January 15, 2019

EXERCISING OUR DEMONS

OR

EXORCISING OUR DEMONS

INTRODUCTION

The title and the theme of my homily this morning is “Exercising our Demons or Exorcising our Demons.”

Everyone of us has demons within. They are living there consciously and unconsciously inside our mind and heart and psyche. And these demons within us can destroy us. Let him without sins cast the first stone. Let him without demons cast the first stone. To deny them is to move towards  becoming a Pharisee.

TODAY’S GOSPEL

In today’s gospel, Jesus comes along and frees this man of his demons, so that he can take those energies and use them for community. This is good news. Jesus brings freedom. He shares his strength to help those who are being overpowered by strengths and energies that they can’t control. He frees that energy that is locked up by our demons.

EXERCISING OUR DEMONS

Demons are our sins and the results of our sins. They are also the ways we have been hurt and sinned against. And then they are all those inner conversations and sometimes even shouting matches that we have with ourselves when we let our demons out to play in the playground of our mind.

It has been my experience that people exercise their demons. We flex them.  We let them out to play. And as a result, like any exercise they become stronger and more pronounced.

A good analogy for what I am trying to get at today is Eric Bern’s analogy of the tape. Most of us spend hours and hours of time each day playing tapes. We walk around with an invisible “Walkman” inside our skull. The result is we can become deaf to everyone else. Haven’t we all had the experience of being with someone who is totally involved with listening to tapes and totally unaware of us. And then we start to talk inside our heads about what they are doing. Sometimes it even pushes our button and we start to inwardly bitch and bitch about them.

In other words we do spend a lot of time talking to ourselves. Well, if they are conversations we had before, Eric Bern would call them “tapes”.

And we have a whole cabinet of them in our inner storeroom. And the topics and themes of our tapes are many. We play our anger tapes, our lust tapes, our should tapes, our should not tapes, our poor me tapes. We have drawers filled with all kinds of tapes. Someone just pushes our button and we have immediate access to them. Or we inwardly run and get them and start to play our tapes. We play them in traffic, in our rooms, in chapel, in the corridor. Say the wrong thing and push - we begin to play them. We begin to exercise our demons.

Warning: playing tapes, like using a telephone while driving, can dangerous to our health. They can kill us, because they can run the show. They can destroy us.

Let him without demons cast the first stone. Let him without demons deny the presence of the tapes. Let him without demons look down on those whose demons are running their lives and destroying their everyday.

MIKE 

Take the experience of going to a funeral. We go to the wake. We sit there. We go to the church. We sit there. We go to the cemetery. We stand there.

And what do we do the whole time. Don’t we play tapes.

I remember going to my brother-in-law’s brother’s funeral. I drove down for the wake and for the funeral. While driving back I began to play back what went on in my mind and heart while I was at the funeral—the tapes that I had listened to. 

Mike had his demons. One was demon drink. I even heard that phrase being used as a joke at the funeral parlor. He smoked. He died of cancer—alone in a small rented room. 12 years ago his wife after repeated attempts to reach him told him to leave. He did. She had gotten help from Allanon. But the damage had already been done from years and years of alcoholism. His 2 kids were quite messed up. Both had to get married.

At the funeral parlor I stood there and noticed that the son of the man in the closed coffin was quite drunk. He would sneak out, as someone told me, to take a drink or smoke a joint. He was bouncing all over the place. The demon drink was bouncing within him. He was filled with guilt as one person told me—living without his father for the past 12 years.

I figured it was useless to talk to him, so I butted in and talked to his wife. They are planning on moving in 2 weeks for North Carolina. I usually don’t jump in, but I went up to her and said, “Kick ass. Get yourself some help. It looks like Mike has a serious drinking problem.” Her response was, “Oh, he’s just going through a rough few days.” The demon of denial is playing in her head. I said to her, “When you get to North Carolina join Alanon like your mother-in-law did up here.” I didn’t say that geographical changes can often be a denial of the real changes that are needed.

The demon of not saying a thing was running around in my head, but I didn’t play that tape. I figured this was the best thing to do at the moment.

