THE KING’S SUBJECTS

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this feast of Christ the King is, “The King’s Subjects.”

It’s us. We are the King’s subjects – Christ the King’s subjects. Isn’t that an interesting concept? Did you ever think of yourself that way – a loyal subject of Christ the King? Doesn’t it sound a bit medieval or foreign or a concept from a bygone age?

Christ is described as a king only once in the Synoptic Gospels [i.e, Mathew, Mark and Luke]. It’s here in today’s gospel – but we hear over and over again in the New Testament about the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven.

Now Christ as we know from scripture was not the kind of king we might expect. He washed feet and gave out bread. He noticed and complimented a poor widow who put two cents in the poor box. He talked about forgiveness and helping our brothers and sisters in need. He had no army – just disciples, just servants, just followers, who like Paul tried to imitate him. (Cf. 1 Corinthians 11:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:6.)

As we heard in today’s second reading, Christ destroys death – and then “everything is subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all” (1 Corinthians 15: 28).

Now that comment is a head scratcher – convoluted – complicated – cryptic and mysterious, but notice the word “subject”.

Today is the last Sunday of the Church year. Next Sunday we start another Church year with the First Sunday of Advent.

The theme that hit me as I reflected on today’s readings and today’s feast is, “Subject and Object.” It’s a key theme to be aware of. Do I treat others as subject or object? There is a big difference. Think of the last time someone ticked you off – or a time when you felt “dissed.” Chances are, you were not being treated as a subject but as an object. It might be a good idea to go off on that question and forget the rest of this homily. Simply reflect upon the question: “Do I treat other people as subject or object?” Ask your spouse?

That would be the theme and thought of this homily.

And as the King’s servant – the King’s subject – do I serve or do I try to subject people to me? If I do, then I’m making them an object.

A BOOK TO READ

A book to read and re-read on this theme is Martin Buber’s classic book, “I-Thou.”

He says we have a choice to treat others as a Thou or an It.

He names the choice as: I-It versus I-Thou.

Notice he makes the you special, calling another a Thou – as in prayer.

Something happens to people who have read Martin Buber’s book. A book is an object, an it, but that book challenges people to see others as subjects – another I.

It’s the Golden Rule: treat others as one would want to be treated.

Seeing others as sacred, unique, a Thou, can lead to deeper and deeper respect – reverence – and really seeing, listening, being aware of the ones we’re with.

If you want to ignore someone, you have to make them an object, an it.

If you want to gossip about someone, you have to make them an object, an it.

If you want to criticize someone behind their back, you have to make them an object – an it.

If it dawns on us, that this other, is a person – a center – a subject – someone with ideas, feelings, a life, a story, roots, then we are challenged to talk, ask, communicate, respect, be aware, and be in possible communion with this other subject.

THE MASS

At Mass the Catholic believes the bread, an object, becomes a subject, becomes Christ, during the Mass. How this happens is mystery. It calls for faith. It took centuries for words to try to describe what the change is. One word chosen was “transubstantiation” – but all words are insufficient.

We just stand back in awe and reverence – in the presence of Jesus Christ. We just come forward – down the aisle – as in marriage - wanting to be in communion with the person of Christ.

We stand there and receive: “The Body of Christ.”

Isn’t that the key reason we come to Mass – to be in an I-Thou relationship with Christ and each other, the full body of Christ?

So we believe Christ is subject in the bread, in the wine.

Now that’s a great act of faith.

So we believe we are the Body of Christ – member connected to member – subject with subject - even with those we don’t see.

And it’s a great act of faith when we relate to each other as subjects of the King.

M. SCOTT PECK

A favorite story for me on all this can be found in M. Scott Peck’s book, The Road Less Traveled.

It’s on page 76 of his book and I have reflected on it often. Sometimes I forget the message; sometimes I remember it.

M. Scott Peck says, “Imagine two generals, each having to decide whether or not to commit a division of ten thousand men to battle. To one the division is but a thing, a unit of personnel, an instrument of strategy and nothing more. To the other it is these things, but he is also aware of each and every one of the ten thousand lives and the lives of the families of each of the ten thousand.”

Then he asks, “For whom is the decision easier?”

Then he answers his own question, “It is easier for the general who has blunted his awareness precisely because he cannot tolerate the pain of a more nearly complete awareness.”

Hopefully, when we come here to church – we become more aware of each member of our family.

Hopefully, we think of those we work with – and interact with on a regular basis.

Hopefully, everyone of us feels for all these folks and their families who are in service for our country – many of whom will not be home for Thanksgiving and Christmas – because they are in Iraq or Afghanistan or in many other places – as well as all the people in these countries who have been killed by suicide bombs and mistakes and all that.

Hopefully, every one of us feels for all these folks who are out of work – all these folks who have lost a good chunk of their life savings – with the crisis in our economy – as well as people all over our world.

Hopefully we feel human pain. To be subjects of the king is to feel the King’s pain – and that’s what our King felt – in the garden and on the cross – and all through his life.

Along with Martin Buber’s book, I-Thou, along with the Bible, M. Scott Peck’s book, The Road Less Traveled should be in one’s special book collection and read on a regular basis.

So that example of the two generals challenges me everyday – as priest, while driving, with family, while moving around on this planet called earth.

When I stand before you at Mass I have to remind myself not to speak at people, but to be with you. I want to pray with you. I have to stop and say, “This is not a crowd.” “This is not a bunch of people.” This is you, you, you, you and you and all you. You are subjects – subject to all the experiences of life I have and the person next to you has.

This is why I love the opening words of the Vatican II document, Gaudium et Spes, The Pastoral Constitution on Church in the Modern World, “The joy and the hope, the grief and the anguish of the people of our time, especially of those who are poor or afflicted in any way, are the joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the followers of Christ.”

My sister goes crazy when a priest says at Mass, “Is there someone here in the audience who is a lector or Eucharistic minister?” She would want him to say, “congregation” or “community”.

You are you and you are dealing with this Sunday – this moment – and you have to figure out how you are going to do Thanksgiving this week – with your family and with our world.

For some people the next month and a half is the best time of the year; for others it’s the worst time of the year.

If I hear one complaint about us clergy, it’s the scream that there is not only life in the womb, but there’s also life outside the womb. Don’t miss the whole picture. Be aware of every person, every subject, young, old and in-between, as well as Mother Earth, if we’re professing to be pro life.

CAR STORY

A car is an object. Of course advertisers try to make them subjects – with feelings and this or that. A car is an object – a thing.

