Second Sunday of Easter

Welcome to our on line celebration.

John Cade will offer his 5th Special Homily on Matthew's work.

First Reading read by Cody, Acts of the Apostles

         The newly converted followers of Christ committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers.  Everyone around was in awe—all those wonders and signs done through the apostles!  And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common.  They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person’s need was met.

        They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God.  People in general liked what they saw.  Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved.

Our word for today.

Second Reading, read by Patricia,  First Letter of Peter

Sisters and brothers: What a God we have!  And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus!  Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now!  God is keeping careful watch over us and the future.  The Day is coming when you’ll have it all—life healed and whole.

        I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime.  Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine.  When Jesus wraps this all up, it’s your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.

        You never saw him, yet you love him.  You still don’t see him, yet you trust him—with laughter and singing.  Because you kept on believing, you’ll get what you’re looking forward to:  total salvation.

Our word for today.

Gospel reading read by Deacon Mike,     Gospel of John

          Later on that first day of the week, the disciples had gathered together, but, fearful of the Jews, had locked all the doors in the house.  Jesus entered, stood among them, and said, “Peace to you.”  Then he showed them his hands and side.  The disciples, seeing the Master with their own eyes, were exuberant.  Jesus repeated his greeting: “Peace to you.  Just as the Father sent me, I send you.”  Then he took a deep breath and breathed into them.  “Receive the Holy Spirit,” he said.  “If you forgive someone’s sins, they’re gone for good.  If you don’t forgive sins, what are you going to do with them?” 

         But Thomas, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.  The other disciples told him, “We saw the Master.”  But he said, “Unless I see the nail holes in his hands, put my finger in the nail holes, and stick my hand in his side, I won’t believe it.”  Eight days later, his disciples were again in the room.  This time Thomas was with them.

  Jesus came through the locked doors, stood among them, and said, “Peace to you.”  Then he focused his attention on Thomas.  “Take your finger and examine my hands.  Take your hand and stick it in my side.  Don’t be unbelieving.  Believe.”  Thomas said, “My Master!  My God!”  Jesus said, “So, you believe because you’ve seen with your own eyes.  Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing.” 

         Jesus provided far more God-revealing signs then are written down in this book.  These are written down so you will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and in the act of believing, have real and eternal life in the way he personally revealed it.

The Good News of John

Anniversary of The Week, John & Alison Degenova

Rosemary's Blessing of The Week

Risen Jesus, help us to be human expressions of the God you proclaimed: a God who is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

May we know deeply God's great love for us, and like God, lean toward those suffering, oppressed and poor.

Taken from A Reflection and Prayer for Easter by S. Jean Amore, CSJ

In response to those of you who have been asking, Yes, we are so far paying our weekly bills.   Collections are certainly down.  We are bringing in ca. $400 a week. Unfortunately we have not been able to support Souls Harbor. 

If you would like to help out, simply send a check to Rosemary at 6107 Tulip Lane, Dallas 75230.  Tom Zurchin suggested we get a PayPal account and Rosemary is afraid it will complicate her present arrangements.  

Tom also gave us a heads up about the North Texas Giving Day, May 5.   Souls Harbor has a $10 thousand matching grant.   Donate your $1200 government subsidy?  Unless you need it.

Remember……

Acts of the Apostles 14: They strengthened the spirits of the disciples and exhorted them to persevere in the faith,…

Revelation 21:  He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will always be with them as their God.

John 13:  I give you a new commandment: love one another.

 Sunset over Lake Lewisville

Thanks…

Music,    Ben & Shonda

Readers, Jackie & Brent

Gospel,   John Cade

Homily,  Aggie Stryker

Eucharistic Prayer A & B,  John Stack & John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers,      Hue & Richard & Kevin

Final Blessing, Rosemary

Readings:  Download 5-15-22 – Readings – 5th Easter

Homily:  

Sunrise over White Rock Lake

Remember these special people:

For John Stack having a hard time right now with a bad back;  For Sandra who has been diagnosed with Large B Cell Lymphoma;   For Lambrini, John Cade's wife who is dealing with cancer;  For Tom Good;  For a young man, 19 struggling with a brain tumor and cancer;    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 and for a friend Cadence still suffering from a serious medical condition;   For Sir Charlie & Jan;  All of Shonda's dear family;

Sunset in Dallas

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 daughters, Lisa & Lauren;     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 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.

