January 28, 2017

FADED

Colors fade, fabric, drapes

near windows - couch covers

in time - and many ups and

downs - come to think about it -

when people move to Florida

or Colorado - or a dad dies -

memories, moments, stories

start to fade - drifting into

grey clouds that slip into the

distance - down to the bottom

of the earth, water, sky within.

But then again - someone says

something - I hear a song -

I drive past the past and you

rise for a moment and I remember.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

  

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2017

January 27, 2017

LIFE:

A USER’S MANUAL

Forgiveness for starters.

Eventually accepting who and what is:

oatmeal and the parents we have.

Being held - being told we’ll enjoy

the roller coaster - “Don’t be scared!

We’re here!”  Then ice cream together

on hot nights - with mom and dad  -

watching them enjoy it as much

as we do. Schools: a good education

and enthusiasm - music and play.

Religion - and being able to

question questions - along with

doubts and seeing faith - not just

in church, temple, or mosque, but in

feeding the poor and helping

fix up and paint a house or two.

And enjoying the breeze - like a

a Labrador does while driving - cool air

coming through an open car window

riding down the roads of life.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2017

January 26, 2017

HESITATION

What’s wrong with hesitation?

It gives us space to pause -

to assess - to listen - to see -

to not step on banana skins.

It prevents dumb - giving answers

to questions the other isn’t asking.

In fact, it gives us questions to ask.

It gives us a chance to say,

“The one who hesitates isn’t lost.

They are the ones who can be found.”

What's wrong with hesitation?

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2017

January 25, 2017

LOCKED IN

It seems to me that you’re locked up

- locked into yourself - so why do I

keep wondering if there is a key to

understanding you?  Hell!  It seems
you’ve closed your mind  and threw 
away the key a long, long time ago.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2017

January 24, 2017

TREE AFTER TREE

I don't notice tree after tree after tree….

I see the forest. I don’t see the trees. I do 

this same thing to so many people. I bypass them …. I seem to notice only the beautiful -
but oops  - lately - because of you, Lord Jesus - hanging on the tree of the cross I'm beginning to see the gnarled and the odd shaped…. More!

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2017

ONE  WORD SELF-TEST

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this feast of  St. Francis de Sales  is, “One Word Self-Test.”

Could each of us describe ourselves with one word?

How accurate would that self-description be?

How objective - how subjective would our one word description be?

If each member of our family were given a piece of paper and asked to describe each person, would others come up with the word we put down to describe ourselves?

AT A FUNERAL

I went to a wake last night - especially because I had no clue who it was whose funeral will be today.

At a wake, depending on the circumstances, I sometimes ask folks to yell out a one word description of the person who has died.

Sometimes there is “Oh yeah!” when someone yells out a one word description of a person.  Rarely is there an “Oh no!” - just silence.

I’ve heard words like, “Funny” or “Sweet” or “Giving” or “Generous” or “Happy” or “Neighbor”  or “Present” or “Listener” or “Hard Worker”.

So what word describes us?

ANOTHER QUESTION OR TWO

Do we have any say in the matter?

Or does it just happen that we become the person we have become?

Can we change?

Could a person sit back and say, “This is the type of person I want to be and then become that type of person?”

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES

I began thinking about this last night as I began thinking about St. Francis de Sales - the Patron Saint for today - January 24.

I began thinking about a priest, Freddy Prenatt, who taught us in the seminary. He loved to quote St. Francis de Sales and I have tried to put into practice in my life what I heard.

Freddy would love to say to someone when they were upset, “Con calme!”  “With calmness.”

Would anyone of us want that to be described as “calm”  - at our funeral - because that was their experience of us?

How about the word, “Generous” - another great message of St. Francis de Sales?

How about patience - which was a very strong message from St. Francis de Sales.

CONCLUSION

Freddy often quoted this doctor of the church -  his dates 1567 - to - 1622. Evidently he read his stuff thoroughly - and as the psalm for today put it, “he put a new song into my mouth” - well, he put the words and ideas of St. Francis de Sales into our ears.

