4th Sunday of Easter, April 30, 2023

Special Announcement for John Stack Ministries:

This Sunday, 1/26, there will be a birthday brunch after Mass.  We  have 7-9 birthdays to celebrate and some ole geezer says it is numero 80 for him. 

Welcome, Everybody.  Pot Luck.

 

 

 Readings:

 Deuteronomy  30, 10-14,  If only you would heed the voice of the Lord.

Psalm 69,  Turn to the Lord in your need and you will live.

Colossians 1, 15-20,  He is before all things.

Luke 10, 25-37,  A Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight.

 

 Deuteronomy observations:

 

The Scene: the desert outside the promised land.  Moses is talking to the people about all that has happened to them since he led them out of Israel and through the desert for many years.  Now, as they prepare to enter, Moses is dying.  He is simply exhorting them to love Yahweh and obey his laws. 

The Author:  not Moses.  A compilation put into three discourses.

Date:  guess when?  Yes, after the Babylonian Captivity, ca. 555 before Christ.

Subject today:  Moses talks about a command, but never mentions exactly what it is.  Watch for the answer in today's gospel.  The Great Command.

 

 

The Good Samaritan

I would like to talk a bit about the Good Samaritan parable this morning.

There may have been two meanings.  Initially this parable looks like simply an encouragement to help others, which it is.
 

However, there is a second meaning, perhaps more profound, especially for the Jews who are listening. It has to do with prejudice.

 

The setting. A Jewish lawyer is asking a question about his justification. Where does one draw the line in helping a person? Who is my neighbor? Some observations.

First, the road from Jerusalem to Jericho was notoriously dangerous and plagued with thieves. That this man was alone is significant.  People would travel in groups for safety. Was he an outcast?  Friendless?  Not too
intelligent or not so innocent?

Second, the man was stripped. For the lawyer this would signify that the man was without identity, of no identifiable class. In other words, he might not be anything, not even a Jew. He was Every Person.  A human being.

 

Thirdly, the priest & the Levite (a priestly class). The lawyer would know why they did not stop to help. The Law. They would have been on the way to the temple and they could not cause themselves to be ritually impure or dirty.  In the temple they had to be pure, no contact with dirty people or they could not offer their sacrifice.   Organized religion still follows this practice? 

 

Then, fourth, along comes the Samaritan. To the Jewish lawyer & the Jewish listeners Samaritans were considered scum.  Samaritans were Jews from Israel thought to have intermarried with pagans, i.e., people who did not recognize Yahweh as the name of their God, probably Assyrians after 700.    They did not get swept up in the Babylonian Captivity. They would defile the temple just by entering. In sum, they were vile and dirty, certainly not capable of performing an act of love.

 

But, to the surprise of the lawyer & the audience, it is the Samaritan who performs the act of love.  He even risks his own life by rescuing the man. Jesus further twists the knife by showing how the Samaritan goes beyond the call by setting the man up in an inn and promising to cover all his expenses.

The composer of the parable goes further and plays with two elements used in the temple sacrifice: oil and water.  The Samaritan employs these elements to clean (purify?) the victim.  The author knows what he is suggesting in using these items.

Jesus is responding to the lawyer's question, "Who is my neighbor," by saying "Everybody."  No prejudice.

 

Know anybody like that Samaritan?  How about you?     

Sources, Francis Vanderwall, Jesus, The Parable of God (Francis will speak here September 28-29)

 

                                                                                                                                                     

 

Wisdom 6:  Resplendent and unfading is wisdom, and she is readily perceived by those who love her, and found by those who seek her.

1 Thessalonians 4:  For if we believe that Jesus died and rose, so too will God, through  Jesus, bring with him those who have fallen asleep.

Matthew 25:  At midnight, there was a cry, "Behold, the bridegroom!  Come out to meet him!" Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps.

 

John getting ready to start Mass

 

Thanks…     

Music,    Shonda & Ben 

Readers,  Tom & Jackie

Homily,   John Cade

Eucharistic Prayer A & B,  John Stack & John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers,   Hue & Kevin

Final Blessing, Rosemary

                                      

 

John reading from the gospel of Matthew

 

 

Remember these special people:

For the family of Ron Senter;   For Meredith  whose cancer has come back;  For Tom Good;  For Tom  Quinn who had back surgery on November 21st; For Lambrini, John Cade's wife, who is dealing with cancer ;  For Allen Stryker;   For Mike and Judy Carrell ; For Madeleine, Richard Eshelbrenner's granddaughter;  For Hue; For Jackie;  For John's sister, Kathey recovering from a fall;   For Tom Good;   For Mary Hall's friend Cadence still suffering from a serious medical condition;   For Sir Charlie;  For Ron ;  For Teresa Quinn's niece, Maddie who has a brain tumor;

                                                                                                 

 

Jackie's sister, & friend, Lynn;  For Rick Turner searching for a kidney donor, Type O neg.;   For Jean & Cliff Wright;  For Dee, and for her daughters, Lisa & Lauren;  For a young man who is suffering from depression;  John Cade's daughter, Joey, with cancer; from Barbara, a little baby boy named Ford recuperating from an operation & the families of Annie and Michael ;    for the medical staffs, teachers, and coaches in our public & private schools.

