Are you worthy of persecution?

34th Week OT (W)
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA

We can tell from this evening's reading that Jesus doesn't go out of his way to make Christianity a real attractive option. Can you imagine trying to get him elected to public office? Imagine having to go on FOXNews and explain away this campaign promise: “Vote for me and they will seize and persecute you. . .You will even be handed over by . . .relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name. . .” Guess whose bumper sticker isn't going on my car! What's not entirely clear here is why we—as followers of Christ—will be persecuted. All Jesus says is that we'll be persecuted because of his name. St. John helps us out here a bit. He writes, “All the nations will come and worship before you, [Lord], for your righteous acts have been revealed.” When we live as followers of Christ, doing all that we have been commanded to do, we do all that we have been commanded to do in his name. For his sake. In other words, we work to reveal God's righteous deeds so that He gets the glory. For a world ruled by the Enemy, this sort of thing is bound to draw some negative attention. So, are you in any danger of being persecuted for revealing God's righteous acts to the world? 

We can narrow that question down a bit by focusing on just one of God's righteous acts: are you in any danger of persecuted for revealing God's righteous act of loving and forgiving His human children despite their obstinate rebelliousness and sin? You might think that our creation in love is the number one righteous act of God. But it is far more merciful to re-create than create, especially when your creatures fail so often in showing gratitude through humility. Our salvation through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross is God's most righteous act b/c it involves our Creator in more than just bringing together dust and breath to create us. Once made by God in His image and likeness, and fallen into disobedience through pride, we are rescued by the flesh and blood of His Son. We are freely offered the chance to be re-made in the image and likeness of the Christ and to rise higher than the angels as His adopted heirs. It is the righteous act of our re-creation as Children of God in Christ that we are most obligated to reveal to the world. And it is evidence of this infinitely merciful act that the rulers of this world will kill to keep from being brought into the public square. 

So, let's change up the question: do you live in a such a way that your life would be recognized as evidence that God's infinite mercy is freely available to anyone who longs to be re-made in the image and likeness of Christ? If so, then Jesus' warning of persecution in tonight's gospel is for you. If not, why bother with this difficult path? What drew you to Christ in the first place? Did someone reveal a righteous act of God to you and entice you to follow along? It can't be the promise of eternal life b/c that promise is kept for those who are unashamed of Christ. Maybe you were responding to that gnawing emptiness that living without purpose feeds. Or maybe you recognized in yourself the capacity to love sacrificially and now find yourself struggling along with the rest of us to take baby steps along the Way. How about this: the further away from God you got, the harder you ran, the tighter He held on and you just decided that all those mushy ideas like love, mercy, forgiveness, hope, faith are all stronger than your desire to sin and so here you are? That too is a righteous act of God. Leave here tonight and reveal this deed to the world: here you are b/c God's love for you is always stronger than the Enemy's hatred of Him and of His. 

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Fond memories. . .

My thanks to the anonymous Book Benefactor who sent Cassier's Essay on Man my way.

This book brings back fond memories of a class I took as an undergrad with the venerable Prof. Thomas Flynn (formerly S.J.).  I remember gnawing through the text like a crazed rabbit through an alien landscape. It was tough, chewy, and tasted funny.

Fr. Philip, OP 

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Coffee Cup Browsing

A lesbian walks into a Muslim-owned barber shop in PC infested Canada. . .

Speaking of PC infestations: Muslim group to "mutilate and execute" a group of gay men. Any bets on whether or not we'll see a Hollywood/MSM protest?

Cutting adjunct hours to avoid paying for ObamaCare.

All the "smartest" people voted for B.O. . .um, then why are all the "smart" states in economic free-fall?

Catholic social teaching does not support a bloated bureaucratic welfare state.

A theory about the nature and purpose of the Book of Revelation. . .basically, this is my view of this complex and beautiful book.

A brief history of tobacco use among popes, saints, and saints-in-waiting.  I'd heard while in Rome that BXVI used to be a heavy smoker.

SCOTUS breathes new life into religious liberty challenge against HHS mandate.

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Making your sacrifice perfect

34th Week OT (M)
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA

We all know the lesson to be learned about stewardship from the story of the Widow's Mite: it's not the amount you give that matters but whether you are giving out of your surplus or your poverty. The wealthy give a larger amount than the widow, but they give out of their financial leftovers; in other words, they do not give their first fruits. Jesus praises the widow b/c she gives out of her poverty. Her two small coins amount to a much grander sacrifice than the rich folks' gold precisely b/c those two coins represent her entire livelihood, everything she has and everything she is. To the degree that the wealthy are set apart from the hardship of sacrifice, they are deprived of the opportunity to grow in holiness through sacrifice. To the degree that the poor are united to the poverty of their sacrifice—giving of themselves as well as their meager wealth—they are made holy. But this gospel story isn't about being rich or poor, generous or greedy. It's about how much of You do you sacrifice for the benefit of others. When you give, do you give your whole livelihood? Do you invest in your sacrificial act your whole person? 

I can hear you grumbling already! Geez, Father. . .I give what I can. Things are tight these days. What more do you want? First, all I want for you is to grow in holiness, pray for me and the other friars, and get you and yours to heaven. Second, remember: we aren't talking about dropping cash in the collection plate, or writing a weekly check to the parish. Your sacrifice can certainly include a monetary donation of some sort but that's hardly the lesson Jesus is teaching. Notice that while praising the widow's poverty, he draws our attention to her depth of her sacrifice, “she. . .has offered her whole livelihood." Not just her cash on-hand, not just her meager savings but her WHOLE livelihood, everything she has to live on. Why is this such a grand sacrifice? More than anything else, the poor widow is casting away her future; she's giving away tomorrow's supper, and throwing herself fearlessly on the abundant providential care of God. She's not holding back “just in case.” Nor is she “saving for a rainy day.” Her sacrifice is before all else an audacious declaration that she trusts in God's promises to multiple her sacrifice with blessings, to give her a harvest one hundredfold. Jesus notes her charity, but he does so by praising her faith, her faith in God's loving-care. 

Here's the question: in making a sacrifice to God—whether it's time, talent, or treasure—do you give from everything you have and everything you are? Do you give of yourself and what you have in a way that clearly indicates to God and everyone else that you know you are totally dependent on God for everything you have and everything you are? That's the underlying truth of this gospel story: the widow isn't giving anything that she herself wasn't first given by God. Those two coins were gifts from God. And she gives them back to Him, trusting that He will keep His promise to multiply them. In a strange way, both poverty and wealth are extreme ends of the same spiritual temptation: I will keep what little I have to care for myself (a lack of faith) AND I will only give a little out of my surplus wealth (lack of charity). Both are tempted to deny the power of God's promise to care for those who love Him. Both are tempted to hoard what they have—one a little and one a lot—against a dangerous and unpredictable future. A soul moved to make the perfect sacrifice knows that all he/she has was first a gift from God, a gift to be given in turn so that more gifts might be given. Our livelihood as followers of Christ is always, always first and last the love of God and His boundless mercy. 

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Viva Christo Rey!

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King!

The origins of this solemnity are rooted in the Cristero War (1926-28), a war fought btw the socialist federal government of Mexico and faithful Catholics who opposed the gov't's attempt to suppress religious liberty.

