SISTER

“Sister” - one of those sacred words
found in so many lives.
Okay, not as powerful as “Mom,”
or “God”,
but all the same, to so many,
so important.
“Sister”.
Friend. Presence. Nun better.

One who cares.
Someone you can count on.
So no wonder all religious women
are blessed by being called by
such a sacred name,
“Sister.”

© Andy Costello,

Reflections, 2008

DOUBTING THOMAS

[This is a story for Doubting Thomas Sunday - March 30, 2008 - for our Kids and Family Mass. The Gospel reading is a bit different in the Children's Lectionary.]

Thomas was a doubter ever since he was a tiny kid. If you knew his background, you’d understand.

Thomas was one of two kids – and a twin at that with his twin sister, Theresa – spelled, “T H E R E S A” not “T E R E S A.”

People misspelling her name at times – was to be the only problem Theresa had in life. Not bad.

Now even though they were twins, Theresa had all the gifts. Theresa was smarter, quicker, better looking. At least that’s what Thomas often heard – when he heard adults talk about him and his twin sister – when mom and dad and an aunt and her husband who lived next door would talk in the other room or on the porch outside their house when the weather was warm and the windows were open and he would be listening. Thomas was not just a doubter. He was also a listener.

And when he went to school, the teachers often said to Thomas, even though Theresa was in the same class, “Why aren’t you like your sister?”

“Ouch,” that hurts.

Now of course, his parents tried not to say that horrible thing that every kid hates to hear: “Why aren’t you like your sister?” Or, “Why aren’t you like your brother?” Yet, they said it at times. And sometimes two times are too many times – especially if the person who hears it repeats it a hundred times inside themselves.

It would get Thomas mad – but he would never say it or show it. But he did think about it – as well as other comments about how great his sister was.

He would sit there at table inside his inner room – that inner room we all have somewhere deep inside our brain – our upper room - where hurts hide and hang out.

The implication always seemed to be disappointment with Thomas.

The hidden message always seemed to be: he, Thomas, wasn’t measuring up to expectations. At least that’s what he thought others were implying over and over again.

Thomas and Theresa, mom and dad, lived in a small town – so everybody knew everybody.

Thomas and Theresa were both in the same class – all through grammar school and high school.

Everybody noticed Teresa.

Nobody noticed Thomas – except for comparisons.

When it came time to graduate from high school, Theresa got several scholarships to good universities for lacrosse, basketball, soccer and academics. Thomas got nothing.

Not being an A student like Theresa – not being a great athlete like Theresa, Thomas decided to do something totally different. Instead of going to college, he decided to become a marine. Nobody in the family had ever been in the marines – so that’s what Thomas decided to do.

He doubted he would make it – but he did.

So it was the Marines – training, then off to war in Iraq.

Thomas, now away from his sister, now called Tommy by his buddies – made it – in fact, he did really well at times. Sergeants and lieutenants praised him for his hard work – but Tommy didn’t know how to take compliments. He would doubt that anyone would praise him for his accomplishments. While growing up, he rarely got them in school or at home. Theresa got them all. So he didn’t take the compliments into his inner room – that place inside each of us -somewhere inside our brain – where we sit and talk with our thoughts and feelings.

One day – one horrible day – when driving down a dusty road not too far from Falluja in Iraq – a road side bomb exploded. It was a notorious I.E.D.: Improvised Explosive Device. This time, thank God, nobody was killed. However, Tommy’s left leg was really mangled and messed up – so messed up that he lost it.

He was flown to Germany first and then to a rehabilitation hospital in Texas – one of the best in the United States.

Obviously, his mom and dad and sister flew to Germany and then to Texas to see him as often as they could.

In time, Tommy’s wounds were healed. He was fitted with an artificial left leg – the latest and best artificial leg one could get. Yet down deep he couldn’t deal with his loss. He faked it when his sister Theresa and his parents came to visit him. Down deep in that secret room inside himself – which many of us keep locked – for fear that another person will say something that will hurt us even more, he had doubts that he would ever get anywhere in his life – now with only 1 leg.

