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And from the "A Picture is Worth a 1000 Words" file we have. . .

Source:  Reuters

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The Divine Lagniappe

Queenship of Mary
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA

Show of hands: how many of us love to get free stuff? OK. Now, how many of us believe that nothing is ever really free? There's always a catch, right? “Free gift with purchase.” “Free newsletter. Just give us your email address.” Here in New Orleans we have the famous custom of the lagniappe (lan-yap) –a freebie, something extra in the bag just for being you. But you only get the lagniappe—that 13th doughnut—b/c you bought a dozen in the first place. Walk into the Cafe du Monde and ask for a beignet lagniappe w/o buying an espresso, and they'll bounce you out on your bon temps! It's this sort of deceptive advertising that's led us to want free stuff and at the same time believe that free stuff is never really free. Unfortunately, this all-too-American attitude infects our faith as well. How many times have you heard that we do not earn, borrow, beg, or steal our salvation? We are freely saved and do nothing whatsoever to earn our freedom. However, we still harbor the dark suspicion that we're being lied to, that God is just waiting for us to trip up so He can jump out from behind the door and shout, “GOTCHA! Now, go to Hell!” That suspicion is at the root of Jesus' parable of the disgruntled laborers. These hard working men begrudge the owner's generosity to the latecomers. And that's exactly what we do when we mistrust the gift of our freedom. 

The disgruntled workers begrudge the landowner’s generosity in paying full wages to the latecomer laborers. Why? For some reason they feel that their own labor and their own wages are diminished by the largess of the vineyard owner. Somehow their day’s labor is dirtied. Their dollar is devalued. They worked harder and longer under the fiery sun, so they deserve more than those who sauntered in at the last hour and barely broke a sweat! These guys are upset b/c they are working out of a very human notion of justice, a temptation, I think, to believe that compensation is earned; to get what is owed you, what you deserve. And that makes perfect sense if we are talking about just labor practices in the marketplace. But remember, this is a parable about salvation and holiness not a lesson on capitalist economics. Jesus isn't giving us a model of setting up a union or a business plan for earning a profit. 

Think about this: Is it a human notion of justice you want applied to your eternal life? An economic balance? Do you truly want what you deserve? What you’ve earned in this life? Do you want the Father to give you a just compensation for your life’s work in His name? The whole point of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ is that we won’t be given what we deserve (thank God!); we won’t receive from the Father what is owed to us (thank God!). He owes us nothing. All the work we do we do for His greater glory, and He still owes us nothing. Do we want justice from God? Or do we want mercy? We want mercy. And Christ has bought that mercy for us and given it to us freely. There's an eager little devil out there waiting to pounce on our witness to the Lord. He will offer us an opportunity to sin and delight the Liar. What is this temptation? It is the temptation to believe that we work for the Lord out of our own generosity, out of our own time, out of our own resources, and we are therefore entitled to a greater reward when we outwork our neighbors. My time, my resources, my talents belong to God. And so do yours. Our freedom is a gift. All that we do in God's name we do with His gifts for His glory. Because without Him we are nothing. 

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12 yrs ago today. . .

Today marks the 12th anniversary of my novitiate class' profession of simple vows. . .

Happy Anniversary to fras. Gerald, David, Roberto, Mauricio, and Minlib!

Remember the Alamo!!!  (Our novitiate year took place in San Antonio, TX).
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Another OP homily site

Fr. Lawrence Lew, OP of the English Province posts his homilies at Releasing the Arrow.

Fr. Lew is also an excellent photographer and posts his pics at R.A. as well.

Be sure to check out the impressive new altar at one of his ministry sites, The University of Edinburgh.

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Back in the (academic) saddle again. . .

Finally!

I'm back behind a desk, in front of a board, and yapping away at a Captive Audience, i.e. students.

Yes.  I'm teaching again.  

This morning, classes will begin at Notre Dame Seminary here in Nawlins'.  The Academic Dean has thrown all caution to the wind and hired me to teach Intro to the Old Testament.

