CRUMBLED 
BEHIND  CLOSED  DOORS -
HEY!  YOU  NEVER  KNOW 

She left him – but before leaving –

she left him a letter - placing it -

on the kitchen table – where he

would see it when he got home.

It was a letter addressed to  "YOU” - 

written with a Sharpie Fine Point Pen -

Permanent Marker - with no name - 
just “YOU” on the clean white envelope.

It was on the kitchen table, the sacred 

place where they shared 10,000  words,

along with bread, wine, spaghetti,

laughter and  love over and over again.

He would surely see the letter on the

table  - when he came home  - late -

late as usual - late – too, too late

in the last night of their marriage.

He picked it up - read it - and then

crumbled it in his fist. He banged

the table, tightened his eyes - then

with tears - he uncrumbled the letter.

He read the letter once again. Numb ….

Dumb …. Stunned …. He crumbled

himself - once again –  as he flung

himself into the garbage pail - crumbled.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019

October  5, 2019 - Thought for today:

“If  the  Americans were as expert in spiritual matters as they are in business affairs, all of them would be saints.” 

F.X. Seelos

October 4, 2019

THE ROAD  HOME

I suppose - in time -

everyone knows their roads:

the road not taken,

the road  with regrets,

the yellow brick road,

the road to Phoenix,

the hit the road Jack

and don’t come back, Jack,

the road to Kingdom come,

the road from Jerusalem to Jericho,

the road to Calvary,

the road to Emmaus,

the road back home.

I suppose - in time -

everyone wonders what to do:

stop biting their nails,

stop sucking their thumb,

stop going around in circles,

stop feeling being sick and tired,

wanting to go somewhere,

wanting to get moving again,

wanting to get on the road hoping,

wanting to see ahead and see

smoke rising from our home chimney,

and to see my dad standing at the mailbox,

looking for me walking back down the road.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019

October  4, 2019

Thought for today: 

“It doesn’t fit, when one is in God’s service, to have a gloomy face or a chilling look.”  

St. Francis of Assisi

IN  25  WORDS  OR  LESS

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 26^th Thursday in Ordinary Time  is: “In 25 Words or Less?”

We’ve all have heard the question: “Can you tell me what you’re trying to say in 25 words or less?”

For starters - that usually causes pause - or hesitation.

TODAY’S TWO READINGS

I got the thought for this homily from today’s two readings.

In the first reading Ezra the priest  - as today’s reading from Nehemiah  8: 3  puts it, - is “Standing at one end of the open place that was before the Water Gate, he read out of the book from daybreak until midday….”

That’s a lot of words and that’s a lot of time.

As preacher I have seen at least a hundred times the watch looking gesture and signal.  “Wrap it up.” “Hurry it up.”  “Enough already!”

Did anybody do that to Ezra that day - when the reading went from daybreak till midday?  Oops they didn’t have watches.

In today’s gospel Jesus disciples are to give a message. It’s 4 words: “Peace to this household.” [Luke 10:5.]

In both readings the next thing that happens is to eat and drink.

There’s the Mass in short form: words and food.

That’s our every day: words and food.

Isn’t that what we do every day: in the daily mass called our household? We eat and we talk. We chat and chew.

5  BRIEF POINTS

ONE: ABRAHAM LINCOLN

On November 19, 1863, two men gave an address at Gettysburg Pennsylvania Cemetery.  Edward Everett gave a talk that had 13,687 words in it. It took about 2 hours.  He was followed by Abraham Lincoln who gave a 272 word talk.

TWO: SERMON LENGTH

What’s your opinion on sermon length? For a Sunday sermon? For a  Weekday sermon?

THREE: RELATIVITY OF TIME

As Einstein put it, time is relative. How long a minute takes depends upon what side of the bathroom door you’re on.  How long a sermon takes depends upon who’s speaking.  There’s actual time and “feeling time”.

FOUR: LEARNING FROM TV

Back in the late 1960’s at a New York priest’s  meeting someone asked for volunteers to give 2 religious  talks for WPIX - Channel 11. One was to begin the day; the other to end the day. They were to be exactly 3 minutes. The first was at 5:27 AM till 5:30 AM and the second was from 1:30 AM till 1:33 AM. It took me 3 times each time to be exactly  3 minutes.  Good learning.

FIVE: LEGACY

At the Water Gate Ezra - speaking for the future of the community - goes for a few hours. Could you spell out in 25 words or less your legacy - what you see is the meaning and purpose of life or what have you?

