Readings:
Wisdom 9, 13-18, 28-29, Who can know God’s counsel?
Psalm 90, In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Philemon 1, 9-10, 12-17, I, Paul, an old man…
Luke 14, 25-33, If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother.
Sorry no Homily today.
We had a Communion Service and discussion of the readings today. Thanks to all who attended and contributed to our discussion.
Readings:
Isaiah 45, 1, 4-6, I have called you by your name.
Psalm 96, Give the Lord glory & honor
Thessalonians 1, 1-5, We give thanks to God always for all of you.
Matthew 22, 15-21, Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.
Thanks to the Team
Music, Ben & Shonda's help
Readers, Sandra & Patricia & Buddy, the candle blesser
Gospel, Deacon Mike
Homily, Stack
Eucharistic Prayer A & B, Stack & John Cade
The Magic Zoom makers, Mike, Ben, Richard, & Hue
Final Blessing, Rosemary
For hosting us at Legacy, Becky
Isaiah observations:
Who : Can you guess which Isaiah this is in chapter 45? 1, 2, or 3? A little more difficult than the last two Sundays. This is Isaiah 2, going from chapter 40 to 55.
Today’s selection: this is not Isaiah 2 at his best. I like the line, I have called you by your name. Otherwise, the passage is mildly comforting to the people who are living in Babylonian slavery, around 555 before Christ.
Cyrus: So, who is Cyrus?
Cyrus the Great of Persia, modern Iran, built the first great empire, which extended as far as Athens in Greece. He was a benevolent emperor of his people and the people he conquered, for instance, the Israelites.
Isaiah 2 is championing Cyrus because he hears of Cyrus coming and hopes Cyrus will defeat the Babylonians and set the Israelites free to return to Jerusalem. This is exactly what Cyrus does. Where is Babylon? Try 50 miles south of Baghdad on the Euphrates River. What is left? Rubble.
Note: Watch out for the alleluia verse just before the gospel. A good one.
e.g., Shine like lights to the world, as you hold on to the word of life.
Please Remember these special people:
For Alan Stryker; For John Doherty with back pain; For David Dismore'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 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, plus John's daughter, Joey, with cancer, For the students, teachers, and coaches in our public & private schools.
Homily for 10/20
I bet you don’t know what special anniversary Rosemary & I are celebrating this Tuesday, October 20. Yep, one year ago Tuesday we were visited by that massively destructive tornado.
Actually, I personally cannot tell you what the tornado was like. It hit at 10:00 P.M. Saturday and Aviana & I had already been sound asleep in bed for an hour. What woke us up was an enormous crash. Rosemary came running in saying we needed to get into the hall closet. We made it, but it was mostly over, leaving the front bay window on the south side of the house all blasted into the living room. A lot of roofing was also blown away.
Tulip Lane house after the tornado.
At that time Rosemary, still dressed, went out to check on some of our neighbors, especially two widows, one, Joyce, in her 90’s and Betty a little younger. Joyce would have been killed in her bed if she had also gone to bed as usual at 9:00. The roof was blown down on her bed. Because her daughter was in town, they were up and they both got in a hall closet. It took a neighbor’s chain saw to get them out.
Betty was funny because she was getting ready for bed when the tornado hit and when she was pulled out of her collapsed house by neighbors, she said, “My pants are in there. I have to go back in.” She had no pants on.
To stay in this house for any time we had to fix the roof. We stayed until Sept. 1
Actually, on that corner of Tulip & Camellia 5 houses were totally ruined. One of the five had been a quasi mansion owned by the Dallas hockey player, Tyler Sagan. One couple moved into our den for the remainder of the night. I ran around the house putting buckets in place to catch the leaks, about 20 all together. TV broadcasts were taking place right in front of our house and police were everywhere. The couple who spent the night in our den are still in an apartment waiting to get their house rebuilt.