The anti-clerical laws were passed by President Plutarco Elias Calles, a life-long atheist, fervent Free Mason, and Marxist.  Under the pretense of expelling "foreign influences," Calles murdered bishops, priests, religious men and women, and destroyed hundreds of churches.  Lay Catholics were not exempted from the butchery. . .thousands were martyred as well. 

The Catholic rebels took as their battle cry, "Viva Christo Rey!" In 1926, Pope Pius XI issued the encyclical, Quas primas, instituting the Solemnity of Christ the King.

The 2012 film Cristiada (For Greater Glory) depicts the Cristero War.

Today would be the perfect day to watch this film with family and pray in defense of our religious liberty!

(On a more personal note:  today is significant for me b/c I attribute my priestly vocation to Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patroness of the Cristeros.)

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Who sits on the throne of your heart?

NB.  The deacons are preaching this weekend.  Here's my Christ the King homily from 2006. . .written in a style very different from what I use these days. . .

Christ the King
Fr. Philip N. Powell, OP
Church of the Incarnation and St. Paul’s Hospital

Who or what sits on the throne of your heart? Who or what rules your mind, your body, your soul? Who are you as a subject of the Lord’s kingdom? Who are we together in his royal service?

The Solemnity of Christ the King celebrates the arrival and the coming of the Lord—his coming and going in disgrace in the beginning and his coming and staying in glory in the end. He has been given an everlasting dominion, eternal glory, and kingship in heaven and on earth. He is firstborn of the dead, ruler of the kings of earth, and he is the faithful witness to his Father’s accomplished promise: to us who love him, he has freed us from our sin by his blood, and made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father! He is prophet, priest, and king and we share in his prophetic ministry, his priestly duty, and his kingly rule. But we do not share these offices by right or reward; we share them by inheritance. In baptism we took on the mantle of the Anointed One and gave our lives to the work of giving the Living Word our hands and feet, our strong backs and big mouths, our determination and patience, and we gave all of our foreign allegiances to the sanctifying fire of Pentecost—no alien rulers, no sacrifices to false gods, no prayers to the elemental powers, no princes before The Prince, no king in our hearts but the King of kings, the Lord or lords.

His dominion must skate through your veins, flex your muscles, and draw your breath. His rule will accomplish in you the perfection of every gift, polishing every talent and treasure, and he will bring your will to bear on the need for renunciation and sacrifice, the need for surrender to the commands of love, the righteous orders of mercy and faith. The rule of Christ the King in your heart opens your ears: “Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” That voice, his voice will not ask you, will not lead you to the worship of the idols of the market.

Who or what sits on the throne of your heart? Who or what rules your mind, your body, your soul? If you are not ruled from your heart by the Word Made Flesh, then you are ruled by some alien power, some foreign god. Let me name some them: there are spirits who would rule us—spirits of disobedience and arrogance; of narcissism and selfishness; of deceit and false witness; of judgment and self-righteousness; of confusion and syncreticism; of rage and violence. There are disordered passions that would rule us: lust posing as love; greed posing as desire; pride posing as self-esteem; envy posing as competition; gluttony posing as the entitlement; sloth posing as leisure; and anger posing as righteous indignation. There are fallen angels, counterfeit messengers, who would rule us with false information and corrupted wisdom: ancient seers, ascended masters, make-believe prophets, self-anointed messiahs, cults of personality, cults of scientism, cults of success w/no money down, churches of the Barbie Waistline and the Ken Pecs and Abs, and the demonic choirs of celebrities singing their own praises!

Who or what sits on the throne of your heart? Who or what rules your mind, your body, your soul?

Pilate asks Jesus, “Are you King of the Jews?” Jesus answers with a question, “Did you figure this out or did someone tell you?” Pilate says, “I’m not a Jew. Your own people gave me to you. What have you done?” Jesus responses to Pilate, but he doesn’t answer Pilate’s question. Instead he tells Pilate that he is a King, but not a king in this world or a king in the way the world thinks of kings. Jesus says, “My kingdom does not belong to this world[…]my kingdom is not here.” Frustrated, Pilate says, “So, you are a king then?!” Jesus simply says, “I was born and came into this world to testify to the truth.” And this is what he did from his debut at the Wedding at Cana up to and including this exchange with Pilate—Jesus has taught the truth of the faith, holding fast against expectation and convenience and popularity and betrayal and expediency; holding the truth of the Word so that that Word might be purely spread, pristinely heralded and heard.

There is no compromise here. No genteel dialogue btw individuals with competing but probably compatible interests. No exchange of heart-felt wishes and warm salutations. Jesus speaks the Word of Truth to Pilate. And says, “Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” What do those who belong to the truth hear? They hear: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty.” They hear a proclamation of Christ’s rule, a declaration of his reign and sovereignty. Son of Man and Son of God. Faithful witness. Firstborn of the dead. Ruler of the kings of the earth. No election. No voting. No audience participation. No American Idol final four. Lord of lords, King of kings. Mighty God. That’s all! And that’s everything!

Who or what sits on the throne of your heart? Who or what rules your mind, your body, your soul?

The implication of these questions is naked: answer them honestly and know immediately the state of your spiritual life. I don’t mean to say here that you will get some sense of whether or not you are fulfilled or happy or content. Or that you will come to feel better about yourself or less stressed out or better able to cope. Jesus promised his disciples and us—all of his preachers and apostles—persecution, trial, betrayal, and death. He never promised us contentment or self-esteem in this life. This doesn’t mean that we won’t be happy here and now or that we can’t find some measure of peace. All it means is that being stressed out or unhappy or anxious or doubtful is not evidence that you are a bad Christian. All of those nagging spirits and draining demons are, however, a pretty good sign that something or someone else sits on the throne of your heart; something or someone else rules you—body, mind, spirit, all of you. What you feel is dis-ease, instability, the uneasiness that we all feel when we invite a foreign ruler, some alien king into our lives.

But know that these spirits are temporary gods, paper doll deities folded together with Elmer’s and plastic glitter. They are houses of leaves, Styrofoam rocks and magic marker paint, a fleet of cardboard ships in icy water sinking. They are the Sons of Noise and the Daughters of Wisps, passing through, clouds and rank breezes; loud, dangerous, yes; but powerless before a true king.

Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to his voice. Everyone who belongs to goodness sees his work. Everyone who belongs to beauty touches his face. Everyone who belongs to the Father welcomes his rule in their hearts. Everyone who belongs to the Son gives thanks for his sacrifice. Everyone who belongs to the Spirit rejoices in his gifts. And everyone, everyone who belongs to the kingdom serves One Faith, One Baptism, One Lord!

Is he lord of your heart? If not, who sits the throne and rules your life? He is the Faithful witness, the Firstborn of the dead, King of kings, Jesus Christ!

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They can no longer die. . .

St Andrew Düng-Lac & Companions
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA

Our gospel reading this morning is not about marriage and re-marriage. Let's set all that aside and go to the meat of the Sadducees' question to Jesus: isn't the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead inconsistent the Mosaic Law? Jesus answers emphatically, no. All that stuff about a woman and her dead husband's brothers is just a way of setting up a more basic challenge. To better understand this challenge, we need to know a little bit about the Sadducees. They were a religious faction among the Jews closely allied with the temple priesthood, the political aristocracy, and the Roman occupiers. As traditionalists, they accepted only the first five books of the Hebrew scriptures as authoritative. In practice, they were the ancient equivalent of modern naturalists: rejecting supernaturalism, they denied the existence of the soul, of angels, and heaven/hell. Their challenge to Jesus is an attempt to use scripture to embarrass him and discredit their theological opponents. Our Lord's response to their challenge impresses them b/c he cites Moses to support the reality of the resurrection, saying, “[God] is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.” 

