32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, November12, 2023

 

"Hi, Everybody," says our pretty Victoria with her momma.

 

Welcome: Catholic Mass with coffee & juice, and pastries, some bought, some home-made.

Time: 9:30; Celebrate with the Community & Stack. 

Place: Sigler Elementary, 1400 Janwood Drive, Plano, TX 75075

 

 

The Cookie Monster??  No way.  That is our Harper selling her Girl Scout cookies.  How can you not buy from a girl like Harper?   I think she cleaned up.
 

 

Readings:

Sirach 15, 15-20,   If you trust in God, you too shall live.   

 Psalm 119,  Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord.

 1 Corinthians 2, 6-10,   What eye has not seen…

 Matthew 5, 17-37,    If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away.

 

 

 

The Gang, pretty scary.  Tom, Joe & Marsha, John & Connie.

 

Community Activities:  

ROMEO MEET: Friday, February 10, Jason's Deli, Collin Creek Mall, west side of Central, 1:00.  Welcome all wakos,  you will fit right in.  

JULIET LUNCHEON, (aka.,just us ladies into eating together), March, TBA

 

The Community.  I see you, Everett. 

 

What is going on in Our Catholic World

1.   Tommy & God, from Fr. John Powell, Loyola U. Chicago,    Download TOMMY & GOD 2-9-17

 

 

Total service: Alison caretaking a little dog off her game a bit, Aviana.

 

True?

In a world where you can be anything, be kind.

Johannesburg

 

 

Welcome back, Joe, so good to see you.

 

See you Sunday.

J.S., 214-783-0443

 

Healing for Angela.

JSM Mission-Faith Statement

Help create a Catholic Community that welcomes all God’s People, provides for and challenges spiritual and total growth.

Reaches out to help people who are disadvantaged and make the world we live in a better place to live.

 

 

"Peace, Everybody," says Everett and his mommy, Kristin.

 

Sez Betsy, "Hi, Everybody.  Welcome in!"

 

Readings

Genesis 12, 1-4, I will make of you a great nation.

Psalm 33, Lord, let your mercy be upon us, as we put our trust in you.

2 Timothy 1-10, Bear your hardship.

Matthew 17, 1-9, The transfiguration.

 

 

Fist bumps for a healthy welcome.

 

Homily by John Cade                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             The Gospel of Matthew and the Jewish Synagogue—Talk Two

Last week we talked about how, as Jewish, the disciples and followers of Jesus continued as members and participants in the life of the synagogue and the Sabbath liturgy. Also, how these followers of Jesus remembered him in the synagogue, and preserved the stories of his life, teachings and deeds. An example of the general pattern of worship on the Sabbath is in Acts 13.

 

 

What a team!

 

It says, “On the Sabbath Paul went to the synagogue. After the reading of the Scriptures—God’s Law and the Prophets—the head of the meeting asked Paul, Friend, do you have anything you want to say? Paul stood up and said, Fellow Israelites and friends of God, listen.” Then he told how God led their ancestors out of Egypt and gave them their own land. He traced their history through King David, and how, from David’s descendants, God sent a Savior for Israel. And that this was the gospel, the good news, they were bringing: that what God promised their fathers has come true for their children—for them.

 

Our Super, All Girls, Sisters Candle Lighting Team.

 

This passage in Acts provides the basic pattern of synagogue worship on the Sabbath: mainly lots of long scripture readings.

First, a reading from the Law of Moses (the Torah, first 5 books of Jewish Scripture) in 1-yr cycle. Then readings from the Prophets, in three parts:  The “former prophets” (stories of Israel before and after the death of Moses, their greatest prophet—7 books of Joshua thru II Kings) in 1-yr cycle. Then more reading from what they called the “latter prophets” (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel—what we call the major prophets) in 1-yr cycle.  Then more reading from the ‘Book of the Twelve’—the last 12 books of Hebrew Scripture, that we call the minor prophets (Hosea to Malachi) in 4-yr cycle. [We use abbreviated 3-yr cycle]

 

 

Buddy, our special reader of the Candle Blessing

 

The psalms were read or chanted between the readings, sometimes for specific feasts of the liturgical year, but also to break things up with so many long readings, (and maybe to wake people up).

I counted, and the weekly Sabbath readings averaged over 16 pages every week, using this type print. After all the readings, the leader of the synagogue would preach on those scriptures or he might ask a visiting preacher to do so, as in the example of Paul. This is how the story of Jesus was passed on and preserved in the synagogue, for 55 years after Jesus’ death.

 

 

John reading his homily explaining the milieu of Matthew's Gospel.