One of my favorite car stories is the one about the couple who never bought a new car all through their raising of their kids’ time. Finally the kids are gone. Finally college is finished. It’s a time when the economy is doing well and they decide to buy a new car.

He loves it. She is out with it and she’s in an accident – and the car was just bought brand new last week. She is not hurt – but the car is damaged. She goes into the glove compartment. She takes out the insurance and registration. She spots a letter with the papers. She opens it up and reads, “Honey, I hope you are okay. Remember you’re you and I hope you are okay. You can’t be replaced. A car can. Hi sweetheart.”

Now that’s an I-Thou story.

TODAY’S READINGS

Today’s first reading and today’s gospel feature the contrast between sheep, ram and goats.

Today’s first reading and today’s gospel feature God being aware of each sheep, ram and goat.

Few of us are shepherds – but we know that people with dogs and cats, know that dogs and cats can be different. I don’t know about tropical fish. And we know people.

If we see people as subjects – unique gifts of our God – that each of us is the king’s subject, then we will be aware of who’s hurting – who’s strayed – who’s injured – who needs help.

If we see ourselves as subjects of the king, and if we see every person, as a subject of the king, then last night we felt for those who are homeless – because it was cold out last night.

If we see ourselves as subjects of the king, and if we saw the kids and adults yesterday morning who delivered 500 Thanksgiving meals to people’s doors, then we would have cried tears of joy yesterday morning.

If we see ourselves as subjects of the king, then we will see the child who wants to tell us a joke or tell them a story – or give them some time – and we will give it to them.

If we see ourselves as subjects of the king, then we volunteer if we have time. We will give an uncle or an aunt or a neighbor a call – or visit them – or when we see them, we’ll say, “Nice hat” or “Interesting cane you have. What’s the story behind it?” and listen to their answer.

If we see ourselves as subjects of the king, then we will walk down streets like Jesus – or the mall – or in a store – and treat everyone as a subject – making small human connections – being in and receiving holy communion with them or family.

CONCLUSION

This is challenging stuff - but when we treat each other as a Thou, we experience God and Heaven – joy and celebration. After all, we are made in the image and likeness of God.

If we treat others with an I-It attitude, when we miss others, when we dismiss others, when we ignore others, then we are dead and in hell.

Today’s gospel has a powerful message: all around us are people who are hungry and thirsty, sick or they feel stuck or in the prison of self or loneliness or in actual prisons – and we’re a goat if we don’t care for each other. Amen.

That’s the king’s judgment. He walked around and discovered all this.

This coming week, this Advent, this New Church Year, let us be good at being, “The King’s Subjects.” Amen.

THE TRIP HOME
AFTER THE CLASS REUNION

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “The Trip Home after the Class Reunion.”

How many times have we heard folks say, “If you ever get an invitation to a class reunion, make sure you go to it”?

TRAIN RIDE

I was sitting by myself on a Metro-North train heading south from Poughkeepsie, New York to Grand Central Station. In the 4 seats behind me were 4 ladies facing each other. I’m reading a book. Slowly their conversation and laughter, their comments and wonderings, became much more interesting than my book.

I closed my book and took a spiral note pad out of my bag and began jotting down all that I could hear. I wished I had the skill of a court stenographer. The 4 ladies were heading for their 25th Anniversary class reunion at Hunter College in New York City.

If I could, I would have loved to be on the same train with them on the way back to hear Chapter Two of their stories.

I never even turned to see what any of the four ladies looked like. I just finished my notes and stood up after they got off. I felt a tinge of guilt for eavesdropping – but I’ve heard it all as priest.

I have often wondered how novelists learn to write dialogue. Is it a talent? Is it a skill achieved? Do some have it better than others? Do they sit in restaurants and bars with spiral pad and pen and listen to how people talk and what they say? I wonder if writers do a lot of secret listening – in their efforts to be heard. In fact, to me writing, like preaching, is not noticing the speaker, just hearing the story.

While sitting there on that hour plus train ride to New York City, I jotted down many of their comments. One lady said she took off 15 pounds for this class reunion. The others laughed – but it was a nervous kind of laughter. How many different types of laughter are there? I heard lots of, “I hope she’s there.” “I wonder if she ever married that jerk.” “I can’t wait to see who looks the best.”

Have you ever been to a class reunion?

The title of my homily is, “The Trip Home After The Class Reunion.”

OUR CLASS REUNION
Three years ago our ordination class of 1965 met for a class reunion. 10 out of the 16 of us who were ordained showed up.

The trip home afterwards was the moment for me. Amazing wonderings hit me. Some of us had stayed as priests; some had left and got married. We talked about what happened after we finished studies and headed out into this great big world we live in.

A year earlier, 2004, 3 of us had talked about the importance of having a class reunion. I went with 2 classmates, Tom and Clem, on a two week vacation driving through Montana. Tom had spent most of his life as priest in Puerto Rico and Santo Domingo in the Caribbean and Clem had spent most of his life as priest in Brazil.

We saw Montana – under the guise of following part of the Lewis and Clark trail in that state. It was the bicentennial of their expedition [1804-1806] – but the real reason was to talk about what happened to us. It was a two week class reunion. We answered the “What happened?” question. I had joined the Redemptorists to become a priest and work in Brazil. I never got that assignment.

That trip and the class reunion got me to look at my life: Where did I go? Whom did I meet? What was it like?

It cleared up some, “What if’s” and added some new “What if’s?” It gave me many “Thank you’s” and “Thank God’s,” etc. etc. etc.

IT’S GOOD
It’s good to attend class reunions.

It’s interesting to listen to others on cell phones if they are being public about it – in fact, that’s better than complaining that they are being rude or uncivil – unless it’s stuff we shouldn’t be listening to.

It's interesting to take notes of what others are saying and then reflecting on what was jotted down afterwards. I do this and sometimes turn people's comments into poems or what have you.

It’s good to go down memory lane.

It’s good to take long walks.

It’s good to get a window seat in a plane when flying alone. We see a lot more from a distance.

It’s good to make retreats.

It’s good to read biographies and autobiographies.

It’s good to come to church – and listen to the readings.

