CHRISTIAN CHURCH UNITY

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Christian Church Unity.”

This is a thinking type homily – more than an inspirational type homily.

This whole week we celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Prayers for Christian Church Unity. It’s been called, “The Church Unity Octave” – as well as the “Chair of Unity Octave”.

In the United States it goes from January 18th to the 25th - last Friday till next Friday. In Canada it takes in the two Sundays on each side of January 25th – the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul.

The hope is that the Christian churches will pray and work for unity.

We are divided – especially since the 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th centuries in the Western Church. Then there is the East-West Schism of 1054 – when the Greek Orthodox Church split from Rome. However, there have always been splits and rips in the fabric called Christianity.

And there have been Christians who cry when they see the Body of Christ torn in two – or torn into many separate pieces of cloth.

So this week – pray for Christian Unity. This week ponder the reality of the Body of Christ being split in various ways.

POPE BENEDICT

Every year for this octave there is a special theme for prayer. Pope Benedict’s prayer intention for this year is: “That the church work for full visible unity that better manifests a community of love which reflects the Blessed Trinity.”

We believe that God is Three Persons – the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Three persons – so different, so united, so in love with each other that they created us and keep this great big world and universe we live in going.

And when we, who are so different – male, female, young, old, this and that, here and there, unite and are creative – we are imaging God. We are showing we are made in the image and likeness of God.

The cynic in me – says at times: “The only way this world will ever stop fighting and killing and terrorizing each other – is when we discover an enemy on another planet – and we better unite out of fear and protection – lest they wipe us out.

The Catholic – the Christian in me – prays and hopes for unity.

TODAY’S GOSPEL

Some New Testament scripture scholars hold that Jews who became followers of Christ – saw themselves still as Jews – but as a reform movement in Judaism – following the dream, the teachings, the vision of Jesus. This is what Saul – who becomes Paul – was trying to stop.

Christian Jews were not alone. Other Jews were following the reform movement of John the Baptist. These scholars then say that the John the Baptist texts in the gospels – like the one we heard this morning – show the attempt by Early Christians to convince these followers of John the Baptist to join them. They said that John the Baptist pointed out that Jesus was the one coming after him – but ranks ahead of him – because he existed before me. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. I’m here to testify that he is the Son of God.

Bottom line – it took a while for Christianity to become the movement – the church, “ecclesia”, a Greek word that means “the gathering” – of different people and different movements – trying to be one.

Paul will run into all kinds of struggles for unity in the different early Christian communities. Listen carefully to the second reading most Sundays.

Unity is an ongoing struggle. Fights, splits, laziness, sin, reform movements, extremes, calls for unity, are part of the history of the church. Get really involved in any church, any parish – and you’ll run into fights, struggles, sin, power moves, and the deep cry for unity.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

On Saturdays I look in The New York Times for the Saturday article on religion. In recent years many are by Peter Steinfels. Yesterday he wrote about this Annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. It was an excellent article and triggered my thoughts for this homily – more than today’s readings.

What are your thoughts about the Ecumenical movement – this movement for Christian churches as well as people of other religions to sit down at the same table? Has it fizzled? Has it done its job? What’s next?

100 years ago, 1908, Father Paul Wattson and Mother Lurana White, both Episcopalians, a priest and a nun, began a religious community in Garrison, New York – basing it on the Franciscan tradition.

They are the ones who started this wave of prayer – there have been others - this octave or 8 days of prayer for Christian Unity. A short time later they entered the Catholic Church – as a group – becoming known as the Graymoor Franciscans. I gave a retreat to the priests and brothers of this community a few years back. Good people. They are still a small group, but they have a great tradition of being a haven for the homeless and drifters at their place just outside the boundaries of New York City – as well as promoting Christian Unity.

When I was a kid in Brooklyn we were warned not to go into Protestant churches – yet I remember sneaking in every year on some day – it might have been Reformation Sunday – to get free ice cream. Our neighbors on both sides were Lutheran: the Fredholm’s with Swedish roots and the Gunderson’s with Norwegian roots. They would invite us kids to their church for ice cream. It was delicious – vanilla in a white paper cup – with a tiny sprinkle of almonds on it as well as a tiny taste of guilt.

We all have stories of our experiences of going into other Christian churches – if we were Protestant going into a Catholic church and vice versa – or synagogues or mosques or what have you.

Peter Steinfels points out: because of the Second Vatican Council – from 1962 to 1965 all changed. Protestant and Orthodox leaders were invited to sit in at the Council – and were called “Separated Brethren” instead of “heretics” or “schismatics”. Major decrees and declarations came out of the Second Vatican Council on Ecumenism, on Eastern Catholic Churches, on Non-Christians, and on Religious Freedom.

Cardinal Keeler – who just finished up as the Archbishop of this diocese of Baltimore is known as one of the major leaders amongst Catholic bishops in this area of Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox, Jews, etc. meeting together.

With elections coming up – especially with a Mormon running in the primary – we hear about John F. Kennedy’s speech on September 12, 1960 at the Greater Houston Ministerial Association. We Catholics don’t have horns. A Catholic president could go to a non-Catholic worship service. A Catholic president wouldn’t have orders from Rome phoned into the White House every day.