That was the just the funeral parlor. That’s what I was talking to myself about. That’s what tapes I was playing. A whole new set of tapes kicked in when I went to the funeral mass the next morning.  It was disaster alley. The priest was a robot. He said the whole mass in 29 minutes: sermon, prayers for the dead, meeting the coffin in the back of the church before and after the mass. I sat there stewing about impersonal priests. I even said to Jack McGowan after communion, “I’m leaving the Catholic Church.” After mass a few people were fishing for my reaction to the priest. One person said that the guy needed a personality transplant. I kept quiet.

But afterwards I began to think. I don’t know this guy. But I do have an obligation to know myself. Let him without sins cast the first stone. Let him without demons give the first evaluation. What are the things that I must do to make life more personal and better for others?

FIRST READING

That brought me to this morning and today’s readings. One of the advantages of preaching is you get a chance to clarify your own thoughts. 

In today’s first reading a sentence grabbed me. Yes, all things are subject to Jesus, but obviously, it has not happened yet.

GOSPEL

That brought me to the Gospel. This man in the gospel with the unclean spirit is me. That man is me. I have many unclean spirits in me that are often shrieking and yelling. I am here in this synagogue and Jesus approaches me or I approach Jesus.

I need help. I have demons within me. They are scared of Jesus Christ. They know that Jesus can destroy them. So they are very aware of Jesus’ presence.

But being smart they identify with my person. They become me. Demons become me. I spend so much time talking with them that I fear that I will be destroyed if they are destroyed. I am like Francis Thomson who said, “Lest having you I will have nothing else.”

Jesus: I confess today in this synagogue, this meeting place, that you are the savior. You can take away the sins of my world. You can uproot my demons.

And hopefully Jesus will say, Be quiet. Come out of the man.

And people will be amazed at our change - our change in personality and behavior.

Writing about this section of Mark (page 39), calling it “A Typical Day” in the Life of Jesus, Diarmuid McGann, a priest out in Long Island, has 5 steps that take place here:

1)       I must perceive my demons;

2)       I must claim my demons;

3)       I must name my demons;

4)       I must tame my demons;

5)       I must re-aim the energies that are locked up in  the demon.

CONCLUSION

So the obvious response is, Amen, Come Lord Jesus!

January 15, 2019

TIRES

One more act of faith….

One more sign of trust ….

Tires: that they will get

us there - back and forth -

for at least 50,000 miles.

An act of trust that slips

into thin air as we turn

the radio on - as we ride

by the world going by -

that is till we hit a pot hole.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019 

January  15, 2019


Thought for today: 


“He who forgives ends the quarrel.” 

African Proverb

January 14, 2019

THE BEGINNING OF 

THE  GOSPEL  OF  MARK

INTRODUCTION

Today as we begin the Gospel of Mark, for a homily I’d like to preach on 3 points:

1) Some quick opening reflections on the Gospel of Mark

2) A brief reference to Jesus’ opening message about the Kingdom—as we heard it in today’s gospel

3) A few comments about Jesus calling ordinary people: Peter, Andrew, James and John.

1) THE GOSPEL OF MARK

Today we begin Ordinary Time with the Gospel of Mark—Monday the first week in OT and we’ll have Mark till Monday, the tenth week in OT.

In year B, on Sundays, we have The Gospel of Mark on Sundays till the 16 Sunday in OT—with time out for Lent and Easter.  However, this year - is the year of Luke for Sundays.

So some quick comments on Mark.

Mark is most probably the first of the 4 Gospels, so it’s a good place to start. It’s only 16 chapters. It can be read in one sitting.

Mark is practical. Mark is visual. Mark is details. No frills. All action. No fluff, stuff. He does not tell too many parables, stories, sayings of Jesus—especially the little images, but rather he’s into action. He tells what Jesus did more than what Jesus said.

“Jesus went about doing good.”

He does not give us the infancy stuff. That’s fluff.

No, he starts off with John the Baptist and then gets right to the point: Jesus.

Jesus then does stuff right around Galilee—in the north—then Jesus goes south.

He get to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. He cleans out the temple. He is arrested and killed.

Then he rises from the dead, tells his disciples to “Go into the whole world and preach what I told you—the Kingdom—to all people.”

2) THE KINGDOM

So that’s Jesus in a nutshell according to Mark. It’s about the Kingdom.

It’s about being in the Kingdom—living in the Kingdom—living in the Kingdom of God.

We don’t start there, so we are called there—to change and enter that kingdom.

