BE HOLY BECAUSE

 I AM HOLY

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Be Holy Because I Am Holy.”

That’s the last line in today’s first reading from 1^st Peter 1:16. Peter says,  

“for it is written, ‘Be holy because I am Holy.’”

Where is that written?

It refers to the sacred writings in Leviticus 19:2 - in fact that whole section of Leviticus which starts with Chapter 17 talks about holiness.

ROOT MEANING - OF THE HEBREW WORD FOR HOLINESS

In his Dictionary of the Bible - John McKenzie SJ - says, “In the opinion  of most scholars the Hebrew root KDS has the basic meaning of separate.”

Separate: as in the difference between holy and unholy….

Separate: as in the difference between sacred and secular.

That makes lots of sense to me.

There is a difference between a coffee cup and a chalice. If someone walks into the sacristy with a Dunkin Donuts coffee cup in hand, they might rest it or leave it on a counter - and then toss it in the garbage when they are finished. A gold chalice gets washed carefully and goes  in the safe.

Saints - holy people - are often portrayed as separate - different - very safe to follow.

We who are God seekers.  We are all safe seekers.  

Why are we here - in this church this morning - but to be with God? - we feel separated from God. We want to be with God, the Holy One. So we walk in here - into this holy place - called church - to be washed, to feel cleansed by God.

When we sin or make mistakes we feel unclean - even more separated from God.

The little kid who steals the candy - or breaks a dish - or spills the water - says, “Uh oh!” - lowers his or her head, and can’t look into the eyes of her or parent. They feel  separation.

The arrested person puts a jacket or a newspaper in their face when they are being marched into a court house.

Shame - shame on you. You’re not being like God. You’re separate in comparison to the bigger person - God - a parent - an authority figure.

The whole  Bible has the message - to bridge the separateness from God - to become holy - while at the same time talking about sin and uncleanness.

Priesthood means bridge. Christ is the Pontifex - the Bridge.  Christ is the Holy One - the One from God - who came to us - to bring us to God - and remove all barriers - separators - walls.  Christ is the Holy One.  Christ is the one who bridges the separation between us and God the Father.

If you get that basic idea of holiness - I’m happy with this sermon.

Holy means separate.

God and me - no comparison.

God and me - no connection.

God and me - so different - so separate.

CONNECTING

Yet down deep -  we want to connect - be with God - perhaps starting - out of fear - but moving towards love and communion - holy communion.

Pope Francis - just recently came out with a whole document on Holiness.

It’s wonderful stuff.  You can get it and read it on line for free.

It’s basic. It’s simple. That’s Francis’ style.

The Second Vatican Council came up with Chapter 5 in its major document on the Church - that the whole church is called to holiness.

Merton, Von Balthasar, Both Teresa’s, most spiritual writers tell us we’re all called to be holy.

Their major message is communion - prayer - becoming holy like God - and then going out - crossing the bridge from holiness into sin and selfishness.

Christ calls us to work hard to make this world we’re in  - a better place - a better space. That’s why we have holy places like churches - sanctuaries - where we can become like God - Holy.

CONCLUSION

The title of my homily was, “Be Holy Because I Am Holy.”

 I was going elsewhere, but when I thought about the idea of separate, I said to myself, “Let’s explore that.”

I ask you to do likewise.

May 29, 2018 

Thought for today: 

“It is a test of a good religion whether you can joke about it.” 

G. K. Chesterton

May 29, 2018

IMAGINE

Imagine if gnats and mosquitoes 

could think and talk and know 

which person to bug and pest - 

and who had the best blood 

in the neighborhood.

I guess if I knew they could do that, 

life would be that much harder. 

I wouldn’t be able to whack 

them dead or squash them with 

a Kleenex against a window. 

Yet again - maybe I wouldn’t. 

I totally ignore some people. 

Worse: I sting people and I bug 

people and I don’t ask what they 

think or ask what they are about. 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2018  

MEMORIES

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Memories.”

It’s Memorial Day - and  it’s Memorial Day weekend, so why not a few thoughts about memories?

DADDY STORY

I used this story before, because it’s one of my favorite stories. It’s also one of my favorite memories, It happened to me when I was a little kid.

I’m in the front room of our house in Brooklyn. We called it the Sun Porch - but it was indoors. My dad is sitting there in the corner - on a dark green -vinyl easy chair - reading the paper. I’m standing about 10 feet away looking at my dad’s collection of books - one of which is Best Loved Poems in the English Language.

