March     21, 2019 

Thought for today: 

“I trust everyone. It’s the devil inside them I don’t  trust.” 

John Bridger in the 2003 

version of the movie, 

The Italian Job.

March 20, 2019

THE  CHALICE

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily and thoughts for this 2nd Wednesday in Lent is,  "The Chalice."

PROPS

[Holding a chalice]  As you know Father Tizio and now Father Luyen Dau like to use props to help their sermons be more clear.

A prop is something visible - to help us to see the invisible.

So here is a golden chalice.  What do you see when you see a chalice?

What do you see when a best man and a maid of honor or the father or mother of the bride or bridegroom hold up a glass chalice or goblet at a wedding or any occasion and they toast someone?

They are trying to make the invisible - their inner hopes for the future - visible.

A STORY

[Holding a chalice] I was once giving a retreat to some priests - perhaps in Richmond, Virginia. For a evening prayer I held a gold chalice like this one in my hand and said, "Here is a chalice. We see the outside of the cup, but we can't see what's inside."

Inside of each of us is the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

Inside of us is our story. Our life. Our inner stuff.

I suggest you sit here in this chapel after this night prayer is over. Just sit here and look into the chalice called you - and see everything. 

See the mistakes and the moments of ecstasy.

See everything.

Then when you have some time this evening go up the chalice on the altar and stand where you stand for Mass and the consecration. Lift up the chalice.  Look into the cup - then offer your whole life up to God Our Father with Christ.

Well I did that and left the priests in that chapel to do what they wanted to do next.

I went to bed.

Around 1 PM I heard a knock on my door that woke me up.

It was one of the priests on the retreat. 

For the next hour and a half - he told me what was in his chalice - in his life - and how profound a moment it was this evening when he lifted up his chalice - and lifted his life - the Good. the Bad and the Ugly.

WHAT'S IN YOUR WALLET? CHALICE?

We all know the Capital One slogan? What's in your wallet?

In today's gospel  from Matthew 20: 17-28 -we have the story about what was in the chalice of the mother of the two sons of Zebedee.  She wanted her boys to be # 1 and # 2 in Jesus' Kingdom.

Can you hear those boys saying, "Mom!"

We can hear the anger in the other disciple's chalices/

Jesus says to them, "Can you drink of my chalice?"

They boldly answer, "We can!"

Then Jesus tells them what's going to be in their chalices and what ought to be in them: service. And there also will be blood.

CONCLUSION

One more prop.

Whenever I do baptisms here or at St. John Neumann I ask the mom and dad to take their baby and stand as priest at the altar.

I have had well over 1000 babies on this altar.

I ask them to put their hand on their baby and to say after me, holding - the chalice of their child. "This is my body. This is my blood. We're giving our life to you.

I conclude: "This is the sacrifice of the Mass."

March  20, 2019

EDGES

Standing at the edge of rooms,

and the backs of churches,

sort of nervous at Your margins,

Oh God - not willing to sit down yet

and say, “Amen!” to You  as Word,

hesitant to take and taste You, the

bread and the wine - to chew on, to

digest Your calls to be in communion 
with You. Not sure yet …. Not sure yet …. 
but I'm noticing You edging closer and closer ….

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019

March     20, 2019 

Thought for today: 

“It can be revealed for the first time that it was in San Francisco [in 1906] that Al Jolson first uttered his immortal slogan, ‘You ain’t heard nuttin’ yet!’  One  night at the café he had just finished a song when a deafening burst of noise from a building project across the street  drowned out the applause. At the top of his lungs, Jolson screamed, ‘You  think that’s noise - you ain’t heard nuttin’ yet!’ And he proceeded to deliver an encore which for sheer blasting  put to everlasting shame all the decibels of noise the carpenters, the brick-layers and the drillers could scare up between them.” 

Martin Abraham, 

Real Story of Al 

Jolson (1950) p. 13

March 19, 2019

CARPENTER’S SHOP

If I were wood and God 

was a carpenter, what 

would I want to be? 

