Love first, then a sign (Podcast)

16th Week OT (M)

Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP

Church of the Incarnation, Univ of Dallas

Podcast

I spend most of my year living in Rome with 80 or so friars from all over the world. Though most of the brothers speak some intelligible version of English, the language of the priory is Italian. For example, notices of community events posted on the bulletin board are in Italian. Out on the streets of Rome, unsurprisingly, billboards and store signs are all written in Italian. So are street signs. So, if you want to navigate the city, you will need to know just enough Italian to get around. The whole point of signs is to inform, direct, and warn their readers. Whatever the purpose of signs in general or any sign in particular, signs are only able to do their jobs if those who need the signs can read them. For example, about 99% of the notices posted on the community bulletin board in my Roman priory are useless to me. This is not the fault of the notices. For all but the most practical, simplest purposes, I am illiterate in Italian. Just so, those heckling Jesus for a sign to confirm his identity and power are illiterate as well. While I can't read Italian, they can't read the signs of the Messiah's ministry among them. My deficiency is due to age, laziness, and general disinterestedness. Theirs seems to be a more profound lacking. Jesus says that those wanting signs of his identity are illiterate because they are “evil and unfaithful.” The lesson is here? Don't ask for signs you can't or won't read.

If you pay any attention at all to skeptical or atheistic objections to religious belief, you will notice that the principal demand made by our intellectual opponents is the demand for evidence. Evidence of God's existence. Evidence of an afterlife, miracles, the existence of angels, etc. Basically, what they are asking for is some sort of material sign from God that something of what we believe as Christians is true. Most of them claim that they will become believers when the stars align in the sky to spell out the message, “God exists.” They should get credit for being open to the possibility that God exists. However, not all atheists are so open-minded. The Canadian atheist and philosopher, Kai Neilsen, for example, has this to say about such miraculous evidence, “We are no better off with the stars in the heavens spelling out GOD EXISTS that with their spelling out PROCRASTINATION DRINKS MELANCHOLY. We know that something has shaken our world, but we know not what. . .”* He goes to say that such an unusual event might be “big trick or some some mass delusion.” In other words, there's likely little chance that Prof. Neilsen can be taught to read the signs of God's presence in His creation. But if he could be taught divine literacy, how would he go about learning it?

What Jesus makes painfully clear in his reply to those clamoring for a sign of his identity is that so long as they persist as an “evil and unfaithful generation,” no sign will tell them what they want to know. For Jesus to demand of them goodness and faithfulness before he gives a sign seems like question-begging or special pleading. They must believe and then the signs will be legible. Faith informs, makes possible, renders intelligible all the signs one needs to believe. This is exactly backwards for unbelievers. But that's the power of Jesus' demand. Believing in him on the basis of material evidence requires nothing more than intellectual assent, saying yes to a well-evidenced argument. That's knowledge not faith. Few of us—if any of us—are raring to die in defense of a proposition; suffer torture, persecution, and death to attain a conclusion properly deduced in a valid syllogism. Our relationship with the God through Christ in the Spirit is fundamentally a relationship between Father and child, Maker and made. This is not the sort of relationship that comes about as a result of evidence, proof, and deduction. When you ask a friend for proof of his or her love, you admit that their love is secondary to your need for evidence, thus providing evidence that you do not love. 

First, you love; then you read all the signs through that love. Without this initial commitment, this primary allegiance, all signs of love shown to you will be illegible, and you will be as illiterate as the clamoring crowd and our friend, Prof. Neilsen.

*Taliaferro, Charles.  Evidence and Faith:  Philosophy and Religion since the Seventeenth Century, 345.

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At the feet of Christ (Podcast)

16th Sunday OT

Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP

Church of the Incarnation, Univ of Dallas

Podcast

If you check the fiction bestseller list you will find listed among the top fifty books a high percentage of mystery novels. Whodunits set in ancient Rome, medieval Europe, 18th century Japan, and even our science-fictional future. Police dramas that draw in viewers with the mystery of an unsolved criminal case dominate the TV listings. The nightly news is filled with reports of the mysteries of our collective drive to both get along and get ahead—terrorist plots, political intrigue, predictions of economic ups and downs. Perhaps nowhere more prominent does mystery appear than in our day to day efforts to come to, to serve, and to understand the nature of the divine, the workings of heaven here on earth. We Christians have whole libraries packed with books that identify and attempt to explain one mystery or another: the Incarnation, the Holy Trinity, Divine Providence, transubstantiation. And even with all this collected knowledge and our collective wisdom to interpret it, we often find ourselves explaining the faith to the skeptic with one, terribly unsatisfying sentence: “It's a mystery.” Sure, the Church has some profound ideas, a useful method, a set of reasonable assumptions, centuries of logical arguments, and even some intriguing evidence from the world of science, yet mystery remains. And always will. Why? Because teaching and being taught the mysteries of our faith is the business of a truly humble heart, an inquisitive mind, and a meek and merciful soul. All that we must learn, we learn at the feet of Christ. 

