and air.... Obviously. They are a break in the wall from sewing and working. They are for seeing, hoping, knowing
what's
going on - on the street -
who's
dropping in to see whom -
who's
leaving and who's returning -
and who
seems to be gone for good....
And by
the way, why doesn't
someone come and knock on
my door? I need a people break - more than a window break. When, Lord, when?
(c) Andy Costello, Reflections 2015
Thursday, July 23, 2015
July 23, 2015
SOME MORNINGS
Some mornings, some moments,
are drenched in mystery - after a
long rainy night - after the razor
blade of hurt or after the gray of
uncertainty. Death doesn't have to wipe us out. The relationship isn’t over, but then again it might be. So life calls me to listen, to talk, to ask, to pray, to decide to do something, to forgive, to reconcile, to let go, and then to get moving again -
ahead - into the slight clearing ahead.
Night doesn't have to be the everyday feeling that it is for some people. I can
wake up to morning. I can get moving. Sometimes the path is straight. Sometimes the path has light. Sometimes the path gives me beauty and the hope that I don't have go it alone
The title of my homily on July 22nd, is “Mary
Magdalene: Patron Saint of Those Who Are Constantly There.”
If you know your gospels, you know that Mary Magdalene’s
name shows up in the 4 gospels more than most of the apostles.
In today’s gospel [John
20:1-2, 11-18], there she is early in the morning - on the first day of the
week.
It’s the first day of a new era in history. It’s the
first moment of a blessed assurance: There is life after death! There is
resurrection!
So that’s why I named Mary Magdalene as the Patron Saint
of someone who is constantly there.
She walked the walk - she got her feet to Calvary - to Golgotha
- and to the Tomb - and to the apostles to announce that the stone had been
removed from the tomb!
TWO IMAGES -
JESUS’ FEET
There are two images of Mary Magdalene that I liked when
I saw them in pictures.
Both have to do with Jesus’ feet. The first is that of Mary Magdalene washing
Jesus’ feet with her tears and drying them with her hair.
The second is that of Mary kissing his feet while under
the cross. That image is assumed - but that never stopped painters during the
past 20 centuries. [1]
MARY MAGDALENE
OFTEN THERE
If you visit the big frame painting sections of big
museums - the high ceiling rooms that have classic religious pictures - you’ll
often find paintings of Mary Magdalene.
You’ll find her story in various novels - like The Da Vinci Code - as well as the
musical plays Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar.
And I might as well mention here that there is a Gnostic
Gospel of Mary Magdalen. I say that because at various times I’ve heard people
angry at the Church or Catholic Education because they never told folks that
there were other gospels besides Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
So I’m mentioning that here in this homily as an aside.
Yes there is a Gnostic Gospel of Mary Magdalene.
If you fiddle with the Internet and like to Google stuff, Google The Gospel of Mary Magdalen.[2]
Like the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas, it’s worth reading to
see how it uses the 4 gospels.
It’s not too long….
The Gnostics were Christian break off groups that liked
to have an edge over other groups - providing special teachings that they know
and others don’t. The history of the church has these kinds of books down
through the centuries. They provide so called “revelations” by visionaries -
that the Church disclaims at times - but not always.[3]
It’s good to see how these Gnostic Gospels work - trying
to get across teachings about Jesus - to folks in various Christian sects - or
cults - which were always there on the edges or fringes of Christianity.
I noticed while Googling “The Gospel of Mary Magdalen” that
in 1896 in Akhmim, Upper Egypt, someone came up with the Gnostic Gospel of Mary
Magdalene. It was bought by a German, Carl Reinhardt in Cairo and brought to
Germany. Because of 2 wars and lots of other reasons, it didn’t get published.
In the meanwhile in 1945 they found 2 copies of the Gospel of Mary Magdalene in
the Nag Hammadi digs in Egypt. Parts are missing in these finds - but using the
texts they have they have stitched together a decent copy of her Gospel for
translations into English - or whatever language.