In his response to the Sadducees, Jesus defends three fundamental Christian doctrines: 1) the immortality of the human soul; 2) the resurrection of the body; 3) and the perfection of those raised from the dead. Together these three doctrines mean that those raised will have no need for the sacraments in heaven. Jesus defends these teachings by reminding the Sadducees of Moses' encounter with God in the Burning Bush recorded in Deuteronomy. Upon hearing God's voice calling him from the bush, Moses tries to run. But the voice calls him again, saying, “I am the God of your father. . .the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Moses accepts this truth and calls the God of his father, “Lord.” So, if God is the God of the long-dead patriarchs and Moses' Lord, then, Jesus reasons, He—God—is the Lord of the living; therefore, the patriarchs and Moses must still be alive in some sense. Using the scriptures, Jesus is able to rebut the Sadducees' objections to the resurrection and show that they do not truly understand the scriptures they claim to revere as holy. Luke reports them saying, “Teacher, you have answered well." And he adds, “. . .they no longer dared to ask him anything.” 

Now that we have a better sense of the argument, let's consider the relevance of Jesus' answer for us here in the 21st century. Jesus concludes his response to the Sadducees by saying, “[God] is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.” The God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and Jesus is a living God for all that lives. Even after death, we are alive in the presence of the Living God. Jesus says, “[Those raised from the dead] can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God. . .” This announcement should have a singular effect on us: the dispelling of any fear of death we may have. What's to fear? We are not Sadducees who believe that death ends life. We are not modern naturalists who believe that humans are nothing more than really smart chimps. We call the God of the Patriarchs “Lord.” And as our Lord and God, He is the everlasting God of Life, this life we are living right now and the life we are hoping for after death. To fear death is to mistrust His promises of eternal life. Look to the martyrs. In the face of torture and death, they remained firm in calling Him Lord, and now they live forever in His presence. If we will be “like the angels” after death, we must work hard to live like angels before we die—striving for perfection with the help of His grace, and announcing His Good News to the four corners of the world. 

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Coffee Bowl Browsing

Open season on the Church in Ireland and Down Under. . .just the beginning.

And in the Country That Used to be England. . .

And in the E.U. among the Professional Nannies and Paper Pushers. . .

Imagine these wimmin protesting like this in a Muslim country. . .(Rated-R).

Gullible Media gets duped by propaganda pics. . .

Dissident priest booted from the Maryknolls. . .and laicized. Why does the phrase "bout time" come to mind?

What is Remnant Theology?  Pruning is necessary for flourishing.

Heh. Pretty much like everything else he's touched.

Private property rights saved the Pilgrims from starvation.
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Giving Happy Thanks (Updated)

Happy Thanksgiving to all HancAquam readers!

For me today: Mass at 8.30am and then a day of reading, napping, and Glorious Solitude.

Since I can't be with my Family today and since my Religious Family celebrated Thanksgiving Tues night. . .I've decided that today will be a Desert Day for me.

God bless, Fr. Philip

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A Parable for the Meantime

Presentation of the BVM
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA

What is the Church to do with herself after Jesus is gone and before he returns? No one knows exactly how long he'll be gone, and it seems that his long-term plans for the Church are a bit murky. As he gets closer to Jerusalem, many begin to believe that he intends to establish his reign as a Davidic king upon arrival in the holy city. They expect him to declare his kingship, call for popular support, raise an army, and expel their foreign enemies. This is why he's hailed with cheers and palm branches when he finally enters Jerusalem. . .just one week before his execution in the city's garbage dump. Our Lord knows full well that most of those following him around do not understand his divine mission. They've failed again and again to grasp the purpose of his ministry and the consequences of following his teachings. So, he tells them a parable, a parable intended to accomplish two related tasks: 1) to clarify the nature of his inheritance as an heir to David's kingdom; and 2) to shape the nature and mission of his Church while he's gone, until his return. We might call this the Meantime Parable. What are we to do in the meantime? Invest the gold of the faith and grow our Lord's kingdom. 

The Meantime Parable is pretty straightforward; basically, Jesus is putting into parable terms what he wants his disciples to do while he is with the Father, what he wants them to accomplish before his return. Jesus gives his disciples the wisdom of his teachings (the gold coins) and instructs them to spread these teachings for the profit of souls. Some of their fellow Jews object to the Lord's future reign as king and try to undermine their efforts. Upon his return, the Lord calls his disciples and asks for an accounting of their ministry. The first two disciples have had great success and are rewarded with more responsibilities. The third disciple, however, did not invest the Lord's teachings b/c he felt that Jesus had not earned his kingship. He accuses Jesus of profiting from the hard work of generations of God-fearing believers. Our Lord calls this man “wicked servant.” Why? Because as a disciple he took God's gifts and then refused to live as a disciple. Our Lord takes back this man's gold and gives it to another disciple, saying, “. . .to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” At the Final Accounting, which disciple will you be? 

How are you tempted by the Enemy to be the Wicked Servant? Let's first remember why the Lord calls the unsuccessful disciple “wicked.” Note well: it's not b/c the man is a horrible, unrepentant sinner. He's “wicked” b/c he knows that living as a disciple means growing the wealth of the kingdom, investing all that he's been given by God. It's the only task the Lord gives his servants while he's gone. Despite knowing the Lord's will, the Wicked Servant hides his faith b/c he doubts its value in the marketplace. Are you tempted to hide your faith, to squander Christ's investment in you? The Enemy will whisper to you: All that faith stuff is just primitive superstition. It makes people uncomfortable. Sounds weird to modern ears. You're going to look like an idiot and people will think you're hateful. Wrap it up and keep it behind the walls of the chapel. Live like a normal person when folks are watching. Besides, everyone has their own equally valuable ideas about God so why is yours special? The Wicked Servant listens to the Enemy and all he has is given to another. Christ invested his life for ours. When he comes again to account for his investments, we will be given more or what we have will be taken away. What kind of servant are you? 

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Do the works you did at first

33rd Week OT (M)
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA

Something is wrong with the church in Ephesus. And many things are nearly perfect. John is given a message to deliver to the Ephesians. What's nearly perfect? “I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate the wicked. . .” And what's wrong? “Yet I hold this against you: you have lost the love you had at first.” The Church in Ephesus—probably the most important local church at the time, certainly the largest—was nurtured by Paul for three years and bequeathed to Timothy. When Paul arrived in Ephesus, he found a group of believers there who had been baptized by John the Baptist but had not yet received the Holy Spirit. So, he made Ephesus his headquarters while he evangelized the region. The Lord, recognizing a zealous faith among the Ephesians, instructs John to say to them, “. . . you have endurance and have suffered for my name, and you have not grown weary.” They are hard-workers, determined believers. But they've lost something vital. They've lost compassion. “Realize how far you have fallen,” the Lord warns, “Repent, and do the works you did at first.” 