Therapists kept telling his group in Texas that many soldiers who had lost arms or legs or hands were leading good lives. Tommy doubted this.

One Sunday – this Second Sunday after Easter he was in church and the priest said that for the past few years this Sunday has been called “Divine Mercy Sunday” – but for centuries before that it’s also been called, “Doubting Thomas Sunday.”

Hearing his name caught Tommy’s attention. He began listening like he used to listen to his parents on the porch in the summer when the windows were open.

The priest said that Thomas was not there when Jesus came back from the dead – when Jesus came into the Upper Room – even though the doors were locked – because the disciples were filled with fear. Jesus the Risen Lord came back and said to his disciples, “Peace be to you and I want you to bring peace and forgiveness to others.”

The priest said when Thomas came back, the disciples told him the good news that Jesus had risen – that Jesus had come back from the dead. Thomas wouldn’t believe them. Thomas doubted them. He said, “First, I must see the nail scars in his hands and touch them with my finger. I must put my hand where the spear went into his side. I won’t believe unless I do this!”

The priest who was preaching said, “That’s why Thomas is called ‘Doubting Thomas’. That’s why this is called, ‘Doubting Thomas Sunday.’”

The priest also said, “Thomas was a Twin” – and added, “I often wonder if the reason the Gospel tells us Thomas was a twin is because we are his twin. All of us have our doubts. Maybe the story was written down in the gospels, so we doubters could have someone we can relate to.”

Well, when Tommy heard this, he found himself in his Upper Room – somewhere in the deep recesses of his brain. Tommy was sorting out his own thoughts about all this. He knew he was a Doubting Thomas as well.

Then the priest added the rest of the story – how Jesus came back a week later and this time Thomas was present and Jesus called him by name to put his finger into Jesus' cuts and into his side and believe. And Thomas believed. And Jesus said, “You have believed because you have seen. Blessed are those who have not seen – yet they believe.”

Tommy began to feel great peace. Then and there his whole life was opened up for him. He couldn’t wait till Monday morning. He couldn’t wait for rehabilitation exercises.

And he did fabulously – so fabulously that he was asked by his superiors if he would consider doing this kind of work full time – that he become a doctor or a physical therapist or what have you – and be given an assignment to help soldiers – men and women injured in Iraq and Afghanistan – who came back in the pits – not believing they would ever recover.

And that’s what Tommy did – but immediately. He went to school at night to become a physical therapist – but during the day he worked with those who lost limbs and spirit in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Seeing Thomas move so well – speak so well – help train so well, many would recover very well. He had a way of getting deep into inside locked minds and hearts – inside people's upper rooms where we get stuck because of fears and anger and comparisons.

And at least 35 times so far, a soldier who lost a leg or an arm would say to him in anger, “Lieutenant Tom, it’s easy for you to say I can recover and lead a normal life. But I lost my leg in Afghanistan or Iraq and look at you – you’re normal – you’re a full person.”

And Lieutenant Tom would smile – knowing the day would come when he would find the right time, the right moment, to say, “Let me show you something.” And he would sit down on a nearby chair and slowly roll up his left pants leg.

No doubt about it, it always worked.

DOUBTING TOMMY

(The following is a story I made up last year for our Sunday morning Kids and Family Mass. I try to write a new story for each of these Masses - and when I wrote this year's story, I said, "Uh oh! Didn't I write something like this last year?" You be the judge!

Once upon a time there was this kid name Tommy. He was a great kid. However, his mom and dad often told him, “Tommy, you have to think before you act.”

They would say this if he spent too much on his Game Boy and not enough time on his homework. As a result, he’d end up almost failing. Now Tommy had a good brain. Yet his parents would say, “Tommy, you have to think before you act.”

