Milestone, or millstone?

I hit a milestone today. . .an embarrassing one. . .

For the first time in seven years of being a priest, I forgot to celebrate a Mass.

I was supposed to celebrate an afternoon Mass at the Women's New Life Center in Metairie at 3.00pm.  

I blame the Devil, my entrance into dotage, and my over-caffeinated squirrel brain.

Mea culpa!

Fr. Philip Neri, OP
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Visit upon the world the Lord's blessing!

Feast of the Visitation
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA

Elizabeth greets Mary in her home, blessing both the expectant virgin and her unborn child, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. . .Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled!” Of course, she believed. Mary had been supernaturally prepared by the Holy Spirit to hear, receive, and assent to the Word. She was spared the ravages of original sin in her immaculate conception and given an audience with one of the Father's mightiest messengers, the archangel Gabriel. With all the humility and obedience proper to one whose soul is freed from sin, she stood in the reflected glory of the Lord's angel and said Yes to becoming the Mother of God. If the virgin girl, Mary, is blessed for believing that the Lord's word to her would be fulfilled, how blessed are we when we believe that the Lord's word to us will be fulfilled? With none of her spiritual advantages and without the benefit of an angelic announcement, how blessed are we when we believe that the Lord always makes good on His promises? 

Indeed, simply believing that the Lord will always fulfill His promises is a blessing in itself. But this blessing, as welcomed as it is, is given to us so that it might be worked into a grace capable of transforming not only a single soul but the spirit of a couple, a family, a parish, a nation, an entire people. The blessing of believing on the Lord's promises can bring about the conversion of the world only when those who have received it use it to help the world visit with the Lord. In other words, if we believe that the Lord makes good on His promises, then we must take this blessing out into the world—where we live, work, play—and put it to work for the salvation of souls. Mary—pregnant with the Word—visits Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John. This is the first time in history that a human person has brought the living God to visit another person. The two women visit in the presence of the Word becoming flesh. Elizabeth praises Mary for her faithfulness. John leaps for joy in his mother's womb. And Mary sings her servant-cantical, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!” The Feast of the Visitation is the Church's annual reminder that we are flesh becoming the Word and we are vowed to visit the world with the blessings of the Father's promise. 

How do we do this? Paul gives us some solid spiritual advise in his letter to the Romans, “Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good; love one another. . .Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the holy ones, exercise hospitality. Bless those who persecute you. . .Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. . .do not be haughty.” Love, serve, rejoice, endure, persevere, and bless. Be: zealous, fervent, hospitable, generous, sincere, and humble. This is how we take a blessing into the world and visit upon the world the blessings of the Lord. If we cannot or will not sing out with Mary, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,” then why should anyone in the world want to hear about the Lord's blessings? If our rejoicing is indistinguishable from despairing, and if our believing is no different from the world's, then why would anyone in the world leap for joy upon hearing about the Lord's blessing? We are blessed to believe in the Lord's promises. How much more blessed are we to visit His blessings upon a world starving for His saving Word?

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Fisking the Vatican vs. Nuns Narrative

The following is an article posted on the Chicago Sun-Times site titled, "Priests come to nun's defense."  It's another hackjob along the Evil Vatican Bullies vs. Poor Helpless Nuns meme that the MSM is pushing.  My comments/questions are in red.

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Father Leonard Dubi, a priest of 44 years, was one of two dozen men in Roman collars at St. Barbara’s Catholic Church on Sunday night. (Fr. Dubi was ordained in 1968.  There are about 1,530 priests in the Archdiocese of Chicago.  They rounded up all of 24.  That's fewer than 1%). 

They were there to honor and support the embattled nuns of this country. (What embattled nuns?  I've heard that the CDF is trying to persuade the LCWR to return to the Catholic faith, but I'm not aware of any nuns being "embattled" by anyone.)

Even though it was Memorial Day weekend, even though plenty of people had been to church once already, and even though it was hot and steamy inside that old, beautiful, non-air conditioned church, about 150 came that night.  (There are 2,300,000 Catholics in the archdiocese.  They rounded up all of 150).

Nuns. Priests. Lay people.  (NB.  "Nuns" not "sisters."  Every sister I know will tell you right fast that she's not a nun.)

“We ran out of programs,” said Fr. Dubi by phone on Tuesday.  (How many did you print?)

