February 3, 2019

MUSIC

The piano,

the guitar,

the drums and the violin,

horns and brass,

a folk song,

a duet,

a choral group,

a symphony orchestra,

an opera,

music,

loud and clear,

soft but moving along,

triggering moments,

triggering memories,

feelings, acceptance and rejection,

here and now, now and then,

freeing us to close our eyes,

open our ears and just be ….

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019

February   3, 2019

Black History Month Thought for Today:

“Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place.”  

Zora Neale Hurston

February   2, 2019 -

Black History Month Thought for Today:  

"I see Americans of every party, every background, every faith who believe that we are stronger together: black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American; young, old; gay, straight; men, women, folks with disabilities, all pledging allegiance under the same proud flag to this big, bold country that we love. That's what I see. That's the America I know!”  

Barack Obama

WATERMELON SEEDS

The little girl was amazed at the

size of a watermelon compared

to an apple, an orange and a grape.

After her mom cut it open for

an after dinner treat - the little

girl was amazed at the color red.

She was expecting green inside -

but no,  it was a rich juicy red

and then she saw the seeds.

“Mommy, mommy, if I plant them,

will I get a watermelon?" Her mom,

a city girl,  said, “I have no idea.”

Well, the little girl, took those

watermelon seeds and planted

them - in big rusty red flower pot.

Every day - when she got home

from school - she watered and

inspected the dark brown soil.

The seeds slowly sent roots down

and green stem and leafs up -

but no watermelon ever showed up.

“Mommy?

Why didn’t you tell me about the birds 

and the bees? Why didn’t you tell me 

how watermelons come to be?"

 © Andy Costello, Reflections 2019

February 1, 2019

WEDDINGS

There was a wedding in Cana of Galilee

and Jesus and his disciples were invited

to the wedding and Jesus saved that couple,

that wedding, when they ran out of wine of life.

There are weddings taking place every day

around the world and we are invited to these

weddings - to sing, to dance and to celebrate -

and support each other in the celebration of life.

There are weddings taking place every day

around the world and couples miss out if they

don’t invite family and friends- the old, the young - all of us to their  wedding - the beginning of new life.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019

SLOW  AND  SILENT

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 3^rd Friday in Ordinary Time  is, “Slow and Silent.”

Much of life is slow and silent.

That’s not us at times - especially when we are running and rushing, gabbing and gossiping - doing life - like we see people doing mad shopping every year on TV - on Black Friday - or how some people do Super Bowl Sunday.

Slow and Silent - that’s more like the pace of people driving the streets of Heritage Harbor - or moving along on the corridors a nursing home.

TODAY’S GOSPEL

Today’s gospel gave me this thought and theme - as well as the title of this homily: “Slow and Silent.”

Jesus tells two parables….

The first tells the story of the farmer spreading seed on the dirt of the earth.

Listen to Jesus again:

"This is how it is with the Kingdom of God;
it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land
and would sleep and rise night and day
and the seed would sprout and grow,
he knows not how.
Of its own accord the land yields fruit,
first the blade, then the ear,

then the full grain in the ear.
And when the grain is ripe,

he wields the sickle at once,
for the harvest has come." [Mark  4: 26-29]

Listen to Jesus again in his second parable for today:

"To what shall we compare

the Kingdom of God,
or what parable can we use for it?
It is like a mustard seed that,

when it is sown in the ground,
is the smallest of all the seeds

on the earth.
But once it is sown,

it springs up

and becomes the largest of plants
and puts forth large branches,
so that the birds of the sky

can dwell in its shade." [Mark 4:30-32]

The plant world can teach us these lessons.

Slow and silent - plant life is inching upwards and outwards and rooting downwards.

Slow and silent - like the snow most of the time.

Snow falls slowly - well not always - and the yard becomes white.

Paint peels slowly - so too rust - so to milk going bad.

So too skin - the slow wrinkling  of our skin.

So too cancer - the creeping slow killer.

Band-Aids lift, lose their grip, itch, and silently scream, “Change me!”

Bread rises slowly….

Wine ferments gradually.

So too love - and the 25^th and 50^th anniversary happens.

So too the slow of sorrow and of death - hopefully 4 score and twenty at least for all of us.

CONCLUSION

The title of my homily is, “Slow and Silent” - the way Jesus’ words slowly make their way into the fiber of our being and our thoughts.

February   1, 2019 

Black History Month Thought for Today: 

“I could fall in love with a sumo  wrestler  if he told stories and made me laugh. Obviously, it would be easier if someone was African-American and lived next door and went to the same church. Because then I wouldn't have to translate." 

Maya Angelou