IN PRAISE OF
CERTAIN PEOPLE: THOSE WHO SHOW UP
The title of my homily is, “Mary Magdalene: Patron Saint
of Those Who Are Constantly There.”
Mary Magdalene showed up.
So too all those grandmothers and grandfathers, moms and dads, readers,
Eucharistic ministers, etc. who show up to serve. They are our constants.
Business people know their workers - the ones who come in
early and leave late. Those who show up when there is an emergency.
CONCLUSION
St. Mary Magdalene pray for us to have this gift of
showing up and being there for others. Amen.
NOTES
[1] This picture is a detail of Mary Kissing the Feet of the Crucified Jesus, an Early 14th Century painting in the Tolentino Basilica di San Nicola Cappelone. Here is the full picture:
[2] Here's a copy of The Gospel of Mary Magdalene that you can get on line by just typing into a search engine The Gospel of Mary Magdalene
The Gospel According to Mary Magdalene
[The Gospel of Mary]
Chapter
4
(Pages 1 to 6 of the manuscript,
containing chapters 1 - 3, are lost. The extant text starts on page 7...)
. . . Will matter then be
destroyed or not?
22) The Savior said, All nature,
all formations, all creatures exist in and with one another, and they will be
resolved again into their own roots.
23) For the nature of matter is
resolved into the roots of its own nature alone.
24) He who has ears to hear, let
him hear.
25) Peter said to him, Since you
have explained everything to us, tell us this also: What is the sin of the
world?
26) The Savior said There is no
sin, but it is you who make sin when you do the things that are like the nature
of adultery, which is called sin.
27) That is why the Good came
into your midst, to the essence of every nature in order to restore it to its
root.
28) Then He continued and said,
That is why you become sick and die, for you are deprived of the one who can
heal you.
29) He who has a mind to
understand, let him understand.
30) Matter gave birth to a
passion that has no equal, which proceeded from something contrary to nature.
Then there arises a disturbance in its whole body.
31) That is why I said to you, Be
of good courage, and if you are discouraged be encouraged in the presence of
the different forms of nature.
32) He who has ears to hear, let
him hear.
33) When the Blessed One had said
this, He greeted them all,saying, Peace be with you. Receive my peace unto
yourselves.
34) Beware that no one lead you
astray saying Lo here or lo there! For the Son of Man is within you.
35) Follow after Him!
36) Those who seek Him will find
Him.
37) Go then and preach the gospel
of the Kingdom.
38) Do not lay down any rules
beyond what I appointed you, and do not give a law like the lawgiver lest you
be constrained by it.
39) When He said this He
departed.
Chapter 5
1) But they were grieved. They
wept greatly, saying, How shall we go to the Gentiles and preach the gospel of
the Kingdom of the Son of Man? If they did not spare Him, how will they spare
us?
2) Then Mary stood up, greeted
them all, and said to her brethren, Do not weep and do not grieve nor be
irresolute, for His grace will be entirely with you and will protect you.
3) But rather, let us praise His
greatness, for He has prepared us and made us into Men.
4) When Mary said this, she
turned their hearts to the Good, and they began to discuss the words of the
Savior.
5) Peter said to Mary, Sister we
know that the Savior loved you more than the rest of woman.
6) Tell us the words of the
Savior which you remember which you know, but we do not, nor have we heard them.
7) Mary answered and said, What
is hidden from you I will proclaim to you.
8) And she began to speak to them
these words: I, she said, I saw the Lord in a vision and I said to Him, Lord I
saw you today in a vision. He answered and said to me,
9) Blessed are you that you did
not waver at the sight of Me. For where the mind is there is the treasure.
10) I said to Him, Lord, how does
he who sees the vision see it, through the soul or through the spirit?
11) The Savior answered and said,
He does not see through the soul nor through the spirit, but the mind that is
between the two that is what sees the vision and it is [...]
(pages 11 - 14 are missing from
the manuscript)
Chapter 8:
. . . it.
