Sunday Homily, April 9, 2017, Palm Sunday

Here he is, Everybody, the baby we have been waiting eagerly to meet.  Welcome in, Atlas, we are all so happy to meet you.  You are marvelous, just like you mom & dad.

Readings:  

 Wisdom 1, 13-15, 2, 23-24, God did not make death; God formed man to be imperishable

 Psalm 30,   I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

 2 Corinthians 8, 7, 9, 13-15,  As you excel in every respect

Mark 5, 21-43, Daughter, your faith has saved you.  Go in peace. 

Welcome back, Wendy & Brandon, and congratulations on a marvelous little boy.

Wisdom observations:

One of the 14-15 books of the deutero-canonical books of the bible.  Not part of the orginal Jewish bible, not part of the OT nor the NT, but in between and the subject of controvercy over the cenuries.  Were they really part of the bible or not?  How do you know?  Catholic church accepts the books.

Author: not Solomon, but a Jew living in Alexandria, Egypt, who spoke and wrote excellent Greek.

The Best Music with Wendy & Katie.

Date: ca. 100-200 before Christ.  How do we know these facts?  Because of text analysis.  For example, while the author wrote in Greek, he uses phrases and expressions that have a Hebrew flavor.  Also, he mentions rulers and places that reveal date and locale. 

Sources: Catholic Encyclopedia on line

With Patricia reading the Blessing, Emma does her candle magic.

You can do it too

In the gospel today Jesus gives life to a little girl.  I would like to propose that you can give life, too. 

I have a story for you from my Dallas Morning News columnist friend, Steve Blow.  I saw his touching story some years ago.  In fact, Steve is retired & I miss his thoughts..

Offertory with Mary & Sydney & Hugh.

Ever hear of Fausta Twizerimana or Dolena Westergard?  Well, 10-11 years ago Fausta flew into Dallas and arrived exhausted one evening at the East Dallas Grace United Methodist Church.  She, her five siblings, and her parents were from a refugee camp in Tanzania, where I lived for about 10 years.  Fausta was 4. 

The Church welcomes refugees and this particular evening Dolena Westergard was there.  Dolena met the family and picked up Fausta. She fell in love. '

They are moving in, Folks, Beth & Rob, Sir Charlie & John

The family continued to attend the church and fitted into the fabric of the community.  Dolena watched Fausta and noticed that the girl had a gift for dancing.  She was always doing it. 

After four years of watching the girl dance, Dolena, who was now really a god mother to the kids, enrolled Fausta in the Dallas Black Dance Theatre.  Fausta, now 8, fell in love, too.  Never did she miss a session for the next four years. 

Wendy & Katie, you have been missed around here.

Then, along comes 2015 and a notice goes up that the Dance Theatre of Harlem was coming to Dallas to audition for positions in their summer workshop. 

Fausta has been dancing now for 4 years, is 12, and Dolena thinks it would help the girl just to learn how to audition.  No expectations.

You guessed it, Fausta gets selected. 

It is cupcake of the week time, 3 cupackes and 1 Bellvita.

Fine, but who is going to buy plane tickets for Fausta and a chaperon, plus about $3,000 in expenses?  This is New York, after all.   

You guessed it again, Grace United Methodist.  That night Fausta sat in a Broadway theatre to watch an African story, The Lion King.

Grace United Methodist gave life to Fausta, and, in particular, Dolena gave life to Fausta.   I even read that Prestonwood Baptist is giving life to the kids in the detention centers.

Congratulations again, Brandon, on such a marvelous kid.

This week families & people all over the country are trying to give life to the kids separated from their mothers and fathers.

Just like Jesus gave life to that little girl and to the woman who touched him.

To whom do you give life?

Wake up, Brandon, it is homily time, yeah. 

Source: Dallas Morning News, Steve Blow, Metro section, circa July 1, 2015

Readings: Genesis 18, 1-10; Psalm 15; Colossians 1, 24-28; Luke 10, 38-42

Genesis: the word means "origin," and that is what the book details.  Our selection today comes after the creation, Cain & Abel, Noah & the flood, & the tower of Babel.  The big three patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob. 

In our reading Abraham is now old, as is Sarah, his wife. They have no son. After their hospitality to two strangers, guess what happens?

Activist or Contemplative?

The years I lived in Tanzania I used to travel constantly giving retreats & seminars.  When I finished a stretch, I would return to our little Jesuit house near Kilimanjaro to catch up on perhaps 2 or 3 months of mail, to work up more seminar material, and to relax. 

