tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18842286.post7378126380520296379..comments2024-02-26T09:30:54.111-06:00Comments on Domine, da mihi hanc aquam!: Expelling the smaller gods of worryFr. Philip Powell, OPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14970857401221305221noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18842286.post-31378824115217671812011-03-02T09:01:23.094-06:002011-03-02T09:01:23.094-06:00Just what I needed to hear! Not a flop -- a messag...Just what I needed to hear! Not a flop -- a message that's not easy to hear because it requires such a tectonic shift in the way many of us order our lives. I think the notion that if we work hard enough we can take care of everything is prevalent in our culture because of the idea of the American self-made man achieving the American dream, along with the notion that "God helps those who help themselves." I think it was Ignatius of Loyola who said "Work as if everything depends on you -- pray as if everything depends on God." I think we often forget the second half of that, and if we do pray it's more often a list of requests than glorifying in the love and goodness of Our Father.<br /><br />I certainly tend to take pride in my ability to plan and set up the future so everything will run smoothly and be under control. Not being able to figure everything out causes me lots of anxiety and joylessness. I need to hear this homily every day! I will re-read it!Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13071293964800724938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18842286.post-34937420500735556652011-03-01T20:14:15.141-06:002011-03-01T20:14:15.141-06:00This is also *my* favorite reading in the Bible an...This is also *my* favorite reading in the Bible and I'm bookmarking the homily, i.e. it was a 'keeper' for me.Lynnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17970851228593550726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18842286.post-34967041263646238962011-02-28T16:55:27.829-06:002011-02-28T16:55:27.829-06:00Father Philip, Your Sunday homily was definitely ...Father Philip, Your Sunday homily was definitely not a "Big Flop". This happens to be my favorite Bible reading. In my life I continually go back to it. Time and again when troubles come, I find great comfort in knowing that if we just place everything into the hands of God, He will take them from us and bring us peace with His Will not ours. We all need reminding of how many idols our world offers us nowadays. We would do well to "Let go and let God" more often. P.S.-- It's good for us to see how human our priests are from time to time, so don't worry about the page mix up.Peggynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18842286.post-67006561344642204032011-02-28T10:46:16.608-06:002011-02-28T10:46:16.608-06:00You never payoff the set-up of you reading Tarot c...You never payoff the set-up of you reading Tarot cards that you begin with.<br /><br />If your parishoners don't know about your dalliance with the occult prior to discerning your vocation, they may draw one of several erroneous conclusions. That would leave them hesitant to offer even token congratualtions.<br /><br />After the first paragraph, I had to focus to read it. It feels meandering and unfocused -- like you're trying to say too many things all at once. <br /><br />The transition out of that intro paragraph is very rough -- you may have lost your audience by that point even if you didn't scandalize them with the unqualified bit of personal history.<br /><br />From this distance, and having read it four times, I can see how it pulls together. But hearing it once while hot, possibly bored, dealing with squirming children, etc., it's a tough homily to follow fruitfully.<br /><br />Also, don't underestimate what a shift in perspective you are thrusting upon them: the idea of things like gossip or envy or anxiety or a thousand myriad quotidian activities as "little gods" who really do get the first fruits of our worship rightly due the Almighty alone is HUGE.<br /><br />Speaking only for myself, that revelation took me about three years with the help of a good spiritual director to sort through.<br /><br />In the EF yesterday, we heard the Parable of the Sower. Remember that your homilies are as seeds and your preaching is the sowing for even in this you are an alter Christus. Some will fall on hard ground, some on rocky ground, some among thorns, and some little on fertile ground from which it yielded a bountiful harvest. But in all cases, the seed sown required time.Flambeauxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00133131881423202010noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18842286.post-50073010885346513812011-02-28T06:45:24.141-06:002011-02-28T06:45:24.141-06:00Sharon, it got no reaction from the congregation. ...Sharon, it got no reaction from the congregation. . .not even the usual, "Good homily, Father."Fr. Philip Powell, OPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14970857401221305221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18842286.post-25015037895776955852011-02-28T04:47:13.855-06:002011-02-28T04:47:13.855-06:00What makes you think that the homily was a flop?What makes you think that the homily was a flop?Sharonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18842286.post-19124642619422753362011-02-27T14:41:21.080-06:002011-02-27T14:41:21.080-06:00Father, there is A LOT to worry about in American ...Father, there is A LOT to worry about in American society today. America has become a society hostile to Catholic faith and morality. Catholics who stick to the principles of their faith and courageously live them can expect to be shunned by friends and coworkers, fired from their jobs, estranged from family members. If the Middle East erupts in mass Islamic revolution, if China asserts its dominance, if America collapses economically under the weight of government debt, it's going to be very difficult for people of ordinary means to get by in this country, nevermind difficult for Catholics. Facing such uncertainties, I think it is prudent to plan for a future of economic depression and persecution of Catholics. Adhering to Jesus' words stringently, it would seem that people shouldn't plan for their retirements; they should trust God to provide. But if you do not or cannot take care of yourself, you become a burden to others. Look around at all the grey hair at Mass in many parishes in this country: in fifteen years, who's going to be filling the pews and paying the bills? I am worried about America and I'm worried about the Church in America, and I'm worried about my future as a Catholic in America. I don't think it goes well for Catholics in this country over the next several decades. Of course we have to keep our eyes on eternal life, realizing that this world is passing away, but in the meantime we have to live here and the future doesn't seem to be one in which Catholics are going to have a comfortable or easy time, and it will be difficult to be joyful in the midst of suffering.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com