08 May 2011

Path to Life, Path to Death: You choose.

3rd Sunday of Easter (A)
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Joseph Church, Ponchatoula

“Lord, you will show me the path of life!” A declaration, not a request; not a demand, but an outcry of hope. “[Y]ou will not abandon my soul to the netherworld, nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption. . .You will show me the path to life, abounding joy in your presence. . .” Who might be consoled by this psalm? Someone who hears temptation whispering. Someone abandoned by family and friends. Someone barely hanging on to their faith. No, that's not right. That someone would be asking for refuge, begging for mercy. “Lord, please, show me the path of life!” Someone who declares faith in God with such vehemence, cries out in hope with such assurance is strong in their faith, confident that God will never forsake His loved ones. Someone who declares, “Lord, you will not abandon my soul. . .” is convicted by truth, and at the same time, sorely tested by the enemies of truth. That someone is Peter preaching to the Sanhedrin. All of the Eleven remaining apostles standing before the lawless men who crucified the Lord. Who gives them such confidence, such zeal? The Risen Lord, the one God raised up, “releasing him from the throes of death, because it was impossible for him to be held by it.” Eleven of Christ's ambassadors to a fallen world are brought to man's justice before the Sanhedrin. There they lay claim to the legacy of the resurrection. Sure of their inheritance, Peter quotes David's declaration, “Lord, you will show us the path of life!” This is our claim, our inheritance as well.

Around the year 100 A.D. an anonymous author writes out a booklet and titles it, The Lord's Teaching Through the Twelve Apostles to the Nations. We refer to it as The Didache. Besides the gospels themselves, this booklet is probably the first written witness we have to the teachings of Christ and the early life of the Church. The guiding principle of the text is found in the opening paragraph: “There are two paths, one of life and one of death; but there is a great difference between the two paths.” The rest of the work is a map for the path of life, a map any 21st century Catholic would immediately recognize: “The path of life, then, is this: First, you shall love God who made you; second, your neighbor as yourself; and all things whatsoever you would not have done to you, do not do to another.” There is a summary of the Beatitudes and instructions on how to give alms. The book's description of the path of death is also easily recognizable. “And the path of death is this: First of all it is evil and full of curse. . .” Then follows a long list of sins, in which we find: “. . .murders, adulteries, . . .fornications, thefts, idolatries, magic arts,. . .false witnessings, hypocrisies, double-heartedness, deceit, haughtiness, depravity, self-will, . . .not knowing Him that made them, murderers of children, destroyers of the handiwork of God. . .” The path of life is taken by those willing to sacrifice themselves for the benefit of others. The path of death is taken by those determined to sacrifice others for their own benefit. Lord, you will show us the path of life!

 For a couple of the disciples, after the Lord's resurrection, the path of life begins on the road to Emmaus. While walking along the road, the Lord joins his students and reminds them of all he had taught them. He begins with Moses and the prophets and reveals to them his constant presence in scripture. He reminds them that the prophets foretold his suffering and death and his entrance into glory. Once they arrive home, the Lord sits at table with them, blesses the food, breaks open the bread, gives it to them. “With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him. . .” The Lord vanishes the moment their eyes are opened, but they remember his presence, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?” Their hearts were burning! In the company of Christ, listening to his words and breaking bread at the table, the disciples were set on fire with the truth that only he can reveal. That truth, the truth that burns but is never consumed, is that the Lord is indeed risen and because he is risen, we too will rise and join him. We will, that is, if we choose the path of life he has blazed for us, mapped out for us. Christ suffered death—he allowed death, “a death he freely accepted”—in order to reveal to us the beauty and goodness of sacrificing self for the benefit of others, the path of life. Knowing this truth, Peter and the other ten apostles stand before the Sanhedrin and the “lawless men” and proclaim a message once sung by King David: “Lord, you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld, nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.”

Living as we do in a cynical and skeptical age, we are constantly tempted to complicate the simple truths of the faith. Some of us are likely tempted to dismiss historical texts like The Didache as examples of naïve, peasant piety; unsophisticated manuals for those who cannot handle nuanced thinking. Life isn't black and white; it's gray, mostly gray and the circumstances we find ourselves in determine truth, goodness, and beauty. The whole idea that the faith can be reduced to two, mutually exclusive paths is dangerously childish and possibly irrational. But if our choices aren't Life or Death, then what are they? What lies between? A living death? Breathing, eating, working, and all the while being dead inside, living for nothing more than serving self? If Peter and the other apostles are able to confront and defeat their enemies while praising God for showing them the path of life, why can't we? Why can't we choose this path, praise God for showing us the path, and then stand firm, resolute on the truth of the faith and bound eternally to the resurrection we are promised? We can. And we do. Each time we love the unloveable, forgive the unforgiveable, show mercy to the unworthy, and give God thanks for doing the same for us, we choose the path of life. And by choosing life, we see more clearly, hear more sharply, and love more abundantly. If you can leave here this morning and say to a spouse or friend, “Were not our hearts burning within us while [Christ] spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?”, if you can say that and mean it, then know that God's truth burns within you and then do what the disciples did: make known to others, to everyone what Christ did for you. . .on the cross, out of the tomb, in the breaking of the bread. Tell them, all of them: the Lord showed me the path to life!

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07 May 2011

And the number of disciples increased. . .

2nd Week of Easter (S)
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Joseph Church, Ponchatoula

Anyone who's worked with college students in ministry can tell you that there is one persistent frustration for the campus minister: a phenomenon I call “overbooking.” Students will commit to several school projects with overlapping schedules and, at the last minute, pick one that seems to be the most interesting. Of course, this leaves whatever project campus ministry is working on with fewer than expected helping hands. We don't need to look too closely at why hyperactive, over-scheduled children of the internet age pledge themselves to multiple, mutually exclusive projects. The serious challenge for the organizer of any volunteer community project is making your project worthy of being selected and attended by those afflicted with a short attention-span and an overbooked schedule. Compared to the merely mortal campus minister, Jesus had it easy. He multiplied fishes and loaves; healed the blind and crippled; exorcised demons; walked on water, and performed the one miracle that would impress even the most jaded college student—changing water into wine! But even more impressive than these miracles is his refusal to be made into a pop celebrity, his stubborn unwillingness to be seen as a circus act, a freak show character. True, Jesus draws the crowds with miracles but he keeps the faithful attentive by doing nothing more than teaching the truth and serving the least among his Father's children.

If there's a theme to the lives of the apostles after the resurrection it has to be: live the gospel faithfully and the Church will grow. We reads in Acts that the apostles went around fervently preaching the gospel, standing up to their persecutors, and organizing their tiny community of believers. There were miracles—Peter healing the crippled man—and there was a dramatic confrontation with the chief priests, resulting in some jail time and an angelic rescue. No doubt these drew the attention of the curious. But there's little enough in these incidents to maintain the faith a large group of believers, especially given that their faith that requires self-denial, constant sacrifice, and could earn the believer a chance to spend some time in prison. So, what's the Something More about the infant Church that lures people in and keeps them there? Free food and wine? Good company? The chance to meet a famous Jewish heretic or two? Maybe but probably not. Luke tells us in Acts that after the apostles laid hands on Stephen and six other “reputable men” that “the word of God continued to spread and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly.” When Christ's disciples believe the gospel and act on their belief, God's Word spreads and the crowds see and hear the truth behind the miracles.

We could easily double the size of the congregation here at St. Joseph's by spending a couple of million on high-tech A/V equipment; TV advertising and other promotional material; hire several well-trained ministers for specific groups within the parish; start-up a nursery school, a food bank, maybe a shrine to St Joseph. We could stuff our schedule with programs, seminars, and guest-speakers; invite celebrity musicians and preachers. Our parish rolls would grow and grow. But we'd have to ask: why are we growing? What's drawing people in? If we're drawing crowds with gimmicks, with “attractions,” we have to ask, will they stay? Will they grow in holiness? As disciples, our first and only task is to do give witness to the gospel in our thoughts, words, and deeds—to be disciples and act like disciples; to be filled with faith and the Holy Spirit, seeking God's wisdom and proclaiming the excellent fruits of believing on the name of Christ. Jesus avoided the glamors of celebrity, the foibles of popularity so that he could faithfully preach God's truth in season and out. If we do that and nothing but that, they will come and they will stay. And the number of the disciples in Ponchatoula increased greatly!

