Sunday Homily, September 24, 2017, 25th Ordinary Time

ByRosemary

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Says Our Dear Emma, "Hi, Everybody, Welcome."

 

 

Readings:

Isaiah 56, 6-9,  Seek the Lord while he may be found. (Isaiah 2)

Psalm 145,   The Lord is near to all who call upon him

Phlippians 1, 20-24 &27,  Conduct yourself in a way worthy of the gospel.

Matthew 20, 1-16,  The vineyard owner and how he compensated his laborers, The last shall be first; the first last. 

 

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And likewise from our dear Sophia, "Come in, Folks, it is fun here."

 

Isaiah 55  observations—

Who:  My favorite prophet.  In fact , Isaiah 2 is my favorite of the 3 composers of the Book of Isaiah, and our selection today is the very last chapter of Isaiah 2.

When: remember these 3 writers wrote more or less before, during, and after the Great Babylonian Captivity, ca. 555 before Christ.  So, we can guess that today’s selection from Isaiah 2 comes from the time during the Captivity.

What:  Isaiah 2 has some of the best and most beautifully consoling passages. Check out The Messiah. Unfortunately, our little selection today talks about scoundrels and the wicked, in other words, about us.   Maybe these people are mentioned in connection with the people who grumble in the Gospel today.  See what you think.  

 

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And not to be outdone by her daughter and Sophia, our dear Beth says, "Better hurry up and get a seat before these two girls take over."

 

 

That is not Fair!

This morning, Folks, I would like to talk about these workers hired by the vineyard owner.  We hear how the workers who worked all day got the same wages as those who worked one hour and we want to yell, “Hey!  That is not fair!” 

Want to know what this parable is basically saying?  Two things.  First, it is all Gift.  Everything is Gift.  Secondly, negative comparison is poison.  “How come he got this and I did not?”  “How come I got sick and he did not?”  Our lives are all Gift.  Comparing myself with others poisons my spirit.

 

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The Best Music, plus with good news.

 

A story about one of my best long time friends to illustrate. 

I think I asked this last week.  Anybody remember Myron & Chris Hubble from St. Mark’s? 

I first met Myron around 1995.  In those days I had a men’s group.  We met probably every other Wednesday or Thursday evening for an hour or two.  The question: what has been your blessing or gift since our last meeting?  Or whatever a person wanted to talk about. 

 

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Sez Buddy, "Okay, let's get to the fun part (cupcakes)."

 

We had maybe 20 guys plus or minus.  Everybody sat on the carpeted floor of my little office in the Jesuit residence at Jesuit.   Myron was one of the first members.

I remember Myron as a really nice looking guy, soft spoken, very emphatic and  tuned into everyone who spoke.  He had a beautiful wife in Chris and two beautiful kids, Jon and Emily.  I did Emily’s wedding some years back, to a marvelous boy, who is Jewish. 

The family had a nice home in Plano and Myron had worked at TI.  He was probably in his 40’s.  He was retired. 

 

 

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Our Candle Lighter of The Week in action.

 

 

Want to know why he was retired?  He had hepatitis C.

Want to know where he got it?  Maybe connected with Viet Nam.  Myron had been a medic during Viet Nam.  He worked with the wounded coming back when they arrived in Tacoma.  Want to know what it was like in Viet Nam?  Check out Ken Burns’ epic now half way through the two week event.  Tonight features the Tet Offensive of 1969 more or less.  Burns’ project is mind numbing & shocking. 

Let me tell you, Myron’s hepatitis ruined his beautiful life.  Not only could he not work.  But every morning he would painfully roll out of bed and throw up.  This went on for years.

 

 

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Welcome in, Jim Shropshire.  You got a lot of courage to come visit your old teacher from Jesuit.  And this guy used to be a great athlete, a football player.

 

Recently Myron fell down on the front stairs of his house and broke numerous bones.  He went to the hospital where the bones cannot be dealt with because of the hepatitis.  He asked for me.  Chris called me and I went right away.  Myron tells me his liver is gone and his kidneys are going fast.  He will follow. 

Why not me instead of Myron?  I could have ended up in Viet Nam, if not for being in the Jesuits.  I’ll say it again.  It is all gift.  Gratitude is the response.

What are you grateful for?

 

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Hey, Mike, this cupcake is guaranteed to help you heal your knee, your foot, your elbow, and all the other places you are falling apart.  Enjoy!

