Reminder for 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, November 10, 2024

  

Community Finances:   

  Expenses: $  330.00

  Outreach: $  60.00

  Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

 

Linda and Barbara

 

                                 

Acts of the Apostles 10, Peter proceeded to speak

Psalm 118,   This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad.

1 Corinthians 5, A little yeasts leaven all. 

John 20, On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalen  came to the tomb early in the morning.

 

 

Romeos, Welcome!    Jason's Deli, 1:00, Friday, March 26.  Required: vaccines, mask for entrance & departure. 

 

 

A reminder for those attending the 9:30 Easter Mass at Legacy: wear a mask (along with your vaccination).

 

 

Another Reminder for Sunday, April 4, 2021, Easter Sunday

Here are the links for Sunday:

 

Don't forget to change your clocks on Saturday, March 8, 2025

 

Readings:  Isaiah 55, 6-9; Psalm 145, The Lord is near to all who call upon Him; Philippians 1, 20-27; Matthew 20, 1-16.

 

Brief teaching on Liturgy of Word before first reading:

The disciples of Jesus were not only Jews, they continued to be Jews after Jesus Christ ascended into heaven by their presence in the temple and synagogue.  After attending the Sabbath service in the synagogue, on the first day of the week they would gather at someone’s home to celebrate the Lord’s Supper where they shared memories of His teachings and sayings.  But the early Church having no gospels did not have a Liturgy of the Word. The Jews, who believed that the Messiah had come-the Christ, were most likely not concerned that they didn’t have a Liturgy of the Word.  Why? They had the synagogue prayer and Scripture service on the Sabbath that continually catechized the Jewish communities.  It wouldn’t be until after the Jewish believers of Christ were being excluded from the synagogue and temple, thrown out and persecuted, that they realized how much they needed the gospels to be written for a Christian Liturgy of the Word to catechize new converts Sunday after Sunday. 

 

When the Matthew and Luke gospels were written, which were also meant to address the needs, tensions and concerns of the gentile and Jewish Christian communities, there should have been in one of them an acknowledgement of a Christian Liturgy of the Word that was being used prior to celebrating the Lord’s Supper.  There is, even though the Church has failed to recognize its presence during the past 19 centuries!  (Read the account in Luke chapter 4 when Jesus comes into the synagogue in his home town of Nazareth on the Sabbath to stand and give the reading, then sit to give the teaching. He was required to give a teaching on the words of Isaiah; but instead said that He had fulfilled the reading from Isaiah.  By doing so, the inspired writers are telling us that the words of Christ fulfill the reading from Isaiah as well as the synagogue service itself! What could it possibly mean to fulfill the Jewish ‘Liturgy of the Word?’ The inspired writers are presenting the Liturgy of the Word of the early Christian Church!  It fulfilled the Jewish Sabbath synagogue service but it didn’t abandon it! 

Therefore the Christian Liturgy of the Word would include a first reading from either the Law and the Prophets as well as the singing of the Psalm…all of which are the expectation for the coming of the words of Christ and their teaching…then the words of Christ and their teaching which would fulfill the expectation of the first testament and psalm.  Therefore there would be a harmony between the testaments, and the Jewish Christians, intimately familiar with their Sabbath synagogue service, had the catechetical method of weekly evangelizing the converts to Christianity—besides telling us how the whole four gospels were written (the words of Christ will fulfill the expectation of his coming within the Law, Prophets, Psalms, Judaism and its feasts as well).

 

Homily:

The parable beginning Matthew 20 on the landowner who goes to the marketplace to hire laborers for his vineyard can be readily understood if you understand the following symbolism (In doing so the words of Christ will fulfill the expectation of His coming from the prophet Isaiah who tells us that the Lord is generous, and that his ways are not our ways).