Sunset in Alabama

Birthdays:   

Anniversaries:   

Community Finances:   

Expenses: $  560.00

Outreach: $  0.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

A rest after a busy day

Rosemary's Blessing:  

…and life is still a constant surprise to me.  We never know what will happen next, what we will see, and what important person will come into our life, or what important person we will lose.  Life is change, constant change, and unless we are lucky enough to find comedy in it, change is nearly always drama, if not tragedy.  But after everything, and even when the skies turn scarlet and threatening, I still believe that if we are lucky enough to be alive, we must give thanks for the miracle of every moment of every day, no matter how flawed.  And we must have faith in God, and in the Universe, and in a better tomorrow even if that faith is not always deserved.

Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan

Readings:

Jeremiah  1, 4-5, 17-19,   Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. (The Call)

Psalm 71, I will sing of your salvation.

 1 Corinthians 12, 31 – 13, 4-13,  If I do not have love, I am nothing. (Excellent)

Luke 4, 21-30,   They wanted to throw him over the cliff.

Leo says, "Welcome in, Everybody.  It's fun here."

 Jeremiah observations:

Who:  One of the Big 3 and my second favorite behind Isaiah, whom we will hear from next Sunday.  Why a favorite: because he shares his feelings with gusto. 

When:  you can guess it, before and during the Babylonian Captivity.  Notice how much prophetic energy is concentrated around this one event?  Shows how big it was in Jewish history.  Keep 555 before Christ as the beacon date. 

Harper, also, says, "Hi, Folks, Come in."

What: you can guess this, too.  Criticism of behavior, warning of punishment from God, and eventually a better day.

What today: Jeremiah’s call by God to be his man, really Everyperson’s call to be God’s special.  This call theme carries through our next 2 readings, especially the next one, The Big One.

Candle Lighters of The Week, Buddy & Tori.

Love is patient, Love is kind

I confess, I used to get 1 Corinthians 13 fatigue, I heard it so often at weddings.  Lately, however, I have changed.  Now as I listen I feel it calling me to step up.  I want to be more patient and more kind.  I hear Francis inviting me to be a peacemaker.

One small example.

A few months ago Rosemary and I were heading out one Sunday morning to celebrate Mass at Vines.  It must have been 8:30, the time we usually depart.  The streets were practically deserted. 

The Candle Lighters at work.

We were going east on Royal Lane.  We got to Central and stopped for the light.  When it changed we moved forward and planned to take a left to go up the ramp to north bound Central.  

I noticed behind me at the light was a silver Mercedes.  As I moved forward it was practically touching the back of our van.  I turned left and started up the ramp.  It stayed right behind us.

Happy Birthday, Mary. 

As I got onto Central and moved into the first lane on the left, this person, a guy, floored his Mercedes, leaned on the horn, and raced by us on the right showering us with nice little hand gestures.

Rosemary says I drive too slowly some times, but this was Sunday morning, folks.  Almost no other cars but this guy and us. 

Happy Birthday, Rick (the man behind many of the pictures you see)

So what would you do?  Well, I did nothing, of course.  I can recognize serious road rage and I was just hoping the guy would not stick a gun out his window and start blasting away.  Let him go away, which he did.

However, does being patient and kind apply here?  Yep, I think so. 

Candle Lighters deserve their rewards.  How did you get in there, Zoe?

As a priest and psychotherapist for years I have heard the life stories of people who have done pretty bad things.  I get to know them and I find out what was behind their actions.  Who knows about this guy on an early Sunday morning.  Maybe he was heading to a hospital.  His wife or child was dying.  Maybe his wife just divorced him.  Maybe on Friday he was fired for his anger.  There is always a story and a reason.

So when I hear Corinthians on patience and kindness, I think, ‘Stack, cool off.’ 

Happy Birthday, Gil.  It looks like you have someone eager to help you with that cupcake.

And Cornthians has a reverse value.  Say I had reacted to his anger.  Then later I would feel guilty and ashamed.  The patience and kindness is for me, too.  I usually don’t have road rage fortunately, but I can get mad, I can criticize, I can get passive aggressive, and then get remorseful.  Can’t we all?

