June 13, 2015

COVENANTS

Long before we hear the word, “covenant”,

long before we hear the word, “contracts,”

we have them - that our dad will be there

this evening - that mom or grandma will be

there after the game or practice to take us

home and  if we hint, hint, at times they 

will bring us and our best friend for ice cream.

We know down deep that our mom and dad -

are a lean against - especially when scary

is in the air - that they are like those enormous

black painted iron anchors - with black

chains included. And when that doesn’t

happen - no matter what the name of our

ship is - it doesn’t matter. It’s called,

“Disappointment.” And when some preacher

or religion teacher talks about covenants

with God, we don’t get it, we won’t get it,

because we didn’t experience the primary

covenants that were not drafted in our home.

© Andy Costello, Reflections, 2015

June 12, 2015

AFTER A WHILE

After a while,

nothing is what

we thought

it would be.

After a while,

no one is who

we thought

they would be.

After a long while

when it comes to us,

we find out it takes twice

the amount of time for
ourselves to know ourselves.

© Andrew Costello, St. Mary’s 2015

June 11, 2015

COMPROMISE

Compromise can be a crusher -

because now - not only I don’t

get to do everything I wanted,

but I have to live with the idea of having

to do some of the things you wanted.

Compromise can be a pleasure -

because now - not only do I get

to do some of things you wanted,

but I also get a chance to do

some of things I wanted.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2015

June 10, 2015

AN  ANTROPOLOGY 

AND SOCIOLOGY PRAYER

I read somewhere that it was a significant moment - a significant day - in our evolution 

as humans - when people stopped along

the road to bury our dead.

Hunters and gatherers - way, way, way

back in time would be moving along paths 

when one of our relatives from - way, way

back in time, would die and family and 

relatives were so hurt by the loss of that 

loved one - that  they would dig a grave - or find a cave - to bury a dead one.

Then they said some kind of prayer and performed some sort of a ceremony. 

People would to cry together - feel together - and then bury a loved one - and then

leave some kind of a marker at the spot 

where they buried a loved one.

The first time that happened - did those 

people still feel the loss of that loved one 

the following year - or whenever they went 

by that sacred place. Who came up with

the idea of the first calendar?

Does everyone have a marker - a calendar -

a way to rememberwhen a baby was born, 

when folks got married, when folks died?

Did they say, “You were born at the time 

of the first snow or in the hot summer or 

when the birds reappeared in the sky?

Who was the first person to say, “Mark your calendars?”

Do we all remember when we got an award - when we were recognized - when we retired - when we graduated - when our name was 

called out and everyone clapped - and folks came up to us afterwards and we were congratulated.

Do we thank God for our evolution? Do we cry when we hear about people who are not noticed - not acknowledged nor recognized.

Do we do enough to support one another - give a shout out at special moments  - that get marked in the human calendar in our brain. Amen.

June 9, 2015

DOUBTS

Hey Turkey,

doubts ain’t bad.

They can get us to communicate.

They can get us to reconsider.

They can get us to gain reassurance.

They can keep us humble. 

They can help us realize there are others

on this planet besides ourselves.

They can also help us to realize 
there is a God and it’s not smart 
to try to go it alone.

© Andy Costello, Revelations 2015

YES, NO

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 10 Tuesday in Ordinary Time is, “Yes, No.”

A great principle to work for is the ability to speak with clear thinking. A good place to start is to work towards being able to say, “yes” or “no” depending on whether I want to say “yes” or “no.”

This coming Saturday we’ll hear Jesus saying in the Gospel reading from Matthew 5: 37, “Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one.”  That’s one of those key teachings we find in the Sermon on the Mount - which we’re listening to these three weeks.

We have the power of choice.

Pythagoras, remember him from Geometry said, "The oldest, shortest words - 'yes' and 'no' - are those that require the most thought."

Eleanor Roosevelt said, "Never allow a person to tell you 'no' who doesn't have the power to say 'yes.'"

JESUS IS THE YES

Today’s first reading - from 2^nd Corinthians 1: 18-22 - has some comments about Jesus being a “YES” and not a “No.”

A good homily thought would be to stress the importance of making the “Yes Prayer.”  The Yes Prayer is to come into the presence of God and simply say, “Yes!” We can think deeply about God's urges in our life and say 3, 10 or use a whole rosary beads to say our "YES" to God.

Or we can say “Amen!”

In the scriptures, “Amen” is another word for “Yes”.

