Knowing THAT Jesus is in Father

4th Week of Easter (S)

Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP

St. Joseph Church, Ponchatoula

“Knowing” is a complicated business. For example, can know that a computer works—whether or not it works; we can know how it works and when; we can know where it works and doesn't; we may even know enough about the thing to know why it works like it does. Our varying levels of knowledge about a computer are distinguished more by kind than degree, that is, knowing more certainly that a computer is working does not increase our knowledge about how the computer works. To learn more about the how's and why's of computer technology requires a much more intimate relationship with computer science than simply knowing whether or not the thing is going to work when you turn it on. If knowing the what, how, when, and why of a computer is complicated, how much more complicated is knowing another person, or knowing God the Father? Jesus says to his disciples: “If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” What we know of the Father—who, what, when, where, why—we know b/c Jesus, His Son, has revealed Him to us. Why does it matter to us that Jesus is our window to the Father?

If God the Father had wanted to reveal Himself to His children, He could've done so in a hundred or a thousand different ways. He could've appeared to a prominent person among His people and spoken His will. He could've performed miracles or sent angels. He could've commissioned prophets to announce His plan for humanity. He could've inspired poets and priests to write down the stories of these revelations and made sure that the stories survived for centuries and millennia. And just to make absolutely sure that we had every opportunity to come to know Him best, He could've promised long ago to send us His Anointed One, His Messiah so that we could see and hear for ourselves the love He has for us. He could've done all this. And, of course, He did. Yet we still failed to come to know Him in a way that would bring us back to Him. So, He fulfilled His promise and sent us His only Son to live among us as one of us so that we might come to know everything we need to know in order to repent of our sins and receive His forgiveness. 

When Jesus says to the disciples, “If you know me, then you will also know my Father,” he means exactly that. If we come to know Jesus—to plant and cultivate a relationship with the Christ—we will come into a saving knowledge of the Father. Not just a factual knowledge, not just “knowing stuff about God,” but knowing Him in a way that saves us, perfects us, and brings us back to Him more fully human than we could ever be otherwise. Knowing Christ in this way is more than merely informative; it is performative, that is, know Christ as our Savior performs our salvation, makes our redemption happen. Stories and miracles, prophets and priests can't perform or accomplish our salvation. Only an intimate relationship with God the Father through His Son in the Holy Spirit can achieve that which we long for the most: a reunion with the One who created us. This is why Jesus is astonished when Philip says, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” Jesus is disappointed, exasperated by this request. He says, in essence, “What do you mean 'show us the Father'? What do you think I've been doing these last three years?! Don't you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? I'm not speaking my own words but the words of the Father. The Father who dwells in me and I am doing His works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. And if my word alone isn't good enough, believe me because of the work I do in His name.” 

Our job is the same as Christ's. To reveal the love of God in our words and deeds, what we say and what we do. Our burden is both heavy and light. Heavy b/c we carry the responsibility of making sure that He is revealed to the whole world. Light b/c we never do this job alone. We have the whole Body of Christ, the Spirit of God, and sure knowledge that—in the end—victory goes to the Lamb who was slain for our us.

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Coffe Cup Browsing (Late Edition)

If The One gets his way, some of the most sacred sites of Christianity in Jerusalem will be under the control of the terrorist group, Hamas.  Can 2012 get here soon enough?

M.U.S.T. read this!  ". . .liberals - or 'progressives,' as they prefer to be called - persist in laboring under an embarrassing misconception: They honestly believe they remain the nonconformists. It’s precious. In fact, today’s liberals are nothing of the sort. They compliantly conform - like little windup, patchouli-daubed lemmings. . ."  Amen.

Science vs. Religion. . .which will happen first:  the Zombie Apocalypse or the Second Coming?  I know which one I'm cheering for!

Most HancAquam readers know what it means to be Raputured. . .but do you know what it means to be Zombied?

More on the Great Target vs. Wal-Mart Debate. . .this has the makings of a Coke vs. Pepsi War or the perennial southern favorite:  Ford vs Chevy Throwdown.   My picks:  Wal-Mart, Pepsi, Chevy.

Hideous new statue of Bl. JPII.  I've said it before:  "Raze it, salt the earth!"  Lord, spare your faithful from any more of these pretentious, modernist wrecks.

