WE  HAVE  NEVER  

EVEN  HEARD 

THAT  THERE  IS 

A  HOLY  SPIRIT.

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is a sentence in today’s first reading, “We Have Never Even Heard That There Is A Holy Spirit.” [Acts 19: 3]

By now we have all heard that there is a Holy Spirit.  We have been hearing since we were babies, “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.”

If we were cradle Catholics,  our moms and dads - probably our moms - brought us into church and had us as little, little, little kids make the sign of the cross at the Holy Water font, “In  the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”

And we heard the word “Ghost” be retranslated to “Spirit” along the line - especially 50 years ago or so with the Second Vatican Council.

And some might have gotten involved in the Charismatic Movement - when the Holy Spirit was stressed over and over again big time.

And if we went to Catholic School  - we might have been taught to pray when taking tests or making major decisions to pray, “Come Holy Spirit.”

QUESTION: WHERE IS THE HOLY SPIRIT IN YOUR LIFE?

Where is the Holy Spirit in your life?  Where is the Holy Spirit in your prayer life?

Do you pray, “Come Holy Spirit!” Do you pray, “Veni Creator Spiritus!”

If you look at your life, were there periods when you focused on God the Father, or Jesus, or the Holy Spirit?

If you look at your life, does the Feast of Pentecost hit you in certain ways that are different than other moments in the Church year?

Have you ever heard a great sermon on the Holy Spirit?

If you had the opportunity to preach on the Holy Spirit, what would you say?

When you made your confirmation in the faith, did the revelations - did the teachings of the Church - on the Holy Spirit - hit you?

Have you ever been asked to be a sponsor for a grandson or granddaughter or a niece or a nephew or someone in an RCIA program, at their confirmation? Did that trigger any Holy Spirit reflections or thoughts or prayers?

COME HOLY SPIRIT

Pentecost is next Sunday.  It’s 50 days after Easter - pentekoste - 50 - in Greek. We’re familiar with the Greek word “penta” for 5 - as in the Pentagon - as in pentameter - 5 metrical feet.

We’re familiar with the 3 classical images or metaphors for the Spirit:  wind, fire and the dove.

Which hits us the most?

Have we sat and watched a quiet bird flying - and thought of the images of the Holy Spirit hovering over Jesus - and a voice said, “this is my beloved Son, listen to him.”

Have we watched a fire and said to the Spirit, light a fire in me?

Have we stood there and let the wind push our sails, sweep over our faces, touch our skin and thought, “Spirit! Spirit! Spirit!”  Have we thought of breath, oxygen, air, as metaphors of the Spirit.  Ruah - the Hebrew word for spirit - the wind, the breath of God, breathed into Adam at the human creation.  Have we thought of the word “ghost”  for the Holy Spirit - not as in Caspar the Ghost - but gust - coming from the German word for spirit - geist.

Come Holy Spirit.

CONCLUSION

Find a quiet place - a good place for prayer.

Use a rosary. Say slowly and reverently, “Come Holy Spirit.”

Or chant, “Veni Creator Spiritus.”

Or chant, “Come Holy Spirit.” 

May 9, 2016

NEW PASTOR

A church heard they were going to get

a new pastor - a new leader - and they

wondered just what this person would 
be like. The committee went out for lunch -

right next to a factory that made Buddha
statues. They spotted it on the way out. 

“Why not?” someone said. So they walked 
into the display area and saw their future 
hope. Spontaneously, all said, “No contest.”
Someone added, "But we don't want a statue!"

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2016

ASCENSION

She sat there at Mass - that Sunday.

They were celebrating both Mother’s Day and Ascension Thursday that Sunday.

She thought to herself,  “Interesting….  Tricky….  A juggling act….”

She remembered a comment she heard a priest say in a sermon many years ago on Mother’s Day.  “No matter what the gospel is, no matter what the readings are, no matter what the feast is, if you don’t make your sermon about Mothers, you’re toast.”

“Hey,” he added. “It’s women. It’s mothers - who fill the benches - but not all the time. It depends on the parish. It depends on the culture.”

She did the opposite. She often did - as she sat there listening to the priest babble on about mothers - including his own mother.

She sat there thinking about her life as an Ascension.

A climb - a sets of stairs - one after the other - some landings - reaching for the skies - heading for the stars.

Ascension….

She was the first in her family to go to college.

She was the first in her family to get married and have a baby - twins in fact.

She was the first - as a result - to make her parents - grandparents - and she didn’t realize how powerful a moment that was - till she began listening to her parents - a moment even more powerful than she having her first baby - she herself - along with her husband.

She wondered, “Is there an official Grandparents Day? I’m sure Hallmark and florists and restaurants would be pushing for that.”

Then she thought, “Oh, that’s what they were needling us about - on our wedding day - and every chance after that!”

“When are you going to have a baby?”

“We want to be grandparents.”

