Btw Easter and Pentecost

Octave of Easter (W)
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA

Between Easter and Pentecost, what held Jesus' disciples together? Most of the disciples scattered like scalded cats when Jesus was arrested in the garden. Only John and Mary saw him on the cross. Joseph of Arimathea buried him. Until Mary Magdalene and the other Mary ran back from his empty tomb to announce his resurrection, we see hide nor hair of any of the other disciples. We know from Acts that after Pentecost those who had chosen to remain in his Word and received the Spirit eventually formed a community and began to preach openly. But what held them together for the 50 days btw the resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost? Fifty days. That's a long time for a frightened group of hunted people to remain loyal to an executed leader, especially when that leader was executed at the word of their family, friends, and neighbors. Two of Jesus' disciples—on their way out of Jerusalem—give us a clue. Luke tells us that these two, depressed and despairing, “were conversing about all the things that had occurred. . . [and] while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them. . .” And he did so repeatedly for the next 50 days. 

While walking to Emmaus, Cleopas and another disciple find themselves in the company of a stranger who seems to know nothing about what has happened in Jerusalem over the past few days. They fill him in. Jesus the Nazarene, “a prophet mighty in deed and word” was handed over to the Romans by the chief priests, and crucified. Why are these two so downcast? They answer, “But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel. . .” The two tell the stranger that two women of their group discovered Jesus' empty tomb three days after his death. But no one had seem him there when they went to investigate. Then the stranger berates their lack of faith and asks an extraordinary question, “Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” Who is this guy that he would know anything about the Christ and what is or is not necessary for his entrance into glory? Who is he to berate Christ's own disciples for the foolishness of their slow hearts? Before Cleopas and the other disciple can even form the questions, the stranger shows them how Christ fulfilled all the promises that God made through Moses and the prophets. How did the disciples stay together btw Easter and Pentecost? Christ never left them! 

We can certainly understand that the disciples would be a little downcast, knowing that Christ has been crucified and buried. They had reports that he had risen, and they had seen the empty tomb. But they were expecting something more dramatic, more spectacular from their Messiah. They held within their hearts and minds his enduring love and words of wisdom, but was that enough to keep them going until the coming of the Holy Spirit? Apparently not. B/c Christ appears to them repeatedly before his ascends to the Father. He leaves Cleopas and the other disciple when they recognize him in the breaking of the bread. Or rather, he leaves them the breaking of the bread so that they will recognize him. We too know what happened in Jerusalem. And we can retell the story as often as we need to. But along the way, we'll be tempted to despair. When that temptation arises, we know where we can find the presence of Christ—in the breaking of the bread, right here at the Eucharist, giving thanks and praise for his sacrifice as we prepare ourselves for our own sacrifices for his name's sake. What keeps us together btw the first Pentecost and Christ's coming again? We know what happened in Jerusalem; we know that Christ fulfilled the promises God made to Moses and the prophets; and we know that he is with us always in the breaking of the bread. 

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Silver cannot save you

Octave of Easter (M)
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA

Matthew gives us two gospel scenes this evening. Both describe fear. Both describe the nature of truth-telling. And both show us the importance of faithful testimony. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary discover the Lord's empty tomb on Easter morning. “Fearful yet overjoyed” they run back to the disciples to report the good news. The soldiers guarding the now-empty tomb are also fearful. They run back into the city to the chief priests and report the bad news. The two Mary's are “overjoyed” that the Lord is no longer in his grave. The guards are very worried, yet they report “all that had happened.” On their way to report their good news, the Mary's encounter the resurrected Lord. And he says to them, “Do not be afraid.” While the guards are bribed by the chief priests and the elders to lie about what happened to Jesus' body, a story, that Matthew tells us “has circulated among the Jews to the present day.” When we bear witness to the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, our joy must always overcome our fear; otherwise, we will likely take silver to lie for the sake of staying out of trouble. 

In Luke's version of the discovery scene, two angels greet the women and say to them, “Why do you seek the living one among the dead? He is not here, but he has been raised. Remember what he said to you. . .” So, we can imagine both the fear and joy the two Mary's experience upon encountering Jesus. On the one hand, their Lord is missing. On the other, he is risen. And now, here he stands with them, resurrected but not yet ascended. “Do not be afraid” seems to be an understated request! Until you remember what he said to you. I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. My yoke is easy, my burden light. I am with you always until the end of the age. Follow me. What is there for us to fear? Whom should we fear? There is nothing and no one to fear, nothing and no one who can silence the witness of the Church, or intimidate us into telling a story for silver. When it comes to our faithful witness to the resurrection of Christ, the Church has but one voice and one word: “Alleluia!” He is risen. He is risen indeed. Sure, there's plenty about which we could be afraid—street violence, crime, secular persecution, mockery, economic disaster, etc. But fearing these will not save us. However, finding and living in the joy of the resurrection will save us. Such joy will bring us to meet Christ along our way. 

