October  26, 2019 -

Thought for today:

“Few people can be happy unless they hate some other person, nation or creed.” 

Bertrand Russell, 

Autobiography, 1961

DIG  DEEP  INTO  ANYWHERE

To read, to know, the history

of the place where we come from,

one has to dig deep into the

soil of the place we’re looking at.

Our shovel, our mind, our eyes will

hit blood and rock and injustice.

Little will be written, if anything. That’s

the stuff written of kings and the rich.

Yet, our roots, our stories, our tears, can

still be  found in  soggy dirt with bogged

down pieces of skull. Our ancestors were

here and praise God, we can dig here. Amen 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019

October  25, 2019

Thought for today: 

“The Church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state but rather the conscience of the state.”  

Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Strength to Love, 1963

DIVISION

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 29 Thursday in Ordinary Time is, “Division”.

TODAY’S GOSPEL

Today’s gospel - on first hearing - evoked an, “Oh no!” from me.

Oh no - here’s Jesus - saying, “Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?  No, I tell you, but rather division.”

Then Jesus  talks about division in families: three against two and two against three.  A father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against  her mother, a mother-in-law her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

Down through the ages did scribes - monks  -  printers - doing the Book of Kells or the Lindisfarne scriptures - or the Guttenberg Bible - or any transcriber of the Gospels - say the same, “Oh no!” upon coming to this wall of words - a wall that divides people from people.  Did they say, “What about those other words Jesus told us about forgiveness - for example forgiving 70 times 7 times and bringing peace to the rooms we enter?”

STEPPING BACK

Stepping back, sitting back, pondering these words of Jesus, after saying, “Oh no!”  I said, “Oh yes, there is plenty of family division - church division - political division.”

Next I said, “You were taught  all these Gospel texts were put there to deal with stuff in Christian communities two and three generations after Jesus.

Next I said, “And we need to deal with division - and disagreements - and inner fights - just as every generation of Christians have to.”

I love to quote the saying, “The greatest sin is our inability to accept the otherness of the other person.”

I like it when the pope follows my opinions.  I don’t like these folks who don’t like Pope Francis.  And I would like this pope and the next pope to make significant changes in the church - as long as they are liberal..

And I realize there are lots of people who will have problems with me when I’m made pope.

WHERE I NEED TO CHANGE

I need to walk in other’s shoes and figure out where they are coming from when I discover they differ from me.

I need to talk to others who will challenge me to see where I am coming from.

I need to read, talk, dig into - so as the figure out the why of divisions.

We were just talking the other day about two Redemptorists and one guy says about a guy who was a whiner - he couldn’t accept Vatican II.

CONCLUSION

So there’s differences and divisions -  and we all need to deal with them. Amen. 

We need to learn to meet with each other - as you’ll hear in the 2^nd Canon for reconciliation which I’ll use at this Mass.

October 24, 2019

MEMORIES

Like a favorite sweater -

memories warm us when

we are cold - but at some

point we take that sweater off.

It goes into a closet or a bottom

drawer and memories come off

dates and places and drop out

of site into closets and bottom

drawers, but some days we are

cold….

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019

October  24, 2019

Thought for today: 

“Incredibly, inordinately, devastatingly, immortally, calamitously, hearteningly, adorably beautiful.”  

Rupert Brooke of 

the actress 

Cathleen Nesbitt

If you're married

give your spouse 

that kind of 

a compliment.

October 23, 2019

JUST LISTEN

Just listen…. Just open up your ears -

just listen to the sound of music from

everywhere …. Kids walking by ....

Birds having a flash mob concert  above

a just harvested corn field .... Elevator

music - mall music - street music ....
Music .... Music .... Music .... Music ....
Everywhere .... Just listen .... Listen ....

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019