On being beautiful

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

Every year, dozens of American magazines publish something like a top ten or twenty list of the world's most beautiful people. Sometimes this list is titled, “World's 10 Sexiest Men,” or “World's 20 Most Beautiful Women.” Regardless of the title, the purpose of these lists is to lift out of the general ugliness of the human herd a group of especially attractive individuals and hold them up as exemplars of human beauty. What counts as “human beauty” is always defined in terms of physical features—body type, hair color, shape of the eyes, facial proportions. If asked to defend this rather narrow definition of beauty, editors will concede that a person's personality or achievements can be beautiful too but they aren't qualified to judge that sort of thing. Making that judgment is too subjective, too. . .messy. If these editors would think for a moment, they would realize that beauty is beauty—physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual. The source of beauty is Beauty Himself and the pursuit of our perfection in Beauty is the encoded desire of every human heart. Blessed are they who seek holiness, for they shall be made beautiful as God Himself is Beauty. 

The philosophical study of beauty is carried out in an academic discipline called “aesthetics.” Yes, you can go to university and get a doctoral degree in philosophy with a specialty in the study of beauty. Sometimes this discipline is called the “philosophy of art,” but art is short for “artifice,” a human-made object, the root of our word “artificial” and not all beautiful things are human-made. Take, for example, well, all of creation: galaxies, stars, space-time, quanta, mountains, trees, squirrels, bacteria. These beautiful objects of the universe are most certainly not human-made. Take, for example, mercy, consolation, forgiveness, righteousness, and charity. These beautiful qualities of the human soul aren't human-made either. What the objects of the universe and the qualities of the human soul share is an origin, a Creator, Beauty Himself. What makes them different, fundamentally different, is that the things of the universe cannot be make themselves ugly by refusing to participate in the divine life of Beauty. We can. However, when we choose to participate in Beauty, we are blessed by Beauty and made beautiful. 

How do we actively participate in divine beatitude? According to Jesus, in his Sermon on the Mount, we are blessed when we pour ourselves out in service to be filled with his Spirit; we are blessed when we mourn; blessed when we are meek; blessed when we hunger and thirst for His righteousness; blessed when we show mercy, clean out our hearts, and make His peace. When we find ourselves hated and persecuted for loving Christ and following along his Way, we are blessed. To be blessed is to be pulled into Beatitude, to be set apart from ugliness and despair and seated along side the perfect goodness of our Creator. Sure, like the natural objects of the universe, our very existence is beautiful. We exist and that in itself is beautiful. But we are given an additional option: to be beautiful as the Father is beautiful. This option requires us to pursue, to chase after the blessedness that comes with being merciful, peace-making, being poor in spirit. Do these and be blessed. And what do we do when we are blessed? Jesus says, “Rejoice and be glad.” Show joy. Demonstrate gladness. Give thanks. And praise the source and summit of your truest beauty! 

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Help with a translation

I leapt out of bed this a.m. at 4.30.  And there was no coffee brewing downstairs.  So I had to fix some and wait a whole three minutes for my first cup. . .so, yeah, I'm a little cranky and probably not playing my A-game. . .

So, when I read this document from some-Anglican-Church-of-Canada-bishop-cmte-thingy, I was sure that it was written in a foreign language. 

Is Canadian a foreign language?  Is it like Mississippian?  Cajun?

Anyway,  tried Google Translate.  No luck.  Google couldn't make any sense out of it. 

Maybe it's a local Canadian dialect.  No.  Wikipedia notes that Canadians usually speak French or English or both. 

Weird. 

This document (?) could be some English/French fusion except that I can read both French and English (sorta) and I've never heard of Englench, or is it Frenglish? 

Then, after the first cup of coffee, it dawned on me!  These guys are Anglican bishops!  Of course!  They speak a national dialectic of Bishopese.  One of the most obscure and difficult languages to translate into Normal People Talk. 

Have a cup or three of really strong coffee and see if you have any luck with a translation. . .here's a sample passage:

We began to experience, as bishops together, the key challenge and opportunity that meet us: “How can we support and assist our fellow-bishops in the mission decisions that they make in their context and from their perspective?” We noted those times when we have judged our fellow-servants without taking time to understand the context and perspective that informed their decisions and actions. As we move forward we commit ourselves to consider deeply the impact of our decisions and actions – informed by our own context and perspectives – on the life and ministry of the church in other contexts.

