Resisting the world's leaven

6th Week OT (Tues) Gn 6.5-8; 7.1-5, 10; Mk 8.14-21
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
Convento Domenico e Sisto, Roma

Is Jesus surprised or disappointed? Is he exasperated or angry? Maybe all of these and more? Once again his best students and closest friends fail to “get it.” Having lived with him, traveled with him, listened to him, badgered him with questions, witnessed his miracles, the disciples seem to be as deaf, dumb, and blind as they were the day he netted them and pulled them into his ministry, gaping like fish for a breath. Exhibiting the same obstinance that the Pharisees seemed to favor when dealing with Jesus, his own students apparently need some sign, some miraculous konk on the head in order to see who Jesus is and to hear his saving Word. Fortunately, for the disciples, Jesus was with them, right there with them to continue teaching them, to continue showing them his unfailing Way. Two thousand and nine years later, what do we have to open our eyes and unstop our ears? When we clamor for signs and wonders, who steps up and reminds us that faith is first and always about trust, about throwing ourselves on the powerful mercy of God?

In the time it takes to cross to the opposite shore of the sea, the disciples had forgotten the lesson of the fishes and loaves. The Pharisees come forward after this miracle and demand signs from heaven to prove Jesus’ divine mandate, signs he refuses to give. Once on the opposite shore, Jesus warns his friends against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod, warning them against the poisonous influence of legalism and worldly politics. They think that Jesus is rebuking them for failing to bring bread. Frustrated, disappointed, he says, “Do you not yet understand or comprehend? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear? And do you not remember?”

They do not understand. Their hearts may be hardened. They are blind to his signs and deaf to his Word. And surely they have failed to remember. They have Jesus among them to remind them of their failures and to enlighten their ignorance. What do we have now when we find ourselves in the same predicament? Thanks be to God, we have Christ among us as well! What else is the Eucharist but our present-day miracle of the loaves? What else is scripture but our spoken Word, divine words that open eyes and unstop ears? What else we are doing here this morning as the Body of Christ than being reminded of who Christ is for us? We do not merely remember a story or recall a lesson, we witness again in this breaking of the bread the cross and Christ’s sacrifice. What other signs could we possibly want or need?

When we allow the leaven of the Pharisees—the poisonous influence of religious legalism—or the leaven of the Herodians—the poisonous influence of accommodating the Church to the world’s philosophy—we risk forgetting who we are; we risk confusion, loss, hard-heartedness, spiritual blindness, and eternal death. We risk not only our own lives here and here-after, but we risk the lives of those we are sent to save through our witness to God’s mercy. We cannot risk ignorance of God’s Word, so we read, hear, and enact His Self-revelation in scripture. We cannot risk misunderstanding, so we listen to and follow His Church’s apostolic faith. We cannot risk hard-heartedness, so we care for the least among His people. We cannot risk forgetting, so we come together as one heart and one mind and we remember. And in remembering what he did for us in this Eucharist, we go out, out there, and we tell others what we have remembered and to whom we give thanks and praise for our salvation.

If you have seen God’s abundance at work, if you have heard His saving Word, you cannot fail to share what your eyes have seen and your ears have heard. To fail in this is poisonous. To you and to everyone you meet. Thanks to be God, you never need to forget; you never need to grow cold. You have us and we all have Christ with us, always with us.

Of many things. . .

Of many things. . .

1). Comments on SSPX controversy?

The canonical questions in this mess are beyond me., so I will leave those aside. I'm always delighted that those who have excommunicated themselves in disobedience find their way back to the Church in obedience. Bishop Williamson's holocaust denial is just dumb. However, we don't excommunicate Catholics (or refuse to rescind an excommunication) because they hold dumb ideas about historical events. I find it bizarre (and telling) that the very people who whine and carp about the Church excommunicating heretics, etc. are the same people demanding that the Holy Father exclude Williamson for his non-theological ideas. Make no mistake, this controversy is a media-made event designed to embarrass the Holy Father. Bishop Williamson needs to obey his SSPX superiors and recant his nutty notions of the holocaust.

2). Comments on the Legionaries of Christ controversy?

