Christmas Eve Homily, December 24, 2019

Rosemary's Blessing

Gaze at the beauty of earth’s greenings.

Now, think.

What delight God gives to humankind

with all these things. . . .

All nature is at the disposal of humankind.

We are to work with it.

For without it we cannot survive.

 

Hildegard of Bingen  (1098-1179)

 

 

The Best Music Team

 

 

Thanks to the Team

Music, Shonda & Ben

Readers, Cathy & Kevin  & Buddy, the candle blesser

Eucharistic Prayer & Gospel, John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers, Mike & Ben & Becky & Richard & Tom

Final Blessing, Rosemary

 

 

 

Who's that peeking around the corner?  Becky

 

Please Remember these special people:

For Jim Esparza, the son of Frank & Mary, who just passed last Saturday with sepsis;   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 Bill;   For Joe Hogan with cancer;  For Loretta's aunt Alicia;    For Sydney;  & For Sir Charlie;  Shonda's mom;   for Michelle;  For a friend, a neighbor, & a doctor, Karen, with brain cancer; 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;  Virginia Mattingly

 

 

 

Mike, our technology magician.

 

From last Week:

Birthdays:  Shonda (last Week), Deacon Mike ordained '78, Bill Ekes, Alison DeGenova; this week, Bernadette,  

Anniversary:  The McClurgs, Diane & Kent, 48 years, & Diane's knee replacement this past week; Sandra  & Chuck, 59th 

 

 

Download MASS 20 0614 Reading 2 Corpus Christi

 

 

 

Richard & Tom

 

Corpus Christi

We celebrate today the Church feast of Corpus Christi.  Rosemary also reminded me that Friday the 12^th I was celebrating the anniversary of my ordination at St. Ritas.  You will never guess how many years it has been since that day.  Next year it will be 50 years, 1971.  Can you believe that, Folks?   It blows me away. 

For maybe 20-30 of the last years I have tried to point out that to understand the Eucharist and Corpus Christi, I have to know what a special feast is like because I have enjoyed them in my life.  For me the obvious is the Thanksgiving celebration.  Rosemary & I have treasured these Thanksgiving events because we always went to celebrate with Joe & her sister Clare at their house on Hilton Head.

 

 

 

Legacy continues to be a perfect venue.

 

This morning I have 4 unique celebrations that took place in conjunction with the famous tree planting hobby I got myself into.

First.  It was around 1990 when I went big.  We planted Marsh Lane from near Love field to LBJ on two consecutive Sundays in November.   

When we finished, my beloved  old grade school coach and Scout Master, Frank Hart, invited everyone to come to his restaurant just north of LBJ on Marsh Lane.  Everything was on Frank.  Wow, was I touched.

 

 

 

Second.  The next fall we must have planted Hillcrest or Preston.  Too far away from Frank’s restaurant.  Guess who came out and catered the whole gang.  Frank’s son , Frank Jr., who had the Greenville Avenue restaurant, Back Country bar-b-que.  Incredible as it may seem, I had Frank in one of my classes when I taught at Jesuit as an intern ’65-’68.  Frank jr. catered the team for a number of years.

Three.  The next year or so my classmate, Ed Lamberty, brewed up in the Jesuit resident community kitchen a whole bunch of chili.  Venison chili.   Yes, Venison chili.  Word got out and the kids did not want to eat it.  Eat bambi?  Poor Ed.  He was both a hunter and an excellent cook.   I think he quit hunting.

 

 

Remembering….

 

Four.  Remember the big tree planting we did at Plano Senior High one October?  Always October.  400 trees starting at 12:00 noon with a covered dish party at 3:00 in a room on the east side of the school, or maybe in the junior high. We were still celebrating Sundays at Vines High School.

By 1:30 or 2:00 all 400 trees had been planted.  And everyone went to eat.    I can still remember dearest Maureen Macchio coming in at 3:00 with her special meat balls.

How do you celebrate the Eucharist?

 

 

Says Aviana, "Hey, Everybody, we have a new home.  As soon as the truly pleasant couple moves out, we move in.  Isn't that right, Grace?

 

 

 

Yes, John, that red '55 Studebaker is still for sale.   I make you a good deal.  Better grab it before Rob grabs it for Beth.

 

Readings: 

Sirach 27, 4-7,   Tribulation is the test of the just.  

