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<p><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">Friends<br>
</font></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">As is our tradition in
the non summer months I have prepared a short reflection for our
</font><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><span
style="line-height: 107.0%;"><span
style="font-family: Calibri , sans-serif;"><span
style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span
style="line-height: 107.0%;"><span
style="font-family: "Times New Roman" , serif;">Mass on Sunday
July 20 held in memory of Rita </span></span></span></span></span></span><span
style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="line-height: 107.0%;"><span
style="font-family: Calibri , sans-serif;"><span
style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span
style="line-height: 107.0%;"><span
style="font-family: "Times New Roman" , serif;">Shaughnessy</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
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<blockquote>
<h3>Mary and Martha</h3>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in">In the Gospel
story
of Mary and Martha I am sympathetic to the lack of fairness
experienced by Martha when she says. ‘Lord, do you not care
that my
sister is leaving me to do the serving all by myself? Please
tell her
to help me.’ </p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in">We now know
that
primates share some moral emotions with us humans. Fairness is
one
such emotion. </p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in">In a
demonstration
video on YouTube two Reese monkeys are given treats. One is
given a
cucumber and the other is given a much preferred treat, a
grape.
After a couple of repetitions the monkey receiving the
cucumber
throws the cucumber back at the researcher. The monkey gets
angry
because he feels he is not being treated fairly. He is being
cheated
out of the grape. The success of beings living in the
community is
dependent on moral checks to our behavior and these emotions
are
ingrained into our biology. </p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in">In the story of
Martha and Mary I too am incensed by the lack of fairness in
Mary's
failure to contribute a fair share of the work. Jesus's
response is
at first surprising. Rather than encouraging Mary to share
with
Martha the work of preparing the meal , he praises the status
quo of
inequality in this situation. Jesus is calling us to a higher
level
of being. He is calling us to transcend our biological urge to
seek
fairness and be angered by cheating. While still recognizing
the
importance of fairness we are called to rise above our
emotional
response, We are called to transcend and include. </p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in">Life is not
fair.
The different paths we take in life are not equal and fair.
According
to St. Paul, in Corinthians 1:12, each of our unique paths is
necessary and valuable. Just as a body has many parts, each
with its
own function, the Body of Christ is made up of many members
with
different gifts and roles. No single part is sufficient on its
own,
and each is necessary for the body to function properly. We
all
contribute in different ways to the whole and we are each
intrinsically valuable. </p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in">Rita was a
person
that took responsibility for her own health and had the
discipline to
govern her life accordingly. . We often had conversations
about diet
and exercise and ways that we could enhance our health to live
a
long and fruitful life. </p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in">Rita reached
out to
me when she discovered the rapid onset of this turbo cancer.
Her
words remain etched in my heart. “Why me? It's just not fair.
I
tried to do everything right“.</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in">When Jesus was
on
the cross he too despaired saying "My God, my God, why have
you
forsaken me?" . It is part of our nature to respond with
emotion when confronted with the unfairness of life. In the
end,
Rita, as did Jesus, submitted to the higher logic of the
father,
“Thy will be done”.</p>
<p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><span
style="line-height: 107.0%;"><span
style="font-family: Calibri , sans-serif;"><span
style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span
style="line-height: 107.0%;"><span
style="font-family: "Times New Roman" , serif;"><sup>Art
Blomme</sup></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><span
style="line-height: 107.0%;"><span
style="font-family: Calibri , sans-serif;"><span
style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span
style="line-height: 107.0%;"><span
style="font-family: "Times New Roman" , serif;"><sup><br>
</sup></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 7/9/25 15:37, Rose Anderson via
Sundaycommunity wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:trinity-1ed78d80-a0b8-480b-8107-923c36151a12-1752100626061@3c-app-mailcom-lxa01">
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
<div style="font-family: Verdana;font-size: 12.0px;">
<div style="font-family: Verdana;font-size: 12.0px;">
<p style="margin-bottom: 11.0px;"><span
style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><span
style="line-height: 107.0%;"><span
style="font-family: Calibri , sans-serif;"><span
style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span
style="line-height: 107.0%;"><span
style="font-family: "Times New Roman" , serif;">Friends,</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 11.0px;"><span
style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><span
style="line-height: 107.0%;"><span
style="font-family: Calibri , sans-serif;"><span
style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span
style="line-height: 107.0%;"><span
style="font-family: "Times New Roman" , serif;">As discussed
on June 29th, we are dedicating our next to
remember Rita Shaughnessy who died suddenly on
July 18, 2024 shortly after being diagnosed with
a late stage cancer. Her sudden passing was an
enormous shock to everyone, including her
family.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 11.0px;"><span
style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><span
style="line-height: 107.0%;"><span
style="font-family: Calibri , sans-serif;"><span
style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span
style="line-height: 107.0%;"><span
style="font-family: "Times New Roman" , serif;">Some members
of our community were able to attend her
funeral; however, for many of us there was no
designated opportunity to mourn and share our
grief. We have therefore decided to dedicate the
next Mass to the memory of Rita. We hope to have
Brian Shaughnessy, and perhaps some members of
his family, join us.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 11.0px;"><span
style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><span
style="line-height: 107.0%;"><span
style="font-family: Calibri , sans-serif;"><span
style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span
style="line-height: 107.0%;"><span
style="font-family: "Times New Roman" , serif;">We are
fortunate to have Fr. Prakash celebrating with
us that day. He has shown great sensitivity in
situations of grief and loss. At the same time,
he is a busy man who frequently has other
commitments after our Mass. This means we need
to exercise self-restraint in our participation.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 11.0px;"><span
style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><span
style="line-height: 107.0%;"><span
style="font-family: Calibri , sans-serif;"><span
style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span
style="line-height: 107.0%;"><span
style="font-family: "Times New Roman" , serif;">There will be
two opportunities for community members to
speak: during the intercessions and after Mass
for a time of sharing. Before July 20<sup>th</sup>,
please think about what you would like to share
with the community and summarize your thoughts
in two or three sentences, to ensure that
everyone who wishes to speak will have an
opportunity. </span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 11.0px;"><span
style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><span
style="line-height: 107.0%;"><span
style="font-family: Calibri , sans-serif;"><span
style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span
style="line-height: 107.0%;"><span
style="font-family: "Times New Roman" , serif;">Art is the
planner for that day and I am supporting him.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 11.0px;"><span
style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><span
style="line-height: 107.0%;"><span
style="font-family: Calibri , sans-serif;"><span
style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span
style="line-height: 107.0%;"><span
style="font-family: "Times New Roman" , serif;">Thank you for
your thoughtful participation.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 11.0px;"><span
style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><span
style="line-height: 107.0%;"><span
style="font-family: Calibri , sans-serif;"><span
style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span
style="line-height: 107.0%;"><span
style="font-family: "Times New Roman" , serif;">Roswita</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
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<pre wrap="" class="moz-quote-pre">________________________________________
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