Sunday Homily 9-13-09, 24th Ordinary Time

Acts 10:  To him all the prophets bear witness, that everyone who believes in him will receive forgiveness of sins through his name.

Colossians 3:  If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above,  where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

John 20:  On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb.

John Cade's Homily:  Download 04-20-25 Homily – Easter Sunday

Music,   Ben 

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Randolph and Michelle get a cookie for their anniversary

Rosemary's Blessing:

Joyous Time of Year 

May the glory
and the promise
of this joyous time of year
bring peace
and happiness to you
and those you hold most dear.

And may Christ,
Our Risen Saviour,
always be there by your side
to bless you
most abundantly
and be your loving guide.

Author Unknown    found on xavier.edu/jesuitresource webpage

Chloe says, "Happy Easter, Everybody."

Readings:

Acts 10, 34, 37-43,   Peter proceeded to speak.

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

1 Corinthians  5, 6-8,  A little yeast leavens all the dough.

John  20, 11-18,  Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene.

Jude also says, "Happy Easter, Everybody, and welcome in."

Seeing the Lord

I would like to talk this morning about seeing the Lord.  I would, also, like to suggest we see the Lord constantly and seldom realize it.  I have three short stories to illustrate the idea.

The first event happened here about two, maybe three weeks ago.  We were in the middle of our Sunday celebration.  I am pretty sure we were singing, so it could have been at the very beginning or during the responsorial psalm. 

Not to be outdone by those big kids, Charlotte says, "Happy Easter Everybody; where is that Easter Rabbit?

During the singing Leo was playing at the feet of his parents as he often does.  At a point, he gets up and starts walking slowly in front of the table as he often does.  Suddenly, however, he vanishes from sight.  I don’t think I was paying much attention to him. 

Then I sense he is just at my feet.  He had decided to slip under the table cloth hanging down in front of the table which we use as an altar.  He climbed in under the table.  And there he was right at my feet.

Christopher says, "Happy Easter from Amarillo."

Poor Shonda, as soon as she could finish singing and get over here, she comes over, pulls him out from under the table, and carries him off.  Leo did not cry or squeal or anything.  He looked content.

This was a see the Lord moment for me.  Why?  Two reasons.        

First, Leo was not afraid to wander around up front with everyone looking on.  He feels accepted by you people, the community.  Occasionally, Emma does it, walking by sweetly smiling at everyone.  Georgie, you used to do a bit of this in your day.  This is amazing and I see the Lord in the kids and in you folks when you accept the kids.

The Roberts.

Secondly, Leo is not afraid of The Old Geezer.   Parents have told me since the days of St. Marks, “My kids think you are God.”  I am sure many of you can see the resemblance. 

I think when I was a little kid I saw the priest as some God figure.  Trouble was, they were all stern and scary.  I would never have done what Leo did, nor anything close to it.  I grew up with fear, ultimately, fear that I was going to hell because I was such a bad kid.

Emma, who is always ready to welcome everybody, says, "When do we begin that Easter egg hunt?"

So if Leo and the kids think I am something like God and they are not afraid of me, I am overjoyed.  This is one of my goals in our community.  No fear spirituality.

The second event took place last night in Granbury.  We did the wedding of Ron and Barb Senter’s second daughter, Rebecca.  I saw the Lord in those people and especially in Rebecca, who had a difficult time in her adolescent years and has turned into one marvelous person. 

"Where is that Easter Rabbit, say the Gerwers kids.

I was so touched by her.  As she walked down the aisle with Ron, her dad, she began to cry and cry.  Of course, that got me going.  I saw the Lord last night.

The third event took place Thursday afternoon.  See this turquoise thumb.  This says, “She made it, the last of 18 chemo treatments, success over ovarian cancer, NED, no evidence detected, Jackie Urbanczyk.”  We had a celebration at her house Thursday after her last treatment. 

There that rabbit is.

Three times in three days: Leo, Rebecca, Jackie, I saw the Lord. 

And you?

Fred and Maureen celebrating 51 years and Fred 76 years. So he wants 2 Cupcakes of The Week!

 Readings:

1 Samuel 1, 20-28, Hannah conceived and bore a son whom she called Samuel.

Psalm 84, Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord.

1 John 3, 1-2, 21-24, We are God’s children.

Luke 2, 41-52, After 3 days they found him in the temple. 