And another:

We affirm that the Church, gathered around the mystery of redemption, fosters and nurtures a specific response to particular mission imperatives, by restoring our human capacity to discern God’s initiative and joining our lives to it. We recognized that mission partnerships are not about shifting resources from a context of abundance to one of scarcity, but rather about combining a range of resources – such as knowledge, trust, experience, discernment, and material wealth – to participate in God’s redemptive work in the world. 

Lots of affirming and missioning and perspectiving.  The only thing that I can tell about the composers of these passages is that they seem to have no clue what "mission" means for a priest, prophet, and king baptized into the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Apparently, they think that the Great Commission, given by Christ to his disciples and received by his Church, is an invitation to adopt an individual perspective in a specific context in order to do something or another with a variety of resources.  Huh.

Any help out there?

H/T:  MCJ
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Audio link for this a.m.'s homily

Added an audio file link for the Corpus Christi homily. . .

Corpus Christi 

P.S.  Talking about food makes my Mississippi accent really shine!
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Now that you can listen to me preach, you can comment on my delivery as well as the homily's content!

God is dead. . .

"To one with faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible." 

St. Thomas Aquinas, OP

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Sacramentum caritatis (with pork gravy!)

[NB.  This homily has a history.  I preached the first version on Corpus Christi 2005--my first Mass--at Holy Rosary Church in Houston, TX.  As always, feedback is much appreciated!]

Solemnity of Corpus Christi
Fr. Philip N. Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA

Audio file of this homily

These are a few of my favorite things: Buttermilk dripped and deep-fried chicken. Butter beans with bacon and onions. Garlic mashed potatoes with chicken gravy. Greens with fatback and vinegar. Squash casserole, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole with a pecan and brown sugar crust. Deviled eggs. Warm biscuits. Homemade, cast-iron skillet cornbread with real butter. Fresh yeast rolls. Pecan pie. Chocolate pie. Mississippi Mud Cake. Bread pudding with whiskey sauce. Can you tell I’m a true blood Southerner?! Each of these and all of them together do more than just expand my waistline and threaten the structural integrity of my belt—each and all of them together make up for me a palette of memories, a buffet (if you will!) of powerful reminders of who I am, where I came from, who I love, who loves me, and where I am going. Second perhaps only to sex, eating is one of the most intimate things we do. Think about it for just a second: when you eat, you take into your body stuff from the world—meat, vegetables, water—you put this stuff in your mouth, you chew, you taste and feel, you smell and swallow, and all of it, every bite, becomes your body. This is extraordinarily intimate! We are made up of, literally, built out of what we eat. If we eat and drink Christ this morning, whom do we become?

What does it mean then for you, for all of us to eat the Body of Christ and to drink his Blood? Thomas Aquinas answers: “Since it was the will of God’s only-begotten Son that men should share in his divinity, he assumed our nature in order that by becoming man he might make men gods.” God became man so that we all might become god. In Christ Jesus, we are made more than holy, more than just, more than righteous; we are made perfect as the Father is perfect. Wholly joined to Holy Other, divinized as God promised at the moment of creation, we are brought to the divine by the Divine and given to participate in the life of God by God. We are brought and given. Brought to Him by Christ and given to Him by Christ. We do not go to God uninvited, and we do not receive from Him what is not first given. Therefore, “take this, all of you, and eat of it, for this is my body, which will be given up for you…” And when you take the gift of his body and eat, and when you take the gift of his blood and drink, you become what you eat and drink. You become Christ. And all together we are Christ for one another—his Body, the church. In his first encyclical, Deus caritas est, Pope Benedict, writes, “Union with Christ is also union with all those to whom he gives himself. I cannot possess Christ just for myself; I can belong to him only in union with all those who have become, or who will become, his own. Communion draws me out of myself towards him, and thus also towards unity with all Christians. We become 'one body', completely joined in a single existence. Love of God and love of neighbour are now truly united: God incarnate draws us all to himself. We can thus understand how agape [divine love] also became a term for the Eucharist: there God's own agape comes to us bodily, in order to continue his work in us and through us”(14). 