Picture yourself in a room—better picture yourself as a room. It’s filled. It’s filled with so much stuff that to go to bed you have to take stuff off your bed and you put it on your desk. And to work at your desk, you got to take the stuff off your desk and put it on your bed—and that’s what you do day after day after day and night after night after night all through your life.

Finally someone says, “You don’t have to do it that way, stupid!”

You say, “There is? What is it?”

And the other person says, “Get rid of everything that you don’t need and you’ll have all the space you need.”

Change! Repent! Turn around! See everything different. Start doing things differently.

The Purgative Way is the emptying way.

The next stage is The Illuminative Way.

So my second point simply is Jesus message to change. To see differently, to do different, to be different.

That’s Good News if you are sick and tired of being dragged down by your own nonsense.

I can change. That’s good news. I can become light.

3) THE CALLING

My third point is the calling. The simple call: “Come follow me!”

I read a quote from a man by the name of Lew Wallac. Picture or listen to his account of deciding to follow Christ compared to the calling and letting go and following Christ by Peter, Andrew, James and John, in today’s gospel—how they were called, let go, and followed Jesus immediately.

After six years given to impartial investigation of Christianity, as to its truth of falsity, I have come to the deliberate conclusion that Jesus Christ was the Messiah of the Jews, the Savior of the world, and my personal Saviour.”

That’s some contrast.

We are both.

Some of us made our move fast and took 6 years + to reflect upon it.

Some take six years and then jump at the right moment.

So I advise you to have Jesus Christ come to your boat and see what he sees in you.

Barclay, commenting on this text sees Jesus knowing these guys beforehand  -- at least to have watched them.

Barclay also makes a second point and that is that these are common men, common slobs, that Jesus mixed with, the common folk.

If you ever get to New York City, take the subway. Look around. You'll be with common folk.

What is your attitude towards common folk?

George Bernard Shaw, “I have never had any feeling for the working-classes, except a desire to abolish them, and replace them with sensible people.”

John Galsworthy has one of his characters in his book, The Patrician, say, “The mob! How I loathe it. I hate its mean stupidity. I hate the sound of its voice , and the look of its face—it’s so ugly, so little. “

Carlyle, in a fit of anger, once said that there were twenty seven million people in England, mostly fools.

Jesus did not talk or feel that way about people.

Lincoln, quoted by Barclay, said, “God must love the common folk—he made so many of them.”

So Jesus called common people, ordinary people, in an ordinary time, to be his extraordinaly disciples.

So too us!

We can say that he’s calling us.

Our move.

Our choice.

CONCLUSION

So those are three reflections to keep in mind today as we begin the Gospel of Mark here in Ordinary Time—up till Ash Wednesday (March 6th this year). 

January 14, 2019

DIG  DEEP 

TILL  YOU  UNEARTH 

YOUR DREAMS

Down deep

in the depths

of our underearth -

are our dreams.

Dig - keep digging - till

the strong steel of your

shovel hits your dreams:

then lift them out - 

clean them off -

and then start singing.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

FOR EXAMPLE:

January 14, 2019

Thought for today: 


“Kind words don’t wear out the tongue.” 

Danish Proverb

THE  MASS OF  SNOW

A mass of snow covered us ….

Silent night …. Holy night ….

Waking up …. Looking out the window….

All is bright ... all is white … all is clean ….

Christ … no footprints of your people -

coming to church this Sunday morning….

Christ …. your footprints in our homes ...
your presence in our souls when 
we are gospel, when we are good news,
when we take and eat  these moments 

to be in communion with each other….

A chance for all to be with each other in

this clean, white, beautiful Sunday morning.

 © Andy Costello, Reflections 2019

WHAT DOES 
THE WORD “BAPTISM” 

TRIGGER IN YOU?

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is a question: “What Does the Word ‘Baptism’ Trigger in You?”

This Sunday we celebrate the feast of The Baptism of the Lord.

It recalls the day Jesus headed to the Jordan River to be baptized by John the Baptist.

I know that people like to go back to the church where they were married.

The following has happened at least 100 times. I go down to the office at St. Mary’s - to look something up or drop some outgoing mail. Surprise! I bump into someone who is visiting St. Mary’s. They say, “We were married here 35 for 16 years ago - or what have you.”

I’ve never had anyone say, “I remember when I was baptized here - 55 years ago.”

Obviously, because we’re baptized as babies - most of the time.