Candles lit, Mass begins

Samuel observations: who, when, what, our passage with a story

Who:

          –about whom: Samuel, the last judge ruler of the Israelites and the first of the Big Three, that is, Samuel, Saul, and The Great King David, a fascinating Old Testament character. 

          –by whom: not written by Samuel, but a compilation of numerous sources.

When:  The Samuel figure lived around  1000 years before Christ.  As far as being put together into a unit, being familiar as you are with the Big Three Prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, when they did their prophet job,  and the influence of the Babylonian Captivity, around 600-550, yes, you are right if you guess that the work apparently was assembled at this same time.  The Jewish leaders were attempting to preserve their community as a tribe-nation.  

What:  a Jewish history lesson, fantasized greatly, and attempting to give a divinely chosen character to the Israelites’ heredity.  Originally there were two books, Samuel and Kings.  Now there are 4.  How come?  A simple answer.

Originally, it seems, Samuel was one scroll written in Hebrew.  It was translated into Greek.  Hebrew has no vowels and therefore takes up less space.  Greek has vowels.  Therefore, two scrolls were needed to write out the book of Samuel and thus it became Samuel I and II.   Sort of amusingly simple.

Our Emma

The Story: (chapter 1)

          The 4 characters: Samuel’s mom, Hannah; her husband Elkanah; Elkanah’s second wife, Peninnah; & the temple priest, Eli.

          There was this man, Elkanah, who lived with his two wives in Ramah.  He loved them both.  Over the years Peninnah had numerous children, but Hannah had none.  Despite this, Elkanah had a special love for Hannah.

Peninnah used to laugh at and mock Hannah, who became depressed, often would not eat, and cried a lot.

One day Hannah was in the temple crying over her inability to have children.  At one point she promised that if she had a son, she would dedicate him to God’s service.  She continued to pray, mouthing her prayer silently.

Eli, the priest, was sitting in the back of the temple watching Hannah.  He thinks she is drunk and scolds her, “Stop making a drunken spectacle of yourself.  Stop your drinking and sober up.”

Hannah, of course, is mortified and defends herself, saying she has no children and is miserable.  Eli believes her and tells her to go in peace and may God give you what you ask.

Guess what happens….

Sources: Good News Bible, New Interpreter's Study Bible, Bible Gateway.com, Wikipedia

Our Harper

The Family

This morning I would like to say a few words about the family, especially in connection with what happened in Newtown, CT. 

When the news first hit me, like millions of others, I think I was in denial, then angry, then in tears.  As time went on I would occasionally hear or see some snippet of news asking the question why this boy went off like he did.   Everyone seemed perplexed by this.

John & Karen

When I thought more, taking into my experience as a priest and with psychology, I kept thinking, this is not difficult.  I see three factors: nurture, nature, and environment.  And maybe all three together.  This is how it touches us.  Let me explain each one.

Nurture.  I immediately asked myself, what did he not get that he needed to grow up balanced.  What basic needs were not met?  What did I need, what did you need growing up?  I would propose 4 things, affection, acceptance, encouragement, and training.  I would include time here, too, though it is assumed with the first three. 

What happens when I do not have these needs attended to, the result?  I am hurt.  How does hurt often manifest?  Anger.

Cupcake of the Week to Tom & Teresa for 45 years

Nature.   This is a tough one.  Psychological disorder.  I have seen young kids who probably were getting nurture, but were out of control, impulsive, even violent.  The result: anger. 

Modern medication can certainly help a young person with such a disorder.  Sometimes it just does not work.

Environment.  This obviously involves the home atmosphere.  But it includes extended family, school, and neighborhood.  A lot of abuse can take place at school.  Bullying.   Result: hurt.  Manifestation: anger.

Cupcake of The Week #2 to Meredith on her birthday

Also under environment I would include what is offered on TV, electronic games, and news from other tragedies.  Who right now are the young people out there who want to emulate Newtown or Columbine?  The example is contagious for a kid. 

What has this got to do with you and me?  It has this to do with you and me: we are family.  We can nurture, whether we are parents, grandparents, teachers, mentors, coaches, scout leaders. 

One of the people who nurtured me in 7^th & 8^th grade was Frank Hart, my old coach, scout leader, and teacher.  We are still close friends.

Shonda and Ben

We as a Catholic spiritual community have the honor and privilege of nurturing all the marvelous kids who join with us on Sunday mornings.  May they take away a positive image of themselves from their time here.  May they take with them an image of an affectionate and accepting God. 