A table, a chair, 

a desk, a pencil, 

a hammer handle, 

a plow, stairs, 

a door, a kite frame, 

a flute, a violin, 

a baseball bat, 

a fence, a porch…. 

I am wood and  I am 

a carpenter, and what  

have I become in my life? 

Ooops! Don’t tell me

that I have become

a cross for you?

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019

March     19, 2019 - 

Thought for today: 

“Certain books come to meet one, as do people.”  

Elizabeth Bowen

ST. JOSEPH: 

THE MAN BEHIND THE SCENE

INTRODUCTION

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Joseph. We see statues of him on pedestals— or pictures of him on walls - in churches and homes and on memorial cards. We see images of him with the tools of his trade in his hand—Joseph the Carpenter—or with a flower, a symbol of his purity—as husband of Mary - or holding the Christ child or teaching him a trade.

QUESTION—WONDERING

When it comes to saints, I often wonder why it is or what it is that makes this particular saint, this particular person stand out from the rest of people. To stand out enough to be put up on a pedestal!

What is the energy! What part of us does the life of this saint touch that we want to accentuate!

That’s what hits me about saints. Or in other words, “Patron Saint of What?” and “Why?”

ST. JOSEPH

We know so little about St. Joseph. Yet the name “Joseph”, “Saint Joseph” hits certain cords in people’s hearts.

What is it?

What is it about St. Joseph?

What is it that makes him a big name among the Italians—a Jewish boy—famous among the Italians. Giuseppe! Today is a big feast day. There are lots of pastry and special ones just for this day.

What is that makes him a special saint among the Poles?

What is it that makes him so popular that so many orders of religious women chose to be named after him: “Sisters of St. Joseph!”

Today, this has lessened, with less kids being named Joseph.

But still, what about Joseph? Why Joseph? Why the fame? What myth, archetype does he touch? What does he touch in our life that makes him famous?

OTHER JOSEPH’S

In the scriptures we know more about Joseph of Arimathea than about Joseph of Nazareth. We know even more about Joseph of the OT. So what is it about St. Joseph that makes him so popular?

ANSWER

I think the answer is the reality that 99 % of the people on our planet are what we call: THE NECESSARY PEOPLE BEHIND THE SCENES OF LIFE.

That is the universal vocation of all: to keep all moving—to keep life going—to keep the planet going.

And I think Joseph is the patron saint of the anonymous people—all those people behind the scenes—while the main characters and actors on stage get the credit.

EXAMPLES

Take our everyday life.

Somebody puts the bread out and cereal out and someone fills the juice machine. We only know those things exist till they are missing and we have to go to the back box to get milk or the big plastic racks for bread. We only know the juice needs replenishing when its light is blinking.

Today’s papers. Who are the people who put the paper on the print presses? Who are the copy people? Who drives the newspapers to small and big stores,  so the store has them at 7:00 or 8:00 AM?

Who drives the bus? Who are the truck drivers?

Who does the dishes in the diner or the restaurant? Who put the cable down or cable up for our telephones or TV?

We watch the evening news and there is anchor woman or man.  We don’t see the camera crew. We don’t see the people who drove Martha Raditz  to Capital Hill and set everything up. Their name might be at the end of the news in small print, but we don’t stop to see it.

ST. JOSEPH

So I see St. Joseph as the example, the model, the archetype, of the person behind the scenes.

He represents Parents, Teachers.  Doctors, Truck Drivers, etc.

And what about telephone operators and air traffic controllers. What about FDA researchers who look at drugs. And what about those who put the weather together?

We only see the stars.

We really don’t see the dad after he walks his daughter down the aisle.

THE ENERGY

That’s where I see the energy when it comes to St. Joseph. We need a bit of encouragement every once and a while and on the feast of St. Joseph, the message is that everyone counts. Everyone is needed. We are the little people on the planet, but every little one counts. Today we celebrate Joseph. One of ours has made it.


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Picture on top: Holding Heaven - Dicianne