January 16, 2016

2 BLESSINGS

Two blessings:
the ability to say 

some day and back when….

To have dreams and memories….

To look to the Future and the Past….

To know there is a Spring and an Autumn,
To enjoy inwardly youth and old age....

To know I am going to do and I did that ….
In the meanwhile, right now

I have to take the garbage out

and empty the dish washer.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2016

REGRETS  AND  RECOVERY

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this Friday in the first week in Ordinary Time is, “Regrets and Recovery.”

R and R

That should take care of today’s two readings.

FIRST READING

It sounds to me that today’s first reading from 1^st Samuel is loaded with regrets. [Cf. 1^st Samuel 8: 4-7, 10-22a.]  It’s also loaded with hindsight. Hindsight with negative consequences.

Of course parts of scriptures are written in the present tense - but in reality they are looking back.

A group in Israel comes to Samuel and tell him they want to have a king.

Samuel responds by telling them all that having a king will entail. It will mean you might lose your sons - your land - heavy duty taxing from you - tithing - big time tithing, etc. etc. etc.

In other words there are consequences. And they are consequences that will cost you and you will regret your decision in wanting to have a king.

It could be switching a job - a moving to a new house - getting a divorce - what have you.

The title of my homily is, “Regrets and Recovery.” 

Part one could also be entitled, “Cost and Consequences.”

It could also have the title, “Foresight and Hindsight”. That would be another reflective twosome for a homily.

RECOVERY; TODAY’S GOSPEL

Today’s gospel - Mark 2: 1-12 is a great text for reflection.

We can’t see them  - but I have a theory every person on the planet is carrying a back pack on their back. You’ve seen kids going down the street coming home or going into school with back packs.

Well everyone has their back pack. 

Question as in the Capital One Advertisements: “What’s in your pack?”

People carry their sins, their mistakes, their consequences, their regrets,  their story, their autobiography, on their backs.

And our past can paralyze us a bit.  Obviously, some more than others.

This guy in today’s gospel is paralyzed and his four friends carry him to Jesus.

They can’t worm their way through the crowd. Wait your turn.

So they go up on the roof and then  through the roof.

And they lower him in front of Jesus - and Jesus heals the man - starting with forgiveness of his sins.

And the man gets those consequences of his sins - off his back and he stands up straight healed and all are astounded and glorify God saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”

Let Jesus heal you.

CONCLUSION

The title of my homily is, “Regrets and Recovery.”

Take some time to check what’s in your pack - the stuff that might be wearing you our and wearing you down.

January 15, 2016

COMMUNION

The Eucharist, Christ in the bread,

settled down on the lonely hand, on

the lonely tongue, as if he/she were

the only person in the full church.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2016

January 14, 2016

SACRED  WORDS

What are your sacred words?

Make a list of your 10 top words

and then pick your top 3 in order

of importance?

For example:

Communion

Home

Listening

Love

Friendship

Meals - with pie

Life

Others

Cards [Playing]

Today

Top three:

                 Jesus [On the other side of the                          door into God]

Listening

Others

Tomorrow my list will be different. Smile.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2016

January 13, 2016

MORE 3 WORD SENTENCES

Here are 3 more 3 word sentences to

practice saying to an another in a mirror. 

You are awesome.

You are lovable.

You are thoughtful.

You are challenging.

You are demanding.
You aren’t listening.
You aren’t careful.
You are helpful.

You are cautious.
You are good.

You are sweet.

You are easy.

You are lazy.

You are lying.

You are quiet.

You are precious.

You are giving.

You seem nervous.

You seem scared.

You seem edgy.

You are not.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2016

PAUSE 

OR  CHECK  YOUR  SHOE  SIZE 

BEFORE  YOU PUT YOUR FOOT 

IN YOUR MOUTH 

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this Tuesday in the first week of Ordinary Time is, “Pause Or Check Your Shoe Size  Before You Put Your Foot In Your Mouth.”

How many times do we have to misjudge someone before we stop misjudging someone?

EXAMPLES

We’re at Country Buffet and we see this big - big person - going back for seconds. And we think to ourselves, “Fatso, no wonder you’re so fat - going back and for seconds.”  Then we notice they’re not getting this round of food for themselves, but for their mom or someone in a wheelchair right next to them.

We’re sitting on the porch. It’s summer. We see someone with their dog on the other side of the street. The dog does his or her business on another person’s lawn. Then the dog walker walks away without scooping up the poop. We think, “Those are the people who make this world one selfish planet.” Five minutes later we see the dog walker coming back with a plastic bag and their super dooper pooper scooper.

So and so is in the restaurant in the booth across from us with this other woman. Wow. She’s gorgeous. We think, “Hope his wife doesn’t know about this.” Surprise his wife walks in and says “Hi sister-in-law - I got caught in traffic. There was an accident. Did you order yet?  I’m starving.”

The title of my homily is, “Pause Or Check Your Shoe Size  Before You Put Your Foot In Your Mouth.” Or: How many times do we have to misjudge someone before we stop misjudging someone?

TODAY’S READINGS

In today’s first reading from the first Book of Samuel Eli judges Hanna to be drunk and says to her, “How long will you make a drunken show of yourself? Sober up from your wine.” [Cf. 1 Samuel 1:14

She says, “It isn’t that my Lord, I am an unhappy woman, I have had neither wine nor liquor; I was only pouring out my troubles to the Lord.”

Did Eli learn from his foot in mouth moment?

In today’s gospel the crazy man in the temple knows who Jesus is - the Holy One of God! - but misreads Jesus’ motive for coming into the temple.  Yet Jesus heals him and the whole crowd is amazed. [Cf. Mark 1: 21-28]

LEARNING

So a learning for today is to pause more - before our tongue jumps words out of our mouth - to make room for our foot.

Pause: think of the first 3 letters in the word mistake - or misjudge - or misread - or misquote - or mislead - or misconnect - or misperception - or mislabel - or misinform - or  misappropriate…. Mis:  the prefix simply meaning miss. Pause - something might be missing. Sometimes we might not know the whole story. Maybe we haven’t been called to be on jury duty to judge our neighbor.

Pause: before speaking. Maybe we’re wrong. Maybe what we think we’re seeing is not what we’re seeing. Maybe what we’re spreading is rumor, gossip, whispers - and not the real story, the whole story, and we’re simply putting you know what on someone else’s lawn - and not cleaning or clearing it up.

CONCLUSION

We all know the old story about the town gossip and the man with the wheelbarrow. Every day a man walked home from his gardening job with his wheelbarrow. Every day he stopped in for a beer on his way home - and left his wheelbarrow out in front. It was a safe town.  One day - when about to leave - the rain came pouring down. A buddy said, “My car is out back. Let me drive you home and you can pick up your wheelbarrow  on the way to work in the morning.  Well, the town gossip spread the rumor that he was dead drunk on the floor of the bar - all night long. She peaked out her front window every hour on the hour.  The guy with the wheelbarrow got wind of what the town gossip had done, so that night - on his way home from work - he parked his wheelbarrow right under her window just across the street from the bar.

January 12, 2016

3  WORD  SENTENCES

Here are some key 3 word sentences to

practice saying to oneself  in a mirror. 

I was wrong.

I am sorry.
I love you.
I need you.
I thank you.
I am worried.
I am lost.

I am confused.

I am hungry.
I am hurting.
I’m in love.
I’m in hate.

I am lonely.

I am asking.
I am thirsty.

I am sad.
I am happy.
I am waiting.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2016