I’m paging through it. Surprise I spot a dark red rose petal. It’s dry. It’s dead. I must of sensed it was very fragile - so I barely touched it.

I turn and head for my father - holding the book like one of the gifts at the  offertory procession at Mass. Showing him the open book with the dark red rose flower petal, I ask my dad, “Daddy what’s this?”

He asks, “What’s what?”

I said, “This rose petal.”

He looks at it and smiles his great smile, which different people told me that I got it as well.

He says one word, “Memories.”

That’s a very important moment and story for me. It’s life.  It gave me an important life lesson.

Every one of us has our red rose petals: a marine pin in a lapel on a suit jacket, a death card of a mom or dad or child, a baseball in  a box in a bottom drawer, an athletic trophy from our high school days, a two dollar bill signed by Bobby Kennedy, a wedding photo on a dresser top, a brick from our first house ….

Memorials …. Mementos …. Memories….

If it rains today - and you’re looking for something to do - get a pen and paper and find 25 rose petals among your possessions. Translation: find at least 25 mementos from your life.

TYPES OF MEMORY

There is a long term and short term memory.

There is also working memory - which is a combination of long and short term memory.

There is number memory - word memory - visual memory - emotional memory.

Animals have memories as well - long term and short term.

After humans, dolphins might have the best of memories - along with elephants and ravens. Yes ravens.  But I haven’t read enough of the research in all this.

And research is ongoing  - with lab rats, monkeys, humans.

PEAKS AND VALLEYS - INCLUDING DEATH VALLEY

When is our memory at its best?

Everyone over 67 talks about forgetting things - not remembering things.

We all know the experience of older folks repeating themselves - telling their war stories - as well as - losing it.

I was in a play in the second year of high school and I had the lead and had to memorize about 440 lines in 6 weeks. Did it.

Could not do that today.

I gave some high school retreats with a priest who could memorize the name of 100 kids in about 5 hours.  And he gave me his secret ….

My sister  told me that she had a photographic memory. In high school, she could see the page the information was on - in the book - that was inside her head - and she could it put it right down on test papers with ease.

My Aunt Kathleen remembered what people wore at every family gathering there ever was and she would let people know it  - which really endeared her to others - especially other women.

DEATH

We want to remember our dead.

On memorial day weekend we remember especially those who served our country and our world in the different branches of military service  - and who have died.

We pause and remember moments at funerals for veterans and burials in Veteran’s Cemeteries like Crownsville and Arlington.

At funerals when I’m stuck - and really don’t know the person who died I like to say I once  saw on TV - in a documentary on our evolution as human beings - that it was a big day when primitive peoples - didn’t just toss a dead body off a trail - and continue on hunter gathering treks thru the forests and mountain trails. No! At some point a group buried a loved one - said some prayers and words or incantations - and left a marker - to remember that spot when they happened down that trail again.

Someone said the 2 major issues of life are death and family.

And we think of death moments of family members - especially.

We bury our dead - their bodies, their remains, in sacred places called cemeteries. Tombs have markers, crosses, gravestones. At the end of a funeral sometimes people take home a flower and put a petal in a book and sometimes a little kid will accidently spot that petal and ask, “What’s this?

Memories.

CONCLUSION

We church goers believe that here is where our religion comes in.

We believe there is life after death.

We believe that Christ’s life tells us about life: loving one another, burying our complaints, and connecting with one another.

We believe that Holy Communion is with Christ - in all his members - as well.

We believe it’s important to say, “Thank you to those who were willing to lay down their lives for their friends.”

May 28, 2018

MEMORIAL  DAY

It was raining

that day

in the Veterans Cemetery ….

Rain rested silently

on top of the marble stones ....

It was row after row after row 

after row of names and numbers ....

It was worn out forgotten flowers ….

Then we got to our brother.

We stood there -

each remembering - in our own way -

the moments and memories

we had when he was with us.

Tears were bouncing off and

pinging our umbrellas.

Tears of rain began resting

silently and salty on our faces.

Iraq - another  war that was wrong  -

wrong - for US and for the Iraqis

Who says it doesn’t rain in the desert?

Who says mistakes are never made?

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2018  

May 28, 2018 

Thought for today: 

“Life is the art  of  being well deceived.” 

William Hazlitt  [1778-1830]
Painting by Mia Bergeron

BASIC  GOD  BLURTS

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Basic God Blurts.”