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05 May 2011

Grace is not rationed

2nd Week of Easter (Th)
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Joseph Church, Ponchatoula

One of the more unfortunate metaphors from understanding our redemption in Christ Jesus comes from the world of economics. Christ's death on the Cross established a “treasury of merits” in heaven that we can tap into when we are “short on grace.” The saints, especially the Blessed Mother, also contribute to this treasury and are able to dole out favors when properly petitioned. As western Christians steeped in the economics of wealth exchange that makes use of money, it is all too easy for us to start thinking of grace as a form of currency between heaven and earth. Since nothing worth having can truly be free of charge, we fall into the trap of believing that even grace comes with a price. Good works, prayers, devotional practices—all these are often seen as ways of earning a little extra grace on the side. Besides the fact that grace cannot be earned or bought, this economic metaphor for redemption creates another problem for our understanding of how we are saved: scarcity in the market. Prices for commodities are influenced by their availability. For example, there are more portabello mushrooms in the world than there are truffles, so truffles are more expensive. Applying the metaphor too literally: grace—God's favor—is very rare, so obtaining it requires extraordinary expense and skillful bargaining with God. Jesus sticks a big fork in this metaphor: “[The Father] does not ration his gift of the Spirit.” No rationing, no scarcity; no scarcity, no expense.

Along with the Blessed Trinity and the Incarnation, one of the great Mysteries of the faith is how grace works to liberate us and perfect us. We have libraries stuffed with books and articles dissecting the concept, and we may even come close on occasion to actually believing that God applies the saving merits of Christ's sacrifice free of charge. However, finding ourselves in spiritual peril, how often do we resort to bargaining with God, making desperate promises, or vowing reform? “Lord, I really messed up this time! Help me and I'll pray the rosary twice a day from now on!” Sound familiar? If it does, you need to hear Jesus say again, “[The Father] does not ration his gift of the Spirit. The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. . .” Daily Mass, praying the rosary, visiting the sick, etc. help you to grow in holiness once you believe, but only believing on the name of Christ saves you. Our Father does not parcel out His grace exclusively to the hardworking, the deserving, the privileged, or the especially favored. His saving grace, like rain and sunshine, fall on saints and sinner alike. Our daily challenge is receive the abundant grace He gives us and use it to produce better versions of ourselves, more perfect images of the divine in human form. In other words, to become more and more like Christ.

As difficult as it is to get under the notion that God has freed from the slavery of sin for no other reason than that He loves us, it is imperative that we come to believe that our redemption through Christ is a holy gift. Freely given, without obligation or exchange. No purchase necessary, no refunds. We are handed our freedom. All we have to do is receive it. And once we've received our freedom from sin, share the Good News of God's mercy through thought, word, and deed. By doing so, we grow closer and closer to God, becoming more and more like Christ. The Father does not ration the gifts of His Spirit. We cannot afford to think, speak, and act as if His grace is a rare, expensive commodity. What is freely given must be freely received and freely shared.

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Wow. . .just wow

WOW!  Clicked over to the Wish List last night only to discover that some generous H.A. reader had purchased all of the books on the list!   This happened once before in 2008 right before I left Irving to go to Rome. . .wonder if it's the same person (wink-wink)???

I've been saying this a lot lately:  blogging and parish ministry are good for my humility (such as it is).   Thanks so much!

God bless, Fr. Philip, OP

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04 May 2011

Two trials, one verdict

Second Week of Easter (W)
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Joseph Church, Ponchatoula

While the members of the Sanhedrin are convening to try the apostles, whom they believe to be imprisoned, the apostles themselves are out in the temple area preaching and teaching. Having been freed the night before by an angel and told, “Go and take your place in the temple area, and tell the people everything about this life,” the apostles are out doing exactly that—telling their stories. We don't have the texts of these stories, but it's not too much to imagine that they are preaching something like, “God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” While they preach, the Sanhedrin is preparing to render a verdict on the apostles' heresy, yet God's verdict on those who choose to remain in darkness has already been rendered, “And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil.” In one day, we have two trials conducted under the authority of God's Word; one, under the Law of Moses heard by a jury of men; and another under the Law of Love where Christ himself sits as judge and jury. The proof of innocence for both trials is a straightforward principle of holy transparency: “. . .whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.” 

From what we know of Jesus' encounters with his religious enemies, it's safe to say that the Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes, etc. have a great deal of difficulty wrapping their minds around the notion that one's behavior as a child of God must be a reflection of one's actual relationship with God. Acting holy in public is a necessary but not a sufficient way to be truly righteous. It's almost as if it is better to behave poorly if your relationship with God is poor than it is to pretend to be holy when you aren't. Jesus frequently calls his enemies “hypocrites” b/c they fake a relationship with God that they do not have. One lie is compounded by another. This is a problem for all the obvious reasons and for one that might not be so obvious. If you are to be tried for unrighteousness by a jury of men, the only evidence they have to judge you is your behavior. They don't know and can't know your heart, your interior disposition toward God. Because of this deficiency, Christ says over and over again that our words and deeds, our thoughts and intentions must match. If head and heart are properly aligned with God's will for us, then no verdict of mere mortals is ever permanent. The only verdict that matters is the one Christ himself rendered on the Cross. We are not-guilty by reason of having been loved by God into redemption.

The apostles are freed from prison by an angel not b/c they are sinless or extra, extra holy. They are freed b/c the Good News of God's mercy—a mercy they have experienced for themselves—must be testified to, given witness to. Legally, they are guilty of heresy, and by the Law they should be in prison. But the Law of Love grants them mercy so that they can go out and do the work Christ gave them to do. This isn't an argument for secular lawlessness but rather a way for us to understand how head and heart must work within God's will to preach and teach His Good News. Essentially, the apostles are imprisoned for failing to be good hypocrites, for failing to separate their behaviors from their beliefs. Rather than pretend to be righteous while in fact being unrighteous, the apostles find themselves doing and saying things that threaten the power of the hypocrites-in-charge. They actually believe that the Law of Moses is based on the Law of Love commanded by Christ! 

If you were to be put on trial to test your righteous—to test your relationship with God—would you rather be judged by men under the Pharisees' notion of the Law, or judged by Christ who has already bailed you out of prison and found you not-guilty? If you long to live the truth, come to the light of Christ, so that your works may be clearly seen as done in God.

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03 May 2011

Coffee Cup Browsing

Hypocrisy Watch:  when W. was Prez the media called the Navy SEAL team that executed OBL Cheney's "personal assassination team."  Now. . .well, not so much.

Hypocrisy Watch 2.0:  Pelosi Edition. . .

A Google Maps pic of bin Laden's compound in Pakistan.  Geez, Google Maps can find anything, right?!  ;-)

Another amateur night at the White House.  Please, Lord. . .hurry the day when the adults will be in charge again!

Should Christians rejoice over the death of OBL?  No.

Blessed JPII saved the Church from going the way of the Anglicans. . .suicidal death-spiral.

JPII reported to have lost his temper twice.  Given the state of the Church when he was elected Pope in the late 70's, I'd say he deserved beatification for that miracle alone.

The Church's newest Blessed is placed in St Sebastian's Chapel, St Peter's Basilica.  I'll visit the chapel when I return to Rome in Oct and pray for HancAquam readers.

A personal report on the Beatification from the Anchoress.  Generally, I avoid large Vatican liturgies b/c the crowds wear me out.  "Nuns With Sharp Elbows" are legendary during these events.  Even a 300 lbs. Dominican friar in full habit is no obstacle to these fervent visitors!

Australian bishop sacked by BXVI. . .for the usual reasons:  support for women's ordination, blahblahblah, etc., etc.

Conservatives in Canada win big.  Of course, "conservative" in Canada means something like "Blue Dog Democrat" in the U.S.

Rednecks can fix anything!

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01 May 2011

A new birth to a living hope. . .

