GOD SNEAKS IN EVERY TIME

The title of my homily is, “God Sneaks In Every Time.”

That was the title of a homily I gave  at St. Mary’s on September 11, 2002 or 2003 at a Mass for our High School Kids - out on our lawn in the Carrol Gardens.

If any of you are worried about your kids - if they dropped out of church and the faith, be at  peace, “God Sneaks in Every Time.”

If your kids or family members don’t go to church for any reason - relax. Simply say, “God sneaks in every time.”

I told the following story that September 11^th: I had gone to a wedding of a relative in New York City a year before September 11^th, 2001.  It was a cousin’s daughter.  She didn’t want any religion or anything Irish at her wedding - so too the man she was marrying - who was Jewish. He didn’t want any religion or mention of God or what have you at their wedding either.

So I was just going to the wedding - as family. I was doing no priestly stuff.

The wedding was at the National Arts Club - 15 Gramercy Park South  in Manhattan, New York City.  We went because it was family.  We sat in the middle of the room.  My two sisters and my brother-in-law - and some other family members had filled up a row. So I went into the row - in front of them.

I sit down. Surprise!  Next to me is a priest. We shook hands - but I didn’t really get his name - and probably vice versa.

He knew my cousin - the father of the bride.  The wedding was short. A justice of the peace or someone officiated. They had a few readings - nothing officially from the Bible. One reading was Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s 43 Sonnet, “How Do I Love You, let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height / My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight / For the ends of being and ideal grace. / I love thee to the level of every day's / Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light. / I love thee freely, as men strive for right.”

Surprise they picked from an anthology the reading we hear at every other church wedding. It’s from 1^st Corinthians. “Love is patient, love is kind, etc. etc. etc.” Now,  there is no mention of God in that section of Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians - but in this excerpt from an anthology of love poems  God was mentioned. 

I didn’t notice this, but the priest next to me did. He elbows me and says, “God sneaks in every time.”

I found out after the wedding from my cousin that the priest next to me were good friends. My cousin had talked to the priest that he was upset there would be no God - and no religion as part of his daughter’s wedding.

End of that story…. Life goes on….

After the 4 plane hijackings on September 11, 2001, my sister Mary  calls me and says that the priest in front of them and next to me at that wedding was Father Mychal Judge.

God snook into the horror of that day big time with all the stories of acts of bravery by fire fighters and so many first responders.  People prayed big time that weekend.

Father Mychal Judge’s life was written up and spoken about. The newspaper stories and TV accounts told about all the work he did with the poor - with folks who had AIDS - with gays - with alcoholics - and on and on and on.

Those who heard all this heard about a man of God who was very human and who put every other person first.  Mychal  Judge was not the first person who died that day, but he was the first one checked out by the coroner and listed as Victim 0001.

So I was happy to know a priest who did great priestly work that day.

We also lost a cousin September 11, 2001. He was my God-father’s grandson, Shawn Bowman. I found out later that a fireman, the husband of a cousin of mine, whose marriage I had done, was one of the fireman who carried Father Mychal  Judge’s body across the street to St. Peter’s Church and they laid his body on the main altar.

Father Mychal Judge had said, "God is not an obligation or burden. God is the joy of my life!" 

Lucky for me he, God and life slid into my life that day in a new way.

I went to a non-descript wedding and I experienced God in that moment and the scary September 11 moment in New York City.

God sneaks in every time.

SHAWN BOWMAN, 28, FATHER, 

CANTOR FITZGERALD EMPLOYEE

Posted Sep 11, 2010

By Staten Island Advance

Date of Death 9/11/2001

By Frank Donnelly
Advance staff writer
Friday, 09/28/2001

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Shawn Edward Bowman Jr. wasn't an early riser by nature, but each morning he got up before dawn to shower and dress his 16-month-old son, Liam Edward.

The 5 a.m. wake-up call gave the Sunnyside resident precious time with Liam before work and let his wife, Jennifer, sleep a few more minutes. Mrs. Bowman is pregnant with the couple's second child.

Mr. Bowman, 28, a human resources information specialist for Cantor Fitzgerald on the 104th floor of Tower 1, is among the missing in the Sept. 11 terrorist attack.

"He was a very devoted father and husband," said his mother-in-law, Jacqueline Davitt. "And as a mother-in-law I could not have asked for anyone to be nicer to my daughter."

A lifelong Staten Islander, Mr. Bowman was a model employee who reported to work an hour early each day. Among his duties, he trained colleagues in the use of special software.

"He wanted to make sure everything he did, he did well," Mrs. Davitt said. As dedicated as he was to his job, which required frequent travel to Europe, Mr. Bowman was even more devoted to his family.