Thomas calls the Eucharist the sacramentum caritatis, the sacrament of love. The Eucharist is not a family picnic or Sunday dinner. We’re not talking about a community meal or a neighborhood buffet. All of these can and do express genuine love for God, self, and neighbor. But Thomas is teaching us something far more radical about the Eucharist here than the pedestrian notion that eating together makes us better people and a stronger community! The sacramentum caritatis is an efficacious sign of God’s gift of Himself to us for our perfection. In other words, the Eucharist we celebrate this morning is not just a memorial, just a symbol, just a community prayer service, just a familial gathering, just a ritual. In Christ, with him and through him, we effect—make real and produce—the redeeming graces of Calvary and the Empty Tomb: Christ on the cross and Christ risen from the grave. Again, we are not merely being reminded of an important bible story nor are we being taught a lesson about sharing and caring nor are we simply “feeling” Christ’s presence among us. We are doing exactly what Christ tells us to do: we are eating his body and drinking his blood for our perfection, for our eternal lives. And while we wait for his coming again, we walk this earth as Christs! Imperfect now, to be perfected eventually; but right now, radically loved by Love Himself and loved so that we may be changed, converted from our disobedience, brought to repentance and forgiveness, and absolved of all violence against God’s will for us. 

Thomas teaches us that God gave us the Eucharist in order “to impress the vastness of [His] love more firmly upon the hearts of the faithful…” How vast is His love for us? He gifted us with His Son. He gave His only child up to death so that we might live. And He gave us the means of our most intimate communion with Him. We take his body into our bodies. His blood into ours. We are made co-heirs, brothers and sisters, prophets and priests; we are made holy, just, and clean; we are made Christ, and having been made Christs, we are given his ministries, his holy tasks: teaching, preaching, healing, feeding. This Eucharist tells you who you are, where you came from, where you are going. It tells you why you are here and what you must do. And most importantly, this celebration of thanksgiving, tells you and me who it is that loves us and what being loved by Love Himself means for our sin, our repentance, our conversion, our ministries, our progress in holiness. . .

Do not fail to hand on what you yourself have received: the gift of the Christ. Our Holy Father, Benedict, writes, “Faith, worship and [ethics] are interwoven as a single reality which takes shape in our encounter with God's [divine love]. Here the usual [distinction] between worship and ethics simply falls apart. 'Worship' itself, Eucharistic communion, includes the reality both of being loved and of loving others in turn. A Eucharist which does not pass over into the concrete practice of love is [essentially broken]”(14). Therefore, walk out those doors this morning and present yourself to the world as a sacramentum caritatis. Walk out of here a sacrament of love—a sign, a witness, a tabernacle, an icon—walk out of here branded by the Holy Spirit to preach, teach, bless, feed, eat, drink, pray, to love, and to spread the infectious joy that comes naturally to a child of God! 

A Southern blessing: as your waist expands to fill the limits of your belt, so may your spirit grow to hold the limitless love of Him Who loves you always.

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Merry Christmas!

Aight. . .three more books arrived today from the Wish List. . .It's like Christmas!

My thanks to Adam F. and Gretchen V. for their generous contributions to my theological library.

You will both be added to my long prayer list of Book Benefactors.

God bless, Fr. Philip Neri, OP

P.S.  Sometime this summer I'll be headed to Dallas to retrieve the rest of my books from storage.  I've not seen them since 2008.  It will be like five Christmases all in one. . .

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An extravagant poverty

9th Week OT (S)
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA

This morning, we hear Jesus condemn false religiosity and praise genuine charity. The scribes, replete in their liturgical garments, “devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext, recite lengthy prayers.” However, one of those widows—perhaps her house had been devoured?—“came [to the temple] and put in two small coins worth a few cents.” Contrasting the two scenes, Jesus says of the scribes, “They will receive a very severe condemnation.” About the widow he says, “I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury.” What's the difference btw the contributions of the scribes and the widow to the temple? All but the widow gave from their surplus wealth. The widow gave from her poverty. Charity is never about the amount, the quantity that we give. It's all about the source, the origin of what we give. What do we love most? Are we willing to sacrifice it for the good of another? Think about the question this way: when you give—time, talent, treasure—why do you give? Obligation? Guilt? Habit? Love? Sacrifice? A desire to be seen giving? Let's expand the question and ask: when you share your faith, give witness to Christ, why do you share? Why do you testify? Obligation? Habit? Love? 