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The Adult Faith of a Dissident?

4th Week of Easter (Th)

Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP

St. Joseph Church, Ponchatoula

I recently ran across an article about an upcoming gathering of Church dissidents in Detroit. They call themselves the American Catholic Council. Their agenda for Church reform is as predictable as it is destructive to the Body of Christ: give us women priests, openly gay/lesbian priests, popularly elected bishops, etc. Had this group met in the 16th century, historians now would call them by their proper name, Protestants. Given the religious freedom that Americans enjoy and the ease with which we can form religious associations, it beggars the mind to understand why these disaffected Catholics don't simply join the Episcopal Church. Regardless, what's interesting to me is the frequency with which these folks identify their radical agenda for the future of the Church with what they call “an adult faith,” or “an adult Church.” It's not entirely clear why they think that their version of the faith is more mature than the one given to us by the apostles, but it is clear that they see the apostolic faith as immature and oppressive. Setting aside for a moment that middle-class academics whining about being oppressed is the very definition of adolescent behavior, and setting aside for now questions about their motives and chances of success, let's ask a more fundamental question: what is an “adult faith”? When do we know that our beliefs and religious practices have matured into an adult spirituality worthy of our time and energy?

Jesus has just finished washing the feet of his students, demonstrating that he no longer considers them his students but his friends. He says to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it.” Here's the key to identifying a matured spirituality, an adult understanding of our relationship with God: you and I are not the masters of our faith; we do not control, direct, or in any way influence the truth of the gospel, nor do we have the authority or the power to change one letter of the Father's Self-revelation to His people. A teenager rages against The Machine b/c he believes that he is the center of reality, the locus around which all living things exist. He chooses what's Real and what's not. An adult long ago recognized that The Real is a given and that one's success or failure in life is judged against one's ability and willingness to accept that wishful-thinking, tantrums, and appeals to self-centered notions of justice can't alter truth. Jesus tells his newly minted friends that though they are no longer his students, they are still slaves to the Master, an eternal Master who loves them enough to give His only Son to death.

Spiritual maturity can never be about asserting control or demanding that one's “rights” be respected. Servants, faithful servants of the Church work tirelessly to make sure that every opened eye and ear sees and hears the central message of the gospel: you're sins are forgiven, receive God's mercy and live wholly in His love. Jesus tells his friends that if they understand the truth in what he is teaching them, “blessed are you if you do it.” Not just believe it or assent to it. But do it! Don't just believe that you are a servant. Serve. Don't just assent to the notion that you are blessed to be of service. Go out and act blessed. Go out and serve. Service does not include stamping your feet and whining about the need for structural change in the institutional Church, or demanding that Reality be altered to fit your fantasy-agenda. Jesus says, “. . .whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.” We receive from the ones sent by Christ all that they received from him. We receive. We do not create or change or revolutionize or re-think what we have received. Instead, we pass it on. Whole and entire. We pass it on in mint condition so others can mature into an adult faith rooted in the apostolic faith.

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Coffee Cup Browsing

New study argues that the clergy sexual abuse scandals were caused largely by poor seminary training, a permissive culture, and bishops who ignored victims.  If priests and bishops in the '60's and '70's had been taught Catholic moral theology and followed it none of this would have happened.

The Anchoress has the right idea about the study and the scandal.

Editorial on that letter sent to Speaker Boehner by a group of Catholic profs:  "Nowhere in the Gospels do you find Jesus saying his followers should enlist in a government spending rampage that will not only make the poor poorer, but devastate the livelihoods of just about everyone in society."  Amen.

Two Girl Scouts leave the highly politicized and feminist-agenda driven organization.  I stopped buying GS cookies a long time ago.

Figured I'd link to the story about the woman who wouldn't stop talking on her cell phone in the Quiet Car of an Amtrak train.  She talked for 16hrs straight!!! 

No, implementing the Church's authentic social justice agenda does not necessarily entail support for politically leftist solutions to economic problems.  "Social justice" advocates in the Church (esp. in religious orders) often fail to distinguish btw the legitimate goals of social justice and the methods used to achieve them. 

Who burdened us with P.C.-speak and the oppression of the Word Police?  The fallacy here is the ridiculous notion that language is the sole source and arbiter of reality.  Control language, control reality.  Bunk.

