February 16, 2018

Black History Month Thought for today: 

"Real  integrity  is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody's going to know whether you did it or not."

Oprah Winfrey

CONVERSATIONS 

There are conversations 

and there are conversations. 

It is good if we have at least 

one good one a month.

Some folks have only one

good conversation in a lifetime.

Go for at least 100 great surprise moments

of connection and conversation with others.

"How’s it going?" "What’s happening?"

"What you too?"  "Me too - about a year ago."

Outside of church on a Sunday morning

talking about stuff much better than the sermon.

In the stands with a guy my age while our

kids are playing Little League down below.

In a long car ride from Virginia Beach

with a niece to BWI airport in Maryland.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2018
Painting on top: Chop Suey [1929]
by Edward Hopper, 

February 15, 2018 

Black History Month Thought for today: 

“Anyone who has ever struggled with poverty knows how extremely expensive it is to be poor.” 

James Baldwin [1924-1987] 

(Fifth Avenue, Uptown. Esquire)

LENT:

MORE OR LESS?

Less noise, more quiet,

Less self, more prayer,

Less food, more fasting,

Less ignorance, more reading,

Less talking, more listening,

Less television, more family,

Less coldness, more warmth,

Less anger, more patience,

Less gossip, more reverence,

Less selfishness, more generosity,

Less blindness, more awareness,

Less envy, more complimenting,

Less jealousy, more acceptance,

Less sitting, more exercise,

Less fear, more trust,

Less hesitation, more courage,

Less me, more them, O Lord,

Less me, more You, O Lord. Amen.

©  Andy Costello, 

Markings  Prayers

Thomas More Association

LENTEN PRACTICES

Lord, this Lent,
let my good example be loud

and my ego soft and silent.

Let my sacrifices, prayer,

fasting and Lenten practices

be for your honor and glory,

as well as the lifting up

of the spirit and life

of my neighbor. Amen.

©  Andy Costello, 

Markings  Prayers

Thomas More Association

BENEATH

 THE ASHES

Ashes,

where once stood

a building tall,

now almost nothing,

just soft silt beneath our feet.

Then you, Lord, rising tall,

up from the dead,

giving all of us the dream
of rising again,

a rising building tall,

church

the hope of all for all,

beneath the ashes.

©  Andy Costello, 

Markings  Prayers

Thomas More Association

PRAYER FOR LENT

Come Holy Spirit
during these 40 Days of Lent,

lead me like you led Jesus,

into the wilderness, to the mountains,
to the temple, to those places within me

that I need to go to face those temptations

in my life that I need to face and overcome.
Give me words, Sacred Words,

like you gave to Jesus,

so that I might challenge and face

my hungers and my needs,

my demons and Satan, the tempter within.

Come Holy Spirit

during these 40 Days of Lent,

give me the strength you gave Jesus

to face the great temptations of life:

the temptation to take the easy way out,

like changing rocks into bread,

without working and sweating for our daily bread;

the temptation to reach for power and self glory,

Satan’s kind of power, not God’s power of humility;

the temptation to place myself in dangerous situations,

saying that God will watch over me,
and in the process stumbling,

because I said, “It’s all up to God”
without any decisions coming from me.

©  Andy Costello, 

Markings  Prayers

Thomas More Association