 The most valuable asset of any follower of Christ is his/her experience of being delivered from the slavery of sin; his/her experience of growing in holiness through working with the Holy Spirit. Most of us would likely confess to a spiritual poverty that borders on destitution. If you're not being prideful in order to appear humble, you might honestly believe that you are unworthy to say two words about our life in Christ. I'm a sinner. Who am I to talk to someone else about my life on the Way? They should go talk to a priest or a sister, someone who's qualified to contribute to their spiritual treasury. I'm spiritually poor; I'm broke! I got nothing to give. Now, what was it that Jesus says about the widow's contribution? “. . .this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. . . she [gave] from her poverty. . .[she] contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.” Her two cents counts as a million dollars b/c she reaches into her near empty purse and gives what little she has, everything she has. The amount, the quality of your charity, your witness is not what counts. What counts in the treasury of heaven is the source, the origin of your contribution, your witness to Christ. If all you have is just two words and you give them out of love to someone who needs them, then those two words are a gift beyond measure. 

If you need additional encouragement to make a sacrificial witness to Christ, listen again to Paul writing to Timothy, “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus. . .be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching. . .be self-possessed in all circumstances; put up with hardship; perform the work of an evangelist; fulfill your ministry.” What exactly is your ministry as a follower of Christ? As a priest, prophet, and king in virtue of your baptism into the death and resurrection of Christ, you sacrifice and intercede for others; you discern and follow God's will; and you govern yourself and your household with righteousness. Your ministry is to be Christ for others in the world. And you fulfill your ministry by being and doing all that Christ himself is and does. From the poverty of your holiness, pour out holiness; from the poverty of your wisdom, pour out wisdom; from the poverty of your blessings, pour out blessings. The more you pour out, the greater your capacity to receive all the Father's graces. All that we are and all that we possess is a gift, freely given to us by God. None of it belongs to us. Not our lives, our children, our homes, none of it. We are merely storehouses, temporary shelters for the infinite blessings of Love. Contribute, share, witness, empty yourself out for Christ's sake, and be filled over and over again. 

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Thanks. . .

Received several books while I was away in New Jersey. . .

Two of the books had no sender or return address.  My thanks to these anonymous benefactors.

And my thanks to M.M.R. for the two Lagrange books.  They are truly weighty tomes!
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Coffee Cup Browsing

Photographer forced by a court to take pics at a same-sex "wedding."  Just the beginning, folks. 

To wit:  Danish parliament forces churches to perform same-sex "marriages."

To wit part two:  Canadian supporters of marriage find themselves sued, in jail.

So, the LCWR-types are going to protest the CDF by doing more of what the CDF praised them for doing so well???  O. Kay.

B.O. admin "suddenly" looks like a house of cards. . .really, "suddenly"?  It's looked that way since Jan 2009.

Those Professionally Outraged by Anything at All are professionally outraged that a book that provides "a theological rationale for same-sex relationships, masturbation and remarriage after divorce" has been spanked by the CDF.  In other news, water is wet, declares the Pope.

More specific info about Sr. Farley's book.

Sister's congregation excuses her errors in the name of "ecumenism."  How can one be ecumenical and lie about one's faith?

Franciscan friars come to the LCWR's defense.  You will see no such statement from the Dominican friars.

Heh.  So much for the meme that striking down ObamaCare will tarnish the Court in the eyes of the public.

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Resist the deceivers!

9th Week OT (F)
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA

Paul gives Timothy a warning and a bit of encouragement, “. . . wicked people and charlatans will go from bad to worse, deceivers and deceived. But you, remain faithful to what you have learned and believed. . .” Paul warns his disciple against the deceptive machinations of those who would lead the faithful away from the truth. But he also praises Timothy for remaining faithful to all that Paul has taught him. How does Timothy remain so faithful to what he believes despite the efforts of the agents of deception? “Because [Paul writes] you know from whom you learned it.” Note well: “from WHOM you learned it.” Timothy learned the gospel truth from a person, from the personal witness and instruction of Paul himself. Paul notes that Timothy knows the scriptures well, a written witness “which [is] capable of giving you wisdom for salvation. . .” Paul adds, “. . .through faith in Christ Jesus.” Knowledge of scripture alone is not sufficient for salvation. It is “through faith in Christ Jesus” that the fullness of redemption is achieved. We need both the written witness of scripture and the living witness and instruction of the apostles in order to remain faithful against the deceivers and the deceived. 

