Saturday, October 24, 2015

October 24, 2015

COMPARISONS

Come on now, we all compare!
To be human is to compare.

Be honest now - mom was
easier than dad or vice versa….

We see a bowl of apples or a
dish of chocolate chip cookies.
Don’t we all pause before we
pick the one that looks the best.

It would be a boring beauty contest
or a baseball season if nobody won
or there wasn’t a most valuable player.

It rained all week while on vacation.
Hey, you’re allowed to complain!

Comparisons challenge - okay they
also cut - especially when parents
or kids use them to get the other
to do what they want the other to do.
So too coaches and teachers and other kids.

Hey, Jesus used them all the time.
Repeat after me: “We all do.”


© Andy Costello, Reflections, 2015

Friday, October 23, 2015

October 23, 2015


DON’T WE ALL?

Sins, mistakes, dumb moves ….
Don’t we all? Don’t we all?

Sins, mistakes, dumb moves,
have one big benefit. They can
help us understand each other.

If they don’t, it’s then we throw the
verbal rocks or pull the silent treatment.
Don’t we all? Don’t we all?


© Andy Costello, Reflections, 2015

Thursday, October 22, 2015

October 22, 2015

A LOVE SUPREME BY JOHN COLTRANE


Just listen as you picture
all these pictures below

A LOVE SUPREME

A lone wolf lopes across
a snow covered mountain field ….

A big bear stands in a cold stream laughing 
at how many salmon he’s catching ….

A pink flamingo stands there in pain
not knowing  knee surgery would really help ….

A mosquito hovers above a prom dance
deciding which one of those bare shoulders ….

A young boy skims and slides 77 flat
stones across a still sitting mountain lake ….

A pigeon just loves, loves, potato chips, just dropped there on the playground macadam….

The ocean waves keep coming, wave after
wave, heading towards the tan sandy beach….

A brown dog with hair flowing - front seat -
no seat belt - head out the open window ….

The baby keeps looking over her dad’s
shoulder at everyone else in the church ….

The guy on the motorcycle roars 99 MPH
across the desert road - his face loving it ….

The giraffe at 7 AM going by a basketball
court and a kid practicing wishes, wishes ….

A third grader coming out of a library with
17 books and almost drops the whole load ….

A saxophone player with eyes closed - with
great gladness plays to our God, A Love Supreme ….


© Andy Costello, Reflections, 2015

Connecting this to our forum tonight
at St. John Neumann - Seelos Hall - 
on Pope Francis's Encyclical Letter,
Laudatio Si' - On Care 
for Our Common Home.

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

October 21, 2015

HEARING AIDS

Look the other in the eye….

Watch their face....

Block out the stories and comments
the other person’s comments trigger -
the stuff you want to interrupt with
and tell your stories instead of listening
to the person who is talking ….

Tell the other what you heard them say
and ask, “Is this what you’re saying?”….

If you have time, and if the conversation
was very important,  jot down what you
heard, and then ask yourself about all this ….

When needed, buy a hearing aid.


© Andy Costello, Reflections, 2015

Tuesday, October 20, 2015


SIMILIAR  SAINTS: 
ST. PAUL  OF  THE CROSS 
AND 
ST. ALPHONSUS  DE  LIGUORI 




INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Similiar Saints: St. Paul of the Cross and St. Alphonsus de Liguori.

Yesterday we celebrated the feast of St. Isaac Jogues and his companions, so today we’re celebrating the feast of St. Paul of the Cross who was bumped from yesterday to today - here in North America.

I’m adding  St. Alphonsus into my thoughts - because both saints are similar.

These 2 - along with St. Leonard of Port Maurice - were the 3 great preaching missionaries in the 1700’s in Europe.

I don’t know enough about St. Leonard of Port Maurice, so I’m sticking with the similarities of St. Paul of the Cross and St. Alphonsus de Liguori.

St. Paul of the Cross was born in 1694 and St. Alphonsus was born in 1696.



St. Paul of the Cross was born in Northern Italy - St. Alphonsus was born down there in Naples - in Southern Italy.

St. Paul of the Cross was the second oldest of 16 kids and St. Alphonsus the oldest of 7 kids.

Both came from families of upper middle class - with dads in charge of things. St. Paul of the Cross’ dad was  a struggling cloth merchant - and St. Alphonsus’ dad was a sea captain.

Both founded orders of men - the Passionists and the Redemptorists.

Both are connected with orders of contemplative nuns: the Passionist Sisters and the Redemptoristines.

