March  7,  2020

THE    WATER’S   RISING

Well, the water is either rising

or the water, it is going down.

Life …. Things are never the same.

That’s what we gotta get used to.

There’s a knock on the door or

there’s a call on the phone.

Or someone is leaving home

for the last time, this time. Woo!

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2020

March   7, 2020

Thought   for  Today 

“Just because everything is different doesn’t mean anything has changed.”  

Irene Peter

March  6, 2020

I’M  ALIVE 

THANK YOU GOD 

Want a morning,

noon and night prayer?

“Gracias a la vida ….”

Sing it, say it, feel it -

every day and in every

way -  life comes to you.

I’m alive. Thank You God.

"Gracias a la vida ...."

"Efcharistó Theé mou."*

Use your eyes, your ears,

microphones, music, hands,

words, sounds, violins. Sing!

Thank You, God, for those

on stage, those in the crowd

and all those - all around us.

I'm alive.
Gracias Dios 
por el don de la vida.

*Thanks to You, God.

In Greek: Eυχαριστώ Θεέ μου

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2020

Lyrics

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto
Me dio dos luceros que cuando los abro
Perfecto distingo lo negro del blanco
Y en el alto cielo su fondo estrellado
Y en las multitudes el hombre que yo amo

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto
Me ha dado el oído que en todo su ancho
Cada noche y días
Grillos y canarios, martillos, turbinas
Ladridos, chubascos
Y la voz tan tierna de mi bien amado

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto
Me ha dado el sonido y el abecedario
Con el las palabras que pienso y declaro
Madre, amigo, hermano y luz alumbrando
La ruta del alma del que estoy amando

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto
Me ha dado la marcha de mis pies cansados
Con ellos anduve ciudades y charcos
Playas y desiertos, montañas y llanos
Y la casa tuya, tu calle y tu patio

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto
Me dio el corazón que agita su marco
Cuando miro el fruto del cerebro humano
Cuando miro el bueno tan lejos del malo
Cuando miro el fondo de tus ojos claros

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto
Me ha dado la risa y me ha dado el llanto
Así yo distingo dicha de quebranto
Los dos materiales que forman mi canto
Y el canto de ustedes que es el mismo canto
Y el canto de todos que es mi propio canto

Gracias a la vida

March   6,  2020

Thought  for Today 

“It’s a sick plan that cannot be changed.”

Latin Proverb

March 5,  2020

WRONGFULNESS

Jesus was right about righteousness.

The Pharisees were wrong about Jesus –

thinking he was wrong about what was right.

Right? Or does that seem wrong?

Practice wrongfulness. Sit in the back seat

when you come to pray. Say few words.

Be like little children. Turn the other cheek

when someone tries to slap you down.

Go the extra mile when someone forces

you to go one mile. Love those who think

you think they’re your enemies. Surprise

them by loving them with your whole heart,

mind, soul and strength. Don’t throw

rocks at people you think are wrong.

Share your bread with the hungry.

Hoarded bread can turn to rock.

Broken bread brings broken people

Into communion with each other.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2020

March   5, 2020

Thought   for  Today

“Skepticism has an  important place in critical engagement.  It is part of the apparatus of reflection and discernment.  But skepticism can become a form of bad faith too, a reflexive paradigm of doubt that distorts our perceptions the way cataracts cloud sight.  When you are stalking the miraculous, you need both doubt and faith.”

Theodore Prescott  in an article, 

Stalking the Miraculous 

in the Wilds of Art, 

page 85 in Image, 

A Journal of the 

Arts and Religion, 

November 22,  

Winter / Spring 1999, 

Number 22

SOMETIMES   JONAH 

CAN  STILL  BE  HEARD

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this First Wednesday in Lent  is, “Sometimes Jonah Can Still Be Heard.”

This morning’s first reading is from the Book of Jonah.

Jonah is a short little book in the Old Testament that’s only 4 short chapters.  We hear from him on just one Sunday – the 3^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year B – so that’s only 1 Sunday every 3 years.

We hear from him every other year for 3 days in a row – the 27^th Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday – and from one other weekday, today Wednesday in the first week of Lent.

For such a short little book or scroll, that’s not bad – and Jonah is mentioned a few times in the New Testament - like today’s gospel.

FISH STORY

We all know the fish story in the Book of Jonah – that he’s on a boat – running away in the opposite direction from God – and the boat starts having big time storm problems – so the crew figure out it’s he who is the problem – so they toss him overboard.

He ends up being swallowed by a big fish – and is inside the fish’s belly for 3 days – and then is burped out onto the shore he’s supposed to be headed.

It’s a parable. It’s a legend. It’s a made-up story to teach a lesson.

What I get out of it is that I can be a disaster in a sermon – and somehow God catches fish from my babble and blarney.  Every priest finds out in life that someone thanks him for a sermon – telling a lesson he never intended.

SECOND STORY

We all know the second great message in the Book of Jonah.  It’s not in today’s readings – but it’s a great message.  Jonah is hiding out and cooling off under the big leaf of a gourd plant – while waiting and watching for the destruction of Nineveh.  The plant shrivels up and Jonah gets really upset – and God gets really upset with Jonah for worrying about himself and not the 120,000 people in the city who were going to perish – and many animals as well.

We’ve all seen people who have fallen into that trap many a time – worrying about the tiny – and missing the big problems all around them.

FAST, FAST, FAST

And the third message is the message of fasting – probably put here because fasting is one of the regular 3 practices for Lent: fasting, praying and almsgiving.

CONCLUSION

If we read the book of Jonah, we’ll first wonder, “How did this story get in here?” and then we’ll realize: “Okay, now I get it. Amen.”