TODAY’S READINGS
Today’s’ first reading from the Book of Proverbs gives us a wonderful poetic description of a great wife. Her value is beyond pearls. It’s a reading heard at weddings and funerals. It’s good to go to weddings and funerals. They are real eye and memory openers. It’s good to tell one’s wife, "You're a pearl!" – and she might add, “Thanks. Any chance for the real thing?” It’s good to tell each other, how much we appreciate each other – while we’re living. Harold Molz, one of the great old pillars of this parish, said, “Why wait to say great things about someone after they die? Tell them while they are living.”

Today’s second reading from the First Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians presents a theme we’re all familiar with: the surprise phone call – the bad news in the middle of the night – the accident – the disaster. It’s a theme we hear at the end of each church year – as well as in the season of Advent that is coming up. It’s good to read old letters. It’s good to realize life has term limits and surprises.

Today’s gospel from the 25th Chapter of Mathew is also worth reading. It has three parables. Last week, because of a feast day, we missed out on the story of Ten Virgins – 5 of whom were wise, 5 of whom were foolish. This week we hear about the 3 servants – one of whom was given 5 talents, one of whom was given 2 talents and one of whom was given 1 talent – each based on their abilities. Next week we’ll hear the 3rd parable in Matthew 25. It’s the last judgment – when we’re judged at the end of life as a sheep or a goat – depending on what we did with our life in caring for others. Strong stuff. Judgment stuff. Challenging stuff.

It’s good to look at our life – to see what we’re doing with our talents. It’s good to look at our life and ask, if we’re caring for each other. It’s good to have a class reunion with ourselves on a regular basis – and give an account of our stewardship – how we used our talents.

IN THE DARK – WAILING AND GRINDING OUR TEETH
How many people have gone to a class reunion – and wow were they surprised?

How many people on the way home from a class reunion – and for weeks afterwards, found themselves down – in the dark – inwardly wailing – outwardly grinding their teeth – because they realize they buried too many of their talents?

How many people have gone to a class reunion – and on the way home they realized the power of comparisons. So and so – didn’t have that many talents, but wow, look what she did with her life? So and so had so many talents, and wow did he mess up his life. In fact, he didn’t show up, but so and so told us how the star, the one most likely to succeed in our class, died 7 years ago of alcoholic poisoning.

CONCLUSION: THE WORD TALENT

The word “talent” appears in today’s gospel 9 times and it’s the bottom line thought I’m thinking about in this homily. The English word “talent” comes from this gospel. This Gospel story is the word’s history and background. Check your dictionary. In fact, the Greek word used in this New Testament text is, “talanton” – from which we get our word “talent”.

It's good to go to class reunions. They can be judgment moments. They can get us to look at what we have done with our lives. It’s good to take train rides and sit and eavesdrop on ourselves – to listen to the story of our life. If there have been blessings; praise God. If there have been disasters, ask God to get us moving. It’s never too late. Why spend time whining in the dark and grinding our teeth?

As I was working on this homily, I found a great anecdote about talent, so let me finish this homily with it. In April, 1962, John F. Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline hosted a White House dinner and reception honoring Nobel Prize winners. He said, “I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered together at the White House, with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.”

ON VISITING CHURCHES

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “On Visiting Churches!”

[I was going to entitle this homily: “For History Buffs, Look It Up!” Most of this homily or sermon will be history. And I like history, but it so easy to mix up facts and figures. It’s so easy to make mistakes, so it’s important to keep looking up stuff to make sure one is right. But let me stick with my title: “On Visiting Churches.”]

Today we celebrate something that might seem odd: The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome. We celebrate this feast on November 9 – because on this day in 324 – this first major cathedral church in Rome was dedicated in honor of Jesus our Savior. Later on the cathedral was also dedicated to St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist.

We celebrate this feast on this Sunday because today is November 9th. I have had all this schooling, but I’m still not sure when and why some feasts take over for Sundays and some don’t. So I have to do some homework.

ON VISITING ROME

Father Pat Flynn and 60 plus folks from this parish are in Rome today, I think it’s today, on their trip to Italy.

Is it a trip or a pilgrimage? Pilgrimage connotes visiting holy places.

I’ll have to find out when they come back if they went to the cathedral of St. John Lateran.

I was in Rome once – and I made sure I visited St. John Lateran’s. Ever since I was a kid, we were told at Our Lady of Perpetual Help School and Church in Brooklyn that the church where the original picture of Our Mother of Perpetual Help is in the small church of St. Alphonsus on Via Merulana – between the two major churches of St. Mary Major and St. John Lateran.

That information helped, because when I came out of the airport in Rome, the first bus I saw had “Santa Maria Maggiore” on it. I took it because I knew it was close to the Redemptorist House in Rome where I was going to stay.

The next day I went to the church of St. John Lateran. It was big – but I wasn’t impressed. But I knew I was standing on history. It was too dark for me – and too boxy. Sorry.

But what hit me was history – a long history. Here was the place of the first major church of Christians in Rome. Here was the wooden altar that Peter was supposed to have said mass on when he was in Rome. When news that Constantine was fighting under the banner of Christ – Christians knew they finally made it. Up till then they were a minority – often persecuted. This cathedral was our coming out party. Constantine had acquired the land through marriage – so he gave it to the church. It was land owned by the Laterani family – and they had a long history going back for centuries as well.

It was to be the place of the popes for 1000 years plus. Besides the cathedral, it was the place where the pope’s house was – along with several other buildings. The cathedral has a long history – and many rebuildings: it was sacked by the Vandals; it was devastated in a major earthquake; it had two big fires; it went into big crumble when the popes – 7 French popes - had moved and then lived in Avignon in France for 68 years. Then when the papacy came back to Rome, they settled in what is now the Vatican, a place on higher ground with better drainage – and St. Peter’s became the place to visit.

Yet, St. John’s remains the cathedral church of Rome.

So when you visit Rome, you have to visit St. John Lateran’s as well as St. Peter’s and the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museum and St. Maria Maggiori and the small St. Alphonsus’ church when you can see the original picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Help which we Redemptorists have promoted since 1867.

TODAY’S READINGS
The three readings for today all have to do with holy places – holy buildings.

We just listened to the readings them. What thoughts and feelings do they touch?

The first reading for the Prophet Ezekiel 47 talks about this imaginary temple that has the wonderful sound and sight of running water.

The water flows out of the temple down to the Arabah River. Then Ezekiel says that there are fruit trees of every kind along the banks of the river. Each month the trees give fresh fruit.

Isn’t that a great image of what a temple or a church should provide?

Wouldn’t that be a delicious place to visit every Sabbath? Wouldn’t that be a place that would restore our energies – going to the temple and seeing all this delicious water and then walking outside and picking fresh fruit.

