Say Rosemary & Cathy, "Happy Kentucky Derby Weekend and welcome in."

Readings:

Acts of the Apostles  2, 14, 36-41  Let the whole house of Israel know.

Psalm 23,  The Lord is my shepherd.  (Beautiful, consoling)

1 Peter 2, 20-25, By his wounds have you been healed.

 John 10, 1-10,  Whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd. 

Welcome back to Dallas, Ann, and to our community.  You are one of our best all time friends.

The Three Best

Whenever I go on a trip like the one Rosemary & I just did with Viking on the Elbe River in Eastern Germany, I get questions.  Like, ‘What was the best thing?’  I would like to talk briefly about 3 best things that struck me, a Berlin chapel, a church door, and a concentration camp. 

This bell tower is all that is left of the old gothic Kaiser Wilhelm church in central Berlin.  It is preserved as a remembrance.

In the heart of Berlin there used to be a large gothic church called Kaiser Wilhelm Church.  It was bombed badly in the war and all that is left is a large, beat up bell tower.  Bullet wounds and bomb damage from bottom to what is left of the top.   The bell tower has been preserved as is to remind.

Interior of the Kaiser Wilhelm chapel .   The blue ambiance comes from bricks with glass circles tinted blue, very moving.

Next to the tower a chapel has been built, very plain, a grey box on the outside.  After looking at prewar pictures of the old church, just for the heck of it, I decide to go inside the rather plain chapel.  I am stunned by the simple beauty.  The curved front wall is made of cement blocks with round blue bottle like glass.   A gold, ascending, larger than life-sized Christ hangs right in the middle.   Simple wooden pews.  The blue and gold ambience was stunning. 

The half destroyed bell tower and the stunningly moving chapel symbolize for me the story of Berlin.

View of interior from right aisle.  The bell tower in union with this simple chapel symbolize the old and the new Berlin.

Second best experience.  Wittenberg and the church where Martin Luther posted 95 theses, exactly 5 centuries ago on October 31.

All my training about this event gave me a misconception.  Namely, that Luther was out to start a church revolution.   Nope.

Wittenburg, Church door where Martin Luther posted his 95 theses 500 year ago this year.  It was a university bulletin board.

The story goes like this.  Luther was a professor at the Wittenberg University.  The church door was a bulletin board.  Professors would post theses which the students were expected to debate the pros and cons of.   Everything was hand written in Latin.  Luther even titled his material as Disputation on the Power & Efficiency of Indulgences.  Disputation is the key word and implied debate of the pros and cons.  It was only later that year or the next that Rome got wind of them and a year later excommunicated Luther and the ideas went viral.

Wittenburg town center.

3 samples of theses:

#21.  Those indulgence preachers are in error who say that a man is absolved from every penalty and saved by papal indulgences.

27.  They preach only human doctrines who say that as soon as the money clinks into the money chest, the soul flies out of purgatory.

32.  Those who believe they can be certain of their salvation because they have indulgence letters will be eternally damned, together with their teachers.

St. Mary's Church, Wittenberg.  This is not the Luther church which was more of a college chapel. 

I spent three years, ’62-’65, studying philosophy at Spring Hill College in Mobile.  There were a hundred plus Jesuits engaged in this process.  We debated theses and we debated in Latin.  I took all my philosophy exams in Latin, written and mostly oral.   We had the church position and we had the adversaries.  We were expected to be able to verbally ace those adversaries.  Luther was probably one of our adversaries. 

A small number of the survivors of Ravensbruck. 

This was so déjà vu for me.  I could feel exactly what was going on, no revolt, just debate.  Somebody copied those theses, got them to Rome, and some priest, bishop, or pope over reacted, excommunicated Luther, and a revolt took place among the people.  Could this be taking place today?

Revensbruck compound & barracks.  100,000 plus women were concentrated here.

Thirdly, Ravensbruck concentration camp for women.  For years I have read about the camps, in particular Ravensbruck.  This camp was set up for women and it was this camp where medical experiments were performed on the women. 

Ravensbrook compound.  The camp is 60 miles north of Berlin.

We drove straight north out of Berlin about two hours on a beautiful day.  When I walked onto the compound I felt I was walking on hallowed, sacred ground. The barracks have all been removed, but the official buildings are still there, the infirmary, the clothes sewing hall, and the men & women officers’ houses.  I stood on the morning assembly ground and could see it all. 

