October 8, 2016

DISTANCE

I think I’m better at distance -

than closeness. Sorry.

I think you’re better at closeness

than distance.  Sorry.

This same closeness and distance 
happens with God and me. Sorry.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2016

WHAT’S  YOUR  TAKE 

ON  THE  ROSARY?

QUESTION

The title of my homily for this Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary is, “What’s Your Take on the Rosary?”

October 7 is the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary and October is the month of the Holy Rosary.

October is a good month to renew our use of the rosary - just in case, if they have disappeared into the back of our top drawer.

Here are two thoughts to ponder?

FIRST  - STANDARD USE

The Rosary is a great way to renew - meditate on - pray over - some of the key mysteries of our Christian Faith as well as our daily life.

Like Christ and Mary - we experience births - losing and finding - visitations and presentations - as well as the need for the Spirit and ascensions.

Like Christ and Mary - we experience agonies and sorrow, crosses and death.

So looking at our life, some moments are joyful and some moments are sorrowful when  the sword of pain stabs us in the heart. Sometimes we are in the dark and we need light in our darkness - in our marriages and in our everyday life. And like football and baseball players, sometimes it’s great to pause and “Give God the glory.”

Life has lots of ordinary mysteries - and sometimes we spot in them - moments and glimpses of resurrection and transfiguration.

In 2002 Pope John Paul II added 5 more mysteries to our rosary - bringing them to 20. He lined up 5 light giving moments of life. One was to take the time to reflect on how baptism, marriage, hearing Good News, transfiguring moments and the Eucharist, the Mass, has an impact on and in our lives.

So that’s part one: the rosary helps us to pray and to reflect on various mysteries and moments of our life.

SECONG - BEADS ARE OFTEN USED FOR SOMETHING TO HOLD ONTO.

Next there is the common human experience of using beads - and not just for decoration around our neck.

There is evidence of a statue of a Hindu using beads back in the 3^rd century B.C.

Type into Google, “Prayer Beads” and you’ll find various “hits” on the use of beads in prayer methods in Hindi, Muslim, Sikh,  Bahai, and various other faith traditions.

In the Christian world you’ll find “chotki” - ropes with knots (like beads) for prayer - when the person praying says over and over again,  the Jesus prayer: “Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.”

In Muslim circles you’ll find prayer beads that are also called, “Worry Beads”. Muslim worry beads usually have 33 beads and someone goes through the beads, 3 times - giving us 99 prayers.

People use beads as prayer beads. People use them as worry beads.

They are reminders to pray - and hope for help to be on the way.

I have been stressing for 35 years now: “Rosary beads aren’t just for Hail Mary’s anymore.”

They are for that - but please give your kids a rosary - and say they can be used for saying all kinds of prayers and thinking tricks.

There are 59 beads on the regular rosary. So for each bead, say, “Lord have mercy” or just “Mercy” or “Thanks!” or “Help” or “Sorry” or “Peace.”

People can pray just one decade - 10 prayers for “Help” or “Thanks” or what have you.

Beads can be used for just one decade - or 5 decades of Hail Mary’s or what have you.

I like to say: by taking out a rosary - or using a rosary - it’s like an announcement to oneself, “Now I’m going to pray!”  or “Now I’m going to meditate."

If we promote or get folks to use beads for daily prayer - they will serve as they have always served: as reminders of the spiritual, of God, of Mary as one of us, or others.

Start off slow.

For example, take your beads and see if you can come up with 59 names of God.  Peace, Joy, Artist, Creator ….

For example, using your beads, name 59 saints.

For example, you’re on a long line, use your rosary and see if you can come up with 59 people you went to school with.

I’ve seen Muslims use their prayer beads - sometimes in prayer - sometime just reflecting on the names of God - or what have you - asking God to bless each by name.

I’ve seen people on planes and trains - saying their prayers, using their beads, just sitting there very comfortable with themselves and their religion.

CONCLUSION

When we die, if we are known for saying the rosary, often family members will look for our beads - so as to put them in our hands in the casket - or next to an urn of our ashes if we have been cremated.

I’d suggest: ask the undertaker after the wake to take them out and give them to some family member as a memento or for prayer from someone in the next generation. Put it in the will, who gets our rosary. 

October 7, 2016

FEAR  AND  ANXIETY

You think you’re nervous, you’re  scared?

What about a fly - who flies away just

before someone is about to swat it?

What about the scavenger birds along

the highway? It’s not easy to eat your

supper with 18 wheelers whizzing by.