Times have certainly changed. Surprise! The president of the United States and his wife and two former presidents attended John Paul II’s funeral in 2005.

Peter Steinfels says the ecumenical movement has cooled – not just because of successes – but for other reasons. He lists three:

1) Diversity – the opposite of unity – is good. If we don’t have differences, we might miss facets of Christianity that could slip through the cracks.

2) The greater need is not dialogue between Christians, but dialogue and understanding and relationships with Islam and other religions.

3) The need for identity – a clear cut identity – what makes us different from other Christian groups – is very important for every Christian group – if they want to continue.

I found this third observation something I need to think about a lot more – because I was taught diversity in my seminary training – and at times I don’t like it when I hear Rome seeming to be too narrow.

Peter Steinfels is his article mentions a study by Presbyterians – that the drift of “Presbyterian baby boomers away from their religious roots highlighted the difficulty parents and leaders of the denomination had in answering a simple question: ‘Why be a Presbyterian?’ One Presbyterian journalist rather unfairly cracked that the question might have been posed as ‘What is a Presbyterian?’

He then makes this comment about the Catholic Church. “This anxiety about identity is most evident in a stream of conservative positions taken by Pope Benedict XVI, his predecessor John Paul II, and their Vatican offices. It has been easier to question the wisdom of these measures than to argue that the anxiety behind them is unwarranted.”

That comment about identity hit me. It ought to be something we need to do a good bit of thinking and talking about. Identity. What is a Catholic? Is this a background question behind some of our Catholic infighting? Is this part of the push by some for Latin? We’ve all heard people say, “You could go into any church on a Sunday morning in the world and feel Catholic.” I would hope every Catholic could go into any Catholic church in the world and “get it” – no matter what language was spoken. Why, because they are Catholic. It is as simple as that.

I have been a Costello all my life – because I grew up in the Costello family all my life – and I go to our family stuff. This is my identity. I could spell it out – but I don’t have to. I just know what it is to be part of my family.

I have been a Redemptorist since taking my vows in 1960. Just as any married person slowly becomes identified with their spouse and their family, so I have identified with this family in the church.

What is a Catholic? Those who go to church on a regular basis know the answer is so many things.

First the obvious: the pope, the bishops, Jesuits, Franciscans, nuns, Nunsense, liberals, conservatives, the rosary, statues, complaints about priests and sermons, two collections, bingo, fund raisers, Catholic schools, Notre Dame, Loyola, Lourdes, Fatima.

Then we can go deeper: the St. Vincent de Paul Society, poor boxes, being pro life – having a deep concern for the unborn, the immigrant, the stranger in our midst, the hurting, people who dropped out of church for various reasons, sometimes a big hurt, and who have come back and found deep spirituality here, confession, communion, deep communion with Jesus after receiving communion, Lent being so much richer in the last 50 years than when it was just giving up smoking or drinking or candy for 40 days, seeing church as a chance for a richer spirituality, growth in scripture, deeper prayer, lay ministry, helping make a parish a great parish, etc. etc. etc.

CONCLUSION

And I would hope and assume that Protestant churches and other religious groups – also have deep roots and ways to reach our God.

I also assume that each group thinks they are the true group – otherwise I would assume a person would find the group that gives them the way, the truth and the life.

I would assume that we Christians remember the Early Church words of Tertullian who said why so many people became Christians. People identified Christians as people who loved one another. They would say, “See how they love one another.”

So this week, let’s pray for Christian unity – Christian love and understanding of all our sisters and brothers.

And let’s remember the words of Cardinal Mercier often used in meetings for Christian Church Unity:

"In order to unite with one another, we must love one another;

in order to love one another, we must know one another;

in order to know one another, we must go and meet one another."

*

WATER COLORS

Driving over bridges
or along the rivers,
I always see water colors,
impressionistic paintings
on water canvases,
scenes of shore lines,
smoke stacks, or
seasoned leaves
on many trees,
murky paintings
of people fishing
off bridges,
like art students,
studying the waters,
but then comes the night,
while driving home alone
along rivers, going over bridges
in the dark,
seeing so many great masterpieces,
lights and stars
painted on the canvas
of corrugated waters.

*[To see full picture,

put your cursor

on the picture,

and tap it once gently.

Then move the bar

on the bottom to see

the complete picture.

Isn't Annapolis beautful? ]

© Andy Costello, 2008

*

RIVER QUESTION?

The river flowed slowly
down the path
it took a long time ago –
and I sat there by the bank,
realizing my life
is slowly flowing away.
And I asked myself
life’s big question:
Should I be taking
this path or is there
another path for me?

* [Potomac River at the

Jesuit Loyola Retreat

House in Faulkner, MD]

© Andrew Costello, 2008

HANG IN THERE

Hang in there even if it’s winter
and you have to go out
and somebody borrowed your gloves.

© Andy Costello, 2008

THE
CONSTANT
HOPE

The cold of winter,
the sight of sun;
kindness will melt
the frozen heart.

© Andy Costello, 2008

CAN’T SLEEP

Can’t sleep,
angry at a noisy clock,
ticking, ticking away,
like so many
second thoughts
about a bad day ….
Can’t sleep.
Don’t know what to say.
Don’t know what to do,
You. Did you ever feel
this way too?