 

The dilemma of the parable is the reply made by the laborers to the landowner at 5:00 PM, an hour before sunset: ‘No one has given us the words that satisfy our spiritual hunger.’  (omitted the rationale from ‘no one has given us the words that satisfy our hunger’ to spiritual hunger) The landowner sends them into the vineyard where Christ is the vine. His words will satisfy their spiritual hunger.  The landowner is like a hound who has continually gone to the marketplace to bring back laborers who long to hear the words that will satisfy their spiritual hunger…so the landowner is the vine, the Christ.  The wage is that which is ‘righteous’, therefore what God would pay his laborers. 

 
 

Christ is an advocate for his laborers by going to the ‘manager’ (his Father) asking him to give each laborer the wage of salvation beginning with the last and going to the first.  The wisdom of the parable come from the words of Christ, ‘I choose to give to the last the same as I give to you (the first)’. The first do not understand that the ways and thoughts of God are generosity and mercy.  Jesus tells them to ‘go,’ which in Greek is to leave without noise or fanfare… to rather come to their senses and rejoice with the angels over these last who have repented….

 

Why is this parable placed where it is within the Matthew gospel?  Immediately following are the words of Christ on who is the greatest in the kingdom of God (the one who shows mercy and generosity by reaching out to the least by making them the first)

Why is this parable placed within the Matthew gospel instead of the Luke gospel? The Jewish Christians are to reach out the gentiles (who are the last) with the inspired Liturgy of the Word to welcome them as the first!

 

Picture 1:    Mass Begins   

Picture 2:    The Team

Picture 3:    The Guys, Jerry, Bill, Mike, & Tony

Pciture 4:    Leo with Rosemary

Picture 5:    Claire with her fiance & dad, Andrew & Tom

Picture 6:    John & Sandra

 

 

 

 

Isaiah 40:  Thunder in the desert! "Prepare for God's arrival! Make the road straight and smooth, a highway fit for our God.  Fill in the valleys, level off the hills, Smooth out the ruts, clear out the rocks.

Titus 2:  But when God, our kind and loving Savior God, stepped in,  he saved us from all that. It was all his doing; we had nothing to do with it. He gave us a good bath, and we came out of it new people, washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit.

Luke 3:  After all the people were baptized, Jesus was baptized. As he was praying, the sky opened up and the Holy Spirit, like a dove descending, came down on him. And along with the Spirit, a voice: "You are my Son, chosen and marked by my love, pride of my life." Son of Adam, Son of God

 John Cade's Homily from last Sunday: Download 01-05-25 Homily – The Epiphany of the Lord

 

 

 

 

 

Another Reminder for the Baptism of the Lord, January 12, 2025

Readings:

Wisdom, 6, 12-16, Resplendent and unfading is wisdom.

Psalm 6, my soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

1 Thessalonians  4, 13-18, We shall always be with the Lord

Matthew 25, 1-13, The kingdom of heaven will be like 10 virgins, 5 wise, 5 foolish.  Stay awake (not for fear of being kicked out, but to catch the blessing.  No one is kicked out!)

 

 

 

 

Thanks to the Team

Music,  Ben & Shonda's  

Readers,  Beth & Rob & Buddy, the candle blesser

Gospel,  Deacon Mike 

Homily,  John Cade 

Eucharistic Prayer A & B, Stack & John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers,  Richard & Hue & Mike

Final Blessing, Rosemary

For hosting us at Legacy, Becky

 

 

Download Readings Week 32

 

 (A personal comment on the acclamation and the Matthew reading on the 10 virgins, 5 wise, 5 foolish.

I really hate fear based spirituality.  This is a fear focused story about girls being girls.   Are we all not foolish in our lives, maybe even daily?  Is God waiting to catch us so that we all end up in hell?  On the contrary, Our God loves and treasures each of us.  Could the Jewish leaders & rabbis been attempting to scare the people into conforming & behaving.)

 

Homily by John Stack

Well, Folks, I think that because of the stress this week it is time for a Stack homily light.   I know.  I can hear Hammond saying, “What do you mean, John, all your homilies are light homilies.”  See, Folks, I can get away with this because Bill is not here to defend himself.   Yes, I know.  You just watch.  I’ll get an ear ache before I finish.  Hang on, here we go.

