18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 2, 2020

Readings: Special All Saints Mass of Remembrance using Sunday’s first reading & Luke’s Gospel with 2 poems as the middle readings.  Therefore: Wisdom 11, 22-12, 2; poems see links below; Luke 19, 1-10 (Zacheus).

 

The Mass begins with a poem read by Jackie Ritter: Download poem_1.doc

How was I blessed by These People?

I have known a Zacheus.  Zacheus is Everyone, a limited person.  We are all limited people.  This Zacheus gifted me in a variety of special ways. 

First, like Zacheus, she shared her friendship with me.  I did not really get to know her until she had her last bout with cancer some years ago.  But every Thursday evening for the past few years we have talked and shared about so many things.  I looked forward to our Thursdays.  Through her friendship I came to know and love her, her husband and kids and even grandkids.  Two of her grandkids were in our Christmas drama last Christmas eve, the twin girls in the angel dresses.

Also like Zacheus, she was not very tall but full of energy and simple hospitality.  Zacheus’ height is symbolic of the shortness we all have.  My friend, too, was petite, but so full of vitality and cheer.  She was a joy to talk with for an hour. 

Especially, however, I was touched by her because she was a brat.  One night when I went to see her with Rosemary, I told her I had been learning how to do the salsa.  I showed her my classy steps.  Her response was, "Man, you dance like a gringo.  You don’t move your hips."

Another evening when it looked like she was getting ready to cross the threshold perhaps a year ago, I told her that when she met The Man she should tell him hello for me.  In fact, I told her if she ran into any trouble, just to say that Stack sent her.  Her response was, "Maybe I might be better off if I don’t tell him I know you."   She knew how to play.

My good friend Ofelia Lopez crossed the threshold this morning about 3:00 A.M..

She and all these people pictured on the stage have touched and gifted us into new life.

How?  What is The Gift you received?

AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2007-11-04.mp3

After Communion a poem is read by Joanne Languell: Download poem_2.doc

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 Readings:

 Isaiah 61, 1-2, 10-11,  He has sent me to bring glad tiding to the poor,  (excellent, though not in Handel’s Messiah)

  Psalm – Luke 1,    My soul rejoices in my God.

 1 Thessalonians 5, 16-24,  Rejoice always.

 Mark 1, 1-8,   I am the voice of one crying out in the desert

 

 

Isaiah observations– 

Who:   This is Isaiah 3.  Isaiah  1 goes to Chap. 39, Isaiah 2 goes 40-55.  From 40 on we have what is called the Book of Comfort.  Our selection today is all about comfort.  The writer is consoling the Hebrews after returning from Babylon to a destroyed Jerusalem  around 555 before Christ.

The first marvelous couple of verses are repeated more or less in Isaiah 42, i.e.,  Isaiah 2.  Also, Luke puts these words into Jesus mouth in chapter 4 of his gospel.

 

Advent Wreaths: This little liturgical practice came to the Catholic liturgy, believe it or not, from the German Lutherans in the 1500's, the time of Martin Luther.  It was more than just decoration.  The circle symbolized eternity.  The greens Christian life in a dead time of the year.  The candles represent each of the 4 weeks of Advent, each candle symbolizing the greater light brought by Christ.  Their color purple symbolized penance and purification for the Coming.  The Rose  candle says, 'We are almost there!

 

 

Our Friend, Curtis Ekes

For the Second Sunday in a row, Folks, I come before you with unfortunate news.  Another of our best buddies, a good friend, and great supporter, Curtis Ekes, moved to the other side last Sunday evening at Presbyterian, Dallas. 

I had the honor to be with him just an hour before he died.  He had moved that day from San Remo Rehab Center to Presbyterian because of trouble breathing and maybe pneumonia.  Because of the move, Rosemary and I had missed our usual Sunday visit with him.  From the hospital Sunday evening Marlene called to let us know he may not make it through the night.  I was stunned. 

 

As a look back I can claim I received three things from Curtis, an example of how to be gracious, an example of how to be grateful, and an example of how to treasure people, in particular family.

Long before Curtis could not come to Vines and even before he would come in with his walker, I would meet him at the door as he came in.  Always it was, “Good Morning, John.”  He was delighted to chat and ask about myself.   I was touched by how gracious a gentleman he was.

 

 

As far as gratefulness, every time Rosemary and I would visit him at home, it was, “Thanks for coming.”  This would be repeated frequently.  If he could have, he would have said it in the hospital.

In fact, the example of graciousness and gratitude came equally from Curtis and from Mabel.  You two were twins, Mabel, and I was touched so often and learned a lot.

