4th Sunday of Ordinary Time, February 7, 2021

Genesis 22, 1-2, 9-13, 15-18, Take your son Isaac.  You shall offer him up as a holocaust; Psalm 116, I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living; Romans 8, 31-34; Mark 9, 2-10, He was transfigured before them.

Introduction to Genesis 22

 The concept of a covenant between God and His people is one of the central themes of the Bible. The First Reading last week was the covenant God made with Noah. This week it is the covenant God made with Abraham, and next week it is the covenant God made with Moses.  Of course, as Christians, our belief is that we have a covenant with God through Jesus Christ. 

God, with infinite love for us brings salvation to the Table in the covenant won for us by Christ.  What are we to bring?  We are to live the spoken Word in our lives with gratitude!

 Before Bill Poncik gives the first reading, I want to share a story he emailed me a couple of weeks ago.  The mother of a young boy knowing that he had a terminal disease and only a few weeks to live asked him what he wanted to do that day. He replied that he would like to go to the Fire station for maybe he would have been a fireman.  She called the neighborhood fire station in Phoenix where they lived, told the chief there the situation and asked if her son could come for a visit. The chief asked for his height and weight and told her to bring him at 9:00 AM and plan to stay awhile. They were greeted by the morning shift of 16 men who made him a fellow fireman for a day, gave him a fitting safety helmet, yellow protective coat and boots. He and his mother began a wonderful tour; but he was told that if he heard the bell ringing that one of the 16 firemen would escort him to one of the trucks. Three times that day the young boy lived his dream.  A few weeks later his mother called the station once again to tell them that the angels would be coming for her son, that he was still awake but not for long. She was told to open the window of his bedroom when she heard the siren. That day 16 firemen climbed the ladder and entered his window fully dressed in their yellow and red. They were there, when the boy left them, dressed like the angels who had come to carry him to paradise.  16 men were living Christ’s words with gratitude in answer to God’s gift of salvation.

 

Homily from Mark 9:2-10

 

 Again, to better understand a reading, one must consider the context in which it has been placed.  So, in the teaching that precedes this transfiguration event, a man is seeking to be in a covenant relationship with God through Christ.  In this process of coming to faith he observes those around Jesus to be ‘like trees that are walking.’ 

What does this mean?  Christ’s disciples have to commit themselves to Christ’s words. The seed has been planted; but they have no roots, no foundation. They have failed to understand that he is the Messiah. That teaching does end with Peter coming to the realization that the Messiah has come to them; however, he misunderstands Christ’s mission and the disciples’ responsibility in response to God’s plan of salvation.

 

 Secondly, let’s look at the purpose of Christ’s mission in the very first verses of this Mark gospel realizing that since they are in the summary of the gospel we will find them somewhere in the later text of the Mark gospel.  When the Mark gospel begins we find that when Jesus comes forth from the waters where John was baptizing, the Holy Spirit comes upon him with the voice from heaven saying, ‘This is my son the beloved.’  These words are present twice in the Mark gospel. Here in the beginning of the summary of the Mark gospel—the second time, of course, is in today’s gospel. 

 Thirdly, we need to look at the very beginning of the Bible in the covenant God made with Abraham in the Book of the Law.  When Moses came up from the waters of the Red Sea leading the Israelites to freedom the Spirit came upon him.  Later, when Moses went up the mountain, by himself, the second time to receive the 10 commandments, Moses face continued to give off some light for he had been close to the radiance of God when the covenant had been made with him.

 

  In today’s reading, Jesus takes his inner circle of Peter, James and John up the mountain where Christ’s divinity is revealed to them. Streams of light come forth Him, for he was dazzling bright. When Moses and Elijah appear Peter is still in the dark, for he wants Jesus to abide in the presence of Moses and Elijah.  It is then we hear, with Peter, the voice from heaven, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, Listen to Him!’ (Exclamation point) No one is there but Jesus. The words of Moses and Elijah are to be understood as an expectation of the Law and the Prophets for the coming of the Messiah. When one listens to, and puts into practice, the words of Christ with all their mind and heart and soul, they enter into the new covenant with God through Christ through grace.  The words of Christ fulfill the covenants that required circumcision and obedience to the Mosaic Law.

