Path to Life, Path to Death: You choose.

3rd Sunday of Easter (A)

Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP

St. Joseph Church, Ponchatoula

“Lord, you will show me the path of life!” A declaration, not a request; not a demand, but an outcry of hope. “[Y]ou will not abandon my soul to the netherworld, nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption. . .You will show me the path to life, abounding joy in your presence. . .” Who might be consoled by this psalm? Someone who hears temptation whispering. Someone abandoned by family and friends. Someone barely hanging on to their faith. No, that's not right. That someone would be asking for refuge, begging for mercy. “Lord, please, show me the path of life!” Someone who declares faith in God with such vehemence, cries out in hope with such assurance is strong in their faith, confident that God will never forsake His loved ones. Someone who declares, “Lord, you will not abandon my soul. . .” is convicted by truth, and at the same time, sorely tested by the enemies of truth. That someone is Peter preaching to the Sanhedrin. All of the Eleven remaining apostles standing before the lawless men who crucified the Lord. Who gives them such confidence, such zeal? The Risen Lord, the one God raised up, “releasing him from the throes of death, because it was impossible for him to be held by it.” Eleven of Christ's ambassadors to a fallen world are brought to man's justice before the Sanhedrin. There they lay claim to the legacy of the resurrection. Sure of their inheritance, Peter quotes David's declaration, “Lord, you will show us the path of life!” This is our claim, our inheritance as well.

Around the year 100 A.D. an anonymous author writes out a booklet and titles it, The Lord's Teaching Through the Twelve Apostles to the Nations. We refer to it as The Didache. Besides the gospels themselves, this booklet is probably the first written witness we have to the teachings of Christ and the early life of the Church. The guiding principle of the text is found in the opening paragraph: “There are two paths, one of life and one of death; but there is a great difference between the two paths.” The rest of the work is a map for the path of life, a map any 21st century Catholic would immediately recognize: “The path of life, then, is this: First, you shall love God who made you; second, your neighbor as yourself; and all things whatsoever you would not have done to you, do not do to another.” There is a summary of the Beatitudes and instructions on how to give alms. The book's description of the path of death is also easily recognizable. “And the path of death is this: First of all it is evil and full of curse. . .” Then follows a long list of sins, in which we find: “. . .murders, adulteries, . . .fornications, thefts, idolatries, magic arts,. . .false witnessings, hypocrisies, double-heartedness, deceit, haughtiness, depravity, self-will, . . .not knowing Him that made them, murderers of children, destroyers of the handiwork of God. . .” The path of life is taken by those willing to sacrifice themselves for the benefit of others. The path of death is taken by those determined to sacrifice others for their own benefit. Lord, you will show us the path of life!

 For a couple of the disciples, after the Lord's resurrection, the path of life begins on the road to Emmaus. While walking along the road, the Lord joins his students and reminds them of all he had taught them. He begins with Moses and the prophets and reveals to them his constant presence in scripture. He reminds them that the prophets foretold his suffering and death and his entrance into glory. Once they arrive home, the Lord sits at table with them, blesses the food, breaks open the bread, gives it to them. “With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him. . .” The Lord vanishes the moment their eyes are opened, but they remember his presence, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?” Their hearts were burning! In the company of Christ, listening to his words and breaking bread at the table, the disciples were set on fire with the truth that only he can reveal. That truth, the truth that burns but is never consumed, is that the Lord is indeed risen and because he is risen, we too will rise and join him. We will, that is, if we choose the path of life he has blazed for us, mapped out for us. Christ suffered death—he allowed death, “a death he freely accepted”—in order to reveal to us the beauty and goodness of sacrificing self for the benefit of others, the path of life. Knowing this truth, Peter and the other ten apostles stand before the Sanhedrin and the “lawless men” and proclaim a message once sung by King David: “Lord, you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld, nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.”

Living as we do in a cynical and skeptical age, we are constantly tempted to complicate the simple truths of the faith. Some of us are likely tempted to dismiss historical texts like The Didache as examples of naïve, peasant piety; unsophisticated manuals for those who cannot handle nuanced thinking. Life isn't black and white; it's gray, mostly gray and the circumstances we find ourselves in determine truth, goodness, and beauty. The whole idea that the faith can be reduced to two, mutually exclusive paths is dangerously childish and possibly irrational. But if our choices aren't Life or Death, then what are they? What lies between? A living death? Breathing, eating, working, and all the while being dead inside, living for nothing more than serving self? If Peter and the other apostles are able to confront and defeat their enemies while praising God for showing them the path of life, why can't we? Why can't we choose this path, praise God for showing us the path, and then stand firm, resolute on the truth of the faith and bound eternally to the resurrection we are promised? We can. And we do. Each time we love the unloveable, forgive the unforgiveable, show mercy to the unworthy, and give God thanks for doing the same for us, we choose the path of life. And by choosing life, we see more clearly, hear more sharply, and love more abundantly. If you can leave here this morning and say to a spouse or friend, “Were not our hearts burning within us while [Christ] spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?”, if you can say that and mean it, then know that God's truth burns within you and then do what the disciples did: make known to others, to everyone what Christ did for you. . .on the cross, out of the tomb, in the breaking of the bread. Tell them, all of them: the Lord showed me the path to life!

