July 27, 2019

A  TISSUE

A garbage man, 

yeah, one of those guys 

who pick up trash and toss it in the back 

of a garbage truck picked up a tissue

that fell from a big blue plastic garbage can -

a tissue he was about to ignore and just

leave  on the macadam street - but instead

he picked it up and pocketed it. After all,

isn’t this what garbage men do?

They pick up thrash.

A garbage man,

yeah, one of those guys

who pick up thrash found the

tissue in his pocket when

he got home and was about

to flush it down the toilet - but

instead - his imagination took

over and he wrote a poem

about 13 people who might

have tossed that tissue.

A garbage man,

yeah, one of those guys

who pick up thrash loved

to sit down at night and

write poetry - especially

about what he saw that day.

And he always liked  

Wallace Stevens poem:

Thirteen Ways of Looking

at a Blackbird.

  

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019

July  27, 2019 

Thought for today: 

“The experience of guilt feelings is of crucial interest  both to psychiatry and religion.”  

Jack Dominian, 

Psychiatry and 

the Christian, 1962

July 26, 2019

ONCE

Once I ran a half-marathon ….

Once I won a spelling bee ….

Once I got a great compliment ….

Once I saved a friend from embarrassment ….

Once I helped grill over 100 hamburgers ….

Once I bowled over 200 ….

Once I told God I thank YOU  for ….

Once I put down everything and ….

Once I released a mosquito into the night ….

Once in a while it’s nice to be positive ….

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019

July  26, 2019 

Thought for today: 

“No one can find out except by trying whether he needs prayer once an hour, once a week, or less often.”  

Richard Cabot, 

What Men Live By, 1915

SOME QUESTIONS:

DOWN TO THE THIRD

AND FOURTH GENERATION?

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily  is, “Some Questions: Down To The Third and Fourth Generation….” 

The main thrust of this homily will be questions - as opposed to answers. 

When it comes to grandparents and great grandparents,   I have a lot of questions. How about you?

Today’s first reading from Exodus 20: 1-17 talks about punishment on past sins going down to the 3^rd and 4^th generations.  Does that really happen?

Today - July 26^th - we look at and celebrate the feast of St. Anne and St. Joachim - the grandparents of Jesus on his mother Mary’s side.

Their names are not in scriptures - but somewhere along the line - a tradition grew up that Mary’s parents were named Joachim and Anne.

We have their statues here at St. Mary’s - up there on the top  corners  of our old main altar - facing out - facing you.

What are your thoughts about Joachim and Anne?

And St. Anne’s novenas abound - and end today. I did the one at St. Anne’s in Erie, Pa. a few times.

SOME  QUESTIONS

What are your thoughts about your grandparents - and their parents and their parents?

What are your questions?

I like homilies that give me new questions.

What are your questions about your grandparents?

I only met one grandparent - my mom’s mom - but it was only on one occasion. The rest of the time she lived in Ballynahown, County Galway Ireland. She was wrinkled and wore heavy black shoes.

There is a book entitled, It Didn’t Start With You: How Inherited Family Trauma Shapes Who We Are and How to End the Cycle.

The author Mark Wolynn is not a psychologist  but he probes this question of how past stuff affects us now.

The asks the question: does past stuff from our grandparents sculpt and shape us.

I only heard someone talking about that book - but it got me thinking. Reviewers say it’s nonsense - but it will get you thinking.

Is there a psychological and emotional type DNA?

Years and years ago, long before this book, I’ve heard people say if you want to change someone you have to change their grandmother.

I’ve always heard that suicide can be intergenerational.

If we read the scriptures we know this question comes up. In the 9^th Chapter of John,   people asked Jesus about a blind man.  Who caused his blindness, his sins or his parents sins or what?  Jesus said to that one, “Neither….”  Then Jesus healed him.

Next I would add the reality of example: good and bad.

We pick up on both.

And I believe reflection on that can get us thinking the following: “I  better be giving good example.”

I believe reflection on that can also get us grateful for all the good example that has been passed on to us.

I believe that is the value of saints: people from the past - who still give us good example.

I believe that is the reason there are statues and biographies and studying history.

I believe that is the value of autobiography

I know my mother’s mother went to Boston as a young lady - made some money - loved it - got manipulated back to Ireland to get married and ended up stuck there for life.  As a result, she made it her dream to get my mother and her 3 sons to America.

