17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 30, 2023

Zechariah 9:  His dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.

Romans 8:  For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Matthew 11:  Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.

Beautiful crepe myrtle

John Stack Ministries now meets at:  The ArtCentre of Plano, 902 E. 16th St, Plano

and another one

Here are the links for Sunday:

For Zoom   ( the video conference, same as last week )

 

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7428208829?pwd=VERncTBxaWdkaFpkTUZKL3RROW81UT09

 

 

                                                                  

and one more

 

 

 

 

 Readings:

Deuternomy 26, 4-10,  He brought us out of Egypt.

Psalm 91,  Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.

Romans 10, 8-13, The same Lord is Lord of all.

Luke 4, 1-13, Jesus was led into the desert for 40 days.

 Deuteronomy 

The scene: The Israelites have escaped from Egypt and have been wandering in the desert for years.  They are just about to enter The Land.  They are assembled.  Moses is addressing them and reminding them of all Yahweh has done for them over the years of wandering.   

In our chapter he is telling them that when they have settled in their new land, where he will not accompany them, they must take a basket full of a portion of their first harvest, present it to the rabbi, and offer it as a sacrifice of thanksgiving.   

Who & When: Though about Moses, Deuteronomy is a compilation of numerous sources.  Guess when: post Babylonian Captivity, say 555.  Easy to remember.

Emma arrives.

Romans

Paul writes to the Romans that all people, Gentiles as well as Jews, are invited to be part of the Christ event.

Andrew and Danny arriving with Sir Charlie.

  Beware of Great Expectations: observations on a new pope

I must confess that Monday morning when I first heard of Benedict’s retirement, I was excited.  “We might get a new man who is progressive and less authoritarian,” I thought.  With a little reflection I have two observations I would like to share with you from my perspective and experience.  Both fall under the Beware of Great Expectations heading.

1. Beware of expecting a progressive pope.  The college of cardinals has been carefully screened to include only very conservative, corporate, follow the leader type men.  They will likely vote their kindred.
2. Beware of the idea that a 3^rd world man would be great.  Two Africans are mentioned, one I know, Cardinal Arinze from Nigeria.  I attended his "coronation" in ’76 or ’77. 

One observation about him and many Africans is that in being converted they really bought into traditional Catholicism.  I knew a Tanzanian bishop who prohibited drums at liturgies because he thought they were pagan. 

Moreover, the custom of the African tribe demands that a big man make a big impression, not the idea of being a servant or last.

Have a Happy Lent?

Looking forward to Lent this year?  I confess that I was not.  Maybe it has come too quickly after Christmas this year.  However, I know I mildly dreaded it until.  Until we had our Ash Wednesday Mass at Marlene’s house.  Something happened there, some grace of being at home.  I felt peaceful about it all.

Ryan arriving with his dad, Jim.

So what are we going to do about this Lent?  Three observations.

1.  As a community you all will be invited on several occasions.  We will have a food drive next Sunday and a general pick up by Soul’s Harbor’s truck another Sunday.  One Sunday we will have one of our penitential rites, probably the Sunday just before Palm Sunday. 

Georgie ready to suit up.

        2.    I am going to invite you most Sundays to have a happy Lent.  It is Spring Training time.  Instead of focusing on the negativity  and the bad, focus on getting back in shape, from taking a daily walk to riding your bike around The Lake, White Rock.  Pass out compliments, like I mentioned last week.

Zoe arriving with her brother and mom, Buddy and Michelle.

          3.  I am also going to kick off a special project.  For years before I moved out of Jesuit I had a men’s group in the evening maybe two Tuesday a month.  It was both fun and profound.  I did not have furniture enough for all who came.  So I would take all the furniture out and I lay cushions all along the walls of the small office I had.  Everybody sat on the floor. 

Our candidate for pope, Bernadette, wondering where all the kids went.

I want to start a new group, a lunch group.  All you guys here are invited.  Tentatively, it will be Fridays, 1:00, Jason’s Deli here at Collin Creek Mall on Central.  It won’t be every week usually, mostly when I can come.  I’ll send out a note to everyone.  2 guys, 20 guys, who knows? 

Mike, Jerry, Shirley, and Maureen.

Why am I doing this now?  Good Lenten Penance!  Lenten penance with Stack.  Get you to heaven quicker.  Actually, it is because I miss you guys.  I may see everybody Sundays, but I don’t get to find out how it is going.  It will be great fun.

You women can rejoice that the old guy is out of the house for a while each week.   

So, what are you going to do to have a happy Lent?

Rosemary reading her blessing.

John reading from Micah

Music,   Ben & Shonda

Connie gets a cookie for her birthday

Expenses: $   1,275.00

Outreach: $    380.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

Rosemary's Blessing:

A Christmas Prayer

Loving Father, help us to remember the birth
of Jesus, that we may share in the song of the angels,
the gladness of the shepherds,
and the worship of the wise men.

Close the door of hate and
open the door of love all over the world.

Let kindness come with every gift and
good desires with every greeting.

Deliver us from evil by the blessing
which Christ brings, and teach us to
be merry with clear hearts.

May the Christmas morning make us happy
to be Thy children, and the Christmas evening
bring us to our beds with grateful thoughts,
forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus' sake.

Amen!

 Robert Louis Stevenson

Amos 7:   But Amos stood up to Amaziah: "I never set up to be a preacher, never had plans to be a preacher. I raised cattle and I pruned trees.  Then God took me off the farm and said, 'Go preach to my people Israel.'

Ephesians 1:  Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we're a free people – free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free!

Mark 6:   Then they were on the road. They preached with joyful urgency that life can be radically different;   right and left they sent the demons packing; they brought wellness to the sick, anointing their bodies, healing their spirits.

Exodus 20: In those days, God delivered all these commandments: “I, the LORD am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt,  that place of slavery.

1 Corinthians 1: For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

John 2:  He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables, and to those who sold doves he said, “Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.”

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.

Path To Peace & White Rock Lake

ROMEOS, Friday, October 16, 1:00,  as usual.    Welcome!

ROMEOs' Virtual Jason's Deli BYOB lunch
This is a recurring meeting, Friday, 1:00 pm
Link :
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85798571623?pwd=NmFSTW1ocVMzRGdIc0QzUGxKdHM3dz09

Meeting ID: 857 9857 1623
Password: saladbar

Reminder for 29th Sunday Ordinary Time, October 18, 2020

Here are the links for Sunday:

2. search for "john stack ministries"

 

 

 

 

What's up in Ye Old Catholic Church

1.  Backlash in St. Louis Archdiocese,  https://www.ncronline.org/news/parish/backlash-st-louis-archdiocese-after-social-justice-leader-suspended