Affection, acceptance, encouragement, training.  For whom are you doing this today?

Readings:  Ezekiel 47, 1-12; Psalm 46; 1 Corinthians 3, 9-17; John 2, 13-22

Why the Lateran Basilica?

If you are like me, when you heard that today we celebrate the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome, you want to say, "What??"  "What has that got to do with me, with my life?"  I even got a call from our man Federico asking if we were having our Mass at the Lateran Basilica today.  It would have been fun.

I do not remember doing any research on this celebration in the past.  This is due partly, I discovered, to the fact that the celebration always takes place on November 9, which does not show up on Sunday very often.  My research did give me an idea, however.  Namely, that we are exploring our roots today, like we search out our family trees.  Today we explore an ancient, prominent ancestor of our religious family tree.  Two observations: the meaning & the story.

1.  First, the meaning of 'basilica.'  In Roman times a basilica was a large rectangular hall where the Romans met for business or meetings.

From what I can discover, when a church or chapel is designated by Rome a basilica, it is an honorary title, like a priest being named a monsignor.  There are five or six levels of basilicas & churches.  On the most elemental level is the church or chapel, like St. Mark's or All Saints.  Then comes a minor basilica.  This could be like the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City.  The first basilica in the U.S. is St. Mary's in Minneapolis and it is, I think, a minor basilica.  Above a minor basilica is the bishop's cathedral.  For instance, while Mexico City has the Basilica of Guadalupe, the Bishop's cathedral is in the Zocalo, the center of the city.  The cathedral may simultaneously be a minor basilica and it is where the bishop has his throne and special altar.

Next comes the papal basilica, which has a throne & altar that only the pope uses and which is used by others with the pope's permission.  Then a major basilica of which there are only 4 in the world, all in Rome, Mary Major, Paul outside the Walls, St. Peter's, and our subject today, the Lateran. 

Finally we have at the top, an arch-basilica.  One only in the whole world.  The Lateran.  Why?  Age & historical significance. 

2. The story.  In the time of the Caesars & Jesus the place where the Lateran is had two buildings.  One was a fort & residence for the special calvary that defended the emperor.  These guys chose to defend the emperor against Constantine around 300.  He, of course, won and destroyed their fort.

Next to the fort was a palace owned by the Lateran family, the members of which worked as administrators in the government.  Constantine married a woman named Fausta and with her came the palace.  Constantine did not need it, so he gave it to the Christians to whom he granted freedom to worship in 313, a big date in Christian history.

Legend had it that Peter had said Masses around the area and he had used a table that still existed 300 years later.  The Christians built a church where the fort was, placing in it the table Peter had used.  They used the Lateran palace as a residence. This church, therefore, became the first Christian church in the whole world.  It was not built over a tomb like St. Peter's or St. Paul's, but it had the table. 

Around this same time along comes Constantine's pious mother, whom I mentioned recently, because she had discovered where Jesus' cross stood and built a church there, the Church of the Sepulcher. She also found what she thought were the steps in Pilate's house which Jesus had climbed for his trial.  She moved the marble steps to Rome and set them up in the Lateran, where they are today. This is around 313 A.D., the famous year. 

Consequently, for the next 1000 years the popes lived in the Lateran Palace and used the church as their cathedral.  Want to know what happened at the end of 1000 years?  The Avignon Papacy: for about a century, 1300 to 1400, the popes lived in Avignon, France.  With two, sometimes three rival popes, this is a story worth telling, but another Sunday. 

When the popes returned to Rome around 1400 they continued to use the Lateran Basilica as their primary church, the bishop of Rome's cathedral, but they lived at St. Peter's because the Lateran Palace had deteriorated badly in their 100 year absence.  The popes still reside at the Vatican Palace and still use the Lateran Basilica as their #1 Cathedral.

The Lateran Basilica was sacked by the barbarians in the 5th century, destroyed by an earthquake in 900, burned twice in the 15th century, and last remodeled in 1730.  In the 10th century it was dedicated to John the Baptist, in the 13th century dedicated to John the Evangelist, and since it had also been dedicated to Christ, its official title as the mother of all churches in the world is the Lateran Basilica of Christ our Redeemer, John the Baptist, and John the Evangelist.

