4th Sunday of Advent, December 20, 2020

 

 

Special Reminder:  Food Drive this Sunday.

Readings:

Ezekiel  34, 11-12, 15-17, I will look after and tend my sheep.

Psalm 23, The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.  (a beautiful Psalm)

1 Corinthians  15,  20-26. 28, Christ has been raised from the dead

Matthew 25, 31-46, He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

 

 

From Becky Good:  Our Special Thanksgiving Goal

Would it be possible for you to put in the blog the fact that we are having a food drive at Legacy for our neediest families?

We’re actually doing a giveaway Sunday the 22nd so if people wanted to drop off food between now and Friday the 20th we’d appreciate it. It could be anything from a turkey to peanut butter to apples. I think apples keep for a while don’t they? 

Thank you for this consideration. See you Sunday online!

 

 

 

 

 

John Cade, our homilist this Sunday.

 

ROMEOS, Friday, November 20, 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 33rd Sunday Ordinary Time, November 15, 2020

Here are the links for Sunday:

Acts of the Apostles 2:  Exalted at the right hand of God, he received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father and poured him forth, as you see and hear .

1 Peter 1:  He was known before the foundation of the world but revealed in the final time for you….

Luke 24:  "The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!"  Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of bread.

 

 

 

Connie reading from the Acts of the Apostles

 

 

Thanks…     

Music,    Ben & Shonda

Readers,  Connie & John

Gospel,   John Cade

Homily,   John Stack

Eucharistic Prayer A & B,  John Stack & John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers,   Hue & Kevin

Final Blessing, Rosemary

                                                                              

       

John reading from the First Letter of Peter

                                                                                                 

Readings:  Download 04-23-23 Readings -3rd Easter

Homily:    Download 04-16-23 Homily – 2nd Easter

 

                                                                                                                                                                                      

 

The lighting of the candles

 

Remember these special people:

For Cindy Cramer's family;  For the family of Ron Senter;  For Frank Esparza;  For Jan;  For Tom  Quinn who had back surgery on November 21st;  For Sandra who has been diagnosed with Large B Cell Lymphoma;   For Lambrini, John Cade's wife, who is dealing with cancer ;  For Madeleine, Richard Eshelbrenner's granddaughter;  For Hue; For Jackie;  For John's sister, Kathey recovering from a fall;   For Tom Good;  For a young man, 19 struggling with a brain tumor and cancer;     For Mary Hall's friend Cadence still suffering from a serious medical condition;   For Sir Charlie & Jan; 

                                                                                                   

       

Ben gets a cookie

 

 

Jackie's mom, 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 & friends, Annie, a mom of 3 kids and Michael ;    for the medical staffs, teachers, and coaches in our public & private schools.

 

 

and Kevin gets a cookie

                                          

Birthdays:  David Dinsmore

Anniversaries:  Michelle & Randolph

 

Community Finances:   

Expenses: $  480.00

Outreach: $  

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

       

 

Readings:

Jeremiah  1, 4-5, 17-19,   Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. (The Call)

Psalm 71, I will sing of your salvation.

 1 Corinthians 12, 31 – 13, 4-13,  If I do not have love, I am nothing. (Excellent)

Luke 4, 21-30,   They wanted to throw him over the cliff.

 

                                   

Leo says, "Welcome in, Everybody.  It's fun here."

 

 Jeremiah observations:

Who:  One of the Big 3 and my second favorite behind Isaiah, whom we will hear from next Sunday.  Why a favorite: because he shares his feelings with gusto. 

When:  you can guess it, before and during the Babylonian Captivity.  Notice how much prophetic energy is concentrated around this one event?  Shows how big it was in Jewish history.  Keep 555 before Christ as the beacon date. 

 

                                    

Harper, also, says, "Hi, Folks, Come in."

 

What: you can guess this, too.  Criticism of behavior, warning of punishment from God, and eventually a better day.

What today: Jeremiah’s call by God to be his man, really Everyperson’s call to be God’s special.  This call theme carries through our next 2 readings, especially the next one, The Big One.

 

                                        

Candle Lighters of The Week, Buddy & Tori.

 

Love is patient, Love is kind

I confess, I used to get 1 Corinthians 13 fatigue, I heard it so often at weddings.  Lately, however, I have changed.  Now as I listen I feel it calling me to step up.  I want to be more patient and more kind.  I hear Francis inviting me to be a peacemaker.

One small example.

A few months ago Rosemary and I were heading out one Sunday morning to celebrate Mass at Vines.  It must have been 8:30, the time we usually depart.  The streets were practically deserted. 

 

               

The Candle Lighters at work.

 

We were going east on Royal Lane.  We got to Central and stopped for the light.  When it changed we moved forward and planned to take a left to go up the ramp to north bound Central.  

I noticed behind me at the light was a silver Mercedes.  As I moved forward it was practically touching the back of our van.  I turned left and started up the ramp.  It stayed right behind us.

 

 

                                                               

Happy Birthday, Mary. 

 

As I got onto Central and moved into the first lane on the left, this person, a guy, floored his Mercedes, leaned on the horn, and raced by us on the right showering us with nice little hand gestures.

Rosemary says I drive too slowly some times, but this was Sunday morning, folks.  Almost no other cars but this guy and us. 