As human beings we are capable of such horror and such beauty. 

Ravensbruck today.  The barracks have been removed, but the outlines are still present.  On the left are the work building and the infamous infirmary.  The picture is taken from the assembly area.

 Readings:

Isaiah 6, 1-8,  Whom shall I send?  Send me.

Psalm 138,  In the sight of the angels, I will sing your praises, Lord.

1 Corinthians 15, 1-11, I am the least of the apostles.

Luke 5, 1-11, They caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing.

Leo and his best pacifier, John

For those who don’t have a decent Bible or a book of the readings, here are two links that I use,

The Bible at Your Fingertips (http://st-luke-church.org/bible-at-finger-tips.php) and USCCB, The New American Bible (http://www.usccb.org/).  

The difference?  The first is Protestant more or less, and the second is officially Catholic and has the 12 little books in between the O.T. & N.T., called Deuterocanonical or Apocrypha. 

Both are good translations. 

Buying a bible?  The Jerusalem Bible. 

Who's that under that table? Emma!

 Isaiah 1

This is The Great One.  The Prophet.  My favorite.  In general, this work has three parts put together by three different people.  It is time dependent: before, during, and after the, you guessed it, the Babylonian Captivity.  Keep 500 before Christ in mind as an easy date. 

Last week we heard the story of the prophet Jeremiah’s call by Yahweh.  This week we have Isaiah’s call. 

Psalm 138

Want to hear something beautiful?  Listen to today’s psalm.  Another of my favorites. Thanks, thanks, and more thanks.

1 Corinthians 15

In last week’s Corinthians’ reading Paul described his vision of love.  Today he continues talking to the people of his church in Corinth, focusing on how he was called by God.

Zoe on a mission while watching the    Brunch Table.

The Small Call

I would like to talk this morning about small calls.  Our readings are all about great calls, like Isaiah, to be God’s spokesperson.  These calls come once in life, or a few times in life.  I would like to suggest small calls come every day.   Let me illustrate.

In Mexico City there is this magnificent avenue, Reforma, modeled by the Empress Carlotta on the famous Champs Elysee in Paris, built during our Civil War, say 1860.  A week ago I was on Reforma one afternoon before returning to the U.S.

Buddy, "Yeah, brunch time. I'm ready."

I was intrigued.  The government provides rental bikes.  Along the pedestrian islands that border Reforma are numerous racks of some 40 bikes which people can rent.  People are riding these bikes all over the center of Mexico City.  I wanted to know if I could rent a bike for a day. 

I had asked a few people, but no one was sure.  I was simply told that for $30 I could obtain a card which I could use to rent the bike for one year.

Cowboy Cole. How did he get ahead of the crowd? With his mom, Erin.

Cupcakes of The Week: Geri, Kevin, and his dad, John, plus 4 others.

 At one point I am standing beside the check-in post reading the instructions.  You buy the card at a drug store, show proof of identity, and then swipe the card through the reader.  It tells you what number bike is yours.  You may return the bike to any of the numerous bike racks around the city center.

I finish unsatisfied, turn around, and watch a man ride up on one of the recognizable bikes.  He puts it in the rack down the way, then begins to walk in my direction.  He is middle aged, in his mid 50’s, trim, dressed neatly in business pants, white shirt and tie, and a small back pack. 

I ask him if he could help me.  I tell him what I want and he is sure I cannot rent a bike for a day.  In fact, he thinks only citizens can rent the bikes. 

The Great Brunch, ready.

We continue to talk.  I tell him how I admire Mexico City for installing the bikes, that my wife & I, who ride a lot, saw the bikes two years ago when we were in town.  He says he has seen them not only in Mexico City, but in cities in the States and in Europe.  This tells me something, he has traveled internationally.

Brunch Time, Out of the Way!

We have a charming conversation for about 10 minutes.  As we part he tells me how he enjoyed conversing, welcome to Mexico, and, get this, he congratulates me on excellent Spanish!

Folks, I could have done a backward somersault in the air.  I felt I could jump from tree top to tree top.  I was so full, ecstatic, grateful.    All the work I had put into Spanish over the years was worth it. 

This is the small call, what that Mexican did.  A compliment. 

Ye Olde Brunch.

I would propose that we get small calls every day.  A compliment, an offer to help, a thanks, an apology for a small mishap.  The girl at the checkout has fancy fingernails; I tell her I like them. 

These small calls fill others.  With life. 

