June 21, 2018 

Thought for today: 

“Egotism is the art of seeing things in yourself that others cannot see.”

 Anonymous

FAKE  NEWS  

ALTERNATIVE FACTS 

17,345,067  Catholics, 18,987,583 Baptists, 1,783,756 Jews, 1,563,592 Presbyterians, 4,567,342 Lutherans, 789,987 Muslims, 456,734 Buddhists, 978,000 Anglicans, 3,458,087 Methodists - and many more folks  from all sorts of religious groups and communities, headed for these holding cages along our southern borders.

Then non-church going folks joined the march south. This group was estimated to be well over 28,000,000 million people.

In all the different group there were young people. Parents wanted to show their children what was morally wrong - and what one needs to do when one sees sin on the borders and heartlands of our world.

In those groups there also  were ministers, bishops, cardinals, nuns, priests, rabbis, imams, and various other religious leaders.

In those groups there were mayors, psychologists, social workers and lawyers.  There were small business owners who were feeling the pinch and the loss of so many hard working people who were grabbed by immigration officials.

They went by car, train, plane, bus, motor cycles, bikes, wheel chairs and on foot.

They marched right at these detention centers - in tsunami sized waves of people - a gigantic wall of people - and the guards and police - just stepped back - opened all the doors - in fact - most joined them - and they rescued all the children.

Morality was in the air.  The Spirit of God blew through our land.

They embraced the children - held them - raised them on high -  brought them to the nearest McDonald's, Wendy’s, Burger King, ice cream stands, any and every food place in the area.

Doctors and nurses joined in to make sure each kid was okay - and which ones needed to get to a hospital.

Then the crowds, smiling, laughing, toasting each other, started to chant:

“Let’s make America great

once again, once again.

Let’s make America great,

once again, once again.”

Others chanted in response, “Yes we can. Yes we can. Yes we can.”

Then the people said, “Let’s find their parents and aunts and uncles, grandparents, relatives. Let’s set these people free.”

Accountants, organizers,  people with computers and laptops, set up lines and translators to figure out who these kids were - where their parents were - and how we can connect each other with each other once again.

Something happened to America once again.

You won’t believe this. It’s incredible. The Lady in the Harbor, the Statue of Liberty, smiled and started to dance, and her torch became brighter than 10,000 suns - and her light could be seen in Canada, Mexico, El Salvador, both Koreas, China as well as Russia - and all over our world.

Andy Costello,

and I take responsibility

for this fake news and

alternative facts.

SCREAMERS

AND DREAMERS

FOR

CIVIL RIGHTS

AND

HUMAN RIGHTS,

IT'S TIME

TO UNITE

June 20, 2018

Thought for today:  

Bishop  Boyd  Carpenter in his book, Some Pages of My Life (p. 117) writes: “When we were leaving Liverpool, after my father’s death, I went with my mother, as she wished to bid `Good-bye’ to Dr. Mc Neile. As we were leaving, my mother mentioned that I was to be ordained before long. `Oh!,’ he said, `I wish I had know that.’ Then, coming near to me, he laid his hand upon my shoulder, and he said, `At first you will think you can do everything, then you will be tempted to think you can do nothing; but don’t let yourself be cast down: you will learn that you can do what God has for you to do.’” 

(Hastings, Great Texts from the Bible, 

New York: Scribner’s, 1923,  p. 199)

Picture on top: Class of 1965 on our

ordination day - June 20, 1965 - with

Cardinal Spellman who ordained us.

STANDING  AT  A  CASKET 

He stood there at a casket.

He put his hand on the priest’s hand -

the hand that made the sign of the cross

at him in the dark anonymous confessional -

as he heard the priest say,

“I absolve you from your sins.”

He then said in the dark confessional box

in his brain, “You heard me confess my sins.

Please bring them now to God our Father

for continued forgiveness - before I get there.

Amen.”

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2018

ONE OF THE JOYS 

IN BEING A PRIEST 

I heard how he is with God.

He was telling me how he prayed.

“Wow!” I said to God.

Then I added, “Lucky You God.”

Then I added, “Lucky me, God,

hearing how people are with You, God.”

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2018

                                               *

AHAB AND JEZEBEL:

THE BAD GUYS

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 11 Tuesday in Ordinary Time is, “Ahab and Jezebel: The Bad Guys.”

Those of you who like novels and TV programs like NCIS, know that the basic plot in many stories  is Good vs. Evil - the Good Guys vs. the Bad Guys.

Yesterday and today’s first reading from the First Book of Kings feature Ahab as the Bad Guy along with his dangerous wife, Jezebel, the Bad Gal.

Yesterday they had Naboth killed and they grabbed his property.

Today’s first reading - 1 Kings 21: 17-29 - has Elijah telling Ahab that Jezebel will be killed and dogs will lick her blood. That’s what happens to her. She’s thrown out an upper window. Elijah tells Ahab the same is going to happen to him and his descendents. Then near the end of today’s reading,  we hear that Ahab repents and changes a bit - so Elijah the  prophet then says it’s only going to happen to your descendents.

It’s my opinion that  the authors - the writers of the Books of Kings - are writing and telling these  stories in hindsight. They take  what actually happened and then tailor the story to match the history.

THE REASON FOR A STORY

A story teller tells a story for a purpose - to get a message across.

I would assume that the hearer and the reader hears the story and looks at his or her life and sees where they are compared to the characters in the story. I would assume that the moral of the story is that sin is a boomerang - it comes back on you. Sin has a backlash. Sin has consequences. Sin - evil has bad karma as some call it - and evil does show up in future generations - bad example becomes us and family and others pick up on our mistakes. That’s the bad news.

So too when good happens. That’s the good news.

THE SONG AND LITERATURE

These stories in the Bible show up in future stories down through history as well.

I typed into Google last night the word Jezebel. Surprise there was a 1938 movie with Bette Davis called Jezebel  In this William Wyler movie people could see on the screen and in the story a woman deal with her life issues - including evil - but nothing as strong as Jezebel in the Bible.

I also remember the Frankie Lane song, Jezebel. If you are anywhere as old as I am, you know the song lines from that 1951 song sung by Frankie Layne.

If ever the devil was born without a pair of horns
It was you, Jezebel, it was you
If ever an angel fell, Jezebel, it was you
Jezebel, it was you

If ever a pair of eyes promised paradise
Deceiving me, grieving me, leavin' me blue
Jezebel, it was you

If ever the devil's plan was made to torment man
It was you, Jezebel, it was you

I’ve been on close to 40 retreats with our high school kids. I noticed lots of kids listening to all kinds of music - much of which doesn’t do anything for me. I wondered if listening to Frankie Lane’s song, did that song Jezebel help any guy to avoid Jezabel’s in their lives?  Do the songs people listen to challenge any listener to improve their lives?

Literature is filled with good and bad characters  - the guy with the white hat and the guy with the black hat - heroes and villains.

Or take the example of Herman Melville who wrote his book, Moby Dick. Was his goal  to subtly get the reader to see if he or she was self destructing in any way.  That book is mainly about Captain Ahab who kills almost his whole crew. One has to survive to tell the story.

Sometimes we are our own worst enemy. Does anyone reading Moby Dick see themselves as Ahab - both the guy in 1^st Kings as well as Moby Dick - and try to be a better person?

CONCLUSION

Let me conclude with a few questions.

Name a song that hits home?

Name a story - or a book or a good movie that changed you?  Who were the characters and why do you see yourself in their skin?


* Picture on top:  Death of Jezebel by Gustave Dore