These gatherings are happening all over the country (evidence?) as Catholics react to Rome’s attempt to reel in (snort) the Leadership Council of Women Religious, the umbrella organization that represents most religious sisters in this country. (By "represent" here she means something very different than what most of us think of when we use the word.  The LCWR is not representative of the rank and file sisters in the U.S.  What you do wanna bet that most U.S. sisters do not believe that they must "move beyond Christ" in order to be good Christians?)

The Vatican, in a scathing rebuke in April, appointed three bishops to “oversee” the women of LCWR. The sisters, in the view of the men who run the church, are too concerned about the poor and disenfranchised.  (She hasn't read the document.  There's nothing "scathing" about it. . .unless you consider truth-telling to be scathing.  The document explicitly lauds the ministries of sisters among the poor and disenfranchised, quoting JPII's praise of their efforts among the poor.) 

Not concerned enough about birth control, abortion and gay marriage. The orthodoxies that absorb the Curia.  (No.  The LCWR seems to be very concerned about contraception, abortion, and gay "marrriage."  They seem to be willing and able--even eager--to side with those who see these mortal sins are morally acceptable and even desirable.  The Curia is doing its job in making sure that Catholics tend to the proper formation of a good conscience.)

Many of the people in the pews see this as the last straw. (How many?) And are saying so. (Links?  Quotes?) And priests are giving voice to their own deep concerns. (Indeed, we are, but you aren't reporting them, choosing instead to echo B.O. administration talking-points and giving voice to the dissent of the Dinosaur Left.)

Fr. Dubi is the Chairman of the Association of Chicago Priests (ACP), which wrote a letter to the sisters. In it, the priests praise LCWR for being the living embodiment of the reforms of Vatican II. (No. They are the living embodiment of a ruptured interpretation of VC2, one that has exhausted its project and is now flailing about desperately seeking attention and relevance). And commend the sisters for being fearless in service “to the poor, the powerless, the marginalized, the forgotten, the rejected . . . the sick, the abandoned. . . .(Also noted and praised in the CDF document. . .and you'd know that if you had read it!) Perhaps (your mission) is too frightening to people and institutions accustomed to moving more slowly.”  (And what exactly is the LCWR and your association moving toward so quickly, Father?  It's not 1968 anymore.  You and the LCWR are moving backwards.)

Like Rome? Which was egregiously slow to outrage as wave after wave of priest-predator scandals broke but quick to reproach the women who have not brought scandal upon the Church. Does the Vatican truly believe this nun-offensive will fly? (Insert irrelevant and utterly gratuitous poke at the bishops over the abuse scandal.  So, b/c the bishops failed miserably in their duty to police their clergy, the LCWR is granted a free pass on promoting dangerous heresy and misleading Catholics about the faith?  What about the LCWR's refusal to address victims abused by sisters?  Why are they excused from exercising the virtue of transparency?)

Apparently so.

But reaction is building. (Where? Links? Quotes? Names? Numbers?) And it is helping the Association of Chicago Priests to re-discover itself. (Aaaahhhhh, so now I understand the real motivation for the ACP's support of the poor helpless nuns).  And its once-strong voice.  (Loud is not the same as strong).

The ACP was born out of conflict during the era of Cardinal John Cody, who didn’t value dialogue with the women and men religious who worked in the Archdiocese. (Meaning, he didn't look forward to being lectured to and screamed at by dissidents.) But then came Cardinal Joseph Bernadin, who valued collegiality. (Meaning, he sat quietly while the dissidents lectured and screamed).  And there wasn’t much need for the organization any more. (And there's no "need" for it now. . .except, of course, that all special interest political groups "need" themselves and so invent their own relevance.)

Now Fr. Dubi and the ACP are joining a national movement, forming the Association of U.S. Catholic priests. (Which will no doubt be jammed packed with fresh young faces eager to Fight the Man, or something!) Its first meeting will be in St. Leo, Fla., on June 11-14.

“If we can get 10 percent of priests who are ordained (as opposed to those priests who aren't ordained?), who would come together, who would have a part of this collective voice, we can begin to speak with authority,” said the 69-year-old Fr. Dubi.  (You can speak with your own authority. . .whatever that might be.  The only real authority in the Church to speak authentically on issues of morals and faith is the magisterium and that authority is exercised by the bishops in communion with the Holy Father.  And, if I'm not mistaken, he thinks you're wrong).

