Sunday Homily, February 17, 2013, 1st Lent C

Acts of the Apostles 14: They strengthened the spirits of the disciples and exhorted them to persevere in the faith,…

Revelation 21:  He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will always be with them as their God.

John 13:  I give you a new commandment: love one another.

 

 Sunset over Lake Lewisville

 

 

Thanks…

Music,    Ben & Shonda

Readers, Jackie & Brent

Gospel,   John Cade

Homily,  Aggie Stryker

Eucharistic Prayer A & B,  John Stack & John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers,      Hue & Richard & Kevin

Final Blessing, Rosemary

 

 

Readings:  Download 5-15-22 – Readings – 5th Easter

Homily:  

 

 

Sunrise over White Rock Lake

 

 

 

Remember these special people:

For John Stack having a hard time right now with a bad back;  For Sandra who has been diagnosed with Large B Cell Lymphoma;   For Lambrini, John Cade's wife who is dealing with cancer;  For Tom Good;  For a young man, 19 struggling with a brain tumor and cancer;    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 and for a friend Cadence still suffering from a serious medical condition;   For Sir Charlie & Jan;  All of Shonda's dear family;

                           

 

Sunset in Dallas

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 daughters, Lisa & Lauren;     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 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.

 

 

Sunset in Alabama

                   

                  

Birthdays:   

Anniversaries:   

      

Community Finances:   

Expenses: $  560.00

Outreach: $  0.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

A rest after a busy day

                                    

Rosemary's Blessing:  

…and life is still a constant surprise to me.  We never know what will happen next, what we will see, and what important person will come into our life, or what important person we will lose.  Life is change, constant change, and unless we are lucky enough to find comedy in it, change is nearly always drama, if not tragedy.  But after everything, and even when the skies turn scarlet and threatening, I still believe that if we are lucky enough to be alive, we must give thanks for the miracle of every moment of every day, no matter how flawed.  And we must have faith in God, and in the Universe, and in a better tomorrow even if that faith is not always deserved.

 

Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan

Mary Jane reading from Joshua

 

Thanks…     

Music,   Ben

Community Finances:   

  Expenses: $    620.00

  Outreach: $      50.00

 

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

Marlene

 

Rosemary's Blessing:

Dust If You Must

By Rose Milligan

Dust if you must, but wouldn’t it be better

To paint a picture, or write a letter,

Bake a cake, or plant a seed,

Ponder the difference between want and need?

 

Dust if you must, but there’s not much time,

With rivers to swim, and mountains to climb;

Music to hear, and books to read;

Friends to cherish and life to lead.

 

Dust if you must, but the world’s out there,

With the sun in your eyes and the wind in your hair,

A flutter of snow, a shower of rain,

This day will not come around again.

 

Dust if you must, but bear in mind,

Old age will come and it’s not kind,

And when you go(and go you must),

You yourself, will make more dust.

 

Genesis15: Abraham gave the name Isaac to this  son of his whom Sarah bore him.

Hebrews 11:  So it was that there came forth from one man, himself as good as dead, descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

Luke 2:  When the day of circumcision arrived, the child was named Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived.  Then when the days stipulated for purification were complete, they took him up to Jerusalem to offer him to God. 

 

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

 

 

Happy 83 Years, John, Congratulations.   When I grow up, I want to be like you!

 

 

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

Time: 9:30; Celebrate with the Community & John Cade

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

 

 

 

 

Dad & Daughter, nothing better, Gilbert & Michelle.

 

 

Readings:

Ezekiel 34, 11-12, 15-17,    I myself will look after and tend my sheep.

Psalm 23,  The Lord is my shepherd.  There is nothing I shall want.  ( A good one)

1 Corinthians 15, 20-26,28,    Christ has been raised from the dead.

Matthew 25, 31-46,,  He will sit on  his glorious throne.

 

 

 

Mike Kuklenski on his Viet Nam experience.

 

 

Community Activities:  

ROMEO MEET:   Let’s skip November 24 & December 1.   Everybody is traveling.

JULIET LUNCHEON, (aka.,just us ladies into eating together),  Friday, December 1st.  Contact Marilyn Ackerman.

 

 

 

 

A fascinating trip.

 

 

Love for Kids picnic:  December 9

Dickenson Trip:  February, more TBA

Jackie & Rick: have a nice bedroom they would like to put up for rent, $500 per month.   Location: Garland, near a DART  train station.

.

 

 

 

Standing ovation.

 

 

What is going on in Our Catholic World:

1.  Fire the Madison Bishop, National Catholic Reporter    Nothing special this week.

 

 

 

Our Father.

 

 

True?

Suddenly you’re ripped into being alive. And life is pain, and life is suffering, and life is horror, but by God you’re alive and it’s spectacular.

Joseph Campbell

 

Peace, Wendy & her parents.

 

 

See you Sunday.

J.S., 214-783-0443

 

 

 

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.

Readings:

 Amos 7, 12-15  I was no prophet.  I was a shepherd.

Psalm 85,    Lord, let us see you kindness and grant us your salvation.

Ephesians 1, 3-14, In love he destined us for adoption

 Mark  6, 7-13, Take nothing for the journey but a walking stick

 

                      Says Kevin, "Welcome in, Everybody."

