NO  FEAR

Years ago, there were t-shirts with the words,

“No fear!” broadcasted  on them.  The scriptures

often have angels and others saying, “Don’t

be afraid.”  Well, that’s the Christmas message

and that’s our prayer for every new born baby.  

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2018

December 25, 2018 

Thought for today: 

“We must not  measure greatness from the mansion down, but from the manger up.”   

Jesse Jackson, in his speech 

at the Democratic National Convention, 

San Francisco, California, July 17, 1984

UPSIDE

Someone said, “But there is a downside.”

I said, “I only want to look at the upside.”

Someone hearing me say that, said,

“Well, that’s crazy. That has a big downside.”

I said, “Well, then, you take care of downsides

and I’ll take care of upsides - and watch me smile.”

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2018

CHURCH  BUILDINGS 

WE’VE  EXPERIENCED 

INTRODUCTION

The title of my thoughts for today - Morning Mass December 24^th -  is, “Church Buildings We’ve Experienced.”

DAVID’S PALACE - GOD’S TENT

Today’s first reading - 2 Samuel 7: 1-5, 8-11, 16, is all about Nathan the Prophet nagging David for not building a house for God. “You David are living in a great house built with cedar and God is living in a tent.”

David, we have a problem here.

QUESTIONAIRRE: NAME 5 CHURCHES

We’ll human beings have certainly built great houses for God.

Here’s my questionnaire: Name 5 favorite or inspiriting church buildings you have  entered or been in and the story behind you getting there? 

Since we’re all so different, I thought it would be a great conversation.  Don’t tell all 5 at once.  Tell them around the table or the conversation one at a time - giving each person their choice - one by one.

Here are my 5.

FIRST: LOURDES

In the 3^rd year of high school, Father John Barry said, “If you ever get to France, get to Lourdes and make sure you go to the baths.” Well in 1993 my two sisters and my brother-in-law went to France and each of us got the choice of one place to visit. My sister Peggy picked Lourdes - so that was taken care of. It was well worth it. So if you haven’t been to Lourdes, put it on your list.

SECOND CHARTRES:

Second for me  would be Chartres Cathedral. It’s about an hour from Paris.

I once listened to a vinyl record by Charles Laughton and on that  record he talks about 2 significant times he went to Chartres Cathedral and how that impacted his life.

Well I got there - and I would recommend to everyone to get to Chartres  - the  Marian Shrine in Europe since the 11^th century.

THIRD: SAGRADA FAMILIA

Third for me was Sagrada Familia - in Barcelona.  I got there 2 times. It’s still being built. Right now the tallest church in the world is Ulm Cathedral.  By 2026 Sagrada Familia will be the tallest.  Check it out.

FOURTH: COLOGNE CATHEDRAL

Fourth would be Cologne Cathedral. Back in 1993 I was taking a train from Hamburg Germany to Paris. Well, my niece Claire’s husband told me to take the hour earlier train - get off in Cologne - walk up the street - and check out the Cologne Cathedral. Then  walk back to the train station and get on the train to Paris that you were ticketed for. Surprise, there was no seat for me - from Hamburg to Cologne  - but looking back it was all worthwhile.

LAST:  SAINT MARGARET OF CORTONA  CHURCH - COLUMBUS OHIO

Fifth - would be St. Margaret of Cortona, Church in Columbus Ohio. It’s a relatively small church - in an Italian Neighborhood settled by Italian stone workers brought to America to build the state buildings in Columbus. I was preaching a parish mission there in the late November of 1999.  The pastor told me that the church was built from stones from the nearby rock quarries. The church has won design awards and honors.

CONCLUSION

What are your 5?  I could  have picked St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City  or St. Peter’s in Rome or St. Paul's in London - and I’ll probably have 50 more - the more I think about this - but I thought these 5 would bring out the point I wanted to make.

Thanks for listening.

December 24, 2018 

Thought for today: 

“The worst sin  -  perhaps the only sin - passion can commit, is to be joyless.” 

Dorothy Leigh Sayers, 

Gaudy Night [1936], chapter 23

December 23, 2018

FLY IN DECEMBER

Some saint loved roses 

in December. How about flies? 

I guess I’m not a saint. 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2018

WHO  AM  I 

IN THE MANGER? 

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Who Am I In The Manger?”