What will they say?  (Not much that we haven't heard a billion times already:  ordain women, drop celibacy, elect bishops, blah-blah-blah.  IOW, they will say, "We demand that the Catholic Church become Protestant!)

“We love the Church,” (No.  You love that portion of the Church that does your will), he told me in a previous conversation. “But in the modern church, in the current ‘reform of the reform’, we don’t have real discussion of things. It’s all top down. There are no interdependent voices.”  (You're right.  We should use the model your generation used when discussing the removal of altar rails; the implementation of the '73 missal translation; the modernist destruction of our immigrant Catholic heritage in architecture; the destruction of our Catholic tradition of sacred music; the overthrow of our Catholic theological tradition in exchange for goofy pop-psychology, trendy sociology, and New Age junk spirituality; and the model you guys used for emptying the seminaries and convents worked wonders!)

But that, it seems, is changing.  (Oh, it's changing alright. . .just not in the direction you are hoping for. . .)

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The blood, sweat, and tears of divine love. . .

8th Week OT (W)
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA

Brothers and sisters, this is the Word that has been proclaimed to you: “All flesh is like grass, and all the glory of the flesh is like the flowers in the field; grass withers and flowers wilt; but the word of the Lord remains forever.” Peter quotes Isiah, highlighting the difference between the perishable things that cannot save us and the imperishable Word who has already saved us. We were not ransomed from our slavery to sin by money, food, medicine, or temple sacrifices but by the precious blood of Christ, freely given on the altar of the Cross. By listening to that Word, by obeying his Word of truth, we are cleansed of sin and made ready to love one another intensely. Peter writes, “You have been born anew, not from perishable but from imperishable seed through the living and abiding word of God. . .” Our chance at a new birth arrived in blood, sweat, and tears. As a person born again, born anew, do you live your days and nights intensely loving, sincerely in love with, God and His family of adopted children? 

Jesus admonishes James and John for seeking after prestige as his disciples. He tells them that those who want to come first must come last in his kingdom. Why? Because, he says, “. . .the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Christ completed his mission among us when he ransomed our lives with his on the Cross, the imperishable Word in exchange for perishable man. What does this exchange accomplish? What does it make possible? Christ sacrifice extends “once for all,” once to all, an invitation to participate in the divine life, to take part in the adventure of holiness. He makes it possible for anyone, once again to approach the glory of the Father freed from sin, made just in the mercy of God. He gives every opened eye and ear a Way out of darkness, a Way out of useless pain and anxiety. He takes into the Holy Family any man, woman, or child of any race, any tribe, any people, and makes them children of His Father, co-heirs to eternal life. When Christ dies on the Cross and rises from the tomb, he shows all of the creation exactly what divine love looks like. And he makes it possible for his brothers and sisters—in his name and for his sake—to love one another so the world might see that he abides among us still. 

As a person born again, born anew, do you live your days and nights intensely loving, sincerely in love with, God and His family of adopted children? Our chance at a new birth did not arrive without blood, sweat, and tears, so why should living as a newly born child of God not require a little blood, a few drops of sweat, and lots of tears? Think of those you have the most difficulty loving. What prevents you from loving them as Christ loves them? Why won't you serve them as Christ serves you? Are they less deserving of his mercy than you? Are their sins greater than yours? We have been cleansed from our sin by obedience to the truth; therefore, love intensely, sincerely, with great abandon, and without price. Our pride, our anger, our jealousy can never outweigh the feather-light mercy that Christ won for us. So why load ourselves up with the burden of perishable junk like prejudice, revenge, hurt feelings? Here's a secret: all that rotting trash you love to carry around. . .it isn't yours! It belongs to the Enemy, but he is more than happy to let you carry it right to his front door. Don't do it. You don't have to. The Word has been proclaimed to you: “You have been born anew from imperishable seed, the living word of God.” 

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Coffee Cup Browsing

Fisking the media narrative:  Evil Vatican Bullies vs. Poor Helpless Nuns.

Two views on The Sisters.  The MSM is living in the 1950's on this issue.

He didn't have an argument for a first term. . .why should he have one for a second?

Catholic Democrat defects to the GOP. . .not that the GOP fully embraces Catholic social teaching.