You have heard me talk already about how I was humbled and stunned at how many people from the neighborhood just showed up early in the morning. They mainly pulled, dragged, and carried tree branches from around the face of the house to the curb for pick up. The yard was a battle scene with limbs from our beautiful trees lying everywhere. Doug LeBlanc showed up the first morning with plywood. He & his buddies boarded up the bay window. I was stunned, grateful, and humbled by how hard those people worked.
House belonging to the Dallas hockey player, Tyler Sagan.
And that was just the first day. There were still loads of clearing to be done. Kids from the neighborhood & St. Marks Boys School joined in and really worked. A day or so later a bunch of our community members showed up and helped to load trucks with debris. Loretta Garcia Williams fed us that day.
Even Central Market on our south east corner of Preston Royal joined in. They set up a mobile kitchen under a big tent and served breakfast, lunch, and dinner for four or five of days.
8 houses destroyed at the Tulip Lane & Camelia corner.
These were real meals. I can vouch for breakfast because some kids brought me a Central Market hot breakfast one morning.
We had known for years that our house on Tulip Lane was falling apart. Built in 1950, the piers were deteriorating and the walls and ceilings had cracks. You should have seen it after the tornado! Which got us house hunting at full throttle.
And look at what we have. We have been blessed. It was worth waiting, though a number of days it all seemed to be going no where.
You can even see into the St. Mark's Boys School parking lot.
You know how Rosemary found this house? With the help our agent, a good friend, Rosemary mailed out 90 personal letters to home owners. One of them was our present house, which is a story by itself.
The one downer right now is our old house. I thought it would be bulldozed during this month we have been gone. I do not want to ride by and look at it. But just riding by on Royal Lane I can see it. It looks forlorn and I have abandoned it and all the improvements I put into the place. All the trees that shaded and beautified that corner are gone. Tuesday, Rosemary & I will celebrate and give thanks. What has been your blessing?
Late addendum to this homily. Our old house has just been bulldozed. How do I feel? Both sad and relieved. Yes, blessed that it is finally done.
6107 Tulip Lane this past Friday.
Birthdays: Donna Dinsmore, Chuck Pratt, 82
Community Finances, October 18, 2020
Expenses: $450.00
Outreach $100.00 (often for Souls Harbor, Legacy, etc.)
Thanks, Folks, for doing what you can.
Rosemary's Blessing:
Loving God, give us
eyes that see the best in people;
words that repair and reconnect rifts and divisions;
courage to reshape the heart of the world; and
wisdom to “see things the way they are, not the way we are.”
We ask this in Jesus’ name who taught us the truth and the way.
Amen.
Sister Jean Amore, CSJ, Principal, Sacred Heart Academy, Hempstead, N.Y.
Just in case you missed our new address, 7017 Helsem Way 75230. (notice the same Zip Code as Tulip Lane?)
Readings: Deuteronomy 26, 4-10; Psalm 91, Be with Me, Lord, when I am in trouble; Romans 10, 8-13; Luke 4, 1-13
Deuteronomy:
What: This work is the 5th and last book of the Pentateuch/Torah. The first 4 books are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, & Numbers.
Deuteronomy has basically 3 speeches delivered by Moses before the people enter the promised land. He reviews all they have endured the past 40 years and how Yahweh has shown his care and power to save them.
Author: Not Moses. Moses may have spoken some of the ideas in the speeches, but others have put the work together. In fact, in chapter 34 the death of Moses is described. Someone other than Moses probably covered this episode.
Date: Ca. 700 years BCE. In other words, about a century before the Babylonian Captivity and just after the destruction of the northern kingdom,
Our Selection, chapter 26: the end of the second speech. Moses is reminding the people of how Yahweh cared for them since the time they were slaves in
Have a Happy Lent
In Eccliastes 3 it says, "there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens; a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to harvest, a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build."
If you are a New Orleans Saints fan, after decades of grief, your time to celebrate has come. And you have celebrated as only people in N.O. know how to celebrate. We have all just passed through the season of Christmas. We, too, have celebrated.
Today we enter another season, the season of Lent. How do we have a happy Lent? How do we make this a time to build and a time to be born, again?