What about the high school kid with

great chocolate chip cookies and the

lunch room is filled with 150 starving kids?

What about the child in a bomb shelled

city - with snipers and shooters in every

other half-destroyed apartment building?

What about the husband and wife, mom 
and dad, who are both out of work and 
they have 4 kids - who are hungry and...?

What about the 89 year old - in a nursing
home - sitting there near the front door, and 
every visitor seems to be there for someone else?

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2016

October 6, 2016

ROPE

Neat - just sitting there - wrapped up
tight … ready to be grabbed and used

when needed  - from time to time.

But every time a piece of us is cut off

and goes here or there, it loses its value

of just sitting there waiting to be used.

So too you…. So too me …. Unused we

think we’re so neat, but once we're cut

we see our loss - our limits - our reality.

So we have a choice - to look good - new

clean, no tar on us - or to be here, there
and everywhere holding our lives together.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2016

FRANCIS SEELOS:  WELCOME!

INTRODUCTION

The title of my thoughts is, ‘Francis Seelos: Welcome!”

Let me say near the beginning of this new school year, “Welcome to our freshmen class - as well as any other new young people - and new teachers and staff.”

Welcome!

Today - October 5^th -  is the feast day of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos - a Redemptorist who was a priest here at St. Mary’s in the early 1860’s -around the time of  the Civil War.

He was inside this  very church. I don’t know if these are the benches that were here in the 1860's - but this is the shell of the church that goes back to 1859-60. 

So a saint, St. John Neumann blessed the cornerstone of this church and Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos - prayed and celebrated Mass and heard confessions in this church.

In 1866 he goes to New Orleans - also St. Mary’s Parish. He dies the following year, on October 4, 1867 - at the age of 48 - from a Yellow Fever epidemic that was hitting the city.

The title of my homily is, “Francis Seelos: Welcome!”

ONE THEME - ONE LIFE

When speaking - and preaching - about people - I like to come up with one main theme - that hopefully gives a portrait - better an impression of that person.

Like at a funeral…. I like to go to the funeral parlor - and if I didn’t know the person who died, I ask around to see if the person can be summed up with one word.

I hear words like: Generous…. Giving …. Caring ... Grateful…. Faithful …. Sense of humor…. Quiet …. Life of the Party …. Always there…. Understanding …. Forgiving…. Present …. A gift.

Of course, nobody can be summed up with one word.

But for the sake of focus - one word - like the center of a bulls eye - helps to target one’s thoughts.  

One of my favorite themes is, “Welcome!”

If I hear one thing from Pope Francis, it’s that we be a welcoming church.

A  WELCOME  sign is nice to see on a rug at the entrance of any home - so too every church.

“Welcome!”

I just preached on this theme the other day.

So as I thought about Francis Xavier Seelos - I see him as a very welcoming person.

He was known for being a great confessor. People felt welcome - when going to him for confession. In the literature about him, I read about the long confession lines of people here at St. Mary’s, Pittsburgh, and New Orleans.

Here in our garden at St. Mary’s we have a unique statue of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos. It’s under a nice tree  - off the brick path - and I’ve seen thousands of people just sitting there as if they are on the bench - sitting and talking with Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos. As I walk by that stature and there is a person resting there - leaning into Father Seelos, I like to say, “You can go to confession to him.”

Almost the same statue that we have here is in New Orleans at the Seelos Shrine, but the one there has arm rests that make the bench that much less opening for one more person.

So I’m saying here, when it comes to saints - speakers try to come up with one theme that describes that person.  We do it with homilies for the dead as well.

Like yesterday morning I had a funeral for a 98 year old lady Catherine Vacca. Her quality was awareness.  Her husband is still alive - at the age of 99 - heading soon for 100.

I was standing there looking at photos of Catherine being displayed on the big screen - one after the other.

I’m alone till an old guy stands next to me to watch the show as well.

I start to notice that this guy next to me looks like the guy in the pictures. Sure enough it’s Catherine’s husband. I say to him, “You’re her husband.” And he says, “Yes!”

I then asked, “What was your wife like?”

He says - pointing to his wife in a picture, “Nice!”

In the pictures you could see her nice face - welcoming eyes - and all around sweetness.

SELFIES

I remember seeing another slide show at another funeral.

I began spotting in the different pictures a face that was very sad and serious.

Now it could be that she had teeth problems - but all in all - she didn’t look like a happy camper in any picture.