 The guards took the chief priests' silver and told a lie. The Mary's took the word of their Lord and told the truth. Relieved of their fear, the women were left with nothing but their joy. Relieved of their integrity, the guards were left with nothing but their silver. And what are we left with? Two stories. One tells us that the Christ is risen from the tomb. The other tells us that his body was stolen by his followers. One of these stories is false. One of these stories is a paid-for lie told by cowards to give political cover to those who falsely accused Christ and caused his execution. And one of these stories—told again and again—is the founding story of a 2,000 year old faith tradition that has constantly and consistently preached the Good News of God's freely given mercy to sinners. When you bear witness to the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, your joy must always overcome your fear, your greed, your pride; otherwise, you will likely take silver to tell a lie. You might avoid trouble for the moment. But how much more trouble will come when Christ comes again and asks, “Have you been my faithful servant?” Silver in a bag cannot save you. But the wood of the cross most certainly can. 

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The tomb is empty!

NB. When I first preached this homily at the Univ of Dallas chapel in 2006, it was something of an experiment for me. Would the very traditional, very conservative U.D. community respond well to this type of preaching?  They did!  So, I thought I'd try it out on a regular parish. It worked quite well.

Easter Sunday 2013
Fr. Philip N. Powell, OP
Holy Ghost, Hammond, LA

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Are you here this morning, Church? [Yes] Royal Priests! [Yes] People of God! [Yes] Holy Nation! [Yes] Pilgrim Church! [Yes] Sons and Daughters of the Most High! [Yes], Brothers and Sisters [Yes], then you know what has happened! Christ Jesus the Lord is risen from the tomb! [Amen] He was sold in betrayal by a friend for the price of a murdered slave! He was denied by His best friends when He needed them most! He was falsely accused of blasphemy by His own people, found guilty on perjured testimony, and given to Pilate for judgment! He was bartered for a murderer with a riotous mob and given to Roman soldiers to be scourged! He was crowned with thorns, robed in purple, mocked and spat upon, and hailed as the King of the Jews! And, finally, in the place of Skulls, He was nailed hands and feet to the Cross to die forsaken! But you know what has happened! Christ Jesus the Lord is risen from the tomb! The stone is rolled away. His burial cloth thrown to the ground. The tomb is empty. 

You know what has happened! But do you know what it means? The disciples, seeing the rolled-away stone, the empty tomb and the burial cloth did not yet understand. And it is no simple matter to say “yes” when asked: do you believe in 2013 that a man who hung on a cross, who was dead and buried for three days, has somehow sprung to live and walked away from his grave? How do you say “yes” to that absurdity? How does anyone in their right mind say to “yes” to that!? I say, it is precisely b/c you are in your Right Mind, your righteous mind, that you say YES to the Rolled Away Stone [Yes], that you say YES to the Empty Tomb [Yes], and that you say AMEN to what you know has happened: Christ Jesus the Lord is risen from the dead! [Amen] 

We are not here this morning to celebrate a pagan regeneration myth. Jesus was not raised from the tomb b/c a god of a myth must rise from the dead so the flowers and grains of the Earth might rise in spring. No. We are not here this morning to celebrate the defeat of our subconscious’ death wish. Jesus was not raised from the tomb because our neuroses need fuel for another year. No. We are not here this morning to celebrate the triumph of an archetypal Hero over an archetypal Death. Jesus was not raised from the tomb because we need a Jungian happy-ending to our quest. No. We are not here this morning to celebrate the triumph of empowered self-esteem over the oppressive, patriarchal structures of organized religion. No. Jesus was not raised from the tomb because our pet-ideologies would be empty without some revolutionary symbol of victory. No. 