They would say this if he ate only dessert and skipped his green vegetables and salad and hamburger and potatoes – and all those things parents nag their kids about when eating. Then when he felt sick – because he took too much dessert, they would say, “Tommy, you have to think before you act.”

Now Tommy had a twin brother named Teddy. Now, Teddy loved his twin brother Tommy, especially because Tommy always got the corrections. Teddy just stayed cool, calm and collected, enjoying life in Tommy’s shadow.

One Sunday afternoon, their mom and dad, left the two of them alone – because they wanted to go to a wake. Someone in the parish had died suddenly. As they were leaving mom said, "Tommy, you're in charge!" Then out of habit she added, "Think before you act."

Tommy liked being the older brother. They were both 12 years old – but Tommy was 26 minutes older than his brother.

Their parents didn't think much could go wrong if they were out of the house for just an hour.

It was raining out. It was a Sunday. It was April. March madness was over. Nothing good was on TV. When T & T realized they forgot to recharge their Game Boys, they got out their lacrosse sticks and started tossing a ball back and forth in the living room.

Tommy wasn’t thinking before acting – but neither was Teddy.

They were doing well – when suddenly Tommy threw a lacrosse ball to Teddy – but too hard and too wide. Teddy lunged for it, but the ball crashed into a very expensive living room big mirror on the wall. Teddy, as he tried to catch the ball, hit an expensive Waterford crystal vase with his lacrosse stick. It was on an end table and had some spring flowers in it.

"Crash!" "Splash," went the glass of both the vase and the mirror. Water, flowers and broken shards of glass were scattered everywhere.

“Uh oh,” both of them muttered.

Then they both yelled in unison, “Uh oh! Big time!”

Teddy said, “I’m going to call mom and dad right away and tell them we just broke a vase and the mirror. Better tell them now than latter.”

“No,” said Tommy. "Let’s wait till they get home. We need some time to come up with a good story.”

Teddy, said, “Nope, I’m calling right now.”

So Teddy went to the phone in the kitchen – while Tommy pouted on the big couch – looking at the mess – wondering how he’s going to get out of this one. He could hear his mom and dad saying as they walked into the room and seeing the mess, “You have to think before you act. You could have gone out into the garage and have a catch there with your lacrosse sticks.”

Teddy returned from the kitchen three minutes later.

Tommy asked, “What did mom and dad say?”

Teddy told his twin brother Tommy, “They were upset, but they forgave us. Mom said, ‘Just as long as neither of you are cut.’”

Tommy said, “No way. No way they forgave us. I can hear them as soon as they walk in the house and see this mess. ‘We told you. No lacrosse, no football, no baseball playing, in the living room. You’re going to break something.’ Then I’m going to hear, ‘Think before you act.’”

Teddy repeated himself, “Nope. They forgave us. And they added, ‘Don’t try to pick up the broken glass. You might cut yourself.’”

The next hour was the longest hour in their entire life. They could hear every drop of rain falling from the sky. Finally, they heard the garage door opening and the car coming into the garage. Then they heard their parents come into the living room.

“Are you guys okay? All the way home we were worried you might be cut. We can always get a new mirror and a new Waterford vase, but we can’t get a new set of Twins like you guys.”

Teddy and Tommy were silent – amazed – and stunned.

Their parents continued, “All the way home we were thinking how you must be nervous wrecks worrying that we’re going to yell at you. Hey we broke things when we were your age. And we’re impressed that you called right away. Nice going. Not too many kids would do that.”

And Teddy didn’t give Tommy the “I told you so” look.

Tommy thought to himself, “Better to stay in Teddy’s shadow. There will be more broken windows and dishes and more, ‘I told you so’s’ – in the future, but for now, it was all forgiveness, forgiveness, forgiveness and lots of wonderful peace.

EASTER 

UPRISING 

Each Easter,
hopefully
a new uprising
of the Spirit
of Christ,
up out of the silent
grave of our heart,
breathing deeper,
wanting a fuller life,
springing up out of
the cavity of our chest,
up higher to our lips,
and with breath
from our depths
we sing,
“Alleluia!”