Though you may be a parishioner in NOLA, are you also a member of the Church of Ephesus? Chances are we all know a Christian like the ones in Ephesus. Hard-worker for the Church, a real work horse when there are things that need to be done. A solid soul who brooks no-nonsense or monkey-business with the faith. Fearless in defending the Church; fierce when presented by lay or clerical corruption; able to sniff out a religious phoney in seconds and is not shy about saying so. This Christian's diligence, industry, and zealous determination make him/her a target for the less rigorous souls in the family and a real pain-in-the-rear for anyone outside the family who dares speaks against us. We can all see that he/she frequently suffers for the sake of Christ. But there may be a problem. The Lord sends this message: “You have lost the love you had at first.” Diligence in defending the orthodox faith; zeal in confronting sin; hard-work, rigorous moral standards. . .all of these are worthless unless they are done with the “love you had at first.” The love that first seduced you into repentance and keeps you enthralled to follow the Narrow Way. All of the virtues of the Ephesians are one step away from becoming damning vices. The wall btw saving virtue and damning vice is compassion. 

Twice the blind man cries out to Jesus for compassion, “Son of David, have pity on me!” Jesus calls to the man, “What would you have me do for you?” The man pleads, “Lord, please let me see.” Jesus not only heals his blindness, he also confirms the man's faith and his salvation, “Have sight; your faith has saved you.” To understand this miraculous event, we have to hear it on two levels simultaneously: the physical and the spiritual. The man's dead eyes are renewed so that they function as they ought. And his spiritual ignorance—his darkness in sin and death—is enlightened by his faith in Christ. This is his first encounter with God's loving-kindness, His compassion. If the newly healed man hopes to continue along the Narrow Way to eternal life, he will place this first encounter with the Christ at the center of his being, making it the source and summit of everything word and deed he says and does for the rest of his life. If he will avoid the fault of the Ephesians, he will make all his works until his last exactly like his first: love God, cry out for His compassion, and receive it with thanksgiving! 

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Audio File for 33rd Sunday OT

Audio File for "Tribulation & the Second Advent"


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Tribulation & the Second Advent

33rd Sunday OT
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA

Audio File

Watching the news these past few weeks, I can't help but hear, whispering behind reports of war, riots, famine, economic collapse, the dooming rhythm of Yeats, reading his visionary poem, “The Second Coming”: “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;/Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,/The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere/The ceremony of innocence is drowned;/The best lack all conviction, while the worst/Are full of passionate intensity.” This is 1919. Just one year after 16 million soldiers are killed in WWI. Just one year after Europe ends its suicidal slaughter for the glory of kings and parliaments. And just 13 years before a former corporal in the Austrian army is appointed Chancellor in Germany. His reign will end in 1945 with the deaths of more than 70 million. Yeats: “Surely some revelation is at hand;/Surely the Second Coming is at hand./The Second Coming!” Jesus assures his disciples that he will come again. He came to us first as a Child and next as Judge and King. When? “But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” So, as we prepare to wait for his birth in Bethlehem, we wait for his coming again in glory. 

Though it is not yet Advent, that time when we wait in anticipation for the birth of Christ, we celebrate another sort of Advent this evening, a Second Advent, celebrated everyday, every hour since Christ's resurrection from the tomb. Jesus warns his disciples that after his death, “False messiahs and false prophets will arise and will perform signs and wonders in order to mislead. . .the elect. Be watchful!” And despite this warning, many of his disciples through the centuries have been misled. Some by a Roman emperor. Others by Greek heresies. Many by charismatic monks and holy women. Millions were led astray by clever theological argument. And millions more by atheistic science, utopian fantasy, secular political ideology, and the temporary treasures of Mammon. How many have been duped by New Age gibberish, or the slick sales pitch of 21st century humanists? Jesus calls this long, painful falling away from the apostolic faith, a tribulation; that is, the threshing of a harvest to separate the wheat from the chaff. 

After this tribulation, he says, “. . .the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky. . .” And as nature convulses in its announcement, we “will see 'the Son of Man coming in the clouds' with great power and glory. . .” His angels will “gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.” Seeing on the faces of his disciples the same expression that most of you have now, Jesus answers the unspoken question: “When [the fig tree's] branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that [the Son of Man] is near, at the gates.” When is the Christ coming again? When will the Son of Man be near the gates? When we see the sun and moon eclipsed and stars shooting through the sky. When, as regularly as the changing of the seasons, the blooming of the fig trees, we see men and women misled by false prophets and fake Messiahs. He will come again when “The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere/The ceremony of innocence is drowned.” In other words, he is always prepared to come again, so we must always be ready to receive him. When “the best lack all conviction,” and “the worst/Are full of passionate intensity,” his Church must be passionately convicted in her faith, waiting for his arrival with an intense hope. 

Obscure apocalyptic passages like this one from Mark serve a specific purpose in the life of the Church. Rather than tempting us with the useless task of figuring out the hour and day of Christ's return, these passages urge us to hold firm in the faith and live with the hope that Christ's resurrection promises. Rather than scaring us silly with tales of the imminent destruction of the world and threats of eternal damnation, these passages report events that have already taken place in history; or events that are occurring at the time the passage was written; or events that recur in history over and over again. Their purpose is to reassure us that there is nothing particularly poignant about the social, economic, religious convulsions that we are living through. Has there been a century in 5,000 yrs of human history w/o a solar or lunar eclipse, a meteor shower? A decade unscathed by war, plague, poverty, or natural disaster? We don't need to know when Christ will return. All we need to know is that he will, and that our task is to be ready: free from all anxiety, utterly at peace. We wait. But are we ready? 

We might wonder: what’s Jesus waiting for? Surely the world cannot be a bigger mess; surely we cannot become more self-destructive, angrier, greedier, more hostile to peace and the poor! Israel and Syria are firing rockets at each other. Iran is on the verge of building a nuclear bomb. Europe is teetering on another Great Depression. The U.S. is hellbent on defying both divine and natural law in a headlong rush to top Sodom and Gomorrah's last big party.* What's he waiting on? He’s waiting on you. On me. On all of us. He waiting for us and our repentance. Peter asks an excellent question: “Since all [of creation is] thus to be dissolved, what sort of persons ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God. . .?” While we wait on the destruction of the world, what sort of persons should we be? What kind of person should you be, if you want to hasten the Christ's second coming? If his coming again seems to be taking too long, Peter reminds us: “The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” The day and hour of the Second Coming matches perfectly the day and hour of our repentance, our return to righteousness in Christ. 

Have you been through the tribulation long enough? Have you been thoroughly threshed? If not, think about your tipping point. What will it take to turn you around, back to God? You see, the threshing process we all go through can take days or decades; it can be a slow, agonizing process, resulting in cuts and bruises; or a quick, painless beating with a feather. It all depends on how eager we are to be threshed; that is, it all depends on what sort of persons we want to be while the world circles the bowl. Peter's question—“what sort of persons ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness”—answers itself. Living a life of holiness and godliness makes you a holy and godly person. While the world self-destructs, a godly and holy people will hear and see the Word at work in the world; preach and teach the Good News of repentance and forgiveness; do good works for the glory of God; grow and grow in holiness not just by avoiding sin but by embracing grace as well. So, while we wait for the Second Coming, let's hasten Christ's arrival by making our every word, our every move shout joy to the world so that no one is left behind, so that every eye can see and every ear hear that God freely offers His mercy to sinners through the once-for-all sacrifice of His Son on the Cross.

* The sin of S&G is much debated.  The text can be read a number of different ways.  One view holds that homosexual rape is the cause of S&G's destruction.  Another view holds that it is the violation of the law of hospitality.  My view is that rape (of any sort) is a pretty much always a violation of the law of hospitality.  My reference here is meant to invoke an image of general moral degeneration and a turn toward godlessness.

