THE  REASON 

UNDERNEATH  THE  REALITY

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 5^th Tuesday in Ordinary Time is, “The Reason Underneath the Reality.”

One of the most important rules in life is to question the reason behind a law - or a rule or a regulation.

St, Thomas Aquinas would say, “Authority is the weakest argument.”  In other words, it’s not, “Who said so?” but “Why do you say so?”

We often don’t ask because we might labeled a pain if we do.

I know I don’t like to be questioned  on some things, because I’m not the boss and I realize  I can’t do anything about lots of things - especially in the Catholic Church. For example some marriage legislation, etc.

TODAY’S GOSPEL

The title of my homily is, “The Reason Underneath the Reality.”

I don’t know if that’s a message from today’s gospel, but that’s one issue that hit me.

Today’s gospel has Jesus being quite critical of the Pharisees - and their practices - and dare we say, “One of the reasons they wanted Jesus dead was right here.”  He was going after them for all these washing rules they were pushing.

Of course, it’s important to wash one’s hands - especially during the flu season.

We want those who work in restaurants to wash their hands after going to the bathroom. I saw that sign in a Burger King bathroom the other night - and I said, “Good!”

So washing jugs and kettles and hands is important.

However, if folks become extremists - then maybe enough’s enough.

Is that the point we’re being asked to consider. If the Pharisees amongst us attack  those of us who don’t take everything so totally serious - that we aren’t living up to their standards.  Are they then trying to make the rest of us look dirty and make themselves look so clean?

I don’t know. I assume we know a lot more about cleanliness today than back in Jesus’ time. So maybe they were onto something.  I don’t know.

WHERE I WOULD GO WITH RULES AND REGULATIONS

I remember seeing a documentary about strip mining in Kentucky.

Coal miners - and coal companies - in the short run found it too expensive to live up to all the environmental safety regulations - so it was much cheaper to pay the fines.  They were saving money and making more money and keeping afloat.  Then what happened was run off - because trees were not replanted after strip mining and soil, water, were ruined downstream and down into the valleys.  Then there were big time health problems.

There’s a dilemma that is always there.

The title of my homily is, “The Reason Underneath the Reality.”

I assume the rules for washing hands started off for the right reason, but in time it became an extreme and people were doing it as an extreme - and then they rubbed it in and were saying, “We’re better than you.”

There’s the Pharisees in today’s gospel avoiding helping their parents financially in their old age, by putting their money into a fund called korban.

W.C. Fields in some movie had a Bible in hand and was paging through it and he says, “Just looking for loopholes. Just looking for loopholes.

I would assume the maintenance of parents is more important than donating for maintenance of St. Mary’s and St. John Neumann churches.

 I would assume that the trick is to study all this - ask questions - ask reasons -  and then make sure the reasons below the surface are good ones.

 If they are pride, selfishness, and to feel cleaner than others,  then pause and recalculate our motives and behavior.

CONCLUSION

So obviously in life we need to ask questions.  We have to do our homework.  We need to be humble and honest.

February 6, 2018

Black History Month Thought for today: 

"No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love. For love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite."

Nelson Mandela

February 6, 2017

ROUND AND ROUND

I woke up as the sun was rising.

I looked to the east and this gigantic

round, round orange ball was moving

up the blue morning sky  like a pop up

in slow motion. Now if you told me that

what I was seeing was not what I was

seeing, I don’t know if I would believe you.

It was our round, round earth that was

spinning as well as the round, round sun

and I was seeing mystery in motion -

and if you told me there is no God -

I wouldn’t believe you because

you’re not seeing what I’m seeing.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2018

TOUCHING  MOMENTS

INTRODUCTION

The title of my thoughts or reflections for today is: “Touching Moments.”

An alternative title could be: “How touching.”

TOUCHING MOMENTS

Looking at your life, what were the touching moments?

What were the moments that touched you?

Last night after the Super Bowl game, Darrell Green of Redskin fame, marched the Lombardi Trophy through a run of Philadelphia Eagles players and each reached to touch the trophy or kiss it.

It costs $50,000 - was designed on a napkin in 1966 - is 22 inches tall, is silver, and weighs 7 pounds. It has stayed the same for 51 years now - named after Vince Lombardi - and made by Tiffany’s.

The Eagles beat the Patriots and they got the reward: to hold and to touch this very important trophy.

If you saw it on display, at the Football Hall of fame, and you could reach out and touch it, would you?