 

 Some might be saying, ‘Well, yes, I understand; but be more specific about that to which we are to listen.”  Well, now we know why the inspired writers of the Matthew Gospel have a Sermon on the Mount! That sermon is to enlighten us. Not only is it a summary of how we are to live our lives; but it informs us that it is how we are to illuminate others to come to glorify God. During Lent I would recommend that we all reread it. It begins at Matthew’s Chapter 5.  How are you going to remember where it is in the Matthew gospel? Just look at one of your hands—five fingers—Chapter five.

 If you read the Letter of James written to the Jewish Christians its inspired writers tell us that in the New Covenant there is one perfect law.  Since in that letter there are many references to the John gospel, it’s not hard to realize what those inspired writers meant.  In the John gospel Jesus presents his disciples with one commandment.   We are to love one another as Christ loves us!  When we do that we are truly living the entirety of Christ’s words—the perfect response to the covenant God has made with us in Christ Jesus.

 

 Reflect for a moment on something you plan to do this coming week. How will you illuminate those moments to those who around you by your words and actions?  Remember, we show our gratitude to God only to the degree we show our love toward others!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Readings: Jeremiah 1, 4-19; Psalm 71, I will Sing of Your Salvation; 1 Corinthians 12, 31-13,13; Luke 4, 21-30

The Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Reflection on Readings

   

Jeremiah.  One of the great prophets.  Spent almost 50 years active as a prophet. at least from 627 to 585.  So we know, time wise we are back before and during the fall of Jerusalem.  I guess, when you are in the middle of a very busy road, you are going to get run over, and if we look at a map of where the kingdom of Judah was, back then, we see that to the north and north east were the Assyrians and Babylonians and to the south west were the Egyptians, and as each army marched to do battle with the Egyptians or the Egyptians marched north, they had to pass thru Judah.  And an army does not pass thru without leaving its mark!

  

By the way, if you ever visit the Sistine Chapel, Jeremiah is part of Michael Angelo’s ceiling.

 

Jeremiah was at a very difficult time.  The last of the kings of Judah were weak and didn’t have good foreign policies.  Plus, internally there were strong pro-war groups, which caused the kings to not pick their battles wisely.  Our reading today is from the very beginning of Jeremiah’s time and we hear God promising Jeremiah that God will take care of him.

 

For additional information on Jeremiah visit this site:

http://www.catholic.org/encyclopedia/view.php?id=6299

 

Our second reading from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians is a favorite of Weddings!  But it is also a very powerful reminder to us of how we should be with one another.

 

 

The Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Homily

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.”  An amazing statement!  Poor Jeremiah!  He hadn’t a chance!  Our first reading picks up right after God has told Jeremiah that he is to be His prophet and Jeremiah had answered that he thought he was too young.  “"Ah, Lord GOD!" I said, "I know not how to speak; I am too young." were Jeremiahs words, and then we hear God’ answer, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.” 

  

And this can be said about each one of us!  Think about that for a moment.  Before we were even formed in our mother’s womb, God knew us!

A mother knows a baby before it is born, and this is important.  Remember how a mother sees her child.  The smartest, most beautiful, wisest etc.!! 

 

How often do we think we know others? Jesus in Nazareth was the carpenter’s son, nothing else.  Plus there was a bit of jealousy because the locals had heard about some of his miracles elsewhere, but they could only see him as the carpenters son.

 

Humans are funny the way we look at things and other people.  We have a tendency to see with prejudiced eyes. 

 

I remember the North of Ireland Tribunal the BBC held years ago, the three old judges could barely sit up, yet their minds were razor sharp.  I had been prejudging them because they looked old.

Before I formed you I knew you. 

 

 

Paul’s Love is…not jealous, rude, etc.  God knows each one of us, and loves us.  We need to get past our poor vision of others by remembering that our eyesight could be off.  Could we be seeing others thru a set of values, which we need to reexamine?  How would we fare if God had our eyesight?