Delicious fruit is very restorative. My sister always says, “If you want to get men to eat fruit, you have to cut it up for them.” Women: is that true?

A cold glass of water – the water cooler down the corridor here at St. Mary’s – seeing the creeks and bay of Annapolis – swimming – sailing on the Bay – going to Ocean City – taking a shower or bath – seeing, tasting and experiencing water restores us.

To be human is to hunger and thirst for good food and good water.

Aren’t families restored by picnics? Visits to Ben and Jerry’s? Tail gate parties? Cook outs? Sunday dinner?

Restoration – rest – revival – renewal? Isn’t that the purpose of temples, church, mosque, synagogue? When we feel broken and need a break after a long week of work – and sometimes Saturdays, we need Sunday. Isn't that why we’re here today. Give me a break!

The second reading from Paul’s First Letter to the Church of Corinth has Paul saying the people are the building – the temple. This was written before we had buildings – when the church was in hiding – when the church met in homes – long before cathedrals and churches could be built.
Question: when people meet me - this temple called "me", do they experience rejoicing, rest, restoration, renewal? Do they experience the presence of Christ?

The Gospel from John has the great message that Jesus is the temple.

The great temple in Jerusalem was the center of Israel’s life and culture. Jews would make pilgrimages to it many times in their life – just as Moslems today want to make pilgrimage to Mecca and their holy places.

Well, Jesus sees the money changers and sheep and oxen being sold on temple ground and Jesus became angry. Filled with zeal he overturned the money changers tables and yelled out, “Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.”

Jesus then says that he is the temple – he is the center – he is the place to visit.

It took the church and it takes us a long time to grasp this deep theology.

BUILDINGS
Do we need buildings? Do we need holy places?

The history of the world of us human beings answer a loud, “Yes!” – but of course the key is we come here to experience God first. And as Christians we come to church to feast on the great food here: Jesus. We come here to be washed with the delicious water: Christ. We come here to hear we are the body of Christ – and then to go out from this holy place – and treat each other with sweet sacredness.

CONCLUSION
The title of my homily is, “On Visiting Churches.”

Up front I said, I find it a bit odd celebrating the feast of church. Do we just give history? What? What do you need this Sunday morning?

So my theme was the value of visiting churches. When you’re a tourist do you drop into churches? I notice folks who come to Annapolis visit St. Mary’s. What is their experience when they come through our doors? I notice that visitors who come here for weddings, baptisms and funerals, often say, “This is a beautiful church.” So churches do something to some people.

If you’re a history buff, read Robert Worden’s history of St. Mary’s Parish here in Annapolis. * I believe there are still copies for sale.

As one reads and digs into the history of this church or any church, interesting tidbits of information – as well as questions arise. For example in putting together this first draft homily for today, I kept noticing things that were very interesting. I read that in 1784 there were 15,800 Catholics in Maryland – 3,000 of them being African Americans. What’s their story? How did they get here? What churches did they go to? Start digging. Research is a great hobby.

If you haven’t been to Rome yet, and you get the chance and if the economy improves, visit St. John Lateran – and St. Peter’s, and St. Alphonsus, and St. Maria Maggiore, and the many interesting churches there.

If you want to keep the money in this country, if you go to Florida visit St. Augustine – the oldest European city in the United States. Nibble on Spanish Catholicism there. It goes back to Ponce de Leone who was searching for the fountain of youth in 1513 and so many snow birds doing the same since.

If you go to California, take in the history of the 21 Spanish Missions along “El Camino Real” – each mission a days walk from each other – 1769-1823 – and how those missions are part of the history of that state – how the buildings were left to ruin – how in 1863 Abraham Lincoln gave all the mission lands back to the Catholic Church – and those mission buildings were restored in the 20th century.

Or if you stay local, visit the basilica of the Assumption in Baltimore. It’s been restored big time. Take the guided tour. Or to save gas and time, go on line and drink in its history. It’s the key cathedral for this diocese – and some would say for the United States – but those in Washington D.C. who like the Immaculate Conception Cathedral might differ. Whatever. Enough. Amen.


* Robert L. Worden, Saint Mary's Church in Annapolis, Maryland, A Sesquicentiennial History

PRAYER FOR OUR DEAD

Lift up our dead
strong Son of God;
You are the God of the living
and not the God of the dead.
Come into our upper rooms
with words of “Peace”,
when we feel dead
because of our dead.

Remember their goodness,
their acts of kindness,
all the many ways they
have lifted up our life with their love.

Lift up our dead
strong Son of God;
You are the God of the living
and not the God of the dead.


Andrew Costello

(© Markings Prayer for November 1997)

ALL SAINTS

Lord,
I don’t know
any of your Saints personally,
but I do know mine:

- a lady in our church
who quietly and faithfully
has run the soup kitchen
all these years;

- a guy at work
who would give you
the shirt off his back;

- my mom and dad
who taught me how to love,
how to forgive
and how to pray;

- a friend who always listens
when things just aren’t going right,
and you can count on this:
that’s as far as it goes.

Oh yeah, there’s this old nun in our parish
who takes care of the school library in the morning,
visits some people in the nursing home in the afternoon,
and answers the rectory phone in the evening.
She just doesn’t want to retire.

Lord, I don’t know any of your Saints personally,
but I’m sure you know mine.

Andrew Costello

(© Markings Prayer 

for November 1995

NOVEMBER PRAYER

Lord, it’s November Month:
All Saints, All Souls, All People
called to be pilgrims gathering for Thanksgiving.

Lord, it’s November Month:
bright autumn leaves finally all falling down,
old age, crisp and cold, retired,
traveling across the country,
leaves swept with wind across the sidewalk,
across nursing home lawns, till finally we are leaves,
dead, resting snug and secure
as cemetery stones in November Month.

Lord, it’s November Month.
Aren’t we all pilgrims,
stopping this moment for prayer, with food - Eucharist,
at the family table, the family altar,
filled with Thanksgiving for it all:
the gift of family, the gift of place, the gift of time -
the journey from birth to death, one’s lifetime:
the budding leaves of spring,
the green years of our summer,
the splash of autumn life,
till death do we part and find our rest,
All Saints, All Sinners, All Souls,
All Pilgrims headed for a far country, Heaven,
the Promised Land, the place with many mansions
the place of the Great Banquet, the eternal Eucharist,
the eternal Thanksgiving dinner.