 

So the written gospels are deeply Jewish books, capable of being understood only by those who lived and shared the Jewish mindset. If Jesus’ followers ever moved out of the Jewish world in which they was born, and if their gospels ever came to be read entirely or primarily by those who didn’t understand the Jewish authors’ meaning, they would be misread or misunderstood.  That is exactly what seems to have happened.  Step out of the Jewish world into the Greek and Roman world around the Mediterranean; the gospels would most likely be assumed by non-Jewish readers to be a literal account of what Jesus said and did.

 

Presenting the Gifts, Hue, Patricia, and Linda.

 

 A growing number of Jesus’ followers were beginning to be from urban centers around the Mediterranean—like Corinth, Thessalonica, Galatia, Rome—where they interacted with non-Jewish people and culture.  As the Jewish followers of Jesus became more cosmopolitan, they began to attract the non-Jewish Gentiles, and early Christianity became more and more a Gentile movement.  Near the end of the 1^st century CE, in the year 88CE, a split occurred between the synagogue and the followers of Jesus.  Orthodox Jews came to think of Jesus’ followers as “revisionists” and excommunicated them from the synagogue. So, by the middle of the second century (about 150 CE), there were practically no Jews left in the Christian movement.  Missing that Jewish context, Gentile Christians began to literalize the words and miracle stories, a practice the original Jewish gospel writers could never have imagined. For 55 years the Jewish people had been relating Jesus to the Hebrew Scriptures and incorporating his memory into Jewish liturgical practices. 

 

 

Minor Elevation time.

 

The followers of Jesus, including the authors of the gospels, had been speaking, then writing down, Jewish interpretations of the ‘Jesus experience’, not biographical accounts or historical stories.  As Gentiles throughout the Roman Empire gradually became a Christian majority, Christian literalism or fundamentalism was born.  This way of reading the gospels is the result of misunderstanding their Jewish context and meaning.  E.g., we read Jesus being referred to as “the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”  First-century Jews would have known this was a reference straight out of the Yom Kippur liturgy, not a literal reality.  They would never have imagined that these very familiar Jewish liturgical words could ever be so distorted. 

Next Sunday we dive into Spong’s basic thesis: the Gospels, Matthew in particular, were written explicitly for the Sabbath liturgy, and followed the synagogue’s annual liturgical calendar.

Amen.

 

 

Who dat peeking in the door?

Isaiah 35:  Springs of water will burst out in the wilderness, streams flow in the desert.   Hot sands will become a cool oasis, thirsty ground a splashing fountain. 

James 2: Listen, dear friends. Isn't it clear by now that God operates quite differently? He chose the world's down-and-out as the kingdom's first citizens, with full rights and privileges. This kingdom is promised to anyone who loves God.

Mark 7:  He took the man off by himself, put his fingers in the man's ears and some spit on the man's tongue.  Then Jesus looked up in prayer, groaned mightily, and commanded, "Ephphatha! – Open up!" And it happened. The man's hearing was clear and his speech plain – just like that.

 

 

Another Reminder for 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 8, 2024

Genesis 2: The Man said, "Finally! Bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh! Name her Woman for she was made from Man."   Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and embraces his wife. They become one flesh.

Hebrews 2:  Since the One who saves and those who are saved have a common origin, Jesus doesn't hesitate to treat them as family.

Mark 10:  In the original creation, God made male and female to be together.  Because of this, a man leaves father and mother, and in marriage he becomes one flesh with a woman – no longer two individuals, but forming a new unity.

 

John in Montreal in September

 

 

Another Reminder for 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 6, 2024

1 Samuel 16:  There – anoint him, for this is the one!  Then Samuel , with the horn of oil in his hand, anointed David in the presence of his brothers;

Ephesians 5:  Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth.

John 4:  As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth.  He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes, and said to him, "Go wash in the Pool of Siloam"

 

I am sorry everyone but Rosemary forgot to put the battery back in the camera so we have no pictures today.

 

Thanks…     

Music,    Shonda &  Ben

Readers,  Linda & John

Gospel,   John Cade

Homily,   John Stack

Eucharistic Prayer A & B,  John Stack & John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers,   Hue & Kevin

Final Blessing, Rosemary

       

 

 

Readings:  Download 03-19-23 Readings – 4th Lent

Homily:   

 

                                                                                                                                                                    

 

 

There will be a Celebration of Life for Ron Senter on April 1, 2023 at Restland  at 2:00 in the afternoon. 

 

 

Remember these special people:

For the family of Ron Senter;  For Frank Esparza;  For Jan;  For Tom  Quinn who had back surgery on November 21st;  For Sandra who has been diagnosed with Large B Cell Lymphoma;   For Lambrini, John Cade's wife, who is dealing with cancer ;  For Madeleine, Richard Eshelbrenner's granddaughter;  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; 

       

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.