I know I touched the Commander and Chief’s Trophy for the winner of Army, Navy, and Airforce games.

How touching.

At funerals, if there is a casket in the main aisle,  I’ve noticed people reaching out and touching the casket of a loved one -

on the way up to communion or back.

Speaking of funerals, I’ve noticed if the person who died was in their 50’s or 60’s, couples coming across the parking lot and walking towards the church are holding hands more than usual.  I wonder if that is true or just my perception and wondering.  Could that be proved?

Do persons who lost their spouse remember the last time they touched?

When I go to a funeral parlor and the body is there and the casket is open and the person who died - is holding a rosary, I like to touch one bead and say a Hail Mary.

When I’m at the airport, in the terminal, and I see people at a gate going in or coming out I like to watch the body language of arrival and departures. How touching.  It used to be far more sceneful* - before September 11 - when folks could wait for folks inside closer to last door before the plane.

What have you touched?

I touched the moon - well a piece of a moon rock.

I shook hands with Dear Abby. I regret it wasn’t a kiss. It happened too fast. She was sitting right behind me at a banquet in Jackie’s restaurant in Chicago - for writers of the Thomas More Association.

I shook hands with Justice Scalia - I was simply holding the door - at a Lawyer’s Mass at St. Mary’s - and he came into the sacristy.

Bill Belichick put his hand on my shoulder - and whispered in my ear - at the Annapolis Touchdown Club. He asked me to say a prayer. At another time I asked him to come back to the Giants and he went, “Haah!”

I shook hands with Leo Cravata, a plumber, in West Pittston, Pa. Just an ordinary guy - but an interesting character.

TODAY’S READINGS: 5^TH  MONDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Here in today’s first reading we have one of the stories of the Ark of the Covenant. People often reached out to touch it. One story was about someone who reached out to touch it when it was falling in a procession and you weren’t supposed to touch it - and the person died.  That story borders on taboo and superstation.

Here in today’s gospel people were brought to Jesus - and they thought, if I just reach out and touch the tassel of Jesus’ garment I’ll be healed. We read in the gospel about people who do just that are they are healed.  

RECEIVING COMMUNION

At Mass we can reach out and take Jesus in the hand or on the tongue.

As priest I’ve avoided the fight or “thing” about communion in the hand vs. tongue. I see it as receiving communion - communion with Christ.

Someone the other day - said, “Talking about the flu and germs at Mass - we should have a separate line for communion on the tongue people. The Eucharistic minister would wear rubber gloves for that line.”

I smiled and said, “Are you crazy. I wouldn’t touch that one with a 10 foot pole.” 

I didn’t add, “You should see how they give out communion at Eastern rite Masses. The person coming up for communion comes up to the priest. He has a golden spoon. He takes out a piece of leavened bread. It’s consecrated and put into the precious blood. The person receiving holds their head back and opens their mouth. The priest then deposits the soaked bread and wine in their mouth. This happens quite fast and efficiently, but every once and a while, the receiver  licks the spoon clean. I’ve given out communion thousands of times in Eastern rite Masses, but I won’t tell the person who follows that person what just happened.

CONCLUSION

Those are some  words about touching - the healing touch - the power of touch - the memory of touch.

This week watch people touching each other.  Very interesting optics.

[* Notice in the middle of this reflection there is a new world I made up, “sceneful”.  I would love some dictionary in the year 2075, have the word “sceneful”.  It’s a variation of the word “eyeful” - with a different nuance.]

February  5, 2018

AY,  THERE’S THE RUB

When it sounds too good,

we listen more carefully.

We watch for the catch.

We wait for the moment

we voice the line of Hamlet,

“Ah, there’s the rub!”

There’s the request for money.

Oh, that’s the problem.

There’s the need I need to solve.

There’s the sacrifice I need to make.
“Oh, that’s what they want.”

To be or not to be….

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2018

February 5, 2018

Black History Month Thought for today: 

“When you know your name, you should hang on to it, 
for unless it is noted down 
and remembered, it will die when you do.” 

Toni Morrison (Song of Solomon)

ATTITUDE

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 5^th Sunday in Ordinary Time [B] is, "Attitude."

Today's first reading from the book of Job - triggered for me a topic and theme for this homily: attitude.