2nd Sunday of Easter (A)
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Joseph Church, Ponchatoula

It's been one week. Just seven days. With more than a billion other Catholics and that many more Christians of all flavors from all over the globe, we celebrated the Risen Lord. We welcomed into the Body of Christ thousands of freshly baptized souls; newly adopted brothers and sisters; and Catholics coming home after years of wandering in the wilderness. Just one week ago, we watched as the light of the Easter candle spread through the Church—the light of Christ piercing the darkness, shining out over the shadows of sin, showing us the way back to God. We heard that the sisters-Mary, meeting an angel and their Risen Lord at his empty tomb, were “fearful yet overjoyed” and that a couple of the disciples, meeting Christ on the road to Emmaus, were “startled and terrified.” To settle their hearts, Jesus instructed his friends to touch his wounds. They did. And they were “incredulous for joy and amazed.” Just one week ago. Seven days. We were renewed, refreshed, and reminded. How are we now? Are you fearful or amazed? Joyful or terrified? Incredulous or startled? All of these, none of these? Wherever you are, however you feel, the Risen Lord is among us even now, and he says, “Peace be with you.” Peace be with your doubts, your fears, your worries; peace be with you. Because, Jesus says, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” We have too much to do; and doubt, fear, worry all are foolish wastes our time and spirit. Now is the time to be overjoyed, reassured, and strong!

In his first letter to the Churches in Asia Minor, Peter reminds these newly converted Gentiles exactly what God has done for them and for us in the Risen Lord. He writes, “. . .through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. . . [God] in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope. . .to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. . .to a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the final time.” We are born anew to a living hope, to an indestructible inheritance, and to a final salvation. Why is it foolish to waste our time on doubts, fears, and worries? Because our Father has given us a new birth. We are born again. Given a new start, a new life. Our new lives in Christ are radically different—different at the root—from the lives we lived before. Where we were once stumbling in the dark and gambling against chance, we are now living in hope. And not the kind of hope that keeps us stuck relying on luck, crossing our fingers and wishing for the best, but the kind of hope that only Christ can give us—imperishable hope, undefiled hope, unfading hope. Peter writes, “In this [hope] you rejoice, although now for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials. . .” Why might we have to suffer trials? “[S]o that the genuineness of your faith. . .may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” The metal of our faith will be stress-tested, subjected to trials, in order to establish that our trust in God is pure, authentic. This is one trial that the disciple Thomas fails.

We are used to calling the skeptical disciple, “Doubting Thomas.” But this is a misnomer. We should call him Denying Thomas. When the Risen Lord visits his friends, Thomas is absent. Upon his return home, the other disciples tell him that their teacher—three days dead—appeared to them and showed them the wounds of his execution. Incredulous, Thomas says, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” I will not believe! Thomas doesn't say, “I doubt your story.” Or, “I doubt that a dead man can walk again.” He says, “I will not believe.” I will not to believe. This isn't doubt; it's denial, outright disbelief. To make matters worse, Denying Thomas sets a test for the Lord, declaring himself unwilling and unable to believe until he can touch Jesus' wounds. For a week, the disciples lived with Thomas' willful refusal to believe their testimony. Then, for reasons known only to him, Jesus reappears and allows his stubborn disciple to touch his wounds. Thomas shouts, “My Lord and my God!” His will bends and he believes. To this Jesus says, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” Belief, faith, hope, love, trust—all the good habits required for growing in holiness—have nothing to do with evidence or proof. Blessedness belongs to those who love God, place their hope in His promises, and do the good works of His mercy without forensic testing, without physical proof.

Peter echoes this teaching in his letter, “Although you have not seen him you love him; even though you do not see him now yet believe in him, you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy. . .” Luke tells us what this glorious joy looked like among the faithful of the infant Church, “They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers. Awe came upon everyone. . .All who believed were together and had all things in common. . .They ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart, praising God and enjoying favor with all the people.” What effect did their joy have on those who witnessed their love for one another? Luke reports, “And every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.” Sincerity, exultation, and awe before the Lord draw hungry souls into the Body. Doubt, fear, and worry repel those who most need to be fed. So, I will ask you again, how are you this first week after we celebrated the resurrection of the Lord? Are you wasting away your time and spirit by wallowing in denial and anxiety, dreading another day, afraid to risk the dark security of disbelief and mistrust? If so, “Peace be with you.” Just as the Father sent His Son among us to announce the divine mercy to sinners, so the Son sends us to testify to the mercy we ourselves have received. But you cannot testify to what you have not witnessed. And you certainly cannot give what you have not received. If you have yet to receive the divine mercy, what are you waiting for? Denying Thomas spent seven days among a houseful of eyewitnesses to the Risen Lord. He bent his will to believe only after Jesus allowed him to touch his wounds. Are you waiting to examine Christ's nailmarks and the gash in his side? “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” Perhaps you once believed but now you doubt? Or do you outright deny that our Lord is risen? If so, “Peace be with you.” Your trust in God is being stress-tested. Stay with us, show us mercy, show yourself mercy, and you will pass. 

Just a week ago, seven short days ago, we proclaimed the resurrection of the Lord from his tomb. The news spread to the disciples, to their families and friends, to their neighbors and from them to all the nations and peoples of the world, from 1st century Jerusalem to 21st century Ponchatoula. If the good news of God's mercy to sinners is going to continue to spread, continue to be repeated until history is exhausted, those of us who hope in the Lord must be joyful and sincere; our faith indestructible; and our love for one another unfading. Christ's peace is the sure knowledge that our salvation awaits us. His peace be with you.




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29 April 2011

Two new arrivals

Arriving in the mail today. . .

An Introduction to Scholastic Theology

and

Heavenly Questions

Mille grazie to my anonymous book benefactor!

God bless, Fr. Philip

P.S.  These two books could not have come at a better time. . .Today, I "concelebrated" a non-Eucharistic funeral service with two Protestant ministers and a complicated wedding (well, complicated for me, anyway).  

Kicking back and reading 'til bedtime!

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28 April 2011

The Audacity of Christ

Easter Octave (Th)
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Joseph Church, Ponchatoula

Yesterday, we read the story of Jesus appearing to a few of his disciples on the road to Emmaus. After he “opens their eyes,” allowing them to see him for who he is, he vanishes. The disciples say, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?” They hurry back to their brother and sister disciples and report this encounter with their resurrected Lord. In the middle of their testimony, Jesus appears! He says, “'Peace be with you.' But they were startled and terrified. . .” We can only imagine the shock of seeing the dead and resurrected Christ in their midst. Imagine the confusion, the relief, the fear—all these bound up in a desperate hope that their teacher had rejoined them to continue his mission. Noting their terror at his appearance, Jesus says, “Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts?” Ummmm, b/c you were dead and in the grave for three days and now you're walking around and talking us? Is that a good enough reason to be startled and terrified? The disciples' experience with the Risen Lord can be seen as a pattern for our lives as disciples. Having met Christ “on the way,” we come away from the meeting burning with zeal and eager to give our testimony. But once we realize what our encounter means for us and for the world, we are startled by the audacity of what God has done, what He is doing; then, we are terrified until Christ appears among us and prays, “Peace be with you.”

On Easter morning, when the angel appears at the tomb, Mary Magdalene and Mary are “fearful yet overjoyed.” When Jesus appears to the disciples after the resurrection, they are “startled and terrified.” But then he shows them the wounds on his body, and they are “incredulous for joy and [are] amazed.” Fearful, overjoyed, startled, terrified, incredulous, and amazed. Exactly the combination of emotional reactions we'd expect from rational people confronted by the resurrection of a beloved friend all thought long dead and buried. With their minds spinning for any plausible explanation and their hearts pounding with fear and wonder, they must've looked like first-century tourists standing in Times Square. What else can Jesus say but “peace be with you”? They needed his peace; they needed his reassurance. He had sent them out to teach the world all that he had taught them. Then he was executed. Now he's back! Alleluia! He's back. But he won't be with them for long. He has yet to ascend to his Father, so his visit is welcomed but brief. In the short time that he has with his friends, Jesus reminds them that his death and resurrection is nothing new, nothing at all surprising. He opens their minds to the scriptures, renewing in them his charge to them to go out preaching the Good News of repentance and God's mercy. 