When I was talking with Rosemary about this homily, she asked me if there was not a new way I could talk about this subject. I thought that, no, there really is not a new way for me to talk about this subject. Some of you have heard these ideas or something similar for maybe 20 years. Please forgive me if I repeat some of the same thinking.
My thinking always comes down to how do I, how do we have a happy Lent? How can it be positive and not a negative, depressing, and dreaded event? Two thoughts.
One. Despite what comes up in the liturgies and scriptures, we are not sinners on the road to hell or purgatory paying ransom for our endless sins.
Second. These 5 weeks can be Maslow time. Abraham Maslow, an American psychologist, ca. 1940 said that, "What a man can be, he must be." After 4 stages of development, Maslow thought that healthy people arrive at a place of self-actualization.
I call this becoming a person fully alive. "A person fully alive is the Glory of God." This was said in ca. 200 by St. Irenaeus, a bishop of Lyon, France. It is what we are about this season.
How do we fertilize and how do we prune so that we are more fully alive on April 4? Each person has their own recipe, their own path, and most of us know what our path is.
Want a quicky insight into yourself? What are you addicted to? What are you obsessed by? There are the usual culprits, alcohol, fast food, TV, work, smoking, whatever. You can be brain dead and know this. However, we can equally use denial to avoid the obvious. We are aiming at becoming more fully alive people.
I, for my part, plan to give up all alcohol, take French baths to learn French better, not go out at night, in fact, not leave the house at all for 30 days, and I will give up salads, spinach, and greens veggies, and Wednesday I will get rid of this crabby hip that is slowing my life down. All this because the doctor orders it. I will truly enjoy April 4. A real Resurrection.
How are you going to have a happy Lent?
Sources: Wikipedia for Maslow & Irenaeus; Human Development, Philip Rice for Maslow
Picture 1: Mass with Tony and Kevin
Picture 2: Altar helpers
Picture 3: Emily and her mom, Julie
Picture 4: Communion helpers
Readings:
Ezekiel, 2, 2-5, Hard of face and obstinate of heart are they to whom I am sending you.
Psalm 123, Our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for his mercy.
2 Corinthians 12, 7-10 A thorn in the flesh was given to me to beat me, to keep me from being too elated.
Mark 5, 21-43, A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.
More Observations on Ezekiel (June 17 we also had Ezekiel)
Who: Ezekiel is one of the Big 3 prophets. Why? 48 chapters. The other 2: Isaiah & Jeremiah. These 3 have lots of chapters & material.
Ezekiel was born into the priest class. He later was considered a prophet. He got The Call from God. When he was about 25 he was swept up in the Babylonian captivity, around 590.
When: It covers the period of the Captivity, 600-550 before Christ, which Ezekiel lived personally. But the work is composed toward the end of the Captivity, around 550. This is Ezekiel’s material, but it has been saved and edited by his fellow priests.
Message:
Today’s selection: Ezekiel gets The Call or invitation from God to go tell the Israelite people that God sees what is going on. Which means, tell them they are behaving horribly and they will pay dearly for their misbehavior.
2 Corinthians observations -(2)
1. This second letter to Corinth is often called the severe or tearful letter. Paul was upset with the Corinth, Greece community because of what he thought were false prophets undermining his authority. These people could have simply been people who disagreed with him. At points you can almost hear Paul playing his violin & singing 'Poor Paul.'
2. He talks here about a thorn in his flesh. So, what is that? People have speculated for centuries. Could it have been he was OCD (obsessive compulsive), bi-polar (mood swings from manic & dramatic to depressed), a sexual addiction, epilepsy, or something else? Is there evidence in his writing for any of this? Maybe. No way to really diagnose. The patient has been dead for a few years.
Sources: Good News Bible, New Interpreter’s Study Bible, St. Louis U. Liturgy Studies, Wikipedia
Ever seen a Prophet?
Friday I received a call from an old friend in Baton Rouge. Since my class reunion with my S.J. buddies, I have been longing to reconnect with other old friends especially in the New Orleans area where I lived and worked in the early 70’s.