The Bible is pack full of sinners being used by God to put His Good News into the world. Think: if we only allowed living Saints to found orders, build churches, write theology, etc. how much could we get done toward preaching the gospel? Not much. That being said. . .I see two paths for the L.C. right now: 1). keep what is good, true, and beautiful about the L.C. spirituality and 2). rapidly distance the movement from the founder. The first is just good spiritual practice. The second is just good P.R. In philosophy there's a informal logical fallacy called "poisoning the well." In this fallacy an opponent will attempt to discredit an argument by pointing out that the defender of the argument holds indefensible positions or is somehow dodgy morally or intellectually. The idea is to cast doubt on the position under debate by poisoning the source of the offending argument. We see this a lot when debaters resort to comparing their opponents to Nazis, or pointing out that their opponents hold positions similar to some other undesirable ideology. That the founder of the L.C. was a sinner is plain. Who isn't? Does this discredit his spirituality? No. L.C. spirituality stands on its own quite apart from its author. In other words, L.C. spirituality is either true, good, and beautiful or it isn't. That it was composed and promulgated by a sinner is irrelevant. For P.R. purposes, the L.C. needs to distance itself from its founder, that is, quickly and irrevocably disconnect its spirituality from the man who founded it. This means apologizing, cleaning house for any co-conspirators, re-organizing, and basically starting from scratch in terms of promoting itself as a Catholic religious order. The Church needs the fervor and discipline that the L.C. offers. However, the L.C. does not need its founder in order to thrive.

3). Obama's stimulus package?

Pork. Pure and simple. Pork. Millions of taxpayer dollars to left-wing political groups and allies of the Democrats. I'm worried about something Mike Huckabee noted on FoxNews last week: the stimulus bill is fundamentally anti-religious in that it has a number of provisions that forbid the practice of the faith for those receiving money from the bill. Of course, the MSM has made no mention of this nor will it. I don't watch TV here in Rome, but I managed to get in a few hours of watching CNN while I was at home. Though I knew that the MSM is basically a televised Obama cheerleading camp, I had no idea the extent to which these "journalists" have abdicated their responsibility as our nation's fourth estate. On Lincoln's birthday, I watched a "report" on CNN that spent almost an hour comparing Obama to Lincoln. It was a fawning, saccharine, duplicitous Hallmark card of a show. Little more than a propaganda piece. An early Valentine's gift to The One. How can we have any sort of proper political debate when our media refuses to report the most basic facts about the political process? This is why I regularly visit Newsbusters. . .and you should too.

4). Increasing number of attacks on the Church?

This is old news. The Church has been under attack since the Holy Spirit visited the apostles in the Upper Room on pentecost. Nothing new in this. As an institution, the Church represents one of the few places left in the west that teaches personal responsibility and virtue. So long as we do this we can expect to be the targeted by the world's culture. Yes, we need to fight back. But not for the sake of the Church. The Church has been around for 2,000 years and will continue to be around until the Lord decides otherwise. Our fight is not against the culture but for those who cannot fight for themselves. Our job is to preach the Good News and teach the truth of the faith "in season and out." Those in the Church who would see us compromise or accommodate in order to get along are seriously deluded. I'm not suggesting that we become belligerent or aggressive. We don't need to be violent in order to speak the truth to the powers of this world. We just have to be persistent, unwavering in speaking the Word to those who will see and hear. Those that refuse to see and hear have condemned themselves. Remember: our treasure is not of this world. We can lose all of our stuff and still flourish as a Body. What the Church needs now more than anything are courageous leaders among the laity and clergy to stand up and assert what we know to be true: God has won this fight. From all eternity, God has won.

5). What's your book about?

If I manage to get a manuscript to Liguori Publications by May 8th, my book will be available in August 2009. Basically, all I am doing is adapting traditional litanies and novenas for contemporary use and writing several original litanies and novenas. The original prayers are taken from a variety of sources, including the works of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI. I'm also including some prayers based on the mystical works of Meister Eckhart, Aquinas, Dionysus, Gregory of Nyssa, and a few other Patristic sources. Right now, I am working on the original pieces, including a triology of novenas rooted in the creation theology of the Eastern and Western Catholic traditions. If this book does well, I am going to propose a second book that will be a set of short reflections based on Patristic texts. This will be more of a daily-use book for growing in holiness. We'll see how thing go!

6). Lots of books about Eastern Orthodoxy on your Wish List. Considering a move to the East?