Our own lives in Christ follow this familiar pattern, this ebb and flow of wonderment and fear. Zeal followed by disappointment; clarity followed by confusion; amazement followed by incredulity. But when we open our minds to Christ's spirit, embed ourselves in scripture and the sacraments, dedicate ourselves to prayer and penance, disappointment, confusion, and incredulity always give way—again—to zeal, clarity, and amazement. The disciples saw and touched his wounds. We have his body and blood in the Eucharist. The disciples listened to the Word read and preached. We hear his Word read and preached. They evangelized the known world. We are charged with evangelizing a world they could not know. Christ suffered death and rose from his tomb so that the Good News of God's mercy to the repentant sinner could be proclaimed to the whole world. To his friends in Emmaus and to his friends here in Ponchatoula, Jesus says, “Peace be with you. . .You are witnesses of these things.” Go out—startled, terrified, overjoyed—go out and tell the whole world!

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26 April 2011

Coffee Cup Browsing

Recycler-in-Chief celebrates Earth Day in style!  Burn 53,300 gallons of jet fuel.  Clogs L.A. streets with his limo and a 30 vehicle-motorcade. 

Send greetings on every Muslim holiday on the calendar. . .Earth Day greeting. . .but nothing for Easter.    Maybe this omission explains this pic? :-)

Just being nice ain't enough:  "The religions that grow, succor and motivate people to perform heroic acts of service are usually theologically rigorous, arduous in practice and definite in their convictions about what is True and False."

A question of fairness in the U.K. It's not about not helping those in need; it's about not surrendering our freedom to bureaucrats and politicians who use "poverty" to gobble up power.


"Dirty weeds" can't be recycled. . .Clean up your trash, granny!!

The Zombie Apocalypse begins in CA, specifically SanFran. . .more specifically, last week.

Secure your wireless access or the Black Helicopters may be circling your house in the near future.

Two things the Left loves:  Green-ism and taxes.  Why not combine the two?  YEA!


"Parking Tickets" for all those time you go to WalMart and some @#$% has managed to take three spaces!  (Yea, bad parking is just one of the things that cause me to need whisper a quick Act of Contrition.)

Profound sayings from the Wisdom of the Ages.  My college friends used to say about a particularly clueless colleague, "He's a stump in the rain."  Also, we liked, "All flash, no film."

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25 April 2011

Can your testimony be bought?

Octave of Easter (M)
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Joseph Church, Ponchatoula

A lot of money changes hands in the week that Jesus is betrayed and put to death. Judas gets his thirty pieces of silver—the price of a slave—for ratting out his friend and teacher. The Roman soldiers who witness the empty tomb get a large bag of coin for lying about what happens to Jesus' body. The story they are paid to tell—that the disciples stole his body in the dead of night—“still circulates among the Jews to the present day.” Apparently, the chiefs priests and elders got their money's worth! It's curious though that they thought it necessary to concoct a mundane conspiracy in order to explain Christ's resurrection. If they truly believed that Jesus was a fraud, and if they believed that most people would agree with them, why go to the trouble and the expense of paying off the Roman guards to lie? Simply offer an alternative explanation for the body's disappearance and let the rumors fly. Doubt is a powerful virus in the body of truth. It replicates and spreads, infecting every fact it touches. My guess is that the chief priests and the elders were worried that Christ really had been resurrected and that a great many of their followers would believe this truth. Paying off the Romans guaranteed that their alternative theory would be grounded in “evidence”—the false witness of the tomb's guards. Regardless of their motivations, there's a deeper story here: we are all too willing and able to sell our testimony to the highest bidder. 

One of the constant pressures one surviving and thriving in a largely secular culture is the temptation to give a little when it comes to bearing witness to the gospel. Christ said himself that he came to bring a cleaving sword. That his message would divide, persuading many and angering most. The history of the Church in the world bears this out. Even when the institution of the Church held near absolute political, social, and economic power in the West, Christ's uncompromising teachings on the necessity of repentance and his commandment to love caused trouble. Nothing undermines our sense of social balance, our need for justice, more radically than Jesus' order that we must forgive one another as many times as it takes. Common sense demands a limit to the number of times I must forgive the same sin! Whoever told you that following Christ has anything at all to do with common sense lied to you. Don't let the devils of convention, practicality, and good manners tempt you into selling your testimony for thirty pieces of silver. In the long run—the longest run—it's a really bad bargain.

Judas sold his loyalty. Christ was resurrected anyway. The soldiers sold their integrity. Christ's church thrives anyway. Two thousand and eleven year later, the truth of the empty tomb is still proclaimed around the world. The priests and elders had hoped that an alternative theory and a large sum of money would keep the truth from getting out. Didn't work. However, their resurrection conspiracy theory still has a chance of succeeding. All they need today is for us to weaken and fall prey to the cultural predators who circle our wounded Body. All they need is for us to stumble once or twice over our sins and give up on the notion that we are forgiven; to surrender the gospel of mercy to common sense, science, politics, or political correctness. Doubt will see its chance to infect the truth, and we'd be tempted to accept the offers to sell our testimony, to lie about our Christ. If we remember that we are already bought, already paid for, we can dismiss these devils. We belong to Christ and there's not enough silver in the cosmos to pay for what is free.

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A Prayer of Gratitude for Easter

For the Easter season to Pentecost:

Father, our Abundant Provider and generous Lord: In You I live and move and have my being.

Everything I am and everything I have is Your blessing. This day I offer it all to Your service. 

Thank you, Lord, for this season of my life, for the gifts You have given me, for those I love and who love me in return. 

Thank You, Lord, for Your creation, for Your revelation in scripture, for our salvation in Christ Jesus, for the holiness I await in the coming of the Holy Spirit, and for the Church that will rise from the tongues of fire. 

Make gratitude my constant prayer, Father, so that I may live as a Living Blessing for others. I ask all these in name of our Easter Lord, Jesus Christ! Amen.

from a 2006 homily


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24 April 2011

Do not be afraid. . .Joy overwhelms!

Easter Sunday (A)
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Joseph Church, Ponchatoula

You know what has happened all over North America, South and Central America; all over Europe and Russia; in China, Japan, and Australia; in Washington, London, Rome, and Tokyo; you know what has happened in all of creation: from our beloved ball of dirt and water, circling the sun to the edge of space-time itself; from massive stellar nurseries to the theoretical objects of our scientific imaginations. You know what has happened. Our Lord is risen! Alleluia! Our Lord is risen indeed! Betrayed, arrested, mobbed, mocked, whipped, and nailed to a cross as a criminal, he died, was buried, and on the third day, he rose from the tomb and appeared to two of his most loyal disciples, Mary Magdalene and Mary. “[F]earful yet overjoyed, [they] ran to announce [his resurrection] to the disciples. And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them.” Through their fear and in their joy, Mary Magdalene and Mary hear him say, “Do not be afraid.” Christ message to all of us, to all of creation, on this Easter Sunday morning is: do not be afraid. You know what has happened: our Lord is risen. He is risen indeed. We have nothing to fear.

On this Easter morning 2011, it seems that we have much to fear. We hear that men, women, and children are dying in wars in Libya, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Government troops are killing protesters in Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, and Egypt. Civil wars rage in half a dozen African nations. Earthquakes and tsunamis have devastated Japan. A severe drought lingers in central and western Europe. Closer to home, we are still struggling with the destruction of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the BP oil spill; wildfires burn across Texas; tornadoes in Missouri laid waste to whole neighbors and the St. Louis airport; unemployment continues to rise, and we are threatened with a national and international economic collapse. Set along side these natural and economic disasters are the man-made disasters of our cultural decline: abortion; the failing family; governmental assaults on marriage and child-rearing, personal achievement and responsibility; and our own battles within the Church to teach and preach the apostolic faith with a clear, authentic voice. We have much to fear. But the Lord is risen, and his message to us this morning is: do not be afraid! 

