Sunday Homily, January 5, 2020, Epiphany

Readings:

Sirach 15, 15-20,   If you trust in God, you too shall live.   

 Psalm 119,  Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord.

 1 Corinthians 2, 6-10,   What eye has not seen…

 Matthew 5, 17-37,    If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away.

Hi, Genevieve, Better watch out that some of the women around here don't swipe you red shoes.

Observations:  on Sirach—

What:  This is one of those 12 odd books in between the Old and the New Testament.

 Author: a Jewish teacher called Joshua.  The only identified author in the whole Old Testament.  He tells us who he is, that he is a teacher, lived in Jerusalem, and traveled a lot.  It seems he put his work together while running a school in Alexandria, Egypt.

 His grandson translated the Hebrew work into Greek.  This Hebrew text was lost for centuries until the 19^th century, when 2/3 of it was found in Cairo.  Then other portions were found in Qumran and Masada, as late as 1964.

Welcome back, Dee, you look so terrific with your brand new hip.  Did I not warn you that you would love it?

 Date: composed around 175 years before Christ.  About 90 years before Christ the Jews put together their official bible, but excluded Sirach because they could not find the Hebrew version, only the Greek. 

 Christians accepted the book as part of their bible in the 2^nd century after Christ.  The Council of Trent (keep 1555 in mind as a date) officially accepted it, making it part of that extra 12 books called the Apocrypha or Deuterocanonical.  Martin Luther rejected the book & so do many Protestant congregations today.

 Subject Matter: practical ethics, duties.  Beware of the either / or spirituality presented.  Also, what about unconditional love??

Welcome back Christine, and welcome to your first day out of the hospital. 

Subject today: you may choose good or bad.  Beware of the either / or spirituality presented in the reading.    All is either good or bad.  No in between or both, which is more what we all are, both good and bad.  

It can be simplistic & Pelagian, that is, it is all up to you and you have all the strength needed to choose good.  Pelagians thought that you had to EARN your salvation.  Therefore, the more religious stuff you did, like the more Masses, the more pilgrimages to the church & shrines, the more novenas & rosaries,  the more merit you win for yourself.

Psalm 119: the longest of all the psalms.  A focus on observance of the laws, decrees, and statutes.

The terrific sister Candle Lighting  Team of The Week, Zoe & Tori with help from big sister Georgie.

Matthew 5:  a continuation of the Sermon on the Mount. Note the figures of speech called “antitheses,” namely, “You have heard it said, but, I say to you.”  4 even 5 times.  Matthew is trying to establish the authority & authenticity of Jesus.

See if you can find any unconditional love in this passage?  

Sources: Good New Bible; New Interpreter's Bible.,  Reginal Fuller, S.J., David Westberg, S.J., & Larry Gillick, S.J., St. Louis U. Liturgies, on line; Wikipedia;

Leo and his buddy, John.

Wako Spirituality

We have been here before, Folks.  In fact, at Romeos Friday Mike sits down and says to me, “So, are you going to start with that same story again?”  Yes, Everybody, we begin with that same story.  Just a quick reminder.  Here we go.

When I was studying theology in Toronto years ago, like maybe 1970, an article came out in the local newspaper.  Some guy had read the passage saying that if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away.  He did it, folks. 

Play Station Numero Uno with the beautiful Zoe and the beautiful Victoria.

 In this passage from Matthew there are five pieces of advice to the early Christians which taken literally can get a person all messed up.  Is there a positive as well as a negative to each? 

Two observations before I touch the five.  I have mentioned this so often that I hope you are not worn out.   First, infinite demand and infinite acceptance.  Watch out here for a lot of infinite demand.  I’ll give a positive & a negative for each.  Secondly, God, unconditional love.

Beginnings…

Matthew’s five pieces of advice are 1. breaking the least commandment,  2. getting angry,  3. looking at a woman, 4. divorce, and  5. swearing.  Here goes.

1. Matthew says that if you break the smallest commandment you will be the least in the kingdom.  Moreover, unless you are better than the Pharisees, you will not even get into the kingdom.  The positive here is that the bar is set high.  The negative is that all, all of us sinners will be kept out. It creates scruples and obsessive compulsive behavior.  
2. Secondly, if you get mad at me and call me a fool, you are going to Hell.  I love it.  The positive here is the call to anger management.  I am challenged to know that all feelings are okay and need to be controlled.  The negative is that it gives me the idea that anger is not allowed, so stuff it.  Trouble is, it does not stuff well.  Not like a sleeping bag or tent.  It pops up in unexpected places.