Please pray for me and my students as we begin a study of God's Self-revelation to His people, Israel, through His Law, His Prophets, and His Wisdom.

NB.  Pray also that the Holy Spirit will untie my tongue so that my dyslexia will not obstruct the proper pronunciation of all those ancient Hebrew names!  Oy vey.

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Demand Better Preaching. . .some examples!

Catholic preaching will not improve until Catholics demand better preaching!

(Repeat three times. . .)

If you want to read some Good Preaching, visit these two Dominican sites:

In spiritu et veritate run by Fr. Gerald Mendoza, OP. . .one of my SDP novitiate classmates.

The Specious Pedestrian run by Fr. Dominic Holtz, OP. . .a Central Province friar living in Rome.

A call to all Dominicans with preaching blogs:  drop me a comment and I will link to you.

Catholic preaching will not improve until Catholics demand better preaching!
Catholic preaching will not improve until Catholics demand better preaching!
Catholic preaching will not improve until Catholics demand better preaching!

Check back for updated links. . .
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What to do with Jesus' crazy teachings?

St Bernard of Clairvaux
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St Dominic Church, NOLA

Driving back from vacation in MS, I hit a Radio Dead Zone just south of Jackson. My choices: local farm report, community college jazz, or screaming Redneck Fundamentalist Preacher. I chose silence. After about two minutes of that, I turned the radio back on and found a station broadcasting a show about Evangelical missionaries in India. The host started by asking a good question, “What do Christians do with Jesus' more radical teachings?” He gave a few examples. One of these happens to be from today's gospel reading. What are we to make of Jesus' instructions to the Rich Guy who asks about gaining eternal life? The missionary told several harrowing stories about preaching in India. He fell into a sewage ditch. The platform he was preaching on collapsed. He and his interpreter got stuck on a mountain pass behind an old man and his bull. Between stories and commercials, the host took calls from listeners who tried to answer his original question about Jesus' radical teachings. They all suggested we do one of three things: 1) take them literally and follow them exactly; 2) put them in historical context and interpret them with a modern spin; or 3) give them a spiritual interpretation. What should we do with Jesus' instructions to the Rich Guy? 

Obviously, we can't just ignore them. Taking them literally and following them exactly is certainly a legit option. Difficult but doable. The other options are OK too, if a bit wimpy. Here's a fourth option, a Dominican option: read the text carefully and make the right distinctions. Note well: the Rich Guy already knows how to gain eternal life. Jesus tests him and his passes. He follows the Commandments already. Then Jesus adds another dimension to the original question, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor. . .Then come, follow me.” So, there's eternal life and there's being perfect. Eternal life comes after death. Being perfect in this life requires something more than following the Commandments. The genius of Catholic moral teaching is our tradition of upholding impossibly high ideals and at the same time freely confessing our failure to live up to those ideals. We absolutely, resolutely refuse to compromise our principles simply b/c we can't or won't succeed each time we're tempted to violate them. The point is not to win each and every moral battle. The point is to celebrate the victory Christ has already won for us by keeping ourselves sharply focused on where he's taking us: perfection in this life (if we will follow) and our eternal lives to come. 

The Rich Guy is a moral coward b/c he settles for eternal life. Sure, he follows the Commandments, and that's no easy thing, but he doesn't even attempt to live perfectly in this life. Instead, he walks away sad b/c he owns too many things. Or, rather, too many things own him! Who's he going to disappoint by attempting to live perfectly by following Christ? His cattle? His jugs of olive oil? His sacks of gold? Had he ears to hear and eyes to see, he would've heard and seen that Jesus' radical, far-fetched instructions were really an invitation to live for an ideal, an incorrigible principle rather than a set of rules. The one Commandment the Rich Guy could not live perfectly is the First Commandment: love God first and always b/c He loves you first and always. Cattle, jugs of oil, cars, houses, IRA's—none of these loves you, none of these can love you. And b/c they cannot love, they cannot save you or perfect you. Love the One you want to become. Perfection follows. 

