Reminder for 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 23, 2023

Readings:

Jeremiah  1, 4-5, 17-19,   Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. (The Call)

Psalm 71, I will sing of your salvation.

 1 Corinthians 12, 31 – 13, 4-13,  If I do not have love, I am nothing. (Excellent)

Luke 4, 21-30,   They wanted to throw him over the cliff.

 

                                   

Leo says, "Welcome in, Everybody.  It's fun here."

 

 Jeremiah observations:

Who:  One of the Big 3 and my second favorite behind Isaiah, whom we will hear from next Sunday.  Why a favorite: because he shares his feelings with gusto. 

When:  you can guess it, before and during the Babylonian Captivity.  Notice how much prophetic energy is concentrated around this one event?  Shows how big it was in Jewish history.  Keep 555 before Christ as the beacon date. 

 

                                    

Harper, also, says, "Hi, Folks, Come in."

 

What: you can guess this, too.  Criticism of behavior, warning of punishment from God, and eventually a better day.

What today: Jeremiah’s call by God to be his man, really Everyperson’s call to be God’s special.  This call theme carries through our next 2 readings, especially the next one, The Big One.

 

                                        

Candle Lighters of The Week, Buddy & Tori.

 

Love is patient, Love is kind

I confess, I used to get 1 Corinthians 13 fatigue, I heard it so often at weddings.  Lately, however, I have changed.  Now as I listen I feel it calling me to step up.  I want to be more patient and more kind.  I hear Francis inviting me to be a peacemaker.

One small example.

A few months ago Rosemary and I were heading out one Sunday morning to celebrate Mass at Vines.  It must have been 8:30, the time we usually depart.  The streets were practically deserted. 

 

               

The Candle Lighters at work.

 

We were going east on Royal Lane.  We got to Central and stopped for the light.  When it changed we moved forward and planned to take a left to go up the ramp to north bound Central.  

I noticed behind me at the light was a silver Mercedes.  As I moved forward it was practically touching the back of our van.  I turned left and started up the ramp.  It stayed right behind us.

 

 

                                                               

Happy Birthday, Mary. 

 

As I got onto Central and moved into the first lane on the left, this person, a guy, floored his Mercedes, leaned on the horn, and raced by us on the right showering us with nice little hand gestures.

Rosemary says I drive too slowly some times, but this was Sunday morning, folks.  Almost no other cars but this guy and us. 

 

Happy Birthday, Rick (the man behind many of the pictures you see)

 

So what would you do?  Well, I did nothing, of course.  I can recognize serious road rage and I was just hoping the guy would not stick a gun out his window and start blasting away.  Let him go away, which he did.

However, does being patient and kind apply here?  Yep, I think so. 

 

 

Candle Lighters deserve their rewards.  How did you get in there, Zoe?

 

As a priest and psychotherapist for years I have heard the life stories of people who have done pretty bad things.  I get to know them and I find out what was behind their actions.  Who knows about this guy on an early Sunday morning.  Maybe he was heading to a hospital.  His wife or child was dying.  Maybe his wife just divorced him.  Maybe on Friday he was fired for his anger.  There is always a story and a reason.

So when I hear Corinthians on patience and kindness, I think, ‘Stack, cool off.’ 

 

Happy Birthday, Gil.  It looks like you have someone eager to help you with that cupcake.

 

And Cornthians has a reverse value.  Say I had reacted to his anger.  Then later I would feel guilty and ashamed.  The patience and kindness is for me, too.  I usually don’t have road rage fortunately, but I can get mad, I can criticize, I can get passive aggressive, and then get remorseful.  Can’t we all?

Any of you all drive a silver Mercedes?  Do you have road rage?  Are you patient and kind?

How are you going to be a more loving and peace-making person after hearing this passage this morning?

 

 

Does Music get any better than this, Shonda & Bethany, Ray & David.

 

 

 

 

Because someone attending Mass last Sunday has been diagnosed with the Covid virus, the Board would like to reinstitute some of the precautions that we were using when we first came together again as a Community for Mass.  

1. Masks.  We have all been wearing masks.
2. Observe the 6 foot rule.  Families may sit together but different families should maintain a 6 ft distance from each other.
3. No touching or wandering around.  At the Kiss of Pease, please wave or nod to each other rather than hugging and touching.
4. Sanitize.  There will be a bottle of hand sanitizer on the table when you come in.

 

We are all vaccinated and these extra precautions should provide a safe atmosphere to celebrate Mass.

 

Thank you.