The Offertory Team, Sandra and Nina, Kerry and Mary.

3. Looking at a woman with lust.  The positive here is teaching respect for all people.  This advice, written by men for men, was attempting to gain some respect for women who were looked upon as property.  I found this in Tanzania & Kenya.  Rosemary read me an article about some guy who cut off his wife’s ears and nose for reporting him for abuse.   The negative is that it teaches us that feelings are sinful.  In the old days, we thought we looked at a girl and we were going to hell.  This is doubly sad because I don’t think there is a hell anyway.
4. Divorce is adultery.  The positive is that it reinforces the unity of marriage.  The negative is that people stay in abusive or addictive marriages long after it may even be safe.  Divorce is failure and we all fail sometimes even in tragic ways.  In order to escape using the word divorce the Catholic Church comes up with the more convoluted word Annulment.

The Best, Ray and David.

5. Swearing.  The positive is that it involves politeness and respect for others.  Even if I am okay with my anger I do not swear at someone.  The negative is that it tightens us up.  We forget the therapeutic value of cussing, maybe a healthy & fun way of releasing anger.  The healthy Jesuits I lived with certainly partook of this therapy. 

Anybody due soon, Bethany?  Like in two weeks?  Wow!  Cannot Wait.

 The overall danger in these pieces of advice is that we really get messed up, forgetting two things.  First they are presenting infinite demand and they make no mention of infinite acceptance.

Secondly, where is the God of unconditional love?

 The poor guy in Toronto who blinded himself is an example of how we can mess ourselves up with goofy religion. 

Please don't cry John.  I promise not to try singing again, maybe.  

 Where are you with these ideas?

Help, Everybody.  She is taking over.  

Readings: Wisdom 2, 12-20; Psalm 54, The Lord upholds My Life; James 5, 1-6; Mark 9, 38-48.

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

Subject matter: the book collects traditional Jewish material, as well as ideas borrowed from Greek philosophy, in order to teach that God rewards those who are faithful to him.

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. 

Our Selection: what a wicked person thinks should be done with a good person–beat & kill.  This links up with the suffering servant poem from 2 Isaiah last week.  Jews think the good person getting beaten is the Jewish race/nation.  Christians think the person is Christ.

James:  presents a pretty negative image of people.  What would be a compassionate image? 

Every Person is a Child

Ever hear of a guy named Bear Bryant?  Like in Coach Bear Bryant?  Bear Bryant was football coach of the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa for 25 years, up to 1982, when he retired.  He won 6 national championships and I was living in Mobile when he won his second in ’64.  At his retirement he was asked by a reporter what he was going to do next.  He quipped, “I’ll probably croak in a week.”  8 days later he died of a heart attack.  After having just received a positive report on a physical check up.  

The story goes that in his first year as coach at Alabama he was driving around the rural south of the state looking for a player he had heard about and whom he wanted to invite to the university.  He could not find the kid’s house and he was getting hungry because it was after his lunch hour.  He sees a little ramshackle joint with a tattered sign, ‘restaurant,’ and decides to give it a try.  He walks in, the place goes dead silent, and the head of every person turns to look at this white guy.  A big black guy behind a home made bar asks, “What can I do for you, sir?”  

Bryant says he is the new coach at Tuscaloosa, can’t find a boy he is looking for, and has an appetite.  The black guy says he is welcome to eat what they got, but he may not like it because they are serving that day corn bread, beans, and chitlin.

Bryant says, “I’m from Moro Bottom, AK, I’ve eaten probably a mile of chitlin (pig intestines), and the menu sounds great.”  Everybody smiles and he eats his lunch at the bar.  A while later, leaving the restaurant with the information he wanted on the boy’s house, he pays and gives the man a tip, not flashy, but generous.  The black man asks him if he has a photo of himself.  Bryant says he has not been coach long enough to have a photo, but he writes down the guy’s name & address, and promises to send him one.  Back at Tuscaloosa, although disappointed in the recruit he went to find, he remembers to send the picture, signed with, “Thanks for one of the best lunches ever.”