 

 

Paula

                                          

Birthdays:   John Anderlick 11/14, Diane McMahon 11/17, Frank Esparza 11/18

Anniversaries:  Connie & John Bresson 11/14

                 

Community Finances:   

Expenses: $  480.00

Outreach: $  155.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

                                             

Richard sharing about the Love For Kids Picnic

1 Samuel 26:  Do not harm him, for who can lay hands on the Lord's anointed and remain unpunished.

1 Corinthians 15:   Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one.

Luke 6:  For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.

 

 

Thanks…Music,    Ben & Shonda

Readers,   Mary Jane & John

Gospel,     John Cade

Homily,  John Stack

Eucharistic Prayer A & B,  John Stack & John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers,      Hue, Richard & Mike 

Final Blessing, Rosemary

 

 

 

Grape vines along the Rhine

 

 

Readings:  Download 02-20-22 – Readings – 7th Sunday Ord

Homily:  Download 02-20-22 – Homily – 7th Sunday Ord

 

 

 

 

                Quaint little restaurant                                    

 

 

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 Richard's grand daughter, Madeleine;   For Esparza's new great grandson  & Frank;  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; For Ursuline Sr. Mary Troy,

                           

             
        An old castle       
                                                      

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 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; from Barbara, a little baby boy named Ford recuperating from an operation & friends, Annie, a mom of 3 kids and Michael ; for David McKeon's brother, Hugh; For Beth's friends & brother;   for the medical staffs, teachers, and coaches in our public & private schools.

                                                            

Wall Art

                     

Birthdays:   

Anniversaries:   

      

Community Finances:   

Expenses: $  995.00

Outreach: $  685.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

                                    

An invitation for a coffee, wine or some other drink

 

 

Rosemary's Blessing:  

 

Let us pray to our God      

To the God of Mary and Joseph,

To the God of Abraham and Sarah.

 

May our spirit fill the world with beauty and wonder.

May our mind seek truth with humility and openness.

 

May our hearts forgive without limit.

May our love for friend, enemy and outcast be without measure.

May our needs be few and my living simple.

 

Taken and adapted from a prayer by Mary Lou Kownacki, OSB for Pax Christi USA in commemoration of the United Nations International Decade for the Culture of Peace and Nonviolence for the Children of the World.

 

 

 

No touch Our Father.  The flu.

 

 

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

Time: 9:30; Celebrate with the Community & Stack

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

 

 

 

 

Don't leave yet, Leo.  We are almost finished.

 

 

Readings:

Deuteronomy 18, 15-20,  Moses spoke to all the people.

Psalm 95,  Today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts

Corinthians 7, 32-35,   I should like you to be free of anxieties. 
A married man is anxious.

Mark 1, 21-28, Is not a man’s life on earth a drudgery?

 

 

 

 

What a team we got, Georgie, Buddy, Leo, David, Ben, Shonda (barely visible), and even Emma singing (just out of sight, Mike).

 

 

Community Activities:  

 

THIS SUNDAY: birthday brunch after Mass, Welcome!  Guess for whom.

 

 

 

Do I dare ask what you crazies are laughing at?  Like Me?? 

 

 

 

ROMEO MEET: Friday, January 26, Jason's Deli, Collin Creek Mall, west side of Central, 1:00.  Welcome all wakos,  you will fit right in.  

JULIET LUNCHEON, (aka.,just us ladies into eating together),  February Luncheon,

 Hope everyone is keeping warm on this chilly January night. Many of you have suggested going to the Bavarian Grill for lunch in February.  We can enjoy authentic German cuisine in a warm, friendly and inviting atmosphere.

We will meet Friday, February 2 at 12:30.  The Bavarian Grill is located at 221 West Parker Rd., Plano.  It is in the same shopping plaza as Burlington Coat Factory.

Please let me know if you will be joining us.

Thanks,  Marilyn,    972-491-7068     

 

Dickenson Trip:  February 23- March 3

 

 

 

 

Elevation help.  Great when you got Parkenson's.

 

 

What is going on in Our Catholic World:

1    Why are young Catholics departing, National Catholic Reporter, January 22, 2018, 740 words,      Download YOUNG CATHOLICS DEPARTING 1-25-18    

 

 

 

 

Healing for Cheryl.

 

 

True?

 

 

To me, old age is always fifteen years older than I am.

 

Bernard M. Baruch, upon observing his eighty-fifth birthda.

 

 

 

 

 

Healing for David.

 

See you Sunday.

J.S., 214-783-0443

 

 

 

 

Special Community Blessing for Ray & Beth, who have surgery this week.  Part A, Rosemary shares her blessing.

 

 

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.

 

 

 

Community Blessing, Part B, everybody.

 

 

Community Finances:   

  Expenses: $  1,600.00

  Outreach: $   315.00

 

  Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

                       

Richard distributes Communion