Psalm 92,  Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.  (The Beauty of Today, Stanza 1)

1 Corinthians 15, 54-58,    Where, O Death, is your sting?

Luke 6,  39-45, A good person produces good.

 

 

Spousal abuse!   No way!  You know the truth, Mike, you were there.

 

Sirach Observations

Who : an educated scribe living and writing in Jerusalem ca. 180 before Christ.  His work was translated from the original Hebrew into Greek by Ben Sira’s grandson in 132.

The Work: The chief loves of Ben Sira’s life were The law and the Temple rituals.  Consequently, his work falls into the Wisdom genre of writings. 

Lots of maxims, for example on fear, 

The fear of the Lord is glory & pride,                                                             

The fear of the Lord gladdens the heart,                                                       

For those who fear the Lord , all will end well.  (p. 809, New Jerusalem Bible)

 

 

Two great Jesuit alumni, Bob & Mike Bulger.   Only missing Ray.

 

Some amusing maxims:                                                                                     

Do not compliment a person, 11/2,                                                                   

Be careful about the kind of person you bring home, 11/29,                           

A father who loves his son will whip him often, 30/1,                                   

A woman has to take any man as a husband, but a man must choose his wife carefully, 36/21

Others focus on patience, uprightness, humility, and duties toward parents.  It is a large book with 51 chapters.

 

 

Jan takes care of everybody who walks in the door.

 

Sunday Homily, 3-3-19, 5 Ways to have a Happy Lent

If there is anything that every year makes me want to say ‘yuk,’ it is the beginning of Lent with its focus on sin.  Guess where we are, Folks, Ash Wednesday this week.  Instead of it being a downer focused on how bad I am and how I need to do penance, I would like to propose 5 ways to have a Happy Lent.

 

 

"Patricia, would you not like to take him home with you?"  sez Jan.

 

First, attitude.   You are not a sinner going to hell.  There is no hell, as I continually repeat.  Why do I say this: data free analysis to prove its reality.  Moreover, we have a God about whom Psalm 92 talks,

It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praise, to proclaim your kindness at dawn and your faithfulness throughout the night.

 

 

Emma, How come you look so pretty this morning?

 

Secondly, unclutter your environment.  Becky suggested this.  Have a box or bag.  Every week or every day put something into the bag, a shirt, a book, an old decoration.  Maybe Becky can use some of the stuff.

I must admit that I just put into the box headed for Half Price Books all my French books.  That was hard.  My memory is not as strong and I just don’t see me using the language enough.  I’ve  loved  languages.

 

 

 

Here they come, the offertory team, Lynda & Tom, Geri & Mike.

 

Thirdly, a good deed day.  Say ‘Good Morning’ to a stranger at Starbucks or at Central Market.  Call somebody whom you have not talked with in a while and say you are just calling to see how they are.  Take somebody to Romeos or Juliette’s.  Help out here at Legacy.  

Fourth.  Sorry, Folks.  Work out.  Exercise 4, 5 days a week.  Walk through the neighborhood.  Make it fun.   Enough of that. 
Try it, you will like it.

 

 

Mabel & her admirers, 

Fifth.  My favorite.  Gratitude.  Like Psalm 92 says,  It is good to give thanks.  Before you go to bed what is your blessing of the day?  Want to bet there is always something.

So, how are you going to have a Happy Lent?

 

 

Team Legacy Charter.  The Best.

Readings: Acts 14, 21-27; Psalm 145, I will praise Your Name forever, My King and My God (1st stanza, my favorite: the Lord is Gracious and Merciful, Slow to Anger and of Great Kindness); Revelation 21, 1-5; John 13, 31-35.

 

Psalm 145:

The book of Psalms is the hymn book and prayer book of the Jewish Bible. 

Composed over centuries, before Christ's time and probably assembled after the Babylonian Captivity, i.e. ca. 550 BCE

Authors: many.  Not just King David

Psalm 145: this psalm has one of those lines that is a special gem, a glimpse for me into a reality that I find a mystery.  The nature of God.  Something I can only approach by analogy and projection. 

I read the Bible and encounter a god who is jealous, merciless, and demanding payback.  I don't buy this.  I do buy, however, the image presented by the first stanza.  I even change it a bit to say, The Lord is gracious and merciful, never gets angry and is full of love.