 

Mike Miller handing over our check to CCAC:

 

 

 

 

Picture 1:  Our Father with Maggie McGrath  on her birthday, her grandmother Jackie, Tony, and Kevin

 

Picture 2:  Sacrament of the Sick with Joanne Languell

 

Picture 3:  Emily Kite with her mom, Julie

 

Picture 4:  CCAC check for $2000, given by Mike Miller, with Claire & Ray & Frank

 

 

 

Readings:  Ezekiel 2, 2-5; Psalm 123, Our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for his Mercy; 2 Corinthians 12, 7-10; Mark 6, 1-6. 

   

Introduction & Homily by Tony O'Donovan:

 

Ezekiel 2:2-5; the prophet wrote at a very traumatic time for the Jews.  In 595BCE the Babylonians had destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple!  The people were carried off into exile.  Their whole understanding of this event was punishment for their behavior.  The style of the book is what is described as Apocalyptic. Other books in this style are Daniel and Revelations in the New Testament.  Characteristic of this style is strange visions and prophesies about the future.  Ezekiel himself has been described as a strange one!

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 Paul’s Second Letter to the community in Corinth.  In fact scholarship today is pretty much in agreement that what we have in first and second Corinthians are parts from four letters.  In the section today we have Paul what I would call ‘ranting’ about himself.

Mark 6:1-6:  Today’s gospel reading is early in Mark.  You will recall that last Sunday we had several miracles attributed to Jesus.  This Sunday we find Jesus showing up at home in Nazareth, and the people are unable to see him as anything but a carpenter.

How is your Eyesight!!

Today’s gospel strongly suggests that we take a moment to examine our eyesight!  In the gospel we find a whole town with poor eyesight.  They can only see Jesus as one of their own, a carpenter, and not as Mark has been presenting him, the Son of God. 

It becomes too easy for us to fall into traps about how we see people in our daily lives, and of course depending on how we see them affects how we treat them.

My mother used to have a saying about people, and I think she sometimes applied it to me.  “I was a house devil and a street angel”.  It can happen too easily.  We treat those closest to us perhaps not as well as we should, we take them for granted.  We go deaf to the things they say to us, and eventually the relationship becomes stale or worse, dead.  I guess another way of saying it is that “familiarity breeds contempt”.

 

 

 

Audio: Sorry, on vacation this week.

 

Picture 1  Mass with Tony concelebrating and T.J. helping

 

Picture 2:  Altar Servers

 

Picture 3: Tony celebrating after 33 years

 

Picture 4:  Tony receiving the community's blessing read by Rosemary with support from Reilly, Richard, Maureen, Ryan (hidden), and Ginny

   

Isaiah 35, Be strong, fear not

Psalm 146, Praise the Lord, my soul

James 2,  Did not God choose those who are poor

Mark 7,  The people brought to him a deaf man.

 

 

Jackie & friend.

 

Thanks……

Music,    Ben & Shonda

Readers, Geri & Mike, & Buddy, our candle blesser 

Gospel,     John Cade

Homily,   John Cade

Eucharistic Prayer A & B,  John Stack & John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers,     Richard & Hue & Mike

Final Blessing, Rosemary

For hosting us at Legacy for all these years & will miss you enormously, Becky

 

 

John & John or Black & White

 

Readings: Sorry, not today

 

Homily by John Cade:  Sorry, not today

 

Mike reading from the Letter of James

 

Remember these special people:

For John & Karen Anderlick's unborn grandson;   For Rosemary's great niece, Rylie;  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,   For Sir Charlie & Jan;  Shonda's mom & Cody &  Leo & all of Shonda's dear family; For Ursuline Sr. Mary Troy,

  

The Team

 

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 12 month old baby boy named Ford recuperating from an operation; for David McKeon's brother, Hugh; For Beth's friends & brother;   for the medical staffs, teachers, and coaches in our public & private schools.

 

 

Peace to All.

 

Birthdays:   Aggie Stryker

Anniversaries:  

Aggie & Allen Stryker, 54th

Beth & Rob, 37th?

Gratifioris, David & Caroline, 36th

 

 

 

Community Finances,   September 5, 2021

Expenses: $725.00

Outreach: $515.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

Rosemary sharing her blessing?