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2008

TABLE  AND  CHAIR

This frozen night
both of us are lucky
to be sitting here
in this warm house
at this kitchen table
far away from the frozen forest.

© Andy Costello, 2008

A MARRIAGE

Yes, there are the big scenes,
the “Where we first met?”
or, “How we first met,”
and the decision moment,
the “Yes,”
then the wedding,
the honeymoon,
the “I’m pregnant”
the births, the first word,
the first steps, the clapping,
school, plays, recitals, going to games,
graduations, marriages, grandkids,
and oh yeah, the big mistakes,
the ones that can’t be forgotten
and sometimes hard to forgive,
the hurts, the cries of pain,
the cries of passion … but let’s be honest,
marriage is the small moments,
mostly small moments,
the holding the door for the other
remembering the other has an appointment,
the recognition that something is different in the other,
the small looks, the slight touches,
the looks across the kitchen,
the putting down of the papers,
the turning off the television to talk,
moments on a couch together,
the asking of the questions,
listening, being quiet, asking again,
trying to understand the meaning,
the feelings, the small stuff,
all those moments called, “Life”,
called “Being married to you!”
called, “Thank You, God. Thank You!”

© Andy Costello, 2008

QUESTIONABLE?

Wedding rings mean something,
even when so much of the sacred
has been squeezed out of a marriage –
a marriage that has become
like an empty, wrinkled, flat tube
of toothpaste left on the sink –
a marriage of two who don’t seem to care
for each other any more –
especially if there was the quick slipping off
of a ring in an affair:
the death penalty to most marriages.
Can there be a re-marriage to a marriage?
Can the blessing return to a ring?

© Andy Costello, 2008

GOD SMIRKS

A little girl is laughing and singing
in a car all the way to church ….
She dances her way
across the church parking lot ….
She delights as she sees sunlight
playing on her maroon coat.
She skips up the stone steps
of the great big grey granite church.
She loves it as she enters
into this joyful crowd
of Sunday morning people.
Standing on the bench
she whispers a loud comment
to her daddy’s left ear.
Heads turn. Then come
the loud looks: ““Shush!”
“Be still!” “Listen.” “What are
you doing here?” “Bad girl!”
She sits and tries to slump
into the hard wooden bench,
but the only thing soft
is her daddy’s hug.
It’s no longer fun to be in church
till she hears
the gospel words,
“Let the children come to me
if you want to see
the kingdom of God.”
She smiles. God smirks
in every child’s heart.*

* Luke 18: 15-17

© Andy Costello, 2008

BALANCING ACT

Lord, so much of life
seems to be a juggling act,
appointments and disappointments,
scheduling and rescheduling,
committing and recommitting,
sometimes weather permitting.

Lord, so much of life
seems to be lines,
lines I like and lines I don’t like,
standing on lines, traffic lines,
and sometimes there are lines
I never knew were there before.

Lord, so much of life
is a balancing act,
playing roles, sometimes wearing different hats,
sometimes even a crown of thorns,
dealing with other people’s expectations.
Is this my way of the cross for today?

© Andrew Costello

THE REAL
TEN COMMANDMENTS

1) Protect your turf. (PYT)

2) Cover your butt. (CYA)

3) Mind your own business. (MYOB)

4) It’s whom you know. (IWYK)

5) Volunteer the other person. (VTOP)

6) Me first. (M#1)

7) Don’t trust anyone. (DTA)

8) Blame the other person. (BTOP)

9) Everybody does it. (EDI)

10) Money talks. (MT)

© 2008 by Andrew Costello

SIGNIFICANT MOMENTS

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Significant Moments!”

Life has lots of significant moments.

What are your significant moments?

Suggestion: get a paper and pen or use a computer and start jotting down the significant moments of your life.

It will be a powerful and significant moment if you do it – and if you do it, you’ll get a sense which ones are more significant than others.

And if you do this, you can keep on editing it – revising it – clarifying it – and discovering key moments that you might have missed.

Then when you have a lot of your life down on paper or in a computer document, you can ask a second question: “What are the defining moments of my life?” – but in this homily I’m only asking, “What are the significant moments?”

I would also suggest sharing it with your loved ones – at least the moments you want to share.

GOSPEL
The gospels tell us significant moments in the life of Jesus.

Today’s gospel tells us of the baptism of Jesus – and he hears the words, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Hopefully, as we look at our life – as we live it out – especially as we live it out as Christians, starting with our baptism, we will hear in prayer many times, “You are my beloved daughter…. You are my beloved son – with whom I am well pleased.”

STORYCORPS PROJECT

I’m sure some of you have heard about the Storycorps Project that started here in the United States in 2003. People sit down before a tape recorder with a loved one – for example, a daughter or grandson interviews an older person for about 45 minutes. They provide a wonderful list of questions. They have done more than 10,000 interviews so far – and they are being stored in the Library of Congress – and a copy goes home with the participants.

In Barnes and Noble or Borders or on line or wherever you get your books, you can get the book and CD and questionnaire entitled, “Listening Is an Act of Love.”

A family in the parish gave me a copy as a Christmas gift. Thank you. The CD gives excerpts of 10 interviews. You might have heard some of the interviews on NPR, National Public Radio. The book gives excerpts of about 50 interviews.

