July 27, 2018

SOME PRAYERS

Some prayers are said,

but let’s be honest,
sometimes neither 
the speaker nor the SPOKEN TO

hears the words and

the sentiments. So, God,

urge me, to try, try again.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2018

July 27, 2018 

Thought for today: 

“I’d rather have  written  ‘Cheers’  than anything I’ve written.”  

Kurt Vonnegut

July 26, 2018

HOPE

Hope is a blue diamond - 

the most valuable diamond

in the world - but it comes

with a blessing and it comes

with a curse. Sometimes

we get what we want

and  sometimes we find out

we can’t handle not getting

or getting the hope

we were hoping for.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2018

July 26, 2018

Thought for today: 

“The important thing is somehow to begin.”  

Henry Moore

July 25, 2018

BOOK  OF  KELLS

Good news written on calf-skin ….

Did those calves know - while

grazing in the fields - that they

would last  from the 800’s till

now - under glass - in the Old
Library at Trinity College in 
Dublin? Tourists grazing and 
gazing on beauty - words 
becoming flesh - copied in gold - 
red lead - yellow arsenic sulphate - 
inspiring all of us to love

one another as Jesus taught us -

realizing goats - besides sheep -

can make it into the Book of Life.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2018

July 25, 2018 

Thought for today: 

“Sometimes - there’s God - so quickly.”  

Blanche says just that 

in  A  Streetcar Named Desire, 

by Tennessee Williams.

MAKING  MISTAKES 

MY  TAKE - OTHER’S  TAKE 

- GOD’S  TAKE 

ON  MY  MISTAKES 

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 16 Tuesday in Ordinary Time is, “Making Mistakes: My Take - Other’s Take - God’s Take on My Mistakes.”

Today’s first reading from Micah and today’s Psalm 85 triggered for me the theme of this homily: Making mistakes: my take on my mistakes as well as how I think others take my mistakes - as well as I think God takes my mistakes.

WHEN WE MAKE A MISTAKE

When we make a mistake - whom do we think about mainly? Ourselves? Others?

God?

In this homily I want to think about all 3 - how we see mistakes impacting ourselves as well as others and God?

MYSELF

Let me begin with myself?

What do we say when we make a mistake?

When I make a mistake,  I say things like, “Dumb! Dumb! Dumb!”  or “Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!”

I close my eyes when saying that or I say, “Dang it! Dang it! Dang it!”

I might even hit myself or  bang my fist against the palm of my hand. “Oooouuh!  Uuuuuuuuuuuh!”

For example, I miss an appointment and blame it on my old age. Or I end up in the wrong nursing home as I did last Saturday and I  get frustrated at myself for the mistake I made.   Well, Crownsville and Croften both begin with a “C”

So when we sin or make a mistake - we might ask - “How does this make me feel about myself.”

What do I think about myself as myself? Can I forgive myself?  As priest people tell me about the mistakes of their life -  some they are aware of life like a scar on the skin of their soul.

Do I feel guilty? Can I forgive myself?  Do I deny that I made a mistake?

I like the distinction some make between shame and guilt.  Guilt means, I made a mistake. Shame means I am a mistake.  So guilt is easier than shame.

OTHERS

Then there are others?  Sometimes we worry about what others will say or think about us when we make a mistake?

We hope they will give us a break - allowing us to be mistake makers.

Here is where we get a chance to understand  Christ - who said, “Let the one without sin toss the first stone.

Here is a chance for us to discover what others are really like - who our friends are?

Friends are those who call us up - to see if we are okay - after the news gets out that we got caught shop lifting - or we got fired because we stole from work - or what have you.

Sunglasses and side doors and the dark are mistake makers best friends.

GOD

Then there is God. How do we see God - when it comes to our making a mistake.

Today’s first reading from Micah has God described as the God who removes guilt. It says that God does not persist in anger at our being a mistake maker. Micah says God has compassion on us.

Micah says that God casts into the depths of the sea, all our sins.

I remember hearing a big sermon by a priest saying God buys this big trunk - fills it with our sins - locks it - chains it - and then throws it into the deepest part of the ocean.

In today’s psalm, the author says God doesn’t rejoice in our sins. It says God covers our sins.  Like we’re sitting next to God at a table with a white table cloth and a red juicy meatball gets away and rolls off our plate and God says - pointing to the sunset out the window and everyone looks that way while God slips off his white napkin and covers the table cloth that we messed up - with that slippery meat ball.

God is all about joy, rejoicing, kindness, life, saving us from sin and self-embarrassment.

We might get angry with ourselves - others might get angry with us for spilling bloody red spaghetti sauce on the family name - God doesn’t. God likes us as part of his creative juices. Amen.