Sunday Homily, January 29, 2017, 4th Ordinary Time

 

In Memory of Our Beloved Bill, who moved to the other side this past Wednesday.  This Sunday & next Sunday we will formally dedicate our celebration to Bill, Patty, and their beautiful family. 

 

A number of people in our community have expressed interest in taking part in the ceremony for Bill at the military cemetery in Grand Prairie.  I just talked with Patty & she says we are only allowed 10 participants and 10 minutes for the ceremony.  There must be high volume.  I've never had these restrictions in all the ceremonies I have done there.

Lynda Fleming is putting together a slide show of Bill's life.

 

Rosemary's Blessing:

People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

Mother Teresa

 

Can music get any better, Ben & Shonda.

 

 

Readings:

1 Kings 3, 5, 7-12, God said to Solomon, "Ask something of me and I will give it to you

Psalm 119,  Lord, I love your commands.

Romans  8, 28-30,  All things work for good for those who love God

Matthew 13, 44-52,   The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field.

 

 

Thanks to the Team

Music,  Ben & Shonda

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

Gospel & Homily,  Doctor-Deacon Mike Carroll

Eucharistic Prayer A & B, Stack & John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers, Mike & Richard & Ben

Final Blessing, Rosemary

 

 

Mad scientists?   Yes!  Richard & Mike.

 

Please Remember these special people:

For our Bill & his family;  For Cindy recuperating from a procedure 3-4 weeks ago;    For Carrie Bieda's son;   For Esparzas, Frank & Mary, who lost their son Jim to sepsis;   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 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 Michelle;

 

 

 

Another Mad Man?  Yes!

 

For Jackie's mom;  For a friend, a neighbor, & 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;  for Virginia Mattingly.

 

Birthdays:  Dawson Dinsmore, 23, Cindy Ekes

Anniversary: David & Donna Dinsmore, 34th

 

 

 

A Crazy Gallery?  Yes!

 

Download Readings Week 7-26

 

A reading from the gospel of Matthew Jesus said to his disciples: “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field,which a person finds and hides again, 
and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant
searching for fine pearls.  When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it. 

The gospel of the Lord.

 

Homily by Mike Carroll

 A summary of the gospel readings these past three weeks has been this: The Lord came to redeem the world by sowing upon us his Word, the good seed.  Moreover, it was not his intention to leave us as orphans.  Instead he bestowed the Holy Spirit upon people like Bill Hammond, who welcomed and lived his buried treasure.

Today, we seek to remember with tears of love all the times that Bill brought forth, to not just this community, but to others too, his hands filled with the hidden treasure of goodness and kindness that he had buried in his human heart. 

When we heard today’s gospel reading about the hidden treasure, a much better translation of it is this:

“The kingdom of heaven is like adding to the store house within our hearts of what Jesus has revealed to us.”

I am going to give you five examples I put together that bind our hearts to one another. Each of them refers to the treasure of the Church. I will read each of them slowly; twice.

• Where our treasure is, our hearts will be there also.
• We are to carefully guard the treasure that lives within our hearts for from them we give life to others.
• The treasure of the Church is the Good News of Jesus Christ; moreover, it has been freely given to the whole world.
• The treasure given to us of the Holy Spirit empowers us to forgive others.
• The treasure we yearn for should be our daily bread, for the Word and the Eucharist are incapable of being separated.

The Good News of Jesus Christ.

 

 

Community Finances, July 26, 2020

Expenses: $900.00  

Outreach   $100.00     (often for Souls Harbor, Legacy, etc.)

Thanks, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

 

 

Readings:

Acts  14, 21-27,  It is  is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom.

Psalm 145,  I will praise you name forever, my king and my God, plus the great line (8), The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness. 

Revelation  21, 1-5, I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth.

John 13, 31-33, 34-35,  My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me.   

 

Leo and his best buddy, John, say, "Hi, Everybody, Come in."

 

Acts, a couple of observations:

1. Remember the three rings of Acts, Jerusalem, Palestine, the World (Mediterranean & Rome)?   Since we are at Chapter 28 of 28, you can guess in what ring we are today, yes, the World.  Paul and Barnabas are in the region of Greece.
2. The author, the same as the Gospel of Luke.
3. The date again, before 70

 

 

             

Genevieve and her best Mommy also say, "Hi, Everybody."

 

Love one another

As you may remember, one of my most favorite lines in all the Bible is the first line in the first stanza of our Psalm 145 this morning, The Lord is gracious and merciful, never gets angry, and is abounding in love.   I read this and I add to it Jesus saying that, This is how they will know you, that you love one another. 