The empty spiritual calories of modern heresies.  There is no new heresy under the sun.

The Tiresomeness of Maureen Dowd.  M.D. is what happens when reason is clouded by passion.

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Wednesday Fat Report (+2)

OK.  I gained two pounds:  326.

This is actually a relief.  After a week on retreat with three full meals a day and lots of snacks AND four birthdays in the priory within the month. . .a two pound gain is a blessing!

Fr. Philip Neri, OP

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Gettin' holy ain't for sissies!

NB.  Normally, I'm off on Tuesday's.  Fr. Mike and I switched days-off, so here's today's homily from 2010.

8th Week OT (T)
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA

There's a bumper sticker popular among our older citizens: “Gettin' old ain't for sissies!” Aging is a long haul. It's hard work. It take courage, perseverance, and strength. Chances are that those who lack the required virtues for “gettin' old” never make it past retirement age. They falter long before the really tough stuff begins. Catholics, never shy about using what we're given to preach the gospel, should take this bumper sticker and revise it to teach another ancient truth: “Gettin' holy ain't for sissies!” All the virtues required for enduring old age come in quite handy for traveling the way of holiness. Standing up to the rulers of this world; confronting one's own demons; and coming out victorious, requires courage, perseverance, and strength. Despite the dangers of aging, many manage to do well enough without ever receiving all that God has to give them. No such thing is possible in our travels toward holiness. Peter writes, “. . .as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct, for it is written, Be holy because I am holy.” 

 The saints and doctors of the Church teach us that we are made to be holy. We are designed in such a way that we are not only capable of being holy but are, in fact, compelled to seek out holiness. Why then do we find being holy so difficult? Why do we expend so much time and energy fighting against who we were made to be? Peter gives us a hint when he teaches us how to be holy: “. . .gird up the loins of your mind, live soberly, and set your hopes completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” If these are the things we must do to grow in holiness, then it makes sense that our resistance to being holy rests in our failure to follow through with this admonition. The creativity and productivity of our minds is scattered, loose, unfocused. Our daily lives show us to be immoderate, irrational, anxious. And we have set our hopes on the fleeting goodness of people, ideas, and institutions who are in themselves incapable of making us Good. If we fail to understand that God is the only source of holiness, then we are doomed to falter long before the way before us gets really tough. God says, “Be holy because I am holy.” 

Being holy, like growing old, is hard. We have to grow old. No choice in that. But do we have to be holy? If it's so difficult, why bother? First, we are called to it. Drawn to God by His love for us, we are seduced into wanting to be perfect as He Himself is perfect. Without the desire for holiness, we are just animals, creatures eating, breeding, and dying without a purpose larger than our biology. Second, by accepting the graces of baptism and the Holy Spirit, we are shown who we are (sinners) and who we can be (saints). To endure the difference between the two without seeking to close the gap is unbearable. Third, as St Augustine says, we are restless—agitated, unhappy, aimless—until we rest in Him. Seeing that we are capable of being like God, can we ever be truly satisfied with being like anything less than God? 

Peter says to Christ, “We have given up everything and followed you.” Surrender is the first step and the last step. But the steps in between must also follow Christ. With hearts and minds focused on Christ; our lives lived in the sobriety of his commandment of love; and our hope resting solely in the one revealed to us by the Holy Spirit, we can surrender everything unholy and become holy for no other reason than that He is holy. For those who love him, this is reason enough.

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Homiletic challenge

I've asked for feedback on my recent homilies and HA readers have responded with enthusiasm!  

Here's another request:  give me a homiletic challenge; in other words, challenge me to compose a homily that you would enjoying hearing preached, or one that you need to hear preached.

This could be a topic/issue or a scripture passage or a doctrine of the faith, etc.

I just might accept your challenge!

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If your goal is eternal life. . .

