August 11, 2017

STONE OR WATER?

Stone: so secure, so present, 

so solid, so here, so refusing.

Water: so chameleon, so changing, ice,

steam, rain, tea, yet it sees the world.

© Andy Costello, Reflections  2017

ST.  LAWRENCE 

GENEROSITY 

INTRODUCTION

On this the feast of St. Lawrence, I would like to preach on the theme of generosity - being generous - being a giving person.

LITMUS  TEST

Down through the years generosity is the one criterion I hope to find in another - especially a priest. Is this person generous?

If I am stuck, if I need a job done, who is the first person that I would think of to ask for help from?

I also hope people are not hesitant to call on me.

So if people think of you as someone who is an easy touch for time and work, I think that’s a great compliment.

ST. LAWRENCE

St. Lawrence was a deacon in the early church.  He was one of the 7 deacons serving the church in Rome.  After Peter and Paul, he is the patron saint of the city of Rome.

Along with Pope Sixtus II and a few other deacons, he was arrested around 258 and killed. They killed Sixtus and the others first, then Lawrence. The story is that they tortured Lawrence, so as to get the money they figured he had.

What he used to do as deacon was to collect money and goods for the poor and then distribute it. Evidently, he was a good collector and a good giver and distributer. I picture him like Father George Wichland, who was great in collecting and distributing money and food  to the poor of Baltimore.

When those who wanted his money asked him, “Where is your treasure?” he pointed to the poor.

After Lawrence was killed,  a mob of poor people went to the prefect of Rome and asked for their treasure: Lawrence.

His tomb is one of the 7 principal churches of Rome.

LEGEND

The legend is that he was burned to death on a gridiron. I’ve seen pictures of the gridiron. It’s like a barbecue grill.

When I was in Rome I went to his shrine, where he is buried, and there is a marble grill there, with holes in it, so the blood can drip through into the fire.

One story has it that he was killed by the sword. The tradition that people love is that he was burned to death and with humor said, “I’m done on this side, turn me over.”

The Latin is, “Assum est, versa, et manduca.”

MY JOURNAL

I went to Rome for 5 weeks in 1984 - in hopes of seeing Scala and the Redemptorist holy places. As I was looking thru my journal from that trip this morning, to look up stuff about the shrine of St. Lawrence for this homily, I noticed the names of John Ruef, Tom Forest, and Terry Kennedy. The three of them were Redemptorists stationed in our house in Rome. They were very busy people. Tom Forest was with the international headquarters of the charismatic movement. John Ruef was consultor general at the time. And Terry Kennedy was a professor at the Alfonsiana.

Well, preaching on generosity, all 3 were very generous with their time to me. John Ruef gave me almost 3 out of my 5 weeks in Italy. He took me on buses, trains, taxis, to all kinds of places that I would never get to. He was a great tour guide. Terry Kennedy gave up a bunch of his time to take us the shrine of St. Lawrence as well as other places in Rome that I’m sure he saw a hundred times while taking visitors to Rome to good spots. So too Tom Forest.

That’s generosity. That’s giving. We might not have money. We might not have silver and gold, but what we can give so often, in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, is our time.

TODAY’S READINGS

And I believe that is the theme of today’s readings, chosen especially to fit this the feast of St. Lawrence.

In the first reading, Paul is trying to collect money. He tells the people of Corinth, “He who sows sparingly, will reap sparingly and he who sows bountifully will reap bountifully. Everyone must give according to what he has inwardly decided; not sadly, not grudgingly, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Today’s gospel ends with the great words, “Anyone who serves me, the Father will honor.” Well, Lawrence has been honored since the 3^rd century. Certainly, he served the body of Christ.

CONCLUSION

Hopefully, like Christ, like Lawrence, we will be generous servants - saying to all: "Take and eat. This is my body. This is my time - given to you."

And then add, “I’m not done yet.”

August 10, 2017

TODAY

Didn’t you know you need today

to appreciate yesterday and

you’ll need tomorrow to appreciate today -

but you won’t know that till tomorrow?

© Andy Costello, Reflections  2017

August 9, 2017

TRANSPLANTS

Heart, eyes, liver,

thoughts and words of others….

walking down the street

in someone else’s body,

in someone else’s mind.

Hopefully, we realize

we’re not in this alone;

we are all part of one another.

© Andy Costello, Reflections  2017

WHAT  SCULPTS  OUR  FACE? 

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 18th Tuesday in Ordinary Time is, “What Sculpts Our Face?”

WHILE DRIVING ALONG

While driving along I notice people pausing - especially at red lights -  to check out how they look in the mirror.

I wonder at times - how many times - do people stop to check out their soul - their being - their attitude - when they look in the mirror - as they are going down the roads of life?

Do they look deep into their eyes and not just the surface and surroundings of their eyes?

The eyes are the window to the soul.