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And the number of disciples increased. . .

2nd Week of Easter (S)

Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP

St. Joseph Church, Ponchatoula

Anyone who's worked with college students in ministry can tell you that there is one persistent frustration for the campus minister: a phenomenon I call “overbooking.” Students will commit to several school projects with overlapping schedules and, at the last minute, pick one that seems to be the most interesting. Of course, this leaves whatever project campus ministry is working on with fewer than expected helping hands. We don't need to look too closely at why hyperactive, over-scheduled children of the internet age pledge themselves to multiple, mutually exclusive projects. The serious challenge for the organizer of any volunteer community project is making your project worthy of being selected and attended by those afflicted with a short attention-span and an overbooked schedule. Compared to the merely mortal campus minister, Jesus had it easy. He multiplied fishes and loaves; healed the blind and crippled; exorcised demons; walked on water, and performed the one miracle that would impress even the most jaded college student—changing water into wine! But even more impressive than these miracles is his refusal to be made into a pop celebrity, his stubborn unwillingness to be seen as a circus act, a freak show character. True, Jesus draws the crowds with miracles but he keeps the faithful attentive by doing nothing more than teaching the truth and serving the least among his Father's children.

If there's a theme to the lives of the apostles after the resurrection it has to be: live the gospel faithfully and the Church will grow. We reads in Acts that the apostles went around fervently preaching the gospel, standing up to their persecutors, and organizing their tiny community of believers. There were miracles—Peter healing the crippled man—and there was a dramatic confrontation with the chief priests, resulting in some jail time and an angelic rescue. No doubt these drew the attention of the curious. But there's little enough in these incidents to maintain the faith a large group of believers, especially given that their faith that requires self-denial, constant sacrifice, and could earn the believer a chance to spend some time in prison. So, what's the Something More about the infant Church that lures people in and keeps them there? Free food and wine? Good company? The chance to meet a famous Jewish heretic or two? Maybe but probably not. Luke tells us in Acts that after the apostles laid hands on Stephen and six other “reputable men” that “the word of God continued to spread and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly.” When Christ's disciples believe the gospel and act on their belief, God's Word spreads and the crowds see and hear the truth behind the miracles.

We could easily double the size of the congregation here at St. Joseph's by spending a couple of million on high-tech A/V equipment; TV advertising and other promotional material; hire several well-trained ministers for specific groups within the parish; start-up a nursery school, a food bank, maybe a shrine to St Joseph. We could stuff our schedule with programs, seminars, and guest-speakers; invite celebrity musicians and preachers. Our parish rolls would grow and grow. But we'd have to ask: why are we growing? What's drawing people in? If we're drawing crowds with gimmicks, with “attractions,” we have to ask, will they stay? Will they grow in holiness? As disciples, our first and only task is to do give witness to the gospel in our thoughts, words, and deeds—to be disciples and act like disciples; to be filled with faith and the Holy Spirit, seeking God's wisdom and proclaiming the excellent fruits of believing on the name of Christ. Jesus avoided the glamors of celebrity, the foibles of popularity so that he could faithfully preach God's truth in season and out. If we do that and nothing but that, they will come and they will stay. And the number of the disciples in Ponchatoula increased greatly!

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Grace is not rationed

2nd Week of Easter (Th)

Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP

St. Joseph Church, Ponchatoula

One of the more unfortunate metaphors from understanding our redemption in Christ Jesus comes from the world of economics. Christ's death on the Cross established a “treasury of merits” in heaven that we can tap into when we are “short on grace.” The saints, especially the Blessed Mother, also contribute to this treasury and are able to dole out favors when properly petitioned. As western Christians steeped in the economics of wealth exchange that makes use of money, it is all too easy for us to start thinking of grace as a form of currency between heaven and earth. Since nothing worth having can truly be free of charge, we fall into the trap of believing that even grace comes with a price. Good works, prayers, devotional practices—all these are often seen as ways of earning a little extra grace on the side. Besides the fact that grace cannot be earned or bought, this economic metaphor for redemption creates another problem for our understanding of how we are saved: scarcity in the market. Prices for commodities are influenced by their availability. For example, there are more portabello mushrooms in the world than there are truffles, so truffles are more expensive. Applying the metaphor too literally: grace—God's favor—is very rare, so obtaining it requires extraordinary expense and skillful bargaining with God. Jesus sticks a big fork in this metaphor: “[The Father] does not ration his gift of the Spirit.” No rationing, no scarcity; no scarcity, no expense.