ERIC BERN - ON THE SECRET OF HAPPINESS

I have a book I’ve been working on for years now. I have to say “Yes” I’ll get it done - but I keep on putting it off. Not a secret of happiness.

Eric Bern once summed it all up this way: “The secret of happiness is the ability to say 3 words, “Yes, No and Wow.”

He added, “The secret of unhappiness is saying these 3 words, “If only and Maybe.”

We don’t have to read a book to know this wisdom.

Yet, in the meanwhile I keep saying, “If only I had time to finish that book.”  “Maybe some day I get the energy to get it done.”

CONCLUSION

In the meanwhile I’m rushing around doing nothing and missing all the “Wow’s” that surround me - especially in the Spring - especially today.

Amen.

MERCY AND 

ENCOURAGEMENT

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 10^th Monday in Ordinary Time  is, “Mercy and Encouragement.”

THEME FOR A YEAR

Our pope, Francis, is off on the theme of Mercy.

He’s proclaiming an upcoming year of mercy. It will begin this December 8, 2015  and go till November 20, 2016.

He’s announcing it, pushing it, proclaiming it. He’ll be calling us to show mercy to each other and accept mercy, forgiveness, reconciliation with ourselves and others.

MERCY - LETTING GO OF THE STICK

In a homily on March 17^th, 2013, Pope Francis used the image of a stick.

He preached the following: “I think we too are the people who, on the one hand, want to listen to Jesus, but on the other hand, at times, like to find a stick to beat others with, to condemn others. And Jesus has this message for us: mercy. I think — and I say it with humility — that this is the Lord's most powerful message: mercy.”

Translation: “Put down your sticks - we could add ‘stones’ and stop beating on others as well as ourselves.”

I finished a Friday 12:10 Mass here at St. John Neumann’s a few years ago and there were about 20 women in Seelos Hall with about 50 little kids. I noticed there were about 25 little girls and they were playing together with dolls and little carriages. There were 25 boys and they were outside on the lawn there - all the boys had sticks and they were dueling - and fighting each other with sticks.

It reminded me of something my niece Patty told me about her two boys. Boys will be boys will be boys all the time. You can try to keep toy guns and tanks and bomber planes away for them, but they’ll make guns out of peanut butter sandwiches and shoot at each other.

Mercy is putting down the guns and the gossip and active and passive aggression we have towards each other and ourselves.

That’s mercy. If we put a whole year towards doing that - we will be evangelizing the world.

Will that work? Time will tell.

PAUL VI ON EVANGELIZATION

Back in 1975 Pope Paul VI came out with an enclyclical on Evangelization  - Evangelii Nuntianidi. Announcing peace to the world.  We were told over and over and over again - to be evangelizers.

To be honest, I never really got it.

And I’ve been hearing the words, “New Evangelization” ever since and I still don’t get it.

Okay,  I get it, but I don’t get it.

I don’t think it’s a good marketing of Christianity - using this big word “evangelization”.

I think a shorter more common word works much better. For example this year we are going to stress “Mercy”. Be merciful to each other for this year.

It would be like having a year of faith or hope or charity.

I think one short common word works better.

So come next December 8^th, 2015,  have mercy towards folks you live with and deal with till November 20, 2016.

Try it.

IN THE MEANWHILE

In the meanwhile, the title of this homily is “Encouragement.”

Ooops! I’m contradicting myself. Encouragement.

Today we begin the It’s not me….

Thought: this week show encouragement towards the people in your life.

See if it works for a week.

I say this because in today’s first reading the word, “Encouragment” is used 8 times in 7 verses. In Greek the word is “PARAKLESIS”

I was at Genesis yesterday at Milkshake Lane - off Forest Drive. I signed in my name at the desk at 12:45 - and saw 4 people from the parish.

All 4 thanked me for the visit.

I get back to the sign in book at 3:12 and I couldn’t find my name to mark when I was leaving. Surprise there were 3 pages after my name. All kinds of others were visiting others.

That’s encouragement - so too a phone call, so too an e-mail, so too a Get Well Card.

So too going to a kids game. So too playing cards with kids. So too encouraging a person who is having a tough time with a marriage and on and on and on.

Sir Winston Churchill was off on Courage - saying, “Without courage, all other virtues lose their meaning.”

Wasn’t that his job all through World War II when England and London were being bombed all night long?

CONCLUSION

It takes courage to be an encourager.

Try it for a week - and then try another virtue for another week, That will give you a hint, whether  you can hold a stress for a week. You - building strength for a whole year of mercy.