 

Rosemary's Blessing:

Loving God…

Give us hearts
where all may enter in,
ears to hear your call,
hands to do your will,
voices to sing your praise
and soul enough
to recognize You
in everything we do.

Taken from The Prayer for Those Who Dwell In A Monastery of the Heart by Joan Chittister

 

 

Welcome, Lynda & Tom

 

 

Readings: Sirach 15, 15-20; Psalm 119, Blessed are They who follow the Law of the Lord; 1 Corinthians; Matthew 5, 17-37. 

 

Observations: on Psalm 119, on Matthew 5, and, first, on Sirach–

 Author: a Jewish teacher called Joshua.  The only identified author in the whole Old Testament.  He tells us who he is, that he is a teacher, lived in Jerusalem, and traveled a lot.  It seems he put his work together while running a school in Alexandria, Egypt.

 His grandson translated the Hebrew work into Greek.  This Hebrew text was lost for centuries until the 19^th century, when 2/3 of it was found in Cairo.  Then other portions were found in Qumran and Masada, as late as 1964.

 

Date: composed around 175 years before Christ.  About 90 years before Christ the Jews put together their official bible, but excluded Sirach because they could not find the Hebrew version, only the Greek. 

 Christians accepted the book as part of their bible in the 2^nd century after Christ.  The Council of Trent officially accepted it, making it part of that extra 12 books called the Apocrypha or Deuterocanonical.  Martin Luther rejected the book & so do many Protestant congregations today.

 Subject Matter: practical ethics, duties,

 

Subject today: you may choose good or bad.  A bit simplistic & Pelagian, that is, it is all up to you and you have all the strength needed to do what you want.  Pelagians thought that you had to EARN your salvation.  Therefore, the more religious stuff you did, like today, the more Masses, the more pilgrimages to the church & shrines, the more novenas & rosaries,  the more merit you win for yourself.

 

Psalm 119: the longest of all the psalms.  A focus on observance of the laws, decrees, and statutes.

 

Matthew 5:  a continuation of the Sermon on the Mount, like Tony talked about last week.  And like he mentioned, note the so called figures of speech called “antitheses,” namely, “You have heard it said, but, I say to you.”  4 even 5 times.  Matthew is trying to establish the authority & authenticity of Jesus.

Sources: Good New Bible; New Interpreter's Bible., Wikipedia; Reginal Fuller, S.J., David Westberg, S.J., & Larry Gillick, S.J., St. Louis U. Liturgies, on line.

 

 

Tear It Out & Throw It Away, My Right Eye?  You Crazy?!

 I think I have mentioned this once before, but it bears repeating because it is so relevant. 

 When I was studying theology in Toronto years ago, an article came out in the local newspaper.  Some guy had read the passage saying that if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away.  He did it, folks. 

 In this passage from Matthew there are five pieces of advice to the early Christians which taken literally can get a person all messed up.  Is there a positive as well as a negative to each? 

 One observation before I touch the five.  I have mentioned this before when we’ve talked about Christian spirituality.  Infinite demand and infinite acceptance.  Watch out here for a lot of infinite demand.  I’ll give a positive & a negative for each.

 

Matthew’s five pieces of advice are 1. breaking the least commandment, 2. getting angry and going to Gehenna, 3. looking at a woman with lust, 4. divorce, and 5. swearing.  Here goes.

1.  Matthew says that if you break the smallest commandment you will be the least in the kingdom.  Moreover, unless you are better than the Pharisees, you will not even get into the kingdom.  The positive here is that the bar is set high.  The negative is that all, all of us sinners will be kept out. It creates scruples or obsessive compulsive behavior.  Pretty discouraging.

 2.  Secondly, if you get mad at me and call me a fool, you are going to Gehenna.  I love it.  The positive here is the call to anger management.  I am challenged to know that all feelings are okay and need to be controlled.  The negative is that it gives me the idea that anger is not allowed, so stuff it.  Trouble is, it does not stuff well.  Not like a sleeping bag or tent.  It pops up in unexpected places.