What was your small call yesterday?  Your next one? 

Readings: Acts 2, 1-11; Psalm 104, Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the Face of the Earth; 1 Corinthians 3-13; John 20, 19-23

Acts:  a reminder–

Author: Luke, the author of both The Gospel & The Acts

Date: ca. 50 years after Jesus' death

Today's selection: In chapter 1 we saw 3 things: introduction by Luke, the Ascension, and the election of a new apostle, Matthias, to take Judas' place.  The next big event is the coming of the spirit.  That is what is described today.

Pentecost by Tony O'Donovan

Readings:

Exodus 17, 3-7,  Moses: “What shall I do with this people?”

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

 Romans 5,  1-2, 5- 8,   The love of God has been poured out into our hearts.

 John 4, 5-42,    The Samaritan Woman at the well.

Say Brandon and Mary, his mom, "Welcome in, Everybody."

Exodus observations :

What: After two weeks in the first book of the Bible, today we move to the second. The book basically tells the heroic struggle of Moses to get the Hebrew people out of Egypt, where they had gone because of the drought in their land some decades or centuries before. 

Author: The book is about Moses, but he is not the author, as was thought for centuries. Instead, it is a compilation. 

My Dearest Genevieve, are you playing for us this morning?

When:  Take a guess.  Yes, during and after the Babylonian Captivity, 555 before Christ.  Why now?  To help the Jewish tribe stay together.  Biblical commentators will say this is the most important book in the Bible.  Why?  Cultural history gives identity, especially one that goes from tragedy to triumph.  Plus, the writers, the priests-Levites, emphasized that God considered this tribe to be The Tribe.

Today’ selection: an amusing story about how the Jewish people are bummed out with Moses for taking them out of the so called cushy slave life of Egypt into a desert with no water and no food.  

Recommendation for Lent: Read Genesis and Exodus.  Interesting stories.

The best Music, Shonda & Ray.  Anybody know why Bethany is not with us this morning?  Yep, she finally had her baby!
 

Life Giving Water

This morning I would like to mention 3 comments about John’s gospel that contemporary Bible scholars make.  Then, proceeding from the general observations, I would like to look at today’s gospel and especially the play on water.  Is it symbolic maybe?  Of what?

Hi, Kevin, thanks for all your help.

Observation 1: 3 writers can be identified as contributing to the gospel of John.  The 3 authors worked over a period of 25 to 30 years, up to around 90.

 Secondly, the figures in the stories are literary creations, perhaps built around certain people.                                                                                                         

Thirdly, the words that Jesus uses are not just recordings, but words composed by the writers to convey a message or a symbol, like water. 

Hi, Georgie, thanks, also, to you for all your help.

Which leads to our selection from John this morning, the Samaritan woman at the well. 

She is talking about ordinary well water.  Jesus is talking about symbolic water, living water that gives life to the spirit.  

I would propose this life giving water takes all sorts of forms.  For example.

And thanks to you, Buddy.  It is so nice to have you with us.

Remember the first time we had our penitential rite?  When Mike proposed the idea at a team luncheon I confess I was a bit skeptical.  I was thinking, ‘Nobody is going to want to do this.  More focus on sin.’  This is why I don’t like Lent, the endless focus on sin.  What does the ordinary Mass always begin with?  Focus on me a sinner. 

 Was I pleasantly surprised!  In fact, that penitential rite was pure water to my spirit.  I was humbled and touched. 

Let us begin.

So, events can be life giving water, people can be life giving water.  Put them together and my spirit is moved. 

Last week in Hilton Head we had Rosemary’s two sisters and husbands.  We celebrated a little Sunday Mass in the living room.  I was moved to tears.  I could hardly talk. 

Brandon, our Candle Lighter of The Week.

Another event: our own Mass right here at Sigler.  You people are living water for me.

What event brings living water to you?

Who brings living water to you?

And You?

Sources:  Raymond Brown and John Shelby Spong

 Our Candle Lighter at work, three whites and one purple.