8th Week OT (M)
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA

Look far ahead, down the road, and off in the distance. . .do you see a goal for yourself? Do you see what it is or who it is that you are pursuing? Are you being led, or are you giving chase? Make no mistake, whether we know it or not, we are all closing in on an end point. Most are stumbling toward it. Some are strolling casually. A few are even sprinting wildly. That we all have an end point is a fact. We give it different names, use different euphemisms: passing, “gone to a better place,” “dirt nap,” “giving up the ghost,” death. The separation of body and soul is a hard constant of being alive. No one escapes. But death is not a goal. A goal is something to be achieved, something to be worked toward. Accomplishing a goal is not a given; we can fail to complete a goal. What goal are you striving toward? Are you being led to achievement, or are you trying to go it alone? Peter teaches us that the goal of faith is the salvation of our souls; that is, the reason for believing, the purpose of trusting in God is to save our immortal souls. Quoting the rich young man, “. . .what must [we] do to inherit eternal life?” 

The rich young man clearly sees his goal: eternal life. Will he be led to it, or will he chase after it? Since he's asking the Good Teacher how he might inherit eternal life, we can assume that he's willing to be led. Jesus shows him the Way: obey the Commandments and detach yourself from the things of this world. The young man eagerly volunteers his obedience to the Commandments, but when Jesus tells him to sell all his goods and give them to the poor, Mark reports that “his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.” So much for being led to the goal of eternal life. With so many possessions to tend to and so many responsibilities to shoulder, the young man chooses to chase after the goal of eternal life. And he will chase that goal alone. Being wealthy in no way disqualifies the young man from entering heaven. What disqualifies him is his attachment to wealth. It loads him down, it fills him up. With all his riches, with all his obligations there is no room in his heart for the treasures of God's kingdom. He has much and more anchoring him to the world of things, the smallish things of a smallish world which too soon fade away. Eternal life is inherited by those who will be led, unattached from the passing away of things. 

Showing exemplary compassion, Jesus laments, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the Kingdom of God!” The disciples are “exceedingly astonished” at his outburst and wonder who then can be saved. Jesus says, “For men it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.” What exactly is impossible for men but not impossible for God? It is impossible for wealthy men to enter the kingdom alone, by themselves, but God can lead them there if they will be led. But to be led, they must come to believe and trust fully in the providence of God. So must we all. We cannot serve two Masters. If our goal is eternal life, then we serve the one Master who can lead us there, and serving Him means abandoning all other attachments. The only other choice is to serve our possessions and chase after eternal life on our own. As the adopted children of the Father through Christ, we are heirs to the kingdom He has bequeathed to us. To lay claim to our inheritance, we must cease loving things more than we love Him. He is the source and summit, Love Himself, and loving Him first makes all other loves possible. Chasing after temporary things leads to a permanent death. Be led by His love so that you may inherit eternal life. 

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Feedback, please!

Before heading off to Texas last week, I made a cryptic comment about my homilies being BLAH lately and said that a retreat would help to make them better.

Well, the retreat helped me to think through why I think my homilies have been BLAH lately. 

I started this blog in Nov of 2005 for two reasons:

1). as a convenient way to distribute the homilies when asked for a copy;

2). and as a way for Normal Catholic Folks to give me feedback.

These reasons still stand.

Therefore, I need some feedback:  what's working?  What's not working?  Helpful?  Distracting? Annoying?  Good, bad, ugly?  What do you want to read/hear more about in the homilies?  Less?  I'm tough. . .so don't flinch from telling the truth as you see it.

Please, let this be heard loud and clear:  I am NOT fishing for compliments!  

Of course, every preacher on the planet likes compliments, but if these homilies are going to be of any use to anyone, they need to be reviewed in terms of the what homilies are supposed to be--proclamations of the Word for the spiritual growth of the People of God. 

Many of you have written to confess that you do not feel qualified to comment on a priest's homily.  I understand your reluctance; however, remember that we all receive the Spirit as we need Him and we use our spiritual gifts accordingly.  We all have the right to good preaching so that our gifts may be properly understood and used for the benefit of others.

So, what say you?

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Zombie Apocalypse. . .it's here!

I've been warning y'all for YEARS that the Zombie Apocalypse was coming. . .

IT HAS ARRIVED!

Sharpen your chainsaw machetes and stock up on rice and beans.

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Burdened to breaking by the Truth

(NB.  I wrote this homily in June of 2009 while living in Rome.  Since it was never preached, I thought I'd give it a try this morning. . .P.S. this version has been slightly edited b/c the 2009 version was too long.)

