July 20, 2019

REMEMBERING  ANNIVERSARIES 

Remember! 

Some people remember their past 

better than others. Like: “33 years 

ago today we were on a lake in 

Maine and a sudden storm came 

up. Remember? And I panicked 

and you stayed totally calm.” 

Remember! 

We’ve had our good times and bad, 

our moon landings and the bridges 

and  thresholds we’ve crossed. 

Thank you for all that you’ve done 

to fill my calendar to become part of 

my photo albums and history books. 

Remember! 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019

July  20, 2019 

Thought for today: 

“For silence is not God, not speaking is not God, fasting is not God, nor eating is not God; loneliness is not God, nor company is not God; nor yet any of all the other two such contraries. He is hid between them, and may not be found by any work of your soul, but all only by love of your  heart.”  

The Cloud of Unknowing, 

14^th Century

July 19, 2019

Thought for today: 

“I didn’t know what she was saying when she moved her lips  in a Baptist church or a Catholic cathedral or, less often, in a synagogue, but it was obvious that God could be found anywhere.”  

Lillian Hellman, 

An Unfinished Woman, 1969

July 19, 2019

GOING  BY  CHURCHES

People driving by churches

on the Sabbath sense that

folks inside are praying.

You’ve evolved spiritually when

you realize every forehead you

go by has prayer going on inside.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019

July 18, 2019

CATCHING  THE  BOUQUET

She caught the tossed bouquet

at the wedding - just a month ago -

but no knight in shining armor

has appeared to tilt her windmill.

In fact the flowers have faded.

Dead petals landed on her floor.

It was a Saturday moment of fantasy.

Life doesn’t work like that anymore.

Instead ….

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019

July  18, 2019 

Thought for today: 

“When man substituted God for the Great Goddess he at the same time substituted authoritarian for humanistic values.”  

Elizabeth Gould Davis, 

The First Sex, 1971

July  17, 2019  

Thought for today: 

“Religion is not an opiate, for religion does not help people to forget, but to remember.  It does not dull people.  It does not say Take, but Give.”  

Bede Jarrett, 

The Catholic Mother  1956

July 17, 2019

GRACE

Did you ever wonder what grace is?

I want to say it’s the electricity that keeps

the air conditioner going on a hot day.

I want to say it’s water cooler in the

corridor 500 feet from my office door.

But I rather say it’s what keeps the 100

cars around me on the highway safe. 

I rather say it’s the waiter coming around

and asking again if anyone wants water.   

I rather say it’s the neighbor who takes his

dog out to a tree so as not to wake a neighbor.

Did you ever wonder what grace is?    

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019

July 16, 2019

BRACE  YOURSELF

It’s good to consciously - deliberately -

stop, pause, for at least one moment -

even if it’s for just one minute - each day.

Brace oneself  - lean against a bedroom

wall - hold a banister tightly, or just sit

comfortably in a comfortable chair.

It’s good to do this because the rest of

the day might be dizzy - with something

going wrong - no, not an earthquake.

Pause at a doorway - or the top or bottom -

of a staircase - and say, “Lord, before my

next, I ask YOU to be with me today.”

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019

July  16, 2019 

Thought for today: 

“If the lack of singing is an index of exile, then we are in it, for we are a people who scarcely can sing.” 

Walter Brueggemann,  

The Prophetic Imagination, 1978

July 15, 2015

GOD’S  FOOTPRINTS

St.  Bonaventure was big about God’s

footprints. They are everywhere.

Okay fingerprints as well.

Spot them everywhere.

It took a long time for a few of

us to walk on the moon.

Tell me who formed and sculpted the

Milky Way or the mountains of Mars?

St. Bonaventure - his feast is today -

said, “Check out the footprints.”

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019

July  15, 2019 

Thought for today: 

“Since happiness is nothing else than the enjoyment of the Supreme Good, and the Supreme Good is above us, no one can enjoy happiness unless self  rises above self.” 

Saint Bonaventure, 

The Journey of the 

Mind into God.

July 14, 2019

POWER

Power: it’s never all or nothing.

I have some powers: 
I can smile;

I can say “Thank you!”; 
I can open my wallet

and give you an Andrew Jackson.

Okay you have a will of your own.

You don’t have to listen to me.

And by the way, God can create

all those stars 1 billion miles on

the other side of space I can’t see,

but he’s powerless when it comes

to what I choose to say or do.

Bummer?  No! That’s a loud, “Wow!’

So, I don’t know.  Freedom is quite

a power God  gave to you and me. Eh?

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019

July  14, 2019

Thought for today:

“The starting point of the religious experience is wonder.”  

Sydney Cave, 

The Christian Way, 1987