My friend’s name is Lucy and she is a St. Joseph sister. I knew her and her community really well when I was director of a spiritual center at Grand Coteau, near Opelousas, a couple of hours up the river from New Orleans.
In those days Lucy and the St. Joseph sisters were spiritually and psychologically healthy nuns working to make the Catholic community even better along the lines set up by Vatican II.
I lost track of them when I went to Tanzania & Kenya, only finally making contact again with Lucy on Friday. I had to search all around for her phone number, and then when I called she was out of town.
I found out that their headquarters on Mirabeau Ave. in N.O., where I gave some retreats & said Masses was wiped out by Katrina and they have relocated in Baton Rouge. I was stunned.
I thought about Lucy & her sisters when I was looking at these readings about Ezekiel & Jesus’ roles as prophets. I would like to talk about 3 nuns who were & are prophet like people for me.
I have become aware in the past couple of weeks how rich has been my experience with so many women of this caliber.
Remember, first, prophets do 3 things. They criticize the evils of their times, they promise God will punish, and they offer consolation for reform. A side effect of their criticism is the hatred of the people they are criticizing.
I consider this pretty Old Testament. New Testament prophets don’t promise God will punish. Most of us don’t believe that any more. Katrina was not a punishment from God.
First, there is a sister Marian. A doctor, from around Denver, a Medical Missionary of Mary. We are about the age. She had been working in Tanzania since before I first came in contact with her around 1980. She is there this morning.
Marian & her community not only work in Tanzania, a poor country, but she normally works in the most remote places you can reach. No tourists visit. One of her specialties since I departed Tanzania is AIDS & HIV patients.
Another sister about my age working in Tanzania is Anita, a Maryknoll. She & her sisters work to empower the females of the villages. Do not imagine the men of the village always like this. These sisters, too, live in remote places and in utter simplicity, like the Medical Missionaries of Mary. The simplicity of their living often shamed me as a Jesuit.
Then, there was one special nun who worked on my spiritual renewal team, a Sister of Africa. Hanny was her name. She was not American, but Dutch & lived in Holland during the Nazi occupation.
She was about 10-11 years old during the occupation. Her family lived on a small farm & they successfully hid a Jewish family during the war. Hanny used to courier messages on her bike, holding them in her mouth.
One time she rode up to a German check point with her German shepherd dog. The guard came out and shot her dog dead. When I knew Hanny she had accepted this and was marvelously peaceful.
I talk about these nuns today for two reasons. First, they have been models of courage, service, and prophetic vision for me. I am blessed by their presence in my life.
Secondly, the American nuns, as you probably know, are enduring a lot of criticism from the Vatican. Their leadership team here in the States is getting what prophetic voices get, rejection. Rome ought to be ashamed of themselves.
Finally, if you want to see something touching, Google Nuns on the Bus. This was a June bus tour by nuns appealing Congress for more rather than less support for the poorest of the poor.
These are just a few of the heroic religious women I have known in my life. I am in touch with Marian, out of touch with Anita, and Rosemary & I visited Hanny a few years ago in Holland, where she now lives in retirement. Lucy has opened a door for me to reconnect with a number of the sisters I knew and have lost contact with in Louisiana. I even suggested that we might have a reunion and she was all for it.
Wonder where the prophetic people are today? Check out the religious sisters as a starter.
Who is the prophet person in your life?
Readings:
Isaiah 60, 1-6, Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem, Your light has come.
Psalm 72, Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
Ephesians 3, 2-6, The Gentiles are coheirs.
Matthew 2, 1-12, Magi from the east arrived.
Emma says, "Hi, Everybody, Welcome in."
Isaiah, a review
Here is another of those passages which make me love Isaiah so much. I have mentioned this before. He is my favorite.
Today we have Isaiah III talking to the Jews who have returned to Jerusalem from the Babylonian Captivity, about 555 years before Christ. It helps to picture the mood of these people.
"Hi, Folks, Welcome in, they are going to win today," says Cole, our Cowboy fan. Sorry, Cole. It has been a tough year.