© Andy Costello,

Markings Prayers

GOOD FRIDAY
AND 

EASTER SUNDAY 

Good Friday
doesn’t always come on Good Friday.
Sometimes it comes with
a phone call on a Sunday night,
“There’s been an accident!”
Sometimes it comes
while visiting a parent
in a nursing home as we see
mom or dad having to make
their painful way of the cross.
Sometimes it comes
in a doctor’s office,
or in the boss’ office
just when we thought
we had job security.
Good Friday
doesn’t always come on Good Friday.
So Lord, give me the courage
that you had on your way of the cross,
to keep walking,
to keep getting up after each fall,
to make it beyond the hurt,
beyond the bitterness and the nails,
beyond death on our cross.
Lord, help me to know
there’s always an Easter Sunday,
even if it doesn’t
always come on Easter Sunday.

© Andy Costello,

Markings Prayers

CREED FOR 

SPRINGTIME 

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the Giver of Life.

I believe all will rise again,
like the sap in the trees,
the wheat in the fields
and the grapes on the vine.

I believe that there is life beyond the funeral
and resurrection on the other side
of every tragedy,
just as sure as the flowers will bud
and the spring rains will come.

And as I see long armies
of birds marching and spelling out
V’s for VICTORY across the highest skies,
I know that once more sparrows
and robins and the rest of creation
will music my mornings.

I believe that the greening of trees
and the warmth of the sun
will once again fill our days
and take away the skin tightening
cold of the long winter.

I believe that kids and lovers
and all of nature will yell
to the rest of us to wake up
and never give up on life.

I believe YOU are saying to us:
“Rise from your death.
Come out of hibernation.
Stretch your limbs and be people of life.
I believe in you.”

© Andy Costello,

Markings Prayers

ABOUT LAST NIGHT

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this Easter is, “About Last Night.”

I wasn’t sure just what to preach on this morning. What do you need?

What does your spirit crave this Easter?

Of course the main focus of Easter is Christ – the Risen Christ.

ABOUT LAST NIGHT

Last night we had the Easter Vigil Mass at St. John Neumann – our other church in this enormous parish. The Mass took two hours. I was watching my watch. It was a good religious experience - and I have to watch out for the time keeping side of me.

It started in the dark.

Our Pastor, Father Jack Kingsbury, blessed a new fire in the back of the Church.

Then Deacon Tony Norcio brought over the new Easter Candle.

The pastor cut a cross in the wax of the Easter Candle. Then he traced on the wax the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet while saying,

“Christ yesterday and today,
the beginning and the end,
Alpha
and Omega;
all time belongs to him,
and all the ages;
to him be glory and power
through every age for ever. Amen.”

Then Father Jack pressed five grains of incense into the Easter Candle in the form of a cross saying,

“By his holy
and glorious wounds
may Christ our Lord
guard us
and keep us. Amen.”

Then he lit the Easter Candle from the new fire saying, “May the Light of Christ, rising in glory dispel the darkness of our hearts and minds.”

The church is still in darkness when Deacon Tony Norcio begins a procession down the main aisle of the church. Holding the lit Easter Candle high in the air he sings three times, “Christ our light.” And the crowded church in the benches sings each time in response, “Thanks be to God.”

Halfway down the aisle the altar servers take a light from the Easter Candle and begin lighting candles that people are holding. Slowly the whole church becomes filled with people holding a light.

It had to be especially impressive for the 30 people here in this parish who came into the Church last night. And this was happening all over the Catholic Church around the world last night.

The bottom line is this: Christ is our light. Christ gives meaning to our lives. Christ gives sense and significance to our lives. Christ is the one we are following – down the aisles – traffic – the everyday situations of our lives – especially when we feel we’re in the dark.