Readings: Isaiah 60, 1-6; Psalm 72, Lord, Every Nation on Earth will Adore You; Ephesians 3, 2-6; Matthew 2, 1-12

 Isaiah 60: 3 observations–

1.  This is Isaiah III who seems to have lived around the time of the Babylonian Captivity, i.e., 575 BCE., not at the time of Isaiah I (chapters 1-39) who lived ca. 800.   (& Is. II, chapters 40-50)

2.  Our passage from chapter 60 is addressed to Jerusalem as a symbol, which is in total destruction.          

3.  Isaiah is saying that your day is coming, Jerusalem, when you will return to being the most splendid city of all.

Epiphany, The Coming of the Wise Men on January 6: 3 observations–

1.  The word means an enlightenment, a WOW moment.

2.  Celebrated since ca. 300 & Constantine on January 6, 12 days from the birth, the 12 Days of Christmas.  Note 12^th Night.

3.  Considered a second Christmas, to the Gentiles.

The Epiphany, a Cornucopia of Symbols: 2 observations–

Where to begin, folks.  There is so much symbolism in this liturgy, in Matthew, for sure, and in the combination of Matthew with Isaiah and Psalm 72.  I'll touch 2 symbols, each with 3 subdivisions..         

1.  The Wise Men have a double & triple significance because they are

a. Gentiles

b.  They come from the east, considered the source of wisdom in the world of that time.  Where does the sun rise?  Where do stars rise?  A new son has been born and like the sun in the east or a star he will bring new light. 

c.  They also symbolize every man’s search for meaning in life.    Remember Matthew speaks to two audiences, his fellow Israelites, whom he is chastising for not searching, and the Gentiles. 

2.  The 3 gifts. 

 a.  Gold is given because it signifies royalty. 

 b.  Frankincense, or incense, signifies divinity. 

 c.  Myrra signifies medicine.  Myrra is for the human.  It comes from a bush like tree that has a yellow, sticky sap on its bark.  The sap was good for skin infections and acne, asthma, colds, and flu, and even herpes.  It is found in Saudi Arabia & Somalia.

A post script.  People in Europe used to write an inscription over their doors, e.g. 20+C+M+B+10.  The numbers are our year.  The letters are Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar.   Christians made it say, “Christ Bless our house or Maison the year listed.  

 Another post script.  In New Orleans Epiphany starts Carnival season, which leads up to Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday before Ash Wednesday.  The parades will be starting, folks.

 Sources: Reginal Fuller, St. Louis U. Liturgy; Biblical & Theological Resources, the Voice Institute, on line; Wikipedia; and other sources.

The Epiphanies around Us

 Recently Rosemary & I went to the exposition of some paintings of about six or eight artists. Among the artists and the reason we were there was my childhood buddy Ed Lamberty, who gave the homily here a year or so ago on alcoholism & AA. 

 As we were wandering around we ran into another couple who are old friends.  We ask what brought them to this exposition.  They pointed across the room to a middle aged,  middle class, blondish woman who was standing by some of her works.

 Here is the story the wife told me.

 The couple we know are both academics on the university level.  Some years ago the wife had been teaching and came to know one of her students.  The student was a mother with a son about 8 years old.  At some point in time the father had abandoned them and left them with nothing.  They were living in the mother’s car. 

 My friend says to me that this shocked her and she thought this cannot continue.  She described the situation to her husband and two sons who were about 10 & 12.  Guess what they did.

 They invited the mother & son to live with them until they got on their feet.  The two sons moved into one bedroom and the mother & her son took the other.  Here they lived for almost a year until the husband found the woman a job. 

 The woman now is successful and is developing as an artist, selling her works for significant sums.  The son graduated from Jesuit, graduated from college, and now is married with a couple of his own kids. 

 Obvious from the fact that they were at the art exposition, my friends are still quite close with the mother & her son. 

 I would propose that this is what epiphany is, a pointing to a presence among us and in us.  The presence is acceptance and care for others.  It points to something beautiful.

 Who is an epiphany for you?

 For whom are you an epiphany?

 Picture 1:    Emma 

 Picture 2:    Diane on her birthday with Jenny & Melissa

 Picture 3:    The Dinsmore family, David & Donna & their kids, Dawson, Darbianna, & Dana

 Picture 4:    Emily & her mom, Julie at the Offertory  

Readings: Genesis 9, 8-16; Psalm 145, The Lord is near to all who call upon Him; 1 John 4, 7-16; John 15

Opening Prayer (Included will be some prayers composed by John because they are so good) 

Let us pray: O God, you are not far away, but with us wherever we are, calling us to live in unity and love, and accepting us as we are, with all our weaknesses. We acknowledge the blessings we experience each day. For the little ones who bring us joy in the present and hope for the future—Leo X 2, Freddie, (names of all the kids),    and for your presence always with us, we give thanks to you both now and forever and ever…   Amen. 