He was little Liam's special playmate. He devoted Saturdays to treks to McDonald's for pancakes and walks in Clove Lakes Park. Weeknights were reserved for romps on the floor.

"His son was everything," Mrs. Davitt said.

The day before the attack, Mr. Bowman left work early to bring Liam to the doctor's office. He and his wife were planning a trip to the Bronx Zoo with Liam to celebrate Mr. Bowman's 29th birthday on Sept. 16.

"He will live through my daughter, but it's a shame his children will never know how wonderful their father was," said Mrs. Davitt. "He will be sorely missed and our lives will never be the same."

Mrs. Bowman is due to give birth in January. The child will be named Jack, after a character in Tom Clancy novels that Mr. Bowman enjoyed reading.

Mr. Bowman was especially fond of mysteries and political accounts and devoured every copy of the New York Times and Barron's newspapers.

He also enjoyed cooking and was an Eagle Scout. He was active with Pouch Camp, Sea View, and with Troop 43 of St. John's Episcopal Church, Rosebank.

Born in New Dorp, Mr. Bowman moved to Arden Heights in 1999. In April, he and his wife moved into his mother-in-law's Sunnyside residence while they awaited construction of a new home in Columbus, N.J.

He was a graduate of Monsignor Farrell High School and the State University of New York at Albany, where he received bachelor's and master's degrees in business administration.

Following graduation, Mr. Bowman worked as a human resources information specialist for Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in Manhattan. He often traveled to the company's overseas offices to train colleagues in special software use. Mr. Bowman was a parishioner of Our Lady of Good Counsel R.C. Church, Tompkinsville, where he was married on April 17, 1999.

Surviving in addition to his wife, the former Jennifer Davitt, and his son, Liam Edward, are his parents, Carol and Shawn E. Sr.; a brother, James, and his maternal grandmother, Anne Barbieri.

There will be a memorial mass tomorrow at noon in Our Lady of Good Counsel Church. The Rev. Joseph Mostardi, the former pastor, will officiate, wearing vestments Mr. Bowman's family purchased for him.

The Harmon Home for Funerals, West Brighton, is handling the arrangements.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

SHAWN EDWARD BOWMAN JR.

A BOY SCOUT AT HEART

Even as a grown man of 28, Shawn E. Bowman Jr. was still a Boy Scout. Just about every Friday night, he came to Staten Island's Troop 43 meeting in his khaki pants and beige shirt festooned with patches and medals. When the boys' energy flagged, he would break out into his favorite skit, "Bananas," shouting, "Bananas of the world, unite!"

"He almost lived and breathed it," said Gil Schweiger, the ranger at Pouch Camp, a camp for Boy Scouts in Staten Island, who had known Mr. Bowman ever since he was a 7-year-old signing up to earn his first patch.

The boy became an Eagle Scout, then an assistant scoutmaster, passing along what he had learned — everything from how to tie a knot to how to tell the truth.

His day job, human resources information specialist at Cantor Fitzgerald, was a source of pride, but his real joy was scouting; he relished the prospect of passing it along to his son, Liam, now 2, and a second son, Jack, who had not yet been born on Sept. 11. "He tried to pass what he learned from scouting," Mr. Schweiger said. "They looked up to him. The boys still do."

Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on September 1, 2002.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Shawn Bowman was a relative and my god-father's grandson - so I wanted to honor him today: September 11th.

September 11, 2018 - 

Thought for today: 

“The moment to spend  with a husband who loves me, or a sick friend, or a delicious new grandchild is here and now. Not some time later .... The nation learned this lesson all at once that horrible day in September 2001. The pictures stay with us -- the fires and falling debris, and, most hauntingly, the faces. Look how young so many of them were, people who thought there would be much more time, a lot of 'later' when they could do all the things they really wanted to do. I grieve for their families -- especially for those, like me, who haven't found any trace of the people they loved. But I grieve even more for the people who died that day. They couldn't know what we know now about the precious gift of time.” 

Cokie Roberts -  

contributing senior news 

analyst for NPR News

I’M  ALL  MIXED  UP

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “I’m All Mixed Up!”

There used to be a song by Elvis Presley - 1969. Billy Joel and others sang it as well. It was called, “I’m All Shook Up.”

At times we’re all mixed up.  At times we’re all shook up. We can’t slow things down to figure out what to do.  Things are happening too fast.  We’re in the mix and we can’t stop the music.

Sometimes we can.

HOW TO DEAL WITH MIX UPS - AND SHOOK UPS

If we can, the first step  is to step back. Turn off the music. Stop the spin that’s going all around - that’s mixing us up - that’s shaking us up.