One morning I was working at some task at my desk next to a front window when I saw the car of one of my best friends coming in the gravel drive.  He was a French Canadian priest who, when he was not working with me on one of our programs, lived in Dar es Salaam, the capital of the country.

As soon as I saw him I remember feeling uncomfortable.  As Rosemary says, I can get anal about projects. I am sure that morning I had my time all mapped out with various projects.  My friend’s arrival meant he had driven up from Dar es Salaam and I was going to have to go be hospitable for a while. Maybe he wanted to spend the night.  We did not have phone service, so you could not communicate.  You just showed up and the African custom was hospitality above all, day or night.

Somehow I must have managed, and I can’t even remember how long he stayed. 

All the people in the world are divided into one of two categories: activist or contemplative.  Today we call it Type A or Type B.  We are born into our group, like being right or left handed.  Both groups have their positive characteristics and their negatives. 

Type A, for example, is efficient, economic with time, likes to start on time and finish on time. As you know, I am Type A.  When I notice we are running over an hour with our Mass, I get antsy.  Type A people get energy from projects and love to tackle problems and challenges.  The energy enables these people to work long hours, even without breaks. Work schedules are established and followed. When you were in school, did you turn in term papers early or start work the night before they were due? Type A’s turn in early.

The down side is summed up in the slogan, "Projects over People."  Whatever I was doing that morning was more important than greeting my good friend.  It is hard for me to stop and chat with a neighbor when I am mowing the grass.

The contemplative, on the other hand, is laid back.  Projects can be postponed for suitable reasons without stress. Starting & ending on time is easy, no stomach knot if late. A day off can begin without any schedule other than waiting to see. Type B’s can focus on whomever they are with in a very complimentary way. Being over doing. 

The weak side of the Type B, of course, is accomplishment.  That term paper may not get in on time because it was begun just last night. Meetings can start late and go on without limit. 

We have cultures that lean one way or the other.  Tanzania was more contemplative.  People were patient.  Hospitality, a prize. 

What about U.S. culture?  Obviously Type A. This, of course, makes it more difficult for a contemplative to live happily in the U.S.  Want to be a young lawyer, a CPA, go to SMU’s MBA program?  Total Type A life style. 

So which types do you think Martha & Mary were?  And the writer, what type was he? Of course, one type can drive the other type crazy. My sympathy goes out to Martha because I’ve been in her shoes.  The writer obviously thinks the contemplative Mary is better. But really? I admire Martha for voicing her complaint, even though she gets shot down.

Actually, self redemption and maturity involves me as a Type A moving more into the contemplative side of the continuum. And vice-versa. The unredeemed Type A turns into a driven obsessive.  The unredeemed contemplative spends life doing nothing.

One of the things I have learned to do is take time off during which I do nothing.  Funny thing, even during this time, I will find myself setting a goal to read, say, fifty pages of a book today. I have to say to myself, "No, Stack, stop that." I can pull this off in Mexico or Italy or at Clare & Joe’s in Hilton Head.

It would be fun to bring in someday the Myers-Briggs Personality Indicator and offer it to the whole community, then explain it for a few Sundays.  I taught this in Tanzania. You might find out more about yourself, and see how your type is good, whatever it is, Martha or Mary.

What type do you think you are? How do you know?

AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2007-07-22.mp3

Jeremiah 31, I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel.

Psalm 130, Create a clean heart in me, O Lord.

Hebrew 5, He became the source of salvation

John 12, Sir, we would like to see Jesus.

Thanks……

Music,  Ben 

Readers,  Jackie & Brent, & Buddy, the candle blesser

Gospel,  Mike Carrell

Homily,  John Cade

Eucharistic Prayer A & B, Stack & John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers,   Hue & Richard & Mike  

Final Blessing, Rosemary

For hosting us at Legacy, Becky

Christine Dullenty's Memorial, Breckenridge Park, Saturday, 3-20-2021

Readings for Sunday, March 21, 2021

Download Reading 5th Lent 03-21-2021

Homily for Sunday by John Cade, March 21, 2021

Download Cade Homily 3-21-2021

Please Remember these special people:

For Carrie's ex, Larry with Corona;  For Alan Stryker;  For Joe Sullivan;    For Rosemary's great niece, Rylie ;  For Richard's grand daughter, Madeleine;   For Esparza's new great grandson baby, son of Monique;  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 Loretta's aunt Alicia;  For Sir Charlie & Jan;  Shonda's mom & Cody &  Leo & all of Shonda's dear family; For Ursuline Sr. Mary Troy 

John Cade sharing his homily on Sounds of Silence.

