Grazie, grazie. . .

Just a quick note to say Mille Grazie for the recent activity on the Wish List!

Every book helps keep me current in all thing philosophical, poetical, and theological. . .

God bless, Fr. Philip Neri, OP

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Commenters at NCR: "joyless people with no hope"?

Methinks that horrible screeching might be the "Spirit of Vatican Two" being exorcised from the Church. . .

IF you have any doubts at all about whether or not the Holy Father's appointment of Archbishop Chaput to Philly is Good Thing. . .read the comments on this article from N.C.R. (Nasty Cynical Rag, as we called it in seminary).  

Here are a few of my favs from the Exemplars of Catholic Tolerance and Diversity:

"The very worst man for the job in Philadelphia. He will bring more of the same, as in cover-ups and evasion. This man has inflicted more damage on priests and lay people in the past decade that we should not be in the least surprised that Ratzinger (Benedict), would select someone such as this to carry on the right wing agenda of the restorationist movement."

"The Vatican and B16 are only carrying out their plan: Wreck the church. Hope any mature Catholic will leave in disgust. Afterwards, hunker down behind the Vatican walls, with all the gold in the coffers, maybe in a century or two everyone will have forgotten what a mess the hierarchs have made of the church."

"The Church just plunges itself deeper and deeper into the abyss. . ."

"The poor people of Philadelphia. They are getting someone with a heart of stone for a leader of their Church. If they're smart, the parishioners will keep their money in their pockets and let that do the talking."

"Heaven help us! Apparently the thinking in Rome was that the problem with Philadelphia was that its bishop wasn't Republican enough."

"He did all the damage he could in Denver. Let him move on to Philadelphia to spread his narrow minded conservatism. And get that red hat ready."

"Now the people of Philadelphia are being punished for the sins, incompetence and arrogance of Rigali.  How long before this archdiocese becomes the home of the ever-diminishing numbers of the "faithful remnant" in a "smaller, purer" church?  Maybe that's what Chaput promised B16 - weed 'em out and gimme a red hat.  Shame, shame, shame."

[NB.  Almost all of these hysterical rants were answered on the site by someone. . .]

Here are a few comments from Archbishop's interview at N.C.R.

"This is just another case of one following another. The entire Church should demand Benedict 16's resignation along with Rigali's.  Not one red penny for the American Church or the Vatican until these bungling autocrats are gone."

"This appointment is such a crass act from a pope who has been a bungler in so many areas of church life. It's another example of what happens when the episcopate becomes little more than a pawn on a papal chessboard and very little more than that."

"An interview chock full of self-serving statements from another papal pet. . .Hats off to the Chinese who are standing up to Rome in much the same way as the English did in the sixteenth century!"

"Benny 16s days should be over too. A nice house in Sardinia, Sicily, or a jail cell at The Hague could be his great opportunity to reflect on the blunders of his papacy (the Unholy Triumvirate of Ratzinger, Sodano, and Bertone) and to do penance for the damage these old autocrats have brought upon the Church."

On the commenters themselves, one brave soul notes, "I'm convinced that the NCR comments section is probably them most negative, unconstructively cynical corner on the whole Internet. Talk about a joyless people with no hope. . ."

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Chaput to Philly!

Just announced on the Vatican's website:

 Il Santo Padre Benedetto XVI ha accettato la rinuncia al governo pastorale dell’arcidiocesi metropolitana di Philadelphia (U.S.A.), presentata dall’Em.mo Card. Justin F. Rigali, in conformità al can. 401 § 1 del Codice di Diritto Canonico.

Il Papa ha nominato Arcivescovo Metropolita di Philadelphia (U.S.A.) S.E. Mons. Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., finora Arcivescovo di Denver.

+ 

The Holy Father Benedict XVI accepted the resignation from the ministry of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia Metro (USA), presented by His Em. Cardinal Justin F. Rigali, in accordance with can. 401 § 1 of the Code of Canon Law.

The Pope appointed Archbishop of Philadelphia (USA) Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap, currently Archbishop of Denver.

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Coffee Cup Browsing

Bureaucratic leeches:  between 1975 and 2008, the number of faculty in the CA university system rose by 3.5%.  In the same period, the number of university bureaucrats rose by 221%.  That's where your tuition money is going.  