Intro to the Readings:

I chose the readings for today’s Mass, so they aren’t in the Missals for today’s date. Ray will tell you what page the Responsorial Psalm and Gospel acclamation are on. The first 2 readings will be read by my daughters, Joey and Sam. I put in the blog some information on the readings’ authors, the time and why the readings were written. Also go to Wikipedia.

The story of Noah is found in Chapters 6-9 of Genesis, the first book of the Torah, the Torah being the first 5 books of the Jewish Bible. Genesis was put together during the 5^th century BC. The story of Noah combined 2 sources of the story from the 10^th and 7^th centuries BC. That explains the differences in the details of the stories.

The Gospel of John, the 3 Letters of John and the Book of Revelation were traditionally attributed to the Apostle John.  According to recent scholarship, John was not the author of either and further, the Gospel, the letters and Revelation may have 3 separate authors. The First Letter of John was written in Ephesus between 100-110 CE. It seems to be written to counter ideas that Jesus was a Spirit only, not human with a body, and against a Gnostic, Cerinthus, who denied the humanity of Jesus. 

The first reading is from the story of Noah. It’s about the covenant God made with Noah and his offspring. This covenant is a promise of God’s presence and acceptance, symbolized in the story by a rainbow.

On Labor Day weekend I visited 2 of my sisters in Louisiana. One evening my sister Didi and I were driving from Jennings to Lake Arthur to eat at a lovely restaurant sitting right over the lake. There was just a slight mist or sprinkle falling when, off to the side, we saw the beginnings of a rainbow. Gradually the colors got brighter and brighter and became the most strikingly beautiful rainbow I have ever seen; a complete arch of color. We slowed down to take in its beauty. I had already chosen the readings for today; seeing that rainbow took my breath away.

The second reading is from John’s first letter. Both it and the Gospel reading speak words of challenge we are given from prophets throughout human history, even in our own time and, in this case, from Jesus who over and over challenged us to live in unity and love.

Now the first reading…..

FIRST READING  The Book of Genesis, Chapter 9(Verses 8-9, 12-16)

Psalm: 145: 8-9, 17-18 (Page 52 in Today’s Missal) Refrain: “The Lord is near to all who call upon him.”

SECOND READING  First Letter of John, Chap. 4  (Verses 7-8, 12-16)

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!  – John 13: 34 (Page 51 in Today’s Missal)

A Reading from the Gospel of John, Chapter 15.   

“I tell you this so that you can share my joy, and that your happiness may be complete. This is my commandment: that you love each other as I have loved you. You are my friends if you do what I tell you to do. This I command: love one another.”

      HOMILY:

For years this community has heard Stack saying that God is infinite demand, challenging us to live in all our relationships with love and forgiveness; and, on the other hand, that God is infinite acceptance, always receiving us just the way we are. -Please hold that thought-

Today we are remembering my ordination on Sept. 30,1961. Many centuries ago priestly ordination was made one of the 7 sacraments, and has traditionally been conferred selectively, and by the hierarchy. What evolved historically was the separating of ‘priests’ and people as if our basic callings were different. (Just look at us–we wear the clothing of 2000 years ago, back when you would have been wearing the same outfit.)  My take on the priestly role is this: whoever gets up each day and embraces the possibility of living in forgiveness and love, and of accepting oneself as one is and others as they are—these all share the priestly role in the community. Jesus didn’t draw lines of distinction among his friends. His words were the same for all.

Of course, as a community grows, there is an advantage in having structure, with distinct roles that help the community function well, like the role of organizational management or spiritual leadership. Jesus, however, was clear with his friends and with everyone he met: the demand to love is the same for all, and acceptance by God is the same for all. Even those 12 friends who were with Jesus all the time often didn’t get it, and were confused by his message to just love one another and accept everyone as they are. Their experience with the religious community of their time, the Jewish synagogue with the priestly caste, didn’t prepare them for such revolutionary thinking about what a community can be.

Much much later (fast-forward to our era) only about a year after my ordination, Pope John 23^rd called and inspired the Second Vatican Council. That Council opened the windows of the universal Christian community to fresh and new possibilities. Today, St. Vine’s is one example of a community living in those new possibilities. For me, this is completing a circle.

