August  23, 2020

Thought  for  Today

“The  boughs  of the oak are roaring inside the acorn  shell.”  

Charles  Tomlinson,  

A  Sense  of  Distance 

August 22, 2020

PATTERNS

When we have step back …. 

When we look long … 

sometimes, we’ll  see patterns.  

But when we’re just seeing 

the moment, when we’re 

just seeing one thread 

working its way into the fabric 

of our  life, it’s  not enough…. 

Yet, when we can’t sleep, 

when we’re on a  plane flight 

or a summer vacation,  or in 

a hurt, the patterns are there. 

Sometimes our life  makes sense. 

But if we don’t pause – we might  

have to wait till old age to discover  

there are patterns in the fabric of our life. 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2020 

August   22,   2020

Thought  for Today

"Enter this door 

as  if  the floor 

within were gold; 

and every wall 

of jewels all 

of wealth untold; 

As if a choir 

in robes of fire 

were singing here; 

nor shout nor rush 

but hush … 

for God is here.” 

In the vestibule

of  many a church

in England.

August   21,   2020

VE  FOR  VICTORY

Victory for everyone. 

…..  ve, 

the last two letters  

of some very important words:  

give, serve, save, live, love;  

the ending 

of some very important actions:  

to give, 

to serve, 

to save, 

to live, 

to love, 

and then when we do them 

we experience 

victory for everyone.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2020

August   21,  2020

Thought  for  Today

“The  first  blow  is  half  the battle.” 

 Oliver Goldsmith

August  20,   2020

ST.   BERNARD  

IS A VERY INTERESTING CHARACTER  TO  KNOW  A  FEW THINGS ABOUT 

The title of my thoughts  and reflections is this:  "St. Bernard Is a Very Interesting Character to Know A Few Things About.”

So here are about a dozen comments about St. Bernard.

He wrote thousands of letters  - with  a little help from secretaries.

He was born in what later on will be France. His dates are 1090-1153.

He had a bad stomach ulcer they think – for a good bit of his life.

He came from an elite family.

He was the third of seven children, six of whom were boys.

He joined the Abbey of  Cîteaux   in his early 20’s with 30 other young men.  In time a lot more young men joined because of him – the result being they needed room so they were moved around a bit and were told to begin new sites.  Eventually his father also joined – and his one sister became a nun after permission from her husband.

He had a brother who is listed as Blessed and as Saint – Gerard of Clairvaux – dates about 1120 - 1177.  He became abbot of Clairvaux. He was known as a strict disciplinarian. Then while making a visitation of the abbey at Igny, he was murdered by Hugh, a monk, whom Gerard had threatened with disciplinary punishment. 

Bernard was also known to be quite strict and quite caustic. In Butler's description of Bernard we read: "He was not afraid to expose wickedness and condemn stupidity in even the great and powerful - in cardinals, abbots, the members of the Curia - and meanness and narrow-mindedness in anyone. Though people often heeded his rebukes, some resented them."  (page 195)

He wrote lots of stuff – especially about Mary. He’s not made a doctor of the church till 1830. Pius XII described him as the last of the fathers of the church on the 800^th anniversary of his death.

He became involved in church controversies – schisms, crusades, papal elections – 2 popes.

Cardinal Harmeric, on behalf of the pope, wrote Bernard a sharp letter of criticism. It said, "It is not fitting that noisy and troublesome frogs should come out of their marshes to trouble the Holy See and the cardinals."

Bernard answered that letter by noting that  he had assisted at the council,  because he had been dragged to it by force. 

Then Bernard added: “Now illustrious Harmeric  - if you so wished, who would have been more capable of freeing me from the necessity of assisting at the council than yourself? Forbid those noisy troublesome frogs to come out of their holes, to leave their marshes .... Then your friend will no longer be exposed to the accusations of pride and presumption.”

He got into a big time argument and theological fight with Peter Abelard.  Abelard was rational – Aristotelian – and logical.  There was name calling like “heretic” by Bernard. Abelard publicly challenged Bernard to a debate.  Bernard eventually said, “Yes” but before the debate he went to those who would be making the judgment to get their support against Peter Abelard. Abelard  left – saying, “It ain’t worth it.”

So that's just a few comments about Bernard. If I discover a well documented life of Bernard, I’ll read it. 

Thomas Cahill - in his book, Mysteries of the Middle Ages  - which I just happened to finish today  - tells us he gives a hasty caricature of Bernard. The one comment by Cahill that intrigues me is found in a footnote about Dante on page 305: "Similarly, he [Dante] places Bernard of Clairvaux in Heaven, whereas I would exclude him, despite his undoubted importance, on account of his insufferable self-righteousness.  Dante knew far less than we do about the life (as opposed to the pious writing) of Bernard.  Bernard had been canonized in 1174, almost a century before Dante was born; and Dante, despite his bad opinion of many popes, took with all seriousness the act of papal canonization. Dante's assignments to the afterlife are spot on whenever he actually knew someone (e.g. Boniface VIII) but less accurate for those he knew only by their medieval reputation."

I wouldn't put anyone in hell - a sure way of gaining a reputation as a softie.

August  20,  2020

RED  RUBY  EARINGS

Nobody really noticed her red earrings –

that she wore the same ones –

every Tuesday evening for 14 straight years.

Her husband had bought them that Tuesday

– plus a love card – and even had written

some fluffy love stuff in that anniversary card.

He was going to take her out for dinner after she

picked him up at the airport  on that Tuesday

evening to the place where he proposed years ago.

You know the rest of the story. 

The suitcases in the hold were 
the only things that survived the crash. 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2020