Mary Magdalene and Mary are afraid. An angel of the Lord visits them at their teacher's tomb. The angel appears like lightning. His garments are as white as snow. He rolls back the stone of the Lord's tomb and announces to the frightened sisters, “Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said.” He tells them that Jesus is going to Galilee. “[F]earful yet overjoyed, [they run] to announce this to his disciples.” Fearful and overjoyed, they run to announce the resurrection of their Lord. They meet Jesus on the way, and he says, “Do not be afraid.” Unsaid, b/c it needs no saying, is our Easter theme: “Be overjoyed!” And once again Mary Magdalene and Mary serve as gospel examples for Christ's 21st century disciples. Mourning their teacher's brutal death, overwhelmed by fear and grief, the sisters approach his tomb only to find that his promise of his resurrection from the dead has been fulfilled. Strengthened by the angel's proclamation of the empty tomb and his admonition not to be afraid, the sisters run to announce spread the good news, and along the way, Christ finds them. Christ finds them as they run to do his work. He does no less for us, finding us along the way as we do the work of faithful disciples.

It seems that we have much to fear. Wars, natural disasters, economic collapse, rampant disease and social decline. And even if we tempted to fear, we do not have time to waste on the luxury of being afraid. Fear paralyzes us; it freezes our hearts, draining our spirits of the joy we need to do Christ's work. Fear confuses us; it clouds our reason, depriving our minds of the clarity we need to seek out and find God's wisdom. And fear deceives us; it lies and cheats and steals, obscuring God's truth; it offers nothing but ulcerous worry and desperation. We cannot afford the luxuries of despair, anxiety, or confusion. As the redeemed children of the Father and the adopted brother and sisters of the resurrected Lord, we cannot surrender the time, energy, talent, or treasure to feeding the fantasies of fear. We have too much to do. Too many have yet to hear God's promise of mercy to the repentant. Too many have yet to see the miracles of new life in Christ. Too many have yet to taste the food and drink from the altar of thanksgiving. Too many for too long have spent their lives in debilitating servitude to sin and death. Unafraid and overjoyed and in the name of the Risen Christ, we are charged with spreading the Good News that all of creation—from the smallest points of matter to the largest stellar clusters—all of creation—man, woman, and child—stands redeemed by the sacrifice of Christ on the cross and his empty tomb. 

Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid of ridicule, or persecution, or death; do not be afraid of your failures, or your flaws. Joy overwhelms. Joy overcomes all obstacles, breaks all barriers. Set your minds on the sure knowledge that Christ's victory is complete. As one Body, the Church, with one heart and one mind, we proclaim with one voice that our Lord is risen from the dead as he promised! Death is defeated. You have died in Christ. A new life in him awaits. “When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory.” With Mary Magdalene, Mary, John, with all the disciples then and now, set out to announce to the world that our Lord is risen, and that he waits for us all to join him. There is nothing to fear. The battle is won; the war is over. Victory goes to our King. From an empty tomb, victory has always and will always go with the Risen Christ!

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Placing ourselves on the side of Reason, Freedom, & Love

An excerpt from the Easter Vigil homily of our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI:

[. . .]

In the opening words of his Gospel, Saint John sums up the essential meaning of that account in this single statement: “In the beginning was the Word”. In effect, the creation account that we listened to earlier is characterized by the regularly recurring phrase: “And God said …” 

The world is a product of the Word, of the Logos, as Saint John expresses it, using a key term from the Greek language. “Logos” means “reason”, “sense”, “word”. It is not reason pure and simple, but creative Reason, that speaks and communicates itself. 

It is Reason that both is and creates sense. The creation account tells us, then, that the world is a product of creative Reason. Hence it tells us that, far from there being an absence of reason and freedom at the origin of all things, the source of everything is creative Reason, love, and freedom.

Here we are faced with the ultimate alternative that is at stake in the dispute between faith and unbelief: are irrationality, lack of freedom and pure chance the origin of everything, or are reason, freedom and love at the origin of being? Does the primacy belong to unreason or to reason? 

This is what everything hinges upon in the final analysis. As believers we answer, with the creation account and with John, that in the beginning is reason. In the beginning is freedom. Hence it is good to be a human person. 

It is not the case that in the expanding universe, at a late stage, in some tiny corner of the cosmos, there evolved randomly some species of living being capable of reasoning and of trying to find rationality within creation, or to bring rationality into it. 

If man were merely a random product of evolution in some place on the margins of the universe, then his life would make no sense or might even be a chance of nature. But no, Reason is there at the beginning: creative, divine Reason. 

And because it is Reason, it also created freedom; and because freedom can be abused, there also exist forces harmful to creation. Hence a thick black line, so to speak, has been drawn across the structure of the universe and across the nature of man. 

But despite this contradiction, creation itself remains good, life remains good, because at the beginning is good Reason, God’s creative love. Hence the world can be saved. Hence we can and must place ourselves on the side of reason, freedom and love – on the side of God who loves us so much that he suffered for us, that from his death there might emerge a new, definitive and healed life.

[. . .]

H/T:  Whispers

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22 April 2011

Not yet arrived. . .

To the kindly HancAquam Book Benefactor(s) who purchased for me, Opening Up the Scriptures: Joseph Ratzinger and the Foundations of Biblical Interpretation AND Rediscovering Aquinas and the Sacraments. . .these books have not arrived yet.  

I don't want you to think that I've rec'd them and failed to express my gratitude! 

Thanks to the generous soul who purchased two much-needed books this afternoon. . .Both will be used in my summer classes at U.D.

God bless, Fr. Philip

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Our Lord is dead!

Good Friday (A)
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Joseph Church, Ponchatoula

Our Lord is dead! Thanks be to God, our Lord is dead.

We Catholics are often accused of being a bit strange if not outright bizarre. We worship statues, pieces of bread; venerate bones and pieces of cloth; we march around towns in funny costumes, singing hymns in a dead language. As odd as these may be nothing quite compares to our Good Friday celebrations. Granted, what we actually do and say isn't all that odd; well, no odder than usual. No, what's odd, maybe even cruel, is that we celebrate the execution of our Savior. We celebrate the brutal beating and bloody death of a man we claim to love and honor. Surely, we deserve to be called “perverse” for believing that such a horrible death is worthy of celebration. Perverse or not, we do celebrate; we offer God thanks and praise for this sacrifice. For without it, we would still labor for the Devil as slaves of sin. But b/c of it, we are free. 

Good Friday then is as much a feast day of our freedom from sin as it is a memorial of Christ's death on the cross. Therefore, with each lash, thanks for your liberation. With each nail, praise God that you are ransomed. And when you come forward to kiss the altar of the cross, give yourself over again to the Love Who is your King. 

Our Lord is dead! Thanks to be God, our Lord is dead.

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Coffee Bowl Browsing

Obamasaurus Rex. . ."artists, academics, and self-described intellectuals have self-selected themselves into an almost parallel universe of leftist chic and wishful thinking."  And B.O. is their fossilized god.

And if you need evidence of the leftist academic fantasy-world, check out this report on a recent conference of college composition teachers.  This is the Marxist-feminist B.S. we were force-fed when I was a grad student instructor way back in 1987. . .24 yrs ago!!!  They are obviously suffering from a fatal case of Epistemic Closure.

Well, this is embarrassing.  I could only watch about three seconds of the thirteen second pause.  NB. fast forward to 1:30.

The Anchoress has the links for all your Holy Thursday/Good Friday needs!

Why has radical eco-evangelism failed in spreading its gospel message?  My guess is that they fudged the numbers; hyped false causes of the problem; offered only expensive, bureaucrat-heavy top-down solutions; and came across as Dirty Hippies Hell Bent on Saving Us from Ourselves.  Oh, and the quasi-religious tone of their campaign didn't help either.


This pic has no caption.  Nor should it.

Ninja Squirrel OD'ed on the coffee again.  Bad, Ninja Squirrel, bad.


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21 April 2011

Coffee Cup Browsing

Wealth Redistribution Leftists on campus not so eager to redistribute their hard-earned grade points to needy classmates.  Slimy GPA Capitalists Pigs!

The attack on the Church in Spain continues a pace.  This is the third, fourth, fifth (?) act of vandalism against Catholic churches in Spain this year.

Yes, confessions can be heard during Holy Week. . .even on Good Friday!  It has become Hardened Tradition among priests of a certain generation to argue that Church rules forbid the celebration of confession during Holy Week.  This is false.