As I read the stories, as well as listened to them, I cried, I rejoiced, I laughed, I said, “Wow!” over and over again.

The stories are filled with the significant moments in people’s lives.

What are the significant moments in your life?

VOCATION STORY

This weekend here at St. Mary’s Parish we priests are asked to give our vocation story. This Sunday begins National Vocation Awareness Week for the Catholic Church here in the United States. Maybe someone listening will say, “I want to be a Redemptorist. I want to be a priest. I want to be a nun.”

I know I sat in grammar school classrooms at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Grammar School in Brooklyn NY in the 1940s and early 50s and Redemptorist priests who were serving in Brazil, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, dropped into our classrooms and talked about their adventures in the foreign missions.

This was a way to plant dreams – vocation dreams – in young minds. I used to read Maryknoll Magazine as a kid. Seeing the pictures and reading the stories about foreign missionaries, I felt a desire to go to China someday as a missionary. Then when some Redemptorist asked us in the classroom to think about being a priest in Brazil, that helped refine my dream.

In Catholic families and Catholic parishes back then, the dream to be a priest or a nun was part of the imaginary life of many kids– along with being an athlete or cop or fireman – or doctor or nurse. We were four kids. The two oldest, my brother Billy and my sister Mary got married and had wonderful families. The two youngest entered religious life: my sister Peggy became a Scranton I.H.M. nun and I became a Redemptorist priest.

It was a significant moment when I told my parents this is what I wanted to try. And looking back I always appreciated it when my parents would say when I was home for vacation, “We’re glad you’re doing this, but if you don’t want it, don’t stay because of us.”

So I went to a minor seminary for high school – something that is rarely done today. It worked for me. I continued through college, a year novitiate after two years of college, and then I finished college and started my 4 years of theology in the major seminary. Then after our ordination year, we had 4 to 6 months of further training here at Annapolis – and then we received our assignments.

A very difficult – but very significant and defining moment happened to me here in Annapolis in December of 1966. I know the spot. It’s just outside Father Kingsbury’s office door here in St. Mary’s rectory. The provincial came up to me the night before the appointments and said to me, “Andy,” he used my first name, “you’re not going to Brazil. We need fresh blood on our preaching mission teams here in the states, so we’re going to put you in a parish for a few years so you can come down to earth in dealing with everyday life and its issues. Then you’ll be on the road preaching parish missions full time.”

It was a tough moment – and even tougher when the next day the provincial here in St. Mary’s church read out our assignments and 4 of my classmates went to Brazil, 1 to Paraguay, 4 went to Puerto Rico and 5 of us stayed in the states.

My first assignment was Most Holy Redeemer Parish on the Lower East Side of New York. It was the 60s. It was in the East Village – and the Hippie Revolution was everywhere to be seen. Interesting. It was to be a very fascinating education – but I often wondered what it would be like in Brazil.

I came down to earth – discovering lots of things I didn’t know – discovering that the seminary prepared me for some things – and so many things I had to learn while doing – like every job.

Then that same provincial told me after two years that they needed someone to do high school retreats at our retreat house right on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean in Long Branch, NJ. So for the next 7 years, that’s what I did during the week – along with hundreds and hundreds of weekend retreats for men and women.

That too was a wonderful education. I also knew I wasn’t reading enough so I went part time to Princeton Theological Seminary for 2 years - on Monday’s – and was able to get another Master’s Degree. That was a significant moment – hearing Protestant theologians – but in my second year they started bringing in Catholic Theologians – one of whom was Avery Dulles, the Jesuit. The course he gave was the book he would publish soon afterwards: Models of the Church. He gave me an A! And understanding his theory – has been very significant and helpful ever since. Not everyone sees the Church the same way. Not everyone comes to Church for the same reason.

After San Alfonso Retreat House in New Jersey, I worked out of Washington DC for a year – working with two other Redemptorists trying to help local communities work together better. It didn’t work – so that team dissolved. Yet that year had a great impact on my life – because of what I learned about communication and facilitation skills.

Then I was assigned to St. Alphonsus Retreat House in the Poconos in Pennsylvania. It didn’t have as much work – so I finished off a third Master’s degree and started writing – as well as preaching parish missions around the country.

I was at that retreat house also for 7 years – and then was assigned to be novice master for our novices in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. That was very significant. In a way I learned what it is to be a parent. I learned what it is to have to cut people – to tell them that we don’t think our life would work with them. It was very difficult. I discovered – after the fourth time it happened – that every January my back would go out. That was the month of the cuts.

Then our province moved our novitiate back east to Esopus, New York, on the Hudson, just below Kingston, NY. So I ended up being a novice master for 9 years. The teacher learns more than the student.

Then I got a 6 month sabbatical. I would love another one. Then for 8 ½ years I worked on the road preaching parish missions with a buddy of mine, Tom Barrett, out of Lima, Ohio. I also got to preach priests' and nuns’ retreats all over the country in the off season from parish missions. Very nice. San Diego is great in December.

Then I asked for parish ministry. By now we could ask. We might not get what we ask for, but we could ask. I asked to be in a busy parish, and St. Mary’s is our busiest parish, so I lucked out. This has been a wonderful assignment. This has been a very significant move.