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Coffee Bowl Browsing

More Swing State Unemployment. . .it's uncharitable to call these voters "suckers."

Why isn't Sandy Obama's Katrina?  Good question. But we all know the answer. . .

On failing to follow the trends advice of the NYT. . .hilarious piece.

Political thuggishness, criminal activity, economic intimidation.  And now this: unions kill the Twinkie.

About 6,000 union workers cause 18,000 people to lose their jobs.  How is that just?

A few legal questions and answers about secession. It get the impulse. . .but it's a Bad Idea.
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The Church prepares the Kingdom

St. Albert the Great
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA

What is the Kingdom of God? Are we talking about an actual kingdom with a real king and political ministers and knights and subjects and all that? Or are we talking about some sort of earthly utopia where we're all living in glorious harmony like angels? Or is the Kingdom of God just another name for the Church, the Body of Christ? No, it's none of these. When asked about the coming of the kingdom, Jesus says, “The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, 'Look, here it is,' or, 'There it is.'” So, the coming of the kingdom cannot be seen, but once it's here can we see it? Yes. Sort of. Jesus adds, “For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you.” Look around. Do you see any kings, thrones, knights, or other kingdom-like accoutrements? What does Jesus mean by “the Kingdom of God is among you” and what does this tell us about the nature of the kingdom? Simply put: Jesus is referring to his own presence among God's people. God's kingdom is eternal—it was; it is; and it will be. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow, Christ is among us, and with him, God's Kingdom. 

Jesus warns his disciples that after he has suffered, died, and rose again, they will long to see him. Their desire to live just one more day with the Son of Man will be a temptation for them, “There will be those who will say to you, 'Look, there he is,' or 'Look, here he is.'” This temptation will be exploited by the Enemy to raise up one false Messiah after another, one false kingdom-utopia after another. And many of God's people will be duped into throwing their lot in with these frauds and their schemes. “Do not go off, do not run in pursuit,” he warns. Unfortunately, many of his followers did just that when news of his arrest and execution spread. Even his closest friends denied knowing him and fled in fear for their lives. Only with the coming of the Holy Spirit did they find the strength to do the hard work of living in the kingdom. Jesus' warning about not running after false Messiahs and fraudulent kingdom-utopias should ring loudly and clearly in our ears. Thanks be to God, we have the Holy Spirit permeating the Church; the authority of the magisterium; and the grace of the sacraments grounding us in the Rock of Salvation. 

If the Church is grounded in Christ by the strength of the Holy Spirit, then why do we say that the Church is not the kingdom? Christ came among us as one of us to announce the arrival of the kingdom. The Catechism puts it this way: “It was the Son's task to accomplish the Father's plan of salvation in the fullness of time. . .'The Lord Jesus inaugurated his Church by preaching the Good News, that is, the coming of the Reign of God. . .' Christ ushered in the Kingdom of heaven on earth. The Church 'is the Reign of Christ already present in mystery'” (763). In other words, the Church (that's us) is the seed of the kingdom on earth, not yet fully grown but germinated and growing. And we are charged—even with all our ugly warts and wounds—with preparing this world for the Reign of God, the rule of divine love through justice and peace. This is what it means to live right now, this second, as if we were already living in the heavenly presence of God. We aren't just trying to get to heaven. We are also trying to show the world what the Reign of God will look like when His kingdom is fully manifest. Kingdom-utopias built on human ideologies show us nothing more than the many and banal evils of man. Only Christ wields the wisdom and love necessary to bring the Father's eternal peace. He alone secures justice; gives food to the hungry; sets captives free. The Lord alone—not gov't's or politicians or utopias—the Lord alone gives sight to the blind; raises up those who are bowed down; loves the just; and protects strangers. And while we wait for his return to us, the Church—his true family—serves his will. 

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Before & After the bath of rebirth

32nd Week OT (W)
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA

“Foolish, disobedient, deluded, slaves to various desires and pleasures, living in malice and envy,” hating ourselves and one another. This is the Before Picture that Paul draws for Titus. It's not a pretty picture, but it's probably one we all recognize as pretty accurate. The After Picture, the picture that comes after God “saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,” sometimes looks a lot like the Before Picture. But it doesn't have to. And that's the principle difference btw the two. Before our rebirth and renewal, we were slaves to sin, captives of our passions and unable not to sin. After our rebirth and renewal, we are no longer slaves to sin—free and clear—both washed cleaned and released from domination by sin. If this is true, then why do our After Pics so often look exactly like our Before Pics? Lots of reasons. Here's two: 1) we forget or choose to ignore that we are “heirs in hope of eternal life”; and 2) we take our gifts from God and run celebrating down the street w/o saying, “Thank you, Lord.” We are heirs in hope to a life lived eternally with God; and for this, we must be eternally gratefully.

Gratitude builds and fortifies humility, and humility is the key to receiving all of God's gifts. Ten lepers beg Jesus for his compassion. He says to them, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” As they are walking away from him, they are cleansed. One of the ten, realizing that he is now free from his disease, returns to the Lord, “glorifying God in a loud voice; and [falling] at the feet of Jesus. . .[thanks] him.” In the center of this public drama, this healing miracle, Luke inserts a telling note: “[The man] was a Samaritan.” The grateful former leper is a foreigner, an idolatrous heretic, and an unclean survivor of the northern kingdom's destruction by the Assyrians 720 yrs earlier. His people claimed to be the descendents of the lost tribes of Israel. In other words, religiously speaking, this man was the lowest of the low in Judean society. And yet, he returns to Christ shouting praise to God and giving thanks for his freedom from disease. Jesus asks, “Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine?” They took their gift of healing and ran. “Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God? Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.” Ten were healed; only one was saved.

When we forget or choose to ignore that we are heirs in hope to eternal life, we fail to give God the thanks and praise He is due. Does He feel cheated? No. He has no need of our praise. Our desire to praise Him and give Him thanks is also His gift to us. When we give God His due in thanksgiving, we grow deeper in our understanding of our dependence on Him for all that we are and all that we have. Deepening our understanding of humility, in turn, prompts us to set aside all those vices that prevent us from receiving His gifts, all those insolent passions that stunt our growth in holiness. Pride, arrogance, envy, malice. Ten lepers beg Christ for his compassion, and he gives it. They are all cleansed. Only one returns to give him thanks. This one, the least loved of the lot, is not only healed of his disease but saved as well. Because he turned to Christ in praise and thanksgiving, he is now an heir in hope of eternal life. His Before and After Picture (and ours) can remain absolutely different, utterly unalike, if he (and we) lives “in all circumstances, giving thanks” to God. Living as heirs in hope of eternal life means living right now as if we live already and always in the face-to-face presence of God. And there is nothing more that we should want.

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Coffee Bowl Browsing

Heh. Big donor to B.O.'s re-election campaign fires 1,250 employees b/c of BOCare costs.

"Can Christian Humanism redeem an age of ideology?"

Big Gov't hurts the poor. . .and enriches the Left.

USCCB document on the economy DOA. Not a bad thing at all, actually.

B.O. targets religious liberty

Papal Nuncio takes on religious persecution. . .

Voters in bright Blue Ohio get their food stamp benefits cut.

Insipid homily kills parishioner. . . 