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2012 Novices

Novice Class of 2012 for the Province St Martin de Porres:

(L to R) Br Julian, Br Brian Joseph, Br Gabriel Marie, 

Br Augustine Xavier, Br Elias, Br Nicholas

Pray for our novice brothers. . .and the Novice Master, Fr. Scott O'Brien. . .and the novitiate community at St. Albert the Great Priory, Irving, TX.

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Back in Big Easy

Made it back to Nawlins'!

The Redneck Squirrels chased me 'til we got to the 305 cutoff to 4 near Senatobia. . .guess they'd heard that the Redneck Humans in that part of MS actually eat squirrels!

Two points of interest:  1). I managed to spend 14 days in MS w/o eating fried chicken once; 2) the new trendy buzzphrase for interior designers on HGTV is "open concept."

Arrived back in NOLA to discover four books awaiting me!  Always a pleasure.  My thanks to Jenny K. and Shelly.   Since you two are already on my Book Benefactor Prayer List, I will have to add you to the Prayer List With Golden Lace Curlycues.  :-)

Now!  I must immediately drive into unpacking my things and opening two weeks of mail. . .right after tonight's episode of Cajun Justice. . .and a peek at Drudge. . .and a little Facebook browsing. ___________________

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Coffee Cup Browsing

NB.  Headed back to Nawlins' this afternoon!  The Redneck Squirrels have done their best to reform me. . .alas, we shall see if their tireless efforts have proven successful.

Mark Steyn:  "Our elites have sunk into a boutique decadence of moral preening entirely disconnected from reality. . ."  This goes for our Ecclesial Elites as well. . .and I think he's being too kind.

A brief history of phony Eco-apocalypticalism. . .'cause we all know that the Only True Apocalypse is the Zombie Apocalypse!

Racial Diversity Apparatchiks bullying high school choirs. . .the ASO musicians aren't gonna be bullied quite so easily.

Please!  Don't give the DHS or the HHS any ideas!  I hear they are stockpiling 12x16 glossies of Dear Leader.

Burning the village to spare it from imaginary enemies. . .the scorched earth strategy of the same-sex "marriage" bullies.

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Coffee Cup Browsing

A two-step program to help "consensus-chic, testosterone-free liberals" overcome their disillusionment with B.O.  Of course, the first step is to admit that you have a problem.

Gunman at conservative Christian lobbying group was a "gay activist."  Do the Switcheroo-Tango with ideological labels and wonder how this story would've been reported differently.

If you support marriage, you could be a member of a Hate Group.  This is how it all ends, folks.

Also. . .praying for Mom and Dad in France outrages outrageous Outrage Professionals.

Dems won't even acknowledge their Pro-Life colleagues. . .no "differing positions" allowed when it comes to the Most Unholy Sacrament of Child Killing.

God's Wrath vs. God's Love.  No, God is not moody; it's all about what we are prepared to experience.

"Nuanced Plagiarism"?  No.  Stealing is stealing.  Identifying plagiarism isn't difficult.

I don't think that word means what you think it means:  finding non-existent "violence" in the CDF assessment of the LCWR.  "Violence" now means "disagreeing with me."
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Coffee Cup Browsing (Squirrel Edition)

LCWR speaker preying on the sisters' fear of death and diminishment?  

And in stark contrast. . .Gung-go bishops not backing down from The Fight!

Yes, yes, I've seen it.  And no, I have no comment.

Contemporary marriage is messed up and it's not the fault of gay activists. 

Culture Warriors need some peace.  Instructions to Self: Read it.  Think on it.  Pray about it.  Do it. 

IL state workers forced to attend Dem political rally. . .on the taxpayers' dime, of course.

Female "frat house" at DHS?  I've had a lot of female supervisors and they've always been exemplary professionals.

No drag queens at SanFran parish, "We're stuck in the middle trying to walk this fine balance." What's there to balance?  "Balance" implies equally desirable options.