Anti-Palin meme of the day:  "Undefeated" opens in Orange Co. to an empty theater.  What you don't know--unless you read the fine print--is that the reviewer attended an unadvertised midnight showing on a Thursday. Oh, and there were six people in the theater. 

Director of "Captain America" drops anti-American rhetoric when it becomes clear that his politics are hurting the bottom-line.  He must be one of the "Michael Moore Marxists." 

B.O. charged with war crimes. . .accused of murdering Osama ben Laden.  NB.  B.O. and his globalist ideologues L.U.V. international law, socialist-Euro-judges, etc.  So, I expect B.O. to submit himself for arrest and prosecution forthwith.

Union bullying manual is made public.  Yes, I mean the actual manual published by SEIU.

Jewish publications lauding efforts of the Holy Father to rescue Jews from the Nazis. . .in 1939.

New book exposing leftist political bias in the media. . .written by a liberal.  Here's the preface to the book.

Jesus and the burglar

Ahhhhh. . .cute pic of the day.

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OP Laity Retreat

Every summer I offer a day-long retreat for the Dallas-area Dominican laity.  And every summer, we have a great time!

This summer, the topic of the retreat will be:  “'Putting Out into the Deep'":  Catholic Laity and the New Evangelization." 

The retreat is open is all. . .come join us!

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Coffee Cup Browsing (Humor Edition)

I'm tired of lying politicians; self-absorbed celebrities; impotent dictators (foreign & domestic); and zombie-idolaters. . .so, I give you COFFEE CUP BROWSING:  THE ALL-HUMOR EDITION!!!

Venn diagram of my sense of humor.  Yes, I am constantly in trouble b/c of my sense of humor. 

Self-appointed Plate Monitor is "concerned" about your weight.  MYODB!

Like the Park Ranger said, "I don't have to outrun the bear. . .I just have to outrun you!"

Organizing for maximum efficiency!

If your fav font were a dog. . .

Creative wedding cakes.  #19 is my fav.

Ahhhh. . .breakfast in bed.

Learning math in Catholic school.

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When "diversity" becomes a religion. . .

This is why you should send your kids to a small, Catholic lib arts college like the University of Dallas:

UC-San Diego is gutting several academic programs b/c of budget shortfalls.  Almost every department in the university is getting some sort of cut.

The only sacrosanct area?  "Diversity" programs/bureaucracies.

While slashing real academic programs and productive faculty, UCSD will add yet another "diversity" wonk to an already massively bloated P.C. bureaucracy:  ". . .the Chancellor’s Diversity Office, the associate vice chancellor for faculty equity, the assistant vice chancellor for diversity, the faculty equity advisors, the graduate diversity coordinators, the staff diversity liaison, the undergraduate student diversity liaison, the graduate student diversity liaison, the chief diversity officer, the director of development for diversity initiatives, the Office of Academic Diversity and Equal Opportunity, the Committee on Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Issues, the Committee on the Status of Women, the Campus Council on Climate, Culture and Inclusion, the Diversity Council, and the directors of the Cross-Cultural Center, the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Resource Center, and the Women’s Center."

It's a religion.  Send your kids to a Catholic university.

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Mercy not sacrifice

St. Bonaventure

Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP

St. Albert the Great Priory

Like the sniping political operatives that they are, the Pharisees attack Jesus and his merry band for violating the Sabbath Law. Their crime? Some of the disciples absentmindedly pick grains of wheat and snack on them during a lesson. When the Pharisees pounce, Jesus—ever the scholar of Jewish history and the scriptures—remind them that David and his friends went into the temple and ate the bread of offering. Then he lowers the boom: “If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned these innocent men.” This is a triple accusation. The Pharisees do not know their own history. They do not understand mercy or sacrifice. And they have condemned innocent men. Of course, their most egregious error is their failure to recognize Jesus as the promised Messiah. Had they done so, they would have known that the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath, thus making their condemnation of the disciples into a chance to show mercy. So, what does this scene tell us about the relationship btw mercy and sacrifice?