Are you a Cowboy Fan? How do you feel at about this year? Multiply this by 10 and you have how the Jewish people felt after 50 years of slavery and their town destroyed like New Orleans or parts of NY & NJ.
When he says Jerusalem or Zion, he is talking to these beaten down people. Later centuries church leaders began to make these words have two meanings, the city and us Christians. Jerusalem, then, applies to us.
Sources: Good News Bible, The New Interpreter’s Bible
Does the Lord not shine on this little girl?
Upon you the Lord shines, because of 3 Magi
This morning I would like to propose that we have Magi in our lives and because of them the Lord shines on us, like it says in Isaiah.
I want to limit the selection to 3, like the guys in Matthew’s story. This was a bit difficult, because I see lots of Magi in my life. Magi for me are the wise ones, the good ones, the compassionate ones. I could start right here with you people in the community. I could easily mention Rosemary.
Ugh Oh, She has learned how to motor, like crawl. Beware, Everybody.
However, I chose 3 guys who are not quite as present in my life, but are wise, good, and compassionate. Here they are.
The first guy is Harold. I don’t even know his last name. I do know that he is going to be 90 shortly. I see him most mornings, Monday through Friday. He is in the shower change room when I come into the J (Jewish Community Center) ca. 5:30 to do spin class.
So, the questions is, 'Where is she going? To help with the singing (see podiums) or to help with the Mass?" Tune in next week for the answer.
He is quiet and understated. Despite working out 5 days a week, he is pretty plump. What he is, is friendly and congenial. He knows Rosemary & I go dancing Monday nights. He always asks if we are going and Tuesday he asks how dancing was.
The second person is my old coach & Scout Master from Christ the King, Frank Hart. Frank is 90. Notice how these 90 year olds are getting my attention. Rosemary & I visit Frank every Sunday after we leave Sigler. He lives in a house with about 8 other elderly people, all of them women except Frank. The house is on Northhaven near Hillcrest.
Emma and Zoe solving our world problems.
If I get to Frank before their lunch at 1:00, I usually find him in bed and asleep. He has his clothes on. He just sleeps a lot. I wake him up and despite his memory not being too good, he certainly remembers us and makes a big deal out of us coming by.
Frank was one of the more significant persons in my life as a grade school kid. He helped me get over being home sick when I went to Boy Scout camp, a story I've told here more than once.
Hi, Buddy, are you a frog today?
While Frank touched me when I was in grade school, the third guy touched me when he was in grade school and I was at Jesuit. His mother came by one day with her son and basically said, “Help!” This is Michael, about whom you have heard me talk before.
After doing a zillion Masses together at St. Marks in the cafetorium, an old friend, David has joined us in Sigler. Welcome David!
Last Saturday he came by to visit Rosemary & me. He has his gorgeous wife, Lydia, and now two neat kids, Barrett and Abby. Michael is in the Air Force and I think the last time we met was in Aviano, Italy, when Beth & Rob were with us. He flies these little F-16 jets.
Genevieve, See these cool kids. Someday you will grow up to be as marvelous as they. The Gerwers.
Michael touches me because he overcame a number of blocks to, first, get into Jesuit, and then to have a great career at Tech after failing to get into A & M.
Remember our old friendly venue, Vines? With the Nativity drama and 300 folks, we will return to reminisce maybe twice a year.
What are the gifts they give me? Wisdom, goodness, and compassion.
Who are the 3 magi in your life & what gifts do they give you?
Trouble on the back bench!
Readings:
Sirach 3, 2-6, 12-14, My son, take care of your father when he is old
Psalm 128, Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways (fear the Lord?)
Colossians 3, 12-21, Put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness , and patience.
Matthew 1, 18-24, This how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
Meeting of the board.
A second Christmas Homily
This morning I have another Christmas story.
For many years I have had a really good friend who is an Ursuline nun. Just thinking about Sr. Mary gives me fond memories of celebrating the early morning community Mass in the sisters' quiet chapel in the residence.
Ben & David with David's daughter, Darbi Anna.