So what?  What is this?  Churches or temples or sacred places go back to the dawn of our evolution as humans.  Outside Mexico City are the temples of Teotijuacan,'  whose builders not even the Aztecs of 1521 seemed to know (the year the Spaniards & Cortes arrived).  In Egypt up the Nile River are the temples of Luxor, near which was found the tomb of Tutankhamen.  These temples go back 2000 years B.C. 

Churches used to be sanctuaries.  You could run there if the law was after you.  Today the sanctuary is more spiritual and psychological. We go into such a sanctuary to calm our spirit, to converse with God, to regain perspective on life.  Granted these temples can equally be found outside, like in Yosemite.  I find there the same peace and perspective.

I also think it is fun and fascinating to look back at our religious family tree, to get in touch with our Christian roots. 

Today we celebrate an ancient ancestor in the Lateran Basilica.  It has been a sanctuary of peace for many of our ancestors. 

Where do you find your sanctuary of peace and perspective?

AUDIO:  http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2008-11-09.mp3

Picture 1: Mass with T.J. serving

Picture 2: Bob & Jackie McGrath (54th Anniversary) and Maggie McGrath & Chloe Zurchin

Picture 3: Tom Quinn and his granddaughter

 Readings: (for Christmas Eve, 4:00, Midnight Mass readings)

Isaiah 9, 1-6, The People who have walked in darkness have seen a great light.

Psalm 96, Today is born our savior, Christ the Lord.

Titus 2, 11-14, The grace of God has appeared.

Luke 2, 1-14, In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus….

Our Bambino, Emmit

 Isaiah: author, date, subject, today’s selection–

   Author: This is probably my most favorite book in the Old Testament.  Isaiah is one of the Big Three OT prophets along with Jeremiah & Ezekiel.  This is because of the size of the work, 66 chapters, but even more so because Isaiah is so beautiful and influential in the Christian story. 

There are really three Isaiahs, chapters 1-39, 40-55, & 56-66.  How do we know?  Simple.  Different styles of writing, different vocabularies, different slants to the message.

   Date: 1 Isaiah, our selection is put together ca. 700 BCE.  2  Isaiah, ca. 500 BCE; 3 Isaiah, ca. 400 BCE.

Cole lighting 5 candles with his parents, Chuck and Erin

 Subject: As always, there have been predictions of doom & destruction because of the badness of the people. 

Today’s selection: This passage, however, is the flip of this.  Listen for words like rejoicing, making merry, joy, peace, a God-hero Child is born.

Source:  Good News Bible, Bishop John Shelby Spong

The Gerwer gang making their stage debut.

A Christmas Story

I have a Christmas story I would like to tell you this Christmas Eve afternoon. 

It seems that a short while back there was a young man named Hayden.  He is about 25 years old, married, and a father of a couple of kids.

Cupcake of The Week to Rosemary Beavers, 20 today.

He is driving along one day and gets stopped by a cop.  The cop says that his inspection sticker is out of date. 

Hayden says he has no excuse why he has not taken care of it.  He had to make a decision recently.  It was get the car inspection or pay his due bills and in particular feed his family.  His salary did not cover everything this month. 

More Cupcakes of The Week to Ashley and Jeremy Ekes, 25 the 23rd, Sunday

The cop said he still had to give him a ticket.  He wrote it out, folded it,  gave it to Hayden, and drove away. 

Sadly Hayden took the ticket, put it on the seat, and then opened it.

Santa and his Elf appear.

Inside was a hundred dollar bill.

Hayden broke down and cried. 

Santa and his kids.

A couple of observations.

First, the cop was Plano Police, one from our very own Plano, our very back yard. 

Jake with his granddad, Jack.

Secondly, he also wants no publicity.  Hayden’s grandfather told the police department about their caring officer, so they knew.  The officer, however, wanted no pictures and no name. Apparently he has done this before.

Soul's Harbor, Dicers and dish dryers with Barry, The Dish Washer

Thirdly, I found the story in the editorial section of The Dallas Morning News Friday morning, December 14.  Know what else happened that day?  Newtown, CT. 

There may be tragedy in our world.  Still God visits us in special ways.

I could  ask you now how have you been visited recently or this year.  A good question.   However, I want to ask this:

When did you last give someone $100?

When will you do it next?

Jim and other volunteers prepared to serve Christmas dinner to the 50 plus men residing at Soul's Harbor.

Source: The Dallas Morning, News, December 14, 2012