Corpus Christi, June 19, 2022

The first Genesis creation story is included in this blog.  It is too long to read during the homily, so I invite you to read it prior to Sunday Mass when John Cade will talk with you about the story’s literary form.

Download 09-19-21 Genesis Creation Story 1

Acts of the Apostles 15: It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities,  namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meats  of strangled animals, and from unlawful marriage.

Revelation 21:  The city had no need of sun or moon to shine on it, tor the glory of God gave it light, and its lamp was the Lamb.

John 13:  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. 

 

Georgie is home from college
 

 

Thanks…

Music,    Ben 

Readers, Tom & Denni

Gospel,   John Cade

Homily,  John Cade

Eucharistic Prayer A & B,  John Stack & John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers,      Hue & Richard

Final Blessing, Rosemary

 

Loretta and Dawn (Welcome back Dawn)

 

 

 

Readings:  Download 5-22-22 – Readings – 6th Easter

Homily:  

 

 

Ben

 

 

 

Remember these special people:

For Sandra who has been diagnosed with Large B Cell Lymphoma;   For Lambrini, John Cade's wife who is dealing with cancer;  For John's sister, Kathey in the hospital after a fall; 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;   For Mary Hall's friend Cadence still suffering from a serious medical condition;   For Sir Charlie & Jan;  All of Shonda's dear family;

                           

 

The Kiss of Peace

 

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.

 

 

The Kiss of Peace

                   

                  

Birthdays:   Ray Occhipinti 5/24

Anniversaries:   

      

Community Finances:   

Expenses: $ 853.00

Outreach: $  100.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

                               

Rosemary's Blessing:  

Two MORE important reminders:

 

1.  Saturday night: Daylight Saving Time begins.                                                                                                      
2. DAARC COLLECTION:    what to donate?  —  Download DARCC                                       Dallas Area Rape Crisis Center

 

Music,   Ben 

Expenses: $   1,525.00

Outreach: $    80.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

The Kiss of Peace

 

 

Rosemary's Blessing:

To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and
the affection of children;
To earn the approbation of honest critics and endure
the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To give of one's self;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;
To have played and laughed with enthusiasm and
sung with exultation;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived –
This is to have succeeded.

 

What Is Success  by Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

Isaiah 62:  No more will anyone call you Rejected, and your country will no more be called Ruined. You'll be called Hephzibah (My Delight), and your land Beulah (Married), Because God delights in you and your land will be like a wedding celebration.

1 Corinthians 12:  All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when.

John 2:  This act in Cana of Galilee was the first sign Jesus gave, the first glimpse of his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

 

 

Music,   Ben 

Cathy gets a cookie for her new knee

 

Expenses: $   310.00

Outreach: $    30.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

 

The Kiss of Peace

 

 

Rosemary's Blessing:

Thank you Lord for giving me

The brand new year ahead

Help me live the way I should

As each new day I tread.

 

Give me gentle wisdom

That I might help a friend

Give me strength and courage

So a shoulder I may lend.

 

The year ahead is empty

Help me fill it with good things

Each new day filled with joy

And the happiness it brings.

 

Please give the leaders of our world

A courage born of peace

That they might lead us gently

And all the fighting cease.

 

Please give to all upon this earth

A heart that’s filled with love

A gentle happy way to live

With your blessings from above.

 

New Years Prayer  by Charlotte Anselmo

 

 

 

 

Says, Tori, "Welcome in, Everybody.

 

 

Readings:

Isaiah 60, 1-6,   Upon you the Lord shines

Psalm 72,  Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.

Ephesians 3, 2-3, 5-6,  You have heard of the stewardship.

Matthew, 2 , 1-12  The Epiphany (the Magi)

 

 

 

Shonda, Ben & David doing it.

 

 

Isaiah 60:  observations–

1.  Who:  Can you guess which Isaiah this is, 1, 2, or 3?  Yes, this is Isaiah III who seems to have lived after the Babylonian Captivity, that is, 555 Before Christ
2. Today’s passage: chapter 60 is addressed to Jerusalem as a symbol, which is in total  destruction.  Isaiah  is trying to lift the spirits of the people who are depressed at seeing the mess that is Jerusalem.   He is saying that your day is coming, Jerusalem, when you will return to being the most splendid city of all, and by extension, the tribe.

Isaiah 3 should get a commission from the Jerusalem chamber of commerce.  

 

 

 

 

One of our Best Helpers, Leo.