Time passes.  Years later another boy has developed a reputation in that region and Bryant wants him for Tuscaloosa.  A black athlete.  The university has integrated.  He calls the boy and invites him to the university.  The boy is polite but says his two best friends are going to Auburn and he hopes to team with them.  Auburn is to Alabama as the Giants are to the Cowboys.  So Bryant figures he has lost the kid. Not so.  About a week later the kid calls the coach and asks if he still would like him at Alabama.  Bryant says sure and asks him what made him change his mind.  The kid says his grandfather knew him and has great respect for him.  Not that he would remember his grandfather.  Bryant had once eaten in his little restaurant and promised him a picture.  

His grandfather respected him because he not only ate chitlins at the restaurant, but he honored his promise and sent him a picture, which has place of honor to that day in the restaurant.

Moral of the story?

Picture 1:  The Mass with Kevin & Sabrina

Picture 2:  Brunch Time

Picture 3:  The Girls–Jackie Ritter, Jackie McGrath, & Beth

Readings:

Exodus  3, 1-8, 13-15     Yahweh calls Moses from the burning bush.

Psalm 103,  The Lord is kind and merciful. (Excellent last stanza, The Lord is gracious and merciful, never gets angry and is abounding in love.)

1 Corinthians 10, 1-6, 10-12,   Do not grumble as some of them did. 

Luke 13, 1-9,   The parable of the fig tree with no figs.

Says Harper, Welcome in, Everybody. 

Exodus observations:

What: this is the second book of the Bible and Torah, following Genesis, which we had last week with Abraham receiving the special land.    Exodus is a story about how the Jewish tribe of people escaped from slavery in Egypt.  A good read.

Who:  the story is about the Jewish people and their reluctant leader, Moses.  It was put together, not by Moses, as was thought for centuries, but by a group of the priests even centuries later.

Hey, who is that new helper?  Why, that is Buddy, next to his big sister.

When:  it is put together at The Time in Jewish history, yes, during the Babylonian Captivity, say 555 years before Christ.  It is a mostly mythological story about how God helped his special people out of slavery eons before Babylon.  Do you see a parallel between the slavery of Egypt and Babylon?  Could this be a reason for developing the Egypt story, that is, to encourage the people enslaved in Babylon?

Our selection:  like the call stories of Isaiah and Jeremiah, here is another call story, this time Moses.    

Ugh, oh, Folks, watch out.  Guess who is walking!

The Lord is gracious and merciful, never gets angry and is abounding in love.

This morning I would like to pick up two themes from the readings and tie them up with our lives.  The themes are from Exodus and Psalm 103, the Moses story of call and the description of God as being gracious and merciful, never getting angry and abounding in love, using a translation I love.

Two observations about the call.  First, it usually involves discomfort for me because I am getting called out of my comfort zone.  Secondly, in accepting the call I feel peace and joy, like I talked about last week.  In fact, I meet that God who is gracious and merciful, never gets angry and is abounding in love.

Daddy, May I play with that guitar.    

I have told you over the years that I can identify 3 big calls in my life, entering the Jesuits, going to work in East Africa, and getting married to Rosemary.  I’m now adding a fourth, the invitation to be part of our marvelous community.

Besides these mega calls I would propose that we get medium level calls frequently in our lives.  These come to me because of events or circumstances.  Often they come to me because of a person, maybe in combination with events. 

Some of the Bona Responds volunteers in Dallas to donate a week of their spring break to clean up work in Garland.  They are students at St. Bonaventure U., near Buffalo, a Franciscan university.  

For example, there is a person like that here with us this morning, Jim Mahar, from the staff at St. Bonaventure U. near Buffalo, NY.   I would include with Jim one of our own, Bill Hammond. 

I first got one of these Mahar-Hammond calls after the hurricane in Galveston.  Guess where I went for a week.  Yes, Galveston, where we all worked like crazy cleaning trash out of roads, tearing destroyed houses apart, and spending nights in a church dormitory for about 20 Baptist Men (a great group), one of whom snored quite loudly.  We had a group of students, boys and girls, probably 10 to 15.  I spent a beautiful and moving week.

 Artist at work, Zoe.