Ouch!  S.N.A.P. is fed some of its own bitter soup after one of its shrinks goes to jail for possessing child porn.  S.N.A.P. started out with a righteous cause.  Now its all about the $$$ and the publicity.

Hilarious. . .for philosophy geeks, that is.  Jeff, you need one more for the Dominican adage "never deny, rarely affirm, always distinguish."  Maybe something like Madonna's "V" for vogue to signal a need for a distinction.  :-)

As predictable as Easter and the start of summer:  "(Insert name of vacuous pop-star) outrages Catholics during Holy Week."

Good question for Fr. Tom Reese, SJ:  if the Church must radically alter her doctrines b/c of membership losses, must the Jesuits do the same?

Professor of Dogmatic Theology at Catholic university sends email:  "F@#$% Democrats!"  He's not fired.  Oh, wait. . .

A necessity for Easter Sunday Mass. . .(ducks and runs)

The Original Annoying Vegan. . .

There was a priest at yesterday's Chrism Mass sporting this hair-do.

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20 April 2011

The Poisoned Cup of Betrayal

Wednesday of Holy Week (A)
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Joseph Church, Ponchatoula

Judas Iscariot is one of three souls Dante condemns to the ninth circle of Hell, the circle reserved for traitors. He spends eternity being gnawed on by one of the three heads of the Devil. That Judas is a traitor is indisputable. He betrayed his friend and teacher, Jesus, to the men who plotted against him. For 30 pieces of silver and with a kiss, Judas sends Jesus to Pilate and the cross. Why Judas betrayed his friend is up for speculation. A quick read of the gospel story seems to point to greed. Judas was a thief. He stole from the disciples' common purse, robbing his brother-students of contributions made by the faithful. It's possible that Judas' greed joined forces with his nationalism and both pushed him to betray Jesus b/c he felt that Jesus had betrayed his promise to claim the Judean throne in a bloody revolution. Or maybe Judas was destined to betray Jesus and simply acted out his scripted part in the Passion drama. Figuring out the psychological motivations of the living is difficult; doing so for the long-dead is impossible. What we know is that Judas sold his friend and teacher for a price. He lived just long enough to regret that bargain. Whatever we may think of Judas, his betrayal of Christ brings home one hard truth: even our most faithful friendships are poisoned when we bargain with the Devil.

Everyone involved in the plot against Jesus understands that they are plotting against an innocent man. They distort his teachings. They find witnesses to lie about his actions. They knowingly accuse him of crimes he did not commit. Even Pilate knows that he's innocent, but he takes the politician's route of irresponsibility and dumps the decision to execute Jesus onto the mob. And the mob—cheering Jesus on Monday and screaming for his execution on Friday—knows nothing more of the man or his mission than what they've heard on the street. He's a blasphemer, a revolutionary, a fraud. They betray Jesus and their own religious heritage by finding him guilty w/o the trial that their traditions demand. All of them—the Pharisees, the scribes, the chief priests, the Romans, the mob, and even his own friends—all of them make a bargain with the Devil and suffer from the poison he injects into their souls. For each of them the poison is slightly different but no less deadly. At the moment they seal the deal with the Enemy, they become enemies of God.

And that's the Devil's ultimate goal: to increase the ranks of God's enemies. He lead a third of the angelic host into Hell. From the Pit, he tempts and taunts and tries his best to make us believe that it is possible for us to become gods w/o God. He will use silver to tear one away from Christ's friendship. He will use anger and vengeance to tear away another. With subtle compromise and accommodation he will gather many more. Most of us don't have it in us to be a Pilate or a Judas. But how many of us have the makings of a Mary or a Martha? We don't have to be Pilate or Judas to betray the Christ. Nor do we have to be Mary or Martha to be his faithful friend. When the crisis moment comes, when our enemies enter the garden and ask, “Aren't you a friend of the man from Nazareth?”, all we need do is set our faces like flint and tell the truth. Let the sword fall, or the cell door close, or the gag choke our voice. Let come what will. But tell the truth. Anyone who bargains with the Devil, anyone who closes a deal with sin lives just long to regret it. And that's just long enough to be too late.

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A Rant about "The Borgias"

I caught the fourth episode of Showtime's new costume drama, The Borgias last night.  From a production-values standpoint, it was very nicely done.  Not quite as lavish as their last effort, The Tudors, but still favorably comparable.

One glaring error was their treatment of the Dominican friar, Girolamo Savonarola.  Fra. Girolamo was a fiery Florentine preacher who railed against the political and moral corruption of the papacy of Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia). 

The Good Dominican Friar is introduced preaching in a pulpit wearing something that looks like a Benedictine habit belted with a cord!  Throughout the episode, he is referred to as a member of a mendicant Order but the Order is never named.  He appears a couple of times in the same habit.  One of the pope's enemies visits Savonarola in his cell at the priory and they talk beneath a huge painting of OP saints and blesseds--all wearing historically accurate OP habits. 

Savonarola was sent to Florence in 1482.  He was 30 years old.  He was executed at 48 years old. In the episode, he is portrayed by an actor in his late sixties. 

Another error:  the pope's son dresses a spy in a habit identical to Savonarola's and sends him to watch his father's chief enemy in the College of Cardinals.  The cardinal ends up in a confessional with the spy.  When the spy flubs the rite, the cardinal asks the spy to identify his Order.  He responds, "I am a member of the Mendicant Order of St. Benedict."  Ugh. 

My complaint is less about the specific errors than it is about the general inability/unwillingness of these productions to get Church Stuff right.  How hard could it be to google "Savonarola" and figure out the details of the OP habit, his age, and the name of his Order?

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19 April 2011

Coffee Cup Browsing

A quick review of the new HBO series based on the first novel in George R. R. Martin's Fire & Ice saga, The Game of Thrones.  If you read a lot of fantasy, you will like Martin's novels.  They are long on plot/character but the supernatural elements are muted.

On the disappearance of the anti-war Left.  Why aren't those protesters screaming and foaming at the mouth in front of the White House like they did from 2003 to 2008?  

Fr. Z. gives us an amusing rendition of a Children's Mass. . .in Latin.  This is not at all improbable!

Prof. Jacobson marks the beginning of Passover with a repost of his 2009 article on the role of Christian America in the defense of the Jewish people.

On the U.N. prostituting itself to one Big Solution after another in order to increase its power and influence:  ". . .apocalyptic rent-seeking is an institutional feature of the UN. . ."

Soon. . .

Calvin & Hobbes quotes. . .these are great!

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18 April 2011

Choose: Mary or Judas?

Monday of Holy Week (A)
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Joseph Church, Ponchatoula

Yesterday—Palm Sunday—began for us a week-long remembrance of a series of outrageous events that precede Jesus to his death on the cross. Entering Jerusalem on a donkey and hailed as a king by the crowds, Jesus goes on to visit Lazarus, Mary, and Martha in preparation for the Jewish feast of Passover. Today's outrageous events in the family's home foreshadow Good Friday's execution and reveal the hearts of two of Jesus' disciples: the devoted heart of Mary and the traitorous heart of Judas. Defying religious law, social convention, and good fiscal sense, Mary uses a pint of expensive perfume oil to anoint Jesus' feet. She compounds this outrageous act with another: she uncovers her hair and uses it to dry the oil from his feet. Mary's devotion shocks Judas who protests the anointing, arguing that the oil should be sold and the proceeds given to the poor. Since he was stealing from the disciples' treasury, his real concern, of course, is for his own pockets not the poor. Judas' traitorous heart is a sharp contrast for Mary's devoted heart, and we learn from the contrast the ultimate worth of extravagant love when weighed against the pretenses of faked charity. With his indignant outburst, Judas pretends to care about the poor. But it is Mary who exemplifies the proper attitude of a beloved disciple. While she points toward Jesus' death and burial by anointing him, Judas actually brings about his death by betraying him. Our Holy Week question is: will you be a Mary or a Judas the week before Easter?