Along with the Blessed Trinity and the Incarnation, one of the great Mysteries of the faith is how grace works to liberate us and perfect us. We have libraries stuffed with books and articles dissecting the concept, and we may even come close on occasion to actually believing that God applies the saving merits of Christ's sacrifice free of charge. However, finding ourselves in spiritual peril, how often do we resort to bargaining with God, making desperate promises, or vowing reform? “Lord, I really messed up this time! Help me and I'll pray the rosary twice a day from now on!” Sound familiar? If it does, you need to hear Jesus say again, “[The Father] does not ration his gift of the Spirit. The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. . .” Daily Mass, praying the rosary, visiting the sick, etc. help you to grow in holiness once you believe, but only believing on the name of Christ saves you. Our Father does not parcel out His grace exclusively to the hardworking, the deserving, the privileged, or the especially favored. His saving grace, like rain and sunshine, fall on saints and sinner alike. Our daily challenge is receive the abundant grace He gives us and use it to produce better versions of ourselves, more perfect images of the divine in human form. In other words, to become more and more like Christ.

As difficult as it is to get under the notion that God has freed from the slavery of sin for no other reason than that He loves us, it is imperative that we come to believe that our redemption through Christ is a holy gift. Freely given, without obligation or exchange. No purchase necessary, no refunds. We are handed our freedom. All we have to do is receive it. And once we've received our freedom from sin, share the Good News of God's mercy through thought, word, and deed. By doing so, we grow closer and closer to God, becoming more and more like Christ. The Father does not ration the gifts of His Spirit. We cannot afford to think, speak, and act as if His grace is a rare, expensive commodity. What is freely given must be freely received and freely shared.

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Wow. . .just wow

WOW!  Clicked over to the Wish List last night only to discover that some generous H.A. reader had purchased all of the books on the list!   This happened once before in 2008 right before I left Irving to go to Rome. . .wonder if it's the same person (wink-wink)???

I've been saying this a lot lately:  blogging and parish ministry are good for my humility (such as it is).   Thanks so much!

God bless, Fr. Philip, OP

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Two trials, one verdict

Second Week of Easter (W)

Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP

St. Joseph Church, Ponchatoula

While the members of the Sanhedrin are convening to try the apostles, whom they believe to be imprisoned, the apostles themselves are out in the temple area preaching and teaching. Having been freed the night before by an angel and told, “Go and take your place in the temple area, and tell the people everything about this life,” the apostles are out doing exactly that—telling their stories. We don't have the texts of these stories, but it's not too much to imagine that they are preaching something like, “God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” While they preach, the Sanhedrin is preparing to render a verdict on the apostles' heresy, yet God's verdict on those who choose to remain in darkness has already been rendered, “And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil.” In one day, we have two trials conducted under the authority of God's Word; one, under the Law of Moses heard by a jury of men; and another under the Law of Love where Christ himself sits as judge and jury. The proof of innocence for both trials is a straightforward principle of holy transparency: “. . .whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.” 

From what we know of Jesus' encounters with his religious enemies, it's safe to say that the Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes, etc. have a great deal of difficulty wrapping their minds around the notion that one's behavior as a child of God must be a reflection of one's actual relationship with God. Acting holy in public is a necessary but not a sufficient way to be truly righteous. It's almost as if it is better to behave poorly if your relationship with God is poor than it is to pretend to be holy when you aren't. Jesus frequently calls his enemies “hypocrites” b/c they fake a relationship with God that they do not have. One lie is compounded by another. This is a problem for all the obvious reasons and for one that might not be so obvious. If you are to be tried for unrighteousness by a jury of men, the only evidence they have to judge you is your behavior. They don't know and can't know your heart, your interior disposition toward God. Because of this deficiency, Christ says over and over again that our words and deeds, our thoughts and intentions must match. If head and heart are properly aligned with God's will for us, then no verdict of mere mortals is ever permanent. The only verdict that matters is the one Christ himself rendered on the Cross. We are not-guilty by reason of having been loved by God into redemption.

The apostles are freed from prison by an angel not b/c they are sinless or extra, extra holy. They are freed b/c the Good News of God's mercy—a mercy they have experienced for themselves—must be testified to, given witness to. Legally, they are guilty of heresy, and by the Law they should be in prison. But the Law of Love grants them mercy so that they can go out and do the work Christ gave them to do. This isn't an argument for secular lawlessness but rather a way for us to understand how head and heart must work within God's will to preach and teach His Good News. Essentially, the apostles are imprisoned for failing to be good hypocrites, for failing to separate their behaviors from their beliefs. Rather than pretend to be righteous while in fact being unrighteous, the apostles find themselves doing and saying things that threaten the power of the hypocrites-in-charge. They actually believe that the Law of Moses is based on the Law of Love commanded by Christ! 