We can do this if we can get away from it all. Having the ability to pause is a good skill to have.  Being able to become silent and walk away nicely - is a good skill? Knowing how to fake it and say, “Excuse me. Is there a bathroom nearby?”

Then in the privacy of  our mind - we might have time and place to sort out what’s going on around us and inside us.

Sometimes it’s smart to admit it - to say  out loud to the other or to others - but  especially to myself, “I’m all mixed up. I’m all shook up. I need space.”

It could be family stuff, church stuff, self-stuff, money stuff, politics stuff, children who are long gone stuff, what have you stuff.

Next time you have some time, take a good look at your remote. Is it a good sign that the letters on the mute button are worn off? Is it a good sign if we can mute ourselves - bite our tongue and learn now to say, “Mute!”?

That’s the first step - stepping back.

The second step is to ask what’s in the mix of the moment? Jot down one liners that are short hand for what and who’s in the mix - that’s mixing us up.

TODAY’S FIRST READING

Today’s First Reading from 1^st Corinthians 5:1-8 talks about a shook up - a mixed up - early Christian Community.

Read the letter with the question: What’s going on here?

In today’s reading we find out:

·       A man is living with his father’s wife.

·       People are being expelled out of the community.

·       People are being prideful.

·       Paul pronounces judgment on someone.

·       People are boasting about inappropriate things.

Paul uses the image of baking bread. Here’s where the image of mixing hit me. He says get rid of the old yeast and become a fresh batch of dough. He says too many times we have mixed into our being the yeast of malice and wickedness - instead of sincerity and truth.      

We all have baggage.  I like that word: baggage.

Another word I like is,  triggers. What’s triggering our mess?

Another word I like in this mix is projection.

We walk through life with baggage - boxes and backpacks, memories and moments that are triggered by present events and experiences - and they are all part of our mix.

We mix experiences from our childhood and school and work into what’s happening now.

Warning: we might be unfair doing that to ourselves or another, because what’s happening now is different from what happened back then. That’s why it’s important to look at the mix and the mess we’re in.

TODAY’S GOSPEL     

As a result our mind can become like a hard fist or like the withered hand the man in today’s gospel has.

Jesus says to the man:  Stretch our your hand” and the withered hand is restored.

Here we are in church - a gathering place. If we were Jewish, this would be a synagogue.

Hear Jesus say.  “Stretch our your mind - your twisted or over laden or even withered mind and let Jesus heal us.”

Another warning: In today’s gospel those present don’t like what Jesus did.

Jesus was crucified many times before the got to Calvary.

Well, Jesus might cause in our mind and heart a resentment - because he’s naming what we do at times. Once we’re healed we can’t blame others for our own mixed up motives and patterns.

CONCLUSION

The title of my homily is, “I’m All Mixed Up!”

Hope this homily had at least one message or one image that shows some clarity or light in any thing you’re mixed up about. Amen.

September 10, 2018

VOW OF DISOBEDIENCE

Now that I said something

about a vow of obedience

I made on August 2, 1960,

I realize I have made a

another vow - somewhere

along my time line of life.

I will not keep quiet when

someone makes a racial

attack on another.

I will speak up when I

discover unfairness or

injustice towards others.

I will try to listen to those

who hurt or feel like they

are not listened to by others

I will refuse to go by clothes

or age or body shape or titles

as a person’s determination.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2018

September 10, 2018

Thought for today: 

“There’s  a  difference  between a philosophy and  a  bumper sticker.”  

Charles M. Schulz

A DEAF KID NAME TOMMY

INTRODUCTION

The title of my story for today is, “A Deaf Kid Named Tommy.”

In today’s gospel - for this 23 Sunday in Ordinary Time [B] we have the story of a deaf man. We don’t know his name. [Cf. Mark 7: 31-37.]

Jesus is traveling in an area below the Sea of Galilee - to the east of the Jordan River - in an  area called “The Ten Cities” - the Decapolis.  A group of people bring  to Jesus a deaf man who has a speech impediment. They beg Jesus put his hand on the man and heal him.

We find several stories like this in the gospels. People beg Jesus to heal daughters, sons, friends or servants.

In this story Jesus takes the deaf man away from the crowd. Maybe the theatrics and the drama that happens with these healings gets to him. He puts his finger into the man’s ears and spitting touches the man’s tongue and looks up to heaven and groans, “Ephphatha” - the Aramaic words for  “Be opened.”

And immediately - according to the gospel of Mark - the man’s ears are opened and his speech impediment was removed.

The man began to speak plainly.