In his letter to the Colossians, Paul identifies himself as a minister of the Body of Christ; one given stewardship over the mission “to bring to completion for [the Church] the word of God, the mystery hidden from ages and from generations past.” He writes that this mystery “has been manifested to his holy ones, to whom God chose to make known the riches of the [mystery's glory]. . .” What is this mystery that Paul must bring to completion? God's Self revelation, first given to the Jews, must be made manifest among the Gentiles. He writes that the mystery to be revealed “. . .is Christ in you, the hope for glory.” Why must the Gentiles be made privy to the mysteries of salvation? Paul says that he proclaims the mystery of Christ, “admonishing everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, [so] that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.” He understands his commission as one that will fill up “what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body . . .” In order words, the Body of Christ is not complete until every tongue, tribe, nation, and people have heard and seen the mystery of Christ proclaimed and accomplished in the Church. We know that this apostle to the Gentiles dies a martyr's death, preaching God's Word. His task, his commission falls to us, the Body of Christ he nourished with both his life and his death. So, how do we continue on?

We have in the sisters, Martha and Mary, two models, two paradigms for how we might proceed to reveal Christ's mystery to the world. When Jesus visits the sisters, Martha begins to fuss about, trying her best to prepare a suitably hospitable meal for their guest. Frustrated that Mary is ignoring her domestic duties in order to dote on Jesus, Martha complains to Jesus and asks him to admonish Mary for her apparent laziness. Instead of scolding Mary for her inattention to duty, Jesus turns Martha's complaint back on her, saying, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.” When should notice here that Jesus doesn't chastise Martha for griping nor does he seem ungrateful for her work on his behalf. Rather than soothe Martha's hurt feelings by telling Mary to get to work, rather than tempering Martha's anger with a lecture on patience, Jesus goes straight to the root of her fussiness. Martha is anxious; she is worried. Faced with the presence of Christ in her home, Martha chooses to get busy; she deflects her anxiety by “doing stuff,” hoping, perhaps, that by staying busy she will burn off the fretting worry. Mary, on the other hand, sits at Jesus' feet and listens to his instruction. She too might be anxious. She might be just as wound up and nervous as her sister in the presence of Christ, but she chooses “the better part,” attending to Jesus as he teaches her the mysteries of his Father's revelation. 

Why does Jesus consider Mary's rapt attention to be better than Martha's distracted busyness? Let's ask this question another way. Who is most likely to learn: a student who sits in class tuned in to her iPod, her Facbook chat, and her doodling; or the student who attentively listens to the teacher—no distractions, nothing to cloud her mind or burden her heart? If you have ever tried to teach a child a difficult math problem, or convey a set of relatively boring facts, then you know the answer to this question! Mary has the better part because she is more likely to learn, more likely to “get it,” more likely to become the better teacher and preacher of the mysteries herself. Martha will get quite a lot done, but will she be open to seeing and hearing the mystery that Jesus has to reveal? Jesus tells Martha, “There is need of only one thing.” There is only one needful thing, only one thing we need: to listen to the Word, the Word made flesh in Christ.

When you take up Paul's commission to preach the mystery of Christ to the world, do you first listen to the Word; or do you get busy “doing stuff” that looks Christian, sounds Christian? Do you really hear what Christ has to say about God's mercy, His love? Do you attend to the Body of Christ in action during the celebration of his sacraments? Do you watch for Christ to reveal himself in those you love, in those you despise, those you would rather ignore or disparage? Can you set aside the work of doing Christian things and just be a follower of Christ, just long to be filled with the Spirit necessary to teach with all wisdom? It's vital that we understand that Martha isn't wrong for doing stuff. Her flaw rests solely in her anxiety and her worry while she's doing stuff. Being anxious and worried about many things while doing God's work is a sure sign that we are failing to grasp the central mystery of our commission to preach the Good News: it is Christ who preaches through us, not only with us, along side us, but through us. If we have truly seen and heard the mystery of our salvation through God's infinite mercy, then there is nothing to fear, nothing to be anxious about, nothing that can or will defeat the Word we are vowed to spread. Why? Because everything we do and say reveals Christ to the world. If the Church is the sacrament of God's presence in the world, and we are members of the Body of Christ, the Church, then we too are sacraments of God's presence. Individually imperfect, together we are made more perfect on the way to our perfection in Christ. 