 

Happy Birthday, Rick (the man behind many of the pictures you see)

 

So what would you do?  Well, I did nothing, of course.  I can recognize serious road rage and I was just hoping the guy would not stick a gun out his window and start blasting away.  Let him go away, which he did.

However, does being patient and kind apply here?  Yep, I think so. 

 

 

Candle Lighters deserve their rewards.  How did you get in there, Zoe?

 

As a priest and psychotherapist for years I have heard the life stories of people who have done pretty bad things.  I get to know them and I find out what was behind their actions.  Who knows about this guy on an early Sunday morning.  Maybe he was heading to a hospital.  His wife or child was dying.  Maybe his wife just divorced him.  Maybe on Friday he was fired for his anger.  There is always a story and a reason.

So when I hear Corinthians on patience and kindness, I think, ‘Stack, cool off.’ 

 

Happy Birthday, Gil.  It looks like you have someone eager to help you with that cupcake.

 

And Cornthians has a reverse value.  Say I had reacted to his anger.  Then later I would feel guilty and ashamed.  The patience and kindness is for me, too.  I usually don’t have road rage fortunately, but I can get mad, I can criticize, I can get passive aggressive, and then get remorseful.  Can’t we all?

Any of you all drive a silver Mercedes?  Do you have road rage?  Are you patient and kind?

How are you going to be a more loving and peace-making person after hearing this passage this morning?

 

 

Does Music get any better than this, Shonda & Bethany, Ray & David.

 

 

 

 

Some of the hikers.  Rose, John, Paul, Carrie and Andy on the first high pass.

 

Readings:

Ezekiel  33, 7-9,    You have been appointed watchman for the house of Israel

Psalm 95,   If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts

Romans 13, 8-10,  Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another

Matthew 18, 15-20,  Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am.  

 

Ready to start.  Georgie, Buddy, John and Leo.

 

Homily:

Last week Stack spoke about Matthew’s saying, “take up your cross, and follow me.” Stack gave his take on this demand. He gave as an example a younger friend who had struggles with school, with getting into Jesuit, with getting into the Air Force, and how he did not let his personal struggles defeat him. This friend faced his struggles straight on (he took up his cross) loving himself enough to not let his struggles defeat him.

 

The musicians, Shonda and Ben.

 

 In the reading from Romans today, Paul summarizes God’s commandments in one saying, “Love one another as you love yourself.” This is where I focus my thoughts today.  

I have been moved by the many stories of people’s loving actions for those caught up in Hurricane Harvey, dramatic rescues in boats, grabbing a hand to keep someone afloat, donating supplies or giving financial assistance out of love. Our lead choir singer, Shonda, of Texas National Guard fame, spent a couple of weeks in southeast Texas helping with Hurricane Harvey rescue operations. She agreed to tell some of her story. [Shonda spoke of what she and others in her ‘pod’ did for victims of Harvey and what immense gratitude the survivors had.]

Thanks for your service Shonda.

 

The Offertory Procession. Mike, Geri, Carol and Richard.

 

Now I ask you to remember times you reached out in love to help—times you helped build a house with Habitat, or volunteered to help with the Love for Kids, or helped with the counting of the homeless, or helped tornado victims in Oklahoma, or supported organizations such as Soul’s Harbor or the food drive today, or DARCC, or loved Mother Earth by planting trees, or helped nurture this community’s children during Mass, or helped in so many ways to make our Mass a special time each Sunday. Add to this the many loving actions you perform for others in your family, in your neighborhood or in the community at large. You, in so many ways, are living out the greatest command: “Love one another.”

 

Just beginning the Mass.  Hue checking the sound and Leo, John, Georgie and Buddy at the altar.

 

One question is: Where does our impulse and ability to love come from? Richard Rohr, a great Catholic spiritual guide, gives one answer to that question in his book The Divine Dance:

    “Love is not just something you do; love is someone you are. Love is where you came from and love is where you’re going. It’s     not something you can buy or attain. It is the presence of God within you, called the Holy Spirit.

    You can’t make God love you one ounce more than God already loves you right now. You can’t. You can go to church every     day for the rest of your life. God isn’t going to love you any more than God loves you right now.

    You cannot make God love you any less, either—not an ounce less. Do the most terrible thing and God wouldn’t love you less.     The flow of God’s love is constant and total.

    You have nothing to be afraid of. God is on your side, honestly more than you are on your own. We cannot diminish God’s     love. What we can do, is learn how to believe it, receive it, trust it, allow it, and celebrate it.”

 

Ben and his Dad, Cody.

 

This love is what we gather here to remember and to celebrate. Think about it. This is the Good News. God’s all-accepting love is in us and flows outward, accepting and loving others.

 

Zoe, Michelle, Tori and Harper in an important discussion.

 

 

Thanks…     

Music,   Ben & Shonda

Shonda and Ben, the Best

 

 

Community Finances:   

  Expenses: $    580.00

  Outreach: $        0.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

 

 

 

Rosemary's Blessing:

May you live a long life full of gladness and health,
With a pocket full of gold as the least of your wealth.
May the dreams you hold dearest be those which come true,
The kindness you spread keep returning to you.
May the friendships you make be those which endure,
And all of your grey clouds be small ones for sure.
And trusting in Him to Whom we all pray,
May a song fill your heart every step of the way.

Grace E. Easley