More Bread & Circuses to entertain/distract the rabble. . .that's us, btw.

New version of the Roman Breviary approved by bishops. . .let's hope they mandate its use for ALL priests/religious.

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On mercy & the heresy of feelings

St. Josaphat
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA

I've been ranting for years now—in the confessional, the pulpit, in my office; probably even in my sleep—that one of the greatest modern heresies to infect the Church is the pernicious idea that all things spiritual must be felt in order to be true. For example, a woman comes to me in despair b/c God has abandoned her. I ask: what makes you think God has abandoned you? I just don't feel His presence anymore, she says. What am I supposed to say to this? What does it mean? If God—the source and summit of our being—abandons us, we won't be around anymore to feel anything! That she feels anything at all is proof positive that God has not abandoned her. Another example: a man tells me that he's forgiven his wife for cheating on him. Good, I say; so, what's the problem? I don't feel as though I've forgiven her. I ask, what does forgiveness feel like? I don't know, he says. Then how do you know that. . .oh, nevermind. . .you get the picture. Jesus says, “If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.” Where does he say that we are to be happy/sad/angry/anxious/giddy/calm about forgiving a sinner? Just forgive them, a deliberate act. Let feelings come what may. 

Just in case we didn't get it the first time, Jesus adds a little hyperbole: “And if he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, 'I am sorry,' you should forgive him.” If you're thinking in terms of the heresy of Feelingism, you're probably thinking that Jesus is setting us up for some serious emotional abuse. Seven times in one day I'm supposed to forgive this louse?! Yes. Even seventy-seven times, if necessary. This is a problem only if you think that you have to feel the forgiveness magically flowing out of you like a stream of warm regard. You don't. Because forgiveness isn't about feelings. It's about the intellect, how you choose to think. It's all about changing your mind not your passions. When someone sins against you, think first: that poor person is in a state of sin. Then, think: when one of my brothers or sisters is in a state of sin, the whole Body of Christ is weakened. When the one who sinned against you repents and asks for forgiveness, immediately forgive him so that the Body is strengthened. Can you be angry, sad, happy that you've forgiven them? Sure. So long as you forgive. Think: the measure I use to measure will be used to measure me. 

Now, just in case the first two times Jesus teaches us about the necessity to forgive sinners didn't take, we have the reaction of his disciples to reinforce the lesson. After he tells them to forgive the same sinner seven times in one day, how do the disciples react? You gotta be kidding! But, Lord, he'll just keep on sinning! What about my hurt feelings?! No, none of those. The disciple say, “Lord, increase our faith.” Strengthen our trust in you, Lord. Fortify our belief in this truth. Faith, trust, belief are all more or less synonyms, and all are made manifest by intellectual assent; that is, saying Yes to truth. No feelings here. No emotions. Just a plain, old-fashioned recognition that Jesus' teaching on forgiveness is true. “Lord, increase our faith” is a prayer for better understanding so that the Lord's teaching may become a virtue, a good habit. Think of it this way: forgiving a sinner isn't even really about you at all. The other guy is the sinner, so he/she is the one in trouble. Why wouldn't you help get them out of trouble? It's good moral exercise for you, and your persistence in mercy can only be an excellent example for them. Last question: does it matter that you don't feel like being merciful? No, it doesn't. Just be merciful. If for no other reason than that Jesus commands it. 

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Yawn

I've been saying this for years now. . .

Sin is boring.
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Audio file: 32nd Sunday OT

Give from your poverty:  audio file for 32nd Sunday OT homily.

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Coffee Bowl Browsing: The Return!

I Give You: the beautiful efficiencies of Big Gov't!  (applause)

2012 Abyss:  doubling down on incompetence and corruption

More Catholic software from LOGOS

On being promoted to Captain of the Titanic mid-voyage. . .with better lodging.

Blue State prosperity: slash public services, raise taxes, pay for sex-change operations.

Great. Syria and Israel get into a fire fight and we've got The Amateur in the W.H.

Media get mugged (literally). . .well, they've been mugging us for years now.

Let's get the Marriage Conversation right. . .I'm not sure that getting it right will change minds.

I understand why they want to do this, but it's gonna backfire.

Yet another hate crime hoax.  Maybe the Boy Who Cried Wolf should be required reading.
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Give from your poverty

32nd Sunday OT
Fr. Philip N. Powell, OP
St Dominic Church, NOLA

Audio File

Is it best to give much, to give often, or to give wholeheartedly? Perhaps it is best to give much, often, and wholeheartedly! This is certainly better than giving little, seldom, and miserly. A stingy heart pumps bile not blood and will dry quickly into a stone. The gospel question here is: from where do we give? Out of what do we give? Jesus praises the widow for her generosity. But her generosity is not a matter of amount, frequency, or attitude. Her generosity is measured by her poverty. While the rich people at the temple give from their surplus wealth—what was leftover—the widow gives from her destitution, her impoverishment. She contributes “all she had, her whole livelihood.” Now, this is not an exhortation from Jesus for rich people to give more, more often, and with a more gracious attitude. This is, in fact, a call for every generous heart—rich, poor, somewhere in between—to think carefully about what our Father has provided for us and how we spread His goodness around.

Christ wants more, better, and best from us always, but what he wants most is our contrite hearts and humble spirits. Out of these sacrifices he wants an outrageous generosity to pour out service, prayer, and abundant witness. So let me ask you another gospel question: what are you putting into the Lord’s treasury? Where does your generosity come from?

You might ask: “Why does it matter where my generosity comes from? Isn’t giving the point?” The short answer: No. Giving isn’t the point. Giving is the result, the conclusion. What must come before giving itself is a wide-open, bountiful, abundantly generous heart, a heart at the center of which is the living sacrifice of Christ himself on the cross. Christian generosity pours out from the heart's tabernacle, from the holy of holies where the Lord Himself rests in us—the hub of our friendship with God, the axis point at which the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit meet to contain all that we are and all that we have. An abundantly generous heart is a bottomless covenant, an eternal promise of blessing and gift, of virtue and of holy consequence. If we will give as the widow does, we give a lot or often or graciously, we will give as God our Father gives: fully, freely, without price, expectation, or debt. We will give of ourselves, all of ourselves, everything we have and are, give all that we love, all that hold for security, all that we reserve just for us. We will give as Christ gave to us and for us on the altar of the cross and gives to us now on that altar of sacrifice. We must give our lives if we are to live.

Let’s see if we all understand the sacrifice of Calvary, the generous gift of Christ’s life for our sins. Jesus died on the cross, was buried, rose from the tomb, ascended to the Father, and now we come together to sacrifice him again on that altar. We are here to beat and bruise his body again, here to lash him and crown him with thorns, here to pound those nails through his hands and feet, and lift him up over Golgotha so that we might benefit again from his death—a death that we repeat over and over again in the Mass. Right? NO! That is an anti-Catholic parody of our theology of redemption. The Catholic theology of redemption is the theology of redemption found in today’s reading from Hebrews. Christ does not offer himself repeatedly for our sins; he does not come before the holy of holies once a year like the levitical High Priest to expiate our sins; he does not enter a wooden temple for us. Instead, he enters for us the temple of the presence of God. He went before the holy holies once to expiate our sins. And he offered himself once for all on the cross. Hebrews reads, “…now once for all he has appeared at the end of the ages to take away sin by his sacrifice…[and] will appear a second time, not to take away sin but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await him.”