Over the last couple of months, we've been treated to a media circus over the Vatican's assessment of the LCWR. Just this week, the CDF published a notification on a book written by an American sister that argues against the basic moral theology of the Church. The media circus swirls around what has become a predictable theme: Oppressive Vatican Patriarchs are trying to stomp out any opposition to their absolute power. Of course, this is utter nonsense. But the circus provides us with an interesting insight into the modernist mindset and how faithful Catholics are pressured by deceivers and the deceived to twist the apostolic faith into an ideology agreeable to the spirit of the age. Defenders of the LCWR and the American sister quote scripture and argue that the spirit of the age requires us to adapt the faith to modern times. Failure to do this risks making the faith “irrelevant.” What's left out of this response is the role of Peter, Paul, and the other apostles in handing on to us their personal witness through the teaching office of the Church. Scripture alone is not sufficient for salvation. We need the apostolic witness provided by our bishops. 

Early in Paul's second letter to Timothy, Paul reminds his disciple, “. . .to stir into flame the gift of God—that you have through the imposition of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control. So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord. . .” Timothy receives from Paul's hands a spirit of power, love, and self-control. And b/c Timothy possesses this spirit, he is not to be ashamed to witness to the Lord. Timothy did not receive additional knowledge of scripture; he did not receive any special sort of wisdom. He receives the Holy Spirit who seals his experience as one sent out to preach, to teach, and to lead. For all their very human flaws and all their many managerial mistakes, our bishops have received this same Spirit and teach with the authority of Christ. Do not be deceived by those who would have you twist the faith to please the fleeting spirit of the age. Do not be taken in by charlatans who would you the Snake's oil for the price of your soul. Remain faithful through the witness of scripture and obedience to the apostolic tradition, so that you “may be competent [and] equipped for every good work.”

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R.I.P.

At around 9.30am yesterday, Fr. John Dominic Logan, OP, 81, died of a massive heart attack while vesting for Mass.

He was priest-in-residence at St. Joseph's in Ponchatoula, LA.

I worked with J.D. in campus ministry at the University of Dallas.  

After we'd concelebrated my first Mass at U.D., we processed to the sacristy and I said, "Well, that went well."  J.D. harrumphed and said, "Your liturgical gestures look like you're swatting at flies."

That's our J.D.

R.I.P.

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Back in the South

Back in Nawlins'!

I want to warn any OP friar who might be invited to the Summit monastery in the future:

The food was horrible.  The nuns were cranky.  And they have a big stinky dog.

I'll sacrifice myself and volunteer to fulfill all their retreat/continuing education needs from now on.

Don't worry:  I'll offer it up.  

Seriously, the food was great. . .the Fat Wednesday Report will be very disappointing.  The nuns were delightful--engaged, funny, lively.  And Sr. Sabina (a golden lab) was spotless.

Had a great time. . .as usual!
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Coffee Bowl Browsing (Pre-emptive Edition)

Did Crdl. Dolan "payoff" predators in WI?  No.  As usual, the NYT's anti-Catholic bigotry shines.

Nashville Dominican goes to the USCCB!  Congrats, sisters.

Heh.  Maybe Maureen Dowd isn't such a bubblehead after all. . .who knew?

Wow. . .even NPR whipping-boy, Juan Williams is regurgitating the B.O. Kool-Aid.

I toldya, I toldya, I toldya. . .it's coming.  No.  It's HERE!

LCWR responds to CDF with Random Sister-Speak Generator. 

Occupiers suffering from PTSD?  Sure.  Rape, murder, drug abuse, rioting.  Who wouldn't?
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Thanks!

My thanks to Lynn F. for the Kindle Book!

It's in my longish queue to be read sometime before Christmas. . .it's getting very good reviews.

Fr. Philip Neri, OP
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Podcast Preaching

I recorded this morning's preaching of the Most Holy Trinity homily.

Check thee it out!

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