Next I get the call to go to OK City after the last big tornado.  Our group of about 10 spent a week cleaning up a forgotten small town called Little Ax.   The majority of dwellings had been mobile homes.  They were gone, or, at least, torn and twisted apart.  It was beautiful spring weather while we were there and dreadful destruction.  The people were all gone. 

One special event for me took place in Little Ax.  We worked with and spent the nights with two unique groups of kids.  One was an international Jewish disaster group and the other was a Muslim international disaster group.  I talked with the kids in these groups and was quite touched.  The Jewish kids had literally flown in from Israel to help in Oklahoma.

Our newest altar server understudy, Buddy,  helping his big sister.

Talk about God being gracious and merciful, never getting angry and abounding in love.   Despite the destruction.

Guess what is the call this week from Mahar & Hammond. 

Guess who has their eyes intently focused on their brother, Buddy.  Victoria and Zoe.  

Readings:

Zephaniah 2, 3; 3, 12-13,   They shall do no wrong and speak no lies.   

 Psalm 146,  Blessed are the poor in spirit, the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

 1 Corinthians 1, 26-31,   God chose the foolish of the world.

 Matthew 5, 13-16,    You are the light of the world.

Welcome in, Everybody.

Zephaniah observations:

What:  a tiny book of only 4 chapters.

Who: a prophet in the typical mode, criticism of current bad behavior, promise of punishment, a better day after repentance and purification.

When: about 600 years before Christ.

 Today's selection: A promise of better days in the future.

And from Kevin, too, "Come on in, Folks."

The Lord will give Sight to the Blind (Psalm 146, verse 8)

I have talked the past two Sundays on how I was given light to find my way by various people.  I would like to continue this theme this morning because I am struck by the line in the Psalm that says the Lord will give sight to the blind.   Another story.

When I was ordained at St. Rita’s in ’71, I returned from Toronto where I had been studying theology to my mother Jesuit province, called the New Orleans or Southern Province.

Hi, Kara, Hi, Denise, daughter & Mom team.

For about 4 years I gave spiritual retreats mostly to nuns and priests, retreats which were individually directed instead of preached to large numbers.  To do this I established a base and a team at St. Charles College in Grand Coteau, LA, a beautiful place where Jesuits were trained for the first 4 years of their times as a Jesuit.

There was another center like ours in Wernersville, PA.  I would go there once a year to consult with their team and director, George Schemel.  He was maybe 20 years older than I and a sage in my eyes. 

Hi, Cole, Hi, Erin, son & mom team.

At some point on one of my visits there, George asked me to be part of a team he wanted to send to East and West Africa to give these directed retreats to the religious over there.  Would I go? 

I was stunned that he believed in me so much.  I was both scared and honored.  What does this guy see in me that he would ask me to be part of this team?

We are loaded with great Candle Lighters, this week Brandon.

I checked with my home province, got the okay, and went off for a year with another young Jesuit, Bob Hamm.   While there I got asked to come back after the year to set up a permanent spiritual center.    Guess what I did.  Yep, I came back.

As a result of George Schemel believing in me, a number of things took place.

The Offertory Team, Mike & Geri, Connie & John

I spent ten years in East Africa, mostly in the country of Tanzania, where I coordinated a team going to about 4 centers in the country to give seminars and retreats, some lasting a month. 

I also had the privilege of setting up a spiritual center in Nairobi, Kenya, and working there for about 4 years.  I found a plot of 39 acres & two houses on the edge of town.  On one side was the town, on the other, the Nairobi game park.  One night we came home and a giraffe was walking casually across our yard. 

Hi, Zoe, you look beautiful.

While doing this, I discovered I had a talent hidden up to then.  I learned Swahili and discovered through the language I could really enter into the cultural fabric of the people. 

Once when I was at the little town of Moshi, near Kilimanjaro, I went to the local market.  I knew an old man who sold fruit and veggies.  I loved the old guy and we would chat up a storm when I was in town.  I could also leave my motor cycle near him, so he would keep thieves away. 

The Play Station.
 

At one point after chatting with him, I was picking up some fruit while he talked with a little old lady.  She asks my friend about me, “Is he one of us,” using a word I would never presume to use for myself, ndugu, meaning brother, but more than that.  She had overheard me talking Swahili with my old friend.  He responded, “Yes.” 