We might be inclined to conclude that the two are opposed. Jesus says that he prefers one to the other, therefore, we can either show mercy or offer sacrifice. The Law requires sacrifice, while Christ requires mercy. The two are incompatible. But this can't be right since Christ is the fulfillment of the Law. In the City of God, Augustine clears it all up for us. When Jesus quotes Hosea, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice,” Augustine writes, “. . .nothing else is meant than that one sacrifice is preferred to another. . .mercy is the true sacrifice. . .All the divine ordinances. . . concerning the sacrifices in the service of the tabernacle or the temple, we are to refer to the love of God and our neighbor” (X.5). In other words, every act of mercy is a sacrifice, an embodiment of the love God has for us and a demonstration that we love Him in turn. To set aside judgment and condemnation in favor of mercy is the sacrifice God desires from us. 

What might be confusing here is that we seem to be using the term “sacrifice” in two different senses. When Jesus says, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice,” he uses “sacrifice” to mean “the ritualistic slaughter of an animal in the temple by a priest according to the Law.” This is not the sort of sacrifice the Lord desires. Augustine gives the term “sacrifice” its contemporary meaning in the context of Christ's fulfillment of the ritual Law of animal slaughter. That is, he goes to the root of the word and discovers that sacrifice is what we do when we love the sinner and show him/her mercy. For Augustine, following Christ, without love, the sacrificing priest is just a butcher and his sacrifice is just killing. What makes “showing mercy” a sacrifice is our giving up on the prideful need to sit in the Lord's place as judge and executioner of His justice. When we show mercy to a sinner, we first acknowledge our own sinfulness and confess the need to be forgiven. None of this means that we're to be “soft on sin” or make a habit of excusing disobedience! It means just the opposite. Only a sinner needs mercy. Only a sinner can be called to repentance. 

Jesus tells the Pharisees that they are in the presence of something greater than the temple, something more fundamental, more vital than the Law. They are in the presence of Love Himself, mercy-made-flesh. Had they acknowledged this truth, their desire for sacrifice would have turned to pleas for mercy. And their accusations to songs of praise.

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Coffee Cup Browsing

A Pastafarian (follower of the Flying Spaghetti Monster) wins the right to wear "religious headgear" in his DL photo.  The gear?  A colander.   LOL!

Mark Shea:  ". . . gay 'marriage' is prelude to legal persecution of the Church for teaching what it teaches about sexuality."  Yup.  Just a matter of time and right Nanny State judge.

Pop-atheist/Brit Blowhard Dickie Dawkins is rendered of his self-important fat and his bones are ground to dust. . .couldn't have happened to a more deserving fellow.  (NB.  the language of this article isn't "family friendly.")

Tiresome clerical dinosaurs in Austria throw a hissy-fit.  Basically, they are whining that the Church isn't Protestant.  Fortunately for them, there are lots of Prot communities for them to join!

Catholics Doing Bad Right for Centuries:  "Even our sissypants wonk patsies are hardcore."

"Friend" vs. "Best Friend"

I want this to be the cover art on my first collection of poems. . .

For all my fellow Grammar Nazis out there. . .

Poetries & Poets

This list of poetry types and representative poets is freely adapted from Kathryn VanSpanckeren's article, "Contemporary American Poetry."

Poetry of Self:  Jorie Graham, John Ashbury, W.S. Merwin, Susan Howe.

Poetry of Voice:  Louise Gluck, Brigit Pegeen Kelly, Rita Dove.

Poetry of Place: Charles Wright, Tess Gallagher, Mark Jarman, Yusef Komunyaka, C. D. Wright.

Poetry of Family: Li-Young Lee, Sharon Olds, Stephen Dunn.

Poetry of the Beautiful:  Mark Doty, Eric Pankey, Sandra McPherson, Henri Cole, Robert Hass.

Poetry of Spirit: Jane Hirshfield, Gary Snyder, Arthur Sze, Franz Wright.

Poetry of Nature:  Mary Oliver, A. R. Ammons, Pattiann Rogers, Maxine Kumin, Amy Clampitt.

Poetry of Wit:  Billy Collins, Charles Simic, Mark Strand, Stephen Dobyns, Mark Halliday.

Poetry of History:  Robert Pinsky, Frank Bidart, Gjertrud Schnackenberg, Michael S. Harper.

Poetry of the World:  Yusef Komunyakaa, Richard Hugo, Philip Levine, Ellen Bryant Voigt.

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Pointers on how to read a poem

The creative writing class is going well!  Here's a handout I gave the budding poets this afternoon. . .just a quick & easy list of suggestions and guidelines for reading a poem:

Writing Poetry

Fr. Philip N. Powell, OP, PhD

University of Dallas: Summer Two 2011

On Reading a Poem

Read the poem. . .