Surely this is the Christian exemplar for generosity! Christ doesn’t give much, often, or graciously. He give all, forever, and perfectly. He gives us all of his life—his time among us, his trial, his suffering, his death, and his resurrection. He gives us forever the benefits of his high priesthood, making us a royal, holy, and prophetic people. He gives perfectly the one sacrifice we need, the only sacrifice we need for new life, for life eternal. And to complete, right here in history, to complete the sacrifice of the cross, he will return in abundance, in glory, in awesome blessing and bring the fullness of divine healing to everyone who waits for him, everyone who waits with hearts opened, with tabernacle doors thrown wide.

Let me ask you again: what are you putting into the Lord’s treasury? Where does your generosity come from? Think about what you take out of the treasury, what we all take from the treasury! My point here is not to shame anyone into being generous. My point is simply this: if we are withdrawing from the abundant treasury of God’s blessings—and we are—then surely we are filled with those blessings, surely we are stuffed like our uncles at Thanksgiving with the gifts and rewards of our Father’s goodness and beauty. Wonderful! Precisely as it should be. But if we are stuffed and continuing to stuff, then surely we are called to spread the goodies, to diffuse the blessings. You might say to me, “But Father, God gave me these blessings for my benefit. I prayed for them especially!” Yes, absolutely correct. He gave you that blessing so that you might use it to its fullest effect—by giving it away! By giving it away you will be truly blessed in your near reckless generosity. Hoarding blessings and gifts from God is a contradiction in terms. Let me suggest a radical notion to you: if you have a blessing or gift that you aren’t eager to give away, it is probably not a blessing or gift from God at all, but a bribe from the Devil. He is trying to buy you, an agent of Christ, off. He is trying to prevent you from delivering the Goods to those in need by making you think that the purpose of a blessing or gift is its immediate, personal use. The nature of blessing and gift is giving not hoarding.

What are you putting into the Lord’s treasury? Where does your generosity come from? Whatever abundance you have and whatever blessing you are, they and you come from God. It makes no sense to say that Christian generosity is obligatory; that it is stingy or mean; that it is frugal or sparing. Christian generosity comes from the welling up of love that is God Himself in us. Sitting at our center, the stillpoint of our body and soul, He dumps blessing after blessing after blessing into our lives and moves us to treat each blessing according to its nature: gift, giving, given. The widow does not give much or often or perhaps even graciously. She gives out of her poverty and her poverty is transformed into fertile wealth—the teaching of Christ that feeds the generations. Of course, put time, talent, and treasure in the basket. The parish has bills to pay like everyone else. But put yourself on the altar of gift and offer a contrite heart and a humbled spirit as a perfect sacrifice to the Lord.

He wants you wholly given, perfectly gifted, and beautifully graced. Once for all, give it all—everything, and enter the kingdom of God. 

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Bread & Circuses

from George Will:

[. . .]

Liberals have an inherent but not insuperable advantage: As enthusiasts of government, to which many of them are related as employees or clients, they are more motivated for political activity than are conservatives, who prefer private spaces. Never mind. Conservatives have a commensurate advantage: Americans still find congenial conservatism’s vocabulary of skepticism about statism. And events — ongoing economic anemia; the regulatory state’s metabolic urge to bully — will deepen this vocabulary’s resonance.

[. . .]

I hope Will is right about Americans being skeptical of statist bullying.  However, I worry that he's being entirely too optimistic. Which Americans are skeptical of statist bullying?  Not the 50% who voted for B.O.'s massive governmental take-over our health-care choices.  Not the 50% who voted for B.O.'s massive governmental violation of our constitutionally guaranteed religious liberty.  Not the 50% of who voted for B.O.'s massive expansion of Bush's secretive National Security State.  

It seems to me that at least 50% of Americans voted for four more years of statist bullying and the continuing devolution of our nation's free citizens into dependent wards.

In a world of Bread & Circuses, free stuff beats freedom every time.

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On serving two Masters

St. Leo the Great
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA

The multi-millenial history of God's relationship with His people can be reasonably described as a troubled marriage. All through the Old Testament the patriarchs and prophets of God use martial images and terms to approximate how the Creator chooses to relate to His human creatures. When things are going well, we hear all about the blessings of marital bliss: generations of fat, happy kids; lots of livestock, wine, oil, etc. But when things are not going so well, we hear all about the woes of marital distress: generations of barrenness; war, exile, slavery in foreign lands, etc. Unlike bad marriages between men and women, the marital problems btw God and His people are always the bride's fault; that is, God is never unfaithful to Israel, but Israel—the Bride—has both a wandering eye and tendency toward committing adultery with other gods. Baal, Moloch, the Ashtoreth. When the Bride strays from her marriage covenant, blessings turn to curses and the road back to fidelity is paved with years of penance. Thus, Jesus reminds us, his Bride, “No servant can serve two masters. . .You cannot serve God and mammon.” 

Being a practical people and believers in the strength of our innate goodness, we are prone to wondering why we can't serve two masters. What exactly is the problem with giving ourselves to more than one god?Or, to put it in more modern terms, why can't we live by relying on both God's providence and our own native ingenuity? We all know the old saying, “God helps those who help themselves.” Like most old sayings, there's some truth here. If we just sit on the couch and wait for God to dump all that we need in our laps, we're likely to die and rot on that couch with empty laps. However, if we rely on ourselves to the exclusion of God's help, we risk becoming increasingly entangled in the world, a world ruled by those foreign gods who tempt us into spiritual adultery. The two unacceptable extremes seem to be: do nothing to help ourselves and wait for God to magically provide AND do everything ourselves and call on God's help only when we fail. Neither option places us at the service of God and both lead us away from the covenant. So, why can't we serve two masters? Serving two masters—God and mammon—causes us to reject God's help in favor of helping ourselves, leaving us closed to receiving His blessings and totally reliant on our limited natural gifts. 

Paul sheds some light in his letter to the Philippians, “I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry. . .I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me.” The secret of maintaining a happy marriage with God—through the good, the bad, and the ugly—is to serve God first, last, and only. By serving God alone we are given the strength necessary to endure hardship and enjoy abundance. This makes perfect sense when you consider: God never changes; He is always faithful, yet each one of us will change over time; the world changes all the time; even the gods of this world—money, popularity, gov't—are constantly changing. How can you faithfully serve capricious and volatile gods? You end up confused, exhausted, anxious, and none the richer for your service. Therefore, ground your life in service to God. Remove from your living temple—your body and soul—all the idols of other gods. And call upon the strength that God alone can provide to endure scarcity and hardship, to celebrate abundance and good fortune. Our God will fully supply whatever we need, in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. 

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Have you rented your temple?

Dedication of St. John Lateran Basilica
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA

With an angel, Ezekiel watches a temple whose fountains water the desert land. Paul writes that we are temples of God's spirit built on the foundation of Christ. And Jesus visits the temple to flay the moneychangers who defile his Father's house. We have a spiritual temple; a living temple; and a temple made of stone. If what Paul writes is true—“Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”—and his warning to us is prescient—you “must be careful how [you build]. . .” b/c there is no foundation other than Christ—then, we must all look long and hard in our spiritual mirror, and examine ever so carefully the conscience reflected there. If Ezekiel and his host-angel are watching the heavenly temple water the deserts of sin and death, bringing them to life; and if Paul is right about each one of us being a temple of God built on the foundation of Christ; then, we can be sure that Jesus is headed toward each one of us with a whip of cords to drive out whatever defiles each one of his Father's living temples. As a temple of God's Spirit, have you rented out the Lord's holy place? If so, who or what needs to be driven out? 

