ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI CATHOLIC CHURCH
WHITESBORO, TEXAS
JULY 17, 2016
“MARY HAS CHOSEN THE BETTER PART”
by Fr. Jeremy Myers
Luke 10:38-42
We meet again the sisters Martha and Mary in the gospel
today. They will reappear in John’s gospel with the death of
their brother, Lazarus. Here, there is a much more ordinary
scene. Jesus has arrived to pay a visit to his friends. Martha
has busied herself in the kitchen preparing a meal for their
guest. Mary, meanwhile, has stayed in the front room visiting
with Jesus. Martha, exasperated by the clock and Mary’s
failure to help in the kitchen, finally reaches the boiling point.
She says to Jesus, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has
left me by myself to do the serving?” It is easy enough for us
to imagine her tone and her words, since we’ve been there
many times also. Jesus, surely accustomed to Martha’s
personality, says—with a smile on his face, I’m sure—
”Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many
things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the
better part and it will not be taken from her.” The gospel never
tells us if a meal is served that night or if Martha storms out of
the kitchen, leaving the casserole in the oven. This familiar
story has produced many explanations over the centuries. But
the bare truth is just as the Lord tells Martha. She is anxious
about many things. Mary, on the other hand, is focused on
something more important—the person in front of her. Of
course, this is a response that most people don’t like. We
much more admire the hard worker and the go-getter, not the
one who sits and waits for the food to be put on the table.
Still, the Lord’s words—as always—are meant to invite us to
look more deeply into our hearts to see if we are on the right
path, or if there is room for improvement. We might begin by
looking at it from another perspective, this one given to us by
the writer Yann Martel in his new book, “The High Mountains
of Portugal.” There Martel tells the story of a young man who
has just buried his child and the boy’s mother, after both had
died suddenly in an epidemic. For the first time, the young
man must go into the house in which the two died, the place
in which he had made his home. Martel describes beautifully
the young man’s feelings as he walks through the empty
house: “Love is a house with many rooms, this room to feed
the love, this one to entertain it, this one to clean it, this one to
dress it, this one to allow it to rest, and each of these rooms
can also just as well be the room for laughing or the room for
listening or the room for telling one’s secrets or the room for
sulking or the room for apologizing or the room for intimate
togetherness, and, of course, there are the rooms for the new
members of the household. Love is a house in which
plumbing brings bubbly new emotions every morning, and
sewers flush out disputes, and bright windows open up to
admit the fresh air of renewed goodwill. Love is a house with
an unshakable foundation and an indestructible roof. He had
a house like that once, until it was demolished.” With those
elegant words, Martel invites us to see what is really
important in a house—it’s not the walls and it’s not the bricks.
The more important thing about a house is the people in it,
people who love one another and who find there the reason
for living in one another. It’s the people that matter, not the
house. Martha got distracted in the kitchen and lost sight of
what really mattered—the presence of the Lord there in the
house with her and her sister—the presence of Love itself.
SIXTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (C) How
often do we let ourselves attend to the present
moment? We must admit that, much of the time, we are
berating ourselves over what we “should” have done,
or anticipating some imagined dreadful future
outcome. The present is our, ever-available refuge
from our self-imposed tyranny. We allow the love of
God, here and now, to heal and refresh us.
DECIMOSEXTO DOMINGO DEL TIEMPO ORDINARIO
(C) ¿Con qué frecuencia dejamos de ocuparnos del
momento actual? Debemos confesar que, la mayor
parte del tiempo, reprobamos sobre lo que
“deberíamos” haber hecho, o anticipar algunos
imaginando terrible resultado future. El presente es
nuestro, refugio alguna vez disponible de nuestra
tiranía impuesta a sÍ mismo. Permitimos el amor de
Dios, aquí y ahora, para curar y refrescarnos.
Please join us for coffee and fellowship after Mass
today in the Parish Hall.
Por favor únase a nosotros para el café y compañerismo
después de Misa hoy en el Salón Parroquial.
STEWARDSHIP FOR JULY 10, 2016
$1,870.00
Thank you for your gifts.
“If you assume that there’s no hope, you guarantee that
there will be no hope. If you assume that there is an instinct
for freedom, that there are opportunities to change things,
there is a chance you may contribute to making a better
world. That’s your choice.”
Noam Chomsky
SIXTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Please remember in your prayers all the faithful departed,
especially Jim Ware, step-father of Donna Morrell, who died
recently. May he rest and rejoice in the peace and joy of
God’s kingdom.
We want to wish a happy birthday to all in our parish
family celebrating a birthday this week, especially
Crystal Salas today, July 17th, Sally Goebel and Sharon
Hoenig on July 18th, Rhonda Crosby and Luke Jaresh on
July 19th, George Kleinert and Juan Villa on July 21st, and
Jacob Dobbs and David Terry on July 23rd.