TRANSITION

I hope, as I’m talking out loud this morning, you are thinking in loud about the changes, the moves, the moments in your life. I have talked about geographical changes – but as we all know, there have been people we met and moments we have experienced in the different geographical places we have been – people and experiences that are priceless – and couldn’t have been planned.

I think of several big parish missions in Toledo and Columbus, Ohio – as well as many, many, many preaching experiences in small farm communities all over Ohio – in towns I had never heard of: Ottoville, Kalida, Fort Jennings, Wauseon, Napoleon, Holgate, Hamler, Deshler, Hicksville, Miller City, Edgerton, Elyria, Cygnet, Leipsic, Gallipolis, Pomeroy. All aboard. As Tennyson said in his poem, Ulysses, "I am a part of all that I have met."

I also think of the moment when Tom, the guy I was working with, was hit by a tractor trailer truck on his way to Paulding, Ohio. We had worked the previous two weeks in Galion, Ohio and used one car. This mission, because it was only a half hour away, we decided on two cars. Tom left after me and was almost killed on an icy road –ending up in a hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana, for 75 days. The experience was very significant for me – very defining for him.

The first significant death I experienced in life was that of my dad in 1970. He died of emphysema and lung cancer. Next it was my nephew’s death with cancer – at the age of 14 – with only 4 days notice. That was very tough on our family – especially my sister and brother-in-law, obviously. My brother’s death by melanoma, cancer, at the age of 51, was also very significant. My mother’s death in a hit and run accident – as she crossed the street on her way to church and then to work at the age of 83 was very significant. I discovered the valuable gift I could be to my family not only at family weddings, but also at family deaths. Let me tell you – this is one of the most wonderful things a priest can do – to be there to help one’s own family when someone dies.

HINDSIGHT AND INSIGHT
Hindsight is very much part of insight. I love the saying, “Don’t write down in your diary what happened that day, you won’t know till next week or next year – or many years from now.”

A lot of us here have lived enough life to jot down the significant moments of our life – as well as see the big picture called “the movie of our life” as it’s being played out.

At times I have said to potential candidates for the priesthood, “Being a priest is a fabulous life. Think about it.” Then I add, “If you can hack celibacy, come into the pool. You’ll love this life.”

Obviously, the pull for marriage and children is the most powerful human pull. Thank God. Thank God our parents married and made love and made us! Pinch yourself and say, “Thank you!”

I am well aware that parents want to see grand kids – and people are having fewer kids. So there will be fewer priests – for as long as we have a celibate priesthood in the Western Church. Moreover, I see the value of celibacy – to have people you can call on when you need us – without worrying about interfering big time in their family life. I also see the value that priests have to come out of non-priestly families. Celibacy can prevent in-breeding.

I call the last two generations, “the clicker generations.” Translation: there are many channels – there are many options – there are many choices – and younger people switch jobs more than older people. I just wish young people would push the clicker and look at the possibility of being a priest as a channel and a choice to view. Yes, and some people have proposed temporary vocations, etc. And many priests who dropped out in the 60s and 70s and 80s certainly made that choice – clicking to a new channel.

I am also well aware that the priest scandal has certainly stopped people from considering the priesthood – or parents pushing it. It has certainly dampened our spirits big time. The last few years have not been easy on us. The only good news about it is that kids are better protected. I heard one priest say: "If by taking the heavy hit we took on this, it has woke parents up to be more vigilant in watching their kids and asking questions – checking if any one is preying on them, then some good came out of this."

We priests, in our conversations with each other, express our anger and frustration at priests who have this problem – and acted out and hurt kids. We know a lot more about all this than we did 25 years ago. We want the world to know that we are below average on this – that the main perpetrators are in families – that it’s kept secret big time – not just by bishops and priests – but by everybody. Times have changed thank God.

I heard that the Maryland Assembly is going to address lifting the statue of limitations on priests – a protection by law for all Americans. I out loud say there could be an injustice there – because people who are long dead can be accused – without a chance to defend themselves. I would also add “in some cases” – and I underline in some cases, “there is money to be made here” – and some dioceses were not vigilant on this – and some dioceses have gone bankrupt as a result – and then folks lose diocesan jobs, benefits, services and programs as a result – and lay people suffer as well. Obviously, life can be messy and the Catholic priesthood took a big messy hit because of a small percentage of priests abused kids.

I would also want to add that I challenge all of you to promote vocations to the priesthood – the push this weekend.

I know there are many more vocations, life choices and options: marriage, government, journalism, teaching, medicine, the economy, foreign service, the military, sports, etc. I also am aware of the diaconate and the many lay ministries in our church.

The stress today is priesthood. So if you want a good sermon and a good liturgy from priests on a weekend, if you want a personable priest at a family funeral and wedding and baptism, if you want a priest who you think will listen to you when you have a problem, if you want teachers of prayer and scripture, if you want priests to preach out for social justice, please challenge people you think would make a good priest to consider the priesthood.

The vocations to the priesthood today are usually coming from young men in their late 20s and 30s and older – after they have tried another career.

CONCLUSION
If you don’t promote vocations, be prepared for a different church – in ways you might not like – or in ways you might like. Obviously, lay ministry has increased big time since Vatican II – and I think it’s marvelous. Bottom line thinking: we need more priests.