To do what you have vowed to do, to preach and teach the Good News of Christ Jesus, choose the better part, choose to sit attentively at the feet of the Lord and take in the mystery of God's mercy; choose to surrender your anxiety and worry, and come peacefully, patiently closer and closer to the unfolding mystery of having been set free from sin and death. Bring to the feet of Christ a truly humble heart, an inquisitive mind, and a meek and merciful soul. This is the best part of being his student: nothing learned in Christ's classroom will ever be taken from you, even as you persevere in giving it all away.

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Smoothing the Way (Podcast)

Arrrrgggg. . .I'm beginning to think that I am going to have to be either a philosopher or a preacher.  This homily made perfect sense while I was writing it.  Once I started preaching. . .all sense was lost.  You can probably hear it in my voice.  Sigh.  Also, I was completely distracted by the rivers of sweat flowing down the back of the neck. 

Memorial of St. Bonaventure

Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP

Church of the Incarnation, Univ of Dallas

Podcast

Jesus tells the disciples that his yoke is easy and his burden is light. Is this how we experience our lives in Christ? Light and easy? It's a fair question and one no few of us have asked. But no blame should fall on us for doubting that the life we have chosen in Christ is light and easy. True, the demands of growing daily in holiness are few. All we need do is love God and others as God Himself loves us. Be merciful, avoid evil, witness with our every word and deed the way to salvation through Christ. The demands are few, but they are relentless—unwavering and constant. Even the smallest task done all day every day for years will eventually exhaust the strongest body, the purest soul. It's not the weight of our work toward holiness that burdens us but the repetition this work requires that can send us into despair. Anyone can be holy, do holy work for an hour or a day. But being holy, doing holy work for a lifetime is much, much more difficult, if not impossible—well, impossible, that is, if holiness were measured by what we manage to accomplish in a lifetime, or measured against the perfection of achieved by Christ. His yoke is easy and light, and so is the life in Christ to which we have vowed ourselves. Isiah shares the secret of being a follower and doing God's work: “The way of the just is smooth; the path of the just [God makes] level.”

If we experience our lives in Christ as a heavy burden is it probably because we believe that our work toward holiness includes the arduous task of clearing away the wreckage of our sin. How can I come to Christ and do and be what and who he demands if I am loaded down with the garbage of a dissolute life? Don't I need to be clean before I start down the Christian path? It makes sense to hold that nothing clean can come from a filthy source. Nothing good can come from evil. And this would make sense if we were talking about human goodness, human evil. But we're not. Isiah says it plainly, it is God Himself who levels the steep hills, straightens the crooked paths, and sets us right by washing us clean. It is God Himself who prepares us for the work we must do. Christ's yoke on our shoulders is light and easy not because we come to him as self-made, ready-made holy men and women, but because the really hard work of our holiness has already been done for us. All we need do is persist, endure in the work. And even then we persist and endure only because of His grace.

If Christ's yoke is heavy and difficult around our necks it is likely because we ourselves weigh it down, because we ourselves have tried to put it on without Christ's help. Knowing that only Christ forgives us our sins, does it make sense to believe simultaneously that we are burdened by sin and that we must come to Christ cleansed of that sin? Can sin remove sin? If you believe that you cannot take on Christ's yoke until you are strong enough to bear it, then how do you get strong enough while you are weak? Can weakness strengthen weakness? Obviously not. The burden our Lord lifts is not only the actual sin that we carry but also the heavy and false belief that the job of lifting this burden is ours alone. It is not. Never has been. It is God's job to smooth the steep hills and straighten the crooked paths. Let Him do His work. It is your job to travel His smoothed-out, straightened-upped Way. Now, that your work is light and easy and the yoke around your neck is a joy, count yourself among the loved ones of the Lord, hurry to Him and find your rest.

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Church of England considers allowing its male bishops to become nuns.  You can't make this stuff up.  Seriously.

Should the bar exam be abolished?  I got a mediocre GRE score when I took the thing in 1986.  My MA/PhD GPA was not predicted by this score.  Generally, standardized tests don't really test much more than how well students take tests. . .especially multiple-choice tests.  If you really want to test grad school potential, require students to write an extended essay. 