Her mom wanted to show pictures of her granddaughters - the twins were girls - to every friend she met in her book club and in the Giant parking lot and at the soup kitchen where she volunteered.

Ascension. Yes having a baby and having a grandkid - and having twins mind you - these were ascension moments.

Rising.

Higher and higher.

Upward and outward mobility.

Family - the family tree expanding - branching out - reaching up for the skies.

Ascension.

Her mom - she heard this from her dad - behind her mom’s back - no longer bragged about her daughter’s salary - 6 figures mind you - now that was as ascension - compared to their salaries - but now her mom was bragging about the twins.

And a chance to baby sit - and wheel those kids around the block - now that it stopped raining - now that Spring had finally sprung.

Ascension….

And as she sat there in that church that Ascension Feast as the priest continued to  babble on about mothers - she thought about her three brothers - and all their life struggles. One had gambling problems. One had a drinking problem. The other had women problems.

Being a mother - being a parent - can be tough. It never  stops.

Yet in time - all three boys - her brothers - recovered.

Now that was ascension.

Now that was resurrection.

Now that was Spring.

Now -  that got everyone in the family past many Bad Fridays - and Saturdays and the rest of the week as well.

And all three got back to church - much to their parent’s surprise.

That ended her mom’s constant prayer at church for her sons. That ended her mom’s constant comment to her friends about her kids dropping out of Church. “I don’t know what we did wrong.  We took them to church. We made sure they got good religious education. They didn’t have a Catholic school in our area - but our parish had a good Religious Education system.”

She never did mention her daughter - who went to church - in all this.

“Aaah,” her daughter thought - sitting there in church -  “Optimist - Pessimist - Positive - Negative - Glass half-full, glass half-empty - her mom.”

“Ah, let mom have them to brag about for a while….”

Ascension.

And as she sat there in church that Mother’s Day - that Ascension Thursday on a Sunday - she pinched herself. Her twins were long gone. They were the only kids they had - but they had tried for more.  She looked at her marriage - wonderful - oh it had its ups and downs - ins and outs - but it was  a great marriage - even though her husband died in the First Gulf War - because of an I.E.D - messy, messy, messy, difficult, difficult, difficult. Lots of tears and lots of tissues.

No ascension there - but in time yes - because he was a great guy - a Lutheran from Minnesota - with a Norwegian background - and went to church with her and the twins all through their growing up - in army bases and when he was not away on duty.

In fact, she was saying slowly but clearly - to herself -  a year or two after his funeral, how lucky they were to have the gift of faith. Thank you Jesus. Faith certainly is a light in the darkness - sunshine in winter - Easter Sunday after a tough Good Friday.

Ascension Thursday weeks and days after Easter …. Hey life happens in degrees.

She loved her post-mom  job: a radio announcer of country western music. Her degrees - both bachelor’s and Master’s  in Communications from Northwestern,  certainly helped in her early years and now that their twin girls were married - and she had gone back to work. They were having kids on their own. They had made her a grandmother - and folks only heard her voice on the radio. It was still a young voice and she knew and loved her music.

All these moments she realized were ascension moments as well.

Yes, life is taking those steps - putting one foot in front of the other - better climbing those stairs - one step at a time - one landing at a time.

Ascension.

Ooops the priest just finished his sermon.

What was he talking about anyway?

She smiled because on that Mother’s Day, she knew what she was talking about to herself  - and it made sense - good sense - great sense to her - even though she wasn’t preaching to herself about Mother’s Day - but Ascension Days.

May 8, 2016 - Mother's Day

M O M

More  On  Mom….

What more can I say?

Mainly: a big “Thank you.”

Not just on Mother’s Day….

But every day….

Feelings of gratitude for

the sacrifices moms make

for us your sons and daughters -

and dads as well - every day.

“Thank you!”

Wasn’t that a main value and

a main lesson our moms taught us?

Say ‘Thank you!’ to the waitress

or the library lady at the check-out

desk or grandpa for buying all of us

ice cream or our teachers as we moved

on to our next classroom in life as well.

“Thank you, mom.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2016

MOTHER’S DAY

BLESSING

May God, the Creator of all life, pour down choicest blessings on the woman who brought us into this world: our own mom. Amen.

May God, the Sustainer of all life, strengthen all mothers: young moms, not so young moms, single moms, grandma’s stay at home moms, out-to-work moms, each and every mom. Amen.

May God, the Protector of all life, direct all those who stand in and serve as moms: teachers, principals, school secretaries, lunch room staff, nurses, guidance counselors, day care workers, baby sitters. Amen.

May God, the Giver of Eternal Life, bring all of us into the Kingdom of Everlasting Life, starting with Mary, the Mother of Life, and all the Saints, and all those who have gone before us, forever and ever. Amen.

And may Almighty God bless us, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

© Andy Costello, Markings, 

Painting on top,

Mother and Child, 1902

by Pablo Picasso

May 7, 2016

MOTIVE?