. . .silently several times. Look up unfamiliar words. Set aside interpretation for now.

. . .out loud, using different tones/voices (calm, angry, a child, a prophet, etc.).

. . .to someone else and have them read it to you.

. . .and record yourself reading it. Replay the recording and listen w/o the text.

. . .and copy it out by hand. Typing it doesn't have the same effect.

. . .and have it read to you while you transcribe what you hear.

Questions

Does the poem have an overall “feel,” a tone that pervades it? What is it?

Does the poem have a dominant “voice,” a personality speaking it? Who is it?

Does the poem have a “tense,” that is, an overall sense of a place in time? What is it?

Does the poem have a subject, something or someone that it is about? What? Who?

Does the poem have a “setting,” a place from where or to which it speaks? Where?

Does the poem reveal its reason for existence? Why?

What are the images (“word pictures”) in the poem?

What are the allusions in the poem?

What are the figures of the poem, that is, the metaphors, similes, etc.?

Is there something missing in the poem, something “left out”?

Does the poem have a formal structure (sonnet, sestina, etc.)? How does it use this form?

What are the structural characteristics of the poem (other than the formal)? Line breaks, blank spaces, unusual typography, etc.?  What purposes do they serve?

What sort of language is the poet using—haughty, common, upper-class, ethereal? Why?

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Suspect arrested in Fr. Ed's murder

Jeremy Wayne Manieri, 31 has been arrested for the murder of Fr. Ed Everitt, OP.  Manieri was the maintenance man for the property in Waveland and a convicted sex offender.

Please pray for the repose of Fr. Ed's soul and for Mr. Manieri.


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Coffee Cup Browsing

Tolerant, freedom-loving Leftists at Chicago book fair vote to ban conservative books by Beck, Palin, etc. . .but not Adolf's Mein Kampf.

The next slippery step on the SSM slope:  Utah man sues for the "right" to have four wives. 

MD city council bans the Pledge of Allegiance and the Lord's Prayer form council meetings. 

Cultural Marxism and the "long march through the institutions."

What pastors can say to co-habitating couples who want to get married. . .ouch, that's gonna leave a mark!

Ummmm. . .SURPRISE!!!

Lunch!

And one for the guys. . .

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R.I.P. (UPDATED)

The friars of the Southern Dominican Province learned this afternoon that our brother, Fr. Ed Everitt, OP was killed in what appears to be a robbery at one of our properties in Waveland, MS.  Fr. Ed was shot twice and died on the scene.  

Fr. Ed has been pastor at Holy Ghost Parish in Hammond, LA for several years now.  He also served as pastor at St. Peter's in Memphis, TN.

Please pray for the repose of his soul and for the consolation of his family, friends, and brother friars.

Update:  local news report.

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What sort of soil are you?

15th Sunday OT
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
Church of the Incarnation/Prince of Peace

Jesus sits in a boat. A crowd gathers on the shore of the lake. He preaches to them in parables. He preaches the parable of the Sower of the Seeds. We know it well. Seeds sown by the Sower fall on all sorts of soil—rocky, thorny, shallow. Birds eat some of the seeds. The sun withers the delicate roots of others. A few of the precious seeds are planted firmly in rich soil and they germinate to produce healthy plants, which, in turn, produce abundant fruit. The people in the crowd must understand the parable. They are farmers. They understand that not all the seeds they plant survive the planting, not all the seeds that survive will sprout healthy plants, and not all those plants will produce good fruit. What they probably don't know is that as he's preaching his parable about the Sower, the seeds, and the soils, Jesus is discerning the hearts and minds of his listeners, delving into their spirits, learning who each of them is and why they are there with him on the shore. He sees a thorny mind and a barren heart over there. There a scorched soul and there a shallow spirit. Two or three rich souls are ready now to bear the burden of growing the seeds of his Word. Four or five are prepared to do the work necessary to become rich souls. To these, to those with hearts and minds poised to receive his Word, to these he says, “Whoever has ears ought to hear.” 