If you were to be put on trial to test your righteous—to test your relationship with God—would you rather be judged by men under the Pharisees' notion of the Law, or judged by Christ who has already bailed you out of prison and found you not-guilty? If you long to live the truth, come to the light of Christ, so that your works may be clearly seen as done in God.

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Coffee Cup Browsing

Hypocrisy Watch:  when W. was Prez the media called the Navy SEAL team that executed OBL Cheney's "personal assassination team."  Now. . .well, not so much.

Hypocrisy Watch 2.0:  Pelosi Edition. . .

A Google Maps pic of bin Laden's compound in Pakistan.  Geez, Google Maps can find anything, right?!  ;-)

Another amateur night at the White House.  Please, Lord. . .hurry the day when the adults will be in charge again!

Should Christians rejoice over the death of OBL?  No.

Blessed JPII saved the Church from going the way of the Anglicans. . .suicidal death-spiral.

JPII reported to have lost his temper twice.  Given the state of the Church when he was elected Pope in the late 70's, I'd say he deserved beatification for that miracle alone.

The Church's newest Blessed is placed in St Sebastian's Chapel, St Peter's Basilica.  I'll visit the chapel when I return to Rome in Oct and pray for HancAquam readers.

A personal report on the Beatification from the Anchoress.  Generally, I avoid large Vatican liturgies b/c the crowds wear me out.  "Nuns With Sharp Elbows" are legendary during these events.  Even a 300 lbs. Dominican friar in full habit is no obstacle to these fervent visitors!

Australian bishop sacked by BXVI. . .for the usual reasons:  support for women's ordination, blahblahblah, etc., etc.

Conservatives in Canada win big.  Of course, "conservative" in Canada means something like "Blue Dog Democrat" in the U.S.

Rednecks can fix anything!

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A new birth to a living hope. . .

2nd Sunday of Easter (A)

Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP

St. Joseph Church, Ponchatoula

It's been one week. Just seven days. With more than a billion other Catholics and that many more Christians of all flavors from all over the globe, we celebrated the Risen Lord. We welcomed into the Body of Christ thousands of freshly baptized souls; newly adopted brothers and sisters; and Catholics coming home after years of wandering in the wilderness. Just one week ago, we watched as the light of the Easter candle spread through the Church—the light of Christ piercing the darkness, shining out over the shadows of sin, showing us the way back to God. We heard that the sisters-Mary, meeting an angel and their Risen Lord at his empty tomb, were “fearful yet overjoyed” and that a couple of the disciples, meeting Christ on the road to Emmaus, were “startled and terrified.” To settle their hearts, Jesus instructed his friends to touch his wounds. They did. And they were “incredulous for joy and amazed.” Just one week ago. Seven days. We were renewed, refreshed, and reminded. How are we now? Are you fearful or amazed? Joyful or terrified? Incredulous or startled? All of these, none of these? Wherever you are, however you feel, the Risen Lord is among us even now, and he says, “Peace be with you.” Peace be with your doubts, your fears, your worries; peace be with you. Because, Jesus says, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” We have too much to do; and doubt, fear, worry all are foolish wastes our time and spirit. Now is the time to be overjoyed, reassured, and strong!

In his first letter to the Churches in Asia Minor, Peter reminds these newly converted Gentiles exactly what God has done for them and for us in the Risen Lord. He writes, “. . .through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. . . [God] in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope. . .to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. . .to a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the final time.” We are born anew to a living hope, to an indestructible inheritance, and to a final salvation. Why is it foolish to waste our time on doubts, fears, and worries? Because our Father has given us a new birth. We are born again. Given a new start, a new life. Our new lives in Christ are radically different—different at the root—from the lives we lived before. Where we were once stumbling in the dark and gambling against chance, we are now living in hope. And not the kind of hope that keeps us stuck relying on luck, crossing our fingers and wishing for the best, but the kind of hope that only Christ can give us—imperishable hope, undefiled hope, unfading hope. Peter writes, “In this [hope] you rejoice, although now for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials. . .” Why might we have to suffer trials? “[S]o that the genuineness of your faith. . .may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” The metal of our faith will be stress-tested, subjected to trials, in order to establish that our trust in God is pure, authentic. This is one trial that the disciple Thomas fails.