 

 

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  • Sunday Homily 7-24-11, 17th Ordinary Time

    ByRosemary
    Readings: Wisdom 3,1-9; Responsorial Psalm 23; 1 Cor 15, 20-23; John 14, 1-8

    Intro to the Readings
    The readings today have been chosen for our funeral Mass for Ray Williams. The first reading is from the Book of Wisdom. The main theme of this reading is in the very first sentence, namely that God takes care of his own.
    The second reading is from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians and it really focuses on the one thing we as Christians have to keep us going, namely that because we believe that God raised Jesus from the dead, that we too, in time will also be raised from the dead. Death is not the end but merely the entrance to a whole different existence.
    John’s Gospel again takes up the theme of a life hereafter and talks about the fact that God is preparing a place for each one of us.
    In the midst of all of these readings, our responsorial psalm is Psalm 23, “The Lord is my Shepherd”

    Homily

    Elizabeth Kubler-Ross has studied death and dying probably as much as anyone. She was a Swiss doctor, and I remember many year ago attending one of her seminars on the subject in Sacramento CA. During the session she showed a very brief film, which I will always remember. She was discussing how we grieve, and the film showed a herd of elephants gathered around an elephant that had just died. The elephants had formed a circle and they each had their trunk resting on the dead elephant. They were grieving. Today, we too are really not that different. One of our community, Ray Williams, has died. Our faith at a time like this offers us hope, hope that there is a life beyond this one, a place where “every tear will be wiped away”, a place where we will all meet again. That is our faith, and it keeps us going at a time like this.

    But a death is also a time for each one of us to reflect on our own mortality! Its one of those things where you can run but you can’t hide from!! And today I would like us to focus on our own lives. How should we be living? Ray Williams was a man I knew only slightly. For a long time I would meet him when I went around with the sacrament of the sick during our mass. He stood back there and quietly received the sacrament. I met him once at his home when Gayle and I brought communion to him. But last Tuesday I learned a great deal more about him and would like to hold him up as an example of someone who seemed to live out his faith in everyday quietness. During the eulogies two people stood up and shared their memories of Ray. One was an elderly gentleman from Taiwan whom Ray had gotten to know through a Plano city project to twin Plano with a city in Taiwan. But it was what the man said which will stay with me for a while. I don’t know how long he has been living in the US but he said that Ray was the first American home he had ever been invited into. Ray lived hospitality! The second person was a young Mexican man who told us how Ray had made such a huge difference in his life and in the lives of many poor Mexican kids by coaching them in various soccer leagues. Some of these young kids went on the win soccer scholarships to college. Ray made a difference in these kids’ lives.

    During this time when we mourn Ray, let’s also take his example of living life to it’s fullest by seeing God in those around him. St. Irenaeus is reported to have said, “the glory of God is man fully alive”. From listening to the different people share their memories about Ray Williams it is no stretch to say that Ray was one of those people. Our community is a little less by his absence; heaven is a bit better by his presence.

    Sorry, no pictures this week.

  • Sunday Homily 3-4-12, 2nd Lent

    ByRosemary

    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.

    Mass Begins 3-4-12

    Mass Begins

     

    Homily from Mark 9:2-10

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    Candle lighting, Mike & Jenny

     

     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.

    Offertory 3-4-12

    The Dembneys, Kate, Chris, Susan, & Nancy

     

     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.

    Leo 3-4-12

    Leo joins the choir

     

      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.

    Leo & Lynday 3-4-12

    Leo resigned from the choir with Lynda

     

     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.

    Georgie 3-4-12

    Georgie with her dad, Randolph, and her friend, Meghan

     

     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!

    The Team 3-4-12

    John, Kevin, & Mike

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Sunday Homily, April 27, 08, 6th of Easter

    ByRosemary

    Readings: Acts 8, 5-17; Psalm 66; 1 Peter 3, 15-18; John 14, 15-21.

    Christopher_1 

    Conditional or Unconditional Love?

    On the west coast there is a writer named David Sheff who wrote a book about his son Nic.  The book is called Beautiful Boy.  In turn, Nic wrote a book about his own experience of growing up, a book called Tweak.

    When Nic was 11 years old he got totally drunk for the first time.  During his four years in high school, he continued down this path, drinking, smoking pot, and experimenting with drugs.  On graduation Nic entered the world of methamphetamines and he plunged toward the bottom.  Tweak refers to the condition of a person on meth, totally strung out.