CONCLUSION

This sermon took 3 minutes and 30 seconds and was 499  words exactly. How long did it feel? Did I say anything that had a grab?

October 3, 2019

WAVES

Non-stop, they keep coming,

wave after wave after wave,

wave after wave after wave,

wave after wave after wave ….

Rolling, rolling, rolling inwards,

Pounding the shore - crashing

onto the beach, wave upon wave,

wave upon wave, wave upon wave ….

Some days the breakers are extraverts;

some days the breakers are introverts.

Sitting on the boardwalk or the beach -

I see the entire shake of planet earth ….

I learn steadiness, I learn limitations,

I learn the unexpected, I learn edges,

I learn spray, I learn sound and fury,

I learn background, I learn horizon ….

I see the moon rise out of the ocean -

in the dark of night. I see the sun rise

up in the light of morning - day after

day, after day, after day, after day ….

I need this. I need this knowing,

the familiar, the forever, the non-stop,

the regular background, the steady,

the knowing each wave is new.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019

October  3, 2019 

Thought for today: 

“After a certain number of years our faces become our biographies.” 

Cynthia Ozick, Paris Review.

October 2, 2019

I  PAUSE

Sometimes I pause ….

I pause when you say something that hurts ….

I pause when you say something loving ….

I pause when you see hot dogs and buns and your kind of mustard ….

I pause when you toast me from the other side of the room ….
I pause when I know you know I don’t like to lose in cards and I just did ….

I pause when I know you were misread or misunderstood again ….

I pause when I know you want to scream ….

I pause when I know you’re in a family situation again, just like a similar moment, last year at this time ….

I pause when you’re like a fox whose leg is caught in a metal trap ….

I pause when it’s a clear night and the moon is screaming, “See me!”

Sometimes I pause ….

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019

October  2, 2019 

Thought for today: 

“One of the longest journeys in the world is the journey from Brooklyn to Manhattan - or at least from certain neighborhoods in Brooklyn to certain parts of Manhattan.”  

Norman Podhoretz in Making It, 

by Norman Poderhoretz [April 11, 2017] - 

at the beginning of the book.

October 1, 2019

SACROSANCT

If I hesitate when someone is labeled “sacred” -

how much more would I pause when some

particular person might be  called “sacrosanct”? 

Oooh! Why would we do that to someone or

even something - labeling or describing them

as “sacred” or “a sacrament” or “sacrosanct”?

We canonize people after they die - and that’s

a long process - and books about saints now

list moments like doubts, struggles, and fears.

Better would it be to see and to treat everyone

and everything as good as the God of Genesis

describes all that He has created. We are good.

Moreover, the second meaning of “sacrosanct” 

is a sort of put down - a saccharin - sugar coated

holiness - different than when Christ walked with us.

Being good, being sacred, becoming a saint

has to do with being a servant, a savior, a person

who shows us the image and likeness of God.

So two bottom lines when it comes to being sacred

would be: we are good - called to be the gift we

are; and we are called to growth towards wholeness.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019

October  1, 2019 

Thought for today: 

"We hand folks over to God's mercy, and show none ourselves." 

George Eliot [Marian Evans Cross] 

1819-1880, in Adam Bede, 1859, chapter 42.

September  30, 2019

I  CAN  DO   IT

I wish people didn’t go to bed hungry ….
I wish people held doors for the next person ….

I wish people stopped beeping and fingering ….

I hope people can see who’s hurting ….
I hope people listen - really listen to the other ….

I hope people mean what they say ….

I want people not to garbage our streets ….

I want people not to make so much noise ….

I want people not to not use their turn signals ….

I love it when people compliment each other ….

I love it when people are laughing together ….

I love it when people forgive each other ….

I can do it.

I can do it.

I can do it.

 © Andy Costello, Reflections 2019

September  30, 2019 - 

Thought for today: 

“Faith which does not doubt is dead faith.” 

Miguel de Unamuno, 

The Agony of Christianity, 1974.

MR.   HOLLAND'S   OPUS

If you like movies, and you have access to old movies, check out Mr. Holland's Opus.

Here are two scenes to give you a  taste of this movie.

10  TOP  MOVIES

It hit me this evening to put on my blog this question: "What are your 10 top movies?"

I've thought about top movies from time to time, so why not put that question up there or out there?

What are 10 top movies I would love to watch over and over again from time to time?

What are the 10 top movies that move me every time?

So to begin this, I'll list some of my top movies. That will step one.

Then from time to time I'll feature one of these movies - or maybe I'll come across one I hadn't thought about - and then put a scene or two from one of those 10 top  movies to trigger interest in that specific movie.