Known Because we have Love for One Another

I would like to talk this morning about the Collin County Adult Clinic and how we all got involved with it.  You probably know that Julia Grenier was the founder of this clinic, but you may not know how she came to do it. 

I talked with her Thursday and got the story.  It started about 30 years ago, so in the early 80's, when she was hired by Elizabeth Seton Parish to be the parish nurse.  Julia just celebrated 50 years as a nurse.  This was a new position for a parish to have and Julia made it more unique in her special way. 

She ended up getting involved with PISD kids and with day laborers in the area.  At one point she was even working as a volunteer at the Day Laborer Center somewhere in Plano.

She told me that during this time she would meet with people who needed significant medical help.  She could handle the first aid cases, but she had to take the more serious into clinics and emergency rooms.  She said you could not get a patient looked at, say at PrimaCare, without a $100 up front payment. 

Julia paid these expenses out of the savings she and Al had put away.

 

The expenses mounted and so did the number of patients Julia was treating.  Enter St. Marks and Fr. Duffy.  There was an obvious need for a clinic.  Julia & Duffy worked out an agreement where St. Marks would let Julia use some space gratis and get help through Catholic Charities. 

They opened on a Thursday night in 2003.  Julia said 15 patients showed up the first night.  All the staff, doctors, nurses, support, all worked pro bono.  The second week twice that number showed up.  And then the word spead and the numbers soared, making it impossible to carry the load at St. Marks. 

Jerry Weis informed me that at this time Collin County set aside some money for health, did not really know what to do with it, and gave the clinic in 2004 about $50,000.  They banked it and banked another $25,000 the next year while they looked for a larger venue, which they found on Ave. K & Park.

A builder with Rotary named Jerry Huffman said he could put the space together for $275,000.  He finally did the job for $150,000 and the clinic opened in late 2005.  The patient load now on Thursday evenings was 70 to 90 every week. 

 

Meanwhile, Julia's health was deteriorating.  In 2008 she had to retire.  I remember thinking that this might be the end of the clinic.  Instead, the staff pulled together, hired a full time, paid director, John Ernst, and even expanded the service to Tuesday night.

Julia told me on the phone that she spends many week days in their home here in Plano, but weekends she & Al have a small horse farm in East Texas, which is why we don't see her on Sunday mornings.  She may make it for Mother's Day next week.

Jesus says in the Gospel this morning, "All will know you are my desciples, if you love one another.  I am amazed at how Julia took a small job and turned it into a large clinic because she saw people in need.  I am humbled at how Julia exemplifies loving others.

How do you show your love?

 

Picture 1:  Mass with Tony.

Picture 2:  Full service ministry at San Vino.

Picture 3:  David McKeon introducing the 9 couples renewing their marriage promises.

Picture 4:  Madge & Carl Smith renewing their marriage of 60 years, Carl with the tie he wore last on his wedding day

Picture 5:  Kim & Mike Burkhart (from Tuscon, formerly of St. Mark's) renewing their marriage of 25 years.

 

 

2 Chronicles, In those day all the princes & people added infidelity to infidelity.

Psalm 137,  Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you.

1 Ephesians, 2,  We are his handiwork.  

John 3, God so loved the world that he gave his only son.

 

 

It is coming….

 

Thanks……

Music,  Ben & Shonda

Readers, Denni & Tom, & Buddy, the candle blesser

Gospel,  Mike Carrell

Homily,  John Stack

Eucharistic Prayer A & B, Stack & John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers,   Hue & Richard & Mike  

Final Blessing, Rosemary

For hosting us at Legacy, Becky

 

 

The Three Sisters, Clare, Patty, & Rosemary

 

 

Sunday Readings:

Download Reading 4th Lent 03-14-2021 YrB Lent4

 

John's Homily

Download John Stack Homily 2-14-2021

 

 

 

 

The McGinn Clan, Joseph, Patty, Rosemary, Clare, & Bobby (missing only Peter, deceased).