We are used to calling the skeptical disciple, “Doubting Thomas.” But this is a misnomer. We should call him Denying Thomas. When the Risen Lord visits his friends, Thomas is absent. Upon his return home, the other disciples tell him that their teacher—three days dead—appeared to them and showed them the wounds of his execution. Incredulous, Thomas says, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” I will not believe! Thomas doesn't say, “I doubt your story.” Or, “I doubt that a dead man can walk again.” He says, “I will not believe.” I will not to believe. This isn't doubt; it's denial, outright disbelief. To make matters worse, Denying Thomas sets a test for the Lord, declaring himself unwilling and unable to believe until he can touch Jesus' wounds. For a week, the disciples lived with Thomas' willful refusal to believe their testimony. Then, for reasons known only to him, Jesus reappears and allows his stubborn disciple to touch his wounds. Thomas shouts, “My Lord and my God!” His will bends and he believes. To this Jesus says, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” Belief, faith, hope, love, trust—all the good habits required for growing in holiness—have nothing to do with evidence or proof. Blessedness belongs to those who love God, place their hope in His promises, and do the good works of His mercy without forensic testing, without physical proof.

Peter echoes this teaching in his letter, “Although you have not seen him you love him; even though you do not see him now yet believe in him, you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy. . .” Luke tells us what this glorious joy looked like among the faithful of the infant Church, “They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers. Awe came upon everyone. . .All who believed were together and had all things in common. . .They ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart, praising God and enjoying favor with all the people.” What effect did their joy have on those who witnessed their love for one another? Luke reports, “And every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.” Sincerity, exultation, and awe before the Lord draw hungry souls into the Body. Doubt, fear, and worry repel those who most need to be fed. So, I will ask you again, how are you this first week after we celebrated the resurrection of the Lord? Are you wasting away your time and spirit by wallowing in denial and anxiety, dreading another day, afraid to risk the dark security of disbelief and mistrust? If so, “Peace be with you.” Just as the Father sent His Son among us to announce the divine mercy to sinners, so the Son sends us to testify to the mercy we ourselves have received. But you cannot testify to what you have not witnessed. And you certainly cannot give what you have not received. If you have yet to receive the divine mercy, what are you waiting for? Denying Thomas spent seven days among a houseful of eyewitnesses to the Risen Lord. He bent his will to believe only after Jesus allowed him to touch his wounds. Are you waiting to examine Christ's nailmarks and the gash in his side? “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” Perhaps you once believed but now you doubt? Or do you outright deny that our Lord is risen? If so, “Peace be with you.” Your trust in God is being stress-tested. Stay with us, show us mercy, show yourself mercy, and you will pass. 

Just a week ago, seven short days ago, we proclaimed the resurrection of the Lord from his tomb. The news spread to the disciples, to their families and friends, to their neighbors and from them to all the nations and peoples of the world, from 1st century Jerusalem to 21st century Ponchatoula. If the good news of God's mercy to sinners is going to continue to spread, continue to be repeated until history is exhausted, those of us who hope in the Lord must be joyful and sincere; our faith indestructible; and our love for one another unfading. Christ's peace is the sure knowledge that our salvation awaits us. His peace be with you.

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Two new arrivals

Arriving in the mail today. . .

An Introduction to Scholastic Theology

and

Heavenly Questions

Mille grazie to my anonymous book benefactor!

God bless, Fr. Philip

P.S.  These two books could not have come at a better time. . .Today, I "concelebrated" a non-Eucharistic funeral service with two Protestant ministers and a complicated wedding (well, complicated for me, anyway).  

Kicking back and reading 'til bedtime!

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The Audacity of Christ

Easter Octave (Th)

Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP

St. Joseph Church, Ponchatoula

Yesterday, we read the story of Jesus appearing to a few of his disciples on the road to Emmaus. After he “opens their eyes,” allowing them to see him for who he is, he vanishes. The disciples say, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?” They hurry back to their brother and sister disciples and report this encounter with their resurrected Lord. In the middle of their testimony, Jesus appears! He says, “'Peace be with you.' But they were startled and terrified. . .” We can only imagine the shock of seeing the dead and resurrected Christ in their midst. Imagine the confusion, the relief, the fear—all these bound up in a desperate hope that their teacher had rejoined them to continue his mission. Noting their terror at his appearance, Jesus says, “Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts?” Ummmm, b/c you were dead and in the grave for three days and now you're walking around and talking us? Is that a good enough reason to be startled and terrified? The disciples' experience with the Risen Lord can be seen as a pattern for our lives as disciples. Having met Christ “on the way,” we come away from the meeting burning with zeal and eager to give our testimony. But once we realize what our encounter means for us and for the world, we are startled by the audacity of what God has done, what He is doing; then, we are terrified until Christ appears among us and prays, “Peace be with you.”

