of-blessings/9-september-blessing-of-change-and-letting-go/

 

 

Isaiah 11:  On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.

Romans 15:  Therefore, I will praise you among the Gentiles and sign praises to your name.

Matthew 3:  A voice of one crying out in the desert, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.

 

     

Meredith and Brent get a cookie for their anniversary

 

 

Advent Opportunities

1.  December 11, 2022 We are collecting sweatshirts and hoodies for the men at Soul's Harbor.

2.  From Lynda Fleming:

Shonda and Cody (home sick) get a cookie for their anniversary

 

 

Thanks…     

Music,    Ben & Shonda

Readers,  Mary Jane and John

Gospel,   John Cade

Homily,  John Stack

Eucharistic Prayer A & B,  John Stack & John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers,   Hue & Richard & Kevin

Final Blessing, Rosemary

         

                           

Tom and Denni have an anniversary too.

               

                                                                  

Readings:  Download 12-04-22- Readings – 2nd Sunday of Advent

Homily:  

 

 

Richard gives out communion

 

 

 

Remember these special people:

For Jan;  For Tom  Quinn who is having back surgery on November 21st;  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 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; 

       

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.

 

 

 

  Connie gives out communion

 

 

Birthdays:  Mike Moran 12/2, Grace LeBlanc 12/4, Cathy Bambenek 12/4

Anniversaries:   Brent and Meredith 12/1, Shonda and Cody 12/3

 

Community Finances:   

Expenses: $  1,995.00 

Outreach: $   515.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

                 

Lynda tells us about the Angel Tree

 

 

Rosemary's Blessing:  

 

Sometimes readings in Advent focus mainly on repentance and on waiting for the Savior and Messiah to redeem us from our sins.  Yet, the Jewish people of the Hebrew Scriptures and the early Christians had much broader expectations.  The Savior is the one who comforts and heals us, rescues and unbinds us, enlightens us and lifts us up as well as wipes away our sins.  The earthly life of Jesus was filled with his healing and compassionate acts; his treating outcasts and women with inclusivity, dignity and love; his breaking down cultural, religious and social walls that separate people; and his not only forgiving sinners, but also eating with them.   This is what Jesus wants to do for us.  Advent is a time of becoming more whole, a time of becoming all we want to be and all God wants us to be.

Advent Reflection by S. Jean Amore, CSJ, VP for Mission and Academics, Sacred Heart Academy, Hempstead, N.Y.