The obvious hope is that  you'll look at movies that moved you.

I have a published article somewhere about my 10 top books. 

I could do 10 top words or verbs as well.

I could do 10 top moments of my life.

I could to 10 top songs.

You'll notice at the top of this piece "Top Ten Dance Scenes in Dance Movies."  I don't know or do dance, but one can find on YouTube and Google all kinds of "Top Ten ..." this and that. So I'm not that original with my top ten idea.

So  this evening  for starters let me draw up a tentative list of movies I like and then in time list 10 top movies. 

In my next blog piece I'll do what I'm talking about for one of my ten top movies:  Mr. Holland's Opus.

Then from time to time list another top movie on a blog piece with a scene or two to trigger, "Hey take a look at this great old movie and give it a look see if possible?"

SOME OF MY TOP MOVIES

Mr. Holland's Opus

On the Waterfront

Big

It's a Wonderful Life

My Cousin Vinny

Lawrence of Arabia

Midnight Run

Waking Ned Devine

The Natural

Jesus of Nazareth by Franco  Zeffirelli [1977]

Casablanca

Shawshank Redemption

Doctor Zhivago

September 29, 2019

 ENVISIONING

Every  athlete,  every musician,

every  dancer,  every champion,

saw herself, saw himself,

dancing, prancing, running

for the touchdown, swimming

for the gold medal - as a kid,

as a fan in the stands, as a

dreamer on the sidelines -

otherwise they would never

have picked up the trombone,

or the tennis racket - or tried

out for the team or the band.

Practice. Practice. Practice.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019

September  29, 2019 - 

Thought for today: 

“People ask you for criticism, but they only want praise.” 

W. Somerset Maugham, Of Human Bondage, 1915

September 28, 2019

GENUINE

At  any  given day or hour friends are toasting

each other - upon arrival and when departing.

So Jesus knew the human condition - when

he became our flesh and blood - when he said
with cup in hand, the night before he died,

“This is my blood - given, pulsing, poured 
out and shed for you each moment of life.”

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019

GENUINE

It's wonderful when it's 

September  28, 2019 - 

Thought for today: 

“Laziness is often mistaken for patience.” 

French Proverb

THE   PARTING  GLASS

Someone heard the Irish folk song, "The Parting Glass" and wrote, "If my family does not have this song sung at my funeral, I will haunt them for the rest of their lives."

What song - what songs - do you want sung at your funeral?  

Now that's a haunting question.

September 27, 2019

DULL!  BORING!

He heard someone talking about someone

behind his back. “He’s dull! He’s boring!” 

Oooooh, that hurt, really hurt, when he figured

out the “He” in the comment was he.

That pushed him down the stairs into a  

dark basement of silence for about a week.

“What to do?” He didn’t know. “Is it too late?”

He didn’t know. “I’m too dull and boring.”

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019

September  27, 2019 

Thought for today: 

“Great grief is a divine and terrible radiance which transfigures the wretched.” 

Victor Hugo [ 1802-1885] 

Les Miserables [1862], 

Book 5, Chapter 13

HOW  DO  I  SEE  JESUS?

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 25^th Thursday in Ordinary Time  is a question, “How Do I See Jesus?"

Today’s gospel ends with this sentence, “And he kept trying to see him - namely, “Jesus.” [Cf. Luke 9:9]

The “he” is Herod.  Herod keeps wanting to see Jesus.

THE YEAR 85

One of the ways of reading the Gospel of Luke or any Gospel or any text  is to imagine the author - for example  Luke - aiming his messages at the people of his time - in the 70’s or 80’s - not the time he is writing about - which is Jesus’ time -  in the 30’s. 

Get that distinction?  He’s looking back from the 80’s as he is writing about the 30’s,  

I saw that date for when Luke wrote this text in  Ray Brown’s commentary on Luke - as well as 3 other reference books on Luke. It’s around 85 A.D. - give or take 10 years - as the commentaries put it.

NEXT STEP

Having read and heard today’s gospel  about Herod wanting to see Jesus - - I imagined Luke wanting the people he was writing for - to think about whether they wanted to see Jesus - and then how they saw Jesus.

So a question: How do I see Jesus - here in 2019

?

If I were an artist, how would I paint or sculpt him. What does his face look like.

What is my favorite Gospel text - that sums up Jesus for me? For example, “Come to me you who are heavily burdened and I will refresh you.” Or “I believe. Help my unbelief?” Or “Take and eat this is my body…. This is my blood.”

Or there are 4 gospels, which one is my favorite?  And what does that say about me?