We are here this morning to celebrate the triumph of New Life over Death, Creation over Chaos, the Goodness of Being over the Evil of Nothingness, the triumph of Freedom over Sin. The tomb is empty because God raised His murdered Son from an ignoble death to New Life. The tomb is empty because the living do not live in the grave! The living have no need of burial clothes! The living say YES to the Father [Yes] and Amen to a glorious life lived in the sure faith of the Resurrection! [Amen] 

It is easy to say YES and AMEN on Easter Sunday.  The account of the Empty Tomb is still fresh in our hearts and minds. The courage of Mary Magdala’s witness to the cowardly disciples still stirs in us. But let’s be honest: the long 50 day march to Pentecost will see our fervor fade, our energy wane, and the alleluia’s of this Easter morning will droop with these lilies. We will find ourselves before long in the Upper Room cowering with the remnant of Jesus’ once mighty band, wondering what idiocy possessed us to witness to the ridiculous notion that a dead man rose to life and starting popping up all over the city and chatting with people. We hope for the coming of the Holy Spirit to put us back in our right mind, but we have fifty days of Easter to live faithfully. How? 

 If Palm Sunday is about welcoming the soon-to-be tortured and executed Lord into our lives and Good Friday is about witnessing His suffering for our sakes and Easter Sunday is about celebrating the New Life of the Empty Tomb, then our fifty days to the coming of the Holy Spirit needs to be about gratitude, about giving thanks. We have immediate access to the abundant blessings of the Father through gratitude. Gratitude does two things for us spiritually: first, gratitude is a confession that everything we are and everything we have comes from the Father—we are completely dependent on Him; and second, when we gratefully accept the gifts we are given by God, we become willing beneficiaries of His abundant goodness. 

We deny ourselves the benefits of the Resurrection by living lives of entitlement (I am deserving w/o costs!), by living lives of victimization (My problems are someone’s fault!), by living lives of denial (That’s not me!), and by living our lives wallowing in hurt (I will never forgive!). Do not deny yourselves the benefits of the Resurrection. 

Practice Easter Gratitude instead! Pray daily to the Father, our Abundant Provider and generous Lord: In You I live and move and have my being. Everything I am and everything I have is Your blessing. This day I offer it all to Your service. Thank you, Lord, for this season of my life, for the gifts You have given me, for those I love and who love me in return. Thank You, Lord, for Your creation, for Your revelation in scripture, for our salvation in Christ Jesus, for the holiness I await in the coming of the Holy Spirit, and for the Church that will rise from the tongues of fire. Make gratitude my constant prayer, Father, so that I may live as a Living Blessing for others. Pray for these in name of our Easter Lord, Jesus Christ! 

The tomb is empty, brothers and sisters! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Are you here this morning, Church? [Yes] Royal Priests! [Yes] People of God! [Yes] Holy Nation! [Yes] Pilgrim Church! [Yes] Sons and Daughters of the Most High! [Yes], Brothers and Sisters [Yes], then you know what has happened! Christ Jesus the Lord is risen from the tomb! [Amen]

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A Prayer for the Easter Season

An Easter Gratitude Prayer

(To be prayed especially btw now and Pentecost Sunday):

Father, our Abundant Provider and generous Lord: In You I live and move and have my being. Everything I am and everything I have is Your blessing. This day I offer it all to Your service. 

Thank you, Lord, for this season of my life, for the gifts You have given me, for those I love and who love me in return. 

Thank You, Lord, for Your creation, for Your revelation in scripture, for our salvation in Christ Jesus, for the holiness I await in the coming of the Holy Spirit, and for the Church that will rise from the tongues of fire. Make gratitude my constant prayer, Father, so that I may live as a Living Blessing for others. 

I ask all these in name of our Easter Lord, Jesus Christ! Amen. 

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Good Friday homily???

OK. . .curiousity is getting the better of me:

My Good Friday homily got no response at all from the congregation, from Facebook, or from HA readers.

Was it that bad?

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A little Holy Saturday docility seems to be in order

For all those freakin' out about Pope Francis and his rubric-breaking Holy Thursday liturgy, please take a moment. . .read, reflect, pray. . .

From St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologica II.II.49.3 ("Whether docility should be counted as a part of prudence":

I answer that. . .prudence is concerned with particular matters of action, and since such matters are of infinite variety, no one man can consider them all sufficiently; nor can this be done quickly, for it requires length of time. Hence in matters of prudence man stands in very great need of being taught by others, especially by old folk who have acquired a sane understanding of the ends in practical matters. Wherefore the Philosopher says (Ethic. vi, 11): "It is right to pay no less attention to the undemonstrated assertions and opinions of such persons as are experienced, older than we are, and prudent, than to their demonstrations, for their experience gives them an insight into principles." Thus it is written (Proverbs 3:5): "Lean not on thy own prudence," and (Sirach 6:35): "Stand in the multitude of the ancients" (i.e. the old men), "that are wise, and join thyself from thy heart to their wisdom." Now it is a mark of docility to be ready to be taught: and consequently docility is fittingly reckoned a part of prudence.