On Easter morning, when the angel appears at the tomb, Mary Magdalene and Mary are “fearful yet overjoyed.” When Jesus appears to the disciples after the resurrection, they are “startled and terrified.” But then he shows them the wounds on his body, and they are “incredulous for joy and [are] amazed.” Fearful, overjoyed, startled, terrified, incredulous, and amazed. Exactly the combination of emotional reactions we'd expect from rational people confronted by the resurrection of a beloved friend all thought long dead and buried. With their minds spinning for any plausible explanation and their hearts pounding with fear and wonder, they must've looked like first-century tourists standing in Times Square. What else can Jesus say but “peace be with you”? They needed his peace; they needed his reassurance. He had sent them out to teach the world all that he had taught them. Then he was executed. Now he's back! Alleluia! He's back. But he won't be with them for long. He has yet to ascend to his Father, so his visit is welcomed but brief. In the short time that he has with his friends, Jesus reminds them that his death and resurrection is nothing new, nothing at all surprising. He opens their minds to the scriptures, renewing in them his charge to them to go out preaching the Good News of repentance and God's mercy. 

Our own lives in Christ follow this familiar pattern, this ebb and flow of wonderment and fear. Zeal followed by disappointment; clarity followed by confusion; amazement followed by incredulity. But when we open our minds to Christ's spirit, embed ourselves in scripture and the sacraments, dedicate ourselves to prayer and penance, disappointment, confusion, and incredulity always give way—again—to zeal, clarity, and amazement. The disciples saw and touched his wounds. We have his body and blood in the Eucharist. The disciples listened to the Word read and preached. We hear his Word read and preached. They evangelized the known world. We are charged with evangelizing a world they could not know. Christ suffered death and rose from his tomb so that the Good News of God's mercy to the repentant sinner could be proclaimed to the whole world. To his friends in Emmaus and to his friends here in Ponchatoula, Jesus says, “Peace be with you. . .You are witnesses of these things.” Go out—startled, terrified, overjoyed—go out and tell the whole world!

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Coffee Cup Browsing

Recycler-in-Chief celebrates Earth Day in style!  Burn 53,300 gallons of jet fuel.  Clogs L.A. streets with his limo and a 30 vehicle-motorcade. 

Send greetings on every Muslim holiday on the calendar. . .Earth Day greeting. . .but nothing for Easter.    Maybe this omission explains this pic? :-)

Just being nice ain't enough:  "The religions that grow, succor and motivate people to perform heroic acts of service are usually theologically rigorous, arduous in practice and definite in their convictions about what is True and False."

A question of fairness in the U.K. It's not about not helping those in need; it's about not surrendering our freedom to bureaucrats and politicians who use "poverty" to gobble up power.

An answer to a question about transubstantiation. . .

"Dirty weeds" can't be recycled. . .Clean up your trash, granny!!

The Zombie Apocalypse begins in CA, specifically SanFran. . .more specifically, last week.

Secure your wireless access or the Black Helicopters may be circling your house in the near future.

Two things the Left loves:  Green-ism and taxes.  Why not combine the two?  YEA!

A few hopeful stats on this this year's ordination classes.

"Parking Tickets" for all those time you go to WalMart and some @#$% has managed to take three spaces!  (Yea, bad parking is just one of the things that cause me to need whisper a quick Act of Contrition.)

Profound sayings from the Wisdom of the Ages.  My college friends used to say about a particularly clueless colleague, "He's a stump in the rain."  Also, we liked, "All flash, no film."

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Can your testimony be bought?

Octave of Easter (M)

Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP

St. Joseph Church, Ponchatoula

A lot of money changes hands in the week that Jesus is betrayed and put to death. Judas gets his thirty pieces of silver—the price of a slave—for ratting out his friend and teacher. The Roman soldiers who witness the empty tomb get a large bag of coin for lying about what happens to Jesus' body. The story they are paid to tell—that the disciples stole his body in the dead of night—“still circulates among the Jews to the present day.” Apparently, the chiefs priests and elders got their money's worth! It's curious though that they thought it necessary to concoct a mundane conspiracy in order to explain Christ's resurrection. If they truly believed that Jesus was a fraud, and if they believed that most people would agree with them, why go to the trouble and the expense of paying off the Roman guards to lie? Simply offer an alternative explanation for the body's disappearance and let the rumors fly. Doubt is a powerful virus in the body of truth. It replicates and spreads, infecting every fact it touches. My guess is that the chief priests and the elders were worried that Christ really had been resurrected and that a great many of their followers would believe this truth. Paying off the Romans guaranteed that their alternative theory would be grounded in “evidence”—the false witness of the tomb's guards. Regardless of their motivations, there's a deeper story here: we are all too willing and able to sell our testimony to the highest bidder. 