Andrew Costello
(© Markings Prayer for November 1990)

NOVEMBER DAYS

Someday we’ll arrive
at the November days of our life.
We’ll have our particular aches and pains,
walkers and canes.
We’ll have the struggles of our last days,
our hands like hanging on November leaves
shaking in the cold wind,
Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s.
And then we’ll finally move into
our December days,
to the day we’re buried in the earth.
But we shall all rise at the call of the Risen Christ,
“Lazarus, come forth!”
“Mary.”
“Thomas, take your finger 
and examine my hands. 
Stop your unbelief! Believe!
“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
“Come to the banquet.”

Andrew Costello

(© Markings Prayer

 for November 2002)

ALL SOULS DAY

All Souls Day:
prayers sinking from our hearts
down deep into the graves
of our dead beneath our feet
or in the cemeteries in our hearts,
prayers for those we talked
at table with,
prayers for those we walked
these streets with,
prayers for all those
who have gone before us.
Amen. Come Lord Jesus!
Come Lord of the Living
and not of the dead,
because our creed is:
we believe down deep
you have risen from the grave. Alleluia.

Andrew Costello
(© Markings Prayer

for November 2000)

*

GRAVEYARD
STORIES!

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Graveyard Stories.”

Hey it’s close to Halloween – but my real reason for talking about graveyards is because today is All Souls Day – the day we remember our dead and pray for them.

Who are your dead? Where are your graveyards? What are your graveyard stories?

Talk to each other about your graveyard – your cemetery stories. Share the stories?

When you drive by a graveyard, does something happen to you that is different than going by a mall or McDonald’s?

When you drive by a graveyard where someone you loved and laughed and lived with died, what happens in the ground of your soul?

Get a ballpoint pen and paper – or a blank screen on your computer - and jot down the funerals you’ve been at – the cemeteries you went to afterwards. Jot down: what was the first death you experienced; what was the first cemetery you visited?

KAIROS RETREAT
I was on a Kairos Retreat with some of our high school seniors this past week. I was moved when one of the girls told about getting her grandma’s prayer book – after her grandma died. The girl described going through the prayer book and seeing all those death cards. As the girl talked I could sense it was a sacred moment for her – thinking about all her grandma’s friends who had gone before her. She had seen her grandma page through that prayer book – remembering her friends and family who had died – whom she loved and missed.

I couldn’t help but think, wouldn’t it be horrible if that prayer book was pitched. I guess that’s why people want stones – gravestones with their names and dates on them.

What do we do with the memorial cards we pick up in the back of the funeral parlor – just before or after we sign the book – because we want to say, “I am here for you at this tough moment.”?

Do we have a shoe box, a prayer book, a spot for our sacred stuff?

Who are your dead? Where are your graveyards? Whose names are on the stones? What are your graveyard stories?

CEMETERY SUNDAY

Have we lost the old traditions – like today being called, “Cemetery Day” or “Cemetery Sunday” – when families go to cemeteries to remember their dead?

PAUSE – CLOSE YOUR EYES – AND LOOK
Pause, close your eyes, and look at the gravestones in the slide show called our memory. Doing this can be a power point presentation of who has been who in our lives – how we got to where we are – where we have picked up our values, outlook – besides our DNA.

What have been your death experiences? Where are your gravestones? Whose names are on your stones?

Let me tell you some of mine – with the hope that it will get you to tell each other some of yours.

JIMMY HENNESSEY
The first death I remember was Jimmy Hennessey. He died when we were in grammar school. In those days some wake services took place at home. My only memory is being quiet – creeping forward – a line of boys going up the steps of the brownstone Hennessey House on 64 Street in Brooklyn - and quietly going into the house. There was Jimmy in a casket – in his black first communion suit. We stopped and looked. I hope we prayed. Then we silently walked out. I don’t remember the funeral mass or anything else – just the going into the house to see a dead body of a little boy.

His brother John was in my class and he came to my first mass and met my cousin Miggy again. They dated and married and I did that wedding and I did John’s funeral a few years ago. My cousin Miggy got remarried and I did that wedding as well. Life is a circle.

MY DAD’S FUNERAL
My dad died June 26, 1970. I was 29 years old. It was my first family death.

He was 68 – had emphysema and lung cancer – and I was there in Moses Maimomedes hospital that Sunday afternoon at 2 PM with my brother and two sisters and my mom – when my dad left us. Death.

I was to discover slowly, one of the greatest blessings of being a priest is the gift of being able to celebrate not just baptisms and family weddings, but a parent’s or a family funeral. I still have that sermon – one page – quite faded – hand written. It’s a visible reminder that I once preached very short homilies.

After the Mass came the procession and ceremony we all know very well: the slow dance down the church aisle with the casket to the hearse - the tears, the flowers, the holding onto mom arm in arm – the slow starting drive to the cemetery.

My dad is buried in St. John’s Cemetery in Brooklyn, N.Y. My mom heard about a great bargain. Talk about big time. She bought two spots in a mausoleum for them. It looked like an apartment house. It was a funny feeling going up this big elevator to the 3rd floor – with a casket – and then proceed to the spot in this big high ceilinged corridor. We stopped. We stood there in silence. We prayed. I remember being quick enough to switch the wording of the prayer in the book: “We consign the body of the deceased into the ground” to “We consign the body of the deceased into the wall.”

And that was the only funny moment that day.

MICHAEL

My next family funeral was my nephew Michael’s – age 15 – who died June 14, 1977. It was only 4 days after they found out he had cancer. He was such a strong kid and an athlete. He was just finishing his first year at Regis High School in New York City. I remember walking into the church and seeing what looked like 400 high school kids. What were they thinking? Was this their first death? They were a bit older than me when I went to my first funeral for Jimmy Hennessey. Are they still remembering that moment?

My sermon was three pages. It began. “It rained the day Michael died.”

The cemetery was in Staten Island. It was outdoors – a great grass lawn – filled with white tombstones and plastic flowers that were bright – and lots of dead flowers. To me the scene was much more powerful than the indoor mausoleum that my dad was buried in.

And to lose a 15 year old is much more horrible than a dad who had a full life – dying at 68. I’m older than my dad now – so that’s another thought for another day.

MY BROTHER BILLY
My brother Billy died on March 21, 1986 in Washington Hospital Center. Once more I was able to do that funeral. I’ve gone to his grave near DC at various times. He died of cancer – melanoma – at the age of 51. I miss him big time – but he told me before he died, “Thank God mom and dad gave us the gift of faith.”

