March 22, 2018 

Thought for today: 

“It seems  hard to look at God’s cards.  But that he plays dice and uses ‘telepathic’ methods (as the present quantum theory requires of him) is something that I cannot believe for a single moment.”  

Albert Einstein, letter to Conelius Lanczos, February 14, 1938, in Helen Dukas and Banesh Hofman, Albert Einstein: The Human Side, 1979

March 21, 2018

MURDER  MYSTERY:

MELANOMA

Melanoma

Plot: murdered by cancer.

My brother loved to read mysteries,

but his own mystery he wanted to

stop reading as soon as he knew the plot:

death by cancer.

Melanoma.

The detective work became the next chapter.

The killer had moved through the dark red rivers

of my brother’s body - this time hiding in his brain.

A tumor had erupted - a mass -  behind his eye.

Chemotherapy - the loss of hair, the loss of strength.

Melanoma.

My brother, died this day, March 21, 1986.

He was in the hospital. The brain surgery didn’t work.

My brother, a book finished, a mystery, finished

too soon - but with many more pages and chapters to go, so many more stories to tell - 

Melanoma.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2018

March 21, 2018 

Thought for today: 

“Literature is  news  that stays news.”  

Ezra Pound, How to Read, 1931

COMPLAIN,  COMPLAIN,  COMPLAIN

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 5^th Tuesday in Lent, is, “Complain, Complain, Complain.”

There’s  a moment in the Book of Numbers - today’s first reading - where the Israelites are complaining, complaining, complaining,   against both God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert, where there is no food or water. We are disgusted with this wretched food.”

In the history of the world, is complaining about food the Number 1 thing people complain about?  Or is it about politicians and priests.  I don’t know. You tell you.

HORSE BUNS

A story I’ve heard a dozen times down through the years is about  4 guys who went camping for a week. Nobody would volunteer to do the cooking - so one guy finally agreed to give it a try. However he said, “The first person who complains has to cook.”  They he looked them all in the eye and asked, “Do the 3 of you agree to this?”

They agreed.

Well, the meals were atrocious - really bad - and the 3 other guys would grunt and gripe - moan and groan - but they would add, “But we’re not complaining.” 

They didn’t want to get stuck with the cooking and any complaints about the cooking.

So he tried to make the food worse and worse, to force one of the 3 to complain and get stuck with the cooking.

 Nothing worked.

On the 4^th afternoon the guy who was cooking spotted some horse buns on the trail. When nobody was looking he retrieved them carefully, and served them for supper - with catsup or course.

Well one guy says, “This stuff tastes like hoss manure” - then he paused and said, “but it’s good.”

QUESTIONS

Does every person have at least one complaint?

Does every group have at least one complainer?

Will someone always say every March, “It’s too cold.” Or, “It’s too hot in the office.”  Or, “This has to be  the worse winter of all time.”

Is there someone in every parish who says, “This has to be the worst parish in the United States - with the worse priests. Where did they get them?” Or will there always be someone to complain about the music. Or if there is  a youth mass, will someone always report, “The high school Mass was okay, but someone has to train these kids to be quiet and be more disciplined in church.”

No matter what the restaurant is, will there always be someone who will say, “Did you notice, that the waiters and waitresses at that restaurant  are the worst servers in the world?”

CONCLUSION - A FEW QUOTES TO WARD OFF COMPLAINERS ABOUT THIS SERMON. “DID YOU NOTICE, HE MENTIONED HORSE BUNS IN CHURCH FROM THE PULPIT?”  OR, “HE DIDN’T SAY ANYTHING OF SUBSTANCE.”

Let me conclude with a few quotes in case I didn’t make a case for “Stop Complaining!”

“I have learned that in every circumstance that comes my way, I can choose to respond in one of two ways: I can whine or I can worship! And I can't worship without giving thanks. It just isn't possible. When we choose the pathway of worship and giving thanks, especially in the midst of difficult circumstances, there is a fragrance, a radiance, that issues forth out of our lives to bless the Lord and others.” [Nancy Leigh DeMoss]

“Thinking of what Jesus did NOT say from the cross: not a bitter, angry, unkind, whining, profane, unnecessary word. There is none like Him!”  [Nancy Leigh DeMoss]

“A careful blending of sarcasm, irony, and teasing, bickering has its own distinctive cadence and rhythm and is as difficult to master as French, Spanish, or any elective second language. Like Chinese, the fine points of bickering can be discerned in the subtle rise and fall of the voice. If not practiced properly, bickering can be mistaken for its less sophisticated counterpart: whining.” [Linda Sunshine]

“If you want to understand any woman you must first ask about her mother and then listen carefully. Stories about food show a strong connection. Wistful silences demonstrate unfinished business. The more a daughter knows about the details of her mother's life - without flinching or whining - the stronger the daughter.” Anita Diament

“Why do people talk of the horrors of old age? It's great. I feel like a fine old car with the parts gradually wearing out, but I'm not complaining,... Those who find growing old terrible are people who haven't done what they wanted with their lives.” [Martha Gellhorn]

March 20, 2018

SENSIBLE

We have these basic  senses.

We used to be taught there

were 5 senses: seeing, tasting, 

touching, hearing and smelling.

Then we heard and figured out

there were more senses: fear,

motion, commotion, wonder, awe,

common sense and imagination.

Then we memorized life and called it

knowing by experience. Then we had

to be careful, because déjà vu could

take over and we stop learning.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2018

March 20, 2018

Thought for today: 

“During my eighty-seven years 
I have witnessed 
a whole succession 
of technological revolutions.  
But none of them has done away with 
the need for character in the individual 
or the ability to think.” 


Bernard M. Baruch, Baruch: My Own Story, 1957

MARCH 19,

ST. JOSEPH CARPENTER