20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 16, 2020

Readings:

Jeremiah  20, 7-9,  You duped me, Lord, and I let myself be duped.

 Psalm 63,   My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord, my God.

Romans, 12, 1-2,  Do not conform youself to this age.

Matthew 16, 21-27,  Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.

 

 

Jeremiah observations–

What:  I think Jeremiah is my second favorite O.T. prophet, behind Isaiah, mostly because he makes whining and complaining into an art form.  I need to take lessons from him.  Not that he did not have enough to complain about.   Jeremiah is one of the Big 3 with Isaiah and Ezekiel.  He is called the ‘broken hearted prophet.’  Here is why.

Time:  Jeremiah lived and prophesied in Jerusalem around 600 before Christ.  Why is this important?  It is some 50 years before the Babylonian Captivity.  Jeremiah had a heart rending life predicting punishment of death and destruction for the Hebrews for their sinful, selfish ways.  Jeremiah predicted disaster, and disaster came in the person of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon-Bagdad.

Jeremiah wore a wooden yoke as a visual aid to his message.  He may have been ultimately killed by the Hebrews.

Today:  Jeremiah is in top form.

 

 

            Sienna says, "Hi, Folks, Welcome in."

 

Deny Yourself, Take up Your Cross, and Follow Me

I want to talk this morning, folks, about the line in Matthew, Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me.  I confess right off, I hate this line.  Can you imagine a loving God creating people to deny themselves and take up a life of suffering? 

Matthew’s line can be very tricky.  It can be approached healthily or in a rather sick way.  I can witness to the latter in my own life.  I have already described how as a young Jesuit I was expected to do penance and deny myself in various ways, like the practice of using little whips to scourge our backs and little chains with points to wear around our thighs.  This was supposed to bring me closer to God.

 

 

I can laugh at this now, but I am humbled at how easily I can be snookered.  When I read this line and others like it in the Bible and remember my experiences, I now see the presence of an ancient philosophy that still influences a lot of religious activity today.  The philosophy: dualism. 

The idea is simple.  Reality comes in pairs, hot & cold, dark & light, order & chaos, and, in particular for this discussion, body & soul or flesh & spirit.  So far so good. 

 

 

The trouble enters with a judgment about the flesh & spirit.  Specifically, flesh is bad, spirit is good, superior.  Consequently, so that my spirit may reach an elevated plane of purity & perfection, and ultimately closer union with God, I attempt to subdue my flesh by disregarding the body's needs, ultimately aiming to live without it.  Do not give in to pleasure.  How about that!

A couple of facts.  Dualism is identified as far back as 1000 years B.C. and came out of Zoroastrianism, a religion that worshiped one god and believed in an afterlife.  Did it come from Egypt as so much did at that time?  No, from Persia, the area we call Iran today.  Zoroastrianism was widespread until Muhammad arrived on the scene around 650 and established Islam.  Through the ages lots of people picked up on dualism, for example, Plato, Augustine, Descartes, and the early Christians, like Matthew.

However, there is a healthy approach to the line.  A story to exemplify the healthy.

 

 

Way back when I was living at Jesuit and working as a psychotherapist, a single, divorced mother came with her son, Michael, one day and basically said, “help!”  She had a really active boy about 3^rd grade.  He and his neighbor buddy, a black kid, used to race around our neighborhood and the high school on their bikes.  Great kids.

The years passed and I got to know the Michael really well.  One afternoon when Michael was in 7^th grade at St. Monica, we were watering trees with the white truck and old red water trailer.  I don’t remember who was driving us along the medians, but at one point I can remember to this day, he said to me that if he did not make the entrance exam at Jesuit, his life was no good.  

 

 

I did not say anything at the moment.  But later I told him that thinking was baloney.  I said Jesuit did not want kids who said their lives were no good.  If he made it, Jesuit would be a better place.  If he did not, another school would be a better place because they had a tremendous gift in their school. 

He did not get in. 

So Michael went to Bishop Dunne.  He played sports, worked hard to make good grades, and kept in contact with a neat guy who was the admissions director at Jesuit.

He got in as a sophomore.  He did excellently.

 

 

Next Michael wanted to go to A&M and join the corps.  He did not get in.  He does not test well.  So he went to Tech and joined the Air Force ROTC.  After 4 years there he invited me to the ceremony where he was to get his lieutenant bars.  

The ceremony was in a big auditorium.  Michael was the last.  On the stage with him were his mom and his girl friend, Lydia.  At one point in his personal ceremony Michael turns to the whole auditorium, asks their patience for a moment, turns back to Lydia, drops on a knee, and asks her to marry him. 

Talk about blowing the roof off of the auditorium.  Everybody went crazy.  She said yes. 

 

 

 

Now, Michael has long finished his flight training, part of which took place right up at the scene of the Hotter N’ Hell, Wichita Falls.  He has been stationed all over the world, like Aviano, Italy, where we got the name of our dog, Aviana, after a visit there.   He has a little boy, a beautiful wife in Lydia, and a platinum career as a jet pilot.  

