August 15, 2018

OUR TAINTED NATURE’S

SOLITARY BOAST

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this feast of the Assumption is, “Our Tainted Nature’s Solitary Boast.”

That’s a boast, a comment, in a poem by William Wordsworth.

The poem is entitled, “The Virgin.”

I’ve noticed that comment in many sermons by many priests about Mary.

FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Assumption of Mary into Heaven - body and soul - however that works.

It’s one of the earliest titles and feasts of Mary in the Church - but it wasn’t till 1950 - that it was declared a Dogma - a Dogmatic teaching.

MARY: WE CATHOLICS GET HER

I come from a parish in Brooklyn, Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

We are in a parish here in Annapolis, Maryland, with the title of St. Mary’s.

We are Catholics and Mary is very much part of our life as Catholics - from names of parishes, to statues, to the rosary.

Some non-Catholics don’t get it - why we honor Mary so much.

She is not God. Some think that’s what we think. We don’t.

BOASTING  VS.  OH NO!

I think the comment in a poem “Our tainted nature’s solitary boast” can get us right into the middle of a most human need and reality.

We boast about our best; we put our head down about our worst.

We boast about Mary - who was our best - and in hopes we do our best.

She was presence - there for the whole life of Christ - from his birth till his death - from Christmas to  Good Friday.

She was in the crowd and in his eye sight - when he walked Israel and talked to Israel.

She thought of others at Cana - she thought of him and was there for him  on the way to Calvary.

We need people in our lives who are models and whom we can boast about.

PRIEST  SCANDALS  IN  PENNSYLVANIA

Yesterday was a horrible day for us priests - with the newspapers stuff about Pennsylvania.

Those we looked up to failed us.

I’m sure when people drove down Duke of Gloucester St. yesterday and today - when they saw this church - some of the news’ stories out of Pennsylvania  tainted this church building.

The pastor got e-mails that we better say something about all this - maybe come Sunday.  People look up to us to say something about all this - because this is a downer for us Catholics.

So today, that’s an opening salvo of quick comments today.

CONCLUSION

We priests are tainted - maybe that’s why we need someone completely untainted, Mary - and we boast about her - so on this feast we celebrate God taking her home to heaven - untainted. Amen.

__________________________


Painting on top: The Assumption of the Virgin, by Francesco Botticini [1475-1476] in Florence

August 15, 2018

ASSUMPTIONS

As we have all heard,

when we assume we

can make an ass out

of each other: u  me.

Yet, we need to make

assumptions,  to make

it a go - as we go through

life - with each other.

I assume you want it

to work. I assume that

you are listening.
I assume that you care.

I assume we will make

mistakes and I assume

that you will forgive me

when I fail or mess up.

I assume good will.

I assume patience.

I assume respect.

I assume love.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2018

August 15, 2018 

Thought for today: 

“A poem is  never  finished; it’s always an accident that puts a stop to it - i.e. gives it to the public.” 

Paul Valery [1871-1945] 

Litterature (1930), page 46.  

In French, “Un poeme n’

est jamais acheve - 

c’est toujours un accident 

qui le termine, c’est-a-dire 

qui le donne au public.”

DENTS

I see the dents and scratches,

on the different cars that shoot

and slide by me on the streets

and highways of life. “Uooh!”

I miss the dents and scratches

and scars on the different people

who shoot and slide by me on the

stairs and sidewalks  of life. “Uooh!”

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2018

August 14, 2018 

Thought for today: 

“Conductors  must  give unmistakable and suggestive signals to the orchestra - not choreography to the audience.”  

George Szell  [1897-1970], 

Newsweek January 28, 1963

UNFORGETTABLE SCENES

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for the 19^th Monday in Ordinary Time  is, “Unforgettable Scenes.”

Before dementia, we can sit back and sort out some unforgettable scenes from our lifetime.

That’s one of the great gifts we have as human beings: our ability to remember - especially our unforgettable scenes.

Memories  ….  Moments .... Scenes from a lifetime ....