On this annual feast of the Most Holy Trinity, God, One God, Three Persons, I thought I’d like to say we have basic God instincts in our life - whether we are aware of them or not. 

I notice them, I hear them, these Basic God Blurts - that people blurt out from time to time.

FOR STARTERS - HERE ARE A FEW

For starters here are a few.

• “Oh my God!”
• “Holy Mackerel.”
• “Holy Cow!”
• “Holy God.”
• “Holy Moses.”
• “Holy crud or crap, or etc.”
• “Gosh!”
• “Jesus Christ, for crying out loud….”
• “God dang it.”
•  “Holy Mother of  God.”

Or we hear variation blurts -  of the opposite:

• “Hell no!”
• “That’s a hell of a way to show appreciation after all I’ve done.”
• “Go to hell!”
• “May you rot in hell for all eternity.”
• “May God  make you disappear!”
•  “Drop dead!”
• “I wish you never existed.”

QUESTION

What do you say when you’re angry or frustrated or you really want to verbally hurt another?

Does cursing help? Does cursing that brings in God - or the absence of God help?

What do you blurt out when you see an accident or a great football catch or a home run that wins the game? Oh my God, did you see that. Wow!”

What do  you scream when your horse or your son or daughter comes from behind and wins the race in the last two seconds?

We scream out blurts like, “Oh my God. Oh my God. We won! We won!”

FEAST OF THE HOLY TRINITY

Today is the feast of the Holy Trinity.

We Christians have been taught the great revelation about God - that God is three - and God is one.

That is quite a revelation.

God is a Father - Our Father - who loves us - knows us - who cares about us.

God is also Christ - the Son - who reveals to us himself as well as the Father.  Jesus told us, “See me - see the Father.”

This Jesus told us about the Spirit.

That’s Three who are One.

We heard the ending of today’s gospel from Matthew: “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

It took the Christian church centuries - heresies - splits - councils - to finally come up with a few basic creeds. We say two of them at our Masses: the Apostles Creed and the Nicean Creed.

Saint Augustine spent much time - 30 years - much energy - much probing - much prayer - to pull together his great book entitled, “The Trinity.” It’s 15 books.

I have never met anyone who has read that entire book yet. But people remember the simple story of the boy on the beach and Augustine a lot more. It’s told by preachers over and over and over again - especially on the Feast of the Holy Trinity.

Augustine is at the beach and he sees a little boy bringing a shell full of water from the sea to a hole in the sand. He’s going back and forth doing this. Augustine goes up to the kid, “Little boy, what are you trying to do?

The kid answers, “Oh I am going to bring the sea and put it in my hole in the ground.”

Augustine answers, “You can’t put the sea in that hole.  You can’t do that. It’s too vast.”

So the kid says, “Look, I can do that sooner than you can figure out the  Trinity.”

THE OCEAN

One of the two great metaphors for God is the ocean. The other is Marriage.

I lived in a retreat house on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean for 7 years - and many,  many, many a person told me they found God on the edge of the waters - especially at sunrise.

I didn’t spend much time at the Pacific - but I’m sure people meet God at the edge of the waters there as well - Sunset.

Hopefully in every trip to the waters - hopefully in every Marriage - everyone screams out, “Oh my God!”

However, as I lived on the edge of the Atlantic - after 6 months - I got used to it. I assume the same thing happens in marriage.

But there are times.

There are moments at the ocean - moments of sunrise - at 6:17 AM  - and we pray out loud, “Oh my God.”

Hopefully there are moments of renewal in every Marriage.

I see that on the day of marriages - being up close to wedding days - like inches away from eyes and words and faces.

I hope honeymoons - a zillion expressions of love - in married couples bring them into the presence of God.

I know I see those moments in the birth of a baby - and then the birth of the first grand kid.

I see those God moments when parents and grandparents see kids graduate from kindergarten, grade school, high school and college.

Oh my God.

NUMBERS

Life has numbers.

Little kids learn their ABC’s and 1,2,3’s.

God is complex. Life is complex. There are billions and billions of memories, DNA, cells, stars, vastness.

Yet God is as simple as a Father loving and holding a son or daughter or a wife holding her husband or the ocean hitting the beach over and over again for 5 billion years.

CONCLUSION

The title of this homily is, “Basic God Blurts!”

I see couples at the beach - walking and holding hands.