Don't throw paperclips at your co-workers.  I love the fact that none of the other guys intervene.

Yes, Zombies have their own currency. 

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Target vs. Wal-Mart

I found this quote on Instapundit. . .still waiting for my Instalanche,* btw.

“Target is Wal-Mart for pretty people.”

I like both stores, but Wal-Mart gets my $$$ about 80% of the time.  The apparel shoppers for Target seem to believe that men with waist sizes smaller than 34 should roam the streets naked.

Wal-Mart, however, always has a well-stocked Deep and Wide department.

*This term is used to refer to what happens to a blogger's stats when Glenn Reynolds links to your site.  Come on, Prof. Reynolds!  Do a priest a solid!!

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Coffe Cup Browsing

Professional atheist Dawkins accused of cowardice for refusing to debate prominent Christian philosopher.  Dawkins is actually being smart here. . .he is clueless when it comes to philosophy.

European anarchists seem a bit confused about their who they are and what they believe. 

Jesus set to return on May 21st.  I wonder if anyone told the Lord that he's scheduled to Rapture the faithful that day?  He said he didn't know the day or time of his return. . .soooooo. . .???

A classic Mark Shea Rant:  we are all slobs and losers. . .thanks be to God!

This is what happens to your church when you choose to be OF the world and not just IN the world.  NB.  this is also what the Catholic Church would look like if the Holy Spirit hadn't given us JPII and BXVI.

Famous physicist assures us that there is no heaven. . .famous theologian assures us that gravity is a myth.  Stick to what you know, Steve, OK?

I will defend the use of the semicolon 'til the day I die!  Oh, and commas go inside the quotation marks.  Jesus said so.  

This should be my family's crest.

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Link for the new missal translation

For those who have requested more info on the new English translation of the Roman Missal:

Go Here and look under the menu "Sample Texts."


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Cut to the heart

4th Sunday of Easter (A)

Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP

St. Joseph Church, Ponchatoula

While in the studium—the Dominican version of seminary—the student brothers were often told that agricultural metaphors for the Church weren't all that “helpful.” For example, using images such as harvesting grain, planting seeds, plowing fields, pruning trees, etc. to talk about complex theological ideas like redemption, justice, etc. is virtually meaningless in our postmodern age. Our fussy, urbane professors were particularly hard on the sheep/shepherd metaphors in the gospels. They really got wound up about Jesus describing his followers as sheep. Sheep are dirty, stupid, and prone to being killed unless well-guarded. And it didn't help matters at all that those who guard the Lord's sheep—the shepherds, you know, the bishops—were exclusively male and celibate! By the time our enlightened profs were finished foaming at the mouth against the image of the Church as a bunch of filthy, ignorant animals led by an all-male cadre of celibate shepherds, we poor seminarians were quaking in our habits, silently vowing to never-ever speak about or even think about the Church in terms of the sheep/shepherd metaphor! Of course, one or two of us were farm boys so we knew one thing about sheep that our profs didn't: Sheep don't follow shepherds. No one leads a flock of sheep. Sheep are driven, herded by a skillful shepherd with a big stick and a pack of feisty dogs. Now that's an image of the Church that Catholics can understand! So, what are we to make of Jesus saying, “. . .[the shepherd] walks ahead of [his sheep], and [they] follow him, because they recognize his voice”? 

Well, by nature, metaphors are always imperfect, so we don't want to spend too much time dissecting the parallels between Christians and sheep, or between bishops and shepherds. Jesus' point seems to be that those who have chosen to follow him will know his voice when he speaks and obey his word b/c he speaks with a familiar authority. Jesus emphasizes his point by noting that those who love him “will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.” In other words, Christians do not hear, cannot hear in the voice of a false teacher, a false shepherd that familiar ring of authority that proclaims the authentic faith, the Real Deal of Gospel Truth. We could play with the sheep metaphor a bit and say that the voice of a false teacher, a false shepherd always sounds like a wolf growling with hunger even when it looks, smells, and acts like a lamb. Oh sure, the occasional individual sheep—the lapsed or lukewarm Christian—may be fooled, seduced by the hypnotic thrill of the wolf's promises, but the flock as a whole is never fooled, never taken in by a stranger's voice. Together, as one flock, we remember the Chief Shepherd's voice; we remember him saying, “I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. . .I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” There is no other gate to the Father's eternal pasture, no other Shepherd for His faithful flock. Christ Jesus alone brings us to a more abundant life!