St. Alphonsus used to quote him as well.

Here are a few quotes on 3 themes from St. Francis that bring out these basic messages:

First Patience:

"What we need is a cup of understanding, a barrel of love, and an ocean of patience." [Saint Francis de Sales]

 And “Have patience with all things, But, first of all with yourself.”  [Saint Francis de Sales]

Second calmness:

“Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit.[Saint Francis de Sales] 

 And “Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.” [Saint Francis de Sales]

Third work on self - not others:

“Don't sow your desires in someone else's garden; just cultivate your own as best you can; don't long to be other than what you are, but desire to be thoroughly what you are.” [Saint Francis de Sales]

A  SECOND  CAN 

CHANGE  A  LIFE

INTRODUCTION

The title of this short reflection is, “A Second Can Change a Life.”

I’m sure that thought has hit us for a second or two at different times in our life.

I don’t think I gave too many other seconds - or second thoughts - about that reality, but that’s what hit me when I read today’s gospel especially.

“A Second Can Change a Life.”

EXAMPLES

A person is driving along alone and their cellphone rings and they automatically reach for it - and it has shifted to the other side of the empty other passenger seat - and they look over to see where it is and boom another person in another car suddenly shifts lanes in that split second.

A second can change a life.

A doctor is looking at x-rays all morning - and says to herself or himself, “Wait a second. Let me look at this x-ray again?”  And in that second opinion - in that second look - they spot something they didn’t spot in the first look.

A second can change a life.

A person in a moment of anger yells at us as we both come around a corner in the supermarket and almost crash into each other. One person yells, “You jerk. Why don’t you watch where you’re going?” One person bites their tongue and says nothing.

A second can change a life.

DEMONS

On second thought, perhaps the reason I got this thought from today’s gospels was the word, “demon”.

In today’s gospel we hear the scribes  - they are those who can write - the more educated ones - attacking Jesus for being possessed by Beelzebub - a great name for the so called, “Prince of Demons”.

In Jesus’ time, people used the word “demons.” They were spurts, blurts, darts of anger and frustration and irrationality that erupted out of people - sort of all of a sudden - and in a split second - a person threw a rock or a word at another.

They are what causes division in a house or a family or a marriage or a community.

And often we have to live with the consequences of a split second act or action.

If it’s bad stuff - it’s called a demon - a devil - and because it’s filled with energy - it’s also seen as a “bad god” - a bad spirit - let loose.

BRUDERHOFF

I was once attending a talk being given by a member of the Bruderhoff - a Protestant Community - Commune - in upstate New York. The talk was being given in a convent to some nuns and I was invited.

The father of a family was explaining what life was like in his family and in his commune. Seated near him were his wife and about 4 kids.

It was a long talk and it got boring.  Above the speaker was a ceiling fan with a metal beaded cord - with a bigger bead at the bottom - to grab to turn the fan on or off - or to put it in another cycle.

Suddenly in a split second one of his sons stood up - and whacked with one hand the bottom bead of the on off cord hanging from the ceiling fan. It went flying. It stopped the father for a moment. Everyone saw it. Everyone woke up. The boy simply sat down and continued his day dreaming. The father continued speaking. The father finished speaking. Any questions? Nobody said anything to the boy who wacked that ceiling fan cord.

I have never forgotten that scene.

I often wondered what was going on in that kid’s mind.

I’ve often wondered why we remember what we remember and forget so many other moments of life.

It has always struck me - that maybe all of us are sitting there in church - at the dinner   table - at a meeting - or in a relationship - and we want to scream - or smack some hanging cord.

It has always struck me that any of us can do something stupid - dumb in a split second - and it can ruin the rest of the evening or one’s life.

CONCLUSION

Today’s gospel also talks about non-forgiveness…..hopefully it’s not everlasting ….

Hopefully, if we do something dumb in a second, we can recover and do something smart in a second and recover.