FOLLOWING SOMEONE WHO HAS A VERY UNFAMILIAR NAME
Has this ever happened to you? You’re watching the evening news or reading an article about a disturbance or disagreement going on somewhere in Iraq – and the reporter says the fight was caused by the followers of some leader with a very unfamiliar name to you – and maybe even hard to pronounce. And the article says that the leader has thousands of followers.

Then you get the thought: would there be people in the world who would think me strange if I said, “I am a follower of Jesus Christ.”

Then when I say that, someone says, “I really don’t know who this Jesus Christ is? Who is he?”

You’re surprised.

Then you begin to answer the question: “Two thousand years ago there was this carpenter from a small village in Northern Israel, a Jew. When he was around thirty years of age, he began preaching and teaching and healing. Some people began following him. Some got angry at him for upsetting the status quo. And he was killed – crucified on a cross. And his followers believe he returned from the dead. He is alive."

Then you pause and then add, "I too believe. I too follow him."

Then you add, "There is a lot more to the story - much more. And right now, Christians, those who follow Christ, are the largest religious group in the world. Of the 6 billion plus people in the world, well over a billion are Catholics – and another half billion plus follow him as Protestants or Greek or Russian Orthodox, or in other branches of Christianity.”

Would the other person think we’re strange? Or would they say, “That’s interesting.” Or let's talk about this again some day." (Cf. Acts 17:32)

RENEWAL OF OUR BAPTISM VOWS

Last night at St. John Neumann, five of the 30 people were baptized. Most were already baptized – so all 30 received the Sacrament of Confirmation – as they became Catholics.

At this Mass this morning – and all the Masses on Easter Sunday, Catholics renew their baptismal vows – and there is the sprinkling with the Holy Water to remind us of the Baptismal waters – something we do every time we come into church - when we put our hand in the Holy Water font and make the sign of the cross.

We just went through a Lent in preparation for this renewal of our Christian faith and our following of Jesus.

Those who came into our Church last night went through the RCIA – the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults program. It started last September. That’s a lot of Wednesday evenings.

Last night, as priest I had a great seat up front facing the congregation. I could watch the whole scene. I was not preaching or in charge. I was just a potted plant – so I watched faces. I like to watch faces.

Deacon Leroy Moore and his wife Kathy – have been running our RCIA program for years – and Father Jack Harrison has joined them these past 3 years – along with several other people who serve. Their faces were filled with joy – along with those coming into the Church – their families, sponsors and friends as well. There was a daughter who came into the Church a few years ago and she was the sponsor for her dad doing the same last night. I studied her face as she stood there behind her dad with her hand on his shoulder.

I’m sure every new Catholic has a unique and wonderful story to tell.

I’m sure you read in the paper about a month ago how many Catholics drop out and try other religions.

I think, this, as well as recruitment, and renewal, should be topics at our annual Town Hall Meeting – as well as the groups we belong to in this parish, etc.

Before I came here to Annapolis five years ago, I was stationed in Lima, Ohio at St. Gerard’s Parish. We were average when it came to the number of people coming into the Church at the Easter Vigil – usually about 15 people. But every year there were about 50 people who became Catholics at St. Charles Parish on the other side of town. I wanted to know the reason. And I got the answer. It was this older nun – probably younger than I am now. She would start Monday morning after Easter gathering names for the next RCIA class – that would start in September. And she would quietly contact lots of people who showed interest.

I would think we need to advertise the RCIA program a lot more.

I would also think we need to put into play a program for fallen away Catholics. There are several good programs that are going on in Catholic parishes around the United States and world – right now. Folks meet for a series of weeks - have a chance to ventilate their questions, concerns, hurts, what have you - and are challenged to look at their story.

Okay, if more people starting coming to Mass, it would cause more space problems in our parking lots and our two church buildings – here and at St. John Neumann. And it would mean more work for us priests. Why not?

NOW WHAT CAN THIS CARPENTER OF NAZARETH DO FOR US?