As faithful sheep, we should ask: how do we come to recognize the authoritative voice of our Shepherd? In his Acts of the Apostles, St. Luke gives us a clue. Peter stands with the Eleven and proclaims to the crowd, “Let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Luke tells us that when those in the crowd heard this truth spoken, “they were cut to the heart. . .” Cut to the heart! Peter utters a simple sentence, twenty-one common words strung together, a declarative sentence that rings out over those gathered, seizes their attention with absolute clarity, and instantly convicts their hearts in the truth: the man Jesus, the one whom they crucified, is the Lord and the Christ long-promised by their God. Peter's pronouncement slices through their guilt; their recriminations; their religious and legal defenses; their logic, their doubts, and their fears. They were cut to the heart, that place in their souls where no lie can easily rest and b/c they recognize their sin, they ask, “What are we to do?” And Peter tells them what to do. “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. . .Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Among those who heard Peter preach that day were three thousand souls who accepted his message and were baptized. Those three thousand, once convicted in the truth and baptized in the name of Christ Jesus, would always recognize the voice of the Lord and his shepherds. A cut to the heart made by the sword that Christ himself yields is always deep and always permanent. It cannot be forgotten nor can it be mistaken for the mark of a stranger.

As men and women baptized into the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, we are deeply and permanently cut by the truth of the gospel. Christ's voice always rings true; the familiar authority of our shepherd is unmistakable, and we cannot be lead astray if we graze with his flock, the Church. The apostle Peter and his successors proclaim the central, abiding fact of our two-thousand year old flock: “God has made both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” That's the sound, the voice of gospel truth, the words and the spirit that cuts the hearts of all those who long to see their lives redeemed, who desire a life beyond this one, who know that they will be perfected only when they come to see their Father face-to-face at the foot of His throne. Do you recognize that voice? More importantly, can you speak with that voice and spread the good news it proclaims? Sheep may be dirty, stupid, and prone to being eaten by wolves, but we are no ordinary sheep! We belong to the Eternal Shepherd and the world is our pasture to cultivate for him. Having heard his call, it's time for us to answer.

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Back amongst the gators. . .

I'm back in Ponchatoula!  Had a great time with the OP Nuns of the Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary.  They were enthusiastic students/participants in the Spe salvi seminars. . .as usual, I come away from these kinds of meetings convinced that I've learned more than I've taught. 

The food was good. . .really good.  And I am looking forward to going back next year!

The nuns have a great gift shop that features their handmade soaps and creams. . .give it a visit.

Almost forgot. . .all those books from the Wish List were delivered while I was gone.  No name on the shipping invoice.  Mille grazie to my anonymous benefactor.

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Coffee Cup Browsing

Sensible suggestions for revising the Dallas Charter.  Here's an opportunity for our bishops to drop their newly acquired role as Lawyer-in-Chief and renew their roles as defenders of the faith. 

Why is it Amateur Hour at the White House over the death of OBL?  My guess:  B.O. wants to take credit for the terrorist's death but he finds the method used distasteful and potentially damaging among his lefty base.

Various reactions from religious leaders on OBL death.  I'm a little surprised at the consistency of the responses.

Nuns' votes voided in WI Supreme Court recount.

Human rights for Nature?  Hint: it's really just about accruing more power to the gov't.

Boorish Americans and our E.U. Betters.  Oh, if only we Cowboys had the moral fiber and intellectual stamina capable of producing such Wonderful Cultural Phenomena like WWI, WWII,  Nazism/Fascism/Communism, and those tiny cans of Coke Lite that barely produce a single burp.

The U.N. (i.e. Useless Nannies) is demanding answers from B.O. about OBL's death.  The irony of this Back and Forth drips.

Some notes on that Vatican-sponsored blogger convention.

Giving kids Christian names!  Amen.

Coptic Christian churches burned in Egypt. . .12 killed by Muslim mobs.

"Dear Human. . ."  Kinda funny.

A letter from the Texas Dept. of State, Missing Texans Division.  I think this is a joke.  Maybe.

Skittle-infused vodka?  Hmmmm. . .not too sure about this.

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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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