Welcome in Jan & Bernadette & our favorite Studebaker salesman, Sir Charlie.

Readings: 

Acts of the Apostles, 13, 21-27, They appointed elders.

Psalm 145,  I will praise your name forever, my king and my God (excellent first stanza, one of my favorites.  The Lord is Gracious & Merciful, Never gets angry, and is Abounding with Love.)

Revelation 21, 1-5,  Then, I, John saw a new heaven & a new earth.

John 13, 31-35,  This how you will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

Juliettes on the loose, Mary, Sydney, & Geri.

The Lord is Gracious and Merciful, Never gets angry, and is Abounding in Love.

Eddie Aguilar is a 64 year old Viet Nam vet who enlisted in the Navy at 17, so he could get a good education, which he could not get with his family in Santa Barbara.  They did not have the resources. 

After basic training he was posted to the USS Oklahoma City, the flagship of the 7^th Fleet off the Viet Nam coast.  Being an intelligent kid he was assigned to a 5 person team in the radio shack.

How many girls does it take to light up our Easter Candles?  At Least, 3, Zoe, Tori, and Georgie, to not mention Buddy who is reading The Blessing.

Eddie says that the guys saw and heard a lot of highly secret crypto material.  They could not talk about any of it—ever.  Eddie and the team was together for 2 years off the coast,’73-’75.  They all became good friends and buddies, which helped because they lived in really tight quarters.

On getting released from the Navy in ’75, they continued to stay close and even put together some reunions, all except one, the Little Texan.  They had lived through Viet Nam in a unique position, the radio shack.  They could not talk about it, but it helped to be with the team that  experienced  the same horror of the war.

I'm jealous!  John & Connie just returned from biking from Pittsburg to D.C., crossing the eastern Continental Divide, all in one week.

Music don't get no better than with Ben & David.

The years passed and Eddie continued to search for the ‘good ole boy from Texas.’  Eddie says T.J  was a sweetheart of a guy, a salt of the earth guy.

As the years passed Eddie continued to search on and off all to no avail, until this year, their 45^th reunion at Las Vegas.  Eddie now lives in San Antonio and remembered recently that he thought he heard T.J. mention he came from a town called Garland in Texas. 

Communion Team ready.

Knowing that Garland was a suburb of Dallas, Eddie contacted The Dallas Morning News and Sharon Grigsby took up the search.  Using her search tools it did not take her long to find a name she was looking for.  She left a message and lo and behold TJ called her back.  Success yes, but TJ confessed he was just not ready yet to reunite with his former buddies.

I would bet that Eddie will continue to welcome TJ back into the group whenever he is ready.

Worn out!!

For me Eddie is a personification of a Shepherd-God who is Gracious and Merciful.

Where & when do you find this Gracious and Merciful God who Never gets angry and is Abounding in love.

Ref. Dallas Morning News, Metro, 5-14-19

The Best Teamwork.

Happy Mother's Day, Cathy, and Happy Grandmother's Day, too.

Readings: 

Acts of the Apostles, 13, 14, 43-52, The Gentiles were delighted.

Psalm 100,  We are his people, the sheep of his flock. (excellent stanzas)

Revelation 7, 9, 14-17,  I, John, had a vision of a great multitude.

John 10, 27-30, My sheep; hear my voice.

It's a Family Affair, Zoe & Tori lighting our Easter candles with the help of their big sister Georgie.  And Buddy reading the Easter Blessing of the Candles.

Observations on Acts

Date: Sometime before the year 70.  Why?  No mention of the destruction of Jerusalem, which took place the year 70, an enormous date in Jewish history.

Who: The same person who wrote the Gospel of Luke.  How do we know.  Similarities of style, language (Greek), and theological themes.

Subject: the story of the expansion of the Jesus story in 3 areas, first, Jerusalem, then, Palestine or the Holy Land, and finally, into the Mediterranean and, ultimately, Rome. 