By almost every measure that we hold dear, Mary's anointing of Jesus' feet is outrageously wasteful, an over-the-top act of devotion that would likely set even the most extravagant among us to wonder about her sanity. That jar of oil was worth a year's wages! And she just dumps it on Jesus' feet! We have wonder if Lazarus and Martha tried to stop her, or did they just look on in horror along with Judas? Jesus doesn't object. When Judas sputters his outrage, Jesus says, “Leave her alone.  Let her keep this for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” What is it that Mary is supposed to keep for Jesus' burial? Maybe there's a bit of the oil left, or maybe he's referring to Mary's devoted heart, her extravagant love. There will always “the poor” among them for them to love and serve, but he will be with them for only a few more days. It is Mary's deeply rooted charity that will survive his death and that charity will serve the poor far longer than Judas' coin.

Our practical natures might be tempted to side with Judas on the question of whether or not to sell the oil and give the proceeds to the poor. Even though he's stealing from the treasury, surely Judas is right to object to the waste of the oil. Even if he steals half the money from the sell, a lot of poor folks can be fed from half a year's wages. Surely that's a better use of the oil, a more efficient way of being charitable. Judas' motives for wanting to sell the oil should not be allowed to taint the final goodness of the righteous goal of feeding the hungry. And if this were a story about the most efficient means of handling a common purse, then Judas would be right. Unfortunately for Judas, this is a story about Jesus' impending death and who marks his passing with the proper devotion and respect. Mary's love leads her to the cross with Jesus. Judas' greed leads him to betrayal. Mary's love binds her to a life of discipleship. Judas' guilt hangs him with a rope and ends his life in suicide. Mary lives on as an example of servant-devotion; Judas died as an example of what happens when we allow selfish expediency to rule our hearts. 

This week we remember the outrageous events leading up to Jesus' execution. We can follow Mary's example or Judas' example. Will you love exuberantly, or you will pretend to love and betray your Christ?

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17 April 2011

Cheer him! Crucify him!

from Palm Sunday 2007:

The Mass
Palm Sunday: Phil 2.6-11 and Luke 22.14-23.56
Fr. Philip N. Powell, OP
St Luke Church, St Paul Hospital and Church of the Incarnation

Paul says that Jesus, emptying himself, took on the form of a slave and became one of us to die as one of us for all of us. We can cheer all we want. Wave palms all we want. No one here will ask Jesus to let his cup pass. No one here will volunteer to hang on that cross and let Jesus go free. Are we cowards? No. We know that Jesus must die so that we might live. The certainty of his death is the only possibility of our eternal life. Only he is Son of God, Son of Man; fully human, fully divine. His death pulls us down into the grave and his rising again draws us up with him. Everything that needs to be healed will be healed. All repairs will be made. Nothing will be left broken or hurt.

But today, just today, knowing what we know about his journey from here to the tomb, even still we must cheer and whistle. And wave palms. And shout “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” And we want so much to grab the tail end of his departing scene and pull it back, just yank it back to the garden or the roaring sea or the mountaintop or the desert or to any of the dozens of place where we sat with him to listen to God’s wisdom, to see the radiant glory of his love for us.

We want him anywhere but here in Jerusalem. He rides to the cross, ya know? And we must cheer. We must cheer because later we will shout, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” What did we forget between our cheering him into the city and our heckling him to the cross, between our exuberant welcome and our jeering blood lust? To be Christ we must follow Christ. Who wants to follow Christ to the cross? Who wants their flesh torn and bleeding? Who wants the thorns of a mocking crown piercing their scalp? I deny him. I do not know him. No, I’m not his disciple. Never heard of him, never met him. Who? Who? No, sorry, doesn’t ring a bell.

We’ve come too far for that now, brothers and sisters! That desert was forty days long. Along the way we dropped coffee and tea, booze and cigarettes, TV and shopping, email and chocolate. We dropped gossiping, nagging, sex, meat, cussing. We picked up extra hours of prayer, daily Mass, weekly confession, spiritual reading, volunteer hours, being nice to little brother and sister, obeying mom and dad, obeying husband or wife, extra money in the plate on Sunday. The devil bought out his best temptations to show us our weaknesses and sometimes he won and sometimes we won. But he knows and you need to know if you don’t already: God wins all the time, every time, for all time! And He has given us Easter to prove it. But now…if you will be Christ you must follow Christ. Walk right behind him. Feel the stones. Wipe the spit. Hear the curses and jeers. Taste the salty iron of blood. See the cross on his shoulder. And know that he carries for you the only means of your salvation. The sacrificial victim carries his own altar to the church of the skulls.

How far will you follow?

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Coffee Bowl Browsing

Q:  Father, where have you been the last few days???  A:  My doctor doubled one of my BP meds and it made me a bit lethargic.  Actually, it almost zombified me!  I'm adjusting. . .


Koran-burning is condemned; Bible-burning is required.

Useless U.N. scrubs eco-disaster predictions from its website. . .



The Oh-So-Tolerant Left in Madison, WI. . .CAUTION:  obscene language!  Apparently, folks, this is what democracy looks like.  More like mob-rule.

Nanny State nannies targeting gripers in airport security lines.  I hope they never learn to read minds. . .I'll be in some serious trouble!


B.O. to Catholics, "You are the enemy."




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15 April 2011

Thanks for the book. . .

My thanks to the kind HancAquam Book Benefactor who sent me Fr. Congar's book,  True and False Reform in the Church.  The invoice had no name or return address on it!

You are in my prayers. . .God bless, Fr. Philip

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13 April 2011

Coffee Bowl Browsing

Looks like that Historic Budget Deal B.O. and the GOP are pushing is really just more smoke and mirrors.  Figures. 

150 "Catholic" colleges have ties to Planned Parenthood.   If one book by one theologian can get the attention of the USCCB Cmte on Doctrine, then 150 Catholic colleges frolicking with the nation's largest baby-killer ought to stir up a little action.

Several more Catholic colleges participate in a conference aimed at "Creating an inclusive environment in higher education for LGBTQ students and studies.”  NB:  you may find some of the language offensive. 

"Lady Gaga provokes Catholic ire". . .which is EXACTLY what she was hoping to do.  Much like the predictable dissent from the Catholic Left, the whole point of "courageously challenging the hierarchy blahblahblah" is to get the hierarchy (or its surrogates) to yell and scream at you publicly so your CD/book/concert sales increase.  No such thing as Bad Publicity.

Excellent survey of the common myths surrounding the Crusades. . .if you have relied on movies, TV, and popular history for your Crusades info, you don't know much at all!

A report from two Philly shrinks on those 21 priests suspended b/c of abuse allegations:  "The result of the investigation was that the charges were not substantiated against many of those 21 priests. Then, these priests were notified and there was no disruption of their priestly ministry. The failure of the Archdiocese to communicate these facts to the public is difficult to understand. The public falsely believes these priests are guilty."   
 
Chicago's "Fr. Hollywood" pitches a fit and threatens to leave the Church if he doesn't get his way.  Methinks someone needs a time-out and a nap.   


Men vs. Women. . .the first joke is the best!

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11 April 2011

Judging vs. Being Judgmental

5th Week of Lent (M)
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Joseph Church, Ponchatoula

What's the difference between “making a judgment” and “being judgmental”? In ordinary English usage, we “make judgments” all the time. We judge the distance between cars when driving. We judge the amount of salt we use when cooking. We make a judgment about how much money we can spend this month on books. If making these sorts of judgments makes us judgmental, then we are in some serious trouble. “Being judgmental” is something far more dangerous than just deciding which pair of shoes to wear to work, or whether or not to have another cup of coffee. Ordinarily, we say that someone is “being judgmental” when it becomes clear that he or she is prone to accusing others of sin, collecting evidence against them, pronouncing a guilty verdict, and then demanding a harsh sentence for their sins. We usually say that this self-appointed judge and juror is “being judgmental” even if the person he or she is accusing is obviously guilty of sin. In other words, the fact that the accuser is right about the accused in no way lessens our sense that the accuser is “being judgmental.” We hear all the time that we shouldn't be judgmental, that we shouldn't condemn sinners for their sin, or even say out loud that this or that act is sinful. Our gospel scene this morning would seem to indicate that none of us is virtuous enough to call sin sin; that none of us is nearly holy enough to pass judgment on another. Cast the first stone, you who have no sin!