Michael has denied himself a lot of quite legitimate pleasures to achieve some healthy goals.  Even now he continues to keep himself in good physical and intellectual shape.  

So, how do you deny yourself and take up a cross?   

 

  

 

Wisdom 2, Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious

Psalm 54, The Lord upholds my life.

James 3,  Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder.

Mark 9,  If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last.

 

 

John Simari reads the first reading.

 

Thanks……

Music,    Ben & Shonda

Readers, John & Brent & Buddy, our candle blesser 

Gospel,     John Cade

Homily,   John Cade

Eucharistic Prayer A & B,  John Stack & John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers,     Richard & Hue & Mike

Final Blessing, Rosemary

For hosting us at Legacy for all these years & will miss you enormously, Becky

 

 

 

Brent reads the second reading.

 

Homily by John Cade,  

Download Homily John Cade 09-19-21

 

 

Welcome home, Sir Charlie & Jan.  So good to see you.  It has been too long!

 

Remember these special people:

For John & Karen Anderlick's unborn grandson;   For Rosemary's great niece, Rylie;  For Richard's grand daughter, Madeleine;   For Esparza's new great grandson  & Frank;  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 Sir Charlie & Jan;  Shonda's mom & Cody &  Leo & all of Shonda's dear family; For Ursuline Sr. Mary Troy,

  

John shares his interesting insights into today's readings.

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 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 12 month old baby boy named Ford recuperating from an operation; for David McKeon's brother, Hugh; For Beth's friends & brother;   for the medical staffs, teachers, and coaches in our public & private schools.

 

 

Welcome Home, Patricia & Fred!

 

Birthdays:   Ben's daughter, Sophia, 14

Anniversaries:  

Tom & Lynda Fleming

Rob & Beth

 

 

Peace, Everybody!

 

Community Finances,   September 19, 2021

Expenses: $ 745.00

Outreach: $ 255.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

 

Rosemary's Blessing:

How we see ourselves has everything to do with how we see God and how we see others. Let us make sure our God is the kindest, most loving and forgiving person we know. We become our image of God.

 

Taken from We Become Our Image of God by Sr. Jean Amore, CSJ, Principal Sacred Heart Academy, Hempstead, New York

 

 

Happy Anniversary, Beth & Rob, and welcome home.

 

 

Readings: Genesis 14, 18-20; Psalm 110, You are a priest forever, in the line of Melchizedek; 1 Corinthians 11, 23-26; Luke 9, 11-17 

   

Sorry for the delay on the Sunday Blog.  The Editors had a wedding near Austin Sunday Evening.

 

 

Genesis: a review—

 

 

What: the first book of the whole bible, part of the Torah, the first 5 books of the ancient Jewish bible.   The word, from Greek, means origin or beginning.

 

The book is a mythical panorama that covers:

   1.  2 creation stories

   2.  The apple tree, the snake, Eve, The Fall

   3.  Cain & Abel

   4.  Noah & the Flood

   5.  Tower of Babylon

   6.  The Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob (or Israel)

   7.  The 12 sons of Jacob & Joseph sold into Egypt

   8.  The migration to Egypt (which sets up the Exodus)

 

Who wrote: not Moses; 4 major streams or sources can be identified

 

Date: Anywhere from 1500 to 500 B.C.E.

 

Today: a little blessing of Abraham by Melchizedek, a king & a priest.  Abraham has just won a battle.   Melchizedek is seen by the Catholic Church as a sort of proto-priest.  How come no more Jewish priests?  Because the Romans in 70 C.E. destroyed the temple in Jerusalem.  The priests offered sacrifice to Yahweh to win his benevolence.  Now rabbis & synagogues.  What if the temple were rebuilt? 

 

 

 

Luke Gospel: observations—

 

 1.  Luke copied Mark (the earlier writer), 5 loaves, 2 fish, 12 baskets, 5,000 men seated in groups

  2.  Mark is trying to convince the Jews in the temple & synagogue that Jesus is special, similar to Moses .  Both bring the people out of slavery.  Both feed the people, Moses in the desert.

  3.  Mark is working with the Jewish liturgical calendar, presenting Jesus stories each Sabbath in the worship services. 

4.  Please pardon me for repeating an understanding of this nature miracle that I have told before.

Sources: Wikipedia; Bishop Spong, Jesus for the Non-Religious, p. 72

 

 

 

The Miracle of Sharing My Stuff

 

 

I took an overnight train once from the capital of Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, to the Kilimanjaro region where we Jesuits had a house I used as a base.  The train leaves at about 6:00 in the evening and arrives in a town called Moshi about 6:00 in the morning. 

 

 

Normally I would book a first class compartment ahead of time, which is not that much, but much better than coach.  I do not remember the reason  why I was traveling without my motorcycle.  Whatever, I ended up grabbing a coach ticket on the afternoon of the train’s departure.  A dumb move normally.

 

 

Coach, folks, is a scene.  I get on.  All seats are occupied, of course.  The aisle is full of luggage and people.  I find a corner and sit on my suitcase, resigned to sitting up all night. 