Suggestion: go through your pictures -your selfies - and ask yourself, “Do I have a welcoming face?”

The title of my thoughts is, ‘Francis Seelos: Welcome!”

SOMETIMES THE WELCOME SIGN IS MISSING

As I'm sure you've heard, the National African American Museum has recently opened in Washington D.C.  When you have time make sure you visit the place. 

I'm waiting till the crowds have settled down to make my visit. I'm sure there will be lots of evidence of the years when African Americans were not made welcome in this country - and I hope there will be signs of welcome - change - and growth.

And 100 years from now - we'll all be dead - but there will be in Washington D.C. a Muslim American Museum  - where there will also be evidence of the time when they were not welcome and then the change. I say this not out of political posturing - most of you cannot vote yet - but because hopefully -welcome - is part of our religion - our love and our understanding of what it is to be a human being.

WELCOME FRANCIS SEELOS

The title of my thoughts is, ‘Francis Seelos: Welcome!”

Seelos was in imigrant. Seelos was a Redemptorist.  When he was stationed here, he wasn't always welcomed by his own confreres - because of personality differences. He had a great sense of humor. He had an easy way about him - and his confreres here at St. Mary's thought he was too easy going with our students and seminarians here. 

There it is: one of life's basic experiences. How do we respond to those who don't accept us as we are - with our personality - our specificness - etc. etc. etc.

Jesus' method was that of love, forgiveness, turning the extra cheek, going the extra mile with the other  - and in this way - we can change the world.

The theme for this year is to go make a difference. One specific "HOW" answer to that hope is to be a welcoming person.

CHURCH

I remember being out at St. John Neumann some 14 years ago.

A couple were there for Mass or something and I said, “Welcome.”

The husband said, “Thank you. That’s the first time in 9 years since we got to this parish, anyone said, ‘Welcome to us.”

I learned from that moment - from that experience - and  I like to say at every Mass, “Welcome to everyone and welcome to any visitors.”

At least I can do that at every Mass.

I hope all of you feel very welcome at Mass so far.

And I hope when I die and I get to heaven. I hope I hear folks there saying, “Welcome” I also hope that people at my funeral say, “Father Andy was very welcoming.”

CONCLUSION

The title of my thoughts is, ‘Francis Seelos: Welcome!”

I hope none of you - 25 years from now - will not say, “Looking back at my time at St. Mary’s, “I never felt welcome there.”

October 5, 2016

DON’T UNRAVEL

When at the end of your rope -

don’t unravel. To make a joke -

don’t get hung up. Say a prayer!
Tie a knot! And hang on for dear life.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2016

October 4, 2016

MY  WHY’S VARY 

God my why’s vary,

depending on what’s

going on in my gut.

But what about your

why’s? What are your

why’s shot back at us?

The content and the

quality of our dialogues

rarely sound like Job?

Yet there are nights

I ask, “Why am I still

alive and why, “Oh why?”

I know that goes back

to the day I heard that the

shortest poem was, “I / Why?”

And I responded well I’ll

write the second shortest

poem. It’s “You / Who.”

Yet I still scream, “God, you

must have taken down at least

one tyrant, well why not again.?”

“Why not give the children

in shell shocked Syria a

month of peace? A month!”

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2016

PLAYING  THE  PART 

OF  ST.  FRANCIS  OF  ASSISI

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Playing the Part of St. Francis of Assisi.”

Today, October 4^th, is his feast day.

THE PLAY’S THE THING

One of Shakespeare’s most famous lines is in Hamlet - where he says, “The plays the thing / Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king.”

That’s vintage Shakespeare because as playwright he would know that people watching a play - subconsciously or unconsciously - connect with the characters on the stage. Shakespeare would know what to do to try to catch his audience. He knew the tricks of the trade. He would know what to do to catch the attention, the spiritual life, the conscience, the reality of what it is to be a moral, a good, decent human being. So the audience would see good and evil on stage in front of them - and hopefully go for the good and to avoid the evil.

Those seeing a performance of Hamlet would discover that Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius killed his own brother, the king - Hamlet Senior. Then Claudius marries Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother, the queen. Tough stuff for Hamlet Junior - to deal with, to get the facts, to makes sure he’s right and to get revenge on his uncle. So Shakespeare has Hamlet putting on a play within the play to catch the conscience of the king.

JORGE MARIO BERGOGLIO

Cardinal Jorge Mario Begoglio of Buenas Aires, Argentina, went to Rome to elect a new pope.