 

 

 

 

                                             

 

Birthdays:  

Anniversaries:

 

 

Community Finances:   

Expenses: $  435.00

Outreach: $  0.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

       

 

 

In the spirit of Holy Week, here is a copy of a contemporary  Stations of the Cross which we have used in past years.  You may like to read them as a family and meditate on them.

 

If you would like to download and print the stations here is a link Download Stations of the Cross-Covid 2020.

 

Stations of the Cross -  Good Friday   Station Focus Application 1 Jesus is condemned to death For all those who have been condemned to die Innocent people have been condemned to die.  We are blessed in this community – we have health care and food when we need it.  Many people die because they do not have access to doctors, nurses, clean water.  Let us pray for those in need of these most basic resources.  Let us pray for those who are suffering from Covid-19.  Let us also pray for those unjustly condemned to die or spend their life imprisoned.  Let us pray to the Lord.  Lord hear our prayer. 2 Jesus is given his cross For all of us that we may bear our cross with acceptance We all have our crosses – physical, emotional, economic. We deal with the pot holes in our journey  as best we can and with the help of our family and friends.  Right now we are dealing with staying home and being isolated.  Let us pray that we can help others who need our friendship to help them to carry their cross.  Let us pray to the Lord.  Lord hear our prayer. 3 Jesus falls the first time For all of us who have failed We all fall down along the way.  Sometimes we fail because of things out of our control and sometimes because of things within our control.   Let us pray for peace during our current staying at home.  Let us pray for patience with ourselves as well as a renewed conviction to try again.  Let us pray to the Lord.  Lord, hear our prayer. 4 Jesus meets his mother For our mothers and other significant women in our lives Mothers hold a special place in our life's journey.  We ask a lot from them and have great expectations of them.  Let us pray for the mothers of the world that they have the strength and love to do what is needed for their children and that they are loved in return.  Let us pray for all those who have lost their mothers.  Let us pray to the Lord.  Lord, hear our prayer. 5 Simon of Cyrene carries the cross For people who help us when we are in need We all need help at one time or another.  We are also given the opportunity to help others.  Let us pray for the humility to accept help when we need it.  Let us also pray that we may see where we can help.  Maybe a phone call is exactly what someone needs these days.   Let us pray to the Lord.  Lord, hear our prayer. 6 Veronica wipes the face of Jesus For all the care givers Care giving can be rewarding and also exhausting.  May those who care take with love the elderly, the infirmed, the young, the poor, relatives and strangers know that they are appreciated for their care giving.  May we be grateful for our doctors, nurses and front line health care people especially at this time.  Let us pray to the Lord.  Lord, hear our prayer. 7 Jesus falls the second time For people who are hard on themselves We can be harder on ourselves than anyone else.  We expect a lot from ourselves.  May those who are never satisfied with themselves, know that  they are lovable, learn to accept being imperfect as we all are, and also learn to laugh at their mistakes.  Also, may we be there to give them a positive word.  Let us pray to the Lord.  Lord, hear our prayer. 8 Jesus meets the daughters of Jerusalem For people we meet on our life's journey We meet many people on our life's journey.  Some are important.  Some are almost invisible.  Some are rich and some are poor. May we see the gift that they are to us and likewise that we may be a gift to them.   Let us pray to the Lord.  Lord, hear our prayer. 9 Jesus falls the third time For people who have addictions and keep falling Addictions come in all sizes and styles.  Food, control, smoking, alcohol,  drugs, deviant behavior.   We pray for those people who are fighting addictions and we also ask your help to renew our pledge to do better each time we fall again.  Let us pray to the Lord.  Lord, hear our prayer. 10 Jesus is stripped of his garments For people who have been stripped of their dignity in one form or another The poor, the homeless, the unemployed, the disabled have all been stripped of some dignity.  May we treat each person with the respect and honor with which we would want to be treated ourselves.  Help us to reach out at this most difficult time, in whatever way we can to help the most needy.  Let us pray to the Lord.  Lord, hear our prayer. 11 Jesus is nailed to the cross For all the nails we use on occasion – sharp words, prejudgement, impatience It is so easy to do and it can be so hurtful.  Help us to grow in patience,  acceptance and positive words for others.  Help us to smile, say hello and wish others a good day.  Let us pray to the Lord.  Lord, hear our prayer. 12 Jesus dies on the cross For all those dying or near death We all will die.  May we pass in peace and among those we love and who love us.  At this time, we pray for all those who have died and are dying from Covid-19.  Let us pray to the Lord.  Lord, hear our prayer. 13 Jesus' body is taken down from the cross For all those who have experienced the death of someone significant in their lives Everyone has lost someone perhaps a parent, a spouse, a child, a relative, a friend, a dog, a cat.  It hurts.  May we be there to comfort those who are suffering from losing someone special. Let us remember those who have lost a loved one from Covid-19.   Let us pray to the Lord.  Lord, hear our prayer.