 

 

The third gift I received was simple appreciation of people and, especially of family.  There is an awareness in the Ekes family that family is built upon having fun together.  The custom you folks have of getting everyone together for a Sunday meal at Curtis’ and Mabel’s house is as good as it gets.  Marlene and Cindy put it together these days.  If Rosemary and I were not so busy on Sundays, we would come begging to your door at the time you are serving.

Thanks, Curtis, for the beautiful example you have given me of graciousness, gratitude, and people appreciation, especially of family.  Thanks for Mabel, Bobby, Billy, David, Marlene, and Cindy, and all the family. 

 

Here is a response I hear from Curtis, a Hoppe Indian poem about the soul’s transition:

Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there,
I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight
On the ripened grain.
I am the gentle Autumn's rain.

When you awaken in the morning hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there.
I did not die.

 

 

 

Readings:

Isaiah 25, 6-10, On this mountain the Lord will provide for all peoples a feast

Psalm 23, I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my  life.

Philippians  4, 6-9, I can do all things in him who strengthens me

Matthew 22, 1-14, The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast.

 

Thanks to the Team

Music,  Ben & Shonda 

Readers,  Tom & Mary  & Buddy, the candle blesser

Gospel,  Deacon Mike 

Homily,  Stack 

Eucharistic Prayer A & B, Stack & John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers, Mike, Ben, Richard, & Welcome Back, Hue 

Final Blessing, Rosemary

For hosting us at Legacy, Becky

 

 

 

 

Remember?  3 years ago, South Rim, Grand Canyon.

 

Isaiah observations:

Who:  Any idea which Isaiah this is, 1, 2, or 3?   We had Isaiah 1 last week talking about the vineyard.  That was chapter 5.  Pretty easy to guess, Isaiah 1.  But, this is chapter 25.

It seems out of character for Isaiah 1, who criticizes the people.  More like Isaiah 2, which John Cade loves and which we will read this Advent. 

Remember Isaiah 1 is pre-Babylonian Captivity, around 555 before Christ.  This selection is a marvelous vision of peace and sensual satisfaction, one of my favorites.

Yep, it is still Isaiah 1, all the way to chapter 39.  Basically he is saying that a great day will come, after you people have paid for your sinful, selfish ways. 

 

 

Remembering…..

 

Download Readings Week 28
 

 

Homily:

As a boy, Jesse was a chicken plucker.

He stood on a line in a factory and spent his days

pulling the feathers off dead chickens so the rest of us

wouldn't have to.

It wasn't much of a job, but at the time

Jesse didn't think he was much of a person.

His father was a brute of a man

thought to be mentally ill,

and treated Jesse roughly all his life.

Jesse's older brother wasn't much better.

He was always picking on Jesse and beating him up.

Yes, Jesse grew up in a very rough home in

West Virginia.  Life was anything but easy,

and he thought life didn't hold much hope for him.

That's why he was standing in this chicken line

doing a job that few people wanted.

Jesse was always sick.

Sometimes it was real physical illness,

but often it was all in his head.

He was a small child, skinny and meek.

That didn't help the situation.

 

 

Remembering….

When he started to school he was the object of every

bully on the playground.

He was a hypochondriac of the first order.

For Jesse, tomorrow was not always something he

looked forward to.

 

 

But he had a dream. He wanted to be a ventriloquist.

He found books on ventriloquism. He practiced with

sock puppets and saved his hard-earned dollars until

he could get a real ventriloquist dummy.

When he got old enough, he joined the military,

and even though many of his hypochondriac symptoms

persisted, the military recognized his talents and

put him in the entertainment corps.

That was when his world changed.

He gained confidence.

 

 

The Wizards Hue & Rich.

He found that he had a talent for making people laugh,

and laugh so hard they often had tears in their eyes.

Yes, little Jesse had found himself.

You know, the history books are full of people

who overcame a handicap to go on and make a success

of themselves, but Jesse is one of the few I know of

who didn't overcome it. Instead he used his paranoia

to make a million dollars and become one of

the best-loved characters of all time doing it!

That little paranoid hypochondriac, who transferred

his nervousness into a successful career, still holds the

record for the most Emmys given in a single category.

The wonderful, talented, nervous comedian

who brought us

Barney Fife (The Andy Griffith Show)

was

Jesse Don Knotts.

(July 21, 1924 – February 24, 2006)

There is a street named for him and his statue in

Morgantown, West Virginia, his home town.

At this stress filled time in our lives, how are you reaching out  to peace & beauty?

 

 

Remembering….