He ends up becoming the new pope on March 13, 2013.

Now he has the choice to come up with a name.

He surprised so many by being elected. Then he surprised us all even more by the choice of a name: Francis.

He could have chosen Benedict or John Paul or Ignatius or Vincent de Paul or any name for that matter - even keeping his own name Jorge, George or even Mario his second name. Imagine Pope Mario,

Nope. He’s no dope. The new pope, A Jesuit chooses a Franciscan’s name. Pope Francis.

Surprise!

It ends up being a remarkable choice.

The story goes that a cardinal said to Bergogio just after being elected, “Don’t forget the poor.” So he chose the name of Francis - Poor Francis of Assisi.

I would assume that he was thinking about this long before that moment - that he had a great liking and got great inspiration from Francis of Assisi.

If you were named pope what name would you choose

The naming is just the first step.

It’s the next day that counts.

So from then on he has the choice to play the part of Francis - to be himself of course - but to play the part of Francis of Assisi.

We know the story.

We’re born, we get a name, and then in time we have the choice to be ourselves - to become ourselves. In Hamlet we also have the line, “To thine own self be true”. Polonius says that to his son Laertes.

So we’re called to be ourselves. There is only one of us - forever and ever.

But we also able to play as Shakespeare put it in his play, As You Like It, “All the world’s a stage,/ And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; / And one man in his time plays many parts.”

We’re called  to play the part of Jesus Christ, to be a Christian, to be a saint.  But we also imitate others - our parents, our pals, a nurse, a lawyer, a therapist, a salesperson, a teacher, what have you - and we watch how our parents loved one another, how teachers taught, how nurses cared for others - how fellow workers, work.

And so we play our parts. And hopefully we become the part - doing it with our personality - our gifts, our spirit, our learnings.

SO WHY THE CHOICE

So why did Pope Francis the First pick Francis as his name.

For starters - thinking of Hamlet - and Shakespeare - did Pope Francis pick that name to get us to look at the life of Francis and we too play that pert.

For starters - we know Francis was for the poor and lead a poor life. We’ll we’ve all read how Francis has tried to simplify, simplify, simplify - when it comes to shoes, clothes, space, travel.

For starters - we know that Francis of Assisi was called to rebuild the church and then did. And Pope Francis is certainly trying to do just that. and we can do the same every day.

For starters - we know that Francis of Assisi brings us back to Jesus Christ - the human Christ - the birth of Christ, the eucharist, the poor, the people, the death on the cross.

For starters, if we read the life of St. Francis we discover that he sang and glorified the beauty of creation - and we see the Pope has a whole big letter on that last year - Laudato Si’ - on the gift of this great home, garden, earth, which God has created for us.

 CONCLUSION

Be yourself - but be like Francis of Assisi - who brought Jesus to the poor - who renewed our church. Be like Pope Francis - reach out to everyone.

Smile. The pope certainly knows the power of a smile as walk down the miles of our life.

Pope Francis became Pope at 76. Wow. So lets hope all of us have much more life in our tank.

October 3, 2016

OCTOBER

October doesn’t get that much ink

from poets - or if it does - I’ve missed it.

Maybe it’s from where one stands or

what one’s doing - back to school -

serious work - high energy - catch up

stuff after summer and September -

and not enough time for poems or

pondering deeper things like frost and

the sight and sound of dead leaves.

Hints of things to come - cold rain -

winds - leaves changing here in

the north of the northern hemisphere -

but not yet - Indian Summer - always

an oasis - put back the sweaters and

the flannel shirts - don’t even think

of scarves or gloves or hats - yet.

October - here’s some ink - I’ve always

seen you as the best month of the mix.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2016

FROM JERUSALEM 

TO JERICHO

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “From Jerusalem to Jericho.”

ON THE ROAD FROM JERUSALEM TO JERICHO 

There is a gospel song - a country western gospel song - by Hank Williams Sr. entitled, “From Jerusalem to Jericho.”

I put it on my blog - along with this homily - as one more way of preaching the good news of Jesus.

The Good Samaritan parable is one of top 5 or 10 parables of Jesus. Some of the best known ones are here in the gospel of Luke.

Everyone - hopefully everyone has heard of the story of the Good Samaritan.

We hear it here in church - whenever this gospel is read - and we hear it in our conscience every time we pass a beggar or a hurting person by.

They wave their, “I’m hungry” sign. We feel a “Guilty, guilty” sign blowing in the wind.