    David tells in his book how for 2, maybe 3 years he refused to accept that his beautiful son was a drug addict.  On numerous occasions, after Nic had been gone for weeks on end, David would get Nic into a rehab program.  Nic would rehab for a month or two, come out and stay clean and sober for three or four days, then disappear into his meth world for another stretch. 

    Nic got so desperate he would break into his dad’s house and into his dad’s friends’ houses to steal money or items to sell.  At a really low point he stole $8 from his little brother Jasper.  All this helped him to feel lower than dirt, but he was obsessed about his addiction.

    During the first two years, David worried constantly and would welcome Nic home whenever he showed up or called for help.  Only slowly with the help of counseling, consulting, and Al Anon did he begin to believe in the tough love concept.  He told Nic he could not help him with money & bed, only get him into rehab. 

    During one long clean & sober period it looked like Nic had turned a corner.  He even gave Jasper $8 and wrote him a touching apology.  Shortly after that, he disappeared again. 

    I watched David mature in this book.  Though a loving father, in the beginning he was a poor parent and self indulgent.  As Nic spirals downward, David continues to love.  But he matures and his love matures.  Which brings me to a subject I’ve been hearing about & reflecting upon, conditional vs unconditional loving.  The Gospel brings up the idea.  Did David ever love Nic with unconditional love?   How would I see it?  What would be the signs?

    Three comments about conditional & unconditional love:

    1.  Have you ever noticed how the Bible is full of conditional love statements?  Look at today’s Gospel.  "If you love me, you will keep my commandments."  "Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me."  Also, John 15, 10 & 14.  "If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love."  "You are my friends, if you do what I command you."  Sounds very conditional and parental. 

    In other places there is talk about the sheep and the goats and the unquenchable flames.  The Old Testament is one long story of a jealous Yahweh.  Many tragedies befell the Hebrews because they did not show enough honor to Yahweh.

    2.  Does Jesus show us the face of an unconditionally loving God? In his words? What we hear today is pretty conditional.  What about his actions? 

    What if God is an unconditionally loving God, or an unconditionally accepting God?

    3.  How do I become unconditionally loving?  Do I want to?  As a parent?   Two observations:

         a.  Is unconditional love made up of unconditional acceptance?  I think so. Tough.  Is there a distinction between accepting the person and accepting the actions, e.g., addiction and abuse?  I think so.  It is how tough love comes into play.

         b.  Is unconditional acceptance of another influenced by unconditional acceptance of myself ? I think so.  David had a hard time with guilt.  He felt guilt, I think appropriately.  He was told the 3 C’s: you did not cause it, you cannot control it, and you cannot cure it.  Nonsense.  I see regularly and believe in the miracle of cure, cure of the spirit, cure of the heart.  And I can accept that I cause harm to other people.

    Christopher_2   

    In summary, I would suggest that we become more spiritually whole the more we love unconditionally.

    Whom do you love unconditionally? 

    AUDIO:  http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2008-04-27.mp3

  • Sunday Homily, March 16, 2008, Palm Sunday

    ByRosemary

    Readings: Matthew 21, 1-11, Entry into Jerusalem; Isaiah 50, 4-7, Suffering Servant Song; Psalm 22; Philippians 2, 6-11; Matthew 26, 14-27, 66, Passion.

    Because this liturgy is so long, there is no homily today.  Today we celebrate two things.  First we remember Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem with the people placing palm branches before him.  This takes place as we prepare for the Mass.  Next, we read the whole Passion.  This Sunday begins Holy Week and leads up to the Resurrection next Sunday.

    Mass

    Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday are normal days. 

    Holy Thursday is the day we remember Jesus’ washing the feet of his apostles and the last supper.  We have a washing of the hands ceremony, this being more germaine to our contemporary lives. 

    Friday we remember the death of Jesus.

    Saturday is a day of waiting, no Masses taking place until the Easter Vigil, Saturday night.  Then & Easter Sunday we celebrate the Resurrection.

    Both Thursday & Friday we will meet at 7:00 P.M. at Mary Kee’s home, 2625 Millington, Plano 75093.

    Happy St. Patrick’s Day on Monday.