 3.  Looking at a woman with lust.  The positive here is teaching respect for all people.  This advice, written by men for men, was attempting to gain some respect for women who were looked upon as property.  I found this  in Tanzania & Kenya.  Rosemary read me an article about some Muslim who cut off his wife’s ears and nose for reporting him for abuse. 

 The negative is that it teaches us that feelings are sinful.  In the old days, we thought we looked at a girl and we were going to hell.  This is doubly sad because current scholars consider hell to be non-existent, a cognitive creation by humans.   I agree. 

 

4.  Divorce is adultery.  The positive is that it reinforces the unity of marriage.  The negative is that people stay in abusive or addictive marriages long after it may even be safe.  Divorce is failure and we all fail sometimes even in tragic ways.  In order to escape using the word divorce the Catholic Church comes up with the more convoluted word Annulment.

 5.  Swearing.  The positive is that it involves politeness and respect for others.  Even if I am okay with my anger I do not swear at someone.  The negative is that it tightens us up.  We forget the therapeutic value of cussing, maybe a healthy & fun way of releasing anger.  The healthy Jesuits I lived with certainly partook of this therapy. 

 The overall danger in these pieces of advice is that we really get messed up, forgetting two things.  First they are presenting infinite demand.  Secondly, they make no mention of infinite acceptance.

 The poor guy in Toronto who blinded himself is an example of how we can mess ourselves up with goofy religion. 

 What do you think about these ideas?

 

 Picture 1:   Mass Begins

 Picture 2:   Communion Helpers, Patricia, Nancy, Beth, & Jan

 Picture 3:   Dessert First with Mike & Holly

 Picture 4:   Landry & Leo with Loretta & Ray

 Picture 5:   Landry, whom we were praying for, with her mom & dad, Ashley & Zack, and her big brother, Cooper, in the stroller, along with Ray & Loretta

  

Readings:

Sirach 15, 15-20,   If you trust in God, you too shall live.   

 Psalm 119,  Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord.

 1 Corinthians 2, 6-10,   What eye has not seen…

 Matthew 5, 17-37,    If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away.

 

 

Hi, Genevieve, Better watch out that some of the women around here don't swipe you red shoes.

 

Observations:  on Sirach—

What:  This is one of those 12 odd books in between the Old and the New Testament.

 Author: a Jewish teacher called Joshua.  The only identified author in the whole Old Testament.  He tells us who he is, that he is a teacher, lived in Jerusalem, and traveled a lot.  It seems he put his work together while running a school in Alexandria, Egypt.

 His grandson translated the Hebrew work into Greek.  This Hebrew text was lost for centuries until the 19^th century, when 2/3 of it was found in Cairo.  Then other portions were found in Qumran and Masada, as late as 1964.

 

 

Welcome back, Dee, you look so terrific with your brand new hip.  Did I not warn you that you would love it?

 

 Date: composed around 175 years before Christ.  About 90 years before Christ the Jews put together their official bible, but excluded Sirach because they could not find the Hebrew version, only the Greek. 

 Christians accepted the book as part of their bible in the 2^nd century after Christ.  The Council of Trent (keep 1555 in mind as a date) officially accepted it, making it part of that extra 12 books called the Apocrypha or Deuterocanonical.  Martin Luther rejected the book & so do many Protestant congregations today.

 Subject Matter: practical ethics, duties.  Beware of the either / or spirituality presented.  Also, what about unconditional love??

 

 

Welcome back Christine, and welcome to your first day out of the hospital. 

 

Subject today: you may choose good or bad.  Beware of the either / or spirituality presented in the reading.    All is either good or bad.  No in between or both, which is more what we all are, both good and bad.  

It can be simplistic & Pelagian, that is, it is all up to you and you have all the strength needed to choose good.  Pelagians thought that you had to EARN your salvation.  Therefore, the more religious stuff you did, like the more Masses, the more pilgrimages to the church & shrines, the more novenas & rosaries,  the more merit you win for yourself.

 

Psalm 119: the longest of all the psalms.  A focus on observance of the laws, decrees, and statutes.