Sources, Good News Bible, The New Interpreter's Study Bible, Wikipedia

Another Family Affair for the Offertory, John & Connie & Kevin.

Mother's Day History:

1905-08: Anna Jarvis of West Virginia began this celebration for her mother, Ann, who cared for wounded Civil War soldiers of both sides.  She campaigned to make it a national day and in 

1914:  Woodrow Wilson made it national.

The spelling: always singular, according to Anna. 

Hallmark Cards: Anna hated them because she felt you know what.  

The Communion Team,  Lynda & Tom, Claire & Denni.

The Lord is Good, Psalm 100, Today’s second stanza

In honor of Mother’s Day, I would like to share two stories about my mom and our relationship.  Or why she was probably glad to see me get on that train taking me to the Jesuit Novitiate in Grand Coteau. LA.

Both events took place in the delightful Spring of 1957.  I was 17 and a junior at Jesuit.  Both involve my mom’s car, a light blue, low slung probably ’55 Pontiac sedan. 

Sez Buddy, "I'm worn out, Georgie."

So I came home from school one afternoon, wanted to go for a ride, and found that my mom had taken her car keys, which meant she did not want me driving around in her car.  I was allowed to drive my dad’s Chevy when it was home.

In those days a person could hot wire a car’s ignition and drive off.  Guess what I did.  I got all the way on my street, Stanford, to the corner with Preston, a block & a half.  Then the tin foil fell off of the ignition and the car died.

While I am trying to rectify this operation, a car turns off of Preston onto Stanford.  Guess who was in it.  Yep, my mom with one of her bridge buddies.   I gave up the idea of going for a ride and returned home to a chilly reception.

The Special Mother's Day Blessing.

The second time I had been given the keys to mom’s car and I went to hang out at a cleaners shop on Preston just south of NWST Highway.  A buddy, Jerry, worked there afternoons providing curb service to customers.  

Shortly after I arrived a University Police car pulled up next to me and asked me to come with them to the station to be questioned about another of our friends who stole neighborhood  cars.  I got into the squad car and the other cop brought my mom’s car.

Mother's Day Blessing.

I was questioned about what I knew about my friend joy riding in stolen cars.  That was not as scary as it sounds.  University Park in those days was a small, middle class village on the northern edge of Dallas.  Since grade school we had known the cops by name and they knew us by name occasionally.

The thing that really steamed my mom was that the police had come to the door to ask where I was.  She happened to be hosting the afternoon bridge club, the other ladies mostly being moms of my buddies.  She was so embarrassed and ashamed.  Moreover, what she was mad about was the fact that the cop drove her car to the station.

The Blessing.

I never found out what happened to my car thief buddy.  He was with us at Christ the King grade school, but did not go on to Jesuit.  I do know he is still alive, living outside of Dallas. Want to know why I thought I was surely going to hell?  By  your friends shall you be known.  But, God is good.

Where are you going?

Bona Responds again, Tom & Bill & Richard, Michelle & Georgie & Bernadette.

"Welcome in, Everybody," sez Beth & Emma.

Readings: 

Acts of the Apostles, 5, 27-32, 40-41  We gave you strict orders to stop teaching in that name.

Psalm 30, I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

Revelation 11-14, I, John, heard the voices of many angels.

John 21, 1-19, Jesus appears to the apostles at the Sea of Tiberias.

Watch out, Bill, you are a marked man. 

I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

I would like to talk this morning about how the Lord has rescued me.  Like from my fears.

There was this happy hour.  About 6 to 10 of us first year Jesuit theology students put it together our first semester in Toronto.  Probably all of us had spent the last 3 years teaching in various Jesuit high schools from Seattle to NY, through Chicago, and Dallas where I taught at Jesuit.

It was great fun squeezing into each others’ small bedrooms for a drink and chatter about 5:30.  Lots of laughter & camaraderie.