 

Please Remember these special people:

For Alan Stryker;  For John Doherty with back pain; For Becky's dad who has moved to the other side;  For Cindy is recuperated!!;    For David Dismore's bad shoulder from a biking accident;  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 Mary & Dave Hall's g-daughter Allison Keller working at St. Lukes, Woodlands,  For Joe Hogan with cancer;  For Loretta's aunt Alicia;   For Sir Charlie & Jan;  Shonda's mom & Cody & Ben & Leo & all of Shonda's dear family;   for all the students and teachers and coaches returning to school, for Geri's sister with heart & circulation problems, 

Richard & Mike Zooming. 

 

For Jackie's mom, sister, & friend, Lynn;  For both Jean & Cliff Wright;  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, plus John's daughter, Joey, with cancer,  For the students, teachers, and coaches in our public & private schools.

 

 

Birthdays: Bill Hammond, Celeste Colmanero, Rich Eschelbrenner

 

 

 

Hammond, you are so missed around here!

 

Community Finances, October 11, 2020

Expenses: $710.00 

Outreach   $180.00    (often for Souls Harbor, Legacy, etc.)

Thanks, Folks, for doing what you can.

Rosemary's Blessing:

 

 

Just in case you missed our new address, 7017 Helsem Way  75230.   (notice the same Zip Code as Tulip Lane?)

 Readings:

Genesis 11, 1-9,  The whole world spoke the same language.

Psalm 104,  Lord, send out your spirit and renew the face of the earth.

 Romans  8, 22-27,  The spirit comes to the aid of our weakness.

Note: the Genesis and Romans readings are from the vigil Mass readings.

 John 14, 15-16, 23-26  If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

 

 Genesis observations

What: First book of the Bible.  It presents Adam & Eve, Cain & Abel, Noah and the flood, and the Tower of Babel, our subject today in Chapter 11. 

The book also presents the Great Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (also called Israel, because he is seen as the father of the tribe) , and Jacob’s 12 sons (12 tribes of Israel), including Joseph, the beloved, youngest son, who is sold to the camel driving caravan, which takes him to Egypt.  Which leads us to the book Exodus, and you know what that is
about. 

Good reading.  Not history.  Myth. 

Subject:  The word Genesis means origins, and that is what it is about.

When:  compiled around the end of you know what, the Babylonian Captivity,  say, 555 years before Christ. 

Our subject:  The Tower of Babel.  The story is an example of great spin.   There were the languages of many tribes in those days.   Someone attributes this to the sinfulness of the people.  This is like the preacher who said the New Orleans hurricane was sent by God to punish the people.

A Pentecost Story 

I have a Pentecost story for you this morning.  I am considering Pentecost to be a time when we get hit by a new or special spirit. 

This is what happened.

Last Saturday we started building the 73^rd Habitat house, many of which are in the Douglas subdivision of East Plano. 

 We all gathered about 7:30, probably 30 or more people.  It was fun to see our community team and to see other people from previous  builds. 

After a while I begin to know some of these people.

At one point I see an elderly lady I had known from our last build, the next door house.  I remember this lady quite well.  She had really bummed me off one Saturday at the last house.

I had arrived a bit late this Saturday.  Most everyone was putting up and sealing siding. I had done this the Saturday before, so I was comfortable pitching in again.  It was muddy because it had rained.  I had on my Keene sandals.   I noticed this year in the preliminary Habitat notice that they prefer strong shoes with heels and toes.  My mistake.

So I see this group of about 3 working on the west side of the house.  I go up and ask if they need help.  This lady, who is one of the supervisors I
discovered, looks at me and kind of snorts. 

My memory tells me that she proceeds to tell me that they don’t need any help, that I am late, and that I don’t even have on correct shoes.

Can you imagine that I was really steamed?  So I went around to the east side of the house and worked there for the rest of the morning, avoiding that woman.

Last Saturday morning I see her.  I say to myself, “Stay away from her.”

I start helping to build the exterior walls, situating studs, and hammering.  Since there are an abundance of people on the exterior walls, I decide to go work on the interior walls where fewer people were working. 

You guessed it.  The woman is one of the mid-level supervisors of the interior wall project.  Pretty soon I am aware of her standing near me watching my hammering.  And she says, “Good job.”  Then she asks me to help her on some special corner.  When I get it just perfect, she
again compliments me and thanks me for coming out. 

For the rest of the morning, I work with her, like her assistant, even redoing some of the hammering work the younger people did a little less than exactly.  All the time she is most gracious and I find her spirit charming to work with. 

I had one of those experiences, folks.  Because of one negative experience with this lady, I wrote her out of my will.  Last Saturday I had a complete new look.  A Pentecost event. 