How am I in there?

What’s forming my face?

What’s sculpting my face?

TODAY’S    FIRST READING

We’re hearing stories about Moses and Miriam and Aaron these days with these first readings from Numbers and earlier from Exodus. It struck  me as I read these readings, “What were the faces of Moses, Miram and Aaron like?"

We’re told that God talked to Moses face to face.  We also hear that Moses’ face glistened and shined - with a bright light.

MIRIAM

I noticed in a few commentaries on today’s first reading that the Lord was angry with Miriam and Aaron - Moses' brother and sister - for speaking out against him. They had complained, "Is it through Moses alone that the Lord speaks?" Then they added what every kid would say, "What about us?" 

Deeper motives .... They had been angry with Moses because he chose a Cushite for his wife. The Cushites were from down in Ethiopia and were a bit more black. Miriam is featured the most in today’s first reading from Numbers. Envy was eating her up. Was she envious because this wife was much younger? Was she much more beautiful than Miriam?

Bluntly the reading says that Miriam gets leprosy. In those days,  this was any serious skin deformation.  The book of Numbers says her face looked like a still born baby who was missing part of his or her skin.

QUESTIONS

Reflecting on this, I asked questions about the impact of our attitudes on our face.

So that's where I got the question, "What sculpts a face." 

One of the meanings for the name Miriam is “bitter”.

Would someone who is constantly bitter of soul become bitter of face?

How many times have we seen a face that has the ends of the mouth line - turned downwards. It’s an unhappy face. How many unhappy moments, how many inner complaints, does it take to make a face an unhappy face?

What can turn those face lines upwards at the mouth endings - so as to be wearing an authentic happy face.

People spend millions on plastic surgery for their face to look better, when spiritual surgery - will do it so much better - but free of charge - if we do inner work - working with the grace of God.

CONCLUSION

When you look in the mirror and you see an unhappy face, or when you see someone with a constant sad face, say Moses prayer at the end of today’s first reading. “Moses cried to the Lord, ‘Please, not this! Pray, heal her!” 

August 8, 2017

BELL

That’s a big bell…. I’m sure all could

hear its sound for miles and miles

around -  calling all to prayer, all to

meet, all to know -  no one is alone.

But what about bells that are retired?

Are they sort of like folks in nursing homes?

They did their job - in their time - and now

they just hang around - silent - doing nothing.

Do both old folks and old bells - just

have memories of when they felt valued

and necessary and everyone knew

they were around by their sound?

© Andy Costello, Reflections  2017

THE MASS: 

KISS -  

KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID 

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 18^th Monday in Ordinary Time is, “The Mass: Kiss - Keep It Simple Stupid.”

Both readings for today hit home on one of the most basic things human beings do. We eat.

In the first reading, we have one of the most basic things people do about food. They complain. I don’t like cucumbers leeks, onions and garlic. I’d eat the melons. [Cf. Numbers 11: 4b-15.]

In the gospel, we have one of the most basic things people do. They hang around places and people who provide food. [Cf. Matthew 14: 13-21.]

Just listen to people. The food is too hot, too cold, too old, too not enough, too unappetizing.  Complain. Complain. Complain.

Just watch teenagers. When food appears, they appear. Watch dogs, they want food.

JESUS

This reality about food tells me how smart Jesus was. The Mass is a meal - and he told us to do his Last Supper in memory of him.

Just read the gospels and notice how many times Jesus is at meals. Just notice how he feeds the hungry folks. Notice how we wanted to eat with his disciples. Obviously, food - feeding people - was important to him.

THE MASS

So the Mass was a meal for starters - but when folks were eating too much and drinking too much at the community means, they moved the “meal” part to another place and/or after the Mass part. So they simplified the ceremony.

At meals we eat, we drink, we talk.

At the Mass we eat, we drink, we talk.

Once the Church numbers grew - once the crowds get larger, then the Mass changes and becomes our liturgy.

In this homily I want to stress the bare bones underside of the Mass. It’s a meal.

And at meals, we have those three ingredients - besides people: bread, wine, and words.

Jesus knew people. We need to eat. We need to share our life - and our life stories together.

I was at a family gathering yesterday. We ate. We talked. We gathered together.

FOOD MESSAGES

We know when we are in sync with each other - in communion with each other - it’s then we can eat with each other.

We know when we can’t stomach each other. We know the folks we spot and walk away from.  Women are better at knowing this than men. Who makes the lists of who sits with whom at weddings and family gatherings?

We know where there is so and so 5 feet away and we wait till they sit down and we move away as far as possible. We know whom we would like to sit next to and whom to avoid.

CONCLUSION

So when we start to complain why so and so started to break away from the Mass, they did it slowly. So too the family.

So this is basic, basic stuff - I was taught the KISS principle in public speaking. KISS: Keep it simple stupid.