Pentecost Sunday: Acts 2.1-11; 1 Cor 12.3-13; John 15.26-27, 16.12-15
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St Dominic Church, NOLA

How much truth can we bear? How much before we break? If you read sci-fi/fantasy novels, you know that one of the staples of these fictional worlds is the notion that there is a truth, an arcane stock of wisdom that only a few can access, that only the truly gifted can call upon when necessary. There is always a price to be paid for knowing more than one ought to and for knowing anything at all about what one should not know. The price is sometimes physical, sometimes mental; sometimes the price is paid with one’s humanity. With one’s life. And the sacrifice is not always triumphant. Sometimes knowing more only leads to more confusion, additional puzzles, greater obstacles. How much truth is too much? When does “bearing up under” the truth become a burden worthy of a cross?

To his friends and students, Jesus promises to send an Advocate, the Holy Spirit who will comfort them in their trials and give them a sure defense against malicious persecution. Because his disciples have been with him from the beginning, he says that they will testify to the truth of his gospel and that the Advocate will testify along with them. Then Jesus says something rather odd; he says, “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.” Is Jesus playing Arcane Master here? Gnostic Guru? What truth does he have to tell that the disciples cannot bear? The disciples have shown themselves to be less than stellar pupils at times. They have fussed about petty marks of prestige among themselves. And we know that when the Judas’ plan comes to fruition in the Garden, these best-buds will run squealing like rabbits into the night. But what truth, what “much more to tell” will break the disciples? Jesus adds, “But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth.” What truth? Details of his’ trial and execution? A prophecy about future persecutions? Some apocalyptic end-time scenario? No. When the Spirit comes, he will guide us to all truth. The Spirit has come. What is revealed?

(Imagine a chilly spring night in Jerusalem, the dark is almost total, only a few stars blink at the earth. From the horizon on the east blazes a meteor, a fist of fiery spirit, a knot of tightly bound love, streaking with undeterred purpose toward the upper room. At the moment of deepest despair, greatest regret, the most intense impatience for the disciples, the meteor smashes into the room and explodes in a thunderous clap, piercing the bodies and souls of the men and women in the room, whipping their spirits clean, sending them all into an ecstasy that overwhelms thought, speech, spirit, motion, and leaves them, each one, ablaze like a star stuttering to its full brilliance…).

The Catechism teaches, “On the day of Pentecost, the Spirit of the Promise was poured out on the disciples […] The Spirit who teaches the Church and recalls for her everything that Jesus said was also to form her in the life of prayer” (n. 2623). Perhaps more than any other day of the Church calendar, Pentecost marks our longest distance from fear. Easter comes close. But Pentecost brings us into direct contact with the questions: what do I fear as a follower of Christ? What prison have I locked myself in? What darkness have I protected from the cleansing fire of the Holy Spirit? Pentecost raises these questions for us precisely because it is the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost that gives birth and rebirth to the Church, the Body of Christ on earth. At the most intense moment of persecution, on the cusp of the Church’s birth, the disciples are ruled by terror; they are fragile, steeped in dread. The Holy Spirit explodes in their midst…and everything is changed forever.

They have locked themselves away in fear and by fear they are ruled. The walls of their chosen prison give them comfort. They know where they are, who they are; they know who is outside, and who it is that hunts them and why. To the temple priesthood, they are heretics. To the Roman governor, they are rebels. They have offended God in His sanctuary and Caesar in his court; they are hiding from the clergy of an ancient religious tradition and from the foot soldiers of the world’s only military superpower. They are menaced soul and body.

From within their self-imposed prison—the easy safety of walls and familiar company—the beloved of the crucified Lord tremble in terror, waiting on the wrath of God’s priests and the punishments of Caesar’s troops. Some of them may have remembered a promise Jesus made before his death. And though it has been several weeks since he died in the garbage dump outside Jerusalem, that promise comes back in a whispered memory, just a hint of hope sprinkled in among the fear and desperation of those who keep themselves prisoner. If they gird themselves, put their eyes to heaven, and remember! They will remember: “When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me.” When the Advocate, the Spirit of Truth, comes…he will testify to the truth as the Truth. There is nothing to fear in the truth though for now the whole truth may burden you. Turn the key of your cell door and walk away to freedom. Your wait is over. Walk away from fear and toward the Truth—away from loss, toward everlasting gain! What fear guards your cell door? What terror keeps that door locked?