Both stressed living a spiritual life. As in marriage,  life has its highs and lows, feeling and non-feeling moments, especially hanging in there when one’s life with God is boring or cold, dark, dry and not too lively. St. Paul had great mystical moments with God in his younger years and in his old age, but in between he had 45 years of plain 'hang in there" years with God. Alphonsus had his mystical moments - but he also had dry years - along with terrible scruples at times.

Both wrote a lot. St. Paul wrote some 10,000 letters and St. Alphonsus 101 books.

Both stressed the cross - and in many paintings of these 2 saints you’ll see them holding a crucifix.

Both stress remembering Christ on the cross. Even more - uniting our sufferings - with the sufferings of Christ. Last night, while reading about Paul of the Cross, I spotted a word I never saw before “concrucifixion.” I'm sure you’ve heard the word “concelebration”.

Alphonsus lived long - till 1787. Paul of the cross died 1775.




October 20, 2015


A WORD

Oh yes, a word can hurt,
if spit at us - with contempt,
with anger. Oh yes. Oh yes.
What’s worse, sometimes
it can pierce our ear drum
and remain - like a barking,
biting Rottweiler in our mind,
in our memory, in our soul,
for years and years and years
and only telling another
of the hurt and hearing a
a calming or understanding
word from them can there
be healing. Oh yes. Oh yes.



© Andy Costello, Reflections, 2015

Monday, October 19, 2015

THIS  IS  MY BODY, WHICH 
WILL BE GIVEN UP FOR YOU.



INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 29th Monday in Ordinary Time is, “This Is My Body, Which Will Be Given Up For You.”

These words are from the Canon of the Holy Mass - when the priest takes the bread and says,  “Take this, all of you, and eat of it, for this is my body, which will be given up for you.”

I could also use the words, “Take this, all of you, and drink from it, for this is the chalice of my blood, the blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be pour out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

ON THE ALTAR

High Altar - St. Peter's Rome

It’s a sacred moment when a priest stands there at an altar and lifts the bread and lifts the wine and says those words.

Five - six - seven years ago - maybe more - I started to end the baptismal ceremony in a new way. I say out loud, “This is the official end of this baptism - but I’m looking for a way to connect the Sacrament of Baptism with the Mass. So I’ve been asking parents - just the mom and dad - to place their new baby on the altar - and repeat after me, ‘This is my body, this is my blood, we’re giving our life for you.’”

So on this altar here - there have been a lot of babies - just sitting there or laying there - while their parents say those words. Most prefer St. Mary’s Church - so I’ve done this much more at St. Mary’s - downtown Annapolis.

Pictures. Pictures. Pictures.  That moment got tons and tons of pictures.

I noticed it’s a moving moment. I don’t know if it gets parents to come to Mass more. I don’t know if there is an impact on the wider family and friends of the baby or babies. But that’s what I do.

At first I got the thought, especially with the photographic evidence, that someone from the Diocesan office would call and say that I can’t do this.

Once someone said that some priest in some other state did the same thing for their kid - I think without the words I use. Then they showed me a picture of their baby at some altar.

Two weeks ago I did a baptism of a baby with India Indian roots and they asked if they could put their baby on the floor at St. Mary’s between the portable altar and the old altar. They said that was a custom from back home. I asked them to repeat after me, “This is my body, this is my blood, where giving our life for you.”

PARENTING

Isn’t this what life is all about - giving our lives for others?

Isn’t life all about sacrifice?

Isn’t life all about handing over our lives for the good of others?

Handing over is a key New Testament word - and there it is near the end of today’s first reading. [Cf. Hebrews 4:20-25]

The true treasure in life is being generous with our gifts and our life for others as today’s gospel puts it. [Cf. Luke 12: 13-21]

ST. ISAAC JOGUES

Saint Isaac Jogues, S.J.

Today we celebrate the feast day of St. Isaac Jogues and Saint John de Brebeuf and their companions.

They gave their lives for bringing our faith and Jesus Christ to Native Americans.

I remember reading in an article a long time ago a comment that went like this.  Down through the ages lots and lots and lots of young men and women  gave their lives by letting go of all they had and went on the foreign missions. 

I heard that because I became a Redemptorist for that very reason - to go to  Brazil. Never got there or my dream.

That article then said, “Never to be heard of again. But looking back now they are the ones who build schools and hospitals and churches and clinics that served all kinds of people - and they brought Jesus Christ and faith to so many.

CONCLUSION

Where does that message take you?

What does that message get you to do what you’re doing today - whether it’s volunteer work, or picking up the grandkids, or raising the kids, or parenting - trying to give your kids or grandkids a good education, the faith, family values and what have you.

Pinch yourself when the priest says. “This is my body, this is my blood, we’re giving it for you.”

Then go in peace and do all this in memory of Jesus.