Hmmmm. . .author wants the Holy Father to condemn the "errors" of Vatican Two.  This looks incredibly dodgy to me.  Certainly there are interpretations of VC2 teaching that need condemning, but to suggest that the Pope should condemn the Council is highly controversial.

How one Catholic preacher struggles to compose his Sunday homily.  I'm learning how important it is for a good preacher to be connected to regular Catholics!  The stuff I spend my time thinking about all week is greatly removed from what 99.9% of Catholics worry about.

I listened to a debate on NPR yesterday about the ban on face veils in France. . .found myself waffling with each side.  Is it about religious freedom?  Or is it about undermining an Islamic fundamentalist tool of social control?

Check out reactions from black writers/thinkers to yesterday's clueless resolution from the NAACP condemning Tea Party "racism." 

In so far as the Tea Party movement opposes the statist ambitions of both the Dems and the GOP, I am sympathetic.  However, billboards like this one only serve to fuel the MSM meme that the TPM is controlled by a fringe ideology.  Let's support a moratorium on Hitler comparisons.  Like the accusation of racism, they've become largely meaningless.

So much for ObamaCare will NOT use your tax dollars to fund abortions!  Of course, most of us knew they were lying.  Opposition to BOCare is still high and unchanging.  Guess the snake-oil salesman pitch isn't working.

Oh the irony!  The Civil Rights Commission wants to question the DoJ lawyers about the dept's alleged refusal to prosecute cases with black defendants and white plaintiffs.  Why is this ironic?  Well, we might expect that the CRC would the natural political ally of the US's first black president.  I guess the folks on the CRC are more interested in their sworn duty than playing politics.

On how not to restore credibility to your profession:  Pro-Cap and Trade/Global Warming Theory columnist is frustrated with the pathetic white wash of the the Climate Gate Scandal review committees. 

Heh.  "'Obama's Katrina' is a contraction."

When social engineering Leftists lose the debate at the Supreme Court they go to the World Court in order to get their agenda imposed.  Good luck with that.

Excellent advice.  Simple and straight to the point.

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Only the child-like (Podcast)

Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha

Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP

Church of the Incarnation, Univ of Dallas

Podcast  (Please let me know if you're having trouble with these podcasts)

The Psalmist sings, “The Lord will not abandon his people!” If we need to be assured of this promise, we have the birth of Christ Jesus among us; his suffering, death, and resurrection. We have the assurance of the his body, the Church; the assurance of his sacraments, most especially the sacraments of our baptism and the saving sacrifice of his Body and Blood in this Eucharist. And if we need to be assured even beyond these rock-solid promises, he has given us his word, “All things have been handed over to me by my Father. . .no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him." The only question for us is this: are we ready, willing, and able to receive the truth of the Father that His Son freely reveals? Though worldly wisdom and worldly learning might help us to clarify and better understand Christ's revelation after we have received him; neither nor both together can prepare us to accept all that the Son has to give. 

If the wisdom and learning of human history cannot prepare us to receive the revelation of Christ Jesus, who or what can? Jesus teaches his disciples that only the child-like can see and hear all that he has to disclose. Only the child-like. Only those unencumbered by the worries of the days and weeks and years that come with living in the world. Only those who live perfectly trusting in the Father's love. Only those who show mercy as the Father shows mercy. Before the glory of God, we must be child-like: innocent, trusting, open to instruction, eager to please, and utterly without guile. In other words, we must be sweating hot with the desire to learn the truth, to put off our anxieties; the desire to be transformed. We can begin this program of spiritual exercise by hearing and believing the Psalmist's refrain: “The Lord will not abandon his people.”

Imagine for a moment what you could learn about God's revelation if you would set aside for just one day, even just one hour, your need to be right, your need to be safe, your need to be in charge. Imagine if you set these aside and fully, truly accepted that the Lord would never leave you to destruction, never forsake you to an eternal death. What could you learn? How would you grow? Think for a moment about the locks you put on your trust, on your love, on your hope. How many are there? Can you count them? Do you believe that hoarding the gifts God has given you will earn you compound interest in heaven? Or that a cautious, meager charity will benefit you in the long run? Gifts left unused for the good of your neighbors will eventually atrophy and die, leaving behind a bitter waste, an angry, soured soul. There is nothing child-like about living your life in resentment and disappointment. Our Father will never abandon us. What is there for us to fear? Nothing. Nothing at all.