10) And desire said, I did not
see you descending, but now I see you ascending. Why do you lie since you
belong to me?
11) The soul answered and said, I
saw you. You did not see me nor recognize me. I served you as a garment and you
did not know me.
12) When it said this, it (the
soul) went away rejoicing greatly.
13) Again it came to the third
power, which is called ignorance.
14) The power questioned the
soul, saying, Where are you going? In wickedness are you bound. But you are
bound; do not judge!
15) And the soul said, Why do you
judge me, although I have not judged?
16) I was bound, though I have
not bound.
17) I was not recognized. But I
have recognized that the All is being dissolved, both the earthly things and
the heavenly.
18) When the soul had overcome
the third power, it went upwards and saw the fourth power, which took seven
forms.
19) The first form is darkness,
the second desire, the third ignorance, the fourth is the excitement of death,
the fifth is the kingdom of the flesh, the sixth is the foolish wisdom of
flesh, the seventh is the wrathful wisdom. These are the seven powers of wrath.
20) They asked the soul, Whence
do you come slayer of men, or where are you going, conqueror of space?
21) The soul answered and said,
What binds me has been slain, and what turns me about has been overcome,
22) and my desire has been ended,
and ignorance has died.
23) In a aeon I was released from
a world, and in a Type from a type, and from the fetter of oblivion which is
transient.
24) From this time on will I
attain to the rest of the time, of the season, of the aeon, in silence.
Chapter 9
1) When Mary had said this, she
fell silent, since it was to this point that the Savior had spoken with her.
2) But Andrew answered and said
to the brethren, Say what you wish to say about what she has said. I at least
do not believe that the Savior said this. For certainly these teachings are
strange ideas.
3) Peter answered and spoke
concerning these same things.
4) He questioned them about the Savior:
Did He really speak privately with a woman and not openly to us? Are we to turn
about and all listen to her? Did He prefer her to us?
5) Then Mary wept and said to
Peter, My brother Peter, what do you think? Do you think that I have thought
this up myself in my heart, or that I am lying about the Savior?
6) Levi answered and said to
Peter, Peter you have always been hot tempered.
7) Now I see you contending
against the woman like the adversaries.
8) But if the Savior made her
worthy, who are you indeed to reject her? Surely the Savior knows her very
well.
9) That is why He loved her more
than us. Rather let us be ashamed and put on the perfect Man, and separate as
He commanded us and preach the gospel, not laying down any other rule or other
law beyond what the Savior said.
10) And when they heard this they
began to go forth to proclaim and to preach.
[3] In this clustering I’m very subjective. It would
upset folks if I mentioned the names of these books in public. I consider these books to have “strange stuff”. I spot them left on church window sills, etc. Here are some of the ones that are on my "strange" listing.
·The Poem
of the Man God by Maria Valtorta [This book was on the Index of Forbidden Books when we had an Index. Cardinal Ratzinger - when in charge of all this - stated clearly this book is rejected by the Catholic Church.
·The Diary
of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy in My Soul [Was banned for
20 years] I know she was canonized a Saint.
·Mary of Agreda’s book, Mystical City [Was on the Index of Condemned books till the Index
was ended in 1966].
·Father Stefano Gobbi’s book, The Marian Movement of Priests. [Never
officially accepted or rejected by the Church.]
·Various statements about what Mary was saying by
the so called visionaries of Medjugorje. I don't think this stuff is authentic and that Mary talks like this. Nor do I believe this is how God works.
July 22, 2015
TWO CHAIRS
When we bought those two chairs some
some thirty years ago - we never thought - each summer - when we dragged them
out to the end of the lawn - that one day -
one would be empty. It’s me - and yet -
I sit there - still looking out - and that
other chair is still filled with you and all the memories memorized here and
across the waters we crossed together. Please drag your new chair to face me - so we can face each other on each side of this beautiful blue sea between us.
Painting on top by Rebecca Croft.