It also reminds me that I have a rare special relationship with the Ursulines. I went to Christ the King grade school when the Ursulines staffed it. I am educated by the Ursulines.
Today there are no sisters living in the old convent with the beautiful little chapel. Sr. Mary says she now lives along with 5 or 6 other Ursuline sisters at a retirement home that was popularly known at Tremont. It is located on Harvest Hill Drive just across the Dallas Tollway from Jesuit and St. Rita's' Catholic Church.
The Girls' candle lighting team with Zoe, Tori, and big sister, Georgie.
I know it well because my mom lived there and died there. She passed through all the 3 levels, individual apartment, partial care, and full care.
There is sister who still works at Ursuline Academy, you guessed it, Sr. Mary. Every morning she gets up, spends the day at her school office. Then drives back to Tremont.
Buddy reading the Blessing of the candles. He has not memorized the blessing on this the first day.
Last summer she decided it was time for her to give up driving and sell her little car. A difficult decision. She would use Huber.
One morning around Labor Day she could not get Huber. So she decided to use the app. Lyft. A guy came, picked her up at Tremont and took her to Ursuline. During the trip she probably explained to the driver what she did at the school.
The Whole Team.
She exits his car, asks how much, and is told "No Charge." She explains that she will still need a ride home in the afternoon. Plus, she will make the trip every weekday.
"How much?" "No Charge!"
The offertory team with Bill, Tom, & Denni
The man, a Nigerian, has come every work day, September, through December, No Charge.
Who is the Sr. Mary in your life?
Communion Helpers, Lynda, Tom and Claire.
Readings: Ecclesiastes 1,2; 2, 21-23; Psalm 90; Colossians, 3, 1-11; Luke 12, 13-21
Eccllesiastes: this book contains the thoughts of the "philosopher," a man who reflected on how short and contradictory human life it. He could not understand the ways of God. Nevertheless, he advised people to work hard and to enjoy the gift of life as much and as long as they could. In our selection you will see how he is pessimistic & depressing.
I’ve chosen to expand the reading to give you a better view of his style.
The Gift: Celebrate it and Share it
Last Saturday evening our group of seven set up a campsite above the shore of the second of a group of three High Sierra lakes ten thousand feet high. The lakes are called the Rae Lakes.The next morning we planned to climb 12,000′ Glen Pass, which was standing straight up in front of us. The Rae Lakes are exactly at the line where trees cease to grow very well, so we were camping on somewhat open granite & shallow soil.
Our menu that night was beef stroganoff and because we always had more than we needed, we invited three women at the neighboring campsite, a mother & daughter and another young woman. The two younger women turned out to be teachers in the San Francisco area, teaching mostly underprivileged & handicapped children. The girl traveling by herself had once even brought a group of 7th graders out to the wilderness. The three were eventually planning to climb Mt. Whitley and then exit.
The next day Rose spent a lot of time climbing & talking with the girl who was hiking alone. As a result, the two became good friends and discovered that they shared a number of the same dreams, to teach kids and to teach about nature. The girl even recommended a neat little Italian restaraunt in Fresno, our town of arrival & departure.
Our readings today all seem to indicate that life is futile and useless. Why do anything? Just eat dirt.
Two observations on this.
First, life does not have to be looked at as useless. It can be seen as a gift.
Secondly, the gift can be celebrated and shared with others.
Let me work backwards. I was impressed with those women because they were into sharing the gift. The two young girls were teaching. The mother came into the wilderness to share the gift with her daughter, even though the mother did not look like the backpacking type.
We also saw numerous scout troops during our nine days. Once we ran into a group of fourteen, about four adults and ten boys & girls about 15 or 16. When we asked them who they were they said they were a camp. We think they were taking a group of troubled teens on a wilderness trek. This is sharing the gift.
Before I share it, however, I think I got to celebrate the gift. Which is exactly what we were doing in the High Sierras, and do every year. Which is what we do here on Sundays. We celebrate the gift of life.
How do you celebrate the gift and share it?
AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2007-08-05.mp3