The Father created all things to reveal Himself to us; all things reveal the truth of God. But before we can see and hear all He has to tell us, we must be ripe for the revelation; fully prepared to have the seeds of His wisdom planted in our hearts and minds. And only those who watch and listen without anger, bitterness, or guile; without resentment or disappointment; only those who present themselves as students ignorant of pride and envy, only these can be the soil rich enough, fertile enough to grow His Word into a magnificent harvest. The Lord will not abandon us. He has already given us everything we need to remain steadfast along The Way. So, receive His gifts and give thanks; we are His.

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Scientific Materialism and Cultural Naturalism

First Things (R.R. Reno):  The Gospel of Scientific Materialism, "The basic thrust of a reductive science of the mind involves a move from cultural categories—'I have an obligation to care for my children'—to biological ones—'I only feel an obligation because human DNA has evolved to promote species survival.'  It is a way, in other words, to deny the reality and authority of culture."

If I were a scientific materialist I would object:  No, SM doesn't seek to replace the cultural with the biological, but rather it seeks to explain the cultural with the biological.  In other words, the cultural imperative to care for my children is derived from the biological imperative to promote species survival.  In so far as SM seeks to explain the physical world we live in, it generally eschews drawing neat conclusions about social phenomena (e.g., family obligations).  A scientific materialist would simply shrug her shoulders at a question about the nature of the family, or the cultural norms embedded in communal practices. 

Those who hope to replace cultural imperatives with biological explanations are committed philosophically to more than scientific materialism; they are committed to a kind of cultural  naturalism that argues against the existence of truths knowable apart from materialistic-naturalistic explanations (in this case, objectively knowable moral truths).  

The $15 name for this is Non-eliminative reductive ontological naturalism.*  NEON argues that  the reality of the world we live in includes only those things that the natural sciences can describe and explain.  This means that all cultural, social, economic categories are reducible to naturalistic categories (genetics, etc.). 

Scientific materialism, when limited to its proper field of expertise, is culturally, socially neutral; that is, it makes no claims on the existence or nature of non-material entities or categories.

*cf. Paul Moser, The Evidence for God, pg. 71.

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"abortion is a blessing and our work is not done"

You have to wonder, if abortion is all its supporters say it is, why don't we see more vids like the one posted below shown on CNN, MSNBC, etc?

Also, watch the vid if we are curious about what sort of education a $100,000 will buy you at the  Episcopal "Divinity" School these days.   This woman is their Dean.

Is it any wonder my old home, The Episcopal Church, is nearly dead? 

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Think you might be called to serve God and His Church as a priest or religious?  Try out the Discernment Tester!   I'd love to hear from anyone who tries this.

LibDems whining about the colossal failure of their liberalism, especially the disappointment they feel about B.O.  Sorry, you guys never had any good reason to think that he was anything but just another Chicago politician. 

Hope for all of us aging geezers:  chemical to regrow brain cells.  All the braincells I killed in my first two years of grad school thank you.

Iran's human rights chief defends the sentence of stoning that an Islamic court gave a confessed adulteress.  Remember:  Iran sits on the U.N.'s Commission on Women's Rights.

As the Church of England abandons yet another tenet of western catholicism, hundreds of Anglican clergy contemplate swimming the Tiber.  I just hope they learned the lessons of 1994 and work over the heads of the Catholic bishops of England & Wales.  IOW, go straight to the Holy Father!

The governmental "War on Science" is continues unabated under the enlightened stewardship of B.O. 

Bill Kristol on "The Crisis at Which We are Arrived."

Cupcakes for the Zombies in your family.  Um, should we be feeding these guys?

These graphs fully express my own sense of social/intellectual inadequacy.  Sigh.

The iPhone comparison checklist.  iPhone wins!  But just barely.

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New podcast

The homily for the 15th Sunday in OT has been uploaded as a podcast. 

Not sure if it's working though. . .I can't get the thing to play.

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On Kagan's free-speech double standard:  free for the right kind of speech.

B.O. has finalized plans for his third vacation since April 20.  I guess presiding over the political, economic, social, and diplomatic failure of one's country is pretty exhausting.  Didn't the lefty MSM scream bloodly murder every time "W" went to Crawford?

Lots of sabotage suggestions from one of the web's funniest bloggers, Iowahawk.

Spanking Oliver Stone for his Chavez propaganda.

"All told, the feds have deputized 1,100-plus cops in 26 states to round up illegals. . ."  So, why is the DoJ suing AZ for doing what the federal gov't is already paying them to so?