My desire to be a priest grew in my late teen years, but a pivotal point in my religious development happened after I finished theology studies. We were asked to attend a period of pastoral formation prior to ordination, which I did at a Benedictine monastery outside Kansas City in the summer of ‘61. Though I had had serious questions and ‘funny feelings’ about the traditional theology we got in the seminary, it was that summer that I was exposed to the knowledge and experience of several great minds from North America and Europe and Africa. That experience, along with Vatican II, changed the way I thought and lived as a priest for the next ten years. Those experiences also made it really difficult for me to live and function in the face of immense resistance to the new possibilities opened up by Vatican II. In 1971, I chose to be part of the exodus of priests leaving at that time.

So for me, it’s a real joy to be part of a community such as this. I am grateful for your openness, your caring for one another, and your acceptance of those who are other than you. I am grateful that you are not afraid of stepping outside the box and of stepping into new possibilities. Do you see now why I think of this community as completing a circle in my life?

Thank you for remembering with me that special day in 1961.

The question I leave with you today is: how do you respond to the demand to give forgiveness, love and acceptance in this community, in your own family, and with your own self?

Further Prayers:

 As we prepare the table with the bread, wine and grape juice, and sing the Offertory Song, I will go around with the sacrament of the sick which you are welcome to receive, whether your ailment or pain is big or small, physical or emotional, acute or chronic. Just stand near an aisle or give a sign and I’ll get to you.

PREFACE TO EUCHARISTIC PRAYER:

The Lord be with you. And with your spirit.

Lift up your hearts. We lift them up to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give Him thanks and praise.

O God, we have no word or name in any language to express fully who or what you are. We call you Father or Mother or Brother or Spirit or Lord. We make believe and speak as if you are like us, just bigger and better.  One thing we know: You are not distant from us; you are not hidden. You are experienced in all the workings of the known and the not yet known universe. Most of all You are known in and through others who touch us in some way as we journey together in time. And so, we raise our voices together and praise you with the words we long ago learned to use, as we sing:

HOLY HOLY HOLY LORD

EUCHARISTIC PRAYER:

In a special way we give thanks and praise for the one named Jesus, who proclaimed clearly and repeatedly that you are not far away, but here with us. He taught us to know you as present, as holding us in being, as nurturing and strengthening us in the midst of life’s difficulties and pain, as challenging us to grow in spirit and in truth, and as always accepting us just the way we are. 

As a sign and celebration of our sisterhood and brotherhood with him and with each other, Jesus, on the night before he died, gathered his friends together and shared with them the Passover meal. While they were at table, he took some bread, gave thanks, broke it, and passed it among them saying: “Take this, all of you, and eat. This is my body given up for you.” Then he took the cup and, giving thanks, gave it to them saying, “Take this, all of you, and drink from it. This is the cup of my blood, poured out for you. This is a new and everlasting covenant. Do this in memory of me.”

And so we repeat this remembrance today, and we recall Jesus and how he showed us a way to live gratefully with and for others. We remember the hope he taught so well, the hope of an always new, fresh and full life, a life we can live regardless of our situation or the circumstances of our lives.

As a community of family and friends, we proclaim this mystery of the fullness of life, as we sing:

Christ has died,

Christ is risen,

Christ will come again.

 May all of us who share in this meal be brought together in peace and unity by the Spirit that moves in us all.  We remember that we are united with the worldwide community, and that we are called to live with respect, acceptance and love for all, especially those nearest to us.

May we grow in this love, together with our spiritual leaders, with Benedict our Pope, Kevin our Bishop, with our community gathered here, with our families and friends, and with all who journey with us in time.

We recall those who have gone before us and yet remain with us in our hearts and minds. We remember our grandparents, our parents, our sisters and brothers, our children, our close friends and neighbors. We remember all our ancestors some of whose names were given to us at our baptism, such as Joseph and Mary and Peter and Kalliopi and Leo and Joanna and Daniel and Lambrini and Freddie and Hannah and John and Carol and Antony and Samantha and George and Catrina and Michael and Kathryn and Morris and Jane, and all those whose names we carry in our time.

We acknowledge them, and we remember them with love, respect and acceptance.  

Wth confidence we place before You all the yearnings of our hearts and minds, as we proclaim that it is…

Through him, with him and in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, Forever and ever.

Picture 1:     The celebration begins   

Picture 2:     Leo

Picture 3:     Payton

Picture 4:     Chloe

Picture 5:     Sienna & Brooklyn with daddy, Payton

Picture 6:     Freddie

Picture 7:     John & family