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 daughter, Lisa;  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 4 month old boy undergoing an operation; for David McKeon's brother, Hugh; for the medical staffs, teachers, and coaches in our public & private schools.

Our Brain Team, Richard, Hue, & Mike.

Birthdays:   John Cades' mother in law, Kaliope

Anniversaries: 

Community Finances,   March 21, 2021

Expenses: $900.00

Outreach: $250.00 

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

Ben, The Music Man.

A note about our Easter Celebration.

We now welcome 20 people to our Easter celebration, all vaccinated and coming with mask.  Seating will be spread around the large cafeteria.  Please don't show up without signing up.  Let's see if this goes so well that we can increase the number the Sunday after Easter.

Concelebration.

Rosemary's Blessing:

Oh God who made me absolutely unique,

Help me to value more the Person You made Me to be.

And protect me from comparisons and envy and discouragement over what I am not.

Andrew Greeley,  Irish American Blessings  

Welcome in, Everybody, as we celebrate the Second Sunday of Advent.

Readings:  

Baruch 5, 1-9, Jerusalem, put on the splendor of glory from God forever. 

Psalm 126,  The  Lord has done great things for us, we are filled with joy.

Philippians 1, 4-6, 8-11,  I pray always with joy for all of you.

Luke 3,  1-6,  The word of God came to John.

Excellent reading, Dear Buddy, thanks.

Reflection on Luke

Author: The gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles make up a two-volume work which scholars call Luke-Acts.  According to an early Church tradition, the author was the Luke named as a companion of Paul in three of Paul’s letters, but Scripture scholars say there is a problem with this.

And thanks to you, Dearest Tori, for lighting our candles for the 2nd week of Advent while your brother reads The Blessing of the Candles.

Though the author of Luke-Acts admired Paul, his theology was significantly different from Paul’s; there are countless contradictions between Acts and Paul’s letters. Bottom line: we don’t know who author of Luke-Acts is.

3 Members of our Girls' Board, Emma, Zoe, and Tori.

When written: The most probable date is around 80-100 AD, and there is evidence that it was still being revised well into the 2nd century.  The author takes as sources the Gospel of Mark, written around 70 AD, the sayings collection called the Q source, and a collection of material called the L source (L for Luke).

Mike sharing his graces from the Love for Kids' Picnic.

Audience: Luke was written to be read aloud to a group of Jesus’ followers gathered in a house to share the Lord's supper. The author assumes an educated Greek-speaking audience, but attends mainly to specifically Christian concerns rather than to the Greco-Roman world at large.

What is this sitting down on the job?  It is called lumbar stenosis, which was improved by one stretch suggested by the physical therapist last Thursday.  And that was only the first appointment.  Lots of hope for future appointments twice a week for a while.

Today's Homily

I was disappointed that I could not volunteer at Love Kids picnic Saturday.  I always am struck by the presence of grace in all these kids and volunteers.  Since I could not share the graces with our community, I asked Bill Hammond to keep his eyes open and to share what graces he experienced. 

The second elevation.

Bill, in turn, invited Mike and David to share their experiences of the presence of grace.

So we really had a triple header homily, and it was most touching.  

Next Sunday Mike will have the homily, a really good one.  Welcome.

For sale: Donna Dinsmore's hand made jewelry.

Readings:

Acts 4,  8-12,  In his name this man stands before you healed.

Psalm 118,    The stone rejected by the builders has become the corner stone.

1 John 3, 1-2,   See what love the Father has bestowed on us.

 John  10, 11-18,  I am the good shepherd.

Genevieve says, "Hi, Everybody, Welcome. Nice to see you for the first time."

Acts reminders:

Author: Luke, the same who wrote the gospel.  He was an educated, urbane Jew.

Date: the years 75-80 

Subject: This is a travel log, detailing the spread of Christianity from Jerusalem to Rome and the Mediterranean in between.

Today: Peter is talking to the elders and leaders of the people, aiming to convince them about Jesus.

Genevieve welcomes the Whole Community, and, in turn, the Whole Community welcomes Genevieve.

The Good Shepherd

I would like to talk this morning about the good shepherd.  Two proposals.  

First, we have shepherds all around us.

Secondly, the good shepherd has three characteristics.

1. The shepherd gathers people.
2. The people the shepherd gathers are richer and happier because of being called.
3. The shepherd, likewise, is richer and happier because of inviting all these people. 

Vivian says, "In two more weeks I will get to say hi to everybody, too."  Hey,  is there something in the water around here?