The Best, Bethany (plus 1 soon to arrive) & Ray

Talking about Kilimanjaro, I climbed that old mountain 5 times

After all this, I finally returned to the States, and what did I encounter? Two more lights who, incredibly, believed in me.  Who? Bernadette and Carol.   Because of them we are here this morning.  What a Blessing!

I think, Ray, we may have another understudy here.

George Schemel believed in me and showed it.  Because of his believing, I was able to accomplish things I never would have dreamed about.  Plus, I lived a marvelous 10 year adventure.  George was a light to me.  As are  Bernadette, Carol, and you people.  

Who has believed in you?

Whom do you believe in? 

Yeah!   It is Girl Scout Cookie time again and Harper is ready to supply all your favorite flavors.  Good work, Dear Harper.

Readings:

Isaiah 55, 10-12,   Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down…

 Psalm 65,   The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.

Romans 8,  18-23,  The sufferings of this present time are as nothing…

Matthew 13, 1-23,  The parable of the sower.

Emma and her mom, Beth, say, "Welcome in, Everybody."

Isaiah, The Great One, observations—

Who:  One of the Big 3 prophets, the greatest in my estimation.  Jeremiah and Ezekiel are the other two.  Actually, the book includes the work of 3 prophets.   Our selection is the last chapter written by Isaiah 2.

Time:  Isaiah 2 was living during the Babylonian Captivity, ca. 555.  Isaiah 1 writes before the Captivity, maybe 150 years.  Isaiah 3 writes after the return to Jerusalem. 

Subject today: better times will come.  I am expanding today’s passage by a third line, because it is so good.

Isaiah 2 has some of the most beautiful passages, many of which are seen as foretelling the coming of the Savior.  His readings are used all through the Advent & Christmas readings, as well as in Lent.  Handel uses Isaiah 2 in his marvelous work, The Messiah.

Both the Isaiah reading and Psalm 65 are beautiful.

David and Donna, our hearts and our complete condolences go out to you on the loss of your 1 year old little Yorkie, Dixie Belle.  On a sunny morning this past week in the Canyon Creek neighborhood, David was taking his coffee on the patio of their fenced in back yard and Dixie was playing, when a bobcat climbed over the fence,  grabbed Dixie by the neck, and climbed back over the fence with her.   David, yelling, climbed over the fence in pursuit.  With the help of a neighbor Dixie was rescued.  But it was too late.  She died later that day.  A year ago February the same thing happened to another of their little Yorkies.  So sorry!

And My Seed Landed Where?

This morning I would like to talk about how Jesus is said to describe how the farmer’s seed is scattered on four different types of ground, the path, the rocks, the thorns, and the fertile.  Where did your seed fall?  Where did my seed fall?  I’m sure a lot of volunteers would be happy to let me know where my seed fell.

If you are a sinful gambler poker player you would look at this explanation and notice the bad odds, one out of four.  I would propose, however, that we all landed on fertile soil.  Let me offer some examples.

Hi, Tori.

I’ve shared this example once before, so you might remember it, but probably not.  

When I was a little kid about 5 years old, I was playing in the driveway of our house in University Park.  There were no fences and the drive went from the street, through the space between our house and the neighbor’s, and to the back up against the alley. 

The neighbor was Sam Berger, who owned a hat store in downtown Dallas.  He was Jewish and lived next to us all during the Holocaust.  I was oblivious to it all.  He & his wife had a big black lady who not only worked in the house, but lived in the back in an apartment attached to the garage, the servant quarters.  This black lady was not nice to me. 

Our Candle Lighter of The Week at work.

So this day as I am playing in the driveway, the lady steps out of the kitchen door & stands on the steps.  Without thinking, I say, “You are a big fat elephant.”

To the lady’s credit, she marches right across the drive and tells my mom.  My mom comes out of the house, drags me in, and spanks me.  Thinking back, I am impressed that my mom respected the lady.  The spanking, however, and her treatment of me confirmed my suspicions that my seed had fallen at least on the path or rocks, if not right on the thorns.   I definitely grew up with the belief that I was a bad kid. 

Best buddies, Mary, Judy, and Mike.