JOSEPH BREIGHNER

I picked up a copy of the Catholic Review magazine yesterday afternoon - before going into the confessional. They were in the back of the church. I got there earlier than usual, so I had time to page through the different articles.  I stopped and read the article by Father Joseph Breighner, “Jeers to Cheers”. Then people started coming in for confession.

I always find Breighner’s writings wonderful. I had heard him speak over at Millersville, a few years back. Excellent speaker.

In the article -  he wrote the following, “As a philosopher put it: ‘We look into other people’s eyes to see who we are.’”

I began thinking about that. I didn’t know people did that. Do I do that? I had to answer: “I don’t know.” Then I added, “I’ll have to think about that.”

So that to me is a good article - a good goal for a magazine article - as well as a sermon: to do some good thinking.

Since it was a Christmas article I thought he was going to say: “People look into the manger to see who they  are.”

It didn’t.

But then I said, “That’s a good idea for a Christmas homily.” I write a Christmas story every year, I’ll do that tomorrow, so I’ll give a Christmas homily today with the title: “Who Am I In the Manger?”

Go up to the manger, the crib, the Christmas crèche here in church or at home or on a Christmas card this Christmas and ask, “Who Am I In the Manger?

THE BABY

The baby is front and center.

The baby is what it’s all about.

Carl Sandburg said, “A baby is God’s way of saying the world must go on.”

 “In Joseph Heller’s novel Something Happened the main character, Robert Slocum, says, `I know at last what I want to be when I grow up. When I grow up I want to be a little boy.’”

Natalie Goldberg wrote, “We never graduate from first grade.”

Doug Lawson wrote, “The aging process has you firmly in its grasp if you never get the urge to throw a snowball.”   

Listen to yourself at this winter’s first snow fall. See if you still have that urge to throw a snowball at someone. If you don’t, get with it. Remember Jesus’ words, “Unless you be like little children, you won’t be in the kingdom of God.”  Through snowballs, even if you’re in your nineties.

There’s an Iranian proverb that sort of says the same thing, “Children are a bridge to heaven.”

Anonymous said, “Babies are such a nice way to start people.”

So when you see the manger, start with the baby and start to see babies in the light of your life.  What was it like when I was born?  What were my parents thinking and saying and feeling?  See parents caring for their kid and see our parents doing all that for us.

What were my Christmases like? What was my growing up like? Get out the pictures and study them.  Talk to each other about what growing up was like?  Ask those still around, what they went through and if they are much older than me, did they remember what I went through?

So Number 1: when I see the baby in the manger, what do I see in myself and in life?

NEXT: MARY AND JOSEPH

What do I see in Mary? What do I see in Joseph? What do I see in my parents, living or dead?  If I am a parent, what is / what  was / that like?

What’s with Catholics and Mary and Joseph and the Saints?

This is St. Mary’s Parish.  What is that about?

Today’s gospel has Mary going to Elizabeth?  Both are now pregnant. Elizabeth says, “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”

Do we ever say that to our mom for housing us - for bringing us into the world?  When in our life, has our mom felt blessed, for having had us.

So too our dad.

There are a hundred things to think about when looking into the manger - especially about our parents and being a parent.

NEXT:  THE ANIMALS

We might reflect upon the ox and the ass,  the sheep and the birds.

I do a lot of baptisms. I often wonder what kids are thinking when they see what they see.

Have we ever watched a child looking at a dog and breaking out into a smile?

Have we ever felt like an ox, having to do all the work, and nobody even notices - or says, “Thank you Ox.”

Have we ever felt like an ass?

I won’t go further than that.

SHEPHERDS AND KINGS

Sometimes we’re shepherds.  Sometimes we’re kings.

Sometimes we’re called upon to care for others: like grand parenting, babysitting, teaching, being a crossing guard.  Every person should be a waiter or   waitress at some point in one’s life. Everyone should be a volunteer, an usher, a setter up with tables at a parish or a group picnic.

And sometimes we’re king to queen, like at 25^th and 50^th anniversaries or at a retirement party, when we get gifts: a gold watch or perfume or Old Spice.

I like something Ginny Dauses - who is our high school youth minister - says. She likes to say at the end of a high school retreat,  “When the 3 kings finally saw Jesus, they gave their gifts, but went home a different way.

CONCLUSION

I would hope that by stopping to look into the Christmas manger and seeing ourselves in the story, we would go away - and do life in a different way - a better way.