However, I hope dioceses and religious orders will cut candidates for the priesthood who will be disasters. It is my opinion that people have been accepted – not because they will make excellent future priests, but because of the personnel shortage. Time will tell if they have accepted priests who will be big time problems down the line. I make this statement and judgment out loud - after thinking about my experience with this question.

Right now – in 2008 - in the United States we have about 30,000 diocesan priests and 15,000 religious order priests. I also assume that somewhere around 2015 the Catholic Church will have to make a major decision about women clergy as well as married clergy for the diocesan priesthood. That will be a significant moment in the Catholic Church – just like Vatican II was a significant moment for all of us here in our 60s. That’s my prediction. I have been wrong in the past – but I’m also predicting the Giants will beat the Packers next week. And if they beat New England in the Super Bowl, now that will be a significant moment.

THE  HARD 

INVISIBLE 

Flowers fade,
so we give diamonds.

Those we love die,
so we have gravestones
with names, dates,
and sometimes words
that we hope
will hold us together.

Time ticks
or digits away without telling us,
so we hold onto memories,
but what do we do
when the memory fades?

We despair or hold onto
the hope that Jesus is somehow
standing there outside of time,
Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life –
who will bring us face to face
with God and those we love again. Amen.

© Andy Costello, Poems and  Prayers, 2008

ONE GIFT

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “One Gift.”

EPIPHANY

It’s the feast of the Epiphany and the gospel tells us that the three gifts that the Magi or Kings or Wise men brought to Jesus were gold, frankincense and myrrh.

As I was looking for a theme to preach on for this feast, my sermon was going to be “Three Gifts!”

Where I was going to go with this sermon is to try to come up with three gifts I want to give God this year. As I reflected upon that, I found it difficult to come up with even one good clear gift.

Then the obvious jumped out and I was off the hook a bit, “Hey, each Magi gave only one gift to Jesus.”

I found “One gift?” easier to reflect upon.

As we all know Matthew doesn’t tell us there were 3 Kings or Wise Men or Magi – but three became the tradition because of the 3 gifts. And in time the Magi were even given names – Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar – and even descriptions on what they looked like.

That’s good use of the imagination – and it has always challenged preachers and Christian writers to figure out the why of the gifts.

Theorists say the gold represents Jesus as king or living a virtuous life. Incense represents prayer rising to God or the mysterious reality of God – like a cloud of smoke. And myrrh represents suffering – Christ will suffer and die for us.

And we all heard the joke – probably several times, “How do we know that the Magi were men?” Answer: “Because it looks like they kept getting lost. They must have had a gadget – to track the star – that would help them get to where they had to get, and they brought very impractical gifts for a new born baby: gold, frankincense and myrrh.” If they were women, they would have brought diapers, blankets and a baby crib. Okay, gold is a great gift. And they did ask for directions.

ONE GIFT

So to get a practical homily going here: if you were to visit Jesus what gift would you bring?

To help spiritual growth, perhaps it would be better to frame the question this way: “If you were to visit the adult Jesus, the Son of God, what one gift would you bring?”
We can do this. We can approach God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit, or any one of the persons in the Trinity at any time. This is our faith. This is what prayer life is all about.

We just went through the Christmas season and we took moments to ask ourselves: “Okay, I’m going to drop into to see mom or dad or Aunt Tilly and Uncle Tommy, what gift can I bring to them that makes sense – or is personal?”

So people buy ties or a bottle of perfume or Johnny Walker or a gift certificate to Talbot’s or Home Depot or Target or Barns and Noble, or what have you.

Well, if we were to stop to be in God’s presence, what one gift do I bring to God?

I don’t know about you, but I found this a good question, but also a very tough question.

SOME ANSWERS

It could be a resolution - a New Year’s resolution – and Father Jack Kingsbury’s letter as Pastor to the parish in last week’s bulletin is helpful, if that’s the way I want to go with the one gift question. He suggests making a spiritual resolution and making it practical –manageable – specific, realistic, consistent, doable and with my time limits.

Or it could be Sunday Mass. I am going to make coming to Sunday Mass a joy this year. I am going to pray. I’m going to pause. I’m going to sing. I’m going to enjoy being with these other folks who are part of our parish for one hour each week. During Mass, I’m going to look at my life – my relationships – my use of time – how I’m serving others, etc.

It could be a conversion, a change, a new direction.

I remember giving up solitaire on the computer two years ago for Lent and I made the decision on Ash Wednesday without much thought and I haven’t played a game on the computer sense. Now there is nothing wrong with solitaire on the computer. I much rather play cards with others. That’s one of our strong family traditions. Last year I took up Sudoku and finished a whole book of them. Reason: I want to use my brain more as I age – and I’ve always been weak when it comes to numbers.

It could be reading. It could be walking. It could be more sleep. It could be more anonymous giving to the poor box. It could be volunteering. It could be cleaning and clearing out an attic or a yard, a cellar or a garage or one’s priorities list.

But we have to ask the question: How is what I want to do a gift to God?

THE QUESTION

Maybe the process we ought to follow is to go to God and say: “Is there anything You are asking of me?

Then pause – then shut up – then listen – and maybe God will drop a hint – then and there – or maybe in a moment – an unexpected moment our spouse or boss or both will say, “You know, you have to listen more.” Or, “We need to spend more time with dad. He’s been a bit lonely ever since mom died.”