Despite the fact that you folks might agree with that assessment, I would propose that I was just a normal little boy doing silly things. 

This habit of doing silly, not bad things, can continue into adult years.  I know a guy who gets on his bike and rides off for an hour leaving the driver’s door of his car wide upon. 

The Best, Shonda and Ben

I know a lady who last week let her Lincoln run out of gas in rush hour traffic.  Her husband, a bit nettled, brought gas, but then could not start the car.  It had to be towed.

I know a dear friend who drove into her garage with a canoe strapped to the top of her car. 

Wake up, Buddy, we are almost through. 
 

You do this stuff and you begin to believe the bad news, ‘I am a loser, I am bad, my seed obviously landed in the ditch.” 

And then there are the malicious acts.  You know where I come in on this.  Kids hurt and abused grow up to hurt and abuse.  They are not bad.  They are damaged. 

So, who landed on fertile soil?  All of us.  God don’t make bad seed.

So, what do you think about all this?

Beware Angela!  Cathy may be treating you all nice, but she's probably trying to sell you that mint condition Edsel that her husband brought home.  I bet she told you Bill, your son in law would love it.

Readings: 1 Kings 19, 16-21; Psalm 16; Galatians 5, 13-18; Luke 9, 51-62.

1 Kings: This book continues the history of the Israelite kings begun in the two previous books of Samual. First was Samuel, a judge, then Saul, the first king, then the Great King David.  David’s activities make up a large part of this book.  When David dies the kingdom gets split into north and south.  Things go badly.  Along comes Elija the prophet.  This is a sign that times are bad.  We read in today’s section about the time Elija chooses Elisha as his successor. 

A Role Model

I would like to talk this morning about my Aunt Kitty with her glorious 100 years. She has always been a hero of mine and after our visit this past week she still is. We stayed in the retirement home where Kitty lives. Consequently, were able to make numerous small visits over the day & a half we were there. One attendant even asked me if I lived there now!

Since we had just been talking two weeks ago about the qualities of a peaceful & whole person, I was looking at Kitty with the 6 qualities in mind, e.g., curiosity & hope, gratitude & love, zest and, my own, humor. I spotted at least 3. 

Above all else, I was struck about how peaceful she was. At one point in our visits she said that while she had not wanted to live until she was 100, "It is not bad," she claimed. This said a lot to me, because over the past 10 years Kitty often told us that she did not want to live to 100. 

I asked her how she got to this peace & 100 years. "Golf", she replied.  She loved to play golf.  I think I see here that zest for living that I mentioned was one of the 6 characteristics of a whole & peaceful person. She, also of course, was famous for her yellow Buick convertible.  Which leads to the second quality I remember about her.

Her humor.  I can still remember her laughing at my uncle Frank and going into hysterics with my mom.  The two of them were close in age and spirit.  They laughed often over a time when the two of them as girls in Pittsburg were driving along behind a streetcar and went right out over a bridge. They had to get rescued. Kitty was notorious as an air head and my mom was right with her.   

One year when I was returning to East Africa from a home visit, I toured Kitty, my mom, and their older sister Pauline around Ireland in a little, two door, red economy sized car. Folks, it was lucky that Ireland is so small because we did not get started in the morning until about 9:30 or 10:00 and then we began looking for a place to stay around 4:00. Plus we stopped for lunch & morning & afternoon tea.  During all this time they laughed non stop.

During our visits Kitty often poked fun at her situation and age, when she remembered she really was 100. And when she did not remember, she laughed at herself. 

Besides humor and zest for life, Kitty loved her friends. While we were with her she said how much she missed her pals Jenny Gooch and Betty Lynch. Betty had three paintings on Kitty’s wall.  Especially she missed my mom. In fact, she was disappointed she had not heard from her recently.  Her long term memory is shaky. She did not remember that mom had died about 15 years ago.  She was even disappointed Pauline had not written her.  Pauline lived in NYC and died before my mom.

One moment after she forgot her age, however, she tuned directly into me and asked how I liked marriage, what was my relation with the Jesuits, and was I still working actively as a priest. Even though she became Presbyterian when she married my Uncle Frank, she has been totally interested in and supportive of my process.  And she remembed clearly. 

Of all the qualities my aunt shows, humor is her best. 

What is your best quality?

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