July 5, 2018
“There are two things that will be believed of any man whatsoever, and one of them is that he has
taken to drink.”
Booth Tarkington
[1869-1946]
Penrod (1914) Chapter 10.
Thursday, July 5, 2018
July 5, 2018
PROPOSAL
There are those who don't believe
in ceremony, rituals or what have
you -
moments like prayers before
meals.
If they're married, ask them how their
proposal went: then ask them
again
if they still don’t believe in ritual.
What about weddings, wakes and
funerals?
What about birthdays and
anniversaries?
What about all those times we were
waiting to hear a, "Thanks!" or a "I'm sorry!"?
waiting to hear a, "Thanks!" or a "I'm sorry!"?
© Andy Costello, Reflections 2018
Wednesday, July 4, 2018
July 4, 2018
FIREWORKS
Some people sparkle;
some people dud.
Some people light up the sky;
some people fizzle.
Some people are hot dogs;
some people are buns.
Some people are watermelons;
some people are a cold one.
Me? I’m must be me and you’re just you.
Together let’s enjoy the picnic
and go “Wow!” with the fireworks
and enjoy the gifts of life together. Amen.
and enjoy the gifts of life together. Amen.
© Andy Costello, Reflections 2018
July 4, 2018
Thought for today:
“’One sacred memory from childhood is perhaps the best education,’ said Feodor Dostoevski. I
believe that, and I hope that many Earthling children will respond to the first
human footprint on the moon as a sacred thing. We need sacred things.”
Kurt Vonnegut,
Wampeters, Forma,
and Grandfalloons, 1974
Moon footprint: July 20, 1969
Moon footprint: July 20, 1969
Tuesday, July 3, 2018
*
IF IN DOUBT,
SPEAK UP
AND OUT YOUR DOUBT!
AND OUT YOUR DOUBT!
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily is, “If In Doubt, Speak Up And Out Your
Doubt!”
Spit out. Doubt!
Today is the feast of St. Thomas - and he’s famous
because of his doubt.
Hey, we don’t know too much about some of the other apostles - apostles like Barthomew, Simon the
Canaanite - [not Simon Peter], James The
less, Jude, [not Judas] - also known as Thaddeus.
But we do know about Thomas - mainly because of his
doubt.
And when it comes to religion, there are lots of silent
doubts - unexpressed doubts - theological wonderings.
Thomas gets sort of picked on by Jesus - for being the
doubter. Then Jesus uses him to praise
those who make great acts of faith.
As we heard as the ending to today’s gospel, “Blessed are
those who have not seen and have believed.”
THE VALUE OF DOUBTERS
In this homily, I’m giving praise to those who doubt.
Do we have enough milk? Did anyone make sure the widows
are closed? Is the restaurant open on
Monday evenings? Who’s in charge of making the reservations?
Maybe Flint Michigan would not have had so much lead problems with their water -
if the city manager and those in charge did regular checkups.
Catholic Dioceses would have saved millions and millions
of dollars if someone checked out their doubts about Father So and So.
A big benefit from the abuse problem in the Catholic
Church is that parents keep a better eye on who’s trying to be with their kids.
We took a horrible hit - kids getting hurt - and lots of folks not going to
church because of the sins and bad example of others. Any of you who have volunteered
for school and teaching kids know you
have to be certified. It’s a pain at times, but this doubt culture is
protecting kids better.
In other words, having doubts can sometimes have
benefits.
A FEW COMMENTS AND A FEW QUOTES
Galileo said, “Doubt is the father of discovery.” If those in charge - of the thought police in
the Catholic Church - would have had some doubts about their sureness that Galileo was wrong, maybe we wouldn’t have
been tagged as being so unscientific.
I love the saying - by someone named Francis Sayer ,
“Religion isn’t yours firsthand until
you doubt it right down to the ground.” Francis Sayer, Life magazine, April 2, 1965
That fits in with Isaac Bashevis Singer’s comment, “Doubt
is part of all religion. All the
religious thinkers were doubters.”
Rene Descartes wrote, “If you would be a real seeker
after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far
as possible, all things” He said that in
Principles of Philosophy, 1644.
But I better add that we need also to have doubts about
our doubts. I say that because when I
was looking up ideas and comments about doubts the following statement by a John Hutchinson, in Faith,
Reason and Existence, 1956, hit me, “ There is
a measure of truth in the traditional doctrine that … all doubt is at
bottom a dishonest rationalization of sin.”
CONCLUSION
That brings me full circle.
So today we celebrate the memory and the story of
Saint Thomas the Apostle - which I believe is saying, “It’s good to have faith
- but we’re also allowed to have doubts - and hopefully our doubts bring us
find faith - especially in the wounds of Christ and the realities of life
around us.
___________________
* Painting on top: The Incredulity of Saint Thomas [1601-1602] by Caravaggio (1571-1610)
July 3, 2018
Single chair - bench - or couch?
BENCH
Single chair - bench - or couch?
A bench - as well as a couch -
says a lot more than a single chair.
Picture a couple on a park bench -
snuggling - or a grandpa reading
to his grand-kid on a couch.
Now picture an individual all alone
sitting there reading a paper or a
Pharisee sitting there far off - alone - inwardly
complaining about Jesus with a dozen kids.
© Andy Costello, Reflections 2018
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