December   31,  2021

 

Thought for the Day

 

“Let the one that would move the world, first move themselves.”

 

Socrates

December 31, 2021

STILL

 

Still?
Still have things to do?
Still wondering….
Still waiting ….
Still …. the unanswered.
When the still starts to slip,
what gives, what goes, what remains?
What still is there?
What hangs on?
What still do I want?
What still am I?
What still do I miss?
What still do I need to do?
What will I do in this new year to come?
  

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2021

 December 30, 2021

RESTORATION  

In the beginning everything
is brand new. Then in time
things start to wear down
or wear out. Then there is
being put aside. Rust and rot
begins. Then again, I believe
for the person of hope there is
restoration and resurrection.

 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2021

December   30,  2021

 

Thought for the Day

 

“How much easier it is to be critical than to be correct.”

 

Benjamin Disraeli

December 29, 2021

MARRIAGE

Everyone marries ....
Well, not everyone.
It's a classroom.
There's lots to learn.
The other is a teacher,
that is, if you are willing to learn.
To a degree....
There are dropouts.
Repeat that one: there are dropouts.

There are books:

but others - another - is better.

                                                                                                      © Andy Costello, Reflections 2021

 December 29,  2021

Thought for the Day

“We still think of a powerful man as a born leader and a powerful woman as an anomaly.”

 

Margaret Atwood

 December 28, 2021

ROMANTICISM

December  28,  2021

 

Thought for the Day

 

“What great thing would you attempt if you knew you could not fail.”

 

Robert Schuller

 December 27, 2021

RELIGION

Some people believe in God.
Some don't.
I do. How about you?
You don't.  How about me?
Do you have a minute?
Do you have a lifetime?
Do you have an eternity?
If we both have that one - then we'll have time.
If we don't,  then maybe deal with that now?

                                                                                               © Andy Costello, Reflections 2021

 December   27,  2021

 

Thought for the Day

 

“Tell me what you read and I’ll tell you who you are” is true enough, but I’d know you better if you told me what you reread.” 

 

Francois Mauriac

 December 26,  2021

Reflection

 December   26,  2021

 

Thought for the Day

 

“A good snapshot stops a moment from running away.”  

Eudora Welty  

 December  25,  2021

Reflection

December   25,  2021

 

 

Thought for the Day

 

“The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a family all wrapped up in each other.”

Burton Hillis

 December 24, 2021

Reflection

December   24,  2021

 

 Thought for the Day

 

“Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree.  In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall.”

 

Larry Wilde, 

The Merry Book of Christmas

 December 23, 2021

CORONET

Coronet Coronet Coronet Coronet Coronet Coronet 
Coronet Coronet Coronet Coronet Coronet Coronet 
Coronet Coronet Coronet Coronet Coronet Coronet 
Coronet Coronet Coronet Coronet Coronet Coronet 
Coronet Coronet Coronet Coronet Coronet Coronet 
Coronet Coronet Coronet Coronet Coronet Coronet 
Coronet Coronet Coronet Coronet Coronet Coronet 
Coronet Coronet Coronet Coronet Coronet Coronet 
Coronet Coronet Coronet Coronet Coronet Coronet 
Coronet Coronet Coronet Coronet Coronet Coronet 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2021

 December   23,  2021

 

Thought for the Day

 

“A child becomes an adult when he realizes he has a right not only to be right but also to be wrong.”

 

Thomas Szasz,

The Second Sin

December 22, 2021

DRUMS

 

Drums Drums Drums Drums Drums Drums Drums
Drums Drums Drums Drums Drums Drums Drums
Drums Drums Drums Drums Drums Drums Drums
Drums Drums Drums Drums Drums Drums Drums
Drums Drums Drums Drums Drums Drums Drums
Drums Drums Drums Drums Drums Drums Drums
Drums Drums Drums Drums Drums Drums Drums
Drums Drums Drums Drums Drums Drums Drums
Drums Drums Drums Drums Drums Drums Drums
Drums Drums Drums Drums Drums Drums Drums
Drums Drums Drums Drums Drums Drums Drums

 

 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2021

December   22,  2021

 

 

Thought for the Day

 

“Books had instant replay long before televised sports.”

 

Bern Williams

 December  21.  2021

 

VIOLIN

 
Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin
Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin
Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin
Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin
Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin
Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin
Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin
Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin
Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin
Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin Violin

 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2021

December   21,  2021 

Thought for the Day

 

“People want to know how much you care before they care how much you know.”