One of the constant pressures one surviving and thriving in a largely secular culture is the temptation to give a little when it comes to bearing witness to the gospel. Christ said himself that he came to bring a cleaving sword. That his message would divide, persuading many and angering most. The history of the Church in the world bears this out. Even when the institution of the Church held near absolute political, social, and economic power in the West, Christ's uncompromising teachings on the necessity of repentance and his commandment to love caused trouble. Nothing undermines our sense of social balance, our need for justice, more radically than Jesus' order that we must forgive one another as many times as it takes. Common sense demands a limit to the number of times I must forgive the same sin! Whoever told you that following Christ has anything at all to do with common sense lied to you. Don't let the devils of convention, practicality, and good manners tempt you into selling your testimony for thirty pieces of silver. In the long run—the longest run—it's a really bad bargain.

Judas sold his loyalty. Christ was resurrected anyway. The soldiers sold their integrity. Christ's church thrives anyway. Two thousand and eleven year later, the truth of the empty tomb is still proclaimed around the world. The priests and elders had hoped that an alternative theory and a large sum of money would keep the truth from getting out. Didn't work. However, their resurrection conspiracy theory still has a chance of succeeding. All they need today is for us to weaken and fall prey to the cultural predators who circle our wounded Body. All they need is for us to stumble once or twice over our sins and give up on the notion that we are forgiven; to surrender the gospel of mercy to common sense, science, politics, or political correctness. Doubt will see its chance to infect the truth, and we'd be tempted to accept the offers to sell our testimony, to lie about our Christ. If we remember that we are already bought, already paid for, we can dismiss these devils. We belong to Christ and there's not enough silver in the cosmos to pay for what is free.

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A Prayer of Gratitude for Easter

For the Easter season to Pentecost:

Father, our Abundant Provider and generous Lord: In You I live and move and have my being.

Everything I am and everything I have is Your blessing. This day I offer it all to Your service. 

Thank you, Lord, for this season of my life, for the gifts You have given me, for those I love and who love me in return. 

Thank You, Lord, for Your creation, for Your revelation in scripture, for our salvation in Christ Jesus, for the holiness I await in the coming of the Holy Spirit, and for the Church that will rise from the tongues of fire. 

Make gratitude my constant prayer, Father, so that I may live as a Living Blessing for others. I ask all these in name of our Easter Lord, Jesus Christ! Amen.

from a 2006 homily

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Do not be afraid. . .Joy overwhelms!

Easter Sunday (A)

Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP

St. Joseph Church, Ponchatoula

You know what has happened all over North America, South and Central America; all over Europe and Russia; in China, Japan, and Australia; in Washington, London, Rome, and Tokyo; you know what has happened in all of creation: from our beloved ball of dirt and water, circling the sun to the edge of space-time itself; from massive stellar nurseries to the theoretical objects of our scientific imaginations. You know what has happened. Our Lord is risen! Alleluia! Our Lord is risen indeed! Betrayed, arrested, mobbed, mocked, whipped, and nailed to a cross as a criminal, he died, was buried, and on the third day, he rose from the tomb and appeared to two of his most loyal disciples, Mary Magdalene and Mary. “[F]earful yet overjoyed, [they] ran to announce [his resurrection] to the disciples. And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them.” Through their fear and in their joy, Mary Magdalene and Mary hear him say, “Do not be afraid.” Christ message to all of us, to all of creation, on this Easter Sunday morning is: do not be afraid. You know what has happened: our Lord is risen. He is risen indeed. We have nothing to fear.

On this Easter morning 2011, it seems that we have much to fear. We hear that men, women, and children are dying in wars in Libya, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Government troops are killing protesters in Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, and Egypt. Civil wars rage in half a dozen African nations. Earthquakes and tsunamis have devastated Japan. A severe drought lingers in central and western Europe. Closer to home, we are still struggling with the destruction of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the BP oil spill; wildfires burn across Texas; tornadoes in Missouri laid waste to whole neighbors and the St. Louis airport; unemployment continues to rise, and we are threatened with a national and international economic collapse. Set along side these natural and economic disasters are the man-made disasters of our cultural decline: abortion; the failing family; governmental assaults on marriage and child-rearing, personal achievement and responsibility; and our own battles within the Church to teach and preach the apostolic faith with a clear, authentic voice. We have much to fear. But the Lord is risen, and his message to us this morning is: do not be afraid! 

Mary Magdalene and Mary are afraid. An angel of the Lord visits them at their teacher's tomb. The angel appears like lightning. His garments are as white as snow. He rolls back the stone of the Lord's tomb and announces to the frightened sisters, “Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said.” He tells them that Jesus is going to Galilee. “[F]earful yet overjoyed, [they run] to announce this to his disciples.” Fearful and overjoyed, they run to announce the resurrection of their Lord. They meet Jesus on the way, and he says, “Do not be afraid.” Unsaid, b/c it needs no saying, is our Easter theme: “Be overjoyed!” And once again Mary Magdalene and Mary serve as gospel examples for Christ's 21st century disciples. Mourning their teacher's brutal death, overwhelmed by fear and grief, the sisters approach his tomb only to find that his promise of his resurrection from the dead has been fulfilled. Strengthened by the angel's proclamation of the empty tomb and his admonition not to be afraid, the sisters run to announce spread the good news, and along the way, Christ finds them. Christ finds them as they run to do his work. He does no less for us, finding us along the way as we do the work of faithful disciples.