We’re even aware of the so called, “Good Samaritan Law” - one more example of religion entering into civil life - just as the “Hail Mary Pass” has entered into football.

HOW TO READ THE SCRIPTURES?

We’ve all been taught that one way to read the scriptures is to picture ourselves in the text.  

Sometimes this is difficult to do. If so try another method.

However, this method is especially easy with the parables.

We simply say, “Who am I in this story?”

Of if there are a few characters, we go down the line and see ourselves as each character in the story.

So in this story, when am I the Good Samaritan, stopping to help my neighbor?

When am I the man beaten up?

When am I the priest or the Levite passing by those who have been hurt or robbed?

When am I the robber - say for example - robbing someone of their good name?

When am I the inn keeper - seeing people helping other people?

When am I the scholar of the law - testing Jesus about what it is to be a good person?

HANK WILLIAM'S SONG

In Hank Williams song, he makes all of us the guy who was beaten up.

Every day is a journey down the road from Jerusalem to Jericho.

He sings, “We are the fallen ones that lie along the way” and people pass us by - like the priest - every day.

He sings, “Who are the ones who stop to help us along the way - the ones who are kind and true?”  Who are the ones who care? Who are the ones who bring the hurting ones into their inn?

Listen to the song on You-tube at the top of this homily. 

CONCLUSION

Our first reading for today is from the beginning of Paul’s letter to the Galatians. At the end of Galatians, 6:2, we’ll have the message of the Good Samaritan Parable. It's my favorite bible text, “Bear one another’s burdens and in this way you’ll fulfill the law of Christ.”

Amen.

FAITH

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Faith.”

Today’s three readings all mention faith - so the obvious message is to preach about faith.  I’m sure if we could get our hands on every sermon from around the Christian world for this 27^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year C - it would be, “The priest or the deacon or the minister preached about faith.”

Several large Protestant Congregations have the same readings as Catholics. As least we do that together.

If you talk to your kids or parents in far cities or neighbors or co-workers and they are church goers, ask them, “What was the sermon about on Sunday?”

I’m guessing the answer will be - if remembered, “Faith!”

WHAT TO SAY?

What to say about faith?

I preached at our Kids Mass at 8 o’clock this morning  and I wrote a story for them as I usually do - but for us adults what to say?

In the story of our life as Christians and/or Catholics, what is our story when it comes to our faith?

So I prayed like the apostles in the opening words of today’s gospel, “Increase my faith - I want to preach a homily on faith, Lord.  Help!”

And two things hit me:

First of all: Faith is a gift.

Second: Work on increasing that gift.

There they are - sort of a backwards - or sideways - sort of playing on the Christian struggle about faith and works.

So faith as a gift and faith as something we have to work on increasing and growing in.

FAITH AS A GIFT

“My mom and dad gave me the gift of faith.”

Many of us could say the same thing.

They brought me to church - and they put me in Catholic School.

Their parents and grandparents and great grandparents and back and back and back were Catholics in Ballynahown in Ireland - right on Galway Bay.

Or various people say, "It was my spouse who gave me the gift of faith. I was nothing before I met him or her - or I belonged to another community - and I switched over and became a Catholic because of my spouse."

Our RCIA program for this year for those interested in becoming a Catholic just started a few Wednesday nights ago. I’m sure everyone attending will address this question in their get-togethers.

We get a lot of gifts in a lifetime. We get a bicycle or a teddy bear or an envelope with an Andrew Jackson - a twenty dollar bill - in it - or a ring or a watch or a computer - or a car - or what have you.

Faith is a gift - and like many a gift - sometimes the gift wears out - or goes into the closet or is thrown out or forgotten - so too faith.

The first three weddings in the next generation of my family all have been outside of our religion. That hit me - of course.  I drove up to Connecticut with a Jewish close family friend of my brother here in Maryland for one of those weddings. Marty asked me about my thoughts on the way home. The year before I had gone to a Jewish ceremony for the death of his wife - and I got to do a reading - and then after that burial in a Jewish cemetery  we drove to a nearby Catholic cemetery to say some prayers at my brother’s grave. We're close, so I told Marty - while driving home to Maryland - I was wondering if my faith - my reality as priest - had any reality with those who have dropped out or wherever they are - regards their faith.  I also wondered what their parents thought. At some point I'll ask them.

Faith is a gift.  I have to keep on remembering that - and all the implications of what a gift is.