I used to think lust and greed

were the main motives - but now

I’m thinking - the main motives

are comfort and convenience.

Then there is laziness: of body, of mind -

not thinking and not soul searching.

Am I saying this because I’m older - or

because I want you to think, I’m wiser?

Ooops! And I sense in time I’ll realize

that pride - that sneaky sin - is the main

sin - and the main motive - this wanting

to feel and think I'm better than you.

Oooooooh!

 © Andy Costello, Reflections, 2016 

AFTER

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 6th Friday after Easter is, “After.”  

A  F  T  E  R  [Spell it out.]

I didn’t know whether to call these thoughts, “After” or “Afterwards” or “Aftertaste” or  “Aftermath” or “What Happened Next”.

After all is said and done….

What happened next?

Feelings ….

The morning after….

Hangover …. as a result of ….  subsequent….  sequel….

After.

What are your thoughts and feelings when you are experiencing the after - the after the before and after…. but only afterwards.

What are you talking about?

TODAY’S READINGS

After reading today’s readings  the thought of "after" was triggered - as an afterthought.

We’re going through the Acts of the Apostles these days after Easter. The disciples had experienced an ending. Jesus their hope was arrested and killed. So these readings are after Good Friday, after the death of Jesus, after the resurrection of Jesus. [Cf. Acts 18: 9-18]

What happened after Jesus died on the Cross? 

Is that all there is?

We’re going through the Gospel of John - these days after Easter - especially these last words of Jesus - which he spoke at his Last Supper. They are words collated, written down, reflected upon, well after Jesus death, resurrection, ascension in heaven, etc., etc., etc.

Today’s gospel image that Jesus uses is about a woman giving birth to a baby - with tears and pain - but all that is replaced after she gives birth to her baby. 

Joy replaces sorrow.

So too Jesus’ sorrowful mysteries move into glorious mysteries.

AFTERWARDS

I do a lot of weddings.

I hear a lot about all the preparations for the big day.

Two weddings back the bridegroom went up to BWI five times in one day - the day before the wedding.

Luckily for us, BWI is not that far away.

Weddings... anticipation… weather… will everything work?

The day finally arrives - the clock is ticking.

The vows, the toasting, the dances, the microphone, the cutting of the cake, each moment, each event, each part is played out - and then it ends.

The moms and dads sit there on chairs in their home or in a hotel room - exhausted…. It’s done. It’s over. Phew.

The bride and groom - often on Monday morning - getting on a plane - phew all that is over - and they are off to their honeymoon - a new beginning - finally.

Endings .... beginnings ....

Before…. after …. now …. next.

Life….

Sometimes

SOMETIMES

Sometimes the after’s are tough.

After the kids graduate and go off to college, the military, marriage….

After the house feels empty....

After the funeral and the cemetery and the visitors are gone and we’re all alone - or feel all alone....

The house - is filled with the reminders of the before.  The pictures, his or her chair, the bed, the empty place next to us in the car - in the church - at Thanksgiving Dinner with the kids.

After can be a lonely feeling.

Not always.... It all depends.

Sometimes the aftertaste of a good meal - the sherbet - the decaf coffee - the apple pie with ice cream - delicious.

Aftertaste can get us to smile and lick the underneath of our upper teeth.

Aftertaste can also be a burnt tongue.  We didn’t know the soup was going to be that hot.

Sometimes the aftertaste of a wrong word - by us to a sister-in-law or a friend - can still burn. Some hurts hurt a long time afterwards.

Sometimes a sin singes us for life.

Scars come with the after…. after the cut, after the hurt.

After is a human reality that is with us - in 100 different memories and feelings and reminders.

We don’t have dementia yet - so we hurt and we rejoice - depending on the after.

CONCLUSION

Ascension Thursday - Easter Sunday - are great after feasts. They are calls to have faith. They are calls to realize that we Christians believe, we know, there is an afterlife.

Ascension: get up, get moving, get off your butt, get out of your locked upper rooms, and celebrate the fresh air of new Springs, new life, new beginnings, new before’s - knowing there will be new after’s. Amen.

P.S. SOME AFTERTHOUGHTS

It’s raining right now - in fact most of this week.

After all, umbrella makers and umbrella sellers love and need the rain.

So too, little girls with rubber boots - loving the rain and the puddles - kicking and splashing....

So too flowers - they want rain.

And if you love green, lots of luscious spring green, want rain.

So too sidewalks and curbside macadam, "I need a thorough washing and cleansing - so I love the rain."

ANOTHER AFTERTHOUGHT

How well do we deal with aging, like life after 30, life after 40, life after 50, life after 60, life after 70, life after that 80, anybody here that old?

How about dealing with arthritis and wrinkles and where did I leave my umbrella and why did I come in this room in the first place and where did I leave my keys?

Any  afterthoughts?