Is this real?   

 

Jan & Cindy have communion ready.  Choose wine or grape juice.

 

What is real is what I heard on the radio yesterday morning, really bad stuff.   Turns out that some professional bike riders were discovered to have developed motor enhanced bikes.  A small motor was inserted into the diagonal bar of the bike.  It was discovered in a race in Italy.

Now I know why these guys race past me at White Rock Lake.   Anybody know of anyone with a motor enhanced bike?  

More seriously, I look around and check out the news.  I read that towns all dear to me have been bombed by some really angry people, Paris, Brussels, Jerusalem.   People doing this think they are making the world a better place. 

 

                             

Healing and Life for Angela.

 

Here at home we have what to me is a horrible political campaign going on.   

In our Catholic Church there is no shortage of hatred of fellow Catholics who disagree with policies or don’t conform to certain norms.   You all know that there are various Catholics who hate me for what I am doing.

Pope Francis is getting push back from Catholics who don’t approve of his ways and his message.  Francis took three refugee families into the Vatican and he got ridiculed.  His economic ideas are certainly meeting with hostility. 

 

 

 

Healing for Sandra.
 

 

So, they will know us by our love for one another?  The Lord is abounding in love?   

Is this just silly religious talk?  In my book, no, not completely. 

We have the examples of hate, which I would propose are often the result of hurt.  But we also have examples of love, respect, and care. 

 

 

Hue, our great sound man. 

 

Francis’ welcome of the 3 refugee families is for me an example.  The two picnics for The Love of Kids, another example.  We have been helping at those two picnics for years.  And there are hundreds of other people who contribute their time and even resources to help these under privileged and handicapped kids.

Look at Jim Maher who comes down here from St. Bonaventure with some students to help with the cleanup of the areas in Dallas that were his by the tornadoes.   They spend a week of their spring break here and they have been doing this for years.

 

 

Elevation.
 

 

 

Doug LeBlanc, Grace’s husband, together with other employees at Ericson, they all gathered on more than one occasion to help a fellow employee whose home had been wrecked by either a tornado or that hail. 

Did you read in the Dallas Morning News about the North Carolina judge who felt he had to sentence a vet with bad PTSD for repeatedly getting drunk.  He gave him 24 hours and then the judge spent the night in the cell with him.   Said he did not want to leave him alone with the PTSD. 

 

                           

May I play that guitar, Daddy?  I think I can do it.

 

 

One final example of a person who inspired me by his grace in failure.  Jordon Spieth went from top of the leader board at the Masters to second.  He had a colossal melt down on the last day.  Nevertheless, he graciously congratulated the winner and helped present him with the winner’s sport coat.

This encourages me to know that there is lots of gracious caring in our world. 

Where do you see God showing his abundance of love?

Readings:

Acts 13, 14, & 43-52,   Both Paul & Barnabas spoke out boldly.

Psalm 100,  We are his people, the sheep of his flock.

Revelation  7, 14-17,  I, John, had a vision of a great multitude.

John 10, 27-30,  I know them, and they follow me.

 

 Acts observations & review:   

We have already covered this material.  What I have here is a quick reminder. 

Date:  sometime before the year 70.  Why?  No mention of the destruction of Jerusalem, which took place the year 70, a Big Date in Jewish history.  The Romans destroyed not only Jerusalem, but also the Temple, the only place where the priests offered sacrifices.  The temple has never been rebuilt and the priests have been replaced by rabbis, teachers formerly.  Today there is a holy mosque on the site of the former temple.

Who:  The same person who wrote the Gospel of Luke.  How do we know?  Similarities of style, language (Greek), and theological themes.

Subject:  The story of the expansion of the Jesus story in 3 areas, first, Jerusalem, then, Palestine or the Holy Land, and finally, into the Mediterranean and ultimately, Rome.  Stories about the early communities are a bit romanticized, like advertisements for Pleasant Valley Retirement Center.

Today’s Subject: noting that the chapter we are reading is 13, you can guess we are not reading about the first circle, Jerusalem.  Not even the second, but the third, the Mediteranian.

Sources: Good News Bible, The New Interpreter’s Study Bible, Wikipedia

 

The Lord is Good

This morning I would like to talk about the first line of the third stanza of our Psalm 100, ‘The Lord is Good.’

Our week has been extraordinarily stressful.  First, the Boston Marathon bombs.  Then, West.  I actually was in West at the Czech bakery, the original, genuine bakery in town, about 4:00, Wednesday afternoon, just before the explosion.   I have fond memories of one really friendly lady at the bakery and hope she is okay. 