Any of you all drive a silver Mercedes?  Do you have road rage?  Are you patient and kind?

How are you going to be a more loving and peace-making person after hearing this passage this morning?

Does Music get any better than this, Shonda & Bethany, Ray & David.

Hi, Tori, Welcome back, you look beautiful.

Readings:  

 Proverbs 9, 1-6,  Wisdom ha built her house.  

Psalm 34,   Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.  (Wow, 2^nd week in a row, terrific)

Ephesians 5, 15-20,  Watch carefully how you live. 

John 6: 51-58,  I am the living bread.

Hi, Leo, Welcome back to you, too.   You also look beautiful.

Proverbs:

What are they: a collection of moral & religious teachings in the form of pithy sayings.  For example: "Better to eat a dry crust of bread with peace of mind than to have a banquet in a house full of trouble" (17, 1); "Being cheerful always keeps you healthy" (17, 22).

Some a bit tough: "Don't hesitate to discipline a child.  A good beating won't kill him" (23, 12).

Some amusing: "A nagging wife is like water going drip-drip-drip" (27, 15); "Better to live on the roof than to share the house with a nagging wife" (25, 24). 

Author: Maybe Solomon is behind chapters 1-29.  Most likely a compilation.

Date: Ca. 300 BCE is considered a possibility with material coming from as far back as 900, during the time of Solomon.

Great job, Zoe.  You, too, are a Super Candle Lighter.

Taste & See the Goodness of the Lord, part 2, or

Pet Delights, the inspirational column of Steve Blow, which I shared in the blog Thursday

Sorry, Folks, but I am going to do it again, namely, push the belief that we can taste and see the goodness of the Lord, every day.

This week for me it has been the White Rock Creek trail running from Royal & Greenville to White Rock Lake.  It had rained last weekend, so the whole creek edge was a beautiful green.  The lawn mower guys were out and where they had passed the rows & patterns made it super special.

Georgie reads our Blessing of the Candles.  I hope you know, Dearest Georgie, how terrific I think you are.

We  tunnel under 5 or six bridges on this trail.  One for me is breath taking.  Going north I come out of the Skillman tunnel, cross over a quaint steel & wooden bridge, look ahead for about ½ a mile, and see the trail meandering along often with other bikers, see a blue sky framed by a V of large green trees, and take in wilderness on my right and left. This cannot be Dallas.  It takes my breath away.

Taste & See the Goodness of the Lord.

Another biking blessing came this week Friday, when I actually had enough stamina to keep up with Rosemary, who this year leaves me in the dust.  It should be humiliating.  I’m actually quite proud of her, remembering that Sunday when she crashed and ended up with 9 screws in her left elbow.  As I tell her, the good professor is the one who sees his student do better than the old professor.

Sisters act, Jessica and Renee.  Welcome home, Jessica, from Boston, and congratulations, Renee, upon becoming an officially licensed architect.

Then there is Jim Mahar, the professor at St. Bonaventure who set up Bona Responds.  A great person always, but especially when he phones me about a story that touched him.

The scene: Sierra Leone.  Jim has worked there and has organized a bit.  One of his local teams was planning a talent show for kids to earn money.  They had prizes for the winners.  Until they were all stolen.

The police catch a guy.  Jim’s man, who has been even accused of stealing the awards, goes to see the guy and explains what all the gifts are for.  Jim even talks with the guy by phone.   He finally admits that he stole the awards and wants to give them all back.

The charges are all dropped and the guy even asks if he can join the group which is trying to help others with this talent show.

Welcome to Dallas, My Dear Paul.  The last time we met up was at your wedding with Lori in Ashville, NC.  Wish Lori had come with you.

When did you last Taste and See the Goodness of the Lord?

Communion with Jan on bread and Lynda on grape juice.

Readings:  Wisdom 1, 13-15, 2, 23-24; Psalm 30, I will Praise You, Lord, for You have rescued Me; 2 Corinthians 8, 7-15; Mark 5, 21-43.  

Wisdom: One of the 14-15 books of the deutero-canonical books of the bible.  Not part of the orginal Jewish bible, not part of the OT nor the NT, but in between and the subject of controvercy over the centuries.  Were they really part of the bible or not?  How do you know?  Catholic church accepts the books.