It was a powerful funeral – about 70 cars – and once more I experienced the honor of being a priest – and being able to help my sister-in-law, Joanne, and their 7 daughters and the rest of the family and my brother’s friends deal with the death of a great character.

The sermon was 4 and a half pages long.

MY MOM
My mom was killed in a hit and run accident the following year on April 7, 1987. She was on her way to church. She was still working at the age of 83. It was a horribly difficult death and funeral. Our provincial was next to me at the funeral mass and whispered at the sign of peace, “I don’t know how you can do this.” I didn’t say anything but, “It’s my mom and I’m honored to do this.”

I don’t know how long that sermon was – but it was short.

After Mass and the drive, once more we were back at St. John’s cemetery mausoleum. This time the prayers were in an inside chapel – and then we went upstairs in the elevator. By now they had piped in music – all through the place. It was very nice – elevator or dentist office music – but not the stuff my mom or dad would ever listen to. Once more like in my dad’s casket, besides a rosary, someone put in a deck of cards. Like many couples, they prayed the rosary together, as well as played a hundred thousand games of cards together.

Once more I wished it was outside – with green grass and blue or grey skies – even rain. Looking at marble vault covers up near a ceiling – with names on them – doesn’t hit me like a gravestone in a graveyard does.

IRELAND
In 1996 I went to Ireland with my two sisters and my brother-in-law. It was a trip to go back together to the place where my mom and dad were from.

Looking back – and looking back is the best part of any trip for me – one of the moments that stands out – was walking with my Aunt Nora, my mom’s sister, who stayed in Ireland, down to the graveyard – right on Galway Bay. What a spot!

To get into the cemetery, there was a rusty metal turnstile. Interesting. It was to prevent cows from getting in – and you know what cows do. She warned us about what cows do. And surprise cows did get in there. My sister Peggy, a nun, didn’t heed the warning and ugh.

Aunt Nora pointed out the graves of our grandparents – only one of whom I met – an old lady who wore high tie black shoes and smoked a pipe – when she came for a visit to America when I was a kid.

This cemetery moment was a sacred moment – just like that girl on our high school retreat last week – who was handed her grandma’s prayer book. I was standing there with grand parents, great grand parents – and relatives from before that – all buried there. It was a sacred moment.

Praise God.

We were standing on holy ground - but good thing we didn’t heed the biblical call when standing on holy ground to take off one’s shoes – especially my sister Peggy.

CONCLUSION

The title of my homily is, “Graveyard Stories.”

What are your graveyard stories?

I just told you some of mine – 5 and a half pages worth – with the hope you too will tell each other your graveyard stories.

And make sure we tell each other our great graveyard story. When Jesus was buried they put him in a cave – a borrowed mausoleum – but on the third day – that stone was rolled back and Jesus rose from the dead – giving the hope and promise of resurrection to all of us. Alleluia.

* My mom, dad, and my sister Peggy (Sr. St. Monica, IHM-Scranton) and myself at the grave of one of my dad's sisters in Portland, Maine. Three of his sisters were Sisters of Mercy. [c. 1967]

THE HOOK

Why did this fish
bite this hook?
Okay, the hook was hidden
in a worm – and it
was feeding time.
But the consequences?
Death, the whole group
missing a member.
For me – a caught fish,
a digital photo, bragging rights,
and fresh fish for supper.
Yet, now, the thought
while wiping my plate
with rye bread: a family
without a father; a friend
without a friend.
To fish or not to fish?
It’s lesson time.
There are so many hooks
out there. And I’m so hungry.
I do it every time.
I bite – killing myself,
not considering
the consequences:
an end to conversations,
and time together,
being missed – the future,
but at the time,
“Oh that worm looked so juicy.”

© Andy Costello,

Reflections, 2008

WHAT’S IT LIKE?

[The title of my homily is, “What’s It Like?” Looking at today’s readings, especially the first reading, the key theme of “What’s It Like?” hit me. It’s the theme of “What’s it like to walk in another’s shoes or moccasins or clogs?” It’s the central theme of Christianity – the Word becoming flesh – incarnation – becoming human – announcing to us the Good News that God knows what we’re going through - what it's like to be human. Been there. Done that. So my homily is on: “What’s it like?”]

What’s it like to be a freshman in a college or university – and it’s your first night there and you don’t know any other person in the whole school – and your mom and dad who dropped you off – who helped bring your 18 plastic cases of stuff to the 4th floor of your dorm room – said “good-bye” after having pizza with you, and they are on their way back and they are not answering their cell phone – and you’re homesick already – and you feel stupid – it’s only 4 hours since you said “goodbye” and you’re thinking – maybe this choice was too far away?

What’s it like to be on vacation in some country where nobody knows English and your wallet and passport are stolen on the first day of your vacation – and it’s Sunday morning and the U.S. Embassy seems to be closed – at least nobody is answering the door bell right away?

What’s it like to go to Arizona in the summer and you get to the Grand Canyon – and you had wanted to see the Grand Canyon for over 50 years and you’re finally retired and you see it – and it is an overwhelming experience and you come back home and someone says at a tail gate party, “How was your trip out west? I heard you were going to see the Grand Canyon?” And just as you’re about to tell this captive audience about your mystical experience someone else jumps in with “Grand Canyon. Yeah. What a great place. I was there 27 years ago with my family” – and they go on and on and on and on and you never get to tell your story?

What’s it like to be a dental hygienist and you hate to floss?

What’s it like to be Saint Paul and you blush when the people of Thessalonica – whom you had no clue would be so great – saved two of your letters – and just love you – and pinch themselves for being so lucky that you just happened to come into their city and you told them all about Jesus Christ – and they caught him?

What’s it like to love the Lord our God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind – and your kids could care less about God?

What’s it like to be a priest and you’re giving a weekend retreat to a group of 87 men and you sit down after lunch with a man who asks to talk to you one to one - and he tells about his only son – his only child who is homosexual – and how difficult it was to come to an understanding of his son – the struggles both of them had – but they finally talked about it – one stressing disappointment, worry about what others might be saying – the other stressing how he felt for the lack of support and understanding and compassion – and then that evening you as priest are running a question and answer period for the whole group of 87 men and one man stands up and starts blasting homosexuals and you look over and see the face of the man who talked to you that afternoon after lunch about his only son?