As priest I’m hoping at every wedding, every baptism, every funeral, every prayer service, every Sunday Mass all of us cherish the gift of faith - if we’ve been given it. Or we all feel God urges.

I’ve heard about 10 people say in the past few years about family members who have stopped going to church, “What are they going to do when times get tough - when hard times are a coming as the old country song puts it? How are they going to deal with life’s problems?”

Of course many folks don’t lose their God connection - even if they have lost or given up on their Church connection.

Of course as priest, I would say that Church helps keep one’s connection with God better than not. And I assume that’s why you are here this evening as well.

So for starters: faith is a gift.

And we pray this evening a prayer of thanks to God and others for giving us this gift - for giving us good example - witness - a deepening of faith.

FAITH AS A RELATIONSHIP TO BE WORKED ON  # 2

And this leads us to our part - in the deal - in the covenant.

As in marriage, as in family, as in any relationship, we need to work on our faith.

Today’s second  reading begins with the image of stirring into flame the gift of God that you have….”  That’s exactly what it says.

We’ve all had the experience of a camp fire or starting a camp fire and we blow on the leaves and the branches and crumbled newspaper we’ve put in with the wood. And when the fire starts to fade - we stir it up again - with a stick and add on some more wood.

It’s same for a fireplace.

So faith demands work on our part.

Faith demands practicing prayer. This week take your rosary and find a quiet place in your house or in your car while driving and say 59 times on the 59 beads, “Lord, increase my faith.” That will take less than 2 minutes.

Faith demands practicing the great commandment to love the Lord our God with our whole heart, mind, soul and strength - and to love our neighbor as ourselves.            

Faith calls us come to church - not just for Mass - but to drop into some church once or week or so and just sit there in the afternoon quiet - and just listen.

Jesus told us that we have an inner room - where he waits for us.

A guy just the other day said, “I used to be an Episcopalian and I became a Catholic because my wife was - and we came here to church together, so I became a Catholic. And I discovered the difference pretty soon: the Catholic Church has that second collection.”

Faith needs humor as well.

Faith needs screams and yelling as well.

Imagine living in Aleppo in Syria?  I’m sure every person there can connect with the today’s first reading - where Habakkuk the prophet screams, “How long, O Lord? I cry for help but you do not listen. I cry out to you, ‘Violence!’ but you do not intervene.”

I’m sure every person who is Muslim is saying similar words from the Koran.

There are still some Christians left in Syria - one of the places of our ancient faith.

But whoever we are - in safe gated communities - in alcoholic families or drug struggling situations - or in family’s with deep marriage problems - or where there is cancer or strokes or dementia - you name it - it’s Bad Friday in that place  - and it can only become Good Friday and Easter in the long run - for those with faith - better to have faith with God - on the Cross in our midst.

The stations on the cross in church are here because they are out there as well.

CONCLUSION

I was looking at an example to close this homily - in case nothing hit home.

I reached for a book of talks and homilies by Bishop Ken Untener and he tells the following moment about himself. [1]

He’s visiting some parish and the pastor  giving our communion next to him was doing something different from him. He says that it wasn’t dramatic - just different.

He said, “Something was going on between the pastor and each communicant. There was a momentary engagement, connection, intersomething-or-other. What he was doing was placing the consecrated bread in their hand, leaving his own hand for a moment to rest there, looking them in the eye as he said, ‘The Body of Christ,’ then attentively receiving their ‘Amen.’”

So he said, he tried it. It took a second longer.

He said a few weeks later while driving, a light bulb in his mind went on.

He realized people actually when saying, “Amen” - were receiving the Risen Lord into their lives.

In saying, “Amen” they were saying in effect, "I'm not perfect, but I really do believe in Jesus Christ , and in all that he taught, and in all that he stood for. I don't claim to understand it all and save have all
the answers. But  I do believe  in this way of life, and from the soles of my feet to the top of my head, I commit myself to walk in his footsteps. I accept the Lord and all that he stands for into my own life.”

When I read that I said I might try that - knowing that some people go crazy with the slow when it comes to Mass. I know I’ve been saying inwardly for 30 or 40 years or so when I’m handing a person communion or putting it in their mouth, “Lord, help this person.” 

Then: I say, "Body of Christ."  

And hopefully they say, "Amen."

OOO + OOO

NOTES

[1] This picture is by Dave Sandford - and you can find it on his web site - entited Lake Erie pictures.

[2 Bishop Ken Untener, The Practical Prophet, Paulist Press, New York, Mahwah, N.J, 2007, pages 97-99.