NB. The priests of the Archdiocese of New Orleans gathered this morning for Daytime Prayer with the Archbishop. I was invited to preach. . .
Thursday
of the 2nd Week of Lent
Fr.
Philip Neri Powell, OP
Daytime
Prayer for Archdiocesan Clergy
We
are in the season of return. After a season of waiting and another of
rejoicing, we stepped into that time between birth and rebirth, btw
the birth of Christ and our rebirth in him. But before we can be
reborn, we must return. That's what we do in Lent. We return. We
bring ourselves back to the Lord – triumphs, wounds, failures,
modest victories – we bring it all back to him. And we lay it all
out for his judgment. If we were to rely on ourselves alone to
accomplish this necessary return, we would be forever lost in the
humiliating grind of gathering and packing all that we have done and
left undone. Even with a little help from our friends, we'd forget a
thing or two. Leave behind some fault or drop a sin or two along the
way. But b/c we are heirs to the Kingdom, the adopted sons of the
Father, we never truly do anything alone. We can only bring ourselves
back to the Lord with His help, with His mercy. There can be no
question about whether or not we can do any good w/o Him. We can't.
The question is: when we return – loaded with all we have to
sacrifice – to whom do we return? When you return to the Lord
in His mercy, who do you see?
Who
do you see when you return to the Lord?! That's a bizarre question
for a church filled with Catholic priests! Maybe. Think for a moment
about your failures. Your faults. Your omissions. Think for a moment
about your idols. What lesser goods have you worshiped instead of
your Greatest Good? (I could list mine, but I only have seven
minutes!) We could all probably list a few – popularity (or an
aversion to controversy); a need to be right, to be vindicated; a
need to be seen as holy (as opposed to actually being holy); a need
to be revered, to be honored; a need to be thought particularly
intelligent or pastoral or relevant; a need to be innovative or
precise; a need to be sought after, followed, listened to. All of
these are goods, lesser goods, and all of these are perfectly human
needs. But to lift them up and place them along side the Greatest
Good, or to use them as replacements for the Greatest Good, threatens
not only our vocation as ministers of the Gospel, it threatens our
access to the only One who can save us. We become who or what we
love. Idols of silver and gold cannot see. They cannot breathe. Idols
of popularity and comfort cannot hear. They cannot speak. If we will
return to God with all we have to sacrifice, we will return to the
only God capable of receiving and blessing all that we have and all
that we truly are.
Scripture
urges us: “. . .heed [the Lord's] voice all your heart and with all
your soul.” All my heart and all my soul. This is the Lord's way of
admonishing me to leave nothing behind in my return to Him. I cannot
hide a favorite sin, or stash away just one well-loved idol
and expect that my return to the Lord will anything but futile. I
cannot serve God in spirit and in truth if I am spiritually
half-blind, mostly deaf, struggling to breathe, and stuttering. Our
work for God's people – the preaching of the Gospel and the care of
souls – is too important to be done in half-measures. Priestly
service in His name requires the discipline of a well-trained
soldier; the zeal of a prophet; the authenticity of a saint; and,
most importantly, the love of a father for his family. We're
not talking about moral perfection or human impeccability here. We're
talking about desire. Wanting what we lack.
It's one thing to lack zeal or strength or even love. It's quite
another to lack these essentials and never desire them. What we lack
– all that we lack – we can receive when we turn again to the
Lord and ask.
“The
Lord, your God, will change your lot, and take pity on you.” We are
in the season of return. After waiting and rejoicing, we step into
the long season of turning again to God. Who, what do you see when
you turn to your God? Ego? Disordered passion? Power? Or do you see
the source and summit of your call to serve in sacrificial love? The
source of your strength in hope? When you turn again to your God, do
you see the summit of your end in perfect union with Him? What we
lack to serve we are given in abundance when we open our hearts and
minds to receive the gift that only God can give us – Himself.
There is room in the human heart for only one god, one ruler, one
source and motivator for loving perfectly. Everything else, everyone
else must be sacrificed – made holy through surrender – so that
All that He Is is free to equip us for service. Scripture teaches us
that the Lord provides. Our task is to receive His provision with
praise and thanksgiving so that we can get on with the work we have
been given to accomplish. Ask for what you lack to serve and receive
from the Lord all that you need.
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