More or less questions help.

Is there anything I’m doing too much of or is there any thing I’m not doing enough of?

A POSSIBLE EXAMPLE

A great gift might be making less whining the gift to give God and our world this new year of 2008.

I’ve been noticing more and more in the past few years that I have a gift I don’t use enough. It’s called, “The mute button.” Or “The pause button.” It’s right there on the remote or the clicker in my brain and I can hit it any time. I’ve noticed that I have found saying to myself, “I don’t have to respond to this. I don’t have to comment on this. I can keep my mouth shut on this.”

And when it comes to whining, and lots of buttons that get pushed, one major area is Church. We all know the old rule: “You can talk about anything around here, except religion and politics.”

On Friday evening I was reading an excellent article in the Christmas issue of America Magazine. It’s an article on Flannery O’Connor, the American Catholic southern writer. It’s entitled “Flannery O’Connor’s Religious Vision” by George Niederauer, the archbishop of San Francisco. [Cf. America, Vol. 197. No. 21, Dec. 24-31, 2007, pp. 9-14]

It was an excerpt from his Lane Center Lecture at the University of San Francisco – adapted for a magazine article. It is wonderful – loaded with lots of things to think about.

There’s a great gift in itself: to give God, ourselves and others, the gift of more good reflective reading in 2008 – to find ourselves escaping to quiet places and do serious reading and reflecting.

Anyway, Flannery O’Connor was off on the issue of whining and complaining and judging and griping amongst church goers about the church and its priests etc. Being a priest, I would obviously spot this.

She says the surface is easy to judge – but not the interior operations of the Holy Spirit.

Then George Niederauer in his article – as he is talking about all this says Flannery O’Conner made a touching reference to the vocation of Catholic priests, whom she often found to be overworked and unimaginative.

Quote: “It is easy for any child to find out the faults in the sermon on his way home from church every Sunday. It is impossible to find out the hidden love that makes a man, in spite of his intellectual limitations, his neuroticism, his lack of strength, give up his life to the service of God’s people, however bumblingly he may go about it.”

That comment stopped me. More than 40 years ago I decided to give my life as a priest. It’s been great – but I have felt its consequences in missing at times not being married, not having kids, not having weekends, and there is no retirement if one is in a religious order that has priests.

That choice was made more that 40 years ago. How am I living out that life choice today. So I would think the key is to be more specific. How do I want to serve here at St. Mary’s this year of 2008? What do people need?

And it’s the same situation for all of you here – married and single, widow or widower, divorced or what have you. You made your big life choices many years ago. How can you be better this new year of 2008?

CONCLUSION

Specifically, how can I make the gift of my one life better this year – practically, realistically, “impacty”? What’s the one gift I have to look at – and make a good decision about for this year – and then try to give that gift to God and others this year? Amen.

THREE TOWN KIDS

[I like to write a story for our Family Mass - which has lots of little ones present. I'm not sure if this story 'worked' for our tiny town or out of town kids on this feast of the Epiphany.]

Once upon a time there were three kids – who happened to be there in Bethlehem when Jesus was born – because they were town kids. They were neither shepherds not kings’ kids – but they saw the kings and the shepherds when they came to see the new born baby Jesus.

The first two kids were two sisters – aged 9 and 11. They woke up many times the night that Jesus was born – because there was a lot of motion and commotion happening just outside their window. They looked out that window several times that night – because there were so many different voices outside in the dark and in the cold. Their mom and dad owned the Inn that had no room for Mary and Joseph. But that night, there were no rooms for lots of people who had come to Bethlehem for the census. And that night was a cold, clear starry, starry night.

Years later, many years later, after Jesus had grown up, preached, healed, and then was arrested and killed and then for those who believe rose from the dead, these two sisters often said, “Imagine if our parents had let Mary and Joseph have a room in our Inn that night? We would be forever remembered for being in the house in which the Messiah was born.”

But that didn’t happen and that’s getting way ahead of the story.

Back to that night – the night Jesus was born…. The two sisters didn’t get dressed when they looked out their window and saw Mary and Joseph – but they quickly got dressed a couple of hours later when they saw shepherds coming into town. It was strange seeing them. Something seemed different. Something new was happening.

The shepherds’ faces were filled with filled with wonder – filled with light – filled with smiles.

The two kids asked the shepherds from their window, “What’s going on? What’s happening?”

And one of them, a young teen age shepherd, said, “As we were out in the fields tonight, guarding our sheep from wolves, we heard a voice, a messenger, an angel from heaven, appearing to us in bright light. We were terrified. And the voice said, ‘Don’t be afraid. Listen, I bring you good news of great joy – to be shared with everyone. Today in the town of David, a savior has been born.’”

The two sisters went outside without waking their parents. They went to a cousin’s house and threw a rock at her wooden window – in hopes of waking up their best friend. These three did everything together. They knew she would love the action. They knew she would want to come and see this new born baby – born in a stable – who was bringing all these shepherds into town.

The three girls silently headed for the cave - the stable where Jesus was born. They watched the shepherds – watching their eyes and their amazement – especially when they saw the baby was lying in a manger – a small wooden box from which the animals ate.