It seems that we have much to fear. Wars, natural disasters, economic collapse, rampant disease and social decline. And even if we tempted to fear, we do not have time to waste on the luxury of being afraid. Fear paralyzes us; it freezes our hearts, draining our spirits of the joy we need to do Christ's work. Fear confuses us; it clouds our reason, depriving our minds of the clarity we need to seek out and find God's wisdom. And fear deceives us; it lies and cheats and steals, obscuring God's truth; it offers nothing but ulcerous worry and desperation. We cannot afford the luxuries of despair, anxiety, or confusion. As the redeemed children of the Father and the adopted brother and sisters of the resurrected Lord, we cannot surrender the time, energy, talent, or treasure to feeding the fantasies of fear. We have too much to do. Too many have yet to hear God's promise of mercy to the repentant. Too many have yet to see the miracles of new life in Christ. Too many have yet to taste the food and drink from the altar of thanksgiving. Too many for too long have spent their lives in debilitating servitude to sin and death. Unafraid and overjoyed and in the name of the Risen Christ, we are charged with spreading the Good News that all of creation—from the smallest points of matter to the largest stellar clusters—all of creation—man, woman, and child—stands redeemed by the sacrifice of Christ on the cross and his empty tomb. 

Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid of ridicule, or persecution, or death; do not be afraid of your failures, or your flaws. Joy overwhelms. Joy overcomes all obstacles, breaks all barriers. Set your minds on the sure knowledge that Christ's victory is complete. As one Body, the Church, with one heart and one mind, we proclaim with one voice that our Lord is risen from the dead as he promised! Death is defeated. You have died in Christ. A new life in him awaits. “When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory.” With Mary Magdalene, Mary, John, with all the disciples then and now, set out to announce to the world that our Lord is risen, and that he waits for us all to join him. There is nothing to fear. The battle is won; the war is over. Victory goes to our King. From an empty tomb, victory has always and will always go with the Risen Christ!

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Placing ourselves on the side of Reason, Freedom, & Love

An excerpt from the Easter Vigil homily of our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI:

[. . .]

In the opening words of his Gospel, Saint John sums up the essential meaning of that account in this single statement: “In the beginning was the Word”. In effect, the creation account that we listened to earlier is characterized by the regularly recurring phrase: “And God said …” 

The world is a product of the Word, of the Logos, as Saint John expresses it, using a key term from the Greek language. “Logos” means “reason”, “sense”, “word”. It is not reason pure and simple, but creative Reason, that speaks and communicates itself. 

It is Reason that both is and creates sense. The creation account tells us, then, that the world is a product of creative Reason. Hence it tells us that, far from there being an absence of reason and freedom at the origin of all things, the source of everything is creative Reason, love, and freedom.

Here we are faced with the ultimate alternative that is at stake in the dispute between faith and unbelief: are irrationality, lack of freedom and pure chance the origin of everything, or are reason, freedom and love at the origin of being? Does the primacy belong to unreason or to reason? 

This is what everything hinges upon in the final analysis. As believers we answer, with the creation account and with John, that in the beginning is reason. In the beginning is freedom. Hence it is good to be a human person. 

It is not the case that in the expanding universe, at a late stage, in some tiny corner of the cosmos, there evolved randomly some species of living being capable of reasoning and of trying to find rationality within creation, or to bring rationality into it. 

If man were merely a random product of evolution in some place on the margins of the universe, then his life would make no sense or might even be a chance of nature. But no, Reason is there at the beginning: creative, divine Reason. 

And because it is Reason, it also created freedom; and because freedom can be abused, there also exist forces harmful to creation. Hence a thick black line, so to speak, has been drawn across the structure of the universe and across the nature of man. 

But despite this contradiction, creation itself remains good, life remains good, because at the beginning is good Reason, God’s creative love. Hence the world can be saved. Hence we can and must place ourselves on the side of reason, freedom and love – on the side of God who loves us so much that he suffered for us, that from his death there might emerge a new, definitive and healed life.

[. . .]

H/T:  Whispers

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Not yet arrived. . .

To the kindly HancAquam Book Benefactor(s) who purchased for me, Opening Up the Scriptures: Joseph Ratzinger and the Foundations of Biblical Interpretation AND Rediscovering Aquinas and the Sacraments. . .these books have not arrived yet.  

I don't want you to think that I've rec'd them and failed to express my gratitude! 

Thanks to the generous soul who purchased two much-needed books this afternoon. . .Both will be used in my summer classes at U.D.

God bless, Fr. Philip

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