Another clerical betrayal:  CT pastors a whole lotta parish money on rent boys.  NB.  procedures are in place in this diocese to prevent this sort of thing. . .they weren't followed.  IOW, policies and procedures in and of themselves prevent nothing.  People do.

Anglicans still wrangling over women "bishops."  Can there be any doubt that the Church of England is thoroughly Protestant?

How onions make us cry.  I've found that it's best to wear ear plugs.

Cute fix for today. . .and the rest of this week.

M&M Darwinism. . .which color of M&M is worthy to survive?

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OP Conference on Thomism

Fair Warning!  Dominicans getting together to think out loud!!!

A conference on contemporary Thomism held in Warsaw, Poland just last month.  

Site includes audio files.

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Love your neighbor: Just do it!

I need some feedback on this homily.  I preached at the vigil Mass this evening and something didn't seem quite right.  Preachers are generally bad judges of their own preaching. . .Help!

15th Sunday OT

Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP

Church of the Incarnation, Univ of Dallas

Podcast

Moses tells his people that they must return to the Lord their God with all heart and all their soul. To do this all they need do is keep His commandments and statutes. What could be easier? The Lord's commandments are not mysterious or remote; they are not hidden nor are they difficult to follow. Every commandment is written in the book of the law. Every commandment directs God's people to behave a certain way. His laws are not up in the sky or across the sea. No one has to climb to the clouds or swim the oceans to retrieve them. The will of the Father is very near to them; in fact, what He wants for them all is already in their mouths and in their hearts. All they have to do is do what the Father has asked them to do. What's so difficult about that? Why is simply doing what God wants us to do so hard? If we could ask the priest and the Levite why they refused to help the traveler who was robbed and left for dead in a ditch, what would they say? I was in a hurry. Things to do. I'm not a doctor. What could I do? He may have been unclean. I didn't want to contaminate myself. Whatever their reasons, however sensible those reasons may be, the priest and the Levite tossed their Father's law up into the clouds. Out of reach. They threw His will across the sea. Why? A remote and mysterious law is easily ignored, more easily thought of as optional. Perhaps the question we need to ask is not why do we find God's will so difficult to follow but rather how do we arrange our lives so that His will seems impossible to follow?

If Moses is correct and God's commandments are already in our mouths and on our hearts, then doing God's will should come naturally to us. Not only should we not have to think about the right thing to do, we should do it as a matter of course. No deliberation. No agonizing over options. No weighing consequences. Just do the right thing. Just do it. But how many of us experience moral choices in this way? How many of us find ourselves in a situation where we are called upon to act with compassion yet we hesitate or even fail to act because we feel the need to think it through. We believe that the situation needs analysis; we need time to contemplate all the options and ponder the likely effects of our actions. If it sounds like I am disparaging rational deliberation on moral questions, let me dispel this worry: thinking through our actions and their consequences is what rational creatures do. However, when we use intellectual problems or legalistic dithering in order to avoid compassionate action because such action is inconvenient or expensive, we effectively refuse to love as God Himself loves us. 

We have an example of this in the scholar of the law who confronts Jesus with a sensible question: what's it gonna take for me to get into heaven? Since this guy is a lawyer, Jesus ask his own sensible question: what's written in the law? The lawyer rattles off the relevant verses about loving God, yourself, and your neighbor. Jesus says, good, do that and you will live. Just do it. But the lawyer wants to clarify a point of interpretation. He wants to wrangle a bit over the definition of terms and see if he could wiggle around this painfully straightforward command. Luke writes, “. . .because [the scholar] wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?'" What sort of question is this? Luke says that he asks the question in order to justify himself. What exactly is he after? Remember that the Mosaic Law was filled with strict definitions, clear cut lines and limits on who, what, when, and how the Law was to be applied. His question may have been asked in order to avoid responsibility for loving his neighbor but it is also asked as a way of trying to get at the limits of his responsibility. Surely Jesus didn't mean to say that everyone is my neighbor! Surely lepers and prostitutes and money-lenders and Samaritans aren't my neighbors! Unfortunately, for the lawyer, that's exactly what Jesus means. The case Jesus lays out for the inquisitive lawyer bears this out.