Each of us has to answer this question for ourselves. We have to look at the furniture in our inner room. That’s one of Jesus’ images and questions. Who’s sitting in the chairs of our mind and heart? Who’s doing all the talking? Who’s running the show? Who’s present? Who’s absent? Whom should we be talking and listening to? Who’s taking up our energy and excitement? What are our dreams and what are our nightmares? Is Jesus Christ there? Do we meet the Father and the Spirit there?

There are Churchy answers and there are personal answers to the Jesus question. In the public forum and in the pulpit we give the Church answers – theology answers – very important answers – well worked out answers from some 1900 years of theology and thought – but in one to one moments with ourselves and with others we can give our personal witness.

The 3 people in today’s gospel – would each tell you a different story. In the gospels, we get glimpses of who Jesus was to these people: Mary of Magdala, Peter, and the Disciple whom Jesus loved. Most think this is John – but we’re not absolutely sure.

What is your story? Who is Jesus to you? Why are you here today?

Your story - your relationship to Jesus - your meeting God stories - are as unique to you as the question to a couple: "Where did you meet? When did you fall in love? Tell us your relationship story?"

I am a born Catholic. We went to Mass all the time. We said the rosary in the house – and I used to wish it wasn’t so long. Then my mother started doing the "add on’s" – ugh. I still hate "add on’s" and it’s the nature of religion to have "add on’s". We’d finally finish the rosary and my mom would add on 5 Hail Mary’s for the wound in his right hand. 5 Hair Mary’s for the wound in his left hand, etc., etc., etc. One time as adults my brother and I were home and mom and dad said, “Do you want to say the rosary?” We were trapped. So we said, “Yes!” We discovered my mom and dad had come up with another whole series of new "add on’s". When we finally finished my brother said, “Mom are you going to put vestments on now and say Mass for us?”

We went to Catholic school. I was an altar boy. And priests would ask us in grammar school from time to time. How many here would like to be a priest? And it got me thinking. So I went to the seminary and all that. But it wasn’t till I was 20 years of age – having finished two years of college – and I was in our novitiate year – a whole year in the middle of our 4 years of college. It was New Year’s Eve – and we had to go to bed around 9 and I thought that was crazy, so I stayed up till midnight – to bring in the New Year – but I was all alone – so I went to the chapel in our religious house and at midnight I said, “Happy New Year” to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. I had this overwhelming experience of the real presence of Jesus on New Year's Eve, 1960 – a meeting with a carpenter from a small town in Nazareth – some 2000 years ago.

My religious understanding changed at that moment. Looking back, my life changed at that moment. Jesus switched from being a word and an idea and a teaching and a picture and a statue – to a person – a real life person whom I have been connecting with ever since – in my inner room, in the bread, in people, in thousands and thousands of everyday situations I’ve been in ever since. Imagine telling that to someone who has no clue who Jesus Christ is?

Years later, I remember telling my New Year’s Eve experience to my sister Peggy and she laughed. She’s a nun. Surprise! She told me that she had the same experience on a New Year’s Eve – when she was making her novitiate – but instead of going to chapel she went to the bathroom – got a glass of water in a paper cup and at midnight saluted herself in the mirror saying, “Happy New Year!”

We both laughed because our dad was the type who went to bed at 9 PM on New Year’s Eve – but my mom and my brother and sister and their spouses and family always celebrated New Year’s Eve.

CONCLUSION

I better conclude this – less this too take 2 hours – and there might be some watch watchers here.

In today’s gospel, if that stone would not have been rolled back, we would not be here this morning. We would not believe that Jesus is present in the bread and wine of the Mass. Imagine telling that to someone who never heard that before? St. Paul gets even more dramatic. He says, “If Christ did not rise from the dead, we would still be in our sins.” We priests here at St. Mary’s have just spent the last three weeks hearing thousands and thousands and thousands of confessions – here as well as in many other parishes in Anne Arundel County. St. Paul says, “If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, we’re idiots for believing in him. But we’re here.

About last night. At some point, the stone was removed from the tomb. Jesus was not in the grave. We believe: Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.