 

 

This would have been okay, but about 1:00 in the night we stop in the middle of nowhere.  It looks like west Texas in the dry season, scraggly bushes, semi-desert.  We sit there all that night, all the next day, and finally move as it is getting dark again.

 

 

I have now lived in East Africa a good half a dozen years.  I can speak the language easily.  I know the unpredictability of everything.  However, I did something really stupid that night.  I got on that train without any water or food, assuming the train would arrive as scheduled. 

 

 

Of course, the Tanzanians were provident.  They had food & water.  They would have easily shared with me if they knew I needed anything.  Trouble was, I did not want to drink their water because often it is not purified.

 

 

 

In the whole train, guess how many white folks there were.  One other couple, the guy a 6’4” military kid from West Germany and his blond girl friend from East Germany.  Before the wall came down.

 

 

They had water.

 

 

There are a couple of spin off stories about this couple.  First, I saved them from big trouble when the guy took a picture of a cute Tanzanian baby.  Tanzanians really get spooked and mad about this.

 

 

Secondly, I took the couple up Kilimanjaro and had to laugh.  The guy was like a number 5 out of 5 on the Alpine Rescue Team and near the top of Kilimanjaro I had to carry his pack because he got altitude sickness. 

 

 

I tell this story about the train because it explains to me just how this feeding of the people could have come about.

 

 

The people following Jesus were like my Tanzanian companions.  They did not go off without food.  Moreover, they hid what they had.  And they aren’t sharing it except under exceptional circumstances.  Jesus was one of the circumstances. 

 

 

He takes the five loaves and two fish, takes a bit, and passes it on.  The person who receives it realizes that under his robe he has some bread, too.  He takes a bit and passes it on.  But he also adds a portion of his own bread.  By the time it makes the rounds of 5 thousand times at least 2 (the women & kids), there is a leftover of 12 baskets.

 

 

The miracle was of the heart.  These country people who would hide and hoard to save their lives opened their hidden treasure and shared with their neighbor. 

 

 

This is miraculous.  This we can do. 

 

 

How are you doing it?

 

Picture 1:   Mass begins, Kevin helping

 

Picture 2:   Wendy, Shonda, Ray, & Celeste

 

Picture 3:   Communion

 

Picture 4:  John & Alison DeGenova, Sabrina's parents

 

 

 

 

 

Say Cindy & Dee, "Welcome in, Everybody."

 

Readings: 

Acts of the Apostles, 5, 12-16,  Peter said, "we are witnesses of all."

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

Revelation 1, 9-11, 12-13, 17-19, I, John, found myself on the Island of Patmos

John 20, 19-31, Jesus appears to the apostles in the upper room.

 

 

And guess who is also saying, "Come in, Folks," Tori & Harper.

 

 

Homily by Deacon Mike

The Father makes known to us, “He sent his Son into the world, not to condemn it; but rather, to redeem it; to grant it salvation through the power of the Holy Spirit.”

 

So, Jesus, in like manner, said to his disciples, “As the Father has sent me, I send you into the world, not to condemn the world but to grant it salvation through the power of the Holy Spirit.”

 

 

 

Emma with her Magic Touch lighting our Easter Candles.

 

Two Sundays ago the Church welcomed and empowered with the Holy Spirit tens of thousands of the Elect from all over the world to become a part of the Body of Christ; not to condemn the world; but to redeem it, to join with us to bring forgiveness to the world.

 

So, we ask you, the Church, to redeem itself. You have hurt yourself and us; for we are part of you, and we suffer, but we know that we must forgive you.

 

 

The Blessing of the Easter Candles read by Buddy who knows it almost totally by heart.

 

 

So, we forgive you for allowing predators to abuse our children.

We want to assist you, so we ask that you do the following: Pray over your plan of action.  Have you sought to realize that your plan must address predators who will seek to continue the abuse?  You must address who you choose to send to your parishes. Your plan must replace them with ordained married men, and women who seek to be deacons, priests and bishops.

 

 

 

Our Great Offertory Team, Cathy, Sandra, and Judy.

 

The Apostle Paul placed no walls or barriers between those who have received and are living the gift of the Holy Spirit; we are Jew or Gentile, slave or free man, male or female.  GOD HAS NO FAVORITES!  We are one body in Christ.

 

Welcome Home, Grace, from your visit to Amsterdam, the home of your ancestors.

Revelation 11:  A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.

1 Corinthians 15:  Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

Luke 1:  When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

 

John Cade's Homily: Download 08-17-25 Homily -The Assumption

 

 

Linda reading from the Book of Revelation

 

Thanks…     

Music,   Ben  & Shonda

The Kiss of Peace

 

Outreach: $  30.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

 

Janice gets a cookie for her birthday

 

 

Rosemary's Blessing:

 

To laugh often and much;

To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;

To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty;

To find the best in others;

To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;

To know even one life has breathed easier because you lived.

This is to have succeeded.

 

Success – Ralph Waldo Emerson

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.