 

 

The Epiphany, a Cornucopia of Symbols:

2 observations & 2 postscripts–

Where to begin, folks.  There is so much symbolism in this liturgy, in Matthew, for sure, and in the combination of Matthew with Isaiah and Psalm 72.  I'll touch 2 points, each with 3 subdivisions.. 

1. The Wise Men

1. The Wise Men have a double & triple significance because they are Gentiles
2. They come from the east, considered the source of wisdom in the world of that time.  Where does the sun rise?  Where do stars rise?  A new son has been born and like the sun in the east or a star, he will bring new light. 
3. They are searchers & symbolize every person’s search for meaning in life.    Remember Matthew speaks to two audiences, his fellow Israelites, whom he is chastising for not searching, and the Gentiles. 

 

 

Emma, our Candle Lighter of the Week, in action.

 

 

2. The 3 gifts. 

1. Gold is given because it signifies royalty. 
2. Frankincense, or incense, signifies divinity. 
3. Myrra signifies medicine.  Myrra is for human health.  It comes from a bush like tree that has a yellow, sticky sap on its bark.  The sap was good for skin infections and acne, asthma, colds, and flu, and even herpes.  It is found in Saudi Arabia & Somalia.

 

 

Suit up time.

 

 

 A post script.  People in Europe used to write an inscription over their doors, e.g. 20+C+M+B+18.  The numbers are our year.  The letters are Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar.   Christians made it say, “Christ Bless our house or Maison the year listed.

Another post script.  In New Orleans Epiphany starts Carnival season, which leads up to Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday before Ash Wednesday.  The parades are starting, folks.  Let's go.

 Sources: Reginal Fuller, St. Louis U. Liturgy; Biblical & Theological Resources, the Voice Institute, on line; Wikipedia; and other sources.

 

 

 

 

Suit up time continues.
 

 

 

An Epiphany Event

I would like to define epiphany as a giving & receiving of good news.  To exemplify this I have a story about a Christmas dinner I hosted one Christmas afternoon in the Jesuit house I used as a base in Tanzania.  I had been in East Africa at this time for about 7 or 8 years.  Because Christmas had often been lonely & sort of a downer, I decided this year to throw a dinner.

Since there were no turkeys available where I lived, I had to travel a day up north to Nairobi, Kenya.  I got a frozen turkey, returned and had to explain to the customs on both sides of the border.  Since, as a white guy who spoke Swahili pretty fluently, they passed me through probably thinking I was a bit crazy, like most wazungu, dizzy white guys in Swahili.

 

 

 

 

The Team, all suited up.

 

 

Next step.  Invite the neighbors on both sides of our house.  So I went to the father on the east side and invited him to come to my office.  He was a police chief, a very important person to have as a friend.

So, I said to him, “Mohammad, I want to invite you & the family to a special dinner on what we Christians call Christmas day.  On one condition: you get drunk, you may not come.”  “Oh, yes, yes, asante sana, (thanks, thanks),” he responded.

 

 

 

 

Offertory with Ray & Claire (whose mom just died today in New Orleans), Barb & Ron.

 

 

Christmas Eve I celebrate a late night Mass at the Capuchin sisters complex about 900’ up the south slope of Kilimajaro.  I almost live here because the sisters have a guest house with about 15 rooms.  I run 10 to 30 day seminars and retreats at their guest house.

Christmas day I travel the 2 hours down from the mountain.  It is summer time.  I pull into our dirt driveway and park under the canopy.  Behind me pulls in an old battered Land Rover.  Two guys get out and stagger toward me all buddy, buddy.  Yep, one of them is Mohammed. 

 

 

 

 

Welcome back Georgie.  So nice to see you again.

 

 

I am so disappointed and tell him, “Mohammed, you cannot come, Bwana.  We had a deal.”  This could have been a tough moment for me if he refused.  But, no, he apologized and the two guys drove off in their old Land Rover. 

I was a  little anxious about him coming anyway, but at 4:00 everybody started coming.  I expected maybe 10, but along with his wife and their two delightful little girls, extended family members showed up, a very common East Africa custom.

 

 

 

 

The minor elevation.

 

 

All this took place on our roof, from which you could see Kilimanjaro.  We had a partial Arab style house with a flat roof with cinder block railing.

The Epiphany is a giving & receiving good news.  The roof top dinner we had was a giving & receiving good news.

What are your epiphanies?

 

 

 

 

Guess what is coming!