 

 

Please Remember these special people:

For Carrie's ex, Larry with Corona;  For Alan Stryker;  For Joe Sullivan;    For Rosemary's great niece, Rylie ;  For Richard's grand daughter, Madeleine;   For Esparza's new great grandson baby, son of Monique;  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, and for Hue & Linda's daughter, Doctor Rosemary Beavers;   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 &  Leo & all of Shonda's dear family; For Ursuline Sr. Mary Troy 

 

A Special Gift at the end of the tunnel: John Cade

 

Jackie's mom, sister, & friend, Lynn;  For Rick Turner searching for a kidney donor, Type O neg; For Meredith, cancer free & John Schanot;    For John O'Donnell & Jean;   For Jean & Cliff Wright;  For Dee, and for her daughter, Lisa;  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; from Barbara, a little 4 month old boy undergoing an operation & for Rollie with Corona; for David McKeon's brother, Hugh; for the medical staffs, teachers, and coaches in our public & private schools.

 

The Brain Team, Mike, Richard, & Hugh.

 

Birthdays:   John O'Donnell, Ken Cramer

Anniversaries: Fred Martinez & Martha, 12th

 

 

Clare & Joe with Rosemary at Hilton Head.

 

Community Finances,   March 14, 2021

Expenses: $ 710.00

Outreach: $ 150.00  

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

A note about our Easter Celebration.

We would like to welcome about 20 people, vaccinated and with mask.  Seating will be spread out around the large cafeteria.  Let me reserve you to keep count.

 

 

Rosemary with our Unique Special Gift

 

Rosemary's Blessing:

God,

Bless anyone who has asked me to pray for them

and anyone that I have promised to pray for.

Bless anyone that I cannot get along with

And anyone that cannot get along with me.

Bless the person who has hurt me deeply

and anyone that I have hurt.

Bless the person that I cannot forgive

and anyone that cannot forgive me.

Grant me the grace to live as a person of peace today

and to treat all I meet today with dignity

Unknown

 

Readings:

 2 Kings 4, 42-44,  “They not only ate, but had leftovers.”  

Psalm 145,    The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.

Ephesians 4, 1-6,   “Pour yourselves out in acts of love; and be quick to mend fences.”

Alleluia – “A great prophet has risen in our midst.”

John 6:1-15 (also in Matt 14:13-21, Mark 6:31-44, Luke 9:10-17) – “Jesus took the bread, and having given thanks, gave it to them.”

 

 

 

 

                   Genevieve says, "Hi, Everybody, Welcome."

Introduction to the readings:

The Jewish people wanted to have a king like other nations had.  Wasn’t God’s idea; the people kept demanding a king; he let them have a king.  The idea was that the kings, starting with Solomon, would represent the sovereignty of God by being good kings. 

For 500 years there were 40 or so kings, and of course they were mostly rather pitiful, a few were pretty good.  Today’s reading is from the second book of kings, so during the time when kings ruled the Jewish people, starting with Saul about 1000 years before Jesus, and ending about 500 years later with the Babylonian captivity (555). 

 

 

       Leo & Shonda, too, say, "Good Morning, Folks, Welcome."

 

 There were prophets and holy men before there were kings.  They are the ones who kept tabs on the kings and represented God’s take on issues. 

Today’s reading introduces Elisha, a holy man respected by Joram, king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah.  This little story of Elisha feeding a crowd of 100 with 20 loaves of bread was chosen to connect with the story of the multiplication of loaves in the today’s Gospel story. And the letter to the Ephesians teaches what sharing in the meal should signify and bring about in one’s behavior.

 

Emma, too, says that she and her buddy welcome everyone.

 

HOMILY:

We have heard many times the reading about the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and the fish.  This is the only miracle story repeated in all four Gospels. 

How appropriate that feeding those needing food was the best miracle story known; it could be told today with equal impact.  I forget the stats, but it’s millions of people, including children, who are hungry every day and without food (who knows the number or percent). 

 

                  Harper says she thinks it is fun being here.

 

Also in each of these four repetitions of the story, there is a formula or ritual stated: “Jesus raised his face to heaven in prayer, blessed, broke, and gave the bread to his disciples.”

So first, the story is a story about Jesus performing a miracle, which is how writers in those days made someone ‘famously big’ or a ‘god to be reckoned with’. 

Secondly, this story was well known, since all four Gospel writers or compilers used it. 

And thirdly, one line in the story became part of the shared meal starting with early Christians all the way down to today. 

 

            Victoria having just too much fun with her mom.

 

The reading from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, liturgically, seems to teach what flows from sharing in this ritual meal.  And his answer is unity, recognizing that we are called to be one body, united in love.  Paul describes our call from God as pouring yourself out for each other in acts of love, accepting other’s differences and being quick to forgive.