 

 

The terrific sister Candle Lighting  Team of The Week, Zoe & Tori with help from big sister Georgie.

 

 

Matthew 5:  a continuation of the Sermon on the Mount. Note the figures of speech called “antitheses,” namely, “You have heard it said, but, I say to you.”  4 even 5 times.  Matthew is trying to establish the authority & authenticity of Jesus.

See if you can find any unconditional love in this passage?  

Sources: Good New Bible; New Interpreter's Bible.,  Reginal Fuller, S.J., David Westberg, S.J., & Larry Gillick, S.J., St. Louis U. Liturgies, on line; Wikipedia;

 

 

Leo and his buddy, John.

 

Wako Spirituality

We have been here before, Folks.  In fact, at Romeos Friday Mike sits down and says to me, “So, are you going to start with that same story again?”  Yes, Everybody, we begin with that same story.  Just a quick reminder.  Here we go.

When I was studying theology in Toronto years ago, like maybe 1970, an article came out in the local newspaper.  Some guy had read the passage saying that if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away.  He did it, folks. 

 

 

 

Play Station Numero Uno with the beautiful Zoe and the beautiful Victoria.

 

 In this passage from Matthew there are five pieces of advice to the early Christians which taken literally can get a person all messed up.  Is there a positive as well as a negative to each? 

Two observations before I touch the five.  I have mentioned this so often that I hope you are not worn out.   First, infinite demand and infinite acceptance.  Watch out here for a lot of infinite demand.  I’ll give a positive & a negative for each.  Secondly, God, unconditional love.

 

 

Beginnings…

 

Matthew’s five pieces of advice are 1. breaking the least commandment,  2. getting angry,  3. looking at a woman, 4. divorce, and  5. swearing.  Here goes.

1. Matthew says that if you break the smallest commandment you will be the least in the kingdom.  Moreover, unless you are better than the Pharisees, you will not even get into the kingdom.  The positive here is that the bar is set high.  The negative is that all, all of us sinners will be kept out. It creates scruples and obsessive compulsive behavior.  
2. Secondly, if you get mad at me and call me a fool, you are going to Hell.  I love it.  The positive here is the call to anger management.  I am challenged to know that all feelings are okay and need to be controlled.  The negative is that it gives me the idea that anger is not allowed, so stuff it.  Trouble is, it does not stuff well.  Not like a sleeping bag or tent.  It pops up in unexpected places.

 

 

The Offertory Team, Sandra and Nina, Kerry and Mary.

 

3. Looking at a woman with lust.  The positive here is teaching respect for all people.  This advice, written by men for men, was attempting to gain some respect for women who were looked upon as property.  I found this in Tanzania & Kenya.  Rosemary read me an article about some guy who cut off his wife’s ears and nose for reporting him for abuse.   The negative is that it teaches us that feelings are sinful.  In the old days, we thought we looked at a girl and we were going to hell.  This is doubly sad because I don’t think there is a hell anyway.
4. Divorce is adultery.  The positive is that it reinforces the unity of marriage.  The negative is that people stay in abusive or addictive marriages long after it may even be safe.  Divorce is failure and we all fail sometimes even in tragic ways.  In order to escape using the word divorce the Catholic Church comes up with the more convoluted word Annulment.

 

 

The Best, Ray and David.

 

5. Swearing.  The positive is that it involves politeness and respect for others.  Even if I am okay with my anger I do not swear at someone.  The negative is that it tightens us up.  We forget the therapeutic value of cussing, maybe a healthy & fun way of releasing anger.  The healthy Jesuits I lived with certainly partook of this therapy. 

 

 

Anybody due soon, Bethany?  Like in two weeks?  Wow!  Cannot Wait.

 

 The overall danger in these pieces of advice is that we really get messed up, forgetting two things.  First they are presenting infinite demand and they make no mention of infinite acceptance.

Secondly, where is the God of unconditional love?

 The poor guy in Toronto who blinded himself is an example of how we can mess ourselves up with goofy religion. 

 

 

 

Please don't cry John.  I promise not to try singing again, maybe.  

 

 Where are you with these ideas?

 

 

Help, Everybody.  She is taking over.