Yet, since today is the feast of the Baptism of Jesus, let’s revisit our baptism.

Let me look at 3 aspects of baptism. There are many more.

NAME

First of all, our baptism is the day we got our name. This was much more significant way back when - because way back when, people got baptized right close to their birth, mainly because baby deaths were much more frequent.

I ask you to revisit your name - even if it was weeks or months after you were crawling around with your name in place.

I just found out last year,  I was to be a John - and my father - changed me to Andrew almost at the last minute.

I’m glad. There are too many people named John.  Sorry to all those here who got the name “John”.  I hope you prefer your name, like I like my name.

I got Andrew Jackson at my baptism  - which I also  like. It got me to read at least 3 biographies of Andrew Jackson - the 7^th president of the United States - and his being featured on the 20 dollar bill.

I see Andrew Jackson’s painting on the wall in the Oval Office of President Trump - so my fear of being replaced by a woman on the 20 dollar bill has gone away.

I was born on the feast of St. Andrew Avellino - who has since been dumped from the church calendar in favor of St. Leo the Great.

I prefer the Andrew.

My father took that Andrew from the Saint’s name of my birthday and added the Jackson. The reason: because growing up in Ireland priests would say from the pulpit trying to get priest recruits, “Andrew Jackson was a president in the United States and he would have been Catholic - if there were more priests over there in the South. Lots of Irish Catholics lost their Catholic faith because of the shortage of priests.”

Now this was not historically true - but there is some truth in the statement. In fact, I once  received a newspaper clipping on this practice.

So revisit your name. Is there any history behind it? If there is,  advertise it. If your parents are still alive and you don’t know why you got your name, ask.

If you have any power - if you’re still hoping to have kids - think twice of the selection of kids’ names.

I love the saying, “If you’re about to pick a name for a kid, go outside - back porch or front yard and yell out, “Jeremiah get in here, you bull frog.” 

Give your kid a name with history - and a neat sound -  and realize a name has great impact on a person.

And don’t forget grandparents and family stories.

FAITH

Secondly, revisit your faith.

Having your kid baptized is an act of faith.

Is it any wonder, we priests keep on hearing from grandparents, our kids have stopped going to church and our grandkids have yet to be baptized.

I have heard 2 times so far about parents having a party on their street for their new born kid  - during which they name the kid and hold the kid up in the air in celebration like the bread and wine being held up at Mass.

Ritual is part of being a human being - like grandparents wanting to show us pictures of new born babies in Wyoming or what and where have you.

And I still hear of some grandparents baptizing their grandkids secretly in the kitchen sink or bathtub - because their parents didn’t get them baptized.

In today’s gospel we hear the great message that God breathes on us and in us, “You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased.”

May all parents and all brothers and sisters treat each new baby and each little kid as beloved.

May each human being sense, believe, know that they are cherished, beloved, pleasing to some people on the planet.

May all Christians - all christened people - all baptized people - know they are the body of Christ.

Father Blas who was here for a few years - and was back this week - triggers for me a powerful story.  When he was here, he was in the back of church at St. Mary’s and the cantor said right before the Mass began, “Today is the 20 Sunday in Ordinary time. Please check your cellphones or electronic devices and make sure they are turned off and  our main celebrant  for this mass is, ‘Father Blas’” and he heard one person say out loud, “Oh no!”

Oooooooooh!  That hurts.

Every human being - baby to Nursing Home person - needs to know he or she is a child of God - and nobody should be dissed in any way.  And every day - hopefully the Holy Spirit hovers over us and we experience the love of others for us as well as God’s love for us: Father, Son and Holy Spirit - as well as our love for every person.

Others know when they are respected and loved.

We know.

FAMILY

The third trigger and thought and theme for baptism is family.

I have done thousands of baptisms and I see the presence of family - big time at baptisms.

A baptism is a family event.

We Catholics know the baby doesn’t know what’s happening at her or his baptism. The baby doesn’t know about the lighted candle handed to the parents and Godparents and the deacon or priest says to them, “Receive the light of Christ.” 

Baptism is a family and a community event - we’re all in on passing great values and example onto this kid.

If people stop going to Mass - and church - because of the non example or bad example of others, the opposite happens.

I was part of an enormous wonderful funeral this morning at 10:30 at St. Mary’s and I could feel the connection of so many with the family that lost their dad and husband, coworker and friend.