 Three questions to mull over: 

In your family (at home, here, friends group) how do you see acts of love being shared, and differences accepted?  

How quick are you to mend fences and forgive one another? 

Do you make the connection between sharing bread here at Mass, and experiencing connection and oneness with others in your everyday life?

        

 

Genevieve, who has learned already from previous Sundays how to turn it off, says, "Wake me up when the fun begins."

 

 

Welcome in, Everybody, from Cindy & Dee.

 

Readings: 

Isaiah 62, 1-5,    The Lord delights in you (a good one)

Psalm 96,  Proclaim his marvelous deeds to all the nations.

1 Corinthians 12, 4-11,  There are different kinds of spiritual gifts. 

John 2, 1-11,  The wedding at Cana.

 

 

 

Also from Ken and the two crazies behind him, Cindy & Marlene,    Welcome in, Everybody.

 

  Mary Ellen Munzell

As a way to honor Mary Ellen, I would like to tell you 4 stories that show why she was a special friend and  dear to me.

The first time that Mary Ellen came to my attention in a special way was the first time we gathered a group for a two week trip to Italy.  We had about 8 people.

 

 

And not to be outdone by the previous characters, Grace, too, says, "Welcome to our special Memorial for our dear Mary Ellen."  It was Grace who packed her up so she could move back home to Connecticut, where she stayed one winter and returned immediately back to Dallas.

 

Mary Ellen asked me if she could go over about 3-4 days early and be picked up in the area around Lake Guarda, Italy.  I was a little nervous, but thought okay.  Mary Ellen wanted to visit Trieste before meeting up with us.

Why Trieste?  Because her deceased husband, Chris, had been born there to a military family.  Mary Ellen wanted to leave some of his ashes, which she did.

 

 

The A Team.

 

Just in case you are not familiar with how Mary Ellen & Chris met, it was at the American Embassy in Buenos Aires where she was working as a secretary and Chris was a Marine guard.

It was when Chris died that Mary Ellen took on the goal of scattering his ashes on golf courses on which they had played, especially in southern CA, where they had resided for some years.   Which brought her to Trieste.

 

 

It takes a Grandmother!

 

I can still remember approaching Verona.  It was sunny & mild. Verona was quaint & colorful.  The plan was to meet Mary Ellen in front of the train station.  She had taken the train from Trieste to Verona. 

As we approached the small station on our right I saw ahead of us a traffic circle with a lot of flowers, and there was Mary Ellen.  I was so relieved and impressed with Mary Ellen and touched by her gesture.

 

 

 

Are our musicians crazy or what??

 

The second event caused me to love Mary Ellen’s adventurous spirit.  I took her and Rosemary to the best game parks in East Africa for a visit with the lions, elephants, and giraffes.  This had been my home for about ten years.  I had lots of connections.

We hired a driver & helper, rented a Land Rover, and headed to the mystical Ngorongoro Crater and the magnificent Serengetti.   We visited all the animals and, in fact, late one morning a lion walked up and plopped down in the shade of our Land Rover. 

 

 

It takes a Dad, too.  Cody, a great one, and Olivia, his daughter.

 

Picture this.  The Land Rover’s roof lifts up and locks into place so you may stand.  We were standing  while the lion took a morning siesta.   If we had leaned out, we could have touched that lion.  We didn’t.

 

I was especially touched by Mary Ellen on this trip.  The ride was rough, we tented, and one afternoon we drove though a scrub area with Tsetse Flies, which could keep up with the Land Rover.  We had to shoo them away for about 30 minutes.

 

 

Nothing better than meeting up again with good old friends, like Bob & Jackie McGrath and Joanne Languell.

 

The third story.   Mary Ellen had a small private swimming pool in her back yard, as many of you know.  What you may not have heard is that ME liked to skinny dip in her pool, until one afternoon she spied two young neighbor boys peeking over the roof line of her neighbor’s house.

Finally, as you had to know, ME was an avid supporter of U Conn’s women’s basket ball team.  She loved to watch them play and then she and her sisters would discuss the game. U Conn had a record of 111 victories the day before ME died.  The very next day, U Conn lost. 

 

 

And more good old friends, like Cathy, Jackie, Alice.

 

Thanks, Mary Ellen, for being a special person and a special friend

 

 

And still more good friends, Grace, Camille, and Diane..