The story of the Good Samaritan is a familiar one, so we don't need to go into detail here. But let's look at the sequence of events to see what Jesus is teaching our lawyer friend. Notice a few details. Jesus never reveals the race, religion, ethnicity, or social class of the robbers' victim. These details would influence the lawyer's answer because each would define the term “neighbor” in a conventional way for the lawyer. Jesus portrays the Good Samaritan as acting compassionately without considering anything but the humanity of the victim. Only after telling the story all the way through, detailing good deeds of the Samaritan, does Jesus ask: who was neighbor to the victim of the robbers? He didn't ask, which of three passers-by treated the victim like a neighbor? He asks, which of the three was himself a neighbor to the victim? Do you see the difference? Defining “neighbor” is not about trying to figure out who out there gets my compassion. When I act compassionately I am a neighbor to whoever it is that receives my compassion. Jesus is telling the lawyer that he is to stop thinking about who fits the legal definition of “neighbor” and instead start being a neighbor to anyone who needs help. In other words, “being a loving neighbor and acting like one” is a condition each of us carries in our heart and mind—an internal state—and not a classification we impose on others—an external state. 

We know how the story ends. The lawyer, finally hearing Jesus' teaching, says that the Samaritan was the good neighbor because he was the only one of the three who treated the victim with mercy. Jesus responds, “Go and do likewise.” Treat others with mercy, love others like the compassionate neighbor that you are, and you will have eternal life. Go and do likewise. Don't merely treat others. Don't simply show mercy. But treat with mercy. Act with compassion. Acting, doing is not enough. Compassion, feeling is not enough. It takes both. 

Now, back to our original question: how do we arrange our lives so that God's commandment to love seems so impossible to follow? Do we love as God loves us, or do we spend time and energy trying to figure out who deserves our love? Do we act compassionately, or do we hesitate and ask questions about the nature of mercy and who truly merits our forgiveness? Do we go and do what the Good Samaritan did, or do we find perfectly plausible, even sensible reasons to cross to the opposite side of the road and disobey our Father's will? Knowing how we avoid loving God and our neighbor will take us a long way toward knowing why we will not to do what the Father has commanded us to do. Moses tell his people that they already have the law in their mouths and in their hearts. All they need do is carry out the Father's command to love. Lifting up the compassionate deeds of the Good Samaritan, Jesus says to the lawyer, “Go and do likewise.” 

You know what it is to love because God loved you first. Go and do likewise. Just do it.

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Coffee Mug Browsing

Prof fired for teaching the Catholic faith in a class on Catholicism.  NB. the money quote from the complaining student's email.  He/she has absolutely no idea what the natural law is. . .yet his/her complaint is sufficient to get this prof fired.

Tom Peters, the American Papist, has issued a call to arms to hold U.I. responsible for firing this Catholic prof. . .he provides the relevant ammo and delivery system.

10 Facts All Catholics Should Know. . .these are paragraph-sized explanations of a few controversial facts about Catholicism.  Don't expect in-depth analysis, but these could lead you to explore the issues more.

Do the states have the power to nullify federal law?

55% of likely voters say B.O. is a socialist.  Duh.  Only 54% believe the sun is hot and that rain is wet.

Retired Episcopalian priest offers us "Ten Highly Effective Strategies for Crushing Your Pastor's Morale."   Some of these wouldn't fly in a Catholic parish, but they are funny none the less.

Dems/B.O. didn't listen to the Tea Party in 2009.  Will the GOP listen in 2010?  I seriously doubt it.

NASA's "primary mission" to improve Muslim self-esteem.  Hilarious cartoon.

Analysis of the DOJ's suit against AZ.  The DOJ has an uphill battle to fight against Supreme Court precedent and common sense.  Of course, neither precedent nor common sense has ever prevented a judge from imposing his/her political will on the people.


The Times Watch. . .a great site that watches a once great newspaper.

Steven Wright quotes:  "If a person with multiple personalities threatens suicide, is that considered a hostage situation?"

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SSM supporter warns his fellow liberals about applauding the recent decision against DOMA:  "Yea, it's the result we wanted, but the way we got it is not something to be happy about."  NB.  DOMA is not a ban on SSM.  DOMA exempts states from the having to recognize SSM performed in other states.  It also rules out federal benefits for same-sex couples in such a "marriage."

An analysis of the judge's decision.  Everyone seems to be intrigued by the judge's use of the Ten Amendment to strike down DOMA and worried at the same time.

More lefty Nanny State social engineering. . .this time in the so-called "financial reform bill."

B.O. has even lost the Jet-setting Eco-Egghead Hypocritical Elites of the Aspen Ideas Festival.  Poor Bambi.

