Palm Sunday, April 10, 2022

Acts of the Apostles 1:  When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.

Ephesians 1:  And he put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.

Matthew 28:  All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, ….

                  

 

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

 

 

 

Isaiah 50:The Lord GOD is my help, therefore I am not disgraced;

Philippians 2: Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance,  he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

 

 

Music,   Ben & Shonda

 

Expenses: $   470.00

Outreach: $    110.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

Rosemary's Blessing:

The grass never sleeps.

Or the roses.

Nor does the lily have a secret eye that shuts until morning.

Jesus said, wait with me. But the disciples slept.

The cricket has such splendid fringe on its feet,

and it sings, have you noticed, with its whole body,

and heaven knows if it ever sleeps.

Jesus said, wait with me.

And maybe the stars did, maybe the wind wound itself into a silver tree, and didn't move,

maybe the lake far away, where once he walked as on a blue pavement, lay still and waited, wild awake.

Oh the dear bodies, slumped and eye-shut, that could not

keep that vigil, how they must have wept,

so utterly human, knowing this too

must be a part of the story.

Gethsemane  by Mary Oliver 

 

 

 

 

"Welcome in, Everybody," say Cody with Sandra & Emma & Beth & Sophia.

 

 

Notice: if ever you notice that suddenly you are not receiving this blog, please reregister under www.johnstackministries.com.    Two guys just told me on the same day that the blog suddenly stopped coming.   This is the error of the carrier, Typepad, and it happens fairly regularly for some reason.  So sorry.

 

 

 

 

Guess who is Sophia's favorite dad.   I bet it is Ben.

 

 

Readings:

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

Psalm 95,  If 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?

 

 

 

 

 

A double team.  While Emma performs her candle magic, Georgie reads the blessing of light.

 

 

Deuteronomy observations :

What : 5th book of the Bible, of the Pentateuch or Torah   It is a series of addresses by Moses to the people in the desert after escaping from Egypt & Pharaoh.

Psalm 95 observations:

I would like to share some ideas about the part of the responsorial that says, If today you hear his voice. 

The first stanza is the best of all the readings.  Watch for it.

 

 

 

 

Welcome in Vanessa, Stella, and Coco.

 

 

1 Corinthians observations:

There was in ancient times a theory of asceticism that said that all pleasure was harmful to the inner spirit.  This applied double for sexual experience.  From personal experience I would reject this idea.  Watch what Paul says about marriage vs celibacy.

 

 

 

 

There he is, Sophia's favorite daddy and, also, Leo's favorite mommy
 

 

Mark observations:

The story is about a man who had an unclean spirit in him, meaning he was possessed by a devil.  Today people would say Jesus did an exorcism. 

There is another explanation of all this that I subscribe to because of psychological study and personal experience. 

Psychology says there is a condition called multiple personalities.  The condition is the result of severe abuse, especially at a young age.  It is a self defense maneuver, a disassociation from myself. 

 

 

 

 

Yes, it helps to have helpers with the elevation, especially with a little Parkenson's. 

 

 

I have worked with some of these poor people.  They usually had more than one personality with different ages.  With some of those I worked with there had been exorcism, which was not just useless, but harmful.  The person thought they had a devil inside, which was false and horrible.  For starters there is no devil.

Recovery involves acceptance and talk.  Ultimately, the host person needs to close the door to the alternates because it knows it is safe.  It takes time for healing.

Actually, Jesus exemplifies the process, though it normally takes much more time than one encounter.  I would suggest that Jesus presented a peaceful and accepting persona, just what the man’s host personality craved.

Watch as Mark presents a story about multiple personality.

 

 

 

 

How could we do this without Georgie and Buddy!

 

 

Hearing the Voice of God in Unusual Places

I want to talk this morning about three  places the voice of God was heard.  Two are mine.  Number three from a mystery guest who gives me permission to share the story.

The first event came up because I am thinking about the trip planned to Dickenson to help with the clean up.  A few years back there was a tornado in OK City.  The same team went, Professor Jim Maher & his students from St. Bonaventure. 

Jim has my number unfortunately (not really), so I went up by myself.

 

 

 

 

It is almost brunch time, Buddy.  It will be terrific!

 

One day we're cleaning up a mess at a rural town called Little Ax.  We had our team and you will never guess at the other team.  Muslim Emergency Aid.   Remember?  I talked about this after I returned.  They were well equipped like the Baptist Men and great guys and girls.

At one point I was walking down a hill from taking a piece of an I beam to the pile on the dirt road.  For pick up.  One second I was up walking down that slope.  The next I fell over something on the ground.

I was not injured in any way, landing on thick grass.  People started coming to my help.  Guess who was the first to come to me.  Yep, one of the Muslim boys.  I was most touched and humbled.

The voice of God in an unusual place.

 

 

 

Sez Rosemary, "Don't tell the old geezer that he is 78.  He still thinks he is about 40."

 

 

The second was at DFW airport when Rosemary & I came back from the wedding a couple of weeks ago.  We had landed and were departing the plane. 

I stopped to put a book into my backpack, using a wheel chair as a table, stepped to the right, forgot about the little foot piece, and fell right over on the carpeted gangway. 

Like with Joyce Scott, the lady I talked about Christmas Eve, all sorts of people came to my aid and helped me get up.  No injury except to my price.

God spoke again in an unusual place.

 

 

 

Brent, It is an honor to be able to give you these two checks for Souls Harbor.  The work you do there for 65 men in recovery is phenomenal.

 

 

Thirdly, the mystery guest.  Rosemary.

One morning about 6:00 Rosemary walked up to the desk of one of the hotels within shuttle distance of DFW.  We park at these hotels when we fly sometimes.  It costs about $5 per day and the shuttle is free.

Without a word she starts in, “I would like a chit to park here.  My husband is parking the car in the back.”

The clerek looks up and says cheerfully, “Good Morning.”

“Oh, I am sorry.  Yes, Good Morning to you, too.”

The voice of God in an unusual place.   

You, any unusual places?

 

 

Guess what  is coming.

 

 

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.

 

 

 

Thanks…     

Music,   Ben 

 

  Expenses: $   680.00

  Outreach: $   285.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

 

The Kiss of Peace

 

 

Rosemary's Blessing:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks still bravely singing fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead: Short days ago,
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved: and now we lie
In Flanders fields!

Take up our quarrel with the foe!
To you from falling hands we throw
The torch, Be yours to bear it high!
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep tho’ poppies blow
In Flanders Field.

IN FLANDERS FIELDS
By Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae

Composed at the battlefront on May 3, 1915
during the second battle of Ypres, Belgium

 

Community Finances:   

  Expenses: $    310.00

  Outreach: $      95.00

 

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

 

Ben gets a cookie

 

 

Rosemary's Blessing:

Come, O Dancing God,

Spirit of Life and Love,

of  Beauty and Diversity,

stir up my soul,

bathe me in your light,

and unleash my own spirit

that I may dance with you

and be light for those around me

and reflect your love to all that I meet this week.

 Edited and adapted from a blessing by Fr. Andrew M. Greeley