So yes, those in the past had some influences on our lives.

I think that’s enough for now:  what are your questions about your past?

PILGRIMS

The title of my homily is, “Pilgrims.”

I thought of this topic on this the feast of St. James - “Santiago”.

Today - July 25^th -  I assume extra pilgrims will arrive at Santiago de Compostela  in Spain.

Each year, for the last 30 years, a couple of hundred thousand pilgrims make their way to the city of Santiago de Compostela in Northwest Spain - the Galalcia region.  There are several ways or routes to take: the Portuguese, the French, the English and the Spanish ways.  Different pilgrims - different routes.

The idea is simply to make the pilgrimage - short, long or medium length - or break it up for different times in one’s life.

Three thoughts.

FIRST: EGO FREE

Reflecting on today’s gospel about wanting to be number 1, a pilgrimage is the opposite of being all ego - or trying to be number one. 

I went to Santiago de Compostela once - but we didn’t do the walking.  We arrived there by bus - which we got on - from our cruise ship.

Close to the city of Santiago de Compostela,  we were looking out the bus window - watching and wondering about these nameless pilgrims. They were carrying heavy back packs as they were arriving at the city. 

We finally arrived at our destination: the big cathedral of St. James. We got out of the bus and headed for Mass where we saw all these nameless folks.

So a first message would be to be nameless, to be ego free, to simply be a pilgrim - a learner, a watcher, a listener - on the journey of life.

When I’m on a tour, the one person I don’t like on our bus or tour  is the show off. They are the type who have to let those with them know that they know all about everything. We use the classic label: the know-it-all.

Translation: use ears and eyes  more than mouth.

When it comes to  Santiago de Compostela, there are about 300,000  pilgrims each year. I sense that such a trip should be an ego free moment. For a week, a month, or even a  50 day hike, one puts one foot in front of the other - head is down as one walks step by step in pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.

 SECOND THOUGHT: CHRIST CENTERED

I assume that those who do a holy pilgrimage should become more Christ centered.

I assume one meets and thinks good stuff - Christ stuff - and they begin to deepen their faith and their following of Christ.

The gospels feature Christ  on the road - many roads - that eventually lead to Jerusalem.

The symbol one receives at the end of the journey to Santiago de Compostela is a shell.

A shell can be a  symbol for  many things.

Here it can symbolize one’s baptism - being dipped into the waters of Christ - as James was called that day near the waters of Galilee. He was called that day - along with his brother - to walk with Jesus - much to the delight of his mom as we heard in today’s gospel [Cf.  Matthew 20: 20-28.]

So that’s my second point: a pilgrimage ought to get us in touch with what we ought to be doing with our life  -  to get us in touch with our callings.

THIRD:  DISCOVERING ONE’S GIFTS AND DIFFERENCES AS APOSTLES

And I assume that one of the experiences and discoveries - when being an anonymous pilgrim, is one discovers who one is by being anonymous.

In  being a  follower of Christ - one slowly compares oneself with fellow walkers - and talkers - along the way - and one sees one’s differences - one’s  uniqueness, one’s gifts.

Traveling together can be a wonderful learning experience.

I think of the difference between the apostles: Peter becomes a  leader - who tends to put one’s foot in one’s mouth. Thomas is seen as a doubter. Andrew brings people to Jesus. Philip brings food to people who are looking for Jesus.  John poetically imagines Christ.

In other words, we start off as a we - as a Christian - but we also become a me - like James.

There is an anonymous - a face in a crowd - aspect to us - but there is also a particular, a unique side to all of us.

CONCLUSION

The title of my homily has been “Pilgrims”.

Think Spain. Think Santiago de Compostela.

Think Rome, Lourdes, Chartres, Fatima and Israel.

TEXTURE

Texture intrigues ….

Where did God come up with 
the idea for the look and feel

of elephant or hippo skin? 

Oak trees? Bananas inside and out? 

A new baby’s fingers and the toes 

of an 88 year old on the elevator 

with me going up to the second
floor in a nursing home? 
Walnut shells? Pearls?

Rocks? Shells? Sea weed? 

The wind and rain on my face 

on a rainy day? Interesting feel? 

Summer rain of course. 
Just walking - not running.
Texture intrigues…. 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019