January  23, 2019 

Thought for today: 

“When people are free to do as they please, they usually  imitate each other.”  

Eric Hoffer

OH, NOW I GET IT!

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 2^nd Tuesday  in  Ordinary Time  is, “Oh, Now I Get It.”

GETTING A JOKE

Have you ever heard someone tell a joke - and everyone laughs - and you say, “I don’t get it.”

Like Father Tizio’s puns in the bulletin.  Has there ever been a pun and you don’t get it?

It’s smart not to lie.  There have been instances when a group of people make up a joke - that’s not a joke. Then someone tells it and the group in on it all laugh. Then those not in on it - laugh. Next one of the group in on it asks someone who laughs. “Did you get the joke?” and the person says, “Oh yeah. It’s a good one.” Then they bust the person - and tell that person it was a set up - like Candid Camera.

And sometimes  there’s a joke and we don’t get it. We feel stupid  that we don’t get it. One of our priests, Joe Austin, had a joke that he told 1000 times and I didn’t get it till a year later. He would say to people, “How long is a Chinaman.”

And people would answer, “I don’t know.”

And he’d repeat himself, over and over again, “How long is a Chinaman.”

Finally I got it, when I heard him tell a frustrated other person. “It’s not a question. It’s a statement. “How Long” -  is the Chinaman’s name. It’s like saying, “Anthony is an Italianman.”  Or “Pat is an Irishman.”

Finally the other person says, “Oh, now I get it.”

Then they add, “Horrible joke!”

TODAY’S GOSPEL

In today’s gospel - Mark 2: 23-28 -  Jesus addresses one of his pet peeves.

It’s the question of the Sabbath. He saw too many people obsessing about the Sabbath to their detriment.

As priest I’ve heard thousands of time  - people feeling quilty for missing Mass. They were on vacation - on a cruise and there is no priest on board the ship.  Or they broke their leg - or they are in the  hospital - or the weather is horrible - and they can’t get to Mass.

Jesus is saying in today’s gospel: you are not made for the Sabbath - the Sabbath is a gift for you.

He saw his fellow Israelites being off on being perfect - no work - no extra whatever - on the Sabbath. People can forget that the Sabbath is a day of rest from the rest of the week.

It seemed that they wanted to give God every second of the Sabbath - forgetting that God was giving them rest  the time of the Sabbath

CONCLUSION

Then at some point, someone gets what Jesus is saying about the Sabbath - and they realize the purpose of the day and they say, “Ok, now I get it.”

They get the whole purpose of the Sabbath as a day of rest - and not only do they stop worrying about getting to Mass when they can’t - but they stop working on the Sabbath - and it becomes a day of rest for them.

Wonderful. 

Amen,

Another animation from the Anam an Amhráin set, this hauntingly beautiful piece is sung by Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh.

HOME

Om is a wonderful chanted sound ….

Om - Ooooommm - Ommmmmmm ….

Home is a wonderful chanted sound ….

Home - Homme - Hommmmmmmme ….

Home in the arms of my wife and kids ….
Home in the warmth of my sacred walls ….

Home with the smell and scent of out

there and my missing in my coat and in hair.

Home from work - home from war - home

from being alone - home - Hommmmmme.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Background Song in Gaelic to Cartoon on top:

Dun Do Shuil

Dún do shúil, a rún mo chroí
A chuid den tsaol, 's a ghrá liom
Dún do shúil, a rún mo chroí
Agus gheobhair feirín amárach

Tá do dheaid ag teacht gan mhoill ón chnoc
Agus cearca fraoich ar láimh leis
Agus codlaidh go ciúin 'do luí sa choid
Agus gheobhair feirín amárach

Dún do shúil, a rún mo chroí
A chuid den tsaol, 's a ghrá liom
Dún do shúil, a rún mo chroí
Agus gheobhair feirín amárach

Tá an samhradh ag teacht le grian is le teas
Agus duilliúr ghlas ar phrátaí
Tá an ghaoth ag teacht go fial aneas
Agus gheobhaimid iasc amárach

Dún do shúil, a rún mo chroí
A chuid den tsaol, 's a ghrá liom
Dún do shúil, a rún mo chroí
Agus gheobhair feirín amárach

One English Translation:

Close your eyes, my love
My worldly joy, my treasure
Close your eyes, my love
And you will get a present tomorrow

Your dad is coming from the hills
With game and grouse in plenty
So close your eyes, my love, my joy
And you will get a present tomorrow

Close your eyes, my love
My worldly joy, my treasure
Close your eyes, my love
And you will get a present tomorrow

The summer sun shines bright and warm
And potato stalks grow greener
A bracing breeze blows from the south
And we will have fish tomorrow

Close your eyes, my love
My worldly joy, my treasure
Close your eyes, my love
And you will get a present tomorrow

January  22, 2019

Thought for today: 

“I believe in the forgiveness of sins and the redemption of ignorance.”  