CONCLUSION

So today’s feast celebrates the people of Israel returning to the Jordan River - where they started by crossing the river into the Promised Land - and being re-dipped - re-baptized - re-washed - renewed - rebooted - recalled again.

January 13, 2019 

Thought for today: 

"God often  visits  us, but most of the time  we are not at home.” 

French Proverb

January 12, 2019

COMPLICATIONS

Sometimes I hit the wrong number 

when making the phone call. Sorry. 

I apologize. Sometimes I say the

wrong thing when saying, “I’m sorry.”

I know it’s complicated.  With me,

I’m okay, but with you I’m not. Sorry.

There’s that “Sorry!” once again. It’s

complicated. It’s always complicated.

Then again, for the past 3 years I

simply say, “Sorry. This is me. Then

I add, “It’s complicated and I have

found out I’m not God. I’m me.”

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019

January 12, 2019 

Thought for today: 

“What  grows  makes  no  noise.”  

German Proverb

January 11, 2019

MORE THAN 

I am more than a box.

I am inside.

I am more than a car.

Sometimes I’m driving.

I am more than a cellphone,

but that can get my ear.

I am more than a name,

but that can get me to look up.

I am more than a title

but that might entitle you

to some expectations.

I am a book, cover, chapters,

but there is a second volume

and that hasn’t been written yet.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019 

January 11, 2019 - 

Thought for today: 

“A gossip is one  who talks to you about others; a bore is one who talks to you about himself; and a brilliant conversationalist is one who talks to you about yourself.”  

Lisa Kirk, New York Journal 

American, March 9, 1954

ETERNAL   LIFE

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this Friday after the Epiphany  is, “Eternal Life.”

That’s the key message in today’s first reading: Eternal Life.

It’s one of the key themes in this first reading.

Here’s how today’s first reading ends:

And this is the testimony:
God gave us eternal life,
and this life is in his Son.
Whoever possesses the Son has life;
whoever does not possess the Son of God does not have life.

I write these things to you so that you may know
that you have eternal life,
you who believe in the name of the Son of God.

That’s enough for me. Amen. Amen.

PEOPLE ARE LIVING LONGER

People are living a lot longer today than they were 100 - 200 - 1000 years ago.

But life expectancy and how long people live  are tricky statistics, because child deaths were much more frequent in the past.. Then we can add: plus the medicines back then were nothing like today - plus technology - plus medical knowledge. There has been lots of improvement.

Question: Do people of today have less fears and wonderings how long we’re  going to last - than in the past?  I would think so, but each of us has to answer that one for ourselves.

Then  there are death reminders: the death of an old classmate or neighbor about our age. Then there is the obituary column - much less read than in the past. Then we find ourselves driving past a cemetery or we spot a hearse and a funeral procession and thoughts of death whisper in our ear.

Then we can put our own reminders into our surroundings.  They used to put a skull at the feet of various  saint statues. We can put a death memorial card on a bathroom  or bedroom mirror.

John Donne [1572-1631] - who is famous for his “No Man Is an island Poem” - in which we hear “When the bell tolls, it tolls for you.”  Well when he became a priest in the Anglican Communion, he moved away from his worldly ambitions.

Interestingly, had his portrait painted - but in a winding sheet - the kind they wrapped the dead in. For the painting, he also had his hands and body arranged as a corpse. Then he had that picture in his room, next to his bed, as a reminder of his mortality.

A SENSE OF HUMOR

When it comes to death,  having a sense of humor can help. Can I laugh at wrinkles.  Can I laugh at the saying, “Old age is an organ recital.”

H.L. Mencken [1880-1956] wrote his own epitaph, “If after I depart this vale, you ever remember me and have thought to please my ghost, forgive some sinner and wink your eye at some homely girl.”  This was engraved on a plaque in the lobby of the Baltimore Sun.

I would also think, besides humor, faith would help. If we think by faith and have God in our lives, we can relax and put all in God’s hand.

CONCLUSION: PRAYER

Our gospel for today can get us to look at this life health problems, I went with our  first reading for today and looked at death.

I spoke about having the faith and the hope to say to God: “I don’t know if there is anything after this - but I’ll take you’re promise of eternal life.”

Then add, Thomas’ prayer: “Lord I believe, help my unbelief.”