I would like to say, yes, the Lord is Good.  Also, people are good.  And, you are good.  Here is what I mean despite the stress of the week.

First, Rosemary & I had our routine appointments to give blood at Carter Blood at Preston & LBJ Wednesday & Thursday.  When I went in Thursday afternoon the place was more busy than I had ever seen it.  Even extra techs had been called in. 

 I asked why and they said it was because of, first, Boston, and then, secondly, West, which had just happened that morning.  The Lord is good.  People are good. 

 Secondly, remember last Saturday, which seems forever ago?  Love for the Kids picnic.  About a quarter of you volunteered to make that day special for handicapped kids and their families.  God is good.  People are good.  You were good.  This is typical. 

Thirdly, this past Wednesday, two days after Boston and the day of the West explosion, I went to Austin with a group of which I was humbled to be part of.  The Nuns on the Bus.

We departed Dallas at 5:30, 10 of us, 2 guys & myself, 7 women, 3 of whom are nuns.  We arrived at the capitol about 10:00 for a little rally on the steps of the capitol building.  I expected maybe 50 people.    300 were registered and another 100 joined, 400 all together from all over the state.

 My job was to visit my two representatives, Dan Branch & John Corona.  It was in Branch’s office that a remarkable event took place.

 The Nuns on the Bus, who had advocated throughout the Midwest in the summer before the presidential election, were requesting our government to not forget the poor, especially that the billion dollars of federal money be accepted for expansion of Medicaid this year.  25% of our population is uninsured, a million & a half. 

We are talking with the aide, basically just letting him know our case.  I have picked up about 6 people from San Antonio, 4 nice, Hispanic little nuns, and a young, nice looking guy.  He had a limp. 

Suddenly, the guy, John, tells the aide, “Let me tell you my story and why I am here.  I walk with a limp because I lost my left leg in Iraq.  I got this prosthesis because I was a vet, no question.  I could have even gotten one more expensive.  I am here because I have become aware that so many people don’t have that care that I had, people who are working full time and still don’t have enough, certainly not enough to buy insurance.” 

The reception office went dead silent.  Everyone was touched, including the nice kid who was the aide. 

God is good.  People are good.  You are good. 

What are you doing to continue to make it better? 

 

 Video:  The community blessing Chuck's health and his struggle with cancer (1/2 minute)        

 

 

 

Sir Charlie, we have hardly even started and  you are already booing.

 

Readings:

Exodus  22, 20-26,  You shall not molest or oppress an alien.

Psalm 18,  I love you, Lord, my strength

Thessalonians 1, 5-10,  You know what sort of people we were among you.

Matthew 22, 34-40,  Which commandment is the greatest.

 

 

 

And here we have some nice people, Becky & Tom & Mike.

 

Exodus observations–

What: One of the great books of the Bible, the second book of the O.T.  A good read.  The name  means 'departure' and refers to one of the most important events in Israel's history, the departure of the people of Israel from Egypt where they had become slaves after going there to escape drought in their own land.

Author: not Moses, but a bunch of people putting together the story most likely after the Babylonian Captivity, therefore around 555 before Christ.

 

 

She is back, Folks, Wendy with her little one.

 

 

Our selection:   comes from the "Book of the Covenant," that is, the law or commandments.

The materials in the book are akin to many legal codes of the ancient Near East, the most famous of which is the Code of Hammurabi, 20th Century before Christ.

Today's reading comes from a section of the code dealing with the laws of social conduct.  They inculcate a social ethic based upon compassion.  Abstract justice is not enough, especially for the underprivileged.  The lesson was obviously chosen to go with the summary of the Law that forms the gospel reading. 

Watch how Yahweh (that is, the person writing in Yahweh's name) says he is compassionate just after declaring he will kill certain types of people if they are not compassionate.

 

 

Our Dear Emma in action, The Candle Lighter of The Week.

 

 

Matthew observations–

What:  another example of the cultural game of "gotcha," a set up.  How this works you got to know the background…

Background:  The Pharasees identified 613 commandments in the Torah (first 5 books of the O.T.)  248 were positive ("thou shalt"), and 365 were negative ("thou shalt not").  How could anyone remember all of them?  Were some more important than others?  If you choose one, what about another??

 

 

Wake up, Tori, you are missing a marvelous story.

 

 

See where we are going?   Our Gospel, "the Greatest Commandment?"  Matthew has the the Pharasees ask this question to put Jesus into a bind.  But again, Jesus slips their trap.  