Adlai Stevenson

January 21, 2019

RELIGION IS

TRICKY STUFF

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this  2nd Monday in Ordinary Time is: Religion is tricky stuff.

Religion is tricky stuff.

EXAMPLE: DISTRACTIONS DURING PRAYER

Take the idea of distractions in prayer. 

Everyone has distractions during prayer. 

Then everyone has distractions from their distractions and then that triggers something else and on and on. 

Record a lunch conversation and see if anyone stays on track. 

So I’m saying that distractions are normal. They are to be expected. Someone says A. A triggers B and B triggers C. And on and on and on. It’s the way the mind work. Hey the mind takes in so much every day – and our memory stores everything. Someone says E and it triggers M. So distractions per se are not sins. People confess them – but they are just admitting they are human – and their mind can’t stay on the same track through the journey of life.

Now of course, we need to focus at times – like in public speaking – like in praying. It’s difficult, but it’s also a skill we can achieve. It's called single-mindedness.

And this is why dreams can be so interesting. Something happens on a Monday morning. Something happens on a Monday afternoon. Something happens on Monday evening. And in our dreams on Monday night we combine all three.

So distractions in prayer are not a sin. A sin - something that messes us up - could be in the choices we make in our distractions – the judgments – the inner comments about others. The put downs of others. The harboring of mistakes others make. That’s the stuff of sin – not the fact that we have distractions.

So worry about the content of your distractions.  Worry about the choices we make with our distractions -  when we find ourselves off course.

FOR EXAMPLE: FASTING

In today’s gospel the Pharisees are on Jesus’ case because his disciples aren’t fasting. We Pharisees fast. John’s disciples fast. How come your guys aren’t fasting?

Fasting, dieting, abstaining are normal things people do. They also can be religious practices. There is evidence that the Pharisees and others would fast two times a week. I think it was Monday and Thursday.

Fasting can be good.

Food is also good.

Fasting could be a good.

Wine could  also be a good.

OTHER EXAMPLES

Someone goes on a diet. It starts to get tough. They are off desserts or seconds or what have you. And they start to get testy. They start talking to themselves. “Look at her ... eating, and eating and eating. She ought to go on a diet.” “My sister is 15 pounds more than I am and she keeps on eating. Ugh. What a pig.”

Or someone goes off cigarettes and they are on everyone else’s case.

Religion can be tricky stuff. We can spend a lot of time whining and complaining about other people’s business and style and life.

Take nun’s veils and outfits. How come she’s  not wearing a nun’s outfit?

Take daily mass. We can sit here and say, “How come she doesn’t go to daily mass? She’s retired and she just lives a short distance from church and here I am morning after morning, making this sacrifice.

Take the rosary after mass. We can sit there and watch people going out and say, “How come they don't stay and pray?”

And Jesus gives them a strange response, “Nobody goes to a wedding and fasts. So relax. The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken away, and they will fast."

JESUS WOULD SAY

Where you ought to be fasting is right there in your gut. Fast from those thoughts - those things down there in the bottom of your belly - in your gut - in the deep recesses of the heart.

He got his message from Isaiah, who tells us this is the kind of fasting that God wants - these deep attitudinal issues - thought issues.

CONCLUSION

Jesus wants us to change our hearts and not our garments - to change the whole fabric of our being - not just a little new patch on an old way of thinking - but a whole new way of being - no new thoughts in old wine skins - but new wine in new wine skins.

And then the wedding, the celebration takes place, down there in the deep recesses - the inner room of our being - the wedding hall of our soul - where there ought to be music and dancing. Amen.

January 21, 2019

NOTICING

Isn’t there a lesson 

in there somewhere -

that we can’t see it all,

we can’t understand it all?

Does the cow notice

what she’s munching on?

Does the cow favor one

clump of grass over another?

We read the book and five

years we read it again - and

there is so much we missed;

so too our moments with each other.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2019

January  21, 2019 - 

Thought for today:


 “Tell the truth and run.” 

Slavic Proverb