I see with my imagination.

I hear them saying, “We don’t do this enough. Oh my God, we need to spend more time walking and talking.”

I see couples coming out of the parking lot and holding hands as they walk to a church for the funeral of a close friend - their age - and they know now a widow or a widower - has to go it alone.

“Oh my God.”

I hope all of us pray deep prayers of appreciation for the gift of life - that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is keeping me in existence.

I hope all of us when we get really scared - scared of death and hell - and what’s going to happen hereafter - and we blurt out in prayer.

Oh my God….

WORK  IN  PROGRESS 

At some point we realize -

we’re hoping - another reads

the story - the song - of my life.

We write it on the backs of

envelopes - but sometimes

we send it in a card or a letter.

Sometimes it’s a scribble;

sometimes it’s a song;

sometimes it’s all surprise.

At some point - we realize -

it’s not a #1 hit or a best seller -

yet we hope you read my story.

Or at least let me hear you

humming my song - the story -

the meaning of my life.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2018  

May 27, 2018

Thought for today: 

“Nothing is more  unpleasant  than a virtuous person with a mean spirit.”  

Walter Bagehot [1826-1877]

Trash talk.
Apples and oranges.

Some music for your night.

Some music
for your day.

RECOVERY

Recovery is a season, 

not a one day resolution 

or a blurted out promise - 

because of a dirty ongoing disaster. 

It takes time. 

Even if it’s autumn or winter, 

it’s a springtime …. 

It’s when birds return, 

when green begins to bud, 

when windows are umphed open, 

and if we want tomatoes in season, 

we need to get out and hoe, 

dig and plant and water 

and put up fence 

to keep out the rabbits. 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2018  

May 26, 2018 

Thought for today: 

“They talk most who  have  the least to say.” 

Matthew Prior  [1664-1721]

May 25, 2018

PRAYER …. BLUR

Trying to pray

here on the edge

of blur - waiting in the quiet -

sitting sort of in the shadows

of my life - sorting out nexts -

knowing - that sometimes -

because of similar moments

in my past - YOU come

around the corner -

like a car coming up a dark street

at two or three in the morning ….

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2018 

May 25, 2018

Thought for today: 

“Someday I would like  to  stand  on the moon, look down through a quarter of a million miles of space and say, ‘There certainly is a beautiful earth out tonight.”  

Lieutenant Colonel William H. Rankin

May 24, 2018

I BELIEVE IN THE INVISIBLE

  

INTRODUCTION

The title and theme of my homily for this St. Mary’s High School Graduation Mass is, “I Believe In The Invisible.”

I believe in the invisible.

Guess what?  Everybody does.

We also believe - better - we know the visible - what we see and taste and touch and smell and hear - in other words what we sense.

But my homily is on, “I Believe In The Invisible.”

AN ARTICLE

I got the idea for the question I want to address this morning from an article I read two days ago about atheists. We were up in Malvern Retreat House with our Juniors - just like you graduates were there last year at this time. Ginny got sick a bit, so we had some extra time. It was then I spotted some magazines. This one magazine had an article on Atheism - and being a priest I would obviously want to check that out.

I recommend: “Don’t forget magazines.”  Pick them up when you’re on planes or in doctor's offices. Find the lead article or any article that grabs your interest.

The article was entitled, “Spiritual Literature For Atheists” by Francis Spufford. It was in First Things Magazine, November 2015.

The article begins with a story about Richard Dawkins - who sees himself as  a militant atheist. It begins with a moment when Richard Dawkins is on stage. He just finishes a talk and the following happens in the  Question and Answer period. Someone asks him why people’s conviction of the presence of God doesn’t count as data.

His answer to that question was, “Oh, all sorts of funny things happen in people’s heads. But you can’t measure them, so they don’t mean anything.”

That hit my button - especially those last words, “... so they don’t mean anything.”

We have buttons - all of us - but buttons are invisible.

What are your buttons?

ONE OF MY EARLIEST MEMORIES

One of my earliest memories has to do with the visible and the invisible. It took place in the front room of our house.  My dad was sitting there reading the newspaper in his favorite chair.

I’m on the other side of the room looking at a collection of brown covered books on two shelves. It was a whole series that my dad had bought or got somewhere. I’m paging through a book entitled, Best Loved Poems of the English Language.

Surprise!  I open up to a page that has a dark red - dried - rose petal.