What’s it like to be a ESL teacher – English as a Second Language teacher - at St. Mary’s – volunteering to do it one evening every week – and you’ve been doing it for the last 4 years now – and you have met some remarkable men and women – who work all day – and get to the classes in the evening – and then you’re at work and people are making nasty comments about immigrants – attacking these foreigners, who are lazy and not willing to learn English?

What’s it like to be here in church right now and you heard today’s gospel that we are called to love the Lord our God with our whole heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind – and then we hear that that’s the greatest commandment and then we hear Jesus say the second is to love our neighbor as ourselves – and we start to tighten our fist – because a co-worker comes to mind – a face and a name is applied to the word neighbor – and we say to God in prayer, “Do you realize how hard it is to love so and so– after all she has said about me behind my back?”

What’s it like to be a Eucharistic Minister – and you’re standing there with the Body of Christ in your hand and 98 % of the people come up to you and you say, “Body of Christ” and they say “Amen” and receive the Lord Jesus and you feel overwhelmed with the love of Christ – and then afterwards you hear one person say, “I’d never receive communion from a lay person. I will only go to a priest.”

What’s it like to feel that way and you feel singled out by a priest from the pulpit saying such a thing and you feel attacked or disrespected for your way of understanding Church?

What’s it like to be a freshmen in high school and your parents are killed in a car accident and you have to move across the country to be raised by your grandparents – whom you really don’t know that well – and now it’s just you and your older brother and he is already in college – and you feel all alone in a new home, in a new school, in a new part of the country – with these older folks – whom you wonder “Will they understand?” and then a month later – you realize they too are grieving – because they too lost their daughter and son-in-law in that accident – and you feel stupid for being so self-centered?

What’s it like to have a dad who gets bombed out of his brains every weekend and at every tail gate party and you’re in your room and you know your mom is also embarrassed to death – and also your dad’s mom and dad – and nobody is saying anything – and you love your dad with all your heart and you wish he would stop drinking?

What’s it like to have a bumper sticker for a candidate for president and also their running mate and someone sees it and sneers at you – as if you’re dumb or stupid or what have you – and you can’t wait till Wednesday November 5th?

What’s it like that first week in a nursing home – and you know your kids are doing this out of love – but it’s not home and the person in the room with you keeps losing their teeth and their glasses – and keeps calling, “Nurse. Nurse!”

What’s it like to be out of work and you’re 54 and you sent out 37 resumes and your savings are depleting fast and you’re nervous, very nervous and you don’t want your family to be nervous?

What’s it like to be a single mom or a single dad and you both tried a hundred times and then some to make your marriage work – and you both couldn’t make it work and you know it’s ripping the heart out of our kids – but this was the best compromise you could come up with – and you have kids in school and things are tight, stressful, and you want to scream?

What’s it like to be in Ireland this past May and from the bus window of our tour I saw 10,000 sheep and 100,000 rocks. I saw lots of old castles, pubs, churches, lakes, mountains, but surprise, surprise, here it is October and the most vivid memory of the whole trip took place while walking in Dublin one evening after supper. I spotted 3 young adults with backpacks and suitcases walking down the street. They looked Eastern European. They looked like strangers in a strange country. Then I saw them going into a place with triple bunk beds for the night. I could see the well lit rooms on the second and third floors – each with 3 big windows – no curtains or drapes - and lots of bunk beds in the big rooms that I could see from the street. I had no idea who they were. My imagination brought me to my parents coming to America at probably the same age having spoken Irish as their mother tongue - but they could also speak English – with only a minimum of education. Mom and Dad, what was that like?

What was the experience the writer of today’s first reading from Exodus that got him to have God say, “You shall not molest or oppress the alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. You shall not wrong any widow or orphan.”

What did the scholar of the law feel like when he tried to catch Jesus by asking him, “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” and Jesus answered him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.” How did he feel that night? Did he think about that moment for the rest of his life? Did he hear that Jesus was crucified – and forgave his crucifiers from the cross?

What’s it like to make a mistake – and you feel totally alone –and there is nobody in the whole world you feel you can turn to?

What’s it like to be you?

What’s it like to be me?

What’s it like to die – and you wake up on the other side of death – feeling totally scared and totally alone and you hear this great crowd in the distance. It sounds like they are at a banquet. There is music and dancing* – and as you get closer you hear someone say, “Welcome. You’re in the right place. And you find yourself in the eternal embrace of God.

What's it like?

*Cf. Luke 15:26

MONARCH


The monarch butterfly
with Tiffany stained glass wings,
works for his supper -
a king oblivious to others.
His term limit is months,
so he’s not concerned about polls
or public opinion.
He just does what butterflies do -
just worried about the next generation.
Now that’s the kind of king I’d vote for.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2008

AFTER

THE PERFORMANCE

Three moments:

before and after the performance
and the performance itself.

The performance: a party,
a wedding, a picnic, an anniversary,
a funeral, the hard work

in putting and pulling
it all together, the invitations,
the food, the phone calls,
the double checking,
the letting everyone know,
so nobody will feel forgotten, left out,
yet knowing old family fights,
those still burning below

on the bottom of what look

like cold coals,
might burst into flames again.
I guess it’s part of the party,
part of the play. It's family.
Some people like being on stage.
Some people are repeat performances.
Too bad for them: I rather

concentrate on the laughter
the reconnecting, the celebration.

Three moments….
Some like the before.
Some like the performance.
I like the exhausted feeling
after a performance.
It’s finally over.
People have headed home.

We're off stage.
We are all alone again,
tired, but with shoes off ,
bread and wine or coffee and cookies in hand.

Exits can lead to Resurrection. Restoration.
We sit in soft chairs and taste

some of what we didn't taste at the banquet
and “Wow! The stories....”

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2008

SO WHAT BOOK
ARE YOU READING NOW? *

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “So What Book Are You Reading Now?”

I would like to challenge you in this homily or sermon to be readers.

QUESTION

Years ago I was at a family gathering and a family friend nonchalantly asked, “So what book are you reading now?”

“Ooops,” I thought. Silence. Pause. Then I said, “I’m not reading anything now.”

I was in my late 30’s and I was too busy with work – and I had forgotten the importance of reading.

Looking back I was very appreciative that this guy Marty asked me that question, because it made me face the importance of reading books. It got me back to reading.

If he asked me right now, I would answer, “I’m reading a book of poems by Mary Oliver entitled, New and Selected Poems, (Volume One). And I just finished reading, on my sister Mary’s recommendation, a book on Warren Jeffs, When Men Become Gods. It was about a fundamentalist off-shoot group from the Mormons. It was a page turner. The author is, Stephen Singular.