Four examples.

I mentioned that this past weekend Rosemary & I attended both a Jesuit class reunion and an alumni reunion of 50 years at Spring Hill College in Mobile.  The shepherd who called us together and made all the arrangements was my classmate and good friend, Bill Dowie.  To me this was extraordinary because the last time we all met two years ago, over twenty of us, Bill was still mourning the love of his life, whom he had cared for the last years of her life.

Not only did he gather those who could make it somewhat at the last moment, but he shared with us that he was introduced to someone with whom he sees a special relationship developing.  Rosemary & I were most touched, doubly so by the charming woman he brought.

I left that reunion richer and happier.

The Spring Hill Jesuit reunion group on the Fairhope pier, eastern shore, Mobile Bay.   Bill is third from left, Keqi is first on the left. Others, (l-r), Jim Raymond, Rosemary, an Old Geezer, Carl Castille, and Jack Podsiadlo. Joe Reardon taking the picture.

The second shepherd is in our very midst.  This guy invites with open arms and open heart guys who have hit bottom.  We, too, have accepted his invitation to nurture these men by our help with Souls Harbor, of which he is the director, a 24/7 job. 

Brent, Thanks for being a good shepherd for over 60 men and a shepherd for me and the community.

Our class in '65 in front of Assumption Hall.

The third shepherd, every Thursday at least, loads up 16 meals.  With her friend, Barbara, they deliver Meals on Wheels to homebound men and women, whites and a rainbow of races.

Rosemary and Barbara gather their people by bringing meals to their door.  The people are richer and happier because of their visit, as I am by their example.

Over 100 of us Jesuits lived in Assumption Hall, Spring Hill College, Mobile in the 60's. After expecting that the building would be finally designated as a historical monument, how deflating to find the building demolished and in its hallowed place two student residences. No appreciation for old age!

Finally, there is a lady in our neighborhood named Patty Cody.  She is our neighborhood shepherd.  She organized the neighborhood association.  She has set up a security patrol for us, and a neighborhood communication network.  You can find your lost dog or cat and you can put on line a picture of a lost dog you find in your yard.  All this, plus other conveniences.  But her biggest bringing together takes place on July 4, when everyone is invited to a neighborhood parade, a picnic at the playground of a grade school, and a time when we see each other, maybe the first time since last July 4.

Rosemary & I are the refreshment Czars and each year I come home richer and happier with what Patty has helped us celebrate.

Guess what, Victoria. You were once little, too, just like Genevieve.

Let me add an extra and a special Good Shepherd, Genevieve.  Does she not call us all together?  Do we not feel richer and happier just be in her marvelous presence.  And from my vantage point, I think she, too, is richer and happier because we are all responding to her.

Harper is pretending to be sleeping through another masterpiece homily.

Good shepherds are all around us.  

Who is a good shepherd in your life and for whom are you a good shepherd?

Cupcake of The Week to Paul and Carrie for acing the Boston Marathon last week.

A new community member?  Almost like former times.

Readings:

Isaiah 7, 10-14, Ask for a sign from the Lord.

Psalm 24,  Let the  Lord enter, he is king of glory

Romans 1, 1-7,  Grace to you and peace.

Matthew 1, 18-24,  This how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.

Buddy reading The Candle Blessing for the 4th Sunday.

Homily for December 22 by Mike

The Matthew and Luke gospels begin with what Biblical scholars call infancy narratives because the child Jesus is in both of them. You might remember from earlier homilies that the shepherds, who lived in the fields and who took turns watching over their flocks during the night, were a metaphor for the Lord’s apostles. The angel of the Lord, Mary, the manger, the flocks, the swaddling clothes, the birth place of Bethlehem, all these and many others are metaphors.

Our Sister Act lighting the 4 candles for the 4th week of Advent

It is through the power of the Holy Spirit that Mary has given birth in both the Matthew and Luke gospels; but not to a child. She has given birth to the written Good News of Jesus Christ. It is there that Mary’s wildest dreams are fulfilled…and ours, too.

Mike sharing his homily ideas.

The Prophet Isaiah has been in anticipation of the written Good news all through Advent. Today he identifies Christ as Emmanuel,  “God is with us.”  Recall that in the Luke gospel Isaiah identifies the Lord’s journey with us this way:  The spirit of the Lord has anointed us to take the Good News to the poor, to proclaim liberty to the captive, to give sight to the blind, to set the downtrodden free, and to proclaim this year to be the Lord’s year of favor.

Thanks to all of you.