No, I'm a happy Latin Catholic. The books about Orthodoxy on my Wish List are there for two reasons: 1). I'm using them for my own book of prayers and 2). I'm giving the lectures on Orthodoxy to the U.D. students during our March trip to Greece. Generally, the E.O. do a better job of unpacking a theology of the Holy Spirit than the West does. I appreciate the more literary approach of the East and find their style of writing (less rational, more poetical) more appealing. As a Dominican, I am commited to the use of right reason in theological discussions, but sometimes we miss the subtlies when we focus exclusively on the rational. More than anything, the East has a better understanding of how creation and deification work in our salvation.

7). How was the trip home?

All went really well! No airport delays. No problem getting the meds through customs. I was very happy about this. I was also delighted on my flight over b/c the plane was only 2/3 full. This meant I got an extra seat next to me to stretch out! The flight back was full, however, so I was cramped and couldn't sleep. Ah well, the price of paying cattle-car rates, right? I visited with Mom and Pop for about a week and then drove to Irving where I was greeted warmly by students and faculty. One of my former students and some of his friends threw me a party. I had a chance to visit with several guys considering priesthood. Spent some time in Wal-Mart stocking up on things I can't get in Rome. Ate too much fast food, so this week is dedicated to puring Burger King and Wendy's from my system. Yuck. Had an unexpected visit with my provincial while in Texas. . .always a pleasure. I watched too much TV while visiting in MS. My mom loves HGTV, so I am once again up on all the latest yard fashions and my armchair skills at renovating old houses and shopping for new ones are up to par. Took my two nieces to see "Hotel for Dogs" and was astounded at the political messge of the movie: animals are just like humans and animal shelters are evil. The personification of animals is nothing new in cartoons and children's movies, but the none-too-subtle message of this movie is that animals and humans are morally equivalent agents with freely acting souls. I also found it interesting that all of the evil animal control agents were white men while the sympathic public was a hodge-podge of racially mixed women. The main characters were racially mixed too, but without fail the evil in the movie had a white male face. Something else I noticed while in the U.S.: we are a really fat nation. I've struggled with my weight all my life, but returning to the U.S. after only seven months in Rome gave me a perspective I hadn't counted on. I can see why the world thinks of the U.S. has an all-consuming Mouth and Stomach. Granted, I contribute to this image just by walking around Rome! Sigh. Am I glad to be back in Rome? Yes. I was surprised to find myself looking forward to returning. This semester is going to be tough. . .all Italian classes, thesis-writing, finishing up the book, trip to Greece, etc. But I am pleased to be back.

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Priests on American military bases in E.U.?

Request for info:

Anyone out there know anything about American military bases in Europe needing English-speaking priests?

I have a couple of months that I may be able to spend this summer serving as chaplain if the particulars (transport, housing, compensation, etc.) are right.

Let me know.

Back in Rome

I made it back to Rome!

Got back to the university at 9.30am local time.

Thanks for the prayers and the recent activity on the Wish List. . .

Now, back to bed!

New OP Blog!

A new Dominican blog!

Fr. Dominic Holtz, OP, a Central Province friar and prof at Aquinas Institute in St Louis, MO has started up a preaching blog: Specious Pedestrian.

Visit him often and tell him I sent you!

Quick Update

Just a quick update. . .

Travel has been perfect! All my flights were on time. I arrived in MS exactly on time. Amazing. I give thanks to God and to all of who prayed for me.

The family is doing well.

I'm in Irving, TX right now.

I've been working away on my book. My editor tells me that it will be out in August 2009 if (IF!) I can get a manuscript to her by May 8th. So, add prayers against procratination and equipment failure to your daily supplications.

I arrive back in Rome on Feb 15th and begin second semester on the 16th. This will be a difficult semester b/c all of my license-level classes will be in Italian. Fortunately, I will be able to take exams in English.

I've received permission from the Provincial to live in Irving for the summer (July-Sept), so I will be teaching literature and theology at U.D. second summer term.

A few new books have made it onto the WISH LIST. These would be very helpful in finishing up my own prayer book. I already have an idea for a second book!

God bless and keep those prayers going. . .Fr. Philip, OP

Pray4Me! :-)

I am leaving in the morning (Fri. Jan 30th) for a flight to Atlanta and then one to Memphis! Then driving to MS to visit with the parentals.

I'm returning to Rome on Feb 15th.

Please pray for a safe flight. . .especially for NO delays and NO complications at FCO!