The three girls watched everything – especially the shepherds watching Jesus. The shepherds – not being townspeople – not being around that often – were interesting to watch. These poor shepherds – uneducated – unknown – whose names were never written down – would be the first to see Jesus.

Why did God make them the first?

The three sisters hadn’t heard something this baby would say years later, “The last shall be first!”

Something new was happening here – and these three girls were the second to see the scene.

These three sisters hadn’t heard something this baby would say years later, “Let the children come to me. These know all about the Kingdom of God.”

Some days later three magi or wise men or kings arrived looking for this same baby. They said they had been traveling for the longest time – following a star – that was leading them to this spot.

When they came into town, they saw these three girls – the Inseparables – playing outside the Inn. They asked these three town kids if they knew where the new born baby was born.

The three said, “Yes, you three have asked the right three. Come and see.”

And these three town kids brought these three strangers to see the new born baby, Jesus.

Once more the three girls watched – this time, three kings, three wise men, as they went to Mary and Joseph and asked to see and hold the baby.

And each of these three kings or wise men or whoever they were, also brought a gift for the new born baby – whom they were calling, “The New Born King.”

The three girls thought the three gifts rather odd – well, maybe not the gold, but incense and myrrh, what are they going to do with these gifts?

The three girls were talking, talking, talking to each other about, “Who is this baby? Why is he so special.”

Then they began to hear rumors and rumbles that King Herod in Jerusalem didn’t like what he was hearing – that a new born king was born somewhere near Jerusalem – and Bethlehem was just a few miles away.

They knew their tiny town was famous because a long, long, long time ago a shepherd boy from that town became the famous King David.

“Wow,” one of the three girls said, “I bet you that’s why Jesus was born here in our little town of Bethlehem.”

They would go to see Mary and Joseph every day – and a few times every day – and that’s how they overheard Joseph telling Mary, “I had this strange dream. We have to go to Egypt – because Herod is going to come and kill every new born baby boy around here. He’s known to do these things. He even killed some of his own sons.”

The three girls said, “Thank God, we were born girls and not boys.”

Then the first of the girls said – the one who always spoke up first, “We have to bring a gift to the baby – but what kind of a gift?”

The second girl said, “Well, it has to be light and easy to carry. But what?”

The third girl said, the one who always spoke last said, “Well, let’s get gifts for their journey. Why don’t we give them something to eat and something to drink? Mom and dad have plenty of food in the Inn. I’ll get a jug of wine. You get some bread – after all Bethlehem means, ‘House of Bread.’ But what about the third gift?”

Silence.

“Then the third girl, who always spoke last, said, “I know. I’ll get a lantern. Besides food, they are going to need light for the journey.”

And that’s what they did – and years later, many years later, when they heard that Jesus often talked about his followers being light to our world – light for the journey, they felt part of the story – especially when Jesus used bread and wine as food for the journey – when at his last supper he took bread and he took wine and said, “This is my body. This is my blood.”

But that’s getting ahead of the story….

So there’s more to come … more stories for other days....

[Painting on top: "The Adoration of the Magi," Sano de Pietro (Ansano di Pietro di Mencio), Italian, 1406-1481, painting ca. 1470 - The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, NY]

NEW YEAR’S

RESOLUTIONS

Lord, I know New Year’s Resolutions rarely last,
but I also know it’s good to make them.

Sometimes one of them sticks;
sometimes one of them really makes it.

So this year I resolve to begin and end each day
with a prayer: “Thank you, Lord, for the gift of another day.”

This year I resolve:
to taste what I eat,
especially breakfast;
to walk more than I sit;
to listen more than I talk;
to read more than I watch TV;
to let the small things slide
and the big things be confronted;
to sing more in church and in the shower;
to allow for more mystery
and more laughter in my life;
to be compassionate rather than competitive,
allowing myself more second place finishes,
to enjoy the look in the eye of the person
who comes in first -- especially my kids;
to walk more by faith than by fear;
to make opportunities happen
more than to wait for them to happen;
to eat salads and fruits
more than chips and sweets;
to communicate more than to quarrel;
to get second opinions on my judgments;
to live in the present moment
enjoying one day at a time,
instead of being stuck in the past
or hiding out in the future;
and to live up to at least one of these resolutions.

© Andrew Costello, Markings

HAPPY NEW YEAR

God, with your help,
give me the courage
to begin this new year
with the resolve to solve
just one problem
in my life this year.

Give me the honesty
to sit down face to face with
that one issue,
that one memory,
that one sin,
that one mistake,
that one vice,
or that one habit,
that keeps on sitting there like a cancer,
or a tiger sitting on a tree outside my tent,
watching, scratching, clawing,
gnawing away at my strength,
because I know down deep
that this is what is keeping me
year after year
from having a Happy New Year.

© Andrew Costello, Markings

NEW YEAR’S PRAYER

Lord, it’s
a new year,
a new start.
Give us the power,
give us the energy,
give us the desire
to be more holy,
to be more creative,
to be more focused this new year.
Give us insights
to come up with
balanced programs and projects,
to make good resolutions and
to have the resolve
to finish what we have started.
Yet, help us to be more aware of people
than paper,
to be more personal
than professional,
to be more prayerful
than just saying prayers,
knowing that you are with us all days,
even to the end of the year,
even to the end of the world. Amen.

© Andrew Costello, Markings