Into the locked room where the disciples hid, the Holy Spirit, like a furious bonfire—ripping through fear and doubt, burning away indecision, cowardice, spiritual torpor, putting to the sacred torch of truth any and all motivation for hesitancy, complacency, and double-mindedness—the Holy Spirit roared in among them, setting to each a flame that unstuck their tongues, that unlocked their imprisoned hearts, and set them free! This is the heritage of the Spirit that we lay claim to. We are heirs to this strength, this purpose. They spill into the street, preaching God’s truth in every tongue. Where is their fear? Where is their hesitancy? They are wholly given over to Him! And because of their fervor, their dedication and exuberance, and because they spoke the Word so plainly and without embarrassment, they were killed. Not all of them. Just those so far gone in the Spirit that nothing of this world was left in them to threaten.

Is this the burden that Jesus did not want to load onto the disciples too early? Is this the truth that he feared might break them? The coming of the Spirit sparked the glory of the Church in the upper room, giving birth to the Body of Christ as the engine of grace in the world. Set ablaze in holy love, the disciples flee into the streets, spreading God’s holy fire everywhere they run, seeding tinder-dried hearts with embers ready to burst into flame. They are contagious. From heart to heart, from mind to mind, they spread out and plant the Word, scattering seed, rowing up fields for the Church! “Bearing up under” the truth of the gospel, the work of evangelization, is a burden for us. Is it a burden worthy of a cross? Yes, it is.

Inevitably, the truth of the gospel will clash with the lies of the world. At first, the world will draw back in astonished amusement, mildly shocked that someone, anyone would challenge its power. Then, when mockery fails to diminish the fervor of the Church, the world will react with increasing anger and violence. And, like the early persecutions of the Church by the Empire, the Church will be cast as an enemy of the state, a threat to moral liberty, and a tumor on the body of good order. As an intolerant cult that refuses to honor the diversity and difference that makes western culture so wonderful, we will be found guilty of refusing to worship the demons of elitist ideology and labeled “intolerant bigots,” “Taliban Catholics,” and “domestic terrorists.”

We are charged by the Holy Spirit to finish telling the truth of the gospel. If that truth burdens us to breaking, then we break burdened by the gospel truth: “If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit.” And, if necessary, we suffer and die preaching the Spirit.

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So, this is what 48 feels like. . .

Thanks to all who have sent greetings and good wishes on my feast day and birthday!

After Mass this morning, I was serenaded by a group of folks with "Happy Birthday."

Strange.  I don't feel 48 yrs. old.

God bless, Fr. Philip Neri, OP
___________________

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He ain't done yet. . .and neither are we!

St. Philip Neri
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA

John tells us that if he were write down everything that Jesus said and did “the whole world would [not] contain the books that would be written.” Does it trouble you that Jesus said and did many things that are not written in the gospels? If it does, it shouldn't. The gospel accounts of Jesus' life and ministry convey to us the essentials of the New Covenant, everything necessary for the salvation of the world. We are given relevant historical facts (names, dates, places) so that we know that the events described happened in the real world and not the fabled world of “once upon a time.” Details of these events are meant to reveal God's grace working in the lives of the men and women who witnessed them. Testimony from witnesses tells us how God's grace transforms the fallen human heart and mind into a beacon of beckoning light. Jesus' words and deeds are living events, even now they are on-going, continuing to make known his saving presence among us. John cannot write down everything that Jesus says and does b/c our Lord is still speaking, still doing all that he has to say and do. And we—his brothers and sisters—are his tongue and his hands. 

Imagine that you have 60 or 70 containers of varying shapes and sizes—a small glass vase, a 64oz plastic cup, a three gallon clay flower pot, a 500 gallon steel drum, etc. You also have a pump submerged in Lake Pontchartrain attached to a hose. You fill each container to its capacity. You now have 60 or 70 containers of varying shapes and sizes filled with water. Since water is fluid, it takes on the shape and size of its container and though the water takes on the shape and size of its container, it is still water, still fluid. When Jesus spoke his Word 2,000 years ago, he began to pump out into the world the living water of his Holy Spirit, filling every human vessel willing to be container. His Word took on the shape and size of each person who opened himself to receive a drink from his fountain of truth. And though shaped and sized according to the receiver, the Word remained the Word—unchanging, perfect. Sitting at the right hand of the Father, the Son sent the Holy Spirit among us, to pour out the living water of truth, and he continues to pour, continues to fill every human heart willing to serve as a container. He acts and speaks in us and through us still. This is why John could not write down everything that Jesus said and did: Christ is not done speaking nor is he finished doing. 

