July 10, 2020

SILENT  HOME

It is a silent home. Some of

them are like that, Open any

drawer. Look under any bed.

Check every closet. Sit in any

soft,  stuffed, overweight chair.

You’ll hear silence everywhere.

So when grandkids show up,

the whole house celebrates.

It listens loudly to kids running 

up and down stairs  - playing,

laughing, screaming, pounding

on polished mahogany floors.

Wait. It’s for the moment - after

the kids leave - that the old house

waits for - when mom - who is

all alone, calls up her other

kids and tells them who was

just here and invites them and

their kids to come home too.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2020

July  10,  2020

Thought  for  Today

 “I fish: therefore I  lie.”

Various  people 
Painting by 
Leonid Afremov 

PANDEMIC   PRAYER

Lord, this virus is

too much and too long with us.

The only corona  - crown - it 
deserves is "crown of thorns"
and you know all about that.

We pray for an end to all of this.

In the meanwhile,  we pray

a prayer of thanks for those

caring for the sick up front –
as well as those back stage - 

for their feet, for their shoulders

for their whole being.

We pray for researchers –

searching for a vaccine –

and insights into the mysteries

of this devious demon of a virus.

We pray for and with the sick,

give them joy, faith and patience.

We pray for those who have died –

and their people unable to do all

the necessaries for mourning and memory.

And lastly, Lord, give us patience

with each other and with ourselves.

Remind us to be Gospel, Good News,

to each other today. Amen.

© Prayers, Andy Costello, CSSR

Picture found on line -
listed Arlington Catholic Herald

July 9, 2020

SOUNDS

I know phones, piano

binks and bursts, and

barks of dogs and trains

in the distance,  but I

wish I could hear, “Sorry,

I forgot it was your life.

I was next to and I

missed most of it.”

Yet, I need to hear my

own soul saying, “I under-

stand.  We’re not God.

Get that. Grasp that. 
And if and when I do 
that, there is a chance 
for peace and the sound 
of the down deep, “Aha! God!"

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2020
Painting by  Gary Bunt

July   9,   2020

Thought  for  Today

“Talking  to  you is like walking through a minefield.  I never know when you’re going to blow up.”

Someone

July  8,  2020

HEARING  AID

He was getting much older – 

and his hearing was getting much worse – 

but what I wondered about was: 

what would he be hearing if he heard? 

I was hearing that he was losing it. 

I was hearing that he was getting older. 

And this was before his hearing was going – 

before he needed a hearing aid. 

He heard words. He said, “Yeah …. Yeah!” 

But he was a literalist. He didn’t get under 

words – behind words. He missed nuances – 

symbols - but he showed up like Willy Loman …. 

Like Willy Loman he had a right to be here.
He had a right to be heard – to be asked. 

He was with us – and he has a vote. 

By the way, “Who the heck  is Willy Loman?” 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2020

July   8,   2020

Unconscious   - Thought   for  Today

 “95% of what we’re working out is unconscious.”

Someone