Author: not Solomon, but a Jew living in Alexandria, Egypt, who spoke and wrote excellent Greek.

Date: ca. 100-200 BCE.  How do we know these facts?  Because of text analysis.  For example, while the author wrote in Greek, he uses phrases and expressions that have a Hebrew flavor.  Also, he mentions rulers and places that reveal date and locale. 

Sources: Catholic Encyclopedia on line

This is Radical

There is a novel going around called Shanghai Girls, by Lisa See.  I recommend it. The novel tracks the lives of two middle class, educated sisters who are born in Shanghai in the 1920's or early '30's.   It follows them through a time in 1937 when the Japanese invaded China to the time when they end up in California as arranged brides. The novel has good character development and provides a view into a time just before & after the Second World War from the perspective of Chinese middle class women. 

What struck me in a unique way was the mother of the two girls.  She was, according to the girls, an old fashioned mother.  That is, she bound her feet so they would not grow.  From the novel I discovered what a barbaric & painful experience this was for women, young & old.  Imagine the pain of wearing shoes too tight or new.  Why?  Beauty?  I discovered in researching for our homily that another reason was to limit the mobility of women.  So they cannot run away or even run.  The reason for the demand was to limit mobility; the side effect was beauty, all because of male bias against women.

I remembered this novel when I read about Jesus healing two females.  Do you realize how radical this was, especially with the woman bleeding?  Leviticus, the third book of the Bible, has a lot to say about women who bleed.  For instance, a woman giving birth to a boy is ritually unclean for 7 days; a girl baby, 14 days (chapter12).

In Lev. 15 it says that during menstration, women were ritually unclean, which meant they were considered socially dead, not allowed in the temple, not allowed in the community, could not touch anyone and no one was allowed to touch them or their clothes or they, too, were ritually unclean.  So what does the lady in Mark do?   What does Jesus do?

Do you realize today how historic and universal this bias was against women?  Plato in The Republic says that Socrates asked, Do you know of any thing done by humans which is not done better by the male.

Hindus teach that a woman must immolate herself after her husband's death.  Buddhists consider it bad karma to be reincarnated as a woman.  Jewish men are taught to pray, Blessed be God who has not created me a heathen, a slave, or a woman.  Our Bible in Genesis blames a woman for the origin of evil in our world.

In 1873 in Illinois a case was decided against a woman.  She had passed the bar exam to be a lawyer, and the court would not grant her appeal to receive a law license.  A judge said that the place of a woman was in the home and that women did not have the fortitude to deal with such issues as the law.

The church fathers, as they are called, had their own bias.  St. Jerome says that when a woman wishes to serve God more that the world, then she will cease to be a woman and will be called a man.  You do not want to know what St. Augustine thinks about women.

So why this historic and universal bias against women by men (& women)?  One reason, from my research, blood.  Another is the male nervousness & weakness around women, beginning in adolescence.

So here comes Jesus along.  The woman touches him.  He could have had her killed by the crowd.  What was she doing in the crowd anyway?    And what does he do?  He calls her "Daughter," and heals her.  This is revolutionary.  He moves from bias to inclusion & acceptance.

In Galatians (Chapter 3) it says there is no male or female.  Just folks.  We are being called to get rid of the bias.  Women do not deserve to have their feet bound.

How is your bias barometer?  Any bias against women, men, a particular race, political party, a part of town, a school? 

Sources: The Sins of Scritpture, Bishop (Anglican) John Shelby Spong; Catholic Encyclopedia on line.

Audio on vacation this week & next, sorry.

Picture 1:  Mass with Kevin & Noah helping

Picture 2:  Kevin & Noah

Picture 3:  Birthdays & Anniversaries, Sue Tomas, Rick & Jackie, Sandra & Chuck Pratt

Picture 4:  Birthdays & Anniversaries, Nina Waldron, Barb & Warren Wittek

Lev 13:  “The one who bears the sore of leprosy shall keep his garments rent and his head bare, and shall muffle his beard; he shall cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’

1 Corinthians 10:  Brothers and sisters, Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.

Mark 1: Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.”