I had never seen this reality before: a rose petal in a book.

It had mystery and question.

I didn’t touch the rose petal - lest it crumble or fall apart. I knew enough to realize this.

I took the book in both hands. I left it open to the page the rose petal was seated.  Like in an offertory procession I walked carefully to my dad and said, “What is this?”

He put down his paper - looked at the open book - saw the rose petal - smiled - paused - and said, “Memories.”

My dad was seeing the invisible and he remembered what he saw with a great smile.

THE BRAIN - THE MEMORIES

There are millions of memories in our brain - invisible scenes - triggered by the visible.

Our graduating class will come back to St. Mary’s 10, 20 years from now and walk into classrooms - go through our macadam parking lot - still probably filled with cars and car problems.

Memories of teachers, classmates, moments here will come flying through the air.

As Charles Dickens book, A Tale of Two Cities begins,  “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.”

Memories.

High School classrooms are filled with memories since 1946 when St. Mary’s High School opened.

THIS CHURCH

Or take this church.

It’s filled with the invisible.

If you walked into this church at 4 PM - and you walked in alone - and you had been here when you were young - you’d be hit with memories. If you sat in a bench or walked around - the invisible in this room - in this space - could be like a tsunami wave of history hitting a beach - hitting you.

The invisible can be loud and clear - like a fire engine come roaring down Duke of Gloucester Street.

If you opened up any of the three confessionals  off to the side - along the walls, out would pour millions and millions of sins.

If you stood up here in the sanctuary - right there [POINT] - you would see and you could hear thousands and thousands of couples saying their marriage vows. Often couples drop in here and point to the front of the church and say, “We were married here, 27 or 52 years ago.

Right there thousands and thousands and thousands of  babies were baptized. Right there on the  altar [POINT] after baptisms for the past 12 years or so I have couples put their baby on the altar - put their hand on their baby - and I say, “I’m trying to connect baptism to the Mass - so standing there where the priest stands at the altar facing out - with your hand on your baby please repeat after me, ‘This is my body - this is my body - this is my blood - this is my blood - we’re giving our life to you.’”

Then I say, “This is the sacrifice of the Mass. This is sacrifice of a life of giving oneself to one’s kids.”

Right there [POINT] in front of that first front bench a mother of a bride two years ago - while they were taking pictures after a wedding - she fell over and died - and right there a few days later - in that space 10 feet away she was in a casket for her funeral Mass. Tough stuff.

Tough stuff repeated.  Many funerals have taken place in this sacred place since way back to 1858.

Years ago - there are pictures in Robert Warden’s sesquicentennial history of Saint Mary’s Church - 1853-2003 - of this church filled with midshipmen from the Naval Academy. They marched up here for prayer  - and Mass.

What have been their invisible memories from this sacred space and place?

This church is filled with thousands and thousands of sermons. Okay, some like this one might put you asleep.

Words - words - words…. Does anyone remember what was said?

This church is filled with a million tears and prayers.

Packed in here - as many as the stars in the sky - many more than the stars on our ceiling.

These benches you’re sitting in - these very uncomfortable benches - are filled with memories of all the people who sat here and been here - asking for help - saying “Thank You” to God for blessings - giving God the glory.

CONCLUSION

In other words, “I Believe In the Invisible.”

In other words, “Savor the Moments of Life.”

In other words as Jeremiah said in our first reading, "God has plans for us."

In other words as Psalm 139 put it, "God is near."

In other words as Paul said in today's second reading from Philippians, "God is our strength."

In other words as today's gospel from Matthew put it, "Be salt and light to our world."

That's all to be done - to be in our future. And future is invisible, but ....

In other words, today is one day, one moment, to pause and realize there is more - much more  to life - than what meets the eye.

Go forth from here and make more memories with the skills and knowledge you picked up here at St. Mary’s and from your life here in the Annapolis area of life. Amen.

May 24, 2018

BOOK STORE

Words, words everywhere

and not a drop to drink ….

I stood at the shelves

thirsting for something ….

The right title, the right book,

the right combination of words ….

Something, an answer, a hint,

till I finally - gave up …. and

they had cards up front and

none of them helped as well ….

So I guess the word, the message

is, “I have to turn to you.” Oh God….

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2018  

May 24, 2018 

Thought for today: 

“Don’t let your ego  get too  close to your position, so that  if your position gets shot down, your  ego doesn’t go with it.” 

Colin Powell