Sunday Sermon and Some Other Stuff

“A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

~Abraham Lincoln

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A very lovely Sunday morning, of course, until the heat kicked in. But, that’s why God created air conditioning. Well, He got a little help from Willis Carrier, “The Father of Air conditioning.”

I arrived at St. Gabriel early with plenty of time to run over to greet the ladies on the Chateau bus. I was busy opening the huge heavy metal door this morning. It was a little more crowded with families, as it was also a day for “blessing the backpacks,” and all the students heading back to school. I wondered why so many children came to Mass with backpacks. When you don’t have young kids, you get out of the loop.

Today’s Gospel was a bit confusing, with Jesus saying He had come to set the earth on fire, and there would be division in families…

Gospel 

Lk 12:49-53Jesus said to his disciples:
“I have come to set the earth on fire,
and how I wish it were already blazing!
There is a baptism with which I must be baptized,
and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!
Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?
No, I tell you, but rather division.
From now on a household of five will be divided,
three against two and two against three;
a father will be divided against his son
and a son against his father,
a mother against her daughter
and a daughter against her mother,
a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

My take on it… I’ll admit, I had to read a few reflections to better understand. What I finally decided is that Jesus came to earth, not to force people to follow His way, but to guide and show the way to redemption and heaven, for which He gave up His life. Families would be divided because not everyone chooses good over evil or kindness over cruelty or love over hatred. Again, there’s that free will thing.

Now, more so than I’ve ever seen in my lifetime, in our own country, I see that “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” Sad.

After Mass, I stopped at McD with Miss Joyce. Everyone was either on vacation or had other plans. we had a nice visit.

Miss Joyce is so sweet. When I told her how I always love seeing what beautiful outfit she was going to wear to church, she said that she was old school. She grew up with the teachings that you always wear your nicest clothes to church, thus, your Sunday best.” Pearls? I have pearls. Why don’t I wear my pearls?

Maria and Marta at McDonald’s are always smiling and gracious. I appreciate that they don’t laugh at my poor Spanish when I say, “Muchisimas gracias!” They reply with a kind retort, but sometimes it’s so fast, I can’t make it out. I’m pretty sure it’s nice.

After McD, a quick stop at Tom Thumb. Remember? Bananas were on sale.

The rest of my day… nada, not much, just lazy. Life is good. Happy Sunday!