God bless you all. . .Fr. Philip, OP

[NB. I've turned commenting off so I don't have 3,000 emails waiting for me when I get back!]

Homily for St Thomas Aquinas (repost)

To mark this feast day for St Thomas Aquinas, I am re-posting this homily from the 2008 Vespers Service celebrated at St Albert the Great Priory in Irving, TX.

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St Thomas Aquinas: Wis 7.7-10, 15-16 and Matt 23.8-12
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St Albert the Great Priory

The Book of Wisdom wisely teaches us: “…both we and our words are in [God’s] hands…” It is wise that the Book of Wisdom teach us this b/c as a book this book would not want—if a book could want—to be left in the hands of a fool to be read by foolish eyes and taught by foolish tongues. The wisdom imparted here also reminds the potential fool that he or she does not read, teach, write, or research alone. Prior to any desire for knowledge, any longing to know, is the primal hunger for God, our preferred state of perfected union. Our intellectual and academic pursuits are marked from the beginning with the presence of God, Wisdom: “…I chose to have [wisdom] rather than the light, because the splendor of her never yields to sleep.” So even before the light is shone in the darkness, wisdom abides and seduces us to the humility proper before our Father in heaven.

What is wisdom? Aquinas writes, “According to [Aristotle] (Metaph. i: 2), it belongs to wisdom to consider the highest cause. By means of that cause we are able to form a most certain judgment about other causes, and according thereto all things should be set in order…[and in the second article] Accordingly it belongs to the wisdom that is an intellectual virtue to pronounce right judgment about Divine things after reason has made its inquiry…”(ST II-II.45.1-2). Slightly more simply put, wisdom is that habit of mind that seeks to discover and study the final causes of all things and put these things in their proper order given their final cause. Wisdom is not some goofy, spooky secret that floats around waiting for the right moment to possess someone. Nor is wisdom to be found among the sticky tomes of Retail Gnosticism that haunt Borders and Barnes & Noble. These “wisdoms”—usually some form of esoteric paganism muscled-up with pseudo-scientific jargon—these wisdoms tend to provide the weak ego with a boost of faux confidence and leads the newly self-minted guru to exalt him or herself. But here’s what we know from the wisest teacher of them all: “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

On receiving a gift, we say “thank you” to the giver, thus humbling ourselves before the giver as a sign of our dependence on him or her for that gift. We say grace over our food, giving thanks for our benefactors and our cook. Perhaps you woke up this morning and gave God thanks for one more day to serve Him. We are all here now offering the ultimate thanksgiving of the Mass. But do you thank God for your Reason, your ability to deliberate on moral problems, your sense of right and wrong given the limits of right reason, your ability to experience creation and deduce godly truths? Do you thank God daily for His wisdom? If not, I wonder who it is you call “Master”? I wonder what it is that moves you to think about anything at all. . .

To help his disciples maintain the humility necessary to grow in wisdom, Jesus tells them: “Do not be called ‘Rabbi.’ You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers.” He also says not to call anyone “father” or “Master” b/c they have one Father and Master. The essential point here is that there is a single source of Wisdom for us, just one origin for the understanding of all things made. This warning isn’t about titles or honorifics but about foolishly identifying someone created as the source of Creation. It is not difficult to see how quickly such folly grows into madness. And that madness into the exaltation of one who was created from dust. What is there in the human mind that precedes the wisdom of the mind’s Creator? Nothing. Thomas called it “straw.” Straw has its proper uses, for sure, and it is a good thing, but it is straw not enduring truth. Enduring truth starts for us when we come to understand that “…both we and our words are in [God’s] hand…”


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Mom Update

Mama Becky Update:

Thank you all for the many assurances of prayer! Mom is always amazed at how quickly we Catholics can get the word out for prayer...just got off the phone with her...she has a bad case of pneumonia, not bad enough to be hospitalized, thank God. She has COHF and emphysema, so any respiratory infection is life-threatening.

Again, thanks for the prayer!

Repudiate Obama's Abortion Policy

As a priest and a Dominican friar, I would encourage all American Catholics to take a moment and publicly repudiate the recent decision of our president, Barak Hussein Obama, to spend federal tax dollars to pay for women in foreign countries to kill their unwanted children.

By authorizing the expenditure of tax dollars, he is indirectly implicating all American tax payers in the murder of unborn children all over the world.