Sophia & Georgie, you make a great candle lighting team. 

As the second semester began a number of us began to be a bit concerned that we were drinking a bit much.  Like one drink on week nights, 2 or three on weekends and holidays.   

So we decided to replace the happy hour to bundle up (Toronto gets lots of cold & snow in January) and run our half mile driveway to the entrance gate & back.  I even stopped drinking at this time for about 6-8 years, until I went to East Africa.

And John, Hue, Connie, and Patricia, what an offertory team you make.

Our property was a beautiful east west park like campus.  On the north side was the back yards of a row of, say 10 nice middle class houses.  Our drive passed along the row of houses.

Though I loved my Jesuit buddies and even enjoyed running  through the snow in the dark under occasional street lamps, I was sad that I would not have a warm house, kids, and a wife, like lived in those houses.  I even got close to a local Catholic family who had 6 kids.

A bikers' consultation.

Looking back now, the Lord was rescuing me, whispering in my spirit, You do not have to give up this life to be okay and to make a difference.

The next time I got the message was when I went to East Africa and saw how lots of good priests, bishops, and even a cardinal had common law wives.  The people cheered them for being normal.

Charlie, are you looking in somebody's pocket?  I caught you!

Getting kicked out of East Africa sent me back to the States different, open to a relationship, but certainly not knowing anyone .  I got into dancing and guess who came along, Rosemary.

And now a little story about our relationship which some of you have maybe heard piecemeal.  

Would you trust your cupcake with these two?

I asked Rosemary if she would marry me in 1990.  There was one enormous condition: that we wait to formally marry until 2005, when I would be 65.  Why?  Because once I  left the Jesuits I would have no insurance.   I had seen some of my guys leave, have a disease or accident, and cripple that marriage.  Guess what.  She agreed and this morning, Cinco de Mayo, we celebrate our 14^th. 

How has the Lord rescued you from your fears?

What a handsome group  of Romeos.  Eat your hearts out, Juliets.

Say Cindy & Dee, "Welcome in, Everybody."

Readings: 

Acts of the Apostles, 5, 12-16,  Peter said, "we are witnesses of all."

Psalm 118,  Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his love is everlasting.

Revelation 1, 9-11, 12-13, 17-19, I, John, found myself on the Island of Patmos

John 20, 19-31, Jesus appears to the apostles in the upper room.

And guess who is also saying, "Come in, Folks," Tori & Harper.

Homily by Deacon Mike

The Father makes known to us, “He sent his Son into the world, not to condemn it; but rather, to redeem it; to grant it salvation through the power of the Holy Spirit.”

So, Jesus, in like manner, said to his disciples, “As the Father has sent me, I send you into the world, not to condemn the world but to grant it salvation through the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Emma with her Magic Touch lighting our Easter Candles.

Two Sundays ago the Church welcomed and empowered with the Holy Spirit tens of thousands of the Elect from all over the world to become a part of the Body of Christ; not to condemn the world; but to redeem it, to join with us to bring forgiveness to the world.

So, we ask you, the Church, to redeem itself. You have hurt yourself and us; for we are part of you, and we suffer, but we know that we must forgive you.

The Blessing of the Easter Candles read by Buddy who knows it almost totally by heart.

So, we forgive you for allowing predators to abuse our children.

We want to assist you, so we ask that you do the following: Pray over your plan of action.  Have you sought to realize that your plan must address predators who will seek to continue the abuse?  You must address who you choose to send to your parishes. Your plan must replace them with ordained married men, and women who seek to be deacons, priests and bishops.

Our Great Offertory Team, Cathy, Sandra, and Judy.

The Apostle Paul placed no walls or barriers between those who have received and are living the gift of the Holy Spirit; we are Jew or Gentile, slave or free man, male or female.  GOD HAS NO FAVORITES!  We are one body in Christ.

Welcome Home, Grace, from your visit to Amsterdam, the home of your ancestors.