 

Amos  observations:

Author: Amos or his scribe.  He was a shepherd of sheep & tended sycamore trees.  One of the 12 minor prophets of the OT, minor because of smallness of the works.  Amos has only 9 chapters.  Usual pattern of prophets: 1. predictions of dire times for evil behavior; 2. predictions of better times in the future. 

Date: Ca. 777 (a memory help), after the kingships of David & Solomon, time of King Jeroboam of the northern kingdom, called Israel vs the southern kingdom, called Judah (where Jerusalem is).   

 

 

                          And from Harper, too, "Hi, Folks."

 

Geography: Note the two kingdoms, Judah in the south, Israel in the north.  Amos tended sheep in a little town called Tekoa, 10 miles south of Jerusalem, in Judah, the south.  He is sent by Yahweh to Bethel, a small but important town in the northern kingdom, 10 miles north of Jerusalem, to warn the people of Israel & their king Jeroboam that Yahweh was mad at them.  The wicked high priest of Bethel, Amaziah condemns Amos for his interference.

The Setting: a time of prosperity.  But Yahweh is mad at the greed of the wealthy and their oppression of the poor (which ties into our gospel talking about walking lightly through life).  We know the people of this kingdom of Israel are headed for annihilation by the Assyrian nation.  And they will disappear as a significant body.  

Our Selection, chapter 7:  Amos describes three visions or dreams he has.  Amaziah gives it to him for spreading these visions around.  Then, Amos responds and socks it to Amaziah with a hammer.

 

          And from Sienna, "From Brooklyn and me, Welcome."

 

Take Nothing for the Journey

I apologize this morning for telling you a story that some of you will probably remember.  However, the event so speaks to the gospel this morning that I can not pass it up.  Another African story.

One evening in Tanzania I boarded an overnight train in Dar es Salaam, the capital.  I would get off in the region near Kilimajaro where the Jesuit house was that I used as a base when I was not on the road giving seminars or retreats. 

 

       Some of The Cupcakes of The Week gang for this week.

 

I had bought my ticket just the afternoon of the trip.  No compartments were available, which were not much anyway.  Two shared the compartment and an upper bunk came down.  You had to be careful in the little stations, because thieves would look in the window and grab.  So, no big loss.

I had to take general booking.  This entitled me to a place on the train, not necessarily a seat.  It is not air conditioned and can be a bit warm. 

 

 

           Offertory with Mike and Judy, Sydney and Hugh.

 

I started out sitting on a suitcase I traveled with.  There were mothers with little kids and a few chickens all around my area at the end of a train car.   I expected it would be a long night, but I would get where I wanted to go and then sleep extra.

About midnight the train stopped, like in the middle of nowhere.  We sit there.  No explanation, nothing.   I finally join others getting off.  I lie down on the rocks on the edge of the track, my case under my head so no one would snatch it, and wait.  And wait.  We sit there with no explanation until about 7:00 the next evening. 

 

 

                      Wendy and Collin providing The Best.

 

Just like Mark recommends in the gospel today, I had boarded that train with nothing to drink or eat.  Looking back, I cannot believe I was so stupid.  Normally I would never have set out without water. 

Why did I not ask the Tanzanian ladies for a drink?  I could easily talk Swahili with them.  Trouble was, they did not often purify their water and I was afraid of it.   So there I sat, now in the shade.  I look around.  Everyone on that train is Tanzanian.  I am the only white guy, which by then I am at home with.

 

 

                                             Elevation.

 

Suddenly I see up the track maybe 4 or 5 cars ahead of me a white couple.  They have extra water.  Hooray.  They are Germans, but speak English with no problem.

We hang out.  They saved me, and let me tell you a quickie about how I saved them.

We were seated in the shade of a Frangipani tree I can still clearly remember.  All the passengers were seated along the train in the shade.  Next to us was a momma with her baby.  At one point the momma gets up and goes into the train.

 

 

                          Emma and Beth solving the World's problems.

 

The German guy who was about 6 foot 4 inches gets up and takes a picture of the baby.  Bad move.  Someone on the train sees him, tells the momma, she tells her husband, and he comes out yelling with a bunch of people.  He wants the camera.  He wants to take the German to the police, wherever that might be.

So, I stepped in.  We all sat down under the trees and I talked.   I finally got the father to allow the German to go to his compartment, cut off the baby’s picture, and give it to the man. 

 

 

                         Emma with one of her Best Buddies.

 

He cuts off just the end of the film, brings it back, and gives it to the man.  The crisis comes to an end. 

I ended up climbing Kilimanjaro with the couple, which ended up being amusing.  He was an Alpine Mountain rescue expert, like a 4 on a 5 scale.  He could crawl across your ceiling holding on with his fingernails.  When we got to the top of Kilimanjaro he got altitude sickness and I carried his back pack.  Of course, I teased him mercilessly. 

 

                                 Harper dancing to the music.

 

I never saw them again, although they were begging me to come to Germany on one of my homeward trips.  I wanted to see the Berlin wall and never did.  She was East German, he West.

The story simply tries to show how literal reading of the Bible can get you into bad places. 

What  would you suggest is a positive in this story about traveling with nothing? Could this be what Francis is emphasizing when he talks about Less is Better? 

How is Less Better for you?