 

James F Hind

in The Wall Street Journal

 December  20,  2021

 

SAXOPHONE 

Saxophone Saxophone Saxophone Saxophone 
Saxophone Saxophone Saxophone Saxophone 
Saxophone Saxophone Saxophone Saxophone 
Saxophone Saxophone Saxophone Saxophone 
Saxophone Saxophone Saxophone Saxophone 
Saxophone Saxophone Saxophone Saxophone 
Saxophone Saxophone Saxophone Saxophone 
Saxophone Saxophone Saxophone Saxophone 
Saxophone Saxophone Saxophone Saxophone
Saxophone Saxophone Saxophone Saxophone 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2021

December   20,  2021 

 

Thought for the Day

 

“He who cannot forgive others destroys the bridge over which he himself must pass.”

 

George Herbert

December   19,  2021

 

 

Thought for the Day

“One kind word can warm three winter months.”

 

Japanese proverb

 December 19,  2021

PIANO 

Piano Piano  Piano  Piano Piano Piano Piano
Piano Piano  Piano  Piano Piano Piano Piano
Piano Piano  Piano  Piano Piano Piano Piano
Piano Piano  Piano  Piano Piano Piano Piano
Piano Piano  Piano  Piano Piano Piano Piano
Piano Piano  Piano  Piano Piano Piano Piano
Piano Piano  Piano  Piano Piano Piano Piano
Piano Piano  Piano  Piano Piano Piano Piano

Piano Piano  Piano  Piano Piano Piano Piano
Piano Piano  Piano  Piano Piano Piano Piano
 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2021

 December  18,  2021

 

FLUTE 

Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute 
Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute 
Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute 
Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute 
Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute 
Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute 
Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute 
Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute 
Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute 
Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute Flute 

 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2021

December   18,  2021

 

Thought for the Day

 

‘We all wear masks, and the time comes when we cannot remove them without removing some of our own skin.”

 

Andrew Berthiaume

Contretemps

 December 17, 2021

TROMBONE

 

Trombone Trombone Trombone Trombone Trombone
Trombone Trombone Trombone Trombone Trombone
Trombone Trombone Trombone Trombone Trombone
Trombone Trombone Trombone Trombone Trombone
Trombone Trombone Trombone Trombone Trombone
Trombone Trombone Trombone Trombone Trombone
Trombone Trombone Trombone Trombone Trombone
Trombone Trombone Trombone Trombone Trombone
Trombone Trombone Trombone Trombone Trombone
Trombone Trombone Trombone Trombone Trombone
Trombone Trombone Trombone Trombone Trombone

 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2021

 December 16,  2021

 

December   17,  2021

 

Thought for the Day

 

“It takes about ten years to get used to how old you are.”

 

Quoted by Raymond A. Michel

December   16,  2021

 

Thought for the Day

 

“Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant.” 

Henry David Thoreau

 

December, 15, 2021

 

MONOLOGUES

 

It hit me that I never ever

had a monologue with my dad –

nor with my mom. Sorry mom

and dad. I’ve seen and heard

monologues in the movies.

 

Life!

 

I guess I had a few in sermons.

Oooops! I preached 1000 times –

wait a few thousand times – but

they lacked heart and soul – too,

many times. Yes. So, so sorry.

 

Death!

 

Well, now that I’ve had my two

heart repairs – now that I pondered

death in a few hospital rooms –

now that I’m 82 years of age – maybe

now I’ll finally preach some monologues.

 

Resurrection.

 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2021

December   15,  2021 

Thought for the Day

“Feelings are everywhere – be gentle.”

 

J. Masai

 December 14, 2021

WHAT LASTS 

Rings and things ….
Scars and screams ….
Hawthorn tree furniture ….
Some marriages ….
Some mistakes ….
Getting into college ….
Those who have gone before us ….
That sermon in 1979 ….
Jesus – Alpha and Omega….
 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2021

December   14,  2021

 

 

 

Thought for the Day

 

“When one tugs at a single thing in nature,  he finds it attached to the rest of the world.”

 

John Muir

 December 13, 2021

SOME  SONGS

 

Some songs are the seeds
beneath the snow that burst
open in the springtime – songs
that resurrect the soul – especially
when it has died to death
in a winter of hurt – especially
when love has forgotten
how to dance, how to chance
a new bud of love – an ache
once more in the heart.
Spring!
Always hope for the return
of the Rose!

Hope!

 

 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2021

 December  13,  2021 

Thought for the Day

 

“After thirty, a body has a mind of its own.”

 

Bette Midler

 

DO

The title of my homily for this Third Sunday in Advent is, “Do.”

 

It’s a basic word we learn very early on.

 

It’s only 2 letters in English.

 

As in, "Do the dishes."

 

Or, "Do your homework."

 

Add a letter to the word "do" and you have a dog.

 

Add two letters and you have a door.

 

Kids start off learning - by learning the alphabet.

 

Then they learn sight words and phonics.

 

Sight words are just basic words you just have to learn. You can’t picture them or break them in half or into parts like you can do in phonics.

 

Sight words are words like AND or DO or YOU or PLAY or ONE. 