At that Jesus ordered than nobody say anything about all this - but the more he tried to calm everyone down - and be quiet, they were screaming - “It’s amazing!” “It’s a miracle!”  “It’s a healing!”

The title of my story for today is, “A Deaf Kid Named Tommy.”

This is a true story. I was there. I saw it. This happened  around 1990 in upstate New York.

Let me introduce the characters in the story and the setting of this story.

THE SCENE AND THE SETTING

The scene is outdoors - late September  - and it’s warm.

There is a big building - 4 stories high. It’s a big retreat house - a former seminary building where I went to school. Now I was back there again. It’s also place for our novices - young men becoming Redemptorists. But it’s mainly a big retreat house.

It has a kitchen in the basement. There is no air conditioning down there. The windows are open - with bars on the windows. It’s a warm day.

It’s after lunch and there is group of junior high school kids from an all girl’s high school making a 3 day retreat.

TEDDY

The first character in my story that I want to introduce is an old priest - around 85 years of age.  His name is Francis - but we called him “Teddy.”

He had buck teeth all his life and Teddy Roosevelt was famous for his big teeth, so Father Teddy got the nick name “Teddy.”

He’s raking the lawn - from weeds he whacked.

Teddy is quite deaf - but he had hearing aids - but often didn’t use them.

Teddy had a great personality - warm - friendly. If he was an American Indian he’d be called, “Great Heart.”

I was talking with Father Ronny Bonneau today at lunch - telling him I was going to tell this story today for my homily and he said, he was walking down the corridor of this retreat house and Teddy is looking out the window and says to Ronnie, “Look at Molly down there.”  Molly was a beautiful retriever dog. “Look at him waving his tail.” Then he said, “Too bad we humans lost our tails. It’s a great way to know if someone is very happy.”

I told him a similar story. I was walking down the 2^nd corridor and there was Teddy trying to get a bee into a glass  near the window. I asked him what he was doing.

He said he was trying to get the bee into the glass so he could bring him across the corridor - and into his room and let him out on the other side of the building - so he doesn’t have to climb up to top of the 4^th floor and then down the other side.

So that’s Teddy.

TOMMY AND DANNY

The next two characters are Tommy and Danny - brothers.

They were the dish washers in that basement kitchen.

Tommy was stone deaf - totally deaf - from his babyhood.

Danny was not.

Tommy was the noisiest dish washer in the history of dishwashing.

He would slam - bang trays of dishes on the stainless steel tables that were part of the dishwashing section of the dining room.

And when the windows were opened you could hear his grunts as well as dish racks slams on the stainless steel tables.

Danny was more carefully and totally non noisy as he was doing dishes with Tommy.

THE CROWD - THE OTHERS

Every story - well not every story - but stories usually have the crowd or the others.

After lunch the two cooks, waiters and waitresses, and Tommy and Danny would take a break after some of the work was done. If the weather was nice - this break would take place in the shade at some benches and picnic tables across from the door up out of the kitchen.

THE STORY

Well this day I’m sitting there with some of the kitchen staff chatting.

The high school girls came out of the building and hearing the noise in the kitchen from Tommy - they were looking through the bars - the windows - down into the kitchen. I’m seeing all of this. We’re seeing all of this. We hear the girls call other girls to check out this guy in the kitchen doing dishes. They are pointing at Danny. The cook says, “I betcha that Tommy thinks they are looking at him.”

Then the girls in a large group head down to the river.

15 minutes later, we’re still breaking, Tommy and Danny come up out of the kitchen for a break as well.

Danny joins us.  We’re kidding him about the girls checking him out.

Tommy is 30 feet away - by himself - looking lonely and lost - a normal look for him. He’s leaning against a tree. Just then the girls come back - from the river and spot Danny and run towards him.

He blushes.

None run towards Tommy.

He tightens his fish and bangs it against his stomach - just below his heart.

The nun and a couple of adult chaperons tell the girls, “We have to get back to the retreat.”

I spot Tommy crying.

I spot Teddy raking leaves.

I go over to Teddy to tell him about Tommy. He adjusts his hearing aid.

I had seen Tommy and Teddy greeting each other after meals - and somehow communicating. Deaf to deaf. Smile to smile.

So Teddy goes over to Tommy - who is still all alone -  to console him and he hears Tommy say - with deep loud  grunts, “Unfair. Unfair. Unfair.”

Teddy gives him a hug and I see him crying on this old priest’s shoulder.

CONCLUSION

Years later I heard that Tommy got one of those machines that has wires that go into the skull and a person can learn to hear 16 sounds - that can help a person learn more words - and less grunts - more words that “Unfair. Unfair. Unfair.”