Luke tells us in Acts that Paul remained a prisoner in Rome for two years, and “. . .with complete assurance and without hindrance he proclaimed the Kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.” As a filled-to-the-brim vessel of the Lord's Holy Spirit, Paul, even from a prison cell, proclaimed the Kingdom and preached Christ crucified. Chains and iron bars cannot contain the Holy Spirit. Unjust laws and public ridicule cannot contain the Holy Spirit. Violence and death cannot contain the Holy Spirit. Only the human heart and mind, set free from the slavery of sin and urged on by the Church can hold the cleansing light, the purifying fire of the Holy Spirit. Regardless of shape or size or color or material construction, any human heart and mind willing to receive the living waters of the Holy Spirit can and will be filled to the brim and overflowing. What will you do today that can be written down in the book of Christ's deeds? What will you say that can be recorded in his book of wisdom? You contain the word of life. How will you speak it? You are an act of salvation. What redeeming deed will you accomplish? 

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Love, feed, tend. . .in that order.

7th Week of Easter 

Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP 

St. Dominic Church, NOLA 

With all these references to eating, we might suspect that Jesus is a secret Southerner, maybe even a true son of 'Yat Catholicism. Alas, we can end this speculation forthwith. John begins, “After Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples and eaten breakfast with them. . .” No true Southerner—much less a native born 'Yat—would do any serious revealing of anything before breakfast! If there's anything at all serious to be discussed, it must be discussed after the second cup of coffee and the third beignet. Despite this appalling lack of good manners, Jesus manages to salvage a bit of his honor by redeeming Peter's betrayal in the Garden and working into his redemption several references to eating. Instinctively, Southerners and Catholic 'Yats understand the intimate relationship btw food and love. Apparently, so do Jewish carpenters. How best to show that you love someone? Feed them. And not only feed them, but tend to them as well. Jesus says to Peter (paraphrasing): if you love me, love my sheep; feed them and tend to them. As shepherds, how do we love and feed and tend to the Lord's sheep? 

Some might balk at being referred to as sheep. Sheep are stupid, dirty, and kinda loud. But what if we expanded the metaphor a bit and said that each of us—in relationship to one another—is called to be both shepherd and sheep? In other words, you are a sheep to the shepherding of your pastor but a shepherd in tending to your children. Your pastor is a sheep to the shepherding of his bishop and the bishop is a sheep to the shepherding of the Holy Father and so on. This means that all at once, each of us must cultivate the skills and attitudes that allow us to be the best possible shepherds and the best possible sheep. What are those skills and attitudes? More importantly, in what do we ground these skills and attitudes? What is it that—when properly employed—allows us to acquire and hone the skills and attitudes required to be simultaneously good shepherds and good sheep? Before Jesus tells Peter to tend his sheep, he tells him to feed his sheep. This implies that there is more to tending sheep and simply feeding them. Anyone can throw food at sheep; anyone can toss a burger at you or throw some cash your way for a po-boy. The difference that makes the difference btw feeding and tending is love. 

The order that Jesus asks his questions and gives his commands is no accident. First, love; next, feed; then, tend. (And then to make sure that we Southerners are paying attention, he adds a second feeding!) Jesus is speaking both literally and metaphorically here. He really does mean “love my people, give them food to eat, and take care of them.” He also means “love my people, give them spiritual food, and take care of their souls.” The two references to feeding the sheep mean “feed their bodies” and “feed their souls.” I assume that you all know to feed the body. How do you love, feed, and tend to the souls you shepherd? To love, you want the Good for others and you do the Good for others. To feed, you make yourself into a tasty example of holiness and do so abundantly, gladly, even extravagantly. To tend, you watch and listen for the wolves of this world and protect the souls in your care from the ravenous appetites of those who long to recruit comrades in their self-destruction. To be a good sheep? Receive the love you are freely given. Follow examples of holiness with the same zeal that they are made. And be ready to be taught right from wrong, good from evil. Whether you are the shepherd or the sheep at any given moment, love. All worthwhile food and all worthwhile care comes from the one source of Love: Love Himself. 

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