I'll confess right now: I won't be throwing any stones. But does the fact that I won't be throwing any stones b/c of my sin prevent me from making decisions about whether or not someone else has committed a sin? Let's hope not. I'd be worthless in the confessional and useless as a spiritual director. And not only that but it would be difficult for me to carry out my baptismal duty to seek and execute justice when an injustice threatens God's peace. If we are not careful, we might allow our fear of being called “judgmental” poison our sense of justice by making us indifferent to suffering. How can I condemn the brutal rape and murder of women and children in the Sudan w/o “being judgmental”? How can I call child prostitution sinful if my sense of justice is crippled b/c I fear being thought of as judgmental? If I can't throw stones, how can I seek justice for those who suffer b/c of the sins of others?

Jesus is extraordinarily subtle in his handling of the woman accused of adultery. He sees the whole scene laid out before him very clearly. His enemies are trying to trap him. If he condemns the woman w/o a proper trial, then he stands guilty to violating the Law. If he frees her, he is guilty of violating the Law. What does he do? He chooses not to play the game his enemies have laid before him. Instead, he tests the woman's accusers to see if there is anyone among them worthy of serving as a proper judge, “Cast the first stone, you who have no sin.” No one throws a stone b/c no one wants his or her life examined for worthiness. No one wants to be measured by the standards the Pharisees are using to measure the accused woman. Once all her accusers have fled, Jesus says, “I do not condemn you. Go and sin no more.” He doesn't recuse from passing judgment. He doesn't say that she is innocent of sin. Nor does he say that adultery isn't a sin. He judges her act, calls it sinful, and grants her mercy. And this is exactly what we are charged with doing: calling sin sin and then freely granting mercy to the sinners. We do this b/c the standards we use to judge others will be used to judge us. We do this b/c when we are sinned against, we want the sin to be named and condemned. But in order to fulfill our baptismal vows, we must free the sinner with mercy. How else can we make God's mercy known? How else can we hope to stand before the crucified Christ and give him thanks for our freedom from death?

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10 April 2011

Dummies Guide to Catholic Zombies

[A bit long-winded this morning. . .]

5th Sunday of Lent (A)
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Joseph Church, Ponchatoula

Brothers and sisters, I bring you some dramatic news this morning! While we have been enjoying this weekend's Strawberry Festival, reports have come in from all over the world that the dead walk among us. They've been sighted in all the world's major cities, shambling around dressed like the living, pretending to be the living, doing the ordinary things that the living do. They are difficult to spot since their demeanor is easily confused with those who still cling to life. They go to work, eat their family meals; go to school, church, the grocery store; they even attend festivals, mimicking the behavior of the still-living festival-goers. The media have given these deceased mimic a group name. They are called simply, “The Dead.” If a more specific label is called for, they attach a prefix, “the Irish-American Dead,” or “the Jewish Dead,” or “the Muslim Dead.” Personally, I find these labels unhelpful and rather boring, so I've decided to refer to them as Zombies. So, yes, Zombies walk among us, and more specifically, Catholic Zombies walk among us and pray among us and go to communion among us. In fact, there are probably several right here this morning! Otherwise normal looking, normal sounding Catholics who shamble around in their living bodies without a living spirit. What animates them, what gives them the appearance of being alive is uncertain. What is certain is that they are truly dead, and that their bodies are a walking grave. What can be done for these poor spiritless creatures? They must be freed from what binds them to the grave; freed from the walking death of sin.

In the story of Lazarus' resurrection, we have an abridged version of the Dummies Guide to Catholic Zombies. This handy guide helps us to identify, diagnose, and treat those among us who appear to be alive in Christ but are actually long dead to his spirit. Of note in the Guide is the warning on page 23 that calls our attention to an uncomfortable truth: “The Catholic Zombie virus is virulent and unpredictable. It can infect anyone at anytime. It attacks the Catholic's sin-immunity response system, replicating its viral disobedience-DNA and leaves the spirit of Christ defense network incapable of properly responding to temptation. No one is immune. Even the holiest Catholic is susceptible to infection and re-infection.” As a start to the recovery process, the Guide refers both the infected and their care-givers to John 11.1-45, the story of Lazarus' resurrection, and to Romans 8.8-11, Paul's short treatise on the relationship between the spiritually dead and Christ. These two passages make it clear that the truly living—those who live in Christ, body and soul—live b/c they dwell in the Lord's righteousness, believing wholeheartedly in the Lord when He says to them, “O my people, I will open your graves and have you rise from them. . .Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and have you rise from them, O my people!” Working backwards from cure to disease, the Guide reports that those most susceptible to infection by the Catholic Zombie virus are those who allow their Christ defense network to become weakened through inattention to personal prayer, the sacraments, good works, and holy reading. Working from disease to cure, we can see that the best treatment for the Zombie Catholic is personal prayer, the sacraments, good works, and holy reading. In other words, the best treatment is prevention.

To get a better grip on how we can prevent the spread of the Catholic Zombie virus more effectively, let's look at Lazarus' resurrection story and tease out exactly how prevention works. Probably the most obvious tact to take in preventing the spread of the virus is to ensure that everyone around you knows the basics of good spiritual hygiene. For example, when Lazarus' sister, Martha, asserts to her brother's physician, Jesus, that Lazarus would rise again on the last day, Dr. Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” After this brief revelation, Jesus asks Martha, “Do you believe this?” She responds, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.” So, the first step to prevention is a profession of faith in the Christ, the Son of God. By believing in the Christ, who is the resurrection and the life, we can bolster our resistance to the Catholic Zombie virus and ward off the onslaught of temptations that comes from doubt. 

Another step in good spiritual hygiene is obedience to the Christ. The Guide points out that obedience is not a matter of mindless compliance with rules and regulations. Obedience starts by trusting Christ's wisdom and believing in the promises of his Father. Listen first, then act. Lazarus emerges from his tomb after having been dead for four days. Martha, Mary, and the disciples all play essential roles in his resurrection by obeying Christ. Jesus says to the disciples, “Let us go to back to Judea.” And they do. He asks to see Mary. And she runs to him. He asks to see Lazarus. And they take him to the tomb. He orders the tombstone removed. They obey. He cries out, “Lazarus, come out!” And he does. Finally, with the newly resurrected Lazarus standing before him, Jesus says, “Untie him and let him go.” We know that Jesus' intervention here works as prevention b/c John reports, “Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him.” Belief in the Christ is the first step in preventing the spread of the zombie virus! With belief comes repentance and with repentance comes the overwhelming mercy of God. Once we have come to depend absolutely on God's mercy, obedience to His Word is not only no longer a burden, it is a privilege—a privilege that inoculates believers against the weaknesses of doubt, anxiety, and pride. 

The final step in good spiritual hygiene is hope in the resurrection. The Lazarus story contains a very odd scene. Jesus is informed that Lazarus is sick and on the verge of death, John reports, “. . .when [Jesus] heard that [Lazarus] was ill, he remained for two days in the place where he was.” His friend is deathly ill and Jesus decides to hang around Bethany for two days. Hardly the reaction we would expect. Later on, Mary chastises Jesus for the delay, saying, “Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.” The Jews who went with Mary to visit Jesus, upon seeing Jesus weep for the grief of the sisters, say, “Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?” Why did Jesus delay visiting his dying friend? To instill in his disciples the virtue of hope, to bolster in them an immunity to the despair that death often brings. When he first heard that Lazarus was dying, Jesus says, “This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Lazarus' resurrection from the tomb serves to show the disciples (and us) that death is not an end for the believing soul. The hope of life after death renders the Catholic Zombie virus inert. With a deeply held hope in Christ, we too will hear him order us out of the tomb and tell our family and friends, “Untie him and let him go.”

The Catholic Zombie virus is deadly. It can kill the spirit of Christ in us and leave us to walk among the living and the dead. The best treatment is prevention. Personal prayer, the sacraments, good works, and holy reading. But none of these are effective without a firm belief in the Christ, a willingness to obey his commands, and the good habit of hoping upon the resurrection. If you are dead inside, take heart, b/c the Lord has promised, “O my people, I will open your graves and have you rise from them. . . I will put my spirit in you that you may live. . .thus you shall know that I am the LORD. I have promised, and I will do it, says the LORD.”

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