    John

  • Sunday Homily, July 15, 2007, 15th of the Year

    ByRosemary

    Readings: Deuteronomy 30, 10-14; Psalm 69; Colossians 1, 15-20; LUKE 10, 25-37, The Good Samaritan.

    Deuteronomy: the scene is 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, and Moses is dying, he is simply exhorting them to love Yahweh and obey his laws.

    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 am going to do an explication of text today. 

    Initially this parable looks like simply an encouragement to help others. Actually there is a second meaning, perhaps much more profound, especially for the Jews who are listening. It has to do with prejudice.

    Leon_phoebe_2The 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 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 a lawyer or intellectual or even a Jew. He was Every Person.  A human being.

    The priest & the Levite. The lawyer would know why they did not stop to help. The Law. They could have been on the way to the temple and they could not cause themselves to be ritually impure. In the temple they had to be pure, no contact with dirty people orthey could not offer their sacrifice. Obviously organized religion still follows this practice. 

    Along comes a Samaritan. To the Jewish lawyer & the Jewish listeners Samaritans were considered demon possessed.  Samaritans intermarried with pagans, i.e., people who did not recognize Yahweh as the name of their God. They would defile the temple just by entering. In sum, they were vile and dirty, certainly not capable of performing an act of love. Greg_graham_isabel 

    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.  He 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.

    Who is the number one neighbor you are taking care of today?

    Audio: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2007-07-15.mp3

  • Sunday, January 10, 2021, Baptism of the Lord

    ByRosemary

    Isaiah 55, 1-11, All you who are thirsty, come to the water.  (Beautiful reading, one of Isaiah's best)

    Psalm. Isaiah 22, You will draw water joyfully, from the springs of salvation.

    1 John 5, 1-9, Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God

    Mark 1, 7-11, One mightier than I is coming.

     

    Snoopy 4

     

     

    Thanks to the Team

    Music,  Ben & Shonda

    Readers,   Mary Jane & John, and Buddy, the candle blesser

    Gospel,  John Cade

    Homily,   John Stack

    Eucharistic Prayer A & B, Stack & John Cade

    The Magic Zoom makers,   Hue & Richard & Mike 

    Final Blessing, Rosemary

    For hosting us at Legacy, Becky

     

    Readings:

    Download Reading 1-10-2021

     

     

    Homily by John Stack

    Download Homily for January 10 2021

     

     

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    Mike, The Person of The Year with Hue.

     

    Please Remember these special people:

    For Carrie's ex, Larry;  For Alan Stryker;  For Joe Sullivan;    For Rosemary's great niece, Rylie ;  For Richard's grand daughter, Madeleine; For Sheila Schultz Alverez hospitalized with Corona;  For Esparza's new great grandson baby, son of Monique;  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 Loretta's aunt Alicia;  For Sir Charlie & Jan;  Shonda's mom & Cody & Ben & Leo & all of Shonda's dear family;

     

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    Our Person of the Year Ascending

     

    Jackie's mom, sister, & friend, Lynn;  For both Jean & Cliff Wright;  For Rick Turner searching for a kidney donor, Type O neg; For Meredith, cancer free;    For John O'Donnell & Jean & their daughter, Molly;   For Dee, and for her daughter, Lisa; For John Schanot's continued health;  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 4 month old boy undergoing an operation & for Rollie with Corona; for the medical staffs, teachers, and coaches in our public & private schools.

     

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    Remembering…

     

    Birthdays: Jan Keszler, Doug Kite 62, The Quads 13

    Anniversary:  Mabel Ekes, 61st, Jackie & Rick, 20th,

     

    Community Finances, January 3, 2021

    Expenses: $ 680.00

    Outreach   $ 490.00  (often for Souls Harbor, Legacy, etc.)

    Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

     

    Path 1

     

    Peace.

     

    Rosemary's Blessing

    Loving God,

    As I journey into the unknown territory of a new year…

    As I hurt in the process of loving those I dislike or find difficult…

    As I learn to accept my strengths, weaknesses and mistakes…

    As I keep searching for the truth in times of confusion, doubt and conflict…

    As I try to be a voice for the voiceless and powerless…

    As I strive to live and witness your inclusive love, compassion, forgiveness, justice and peace…

    As I do the work of the Christmas message and make Christ visible to others…

    Walk closely with me, my God.

     

    Taken from A New Year’s Prayer by Sister Jean Amore CSJ, Principal, Sacred Heart Academy, Hempstead, NY