January 31, 2016

CREPITUDE?

Crepitude? It’s the creeping crawling feeling

of aches and pains that can come with aging.

Getting older, some say, “Crud!” or “Crap!” - 

when they feel  the creep of crepitude. Those

two words are pain sounding four letter words. 

Note: crepitude is not yet in the English dictionary.

The French dictionary, yes, but it’s a rare word.

What about two new words: "cruditude" and 
"crapitude"? No! I'll stick with "crepitude".

"Decrepitude" is a normal English word that can be heard in the early rounds of a Spelling Bee?

I like crepitude better - so I'm pushing it here.

Crepitude can also be found in our spirit and our

bones - usually arriving on cold days near the end

of January. Ugh! We still have to get through

February and half of March till we get to Spring.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2016

January 30, 2016

SILENCE FOR A NON-BELIEVER

Silence….

He said, “I’m a non-believer.
I don’t believe in God, nor do

I believe in heaven or hell.”

Silence….

Eventually I said, “If you’re saying

that  - then I believe you must have

been burnt by some hell.”

Silence….

Then I added, “Volunteer

to help in a hospital or a

nursing home or pick up your

grandkids after school.”

Silence….

“Okay climb a mountain

starting in the morning or

walk a beach in the evening.”

Silence....

“Or start gardening and watch

your garden grow. You never

know what might pop up.”

Silence....

“Or perhaps, best case scenario:

some afternoon, drop into a

quiet church and sit in the

semi-darkness. Watch the flicker

of the red candles off to the side.”

Silence….

“Hey, you might be there when

one goes out - and you might

even get up and light one

for yourself. You never know.”

Silence….

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2016

January 29, 2016

8  ECOLOGICAL BEATITUDES

Blessed are the birds, they don’t have to get

to airports and stand on lines in order to fly
to get to where they want to get.

Blessed are the rivers, the lakes, the ponds,

the oceans and the fish, tiny and giant creatures,

they know without them,  there would be no we.

Blessed are the trees - giving us tables and

chairs, doors and homes, pencils and paper,

and okay - there is always the cross.

Blessed are the flowers - giving us beauty

and color - gift and surprise - poetry and pause -

telling us life is not all business and busyness.

Blessed are the babies - they give us chances

to think of others, end our selfishness, me, me,

me, and give it our best for their future - not ours.

Blessed are the sun and the moon

they give us light and energy by day

and a reason to look up in the night.

Blessed is the wind - it helps sail our boats,

spin our windmills, fly our kites, clear the air

and walk with our God in the cool of the evening.

Blessed are wheat and grapes, they give us bread and wine - and a chance to celebrate moments in memory of Jesus who walked this earth with us.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2016
Cf. Laudato Si'

January 28, 2016

SEEING  IS  BELIEVING

Stop! See what you’re seeing - just in case

you miss all that is right before your eyes.

See the sky - see the ground  - see all that

is in between - but don’t do this in traffic.

See the trees: the deciduous and the evergreen -

and wonder how and why that’s all about.

See the people - smile at the shapes, the sizes,

the wrinkles and the smooth, the young and the old.

Stop! Realize you’re in a library walking by story after story, fiction and non-fiction - history and mystery.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2016

January 27, 2016

DEATH IN WINTER

Snow - like a grey white empty silk kimono -

leaning against a cold grey gravestone -

but underneath me - underneath that stone -

the scream that rolls back stones - the scream

called, “Resurrection - Jesus - New  Life.”

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2016

TIMOTHY  AND  TITUS

Today we celebrate the feast of two early Christian Saints: Timothy and Titus.

Timothy and Titus: sounds like a law firm.

Their names do not appear in the gospels - but they do appear in the other New Testament readings. The name Timothy appears 24 times in the New Testament. That’s a lot more than most of the Apostles. Titus’ name appears 15 times in the New Testament.

Both met Paul when they were young men. Both travelled with Paul. Check Galatians 2: 1 ff. and hear about Titus.

Check out Acts 16: 1-3 and hear about Timothy. Timothy becomes a close companion to Paul - starting with Paul first meeting him at Lystra.

READINGS

There are some options for today’s readings. I’m using the ones that appear in the Lectionary. I went with the first reading that appears there for today’s feast: 2nd Timothy 1: 1-8.

Timothy was part Jewish - from his mother, Eunice. We even get his grandmother’s name: Lois.  His dad was Greek. They come from up in Galatia.

Titus was a Gentile on both his mom and dad’s side.

The literature implies that Timothy was more fearful and hesitant than Titus.

Using the letter “T” - Timothy was timid; Titus had tact.

Today’s gospel from Luke 10:1-9 mentions traveling 2 by 2. I don’t know if these 2 travelled specifically together. It doesn’t sound like that - but I did spot one connection: Titus replaced Timothy at Corinth. I spotted that in an article on St. Titus by R.G. Boucher in the New Catholic Encyclopedia.

We get glimpses of what these two men were like from the different mentions in the New Testament.

I assume that Paul figured out who they were and what they were like by being with them and depending on them.

Paul used both these men to bring messages to others - as well as organizing and running local Christian communities.  Paul used Titus to enter a hornet’s nest for Paul: Corinth.

I caught a smile from the gospel here in the Lectionary for today, Luke 10:1-9.  Jesus says that he sent out his disciples 2 by 2 and said, “Carry no money bags.” Surprise that’s one of the jobs Paul used both Timothy and Titus to do.

Timothy is reported to have been stoned to death and killed when he was 80 years of age.

Titus also makes it to old age - being made a bishop in Crete. As far as I know, he died a natural death.

There are 2 Letters to Timothy and 1 to Titus in our bible. They are called part of the so called “Pastoral Letters.”  They give us a few tidbits or quick snapshots into a Church that is growing and developing. We notice that folks get some bumps and bruises when personalities rub into each other.

Some people say - when there are difficulties: the issue is always money.

I say it’s always people.

FOR EXAMPLE

I can place, move, put this piece of paper here - then I can pick it up and place it over here. Then I can pick it up quickly and move it right over to here.  

In doing this I don’t have to ask the piece of paper if I can move it.  But if this is a person, I have to think twice. I have to take another’s temperature. I have to figure out from past experiences, how to ask nicely, what this other person likes and what have you.

CONCLUSION

I hope today’s feast encourages all of us to do our best as Christian disciples of Christ.

In case nothing I said has any energy for you as a thought for the day - let me end with this message. In today’s first reading Paul says to Timothy, “Don’t be a coward. Let the spirit in you catch fire again. Blow on the fire. Give it some extra air." Wind, fresh air, is  an image of the Holy Spirit, so Paul is saying, "Catch fire and let your powers  of peace and love and self control roll. Get hot, but keep cool."

January 26, 2016

WHITER  THAN  SNOW

If we hang around religion long enough we

will have heard the words of Psalm 51: 6-7,

“Wash me until I am whiter than snow.”

Or Isaiah’s 1:18 words, “Come now,

let us talk this over…. Though your

sins are like scarlet, they shall be 

as white as snow, though they be

crimson, they shall be like wool.”

Looking out my window this snowy 
January morning I can see the white

beautiful world. All is covered with snow.
All the potholes and broken front steps
are covered over at least for a moment. 

The optimist in me feels that the world 
and our homes are bright and beautiful
and clean - glistening - this cold morning.

Then the realist, the pessimist, the me
in me thinks:  Covering over - putting 
a white napkin on the spaghetti stain - 
on this beautiful white table cloth is nice - 
for now - but then again - there is always the
underneath, underneath the cloth of snow..

  

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2016