Last Sunday we celebrated the Feast of All Saints, one of my favorite feasts.  Remember how we used to put together a picture gallery of family saints, mothers, fathers, grand mothers, grand fathers, and special friends?  May we do it again next year.

 

The Brain Trust

 

Mike, in his homily had one line that struck me.  “The feast of All Saints teaches that holiness comes in all sizes and shapes.”  Almost immediately I began to think of numerous people who teach me or have taught me to be more whole, more appreciative, and more accepting of peoples’ uniqueness.   That does not apply to you, Ben (our dear guitar player).  Want to guess my top five 2020 winners?  Here they are.

Yep, Hammond is numero uno, the guy who introduced me to biking after I had to get new hips because of all the running I did, like especially the years in East Africa.  I think Bill tried to kill me because I first got on a bike (his son’s bike) to ride the Hotter ‘N Hell 100, like in 100 miles and 100 degree temp.   I think Bill almost fainted when I crossed that finish line.   We went on to do so much more together, biking, camping, charity & relief work.  So it is Saint Bill for me.

 

Shonda & Ben, The Best!

 

During the last 30 days, more or less, there has been call for an enormous number of volunteers to man a gazillion voting stations.  These places were open 7 to 7.  Rosemary & I ran into a bunch of these volunteers at our Fretz Park voting station.  They were so charming and so efficient.  For me our volunteer is now called Saint Richard.  Carol, your man did great work.

Folks, we also have in our midst almost every Sunday another saint in my estimation, Saint Becky.  Becky not only guides this marvelous charter school with all of its creativity. But she also guides another even larger school east of Dallas.  She has been broadcasting on Sunday mornings a program on education in this time of corona.  On top of all that, St. Becky hosts every Sunday morning our delightful community.

Yesterday Rosemary & I got invited to a birthday by Jackie Turner.  It was my first since the beginning of the covid.  I wanted to go just to see some of our good friends from the community.  But, I was also scared.  I asked Jackie how she was going to keep us all safe and germ free, and knowing Jackie she had everything well arranged.  For example, only about 7 of us would come together and we would all be spread out in the front yard, 6 feet apart, the whole business.   St. Jackie did a great job and it was delightful to see friends we have not seen in months.

 

The Birthday Party.

 

Finally, there was a quote in the newspaper that said, “Hey, kids have only so many years when they can appreciate the magic of Halloween.  It is too sad to make them miss one of these special years.”   I agree and am touched at how this resonated with me and how the person managed to have Halloween at her house.   It involved a length of pvc tubing.  I guess the candy was slipped into the tube at the top of the steps into the house.  It then came out below to the waiting little hands of the kids.  I also miss St. Cathy’s dramatic Sunday arrivals in costume bringing along her grandkids, Harper & Betsy.

 

 

The Great Halloween Tube

 

Those are my 5 special people who give me life.  Who are the special people in your life?

 

 

 

Please Remember these special people:

For Alan Stryker;  For John Doherty recuperating from an operation for his back pain;   For David Dinsmore's bad shoulder from a biking accident;  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 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 & Ben & Leo & all of Shonda's dear family;  

For Jackie's mom, sister, & friend, Lynn;  For both Jean & Cliff Wright;  For Rick Turner searching for a kidney donor, Type O neg; For Meredith, cancer free;    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, plus John's daughter, Joey, with cancer,  For the students, teachers, and coaches in our public & private schools.

 

 

Birthdays: David McKeon & Rosemary 

Anniversary:   John & Connie Bresson

  

 

Community Finances, November 8, 2020

Expenses: $2360.00

Outreach   $180.00    (often for Souls Harbor, Legacy, etc.)

Thanks, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

One more marvelous baby of the Braun family to baptize.

 

Rosemary's Blessing:

 

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks still bravely singing fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead: Short days ago,
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved: and now we lie
In Flanders fields!

 

Taken from IN FLANDERS FIELDS
By Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae

Composed at the battlefront on May 3, 1915 
during the second battle of Ypres, Belgium