 

Exodus 20: In those days, God delivered all these commandments: “I, the LORD am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt,  that place of slavery.

1 Corinthians 1: For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

John 2:  He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables, and to those who sold doves he said, “Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.”

 

Mary Jane reading from Joshua

 

Thanks…     

Music,   Ben

Community Finances:   

  Expenses: $    620.00

  Outreach: $      50.00

 

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

Marlene

 

Rosemary's Blessing:

Dust If You Must

By Rose Milligan

Dust if you must, but wouldn’t it be better

To paint a picture, or write a letter,

Bake a cake, or plant a seed,

Ponder the difference between want and need?

 

Dust if you must, but there’s not much time,

With rivers to swim, and mountains to climb;

Music to hear, and books to read;

Friends to cherish and life to lead.

 

Dust if you must, but the world’s out there,

With the sun in your eyes and the wind in your hair,

A flutter of snow, a shower of rain,

This day will not come around again.

 

Dust if you must, but bear in mind,

Old age will come and it’s not kind,

And when you go(and go you must),

You yourself, will make more dust.

 

The holidays are upon us.  To celebrate Christmas we would like to offer some opportunities for you to share your joy, gifts and blessings.

 

Following are some ideas of how you can help that we would like to pass on to you.

 

Soul’s Harbor. As in years past we are collecting sweatshirts and hoodies for the guys at Soul’s Harbor. Please drop them off at Lynda Fleming’s house by 12/17/20.  (5 Vista Cliff Place, Richardson, TX 75080).

 

We will have opportunities to share the Christmas spirit but I have not as yet coordinated this with Becky.  So information will follow.

 

Lynda Fleming is involved with a company called Caring Transitions which helps coordinate a Senior Holiday Wish Program. After reviewing the details below, please send an email to fleming23@gmail.comif you are interested in helping out.    Most seniors need items that range from $25-50, but if you can cover the cost of a larger item, please let Lynda know  your budget. Gifts MUST be collected by Tuesday, December 2^ndso please reach out by Tuesday, November 24^th.  Please bring all gifts to Lynda’s house (5 Vista Cliff Place, Richardson, TX 75080).                                                                              

In addition to the above need, here are two more opportunities: 

Collin County Meals on Wheels – desperately in need of meal supplement drinks such as Boost, Ensure Glucerna, Equate or Kirkland brand.   

Pajamas for Seniors – another desperate need in our community is pajamas size XL- 7X.                             

The deadline for this is also Tuesday, December 2^nd.

 

*** Lynda will have a bin on the front porch for contactless drop off.

 

Jeremiah 38:   Then the king ordered Ebedmelech the Cushite to take 3 men along with him, and draw the prophet Jeremiah out of the cistern before he should die.

Hebrews 12:  For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross,…

Luke 12:  There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished.

                           

         

Mary reading from Jeremiah

 

 

Thanks…

Music,    Ben

Readers,  Mary & Warren

Gospel,   John Cade

Homily,  John Stack

Eucharistic Prayer A & B,  John Stack & John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers,      Hue & Richard & Kevin

Final Blessing, Rosemary

                                             

                 

         Warren reading from Paul's letter to the Hebrews       

Readings:  Download 08-14-22- Readings – 20th Sunday Ord

Homily:  

                  

                         

Hue and Kevin working on the Zoom

 

 

 

Remember these special people:

For Jan; For Sandra who has been diagnosed with Large B Cell Lymphoma;   For Lambrini, John Cade's wife, who is dealing with cancer and Kaliope, John Cade's Mother-in-law;  For Hue; For Jackie;  For John's sister, Kathey recovering from a fall;    For Tom Good;  For a young man, 19 struggling with a brain tumor and cancer;     For Mary Hall's friend Cadence still suffering from a serious medical condition;   For Sir Charlie & Jan; 

                           

Meredith, Brent and Paul

                                                                                                                                              

                   
Aggie and Allan 

 

 

Jackie's mom, sister, & friend, Lynn;  For Rick Turner searching for a kidney donor, Type O neg.;   For Jean & Cliff Wright;  For Dee, and for her daughters, Lisa & Lauren;     For a young man who is suffering from depression;  John Cade'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.

 

 

Connie and Barbara

   

Birthdays:   Marlene Ekes 8/15

Anniversaries:   Jean & John O'Donnell 8/15, Bernadette & Gilberto Delgado  8/20

      

Community Finances:   

Expenses: $   780.00

Outreach: $   120.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

                 

 

 

 

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

May you succeed!