I propose that these Pentecost events can happen with people, with a sunrise or sunset, a piece of music, a meal, a birthday or anniversary, a graduation, a wedding, a birth,  or even a death.

What is your last Pentecost event?

 

 

 

Readings:

Acts 4,  34, 32-35  The community of believers was of one heart and mind.

Psalm 118,    Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love is everlasting.

1 John 5, 1-6,   Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God.

 John  20, 19-31,  Thomas.

 

 

Acts reminders:

Author: Luke, the same who wrote the gospel.  He was an educated, urbane Jew.

Date: the years 75-80 

Subject: This is a travel log, detailing the spread of Christianity from Jerusalem to Rome and the Mediterranean in between.

Today: we have a passage pretty universally admittedly idealistic.  All is perfect and harmonious.   We view a community which is a commune, a utopian vision of life and the foundation of communism.

 

 

 

 

Do Not be Unbelieving, But Believe 

This week Rosemary and I will head south to Mobile, Alabama, where two events are taking place.  First, we plan another reunion of my old ’58 class Jesuits will get together.  Secondly, 50 years ago we graduated from Spring Hill College and there is a homecoming event staged by the college.

Of course, all this has me reflecting fondly on our years together.  Three memories.

 

First, there was a neat spirit among the 25 or so guys I entered with.  Most of these guys were amazingly normal, intellectually gifted, and some were amazing athletes. 

Secondly, as a group we lived a rigorous monastic life.  Silence, formal prayer times, work, study, and three recreation afternoons, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays.  We wore a black cassock & cincture or we wore long sleeved shirts and long pants, even to play touch football & baseball in 100 degree heat & Gulf Coast humidity.  We took only three showers a week, a left over reflection of the old Catholic phobia about nakedness. 

 

 

There is a story funny today about the odor or sanctity.  This was how you could tell a fake Jew from a true Catholic during the time of Ferdinand and Isabella in Spain, say 1492.  Catholics did not bathe, Jews did bathe once a week.  Guess what the odor of sanctity was.

The third thing I remember is our life at Spring Hill College.  For me it was a marvelous release from a cloistered life to life on a campus with guys and girls, not that we were allowed to, as it was termed, fraternize with the college kids.

 

 

I graduated 50 years ago with a degree in secondary ed, maybe grooming myself for administration in one of our 6 regional high schools.  I also spent the three years studying Catholic philosophy in Latin.  It was totally boring to me.  We had the adversaries and we had to learn how to out argue them.  We took our finals in Latin.

 

 

It was during these three years that a lot of my classmates began to question the whole process.  It was Vatican II time, the murder of John Kennedy and Martin Luther King.  At this time I never questioned.  I just went along.  I admired the guys, but was content.  I survived because I played a lot of touch football and I took care of a fleet of boats & motors we used at a villa across Mobile Bay.  I could go there every weekend and for two marvelous weeks in the summer.  We also had three hot, excellent meals a day.

 

The overall training made me grow up quickly.  I look back now, however, am somewhat embarrassed, and ask myself how could I believe in some of those practices.  And I know.  It was believe, believe in the process, in the company, in those who have gone through this before me, and look at them, how successful they are.

Doubting Thomas, the subject of our Gospel today, is a hero of mine.  I think I would like to have been more like him in those early years.  Which would have been impossible at the time, I know. I believed.   Paradoxically, I think the training itself ultimately gave me the self-confidence and intellectual curiosity to enable me to have doubts & questions.  Want to know when I started questioning?  East Africa.

 

The danger with the "do not be unbelieving, but believe" statement is that it is a "do not think" statement.  I become a sheep following the footsteps of whoever is in front of me with a feeling of security.  Doubts can be scary, questions confusing.  Without them I am less than fully human. 

Like with Thomas, what are your doubts & questions.  What do you do about them and how do you feel about them?

 

 

Wisdom 18: The night of the passover was known beforehand to our fathers,  that, with sure knowledge of the oaths in which they put their faith,  they might have courage.

Hebrews 11:  Brothers and sisters: Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. Because of it the ancients were well attested.

 

                     

Annette reading from the Book of Wisdom

 

Thanks…     

Music,   Ben  & Shonda

Jackie sharing her thoughts on the readings

 

Outreach: $   160.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

 

Mary gets a cookie for her anniversary

 

 

Rosemary's Blessing:

Come, O Dancing God,

Spirit of Life and Love,

of  Beauty and Diversity,

stir up my soul,

bathe me in your light,

and unleash my own spirit

that I may dance with you

and be light for those around me

and reflect your love to all that I meet this week.

 

Edited and adapted from a blessing by Fr. Andrew M. Greeley