TODAY’S TWO READINGS

Today’s two readings trigger that thought.

The first reading from Ezekiel has some electric images: huge clouds, strong storm winds from the north, flashing fires in the sky. It also has sounds - as if the sky was filled with images that looked human - but with wings.  I picture 1,000 gulls squeaking at the shore - if you ever saw that.  Then Ezekiel sees a throne - like a sapphire - with someone seated  on it - filled with fire and light. Then he sees a rainbow. [Cf. Ezekiel 1: 2-5, 24-28c.]

The gospel has Jesus telling his disciples about his future - being killed and rising on the 3^rd day. Then there is the fish story about having to pay taxes and they toss a hook into the lake and they catch a fish - with a coin in its mouth worth twice the temple tax. [Cf. Matthew 17: 11-27.]

QUESTION

What have been your great life scenes? What have been your memorable scenes.

Pick 10. It’s a good exercise. It’s good discussion stuff with one another.

Here are 10 scenes in my life. I did my homework. Practice what you preach. These are in no particular order - and I have hundreds more. 

I had a crazy morning, so I read the readings and thought this might be interesting homework.

#1  Four of us in a light blue car drove from New York City to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.  The plan was to drive till we saw mountains. We went 32 hours straight - switching drivers every 2 hours - stopping for bathroom breaks and hamburger breaks. We crossed the border into Eastern Colorado. It was evening. There were the mountains finally. We parked the car on a dirt road - next to a field - got out - pitched our tents and went to sleep.  We woke up the next morning surrounded by cows and looked out from our tents and saw no mountains. It was a mirage. What we thought were mountains the night before simply were clouds in the west.

#2 We climbed Mount Alice. There we were - us 4 priests - trying to climb up to the top of what was called Mount Alice. It was part of the Continental Divide. We didn’t make it. 2 guys below us took pictures - but we didn’t know till we looked at the pictures when we got back - that we were very close. We took another way the next day - got to the top of Mount Alice. Surprise! What we thought would be a tiny peak - some 14,000 feet up - was a gigantic boulder field - the size of 3 football fields.

#3.  On a Mediterranean cruise, we took a bus and then walked up to the edge of Vesuvius above Naples, Italy and looked down into a deep crater that had smoke coming up  our of different fissures.

#4. I was giving a priests’ retreat on the other side of Lake Poncetraine - on the other side from New Orleans and I was walking outside by myself early in the morning - and a man in a car came into the property - went into a cemetery - and I was walking towards him - and he had a gun and shot himself to death while standing in front of a statue of Mary.

#5 I was with my brother in his sailboat in the Chesapeake - not too far out from the Naval Academy and we were able to go right up close to a nuclear submarine.

#6 Mary Decker. I was at Madison Square Garden one night for the Millrose Games and we saw Mary Decker break the world indoor record for the 10,000 meter run and somewhere around 7000 meters the whole of Madison Garden stood up and cheerer her on.

#7 I saw the Codex Sinaticus - in the British Library in London.

#8 I saw 1 million people all together  in Washington DC for fireworks on the evening of July 4^th, 1976.

#9 I once gave a sermon to 15,000 people - one evening - in a park in Reading PA and couldn’t see any of the people in front of me. The  stage had a pond in front of us - and bright, bright lights shining in our faces.

#10 I saw the New York Marathon a couple of times. The one I picture was the first time I saw the Marathon. We were standing there on 4^th Avenue in Brooklyn - and suddenly we could hear the helicopters overhead - then the lead runners coming off the Verrazano Bridge - then over 20,000 people ran by us.

CONCLUSION

Those are 10 of my unforgettable sights. There are a lot more. What are your 10 more.

August 13, 2018

Reflections

DRIVING BY

Driving by a dozen, 100 dozen

cemeteries, I see people standing

there at graves - I can’t see their

eyes, their faces, their thoughts,

their prayers, but who said the

dead are dead? Who said there

isn’t resurrection on both sides

of death - both sides of the grave?

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2018