Check her blog:
www.Rebeccacroftstudiosblogspot.com
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
THE PRESENCE
OF GOD
INTRODUCTION
The title and theme of my homily for this 16 Tuesday in
Ordinary Time is, “The Presence of God.”
The presence of God -
SHEKINAH is a key theme in Jewish
Theology.
It basically means, “nest” - God wants to nest with us. God
the Mother Bird builds a nest for us - for our home - for our security - to get
us off to a great start.
God - nest - in the shape of cupped hands - presence -security - shekinah.
ALL THROUGH THE
SCRIPTURES
We find the theme of God’s presence - SHEKINAH - all through the scriptures.
God creates the nest called, “The Garden,” - Paradise -
for Adam and Eve and walks with them in the cool of the evening - till they
mess up - and hide from the presence of God.
God asks us that question every evening - every day -
“Where are you?”
We are in the book of Exodus right now - God is present
to save. God is the Savior. God is the Redeemer. God is the Deliverer. God is
the Warrior who will lead the Israelites through the waters - to get to the
other side - and to freedom. We heard that in today’s first reading.
We’ve all stood at the edge of the ocean - or river - or
bay - and we know there is another side - but we need a boat, a bridge, to get
to the other shore. God parts the water for us.
We know that image at the time of death - when a loved
one - is imagined over the waters of death - getting into heaven - and comes
through and to the other sure and earlier loved ones before us - are waiting.
God opens golden gates, doors, penetrates walls, is the
bridge to salvation.
That’s just 2 books in the Old Testament. Check the rest
for more images.
The New Testament has the same image as today’s first
reading - telling us Jesus is the New Moses - who will lead us through the
waters - the great symbol of Baptism - and we come out of the waters as part of
the New People - the New Israel.
Today’s gospel has us as brother, sister, and Mother of
Jesus. With Christ we are God’s family.
We who come to Morning Mass - know that - we eat with
Christ on the morning shore - spelled “shore” and “sure” - called “morning
Mass”.
I love that post-Resurrection scene when the disciples
realize Jesus is on the shore of Galilee where they began - and he tells them
where to fish - and they catch 153 sheep - and someone yells, “It is the Lord.”
Talk about presence ….
PRESENCE
When we see ourselves as God’s family - when we eat the
Eucharist with Christ and each other - we know what presence is.
We pray together here in church - we sneeze and others
think and say and pray, “God bless you.”
We worry when a regular is missing.
We know the presence of each other in Chick and Ruth’s -
and in the Parking Lot - and in the Mall - and in the next car.
Talk about presence ….
We know when the other calls - or comes in the house - or is with us for a family week at Ocean
City or the Outer banks.
We know each other - we are present with each other -
when a family member dies and we experience friends and neighbors - stopping
into Taylors, Kalas, Hardesty, Reece’s - to give us support.
Presence - talk about presence….
CONCLUSION
The title of my homily was “The Presence of God.”
I hold that we understand the presence of God better when
we know the presence of others - starting as babies - starting with parents,
baby sitters, grand-parents, friends, teachers, neighbors.
I connect Mass with meals and meals with Mass.
I connect Family Presence with God Presence.
I connect quiet time in church - with discovering and
reflecting on God’s presence - in church.
I realize the conflicting issues in all this - I love to
see people connecting with each other after Mass. I realize we don’t have a big
lobby here at St. Mary’s - which was built - when the priest wasn’t present
with folks after Mass.
I love to see clusters of folks talking with each other -
not only in the lobby of St. John Neumann in church - but in different sections
of the church.
I see the faces of folks - not too many - who give looks
at talkers - after Mass - and don’t seem to see their smiles and exuberance.
They want to pray and the talkers are disturbing their prayers.
When they complain to me - I like to say, “Say a prayer of
thanksgiving for their joy - their smiles - their continuing to be in communion
with Christ and Christ’s brother and sister and Mother - in church today with
them. Isn’t it great to have people who are present to us. Isn’t absenteeism
one of the big bummers of life?