Jesus fashions a whip of cords. He marches into the temple courtyard and watches the merchants selling sacrificial animals, the bankers exchanging secular money for the temple tax. In a burst of righteous anger, he begins whipping the lot of them, yelling, “Take these out of here, and stop making my Father's house a marketplace.” His disciples watch him and recall a line from Psalm 69: “Zeal for your house has consumed me.” Christ is zealous in defending the dignity of his Father's stone temple. How much more zealous will he be then in defending the dignity of his Father's living temples—each one of us? If he's willing to breach the peace of his nation's temple with violence, how much more eager will he be then to whip the complacency out of our flesh and bone temples, all living temples for which he died on the Cross? Paul says it plainly, “If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God, which you are, is holy.” As a living temple of God's Spirit, have you turned your heart and mind into a marketplace? Have you rented out the Lord's holy place? 

To answer this, we need to think long and hard about who the moneychangers are in our lives. Who are the merchants that buy and sell, exchange and borrow in the courtyards of our soul? There are, of course, the real world merchants who sell us ugliness so that we buy beauty; sell us fat so that we buy thin; sell us old so that we buy young. There are the political merchants who sell us illusions of fairness and work-free utopias; the religious merchants who sell us cheap grace*; the cultural merchants who sell us fleeting glamor and celebrity; and then there's the most seductive merchant of all: the spiritual merchant, who hopes to sell us a new foundation for our temples. This new foundation will be dug into the ground of this life, not the one that comes after; it will support all your choices, all your preferences; it's completely pliable, totally malleable; it will never resist your designs, never push back against whatever you think is right to build; it takes whatever spiritual shape you need it to take. Have you rented the Lord's holy place, His living temple, your body and soul, to this merchant, to any of these merchants? Now would be a good time to get your temple in order; now would be a very good time to reflect long and hard on Christ's zealous defense of his Father's living temples. 

*Grace is freely given, not cheaply bought.

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Wincing at easy mercy

31st Week OT (Th)
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA

We are all familiar with the Prodigal Son, the one lost sheep, that misplaced coin, and johnny-come-lately vineyard workers. They are the stars of Jesus' parables. The ones who got away but came back and found themselves joyfully received and forgiven! The gospel lesson being that no matter how lost, how gravely misplaced, or late to the party a sinner may be, Christ will welcome him back. Well, good for the sinner. What about the Good Son, the other 99 sheep, and the coins that stayed put? Julie Stoner wrote a poem about them: “We ninety-nine obedient sheep;/we workers hired at dawn’s first peep;/we faithful sons who strive to please,/forsaking prodigalities;/we virgins who take pains to keep/our lamps lit, even in our sleep;/we law-abiding Pharisees;//we wince at gospels such as these.” This makes me smile b/c I've seen the Good Son, the Everyready Virgins, the 99 Responsible Sheep wince when preachers ignore their obedience and lavish praise on the reckless sinners who taunt God and then come crawling back whining for a second chance. None of the Good Souls want God to refuse them His mercy, of course; but, you know, maybe He could make them suffer just a little more for being so presumptuous? 

Perhaps you've thought something like that yourselves at some point: why is repentance and forgiveness made easy for those who have spent their whole lives rebelling against God? Murderous Mafia dons who receive absolution on their deathbeds. Serial killers who discover Jesus before their executions. Given the severity of their sins, shouldn't something else be required? Something more substantial in terms of penance? Maybe a public flogging, or a chance for their victims' families to poke them with sharp sticks. I'm sure that none of us have ever even thought that God should withhold His forgiveness. But it seems only fair to those of us who've been Good Sons and Daughters all our lives that it should be more difficult for especially notorious sinners to repent and receive mercy. That would make them appreciate God's mercy more, right; and it would give us Good Folks reason to keep on being Good. As reasonable as this scenario might sound, there's a big problem with it. As sinners ourselves, we don't get to put obstacles in the way of God's mercy, nor do we get to decide who can repent and how. And for that, we should be thankful. 

It might sound strange to hear but the truth is: it's often easier for a notorious sinner to repent than it is for a casual sinner. The further away a soul gets from loving God, the more acutely it feels sin's emptiness. A sinner's soul can reach the point of despair, a point where there seems to be no way back. The next horrible sin seems easier than the last. The harder that soul pulls away from God's love, the harder God loves. This why when a truly notorious sinner comes back to God, he is usually a zealous witness for the Gospel. A casual sinner creeps away from God, little sin by little sin, never really feeling the distance. As things start to go wrong, it's resentment toward God rather than despair that flairs up. God still loves, always. But the casual sinner doesn't feel love as love, he feels it as an intrusion, suffocating his freedom. The more restricted he feels, the more he rebels until his sins are no longer minor. It's the casual sinner who often looks at the notorious sinner, and says, “He shouldn't be able to repent and receive mercy so easily!” What he's really thinking though is: “I wish I had his courage to repent.” This is why those 99 Sheep and the Good Son wince when they see their lost brothers repent. It hurts when your conscience give you a swift kick in the rear. 

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Discouragement is NOT an option

Between reading for class tomorrow, working on a homily, and napping, I've been browsing around the political blogs reading post-election commentary.  I've been delighted to discover that there seems to be very little anger or outrage at B.O.'s re-election.  Most of the posts I've read have been thoughtful, sober, and given to taking in the Big Picture.  

Here's an excerpt from Matthew Warner's piece on the NCRegister site that fits my own thoughts almost perfectly:

[. . .]

Real change starts in the home. Not in the Whitehouse. In *your* home and the homes around this great nation. That's where it begins. It ends in the election booth. If we're only showing up to fight in the election booth, we've already missed the battle.

And if you are discouraged after the election, Mother Teresa has something to say to you about that, too: “If you are discouraged it is a sign of pride because it shows you trust in your own power. Your self-sufficiency, your selfishness and your intellectual pride will inhibit His coming to live in your heart because God cannot fill what is already full. It is as simple as that.”

It's as simple as that, folks. Transform discouragement into the motivation that moves you to change things. (And for more inspiration from Mother Teresa, read her 7 steps to a holier life.)

What we need right now is leadership. And if you're waiting for a politician, you're going to be waiting a long time. We need leadership 1) in your home and 2) in the culture. We need cultural leaders. We need individuals and organizations to rise up and provide inspiring, convincing leadership that will lead to conversions of mind and heart.

[. . .]

This makes perfect sense to me and I commend it to you.
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All Dominican Saints

Today we celebrate the Feast of All Saints of the Order of Preachers!

The universal Church celebrates her feast of all the pure of heart, all those who see God – All Saints Day – on November 1.  Likewise, many of the great religious Orders celebrate a feast for their own saints.  The Dominican Order happens to be one of them (feast day – Nov. 7).  The Dominicans were the second Order (after the Benedictines) to receive this privilege from the Holy See.  In response to the request of Cardinal Vincent Maria Orsini, OP, in 1674, Pope Clement X wrote:

Rightly, my Lord Cardinal, ought your Order to celebrate the solemnity of all its Saints on one appointed day; for, if we wished to assign to each of its holy sons his own special feast, we should have to form a new calendar, and they alone would suffice to fill it.

[. . .]
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