REMEMBERING 

WHAT  WE  READ 

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this July 31, Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola,  is, “Remembering What We Read.”

It could also be “What We Heard.”

Answer, “Very little.”

Answer, “But we don’t know what we’re going to remember - till long afterwards.  And that's the catch....”

QUESTION

Have you ever read something that you find yourself thinking about 3 days later, but you don’t know where you read it, so you can’t go back to find it - and reread it?

I read parts of  two newspapers -  most days - The New York Times and the Washington Post.

I don’t read every section. I never read the cartoons in the Washington Post or any paper. I never read the obituaries - except for an upcoming funeral. I never read the business or real estate stuff. But I do read the sports section and the op ed pages.

How about you?  

Do your read papers or magazines or books and then find yourself thinking about something a week later.

FOR EXAMPLE

Like last week, I read an interesting article in The New York Times.  It was in the Sports Section.  It began, I think, about how pro football coaches work hard on their opening practice day speech. Then it mentioned that the New York Giants football coach, Ben McAdoo read a poem and a story for his speech - on this the beginning of his second year as a head coach.

He recited a poem by Rudyard Kipling, “If”.  I remember hearing it quoted but not lately - about being honest with yourself and being able to look oneself in the mirror. Things to ask oneself, “If I’m doing  this, this, this,”  then I’m doing well.  

Next, he read the story about an old lion who was in a Mexican Zoo.  He was basically finished - but the zoo sold him to a zoo in California.   The lion got there and basically was retired - finished - but the zoo staff fed him a lot of vitamins and shots. Surprise, the Lady Lions didn’t like the other male lions - but loved this lion and had some 33 cubs by him in 16 months. The story went something like that.

The players loved it: the poem was for the young guys and the old lion was a story for the old guys. Hopefully they have a  lot more game in them.

I’ve been thinking about that method of public speaking. Maybe instead of homilies, tell a poem and tell a story.

FOR EXAMPLE

Last night I was reading an excerpt from Give Us This Day missalette. It’s an alternative to the Magnificat.  And in one page commentary on St. Ignatius of Loyola,  I read the following sentence and I’ve been thinking about it ever since, “Within fifteen years the order increased from ten members to a thousand.”

Woo.

Wow that would solve the need for priests in the Catholic Church big time and big fast - if that could happen around the world.

I guess we need more priests who are saints.

LIKE

I once took a mini-course in Jesuit Spiritually, One of the presenters said, “This course can be summed up this way. If you want to understand Jesuit Spirituality and Discernment, here it is in one short principle: “If it’s good, more; if it’s bad, less.” 

I’ve been thinking about that for 25 years now.

Think about that. Exercise, prayer, forgiveness, eating right, reading good stuff, listening, well, have more of those practices; the bad stuff, gossip, talking behind people’s back, getting back, not forgiving, eating too much sugar, couch potatoing, eating small bags of potato chips in one gulp - with all that salt, junk  TV, etc. etc. etc. make sure one does less.

CONCLUSION

The title of this homily is, "Remembering What We Read"  or heard - as well forgetting where we read it.

It’s the same with preaching. I had a job of novice master for 9 years and at the end of every year, I’d ask the novices, “Did you remember any homily from this year.”

I preached to them over 300 homilies each year and it was rare when anyone remembered even one. Bummer.

But I keep reading and I keep preaching hoping something sinks in. Hey you never know.

I sense it's like going to a concert. You have to hear all the songs, because you don't know which song is going to stick with you, long after the show.

I heard our last governor - O'Malley's Marching Band do his concert at Rams Head three times and I didn't know his song, "Yes, Sister, No Sister," would stick with me from then on. Maybe because it's catchy, maybe because my sister Peggy was a nun - as well as my dad's three sisters. I don't know ....