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Leftists Bully Priest

Father prays the rosary in the middle of a Chick-fil-A protest. Listen carefully to the protesters and tell me if you hear any tolerant, accepting, loving comments coming from these Embodiments of Tolerant Accepting Love.   Maybe Father should've been praying the Rite of Exorcism. . .

My fav is the Harpie Bigot hatefully screeching, "HATEFUL BIGOT!" 
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A brief comment on Paul Ryan

(whispering). . .OK. . .I've broken out of the Squirrel Retreat House to answer a political question. 

Several HancAquam readers have written to ask what I think about Romney's choice of Paul Ryan as his V.P. running mate. . .

Honestly, I don't know much about Ryan.  He's Catholic.  He really riled up some LCWR-type sisters with his budget proposal in the House (cf. Nuns on a Bus).  He's pretty smart in that policy-wonkish sort of way.  He seems inoffensive at first glance. 

Regular HA readers know well my thoughts on and feelings about B.O. and his crusade to transform the free citizens of America into wholly-owned wards of a leftist secular federal gov't, using the European Union as his model.  So, at this point, I'm almost one of those Anybody But Obama voters.  

This doesn't mean I will support the GOP ticket.  The Republicans have their own problems when it comes to the National Security Nanny State and its endorsement of torture, imperialistic adventurism, and soft-peddling on the murder of 1.7 million American children annually.

And, yes, I've heard all the arguments about a vote for a third party candidate is a vote for Obama.  Nobody ever said being an American citizen and a Roman Catholic would be easy.

(sneaking back into the retreat house. . .)

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On praying for death. . .

[NB.  As I spend part of my Squirrel Vacation contemplating, discerning, praying, etc. this homily from 2009 came to mind.]

19th Sunday OT: 1 Kings 19.4-8; Eph 4.30-5.2; John 6.41-51
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
Church of the Incarnation, Univ of Dallas

Elijah, the prophet of God, prays for death: “This is enough, O Lord! Take my life. . .” How thick, how deep must your despair be to pray for death? How heavy must your desperation be before you can no longer lift it? When do you cry to God: this is enough! Here and now, I am exhausted, weary beyond living. Elijah killed 450 prophets of Baal. For this reason, he confesses to his Lord, “. . .I am no better than my fathers. Take my life.” Elijah challenges Baal's prophets to a contest of power. He pits the real power of the Lord against the demonic power of the Canaanite god. Baal loses. And so do his prophets. Elijah marches the demon's priests to the River Kishon and cuts their throats. Fleeing the wrath of Jezebel for killing her prophets, Elijah goes into the desert and there he discovers—among the stones and sage brush—that he no longer wants to live. “This is enough, O Lord. Take my life. . .” Elijah, prophet of God, touched by His hand to speak His Word, despairs because he has murdered 450 men. What weight do you lift and carry? How thick and deep is the mire you must wade through? At what point do you surrender to God in anguish, walk into the desert, and pray for death? When you balance on the sharp point of desperation, poised to ask God to take your life, remember this: “When the afflicted call out, the Lord hears, and from all their distress He saves them! Taste and see the goodness of the Lord!” 

To varying degrees and in different ways, all of us have discovered in one sort of desert or another that we are tired, exhausted beyond going another step. Overwhelmed by studies, financial stresses, marital strife, family feuds, personal sin, physical illness, we have all felt abandoned, stranded. We might say that it is nothing more than our lot in life to rejoice when our blessings are multiplied and cry when the well runs dry. These deserts look familiar. We've been here before and doubting not one whit, we know we will visit them again. We hope and keep on; we pray and trust in God. This is what we do, we who live near the cross. But there are those times when the desert seems endless and only death will bring rescue. We find hope in dying. And so, we cry out to God: “Take my life, O Lord!” Is this the prayer we should pray when we find ourselves broken and bleeding in the deserts of despair? It is. There is none better. 

