26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 27, 2020
Readings:
Ezekiel, 18, 25-28, The Lord's way is not fair!
Psalm 25, Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Philippians 2, 1-11, Humbly regard others as more important than yourselves.
Matthew 21, 28-32, Which of the two sons did his father's will?
Thanks to the Team
Music, Ben & Shonda (on Air Force duty)
Readers, Connie & John Bresson & Buddy, the candle blesser
Gospel, Deacon Mike
Homily, John Cade
Eucharistic Prayer A & B, Stack & John Cade
The Magic Zoom makers, Mike, Ben & Hue, Richard
Final Blessing, Rosemary
For hosting us at Legacy, Becky
John Cade's Homily (above, Remembering…)
Homily on Priesthood First, a little bit of history of the Christian priesthood; and second, a little bit on blessings in my life.
The Apostle Peter, In Chapter 2 of his first letter, vs 4, wrote, “Present yourselves as building stones for the construction of a sanctuary vibrant with life, in which you serve as priests offering Christ-approved lives up to God”. And he continued in vs 9, “You are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him.” (As far as I know, among Christian churches today, it is the Morman church that asks all its members to exercise their priestly role.)
Saint Jerome, around 380 CE, gave his view of the Christian priesthood, derived no doubt from the traditions and practices of the early church. He wrote, “The priestly dignity is the personal possession of the Christian; it does not belong to the Christian because of membership in a church which has a hierarchical priesthood. Rather, the layman’s priesthood, as all priesthood, is a sharing in the priesthood of Christ.”
He continued, “It’s the reality of the Christian’s priesthood which distinguishes members of the ‘royal priesthood’ from the rest of humankind. No distinction between one member of Christ’s priestly body and another, can be compared to the distinction between those baptized and confirmed and those not—there is a basic unity that underlies the threefold character of baptism, confirmation and priestly orders.” It is clear that Saint Jerome placed the origin of priesthood in Christian baptism.
But jump about 800 years ahead and you are into Medieval Scholasticism, in universities all over Europe. Scholasticism was a ‘philosophy of learning’ with emphasis on reasoning to extend knowledge. You take a topic and dispute it in the form of a question, with counter proposals and opposing arguments. It began as an attempt to harmonize Christian theology with philosophical antiquity such as with the Greek philosopher, Aristotle. One thing scholasticism was not based on was early Christian tradition and practice.
Saint Thomas Aquinas became scholasticism’s most famous member. One of the founders of scholasticism, Alexander of Hales (in England), obscured participation in the priesthood of Christ by the baptized/confirmed Christian. For him priesthood no longer has its origin in Baptism, but in the separate sacrament of Orders. His thinking and conclusion was approved in the Council of Trent, in 1550, and stands today.
In our time, most of us who lived as adults during the papacy of John XXIII and the Second Vatican Council, had high hopes for a more collegial understanding of how leadership could be structured and lived out in the church. Many of us today support a return to greater opportunity for service by all baptized & confirmed Catholics. Opportunities clearly were there in the early church. Don’t tell me we can’t figure out how to make it happen now. Isn’t it time already, for greater inclusion and equality of opportunity in the church? I can hear RBG, that extraordinary Jewish woman and Supreme Court justice, giving us, her own – Amen.
Secondly, a little bit on my personal history of blessings. I experienced the call, in my mid-teens, to greater closeness with God—of course, to ‘save my soul from hell’. After two semesters in college, I entered the seminary, and eight years later was ordained a priest on Sept 30, 1961. I felt then and feel now the blessing of that day. I loved living and working as a priest, ‘saying’ Mass, doing homilies, being invited into others’ lives through counseling, visiting the sick, teaching in high school, and leading retreats.
Six or seven years later, when I was in the psychology program at Loyola Chicago, I began to experience a deep loneliness…and also disillusionment with the American hierarchy’s negative reaction to calls for reform by Pope John XXIII and the Vatican Council. Some of you will remember the great number of priests who left in the late 60’s and early 70’s. I was one of them. Having a psychology degree was a blessing, as I could continue one of the things I loved as a priest—counseling with people having a difficult emotional time. I married and helped raise four kids, including two as stepfather. Some of the big blessings: my relationship with a marriage partner (twice), being part of a family with kids (and now grandkids), relationships with friends, mentors and colleagues. My marriage relationship with Lambrini is amazing; we are a couple now for 28 years and counting. Also, even with diabetes and cardio-vascular disease, I am blessed with overall health. It’s a huge blessing to be able to enjoy the Autuum time of life.
An unexpected blessing came 15 years ago when you, this community, welcomed me back as a Catholic priest. Simply being part of this loving community, seeing the way you live your lives, is a blessing that keeps on giving. Why? Because every Sunday, and often between Sundays, you help me ‘see’ the blessings in my life, and you help me live with gratitude.
My question: How do you see yourselves as a ‘royal priesthood’, sharing in the priesthood of Christ? How do you live with acceptance and love for others, and also see your daily blessings?
The Zoom Wizards at work.
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 recuperating at home; For David Dismore's bad shoulder from a biking accident; For Esparzas, Frank & Mary, 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 Sydney; & For Sir Charlie & Jan; Shonda's mom & Cody & Ben & 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, David Dinsmore in a bike crash.
Ben bringing his Vitality to our music, alone today because Shonda has Air Force duty.
For Jackie's mom, sister, & friend, Lynn; For a friend & a doctor, Karen, with brain cancer; For Rick Turner searching for a kidney donor, Type O neg; For Meredith, cancer free; For Hue; For John O'Donnell; For Dee, and for her daughter, Lisa; For John Schanot's continued health; For Anthony & Sabrina; For a young man who is suffering from depression; John Cade's mother in law, Kalliopi Piskiouli and Lambrini, plus John's daughter, Joey, with cancer, For the students, teachers, and coaches in our public & private schools.
Mike working on elevating our Zoom quality.
Birthdays: Judy Carrell (today), Leo (10), Tori & Buddy, (10)
Anniversaries: John Cade, 49 years ordained, Fred & Patricia,10th; Erin McClurg & Greg, 3rd; Claire Z & Andrew,9th, Ron & Nancy Kovatis, 48th.
Community Finances, September 27, 2020
Expenses: $450.00
Outreach $100.00 (often for Souls Harbor, Legacy, etc.)
Thanks, Folks, for doing what you can.
Rosemary's Blessing:
Rivers do not drink their own water;
trees do not eat their own fruit;
the sun does not shine on itself
and flowers do not spread their fragrance for themselves.
Living for others is a rule of nature.
We are born to help each other.
No matter how difficult it is.
Life is good when you are happy
but much better when others are happy because of you.
Let us remember that pain is a sign that we are alive,
problems are a sign that we are strong and
prayer is a sign that we are not alone.
If we can acknowledge these truths and
condition our hearts and minds, our lives will be more meaningful,
different and
worthwhile.
Pope Francis
Just in case you missed our new address, 7017 Helsem Way 75230. (notice the same Zip Code as Tulip Lane?)