 

Kindergarten kids get a list of 100 or so of them or they have them on flash cands and you just have to memorize them.  You take a word like AND and you ask a kid to look at a page and find the word AND. Spot it. Sight it. "Ooooooooh!"

 

So – DO -  the title of my homily is a sight word.  It appears 6 times in today’s gospel: Luke 3: 10-18.  Another sight word in today’s gospel is “THE” which appears 9 times and “AND”  appears only 6 times.

 

That’s how we learn. That’s how kids learn. Slow and steady.

 

To be Christians  - to follow Christ – we just do basic things each day: share you coat – share your food – don’t overtax others – don’t extort -  don’t falsely accuse others – be satisfied with your salary – give good news.

 

Do – "poieo" in Greek – as in, "Do this in memory of me." Now, that’s life.

 December 12, 2021

AWAKENED

 

If Coca Cola and chocolate keep me awake –
why not guilt and the insensitivity I ought to
be feeling  from the comments I make about
those who  aren’t at the party or the  meeting?
 
Magazines, newspaper columns, art, movies,
TV documentaries, sermons, speeches
should be out there challenging us to wake up
and see the things we need to change.

 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2021

 December   12,  2021

 

 Thought for the Day

 

“Writing poetry is like  trying to catch a black cat in a dark room.”

 

Robert Greacen,

Irish Times Poetry Prize

speech, Nov. 23, 1995

December 11, 2021

 

 A POEM 

There are some poems
that slip into our brains
without our noticing them.
 
But not too many – a poem
or two by Elizabeth Bishop –
or by Langston Hughes.
 
We read them a second time.
We go back to them. Then we
close our eyes and say, “Yeah!”

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2021

December   11,  2021 

Thought for the Day

 

“Unless we read poetry, we’ll never have our hearts broken by language, which is an indispensable preliminary to a civilized life.”

 

Anatole Broyard,

The New York Times

December 10, 2021

 

WHEN  I  GO

         

What happens when I go,
when I leave the room or
when I head home in my car?
 
We usually don’t ask that question
or give that much thought – but we
do talk when certain people leave.
 
I guess from time to time it’s good
to ask – just what I bring into the room
in the first place or when I die? Yeah ….

 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2021

December   10,  2021 

Thought for the Day 

“Speak the truth, but leave immediately after.”

 

Slovenian Proverb

 December 9, 2021

Thought for today

"Industry is a better horse to ride than genius."

Walter Lippman

 December 9,  2021

TO TELL THE TRUTH 

 
We were told as kids to tell the truth
and to always try to be honest.
 
This was the message we heard
from the nuns and from our parents.
 
So what happened in these last 5 years –
or has there always been the lie?
 
And how do lies change our brains - as
well as to the brains of those who lie?
 
Will all these lies land we know not where
like all those arrows we shot into the air?

 

 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2021

 December 8,  2021

GLASS

 
Does everyone see
as if through glass?
 
Rose colored glasses
or stained-glass windows?
 
Dark sunglasses
or clean, clear glass windows?
 
Do we know we all
see so differently?
 
Do we consciously and
unconsciously filter out?
 
In death or hurt does the glass 
break and we’re no longer blind?
 

 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2021

December   8,  2021 

Thought for the Day

 

“If poetry breaks its covenant with truth and justice, it has failed.”

 

Seamus Heaney,  

The Sunday Tribune, 

April 7, 1996

 December 7, 2021

December 7, 2021

PEARL  HARBOR

 
It got us killing too.
That’s what happens
when we fight back.
 
So we know that’s
the reality  behind
war and retaliation.
 
Is that the secret
in pacifism – in
peace making?
 
Is that what we
have to do next time –
to save our lives?

 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2021

 December 6, 2021

THE BLIND SEE 

The blind see
when they close their eyes –
when they sing their love songs –
when they remember those they love –
when they disappear from each other –
when they slip into the night –
when they let go of another day –
when the world keeps spinning away –
when the blues of night – disappear –
when the red of morning reappears. 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2021

December   7,  2021

 

Thought for the Day

 

“One filled with joy preaches without preaching."

 

Mother Teresa

December 5, 2021

 

HURT

We can all sing that song ….
We can all feel those cuts ….

 
Hurt – hurting ourselves
or hurting others.  Oooooh!
 
When we discover what we thought
was gold ended up being simply dirt.
 
Hurt – a crown of thorns –
a nailing to a cross.  Oooooh!
 
We can’t go through life
without the hammer called “hurt”!

 

 © Andy Costello, Reflections 2021

December   6,  2021

 

Thought for the Day

 

“I don’t ask for the meaning of the song of a bird or the rising of the sun on a misty morning.  There they are, and they are beautiful.”

 

Pete  Hamill

in Esquire