January 10, 2019 - 

Thought for today:  

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

Bette Midler

January 10, 2019

C

Cookies,

Cake,

Candy,

Caring,

Comfort,

Communicate,

Compassion,

Community,

Considerate

Charity,
Call,

Calm,

Compromise,

Color,

Christ,

Cross.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019 

January 9, 2019

L

L is for lion.

L is for Ladybug

L is for liking.

L is for love.

L is for life.

L is for light.

L is for labor.

L is for land.

L is for looking

What are you looking for?

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019

VISIBLE HUMAN, 

INVISIBLE GOD

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this Wednesday after Epiphany is: “Visible Human, Invisible God.”

QUESTION?

Did you ever wonder where you got your takes on life from?

This would include your religion, your attitude toward sushi, always being very much on time or always cutting it close - and as a result often being a tiny bit late - and 1000 more attitudes, outlooks and behaviors.

Today’s first reading gave me the theme and title of this homily: “Visible Human, Invisible God.”

But I want to begin with my opening question, “Do you ever wonder where you got your takes on life from? Do you ever wonder why you are the way you are?”

ANECDOTES

I’m talking to my sister Mary on the phone and she says, “I was talking to Peggy [she was my other sister] and  Peggy says, “I got sick. Thank God  I was on vacation.”

Mary tells me, “I laughed and then said to Peggy, ‘Where did we get that from?’  And both said together in unison: ‘Mother!’”  And I added, “That’s funny. That’s me too.”

Obviously we learned our language, our smiles, our opinions from our parents and others.

My parents both spoke Gaelic.  Wow do I wish they taught us that as well as English.

At a workshop on preaching, the speaker asked us, “Whom did you learn the most about preaching from?” It got us thinking and it was a revelation.” Our answers could be correct - or maybe we don’t know and the answers are staring us in the face.

I was driving somewhere. The trip would take 8 hours. I  decided to grab some old cassette audio tapes of people giving talks. I’m listening to this one tape and the preacher gives this great example. I went, “Wow! I used that same example years after and I thought I was original. I wasn’t. I stole that example. I figured I had heard that tape 25 years ago and I used the example from it - 10 years later without knowing that it.

I shut off the cassette and thought about that for a while. How much else did I steal? How much more of other people’s stuff have I appropriated?

I thought. That’s the benefit of listening to tapes and CD’s and talks.

I smiled and said, “I have preached in thousands of churches and preached thousands of homilies and sermons, how many of those have I  planted good news. How many ideas of others have I planted - that I got from other folks somewhere and some time ago.

I am not only what I eat. I am what I listen to and watch.

The most obvious example: we become the TV channels we watch.

One of my top 10 quotes is from Tennyson in his poem, Ulysses, “I am part of all that I have met.”

TODAY

There’s an example from today’s first reading that I have stolen - or appropriated  - or made my own.

It’s a key idea from the first Letter of John.  Where did he get that idea from?  Was he original or a borrower?

It’s a simple idea.

If we can’t love and be nice to those we can see, how can we say we love God who is invisible.

I have met people who are great God people and they are horrible people people.

That jars me!

I have noticed people praying and praying and praying - including priests I have lived with - who can’t communicate with other people.

I know I’m judgmental in thinking this way - but this First Letter of John got me asking this question in this way.

When I’m hearing confessions if someone confesses they gossiped or talked about someone behind another’s person’s back - as a penance sometimes I tell folks to say something nice to someone next chance you get. If someone cannot  give a compliment to someone whom they can see, how can they give a compliment to God whom they cannot see.

If someone visits Christ in the Blessed Sacrament chapel - and they never visit others - never make a holy hour with an old person - who is shut in - or in Spa Creek Nursing Home facility - or make phone calls to their sister of brother in Atlanta -  how does that holy hour with Christ go? Are they the only one in the room, in the conversation?

From way back I’ve heard people say the rosary - Our Father and Hail Mary - and race through it - as if there is no space in between any word: “HailMaryfullofgracetheLordiswithyou…. blah, blah, blah….” I wonder how they can do that. Is that the way they are with other people who are visible to them - or are other people invisible as well.

January 9, 2019 

Thought for today: 

"When I first heard Wind Beneath My Wings, I thought: 'I'm not singing that." 

Bette Midler  [Then longtime friend 

and producer Marc Shaiman insisted 

and it was the biggest hit of my career.]