And what is it that they ought to hear? To Isaiah, the Lord says, “Just as the rain and snow come down from the heavens and do not return until they have watered the earth, so my word will not return to me empty, but it will do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.” The Lord sends rain and snow, making the earth “fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats.” His Word is sent as seed to be sown. For those with ears to hear: the Word is sown, the earth watered. Now, what sort of soil are you? Are you shallow like the soil on a well-worn path? Thin, easily blown this way and that? Shallow enough that the birds of every new idea, new trend, new philosophy can come along and eat the seeds you've been given? Perhaps you are rocky soil, hard in places, soft in others. Difficult to till, impossible to tend. Lots of stones, lots of gravel: Regrets, enemies, hatreds, worries. No where for the tender roots of your seeds to sprout? Maybe your soil is choked by thorns. The deadly bush and brambles of habitual sin, cold-heartedness, or a steadfast refusal to find joy? Those thorns will dry up the water of the Lord's grace and starve your seeds. Of course, it is always possible, maybe even probable, that the soil you present for sowing is rich, well-tilled, perfectly watered, and ready for planting! You are ready for conversion, eager even to get down to the risky business of nurturing the seed of God's Word, and verging on impatience to be bear the good fruits of the Holy Spirit! 

So, what sort of soil are you? 

If you're like me, like most of us, I daresay, you are probably thorny on Monday and Tuesday; rocky on Wednesday; shallow on Thursday and Friday; Saturday is a toss up between too hot and too dry; and Sunday is usually just rich enough to receive a few seeds and have them survive past midnight! Even when we have ears to hear the Word, we don't always hear it all nor do we always listen to what we are hearing. If we had been on that beach with the crowd, listening to Jesus, he probably delved into our hearts and minds and found a tangled mess of worries, joys, plans, memories, half-forgotten lessons, and few unpleasant thoughts about our neighbors. Had he lingered for more than a minute, he would have been treated to a rapid-fire montage of resentments, broken promises, gloats, successes, and a lot of static around thoughts of what comes next. Had he stayed with us for a day or two, he would have watched as we flipped from dedicated servants to selfish ingrates to sniveling crybabies to triumphant conquerors, changing almost as fast and as often as we change the stations on our 500 channel cable box. In there somewhere, he would have seen us get a grip on our self-pity and our sense of failure and strangle it with the more powerful conviction that we are masters of our universe. Nothing and no one rules me! And then, later that same day, that megalomaniac would have to be strangled. By what? Humility? Reality? Maybe a little of both? Watching us from the distance of his boat, floating on the sea, our Lord would see us as if we were riding a carousel, flashing by one moment a faithful disciples, the next a desperate child, the next a self-sufficient individual, the next a lonely heart and a cold mind. We are never just one sort of soil.

If it's true that we are never just one sort of soil, then how do we properly receive the seed of God's Word? How do we make sure that we are rich, well-tilled, and perfectly watered when he comes around to sow the seed? One way is quite simple: never be anything but richly nourished, well-tilled, and perfectly watered. But we've covered the improbability of that scenario. It's not impossible, of course. We are finite creatures, prone to the ebb and flow of circumstance, open to injury and insult, given to fits of disobedience, bouts of lacking in trust. All these make being Always Prepared difficult. . .but not impossible. The other option is to be Always Prepared to be Made Ready; that is, since being always prepared seems improbable, always be open to being given everything you need to get ready. At the very least, this means watching for any opportunity to turn yourself around to face God, to repent. Waiting for every chance to forgive and be forgiven, to bless and be blessed, to show mercy, gratitude, trust. It means being eager to step up in the face of gross injustice; to defend the truth of the Good News; to give witness to the goodness that the Lord has shown you; to suffer for another, to love sacrificially. It means remembering, calling to heart and mind, that you are a creature loved by Love Himself, created and re-created to live perfectly in His presence forever. And when you remember this fundamental truth of the faith, when you recall it, you live right then as if you are with Him—face-to-face—at the moment, right that second. Then, you will always be prepared to be made ready to receive the seed of His Word. 

Paul teaches the Romans that “creation awaits with eager expectation the revelation of the children of God.” Why? “. . .in hope that creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God.” Our glorious freedom is the freedom from sin's constraint, freedom from sin's limitations. We are never freer, more at liberty than when we are prepared to be made ready to receive God's Word. This is edge of our cooperation with His grace: we do all we can do with His help to be the best possible sort of soil and then we go one step more. We surrender. Just give up. Give up worry, anxiety, control, the need to achieve, and then we are ready. In full surrender to the working of His grace, we are best prepared to bear the best fruits. Sixty, seventy, one-hundred-fold. We are ready.

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