The title of my homily for this 16th Monday in
Ordinary Time is, “Is God the God I Think God Is?”
This might be a very tricky homily, thought, and
question.
Don’t accept my words. Look at your thoughts about this question:
“Is God the God I Think God Is?”
KIDS IMAGES OF
GOD
When we ask little kids to draw a picture of God, we get
some very interesting looking pictures.
Many are a picture of a big tall man in long robes and a
beard.
I don’t know if that is everywhere around the world.
If we ask teenagers to draw a picture of God, we start to
get some geometry in the mix - circles, triangles, and boxes. Abstraction has
entered the picture. We also get images
of a mountain, a fire, a bird, and even a stick figure of a man on the cross might
appear in the assortment of teenager’s pictures.
AN ASSUMPTION
How would you draw God?
How do you picture God?
I assume that everyone - who says they believe in God has
ideas and images about God.
Words are easier than pictures - maybe.
When describing God I’ve also heard words like, “Love,
Caring, Light, Kindness, Forgiveness, Creator, Artist”. Or maybe when reflecting on the presence of God in our lives, what would it be like to close one's eyes and listen to the silence or to listen to a philharmonic orchestra.
DESCRIBING SELF
OR OTHERS AND WE’RE WRONG AND INCOMPLETE
If we ask others to describe another, I assume we’ll get answers, but I’ll also
assume that we’re always wrong - and/or do I say, “incomplete”.
When someone describes us to us - we get upset at times -
because we know that others really don’t know us - or our motives - or how we really are.
So why don’t we apply that to others?
It’s my experience that we don’t. I know I don’t.
Remember the comment after John F. Kennedy died, “Johnny
we hardly knew you.”
We can say that of everyone.
I used to write obituaries. Let me tell you, there are
many takes on people.
LET’S JUMP BACK
TO DESCRIBING GOD
If we jump to God,
I make the loud assumption that it’s idolatry many times when we
describe God.
No wonder there is a whole school of spiritual writers
that call God the Divine Dark.
There is the apophatic-kataphatic approach to God. Apo - means away from. Nothing we say about
God is God. Kata - means with - as in with images of God.
Okay, God is love. God is King. God is Shepherd. God is
light. God is life.
Yet behind all these words and images there is our take
on love, kings, shepherds, light, life. So no matter how we go, we’re
subjective.
In the meanwhile, God is God.
God is the great I am.
NOW WHY THIS
TALK TODAY?
The reason for this topic today is because of a phone
call as well as today’s first reading.
I was talking to a family member on the phone yesterday
and this lady said that she doesn’t buy that the God described in some psalms,
is God.
We can say the same of God in today’s first reading.
There’s God slaying, killing, leading the Egyptians into traps - and they are
killed.
I remember reading the Koran once and I kept on hearing
about a God who burns, burns, burns.
I thought to myself, “No wonder Moslems are always
fighting.”
Then I started to prepare a homily for the day - and there in our scriptures I
read about “our God” burning and killing people and cities.
Somewhere along the line I decided on the way of thinking
that says we project onto God our ways of thinking.
I heard while we studied the Jewish Scriptures there was
an evolution of thought when it comes to God.
Our Old Testament professor said it was a breakthrough
when Isaiah talked about God being a God not only of the Jews - but also of all
people.
CHRISTOCENTRIC
We who are blessed with the Christian Faith know the
teachings that Christ is the Image of the Father. As Jesus said, “The one who
sees me sees the Father.”
Yet there are those texts where Jesus says to us, “Whom
do you say, I am?”
Down through the centuries people have killed others in
the name of God and of Christ.
What to do: I’m assuming that when we die and meet God we’ll
fall on our face and cry.
When we were novices in the Redemptorists we were told to
lay on the floor before Christ - and before God - and adore our God in total
humility.
I always like that prayer during Holy Week, when we
priests lay down on the sanctuary floor. Now that we are old, arthritic, and/or
fat, it’s difficult to pray in this position But it might be a great preparation
for heaven.