The Baptismal Preparation Class in Spanish will be this
Wednesday, July 20th, at St. Mary’s Parish in Sherman.
La clase de preparación Bautismal se celebrará el miércoles,
20 de julio a las 7 p.m. en el centro parroquial in Sherman.
Uno o ambos padres deben proveer una copia de su
certificado de bautismo. Los padrinos deben también asistir
a una clase de preparación bautismal, aquí en Santa María o
en su parroquia. Si son miembros en otra parroquia, una
carta del párroco deben proporcionarse indicando que los
padrinos están en buenas relaciones con la iglesia católica.
Los padrinos deben ser católicos activos, 16 años de edad o
más. Los padrinos deben proveer una copia de su certificado
de confirmación y, si es casado, debe haber sido casados en
la iglesia católica y proporcionar una copia del certificado de
matrimonio. Cuando se proporcionan todos los documentos
y completan las clase, se puede programar la fecha de
bautismo.
We want to wish a happy anniversary to all couples
celebrating a wedding anniversary this week, especially
Juvenal & Veronica Galan on July 22nd.
This is a reminder to all St. Francis of
Assisi organizations planning any
upcoming fundraisers. Contact Mike
Crone at [email protected] so
he can check the calendar and get the
fundraiser scheduled.
Esto es un recordatorio para todas las organizaciones
de San Francisco de Asís, planeando cualquier evento
próximo para recaudar fondos. Póngase en contacto con
Mike Crone en [email protected] para que él
pueda revisar el calendario y programar el evento para
recaudar fondos.
St. Francis of Assisi Men’s Club is
hosting an Annie Oakley-style Skeet
Shoot with cash prizes on Saturday,
August 13th, beginning at 9 a.m. Please
join us at this Family Skeet Shoot in
time for Dove Season! Register to get
in on the Fun! Contact Andy Mitcheltree
at 817-521-5591 or Sonny Croney at 903-815-3480.
El Club de Hombres de San Francisco de Club Asís está
organizando un Tiro de Plato estilo Annie Oakley con
premios en efectivo el sábado, 13 de agosto, comenzando a
las 9:00 a.m. Por favor únase a nosotros en esta tiro de plato
familiar en tiempo para la temporada de paloma! ¡Regístrese
para entrar en la diversión! Póngase en contacto con Andy
Mitcheltree al 817-521-5591 o Sonny Croney al 903-815-3480.
FOR JULY 24, 2016
†Ted Endres by Elitha Endres
LITURGICAL ASSIGNMENTS FOR JULY 24, 2016
Lector
Connie Lloyd Servers
Eucharistic Ministers
Sharon Kirkpatrick
Sharon Sandmann Ushers
Suzanne Cunningham
Austin Sotelo
Yolanda Sotelo
Jake Lambke
Ken Podborny
Roger Balak
Gift Bearers
Ministers to Homebound
Tony Labrada Family
Deb T and Margaret P
2016 Peanut Festival raffle tickets
are available from the Men's Club
for this year’s prizes! Be on the
lookout for tickets in the Parish
Hall each Sunday!
¡El Club de Hombres tiene
disponible boletos de rifa para los premios de este año
para el Festival del Cacahuete 2016! Este atento a las
entradas del salón parroquial cada domingo!
The second annual Mass of Remembrance for Children will
be celebrated by Bishop Greg Kelly on Saturday, August
13th, at 10 a.m. at the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of
Guadalupe in Dallas. A special blessing will be offered for
parents of children lost before birth through miscarriage,
stillbirth or abortion, or after birth for any reason. Parents will
be invited to participate in a white rose procession and to add
their child(ren) to a Book of Remembrance to be held in
prayer by the Sisters of Life. (Participation in any aspect of
the event is voluntary.) For more information, contact Susan
Platt at 214-392-7545 or [email protected].
La segunda misa anual de recuerdo para los niños será
celebrada por el Obispo Greg Kelly el sábado 13 de agosto,
a las 10 a.m. en la Catedral Santuario de la Virgen de
Guadalupe en la ciudad de Dallas. Una bendición especial
se ofrecerá a los padres de los niños perdidos antes de
nacimiento a través de un aborto espontáneo, muerte fetal o
aborto, o después del nacimiento, por cualquier razón. Los
padres serán invitados a participar en una procesión de
rosas blanca y agregar su(s) hijo(s) a un libro de recuerdo
para celebrarse en oración por las Hermanas de Vida.
(participación en cualquier aspecto del evento es voluntaria.)
Para obtener más información, comuníquese con Susan
Platt al 214-392-7545 o [email protected].
St. Mary’s Catholic School in Sherman is
accepting
Pre-K
through
8th
grade
registrations for the 2016-2017 school year.
For more information, visit www.stmaryssch.org, email Principal Phillip Scheibmeir at
[email protected], or call 903893-2127.
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