Wednesday, August 26, 2020


August  26,  2020


PICK   A   CARD


Pick a card, not a king or queen 
of hearts or diamonds or spades. 

Pick a card, with a word on it: 
respect or balance, love or forgiveness. 

Pick a card with an attitude on it: 
gratitude or honesty or  awe. 

Pick a card and then play it every day 
in every way and count your winnings. 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2020

August   26,   2020



Thought  for  Today

“Every reformation must have its victims.  You can’t expect the fatted calf to show the enthusiasm of the angels over the prodigal’s return.”  

Saki, Reginald
and the Academy

Tuesday, August 25, 2020



2  SENTENCES

INTRODUCTION

The title of my thoughts for this 21st  Tuesday  in Ordinary Time   is “Two Sentences.” 

The first sentence is from today’s first reading and  the second sentence is from the gospel. 

FIRST SENTENCE

The first sentence is Paul’s statement: “Let no one deceive you in any way.” [2 Thessalonians 2:3]

I read today’s first reading a few times last night – seeing what might hit me for a homily. The first sentence that  hit me was the one I just mentioned: “Let no one deceive you in any way.”

Woo! Wow!  That is a tough assignment – and a bit sand papery. It could rub our ability to relate and communicate and be with each other in everyday life and every day interactions.

How to be really honest – honest honesty - that takes time and work and tact.

How to do that takes good judgment.

How to do that takes living with each other – working with each other – being with each other  and sometimes learning the hard way – that the other is a B. ESer – or incompetent – or not skilled – or not good in certain areas – or lazy -  or a non-listener –or  a non-learner – a person who has stopped growing or what have you.

It means to be alert.  There is that old joke bouncing off that word “alert” – that the world needs more “lerts”.

But it could actually mean that the world needs more people to be alert – to pay attention – to oil the machines – protect each other from viruses –to be kind to one another -  to be exact in newspaper articles –in speech -  to do the research – etc. etc. etc.

To go deeper when it comes to honesty – to pay attention to ourselves being honest with ourselves.

I remember a statement. It might have been by Kurt Vonnegut: “Oh the lies I have told to my energies.”

And I noticed in The New York Times for yesterday mention of a novel coming out September with the title, The Lying Life of Adults by Eleana Ferrante. It praises Ann Goldstein as a wonderful translator from the Italian. Will that book get readers to look themselves in the mirror for their honesty as adults?

So once more: the first sentence for today is from St. Paul: “Let no one deceive you.”

SECOND SENTENCE

The second sentence is from Matthew’s gospel: “Woe to you if you  pay forward your energies for the tiny stuff and you neglect the weightier things of the law: Judgment and mercy and fidelity.”

Jesus is pretty strong here in the 23rd chapter of Matthew with his woes. He talks quite clearly about the human condition. He says something we all know. We clean  the outside of cup and bowl and neglect the inside of who we really are.

We can be superficial. We can strain out the gnats. We can also   swallow the camel.

I’m sloppy  - so I might be dishonest when I say that I wonder at times about people being neat and tidy about some things – and then they get caught for moral messy inner rooms in their life – that spills out into actual messy crimes.

CONCLUSION

This morning my homily is 2 sentences to think about: honesty and not avoiding the big issues by fixation on the small stuff.  

August    25,   2020






FLICKER  OF  A  FLAME

The flicker of  the flame 
of fire in a red vigil light 
is writing something in 
the air. Is it: “I am here”? 
Is it: “Be still and slow  
down”?  Is it: “The dark 
will never win. So trust
me”? Is it: “Be still and 
know that I am God”? 
That's Psalm 46: 10. 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2020





August   25,  2020


Thought   for  Today

“He has simply got the instinct for being  unhappy highly  developed.” 

Saki, The Chronicles
 of Clover, 1912

Monday, August 24, 2020

August  24,   2020



DUST COMING AND GOING


It was early afternoon - just resting
in a comfy bed – taking a siesta –
the sun sliding through the venetian
blinds – and I was looking at dust
coming and going – dust  floating in
the air  like astronauts – in my bedroom.     
Was I seeing what was part of Jason
down the street or grandma next door –
dust coming or going – dandruff or dried
skin from their right arm or left ankle?
Would some of this dust become
part of the tomato patch next door?
Is this how some guru from the Ganges
came up with the idea of reincarnation
or was it because he lost his friend
from down the street or his grandma
next door – who died  quietly on an
afternoon – on a day just like today.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2020

Drawing :You're Never Alone
in a Dusty Apartment,
The New York Times

August  24, 2020 

Thought  for  Today 



“I have the true feeling of myself only when  I  am  unbearably  unhappy.”

Franz  Kafka, 
Diaries 1914-1923