April 11, 2015

THE RED CHAIR

This is a picture of a red chair that

my dad made in the 1940’s or so.

It’s still around. It's been painted and repainted

at various times in its existence. It sat there
in Brooklyn. Now it sits there in Doylestown, PA.

He fished the wood from the waters of

the Narrows – between Staten Island

and Brooklyn – brought it home and made

this chair – along with the green fence

that surrounded our back yard. My dad,

he worked doing a lot of lifting of flower

and sugar and stuff  for Nabisco's Big Bakery 

in New York and then Fairlawn, N.J. - but 

better - he enjoyed reading - especially

poetry - and being a carpenter and a fisherman 

on the side. Wow, he showed me big time  

we are made in the image and likeness of God -

Carpenter, Baker, Fisherman, Creator and Father.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2015

THE  NAME  OF  JESUS

INTRODUCTION

The title of my brief homily for this Friday in the Octave of Easter  is, “The Name of Jesus.”

I’m sure you noticed in the New Testament the words, “the name of Jesus.”

It’s right there in today’s first reading. Annas the high priest, Caiphas and various other big shots question Peter – on his right to be doing what he’s doing – preaching and healing in the name of Jesus.

And Peter accepts their complaint and announces that’s exactly what he is doing – He’s doing everything in the name of Jesus.

MAIN WORD FOR MARRIED PEOPLE  

I remember reading somewhere along the line the comment that married people  - people in love – use one word more than any other word.

Obvious that triggered a response in my mind. Is it the word “love” as in “I love you?”

Nope. It’s the person’s name – for their beloved.

Not being married I didn’t know that.

So I started listening. Sure enough, it is the other person’s first name.

Then I thought back to seeing kids doodle – on paper – on covers – on loose leaf binders – the name of their girl friend or boyfriend at the time.

How difficult is it to get a tattoo off?

How does this phenomenon – this reality – show up in the world of Facebook,  texting, twittering, emailing?

I’m sure this could be measured better with digital technology.

PRAYER   

So how about taking the name of Jesus – and making it an inner prayer?

How about taking a rosary and just running through the 59 beads and slowly saying and savoring the name of Jesus?

“Jesus” “Jesus” “Jesus” “Jesus” “Jesus” “Jesus” “Jesus”  “Jesus” “Jesus”

How about taking a rosary and saying 59 times, “Hallowed be your name.”

How about taking a rosary and saying 59 times, “Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

How about checking out how we say the name of Jesus when we’re praying?  How is our reverence, respect, awe levels, when we say the name of Jesus?

April 10, 2015

THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX

Try this:

What would your life be like,

if you imagined your life to be without God?

What would your life be like,

If you imagined your life to be without an afterlife?

Think about:

Would your choices be different?

Would you see sin be not doing anything to God,

but what hurts or damages you, others or our earth?

Would you pause before every decision in a new way?

Wonder about:

Atheists are sort of in that box; what’s that like?

God would be outside your box; what’s that like?

You would have to rethink, retry and rewonder

about your life; what would that be like?

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2015

April 9, 2015

TRIANGLE

Triangle, square, circle…

Not bad for a basic three …

Today – while thinking of a triangle…

I’m thinking of life – You, others and me in that context …

I’m thinking of Religion: Faith, Hope, and Charity…

I’m thinking of Food: carbs, proteins, fats ….

I’m thinking of God: You are inside and outside my triangle …

God: I’m always looking for an angle, an edge, and a corner…

God: you are pictured as a triangle on our dollar bill…

Pyramids built by powerful pharaohs to assure eternal life…

God: You – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – give us eternal life…

God - Eternal Triangle you are like a pool table rack

bringing together all the balls – all the cells – all the atoms

moving around on the great green table of life …

 © Andy Costello, Reflections 2015

April 8, 2015

BASIS

Can I ever get to the basis of another’s motive? 

Can I ever know why someone did what

they did and the basis of why I responded 
the way I responded to their behavior?

Can I ever get to the innermost center of another's

burning center - called "Cause' - whoever it is – 
even God whether it's called “Motive" or 
"what makes me tick".  If I say, “Yes! I know another's motive. Yes,I know why they are doing what they are doing.  It's then 
I'm playing God. Do I want to go there?"

But if I know, if I say, "No. I really don’t know" –
then there’s a basis of hope for me. In reality,
if I realize I'm only on the surface of motive,
then I can become humble. I can begin to realize 
I’m Adam – a scratch of clay. I’m Eve – a rib from Adam - from just  below his  surface. I'm just
at the edge of the edge of reality.

It takes time to realize we're all so far from the  center of the basis of it all – our God from whom we come - better we are moving towards
being on the edge of the edge of the edge
of the edge of the edge of the edge of God. 

So it takes a lifetime to get to the doors 
of our underworld. Then as Jesus told us: 
ask, seek, knock. So and we knock, we open, 
we ask, we seek, we start to discover
glimpses of the inside of the circle  - 
we stand there at the edge of basis of me - 
whether my basic motive is greed or grief 
or love or fear, or I didn't get the attention 
I needed or I was hurt or blinded  when I was younger and I didn't grow or know 
I'm a gift from God - or whatever.

Oh, I'm only guessing at all this - and one more guess: I guess I'll need eternity 
to find out the basis of me - others, God.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2115

April 7, 2015

CONVICTED

As I shook his hand I knew

he wouldn’t shake his conviction.

He wouldn’t change his mind.

He was he and I was I -

and I wasn’t going to

change my mind either.

I knew that. He knew that.

I knew he wouldn’t come back

to another meeting like this.

As he walked away

I thought of other people

who have passed out

of my life like this.

Is it the way I say things?

Is it my convictions and

my inability to change?

He made me feel

like a kid selling lemonade

on the street - and it was

a cold day – and nobody

wanted what I was selling.

Everyone was walking by.

Being human can be rough tough stuff.

Being a Christian means ridicule.

rejection, and the way of the cross.

Being a priest – most think priests

don’t get what those who aren’t priests

are going through. Some do; some don’t.

Then up go walls – with locked doors

built of fear and assumptions – with

everyone forgetting Christ goes through walls.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2015

April 6, 2015

WHY DO WE REMEMBER?

Why do we remember what we remember?

Why do we remember an afternoon -

when we were 16 years old. We were

at the lake. It was summertime. It was

vacation. We were all alone in the woods.

We were sitting on a rock. For about

15 minutes we watched a canoe gliding

on the lake. Suddenly lightning crashed

down towards the canoe and we screamed

a prayer of  “Oh no! God, Oh, no, no!” Then

within seconds all was calm and nobody

was hurt. But what were they feeling?

Why? Why? Why do we remember that moment?

Why do we remember that day in the Fourth

Grade when we won the spelling bee - and

that was the last time we ever won anything?

Why? Why? Why?

Why? Why? Why do we remember these moments?

Why do we remember that day when a teacher

singled us out and made fun of us and everyone

in the class laughed – except us. We cried.

Why? Why? Why do we remember these moments?

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2015