Some teachers distinguished between "heavy" and "light" commandments.  The "Ten" are examples of the heavies.  An example of a light commandment is in Deut. 22, 6-7, which stipulates that a person who finds a bird's nest with a mother sitting on eggs or with young may take the young but must let the mother go.  The reason for observing all these commandments: "That it may go well with you, and that you may live long."  (Deut. 5, 16; 22, 7)

Resources: The New Interpreters Study Bible; St. Louis U. Liturgical @ Liturgical.slu.edu

 

 

 

Communion for All.

 

 

Here comes Thanksgiving ! 

Bet you cannot guess why this Sunday is special to me!  It is tree planting Sunday!

This struck me as I was looking for something in the readings that moved me.  I honestly did not find it.  But, suddenly I remembered that this was a busy weekend for me, probably for about 15 years.  The tree project was always connected with Thanksgiving, which is only about 4 weeks away.  Let me tell you how this got started.

 

 

 

The Great Book Swap.

 

I was just back from ca. 10 years in East Africa by 1990.  I was grateful to be back in the States after being in countries a bit dangerous, like, for instance, Uganda during the time of Idi Amin. 

I have loved to plant trees ever since my years as a Boy Scout at Christ the King.  I did it everywhere I went, Toronto & East Africa, for instance.   In 1990 I was living in the Jesuit community at the high school.  I began to plant trees on the campus.  I quickly ran out of space and started on Inwood Road.   The project had begun. 

 

 

 

Georgie, witnessing a Miracle?

 

I started using the Sunday before Thanksgiving as planting day, and after a couple of years realized it was too busy a time.  So we moved the date to the last weekend of October, always with the theme of Thanksgiving.  For me, gratitude to be home. 

You may remember our last big planting, one Sunday after our Mass at Vines.   We planted 400 trees on the campus of Plano Senior High, in about two hours or less, from 12:00 to 2:00.   A picnic was scheduled for 3:00.   Most everybody stopped in by 2:00.  Then were gone by 3:00.

 

 

 

"Miracle?   What miracle?," says Buddy, more fascinated by the bricks.

 

The Thanksgiving build up has begun, Folks.  I’ll probably ask this 3 more Sundays.  What are you grateful for this year? 

 

 

 

Thanks, Brent, for the marvelous ministry you do as director of Souls Harbor.

Readings: Genesis 1, 9-31;  Responsorial Psalm 136, Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. Acts 2, 42-47.  Matthew 18, 1-4.  Special for Reconciliation Service.

 

The Third Sunday in Lent.

 Today’s liturgy will be a bit different from our normal Sunday Liturgy.  I had mentioned several weeks ago, when we were discussing the Sacrament of Penance or Confession that I wanted to have us do a Communal Penance Service during Lent.  The more I thought about it and planned it the less sense it made to me.  And so today’s liturgy.

 
 

I want to begin with an acknowledgement that each one of us has our own personal relationship with God, and I want to respect that as much as possible. So the ideas, which I am sharing with you today, take them or leave them, they certainly are not “official teaching” but they are the result of much thought and prayer on my part.

 There is an interesting story about the substitute teacher who was called to fill in for most of the year for one of the teachers who would be out for an extended time.  On her first day in class the substitute was given a list of the pupils in her class.  She worked hard with the class all year and at year end with the exam results came out the principal was amazed with results.  When she told the substitute of her surprise, the substitute was surprised.  But they were a very bright class with high IQ.  I saw that the first day on the class roster you gave me, she responded.  That class was our worst class in the school, she was told, and those numbers were their locker numbers!!

 

There is a whole lot of truth for me in that story and I want to build on that in today’s Liturgy.  Traditionally we have been told that we are a sinful people.  Born with original sin, and we have hardly stopped sinning since.  Most of our prayers reconfirm this approach..  I would like our Liturgy today to be one where we try to reconcile ourselves to a different point of view.  And it is going to feel perhaps strange at first, but I would ask that we give it a try.

 So instead of a Penitential Rite where normally we reflect on our sins, I would like to invite you to reflect on maybe occasions over the past week when we missed opportunities to do good for someone.

 
 

Opening Prayer:

 I arise today

In the name of Silence, Womb of the Word,

In the name of Stillness, home of Belonging,

In the name of Solitude, of the Soul and the Earth

 

I arise today

Blessed by all things, wings of breath,

Delight of eyes, wonder of whisper,

Intimacy of touch, Eternity of Soul,

Urgency of thought,

Miracle of health, Embrace of God.

 

May we live this day

Compassionate of heart

Clear in word, Gracious in awareness,

Courageous in thought, Generous in love.