The witness of scripture pokes at us to remember that our God provides. Beaten down and hunted by Jezebel, exhausted by his prayer, Elijah falls asleep under the broom tree. An angel comes to him twice with food and drink, ordering him to wake up and eat: “Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you!” Elijah obeys. Strengthened by the angelic supper, he walks for forty days and nights; he walks to God on Mt. Horeb. The Lord provides. Jesus reminds the Jews who are murmuring about his teaching that their ancestors wandered around in the desert for forty years, surviving on angelic food. Though they died as we all do, and despite their constant despairing, they survived as a people to arrive in the land promised to them by God. As always, the Lord provides. Paul reminds the Ephesians (and us) that Christ handed himself over “as a sacrificial offering to God” for us, thus giving us access to the Father's bounty, eternal access to only food and drink we will ever need to survive. Paul writes, “. . .you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Therefore, “. . .be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.” We always have before us the feast of mercy. The Lord provides. So, wake up! And eat! 

What are we promised, and what is provided? Even the slightest glance at scripture, even the most cursory perusal of our Christian history will reveal that following Christ on pilgrimage to the cross is no picnic. To paraphrase Lynn Anderson, “He never promised us a rose garden.” Sure, Christ promised us a garden alright. But it's the Garden of Gethsemane. Betrayal, blood, and a sacrificial death. He also promised us persecution, trial, conviction, and exile. He promised us nothing more than what he himself received as the Messiah. A life of hardship as a witness and the authority of the Word. The burdens of preaching mercy and the rewards of telling the truth. An ignoble death on a cross and a glorious resurrection from the tomb. What he promises, he provides. All that he provides is given from His Father's treasury. Food and drink on the way. The peace of reconciliation. A Father's love for His children. And an eternal life lived in worship before the throne. 

All of this is given freely to us. But we must freely receive all that is given. Elijah flees into the desert, seeking his freedom from Jezebel's wrath. The former slaves of Egypt flee into the desert, seeking their freedom from Pharaoh's whip. The men and women of Ephesus flee into the desert of repentance and conversion, seeking their freedom from the slavery of sin. Each time we flee into a desert to despair, we are fleeing from the worries, the burdens of living day-to-day the promises we have made to follow Christ to the cross. Our lives are not made easier by baptism and the Eucharist. Our anxieties are not made simpler through prayer and fasting. Our pains, our sufferings are not relieved by the saints or the Blessed Mother. Our lives, anxieties, our pain and sufferings are made sacrificial by the promises of Christ and all that he provides. We are not made less human by striving to be Christ-like. We are not brought to physical and psychological bliss by walking the way of sorrows. We are not promised lives free of betrayal, blood, injury, and death. By striving to be Christ-like, by walking behind our Lord on the way of sorrows, we are all but guaranteeing that we will suffer for his sake. And so, the most fervent prayer we can pray along this Christian path is: “This is enough, O Lord! Take my life. . .!” Surrender and receive, give up and feast. Surrender your life and receive God's blessing. Give up your suffering and feast on the bread of heaven. 

What Christ promises, he provides. He says to those behind him, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” Exhausted under a tree and running for your life; pitiful and despairing, wandering lost in a desert; chained to sin, wallowing in disobedience, yet seeking mercy. . .where do you find yourself? Are you hungry? Are you thirsty? Are you exhausted? Spent? Do you need to be rescued? Cry out then, “Take my life, O Lord. . .” Pray for death. Pray for the death of Self. Pray for the death of “bitterness, fury, anger, reviling, and malice.” Pray for the death of whatever it is in you that obstructs your path to Christ; pray that it “be removed from you. . .So [you may] be [an] imitator of God, as [a] beloved child[], and live in love, as Christ loves us.” Remember and never forget: “When the afflicted call out, the Lord hears, and from all their distress He saves them! Taste and see the goodness of the Lord!” The bread come down from heaven, Christ himself, is our promised food and our provision for eternal life. 

The 2009 comments for this homily were interesting. . .check them out. 

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