If you oppose "abortion rights," then repudiating this action publicly ensures that you are not materially cooperative in this man's mortal sin. If you voted for him knowing that he is an abortion supporter, then now's your chance to repent.

Having been down the road of "pro-choice" ideology myself for many, many years, I can tell you without flinching: there's nothing there. Literally, nothing. Darkness. Death. Emptiness. Once you come to believe that murder is OK, nothing else seems quite so bad.

You do not want to get stained with Obama's darkened conscience. Repudiate his actions now and pray for him!

Leave a comment and I will add your repudiation to my prayer intentions for Mass tomorrow here in the convent in Rome!

NB. Only comments repudiating Obama's actions will be posted. Pro-aborts/pro-pills, go spew your evil somewhere else.

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Update

Quick update. . .since not everyone is on Facebook. . .

Passed my first exam!

Finished my seminar paper, but I don't like it so I'm not gonna post it. . .yet.

Got my thesis outline back. . .prof said: excellent topic, WAY too big for license thesis.

Sent letters to Italian customs asking them to return my meds to the U.S. Who knows?

Headed to the U.S. one week from today!

Rec'd invitation from the Rome U.D. campus to accompany the students to Greece in March.

[Some few readers have somehow gotten the idea that I am flying to the U.S. simply to pick up some prescriptions from Walgreen's. . .No! All I am doing is taking my Easter vacation early. This allows me to get my med situation cleared up, and I will be here in Rome for Easter! So, no, I am not flyin' to the States on a drugstore run. . .though Wal-Mart will play a large role during my visit.]

Blog break

I need some rest. . .

So, BLOG BREAK!!!!

See you all on Feb 15th.

God, Mother Earth. . .same thing.

This is what forty years of "Spirit of Vatican Two" catechesis has given us. . .color me unsurprised:

La Paz, Jan 20, 2009 / 12:23 pm (CNA).- After attending a Mass in which he received Communion, Bolivian President Evo Morales said he was Catholic but that he still worships Mother Earth (“Pachamama” in the Quechua language). He also added that he was “disappointed” that some Christian groups are questioning parts of the new Constitution that will be subjected to a referendum on January 25.

“I am Catholic but I am very disappointed at some leaders of the Catholic Church, not those of the base church,” Morales said during an interview on Erbol Radio.

The Bolivia bishops have said they are not opposed to the new Constitution, but have outlined ten sections that dangerously open the door to practices such as abortion and the loss of parental authority.

“I believe strongly in the rites and in Mother Earth (Pachamama),” Morales said. “But of course I am a Catholic and an admirer of Jesus Christ.”

So, in other words, El Presidente would feel right at home among the other syncretistic ne0-pagans that fill Catholic religious orders in the U.S. and Europe. . .

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Revised Travel Plans

Having surrendered to Italian Customs and quite probably consigned hundreds of dollars of imported medications to the Fiery Pits of Customs Hell by doing so, I have decided to take my Easter vacation early so I can visit my doctors and get this med situation straightened out for good.

I've re-arranged three final exams so that I can leave for my U.S. visit on Jan. 30th.

I will be with the Parentals in Mississippi from Jan 30th-Feb 7th.

In Irving with the friars and my U.D. friends Feb. 7-11th.

Back to Mississippi and leave for Rome on Feb 14th.

Second semester begins Feb. 16th!

Please pray for this trip's success. . .

Once White gets it right. . .

Fr. Z. has up the full text of Obama's first proclamation. Here's the conclusion:

"NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 20, 2009, a National Day of Renewal and Reconciliation, and call upon all of our citizens to serve one another and the common purpose of remaking this Nation for our new century."

Sounds good. I'll buy it; however, maybe B.O. should show us how a day of renewal and reconciliation is done by repudiating and then apologizing for the "Reverend" he asked to give the day's benediction. DRUDGE has posted the text of Joseph Lowery's "blessing":

"Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around. . .when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right. That all those who do justice and love mercy say Amen. Say Amen. . ."

Of course, we should be very glad that justice and love is still possible even when black, brown, and red do not embrace right. Or, is it that only whites fail to embrace right. . .? Or, is that justice and love is only possible when whites FINALLY come around to embracing right? Whichever.

I dunno. I'm not feeling very renewed or reconciled knowing that B.O. thinks this guy represents renewal and reconciliation.

This is an obnoxiously racist "prayer." Is this B.O.'s idea of a renewed and reconciled America?