Yet another Harvard Train Wreck appointment from B.O.  This one wants wealth redistribution through a UK-like NHS system.  NB.  he uses the term "planning the supply" when talking about providing health care services.  That's code for "rationing."

NAACP spokesman says that it is OK for racist whites to beat up blacks who aren't "black enough."  Dr. King must be so proud right now.

New Vatican norms will deal with clerical sexual abuse and the sin of the attempted ordination of women.  Strange combo indeed.  These issues should have been dealt with in separate documents.

Good story on the ex-Dominican Beat poet, William Everson. 

Another reason to cast a suspicious eye on the U.N.

Our Holy Father is writing an encyclical on faith.  This will bring to a conclusion a cycle of works on the three infused virtues (love, hope, faith).

Archbishop gets it right:  you can't be both a good Catholic and pro-abortion. 

"Reverse racism" at the DoJ.  There is no such thing as "reverse racism."  The term implies that only whites can be racists. 

More creative puns.

Mitch Hedberg. . .weirdness personified.

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As if free

NB.  There's a first time for everything, I guess.  This homily is from 2008 (with a few changes).  Though I have re-posted homilies before, I've never actually preached a homily for the day more than once (except when I celebrated two Masses on the same day).  In 2008, this one didn't get recorded.  Today, it will be. 

Update:  My recorder died.  I didn't notice until it was time to switch it on.  The Devil is out to get me!

14th Week OT (T)

Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP

Church of the Incarnation, Univ of Dallas

Though I have been an English teacher now for some twenty-two years, I’m not one of those fussy grammarian types who go around correcting “who” for “whom,” nor do I wag my finger at the barbarians who have killed the subjunctive mood of our verbs: “If I were going” not “If I was going…” Maybe I don’t do this sort of thing b/c I am a bad grammarian; regardless, there is one grammatical abuse that gets my school-marm bun in a twist:  "free gift” offered with purchase. First, if it is truly a gift it is free by definition, so the adjective “free” in “free gift” is redundant. Second, if you have to purchase something to get the free gift, it is not a gift but a bribe. Marketers aren’t stupid; I mean, they aren’t uneducated in the ways that people respond to language, so why do you think that they make this mistake over and over again in their advertising? "Gifts” must be labeled “free” b/c how many of us really believe that anything anymore is truly free?

That question leads us to this one: why would anyone upon hearing the proclamation of the coming of God’s kingdom and the gracious wish of peace upon one’s household, refuse to receive that word and the wish of peace by listening? Jesus tells the disciples that they are to proclaim the kingdom in whatever town or village they find themselves in. Upon entering the house of their host, “wish [the household] peace. If the house is worthy, let your peace be upon it…” If the house is not worthy, Jesus tells his friends, “let your peace return to you…go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet.” In other words, let nothing of their disobedience stay with you. They have refused the gift of peace that comes from hearing and doing—that is, listening—to the Word of God. Why would anyone refuse to listen?

Before instructing his friends on how to go out and proclaim the kingdom, Jesus reminds them, “Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.” How many of those who hear the disciples proclaim the kingdom truly believe that the message is a “free gift”? The cynics will say, “Yea, free, suuure.” The pessimists will say, “Who needs a gift that promises to kill us?” The optimists will say, “I’m happy now; besides happiness can’t be given?” And the truly world-wise will say, “What do I have to buy to get this allegedly ‘free gift’”? Like the modern consumer, these folks do not believe anything is truly free. If they cannot believe that the proclamation of the gospel message is a gift, then how will they ever come to believe that something as infinitely valuable as their rescue from sin and death is a “free gift” from God? 

We have to wonder even now if we, the teachers and preachers of that freely given gospel, perpetuate the prejudice against the gospel being truly free. Jesus tries to help us now by telling his friends then not to preach with silver or gold or copper rattling around in our pockets; to go out preaching without a sack for the journey or a change of clothes or an extra pair of shoes. In other words, when we go out proclaiming the kingdom we are to appear as though the message we preach is free. So, the better question here might be: do those who refuse to listen to the freely given message of salvation through Christ see us as messengers who really believe that the message we bring is free? If the medium is the message, then we must look like the gospel we proclaim. Otherwise, those who hear but do not listen can say, “Looks like an expensive Way to go to me.”

The psalmist prays, “Let us see your face, Lord, and will shall be saved.” Looking at His preachers, how much do you reckon folks think they will have to pay just to glimpse His face? What is the price of salvation if we who believe live as if there is a price for all to pay?

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