QUESTION

So if I asked you, “What book are you reading now?” what would you answer?

And I don’t mean school books. I mean a book that you can’t wait till you get back to it. I mean a book you finish your chores and school work and disappear into a corner – a favorite place – a back porch – or a secret place where you love to read.

I grew up seeing my dad read – as well as my sister Mary and my brother Billy. In fact, when my older brother Billy played baseball, when he got off the field, sometimes you could see him on the sidelines reading a book at times.

TODAY’S GOSPEL

The gospel I chose for today is from St. Luke. It’s the scene where Jesus came to his home town of Nazareth. He went into the temple on the Sabbath. Luke adds, “as was his custom”. Then the story says, “He stood up to read.” He was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Then he unrolled the scroll and read that, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.” He read how “he was anointed to bring good news to the poor … to proclaim liberty to captives … recovery of sight to the blind … to let the oppressed go free.” [Luke 4:16-19; Isaiah 61: 1-2].

As far as I know this is the only place in the gospels where it specifically says that Jesus read. In several places he asks people, “Haven’t you read in the scriptures…?” He also asked folks to read the signs of the times. [Cf. Matthew 16:3]

We know Jesus was very insightful - and aware of what others were thinking and saying. Joachim Jeremias in his book, The Parables of Jesus, writes about the background of many of Jesus’ parables – and connecting some of them to similar stories from the same time.

I love the story in Luke of Jesus being lost in the temple at the age of 12 and his Mary thought he was with Joseph and Joseph thought he was with Mary on their way home – but he was back in the temple “sitting among the doctors, listening to them, and asking his questions; and all those who heard him were astonished at this intelligence and his replies.” [Cf. Luke 2:41-50.]

And if one reads the gospels we read not only his stories – but also his wisdom sayings.

QUESTION

So what are you reading?

We have the elections coming up and I hear people saying, “We don’t know who a candidate is.” I say to myself, “Well, both John McCain and Barack Obama have books out. John McCain has a book, Faith of Our Fathers and Barack Obama has a book, Dreams from My Father. People often ask me if I read such and such a book. One recent book was Barack Obama’s book, The Audacity of Hope.

So what are you reading?

I noticed that Sarah Palin was asked what her favorite book was or what’s she reading now – and she paused for a moment and said, C.S. Lewis.

His books, Mere Christianity and The Screwtape Letters are books I recommend very highly. I’m sure some of you read The Complete Chronicles of Narnia.

What would you answer if someone asked you your favorite book or what book are you reading now?

I noticed in Time, Newsweek, People Magazine, Sports Illustrated, and other magazines that athletes and stars are asked, "What book are you reading now?”

If you were asked that question, what would you answer?

POEM

I was looking for a poem the other day and came across a wonderful poem by Rita Dove which gave me the theme for this homily.

The poem is entitled, “The First Book.”

Bill Moyers in this book [Hold up book] The Language of Life asked Rita Dove the background of her poem, "The First Book".

She said she went into her daughter’s school and found out that the kids seemed to be scared of reading. She grew up in a family of readers, so she wanted to encourage reading. That’s the background of this poem. Let me read it from this book entitled, The Language of Life. [Hold up book]

THE FIRST BOOK

Open it.

Go ahead. It won’t bite.
Well … maybe a little.

More a nip, like. A tingle.
It’s pleasurable, really.

You see, it keeps on opening.You may fall in.
Sure. It’s hard to get started;
remember learning to use

knife and fork? Dig in:
you’ll never reach bottom.
It’s not like it’s the end of the world –
just the world as you think

you know it.

BOOK BAG

I have here a bag with a few books in it. I have a lot of books in my room, so I grabbed a few books as props for this sermon.

Rita Dove said books can take you into worlds you never thought of.

Here is a book entitled, I Will Bear Witness. [Hold it up] It’s by a man named Victor Klemperer. You can open up this book and find yourself inside another person’s diary. What would it be like to be a Jew in Dresden, Germany from 1933 to 1941? Open up this book and you can find out.

Well, there are lots of books like this. Just walk up and down the aisles of Annapolis Public Library on West Street.

Here is one of my favorite books. [Hold up book] It’s entitled, Reality in Advertising. It can take a person into the world of advertising. Years ago I read about this book and finally found a copy of it in a second hand bookstore. In the preface, the author Rosser Reeves, makes this remarkable statement. “I do not think it is out of order to say that it cost $1,000,000,000 to write this book.” How’s that for a catchy advertisement? How much is that? Anyone here good in math? How much is 1 followed by 9 zeros? A billion dollars. Then he adds, “We spent that much of our client’s money, and made many mistakes, to isolate these principles.”

CONCLUSION: WRITE

This homily or talk asked the question, “So What Are You Reading Now?”

I stressed the importance of reading. I would also suggest writing – not just for school – but for your own pleasure.

I have written several books – and a favorite story is that a former student that I had told me he saw one of my books in a used book store in Chicago for 25 cents. I asked him if he bought it. He said, “No.”

About a month later someone called me from somewhere wanting to buy a copy of that same book and I had to say I had no copies – that the book was out of print. I suggested they search for a copy on-line. After I hung up I went on-line to see if that was a good suggestion. Surprise. Surprise. Someone was selling that book for $127.00. If I had known that, I said to myself, I would have saved a case of them. I immediately called the guy who saw it for 25 cents in a Chicago bookstore – telling him that if he had bought it, he might now be able to sell it for $127.00 on-line.

So I hope from upi as students of St. Mary's, there will be some writers and that all of you will buy my idea of enjoying the gift of reading.

Read!

Now can I have one person who loves to read – not just for school work – but for enjoyment – give me the name of the book they are reading right now.

[Two students raised their hands. One person said they were reading a book about vampires and the other person said they were reading, The Call of the Wild by Jack London.]

* Surprise. I just heard that were further comments about my homily to our high school freshmen and sophomores. So the above is the written version of my homily to them. However, it should be noted that I left my written text in my room. I decided not to use this script for the homily. I did not stay in the pulpit. I walked around a bit while preaching trying to be energetic and alive as I pushed my message to read.

If you check my blog, there are not that many comments after individual pieces - unlike some blogs that have comment after comment after comment sometimes into the hundreds. This homily created some comments out in the real world of "buzz". If anyone wants to make a comment in the world of "blog", go for it. Thanks.