If someone looked around my room or my prayer book, what images of Christ would they spot?

HEROD FINALLY GOT HIS WISH

In Luke 22: 8, Herod gets his wish. Luke writes, “Herod was delighted to see Jesus. He had heard about him and had been wanting for a long time to set eyes on him; moreover, he was hoping to see some miracle worked  by him.”

Jesus remained silent - not answering Herod’s questions - so Herod ends up being like the guards - who had Jesus in custody - laughing and making fun of Jesus.

That tells us that something.

Did Luke notice Christians in his local communities having a very superficial take on Jesus?

Thursday of last week, September 19^th, was the feast of San Genaro - St. Januarius.  I’m sure the cathedral in Naples was filled with folks wanting to see his blood bubble that day?  The sensational always has a grab. Who was in church the next day?

CONCLUSION

So this homily was just some thoughts and questions to get us looking at our relationship with Jesus-  looking back when we were young - and now when we are older - at Mass - when receiving Christ in communion - seeing Christ in each other - as well as the poor, the old, the week, and the bullied….

September 26, 2019

FLAW

I just don’t like it that I have flaws.

Yes, flaws. You know: weaknesses; 
memories of mistakes that I made; 
spaghetti stains on white shirts;

challenging me to stop criticizing

so and so - for his mistakes as well.

Bummer: worse still - at times - I think

I hang my flaws out on my clothes line

so I don’t have to see my main flaw:

the fatal one - the one that really nags me -

the one that keeps me in the human race.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019

September  26, 2019

Thought for today:

“Love and commitment, it appears, are desirable, but not easy. For in addition to believing in love, we Americans believe in the self.”  

Robert Bellah

September 25, 2019

EDGE

I find myself at the edge of people

at times - not knowing whether to

continue around corners, become

quiet, say, “Good bye!” or wait for

a “Next ….” I’m sure they're wonder-

ing the same about me. “Next ….”

I guess we all can be edgy at times -

knowing there is always something

around the corner - around the edge

of each other - the edge of a next.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019

September  25, 2019

Thought for today:

“Nor can I suppose that when Mrs. Casaubon is discovered in a fit of weeping six weeks after her wedding, the situation will be regarded as tragic. Some discouragement, some faintness of heart at the new real future which replaces the imaginary, is not unusual, and we do not expect people to be deeply moved by what is not unusual. That element of tragedy which lies in the very fact of frequency, has not yet wrought itself into the coarse emotion of mankind; and perhaps our frames could hardly bear much of it. If we had a keen vision and feeling of all ordinary human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow and the squirrel's heart beat, and we should die of that roar which lies on the other side of silence. As it is, the quickest of us walk about well wadded with stupidity.” 

George Eliot 1819-1880, 

[Marian Evans Cross]

in Middlemarch [1871-1872], 

chapter 22. 

Dorothea makes that comment in Rome as she’s dealing with unexpected issues that have come up in her marriage.

I like this quote because it  articulates the silence we all feel when reality settles in after our imagined expectations crash into a wall.

Better put: “Often the way life works goes like this: Illusion. Disillusionment. Decision.”

At first things look good. Then we discover pluses and minuses.

For example, the restaurant looked good from the outside and the menu on the window. We went in - and wow were we disappointed.

It looked like a good investment, but ....

"I thought she was a good choice, but in time, wow was I wrong .... or wow I found out she must much better than I could imagine ...."

September 24,  2019

KNOCK! KNOCK! 

I’LL OPEN MY DOOR

“Just knock and I’ll be here

to open my door and let you in.

Just knock …. Knock! Knock!”

Others yawn and look at their

watches - giving the signal,

“I don’t have time for you now.”

“But I do. I’m about my Father’s

business - which is you. Just

knock. I have time for you. Now!”

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019

September  24, 2019 

Thought for today: 

“If you want praise die, if you want blame marry.”  

Old Irish Proverb, 

page 111 in Maurice O’Sullivan’s 

book, Twenty Years A-Growing, 

Oxford University Press.

LIFE

Life doesn’t have to be as if 

we’re trying to run through 

peanut  butter or worse: trudge 

our way through a garbage dump -

moving through the mistakes of a lifetime.

To me that’s too crippling an image of life.

Life is learning, creating, forgiving,

accepting the grace of letting go,

seeing the funny in every day, the

giving and receiving of self,  family,

neighbor, working, playing, praying,

and enjoying the whole panorama.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019

September  23, 2019 

Thought for today: 

“Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like unrequited love.” 

Charles M. Schulz