 

                                      To Bless the Space Between Us

                                                John O’Donohue

 

 Intro to the Readings.

 The readings today I have chosen because they give us reason to pause, at this time in Lent, and reflect on our goodness, our innocence and not on our sinfulness.

Homily

 I mostly want you to spend a little quiet time reflecting in a way on whether we are better off being told we are good, or whether we are better off being told we are not good, namely sinful.  For most of us, we grew up being told we were born with Original Sin, and that we from about the age of seven needed to go to confession all the time, because we were sinful.  Like the kids in the school, if someone believes we are smart, we will be smart, likewise if we can believe we are good, then goodness will follow.  I would like us to recapture our childhood innocence. How else are we to become like little children? 

 
 

Prayer after Communion

 Humble God, risen with us now in the fragile miracles of human life.  We glimpse your glory now, in the love, laughter and beauty we share with one another, in the depth of humanity, as we respond to the needs and sufferings of our world.

 Final Blessing.

Picture 1:   Tony Beginning Mass

Picture 2:   Sacrament of the sick

Picture 3:   Offertory with Cliff & John

Picture 4:   Communion helpers Margie, Jackie, Denni, Nancy, Sandra, Rob, Patricia, & John

Picture 5:   Nina

 

 

 

 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.

 Acts:  A review–

Date: ca. 70-100 A.D.

Author: Luke, who wrote both the Gospel and Acts

Setting:  Just like the last 2 Sundays, Peter & John have just healed a lame man outside of the temple gate.  The people rush to question them.  They say it happened because of God's power and that Jesus was raised from the dead.  The high priests hear about this and have them arrested.  After telling them to stop saying Jesus was raised from the dead, the two are released.

Our Selection: last week we read Peter's discourse to the local believers in a room.  The week before we read about the quality of life of the local believers, communal.  Today's account is Peter talking to the high priests and elders of the high court.  They are on trial.

John:

Date of Gospel: A.D. 85-95

Author: scholars have doubts that the Apostle John is the writer of the 3 works attributed to John, the Gospel, 3 letters, & Revelation.  Doubts exist even that one writer composed all the works.

 

Who is my Shepherd?

This morning I want to talk with you about being a shepherd.  In some ways this is easy to talk about.  I have numerous shepherds who guided me through life.  On the other hand, who was most significant, whom do I leave out?  I have four little vignettes. 

First, Charles Colson.   I do not know this man personally.  He died at 80 a week ago Saturday.  I read about him in an editorial in the Dallas Morning News, Tuesday, April 24. 

Colson had two lives.  His fame comes from his first life.  He was Nixon’s top political consultant and he was convicted and sent to prison for his role in the Watergate scandal, around ’72-’74, the year Nixon resigned.  In this life he was a win at all cost political advisor.  He once said that he would walk over his grandmother to get Nixon elected. 

It was in his second life of 35 years that Colson became a shepherd.  After his conviction he apparently experienced a conversion.  He went to prison, spent almost a year there, became attached to his fellow prisoners, and never left them.   

In ’76 he founded Prison Fellowship.  The Fellowship set up in prison job training, provided support for prisoners & their families, helped rehabilitate prisoners coming out, and tried to change laws that treated violent & non-violent offenders with the same severity. 

Every Easter Colson spent with inmates in prison, which he called the darkest place in American life.  Colson became a shepherd for prisoners & their families.

Which leads me to my second shepherd.  You know him.  My friend & companion since grade school at Christ the King, Eddie.  He has talked here twice about AA.  A week ago Friday evening we were having our usual get together, the 5 of us guys from high school, plus wives.

Eddie mentioned in passing that for 19 years every Wednesday evening he has run an AA program for prisoners in one of the downtown jails.  With fondness he talked about how good & intelligent these men were.

Which leads to my third shepherd.  Tomorrow morning I have been invited to Jesuit to help host a fellow classmate from our ’58 graduating class, Charlie Edmond.  Charlie was the first black student to enter a white high school in Dallas.  The year, 1955, the year after the Supreme Court decision.  In my sophomore class Charlie sat in the seat right in front of me. 

The shepherds were the Jesuits. 

Finally, I cannot close without mentioning the parents I had the privilege to meet at the Love for Kids picnic the last Saturday of March.  The care & tenderness showed by these parents to their handicapped children humbled me and touched me to tears. 

Two individuals, some teachers, and some parents, all different types of good shepherds.

Who were, who are the Shepherds in your life?

For whom are you a shepherd?

Source: Dallas Morning News, April 24, 2012

Video: Jan & Sir Charles renew vows at 50 years. (1 min.)