Here's Job in a very dark moody mood - seeing life as drudgery and doom. He doesn't seem like a happy camper. He sees himself as a hireling - not running his own business. Everything is happening at him. He sees himself as a slave longing for the shade. He has sleepless nights - restless till the dawn. Notice the word "misery" and if you've seen that movie - you know what misery is like. And listen to that last sentence in today's first reading again: "Remember that my life is like the wind; I shall not see happiness again."

I wouldn't want to have a job working next to Job. I wouldn't want to see him walking into the room in the morning - or afternoon - or evening for that matter.

SO SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT ATTITUDE

We know what attitude is and what it means - but to put it into words - we could do that - but we might not be that clear with words - but we still know what attitude is - especially a bad attitude.

In fact, for starters - in talking about attitude - the adjectives "good" and "bad" - might be a good place to start.

A good first question is right there: When it comes to the big picture - our life - judge yourself - do you think you have a good or a bad attitude?

When you walk into a room - what's the first gut or belly take - people get about you?

Do they say, "Here comes an angry person?" Or, "Here comes a happy person?"

Or do people look you in the eye or look at your face - and try to get a read on you. Are they thinking, "What kind of a mood will he or she be in today?"

If the saying, "Action speaks louder than words" is true, so too is this saying of John C. Maxwell, "People may hear your words, but they feel your attitude."

I sense we all have an overall attitude - that we show or those who know us - get it - got it - good or bad. Then we have changing attitudes - depending on the day - the weather - traffic - and a dozen other things.

Then we have specific attitudes toward specific issues, persons, places and things.

We might hate so and so because she is always telling us about what she's going to cook for supper tonight - or how well her children are doing in college or sports or what have you. Enough already.

We might have a great attitude towards the environment. We hate it when people dump their Starbucks containers in the park - but we have a poor attitude towards the poor.

So, attitude. It's a tricky thing.

TODAY'S GOSPEL

Here we are still in the First Chapter of the gospel of Mark. After healing Peter's Mother-in-law who was sick, who then feeds Jesus and his disciples, a lot of people show up with their demons and their diseases.

They want healing. And Jesus heals them.

When it comes to healing - it would be smart to go to Jesus for healing of any destructive attitudes.

I found a helpful distinction. It comes out of some research by Stanford University. A psychologist, Carol Dweck found that people's core

attitudes fall into one of two categories: a fixed mindset or a growth mindset.

"With a fixed mindset, you believe you are who you are and you cannot change. This creates problems when you're challenged because anything that appears to be more than you can handle is bound to make you feel hopeless and overwhelmed."

That's the first category. I have to think about that - because at times I have said, "Once we hit a certain age, it's hard to change." Then I add, "Sorry, expect the same." "Expect Deja  vu."

This Carol Dweck gal is saying, "No necessarily so." She continues, "People with a growth mindset believe that they can improve with effort. They outperform those with a fixed mindset, even when they have a lower IQ, because they embrace challenges, treating them as opportunities to learn something new."

I assume we have to accept this second mindset - the growth mindset - if we come to Church, if we accept Jesus in our life - because Jesus is always proclaiming, "Change!" "Repent." "Grow." "Change your heart and not your garments."

Jesus gave us the Beatitudes. That's 8 attitudes to put into practice.

PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE

Today's gospel has an interesting secret that seems to be one of Jesus' key spiritual practices.

Mark tells us that "Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed."

Where is your deserted place? It could be this Sunday Mass. It could be talking a walk. It could be fishing? It could be a prayer chair in your bedroom or back porch.

For my dad, it was the cellar. For my mom, it was the right hand corner of a couch in our living room - with her small rubber banded prayer book  in the top drawer right there. A friend of mine - changed his garage into a chapel.  A few people in the neighborhood found out about it and used it. It could be the Eucharistic chapel here. It could be this church or St. Mary's when it's open.

Attitudes can change - mindsets can move from fixed mindsets to growth mindsets if we take the time to pray.

But it has to be prayer - it has to be communion. It has to be more than me. It has to be  God and me, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit with me.

This doesn't mean we won't be interrupted. Here's Jesus interrupted in today's Gospel, but we have to have the attitude, I need to find the time for Sabbath, for Holy Places, and then do it.

CONCLUSION

If you don't want to have the Job attitude we hear about in today's first reading, find hideouts, find time for God - for the rest of your life.

And when with God, pray for and decided to be a happy camper on this planet - on this journey  called “Life!”

And remember Victor Frankl’s comment that we have freedom right here. He said, “The last of the human freedoms is to choose one’s attitude. Choose life. Choose  beatitude as our attitude.