My point here is this: part of the ministry of Peter is to teach. We need to be good students and learn what the Holy Father is trying to teach us. Nothing says we have to like the lesson, agree with it, or even come to believe that the lesson is a good one. It might not be. But docility (as a part of prudence) requires that we at least take a deep breath, set aside our objections, and pay attention.

(Let me add here: anyone who knows me well will snort out loud to hear that I'm preaching docility.  Eight years in a secular humanities grad program does not prepare one for a life of docile learning. Yes, the irony of me posting on prudence and docility is rich.  Despite the irony, truth is truth.) 

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The Cross: do you understand?

One question: do you really, truly understand what Good Friday is all about?

"I do not wish to add too many words. One word should suffice this evening, that is the Cross itself. The Cross is the word through which God has responded to evil in the world. Sometimes it may seem as though God does not react to evil, as if he is silent. And yet, God has spoken, he has replied, and his answer is the Cross of Christ: a word which is love, mercy, forgiveness. It is also reveals a judgment, namely that God, in judging us, loves us. In judging us, he loves us. If I embrace his love then I am saved, if I refuse it, then I am condemned, not by him, but my own self, because God never condemns, he only loves and saves."

He only loves and saves b/c it is His nature to love and save. Whether we receive this love and salvation is up to us. . .choose.

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He's the Holy Father!

No one (in his right mind) would ever accuse me of being loosey-goosey with the rubrics.  I've been on the receiving end of more clerical dismissiveness about following the basic rules of liturgical prayer than any Poor Ole Friar should ever have to endure (poor me). 

So, when our Holy Father washed the feet of two women at that youth prison in Rome, I cringed slightly. . .and then I got over it.  Yes, the Liturgical Progs will use this violation of the rubrics as an excuse to violate their least favorite rubrics. . .but, come on, let's be candid here: they were going to do that anyway. All F1 did was make their excuses a tiny bit easier to invent.

From the Vatican:

That the Holy Father, Francis, washed the feet of young men and women on his first Holy Thursday as Pope, should call our minds and hearts to the simple and spontaneous gesture of love, affection, forgiveness and mercy of the Bishop of Rome, more than to legalistic, liturgical or canonical discussions.

If you find yourself thinking that this explanation is a bad thing, a wrong way of seeing our mission, or just plain dumb. . .well, you might need a refresher course in what we claim to be doing down here amongst our fellow sinners.

Pope Francis is our Holy Father. He's the Pope, the Vicar of Christ on earth, the Supreme Pontiff, etc., etc. Do not fall into the Prog Trap of picking and choosing which pope you will obey and which one you will ignore.

BXVI has pledged his obedience to F1.  Will you refuse to do the same?

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. . .to be buried with Christ

Good Friday 2013
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA

His tomb is close by. Joseph of Arimathea, the one who first came to him at night, is coming now in the light of day to take his body down from the cross. Pilate has given him permission. In the light of day, Joseph is bringing with him a one hundred pound mixture of myrrh and aloes, reams of burial cloth, and. . .what else? Grief? Regret? Hope? What else will he bury in that garden tomb? In the light of day, how long can Joseph keep his love for Christ hidden? 'Til he rolls the stone across the grave? Whether we come to Christ under the cover of darkness or in the bright of day, can we keep our love for him a secret? The tomb is close by. The tomb is always close by. Death will have one victory, a passing victory: the grave. So, we must decide: what else will we bury with our passing? Grief? Regret? Hope? Christ went to the cross heavy-loaded with the sins of the world—having emptied himself to make room, he went burdened to the cross with the failures of fallen creation. For this and more, we love him. Can we keep our love hidden, a secret? Will we bury it with our passing, unspoken? In the light of day, what do you bring to be buried with Christ? 

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"Post birth abortion"

When we choose sin--especially the darkest of sins--over and over again, the Darkness starts to look like the Light, and we are capable of the most barbarous acts in the name of doing the Good.

For example: a Planned Parenthood official can't bring herself to say that a baby who survives a botched abortion should be treated as a patient and given medical care.  

"Post birth abortion" is the trendy new euphemism for what sane people call "murder."

Are we just pagans with better hygiene and technology?

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What Holy Thursday teaches us. . .

Office of Readings: Holy Thursday
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA

All that we read and hear read in these Holy Thursday liturgies teach us to how to see our Lord's death. If we were to watch him die on the cross as a criminal, we would have nothing to celebrate. He is dead. If we were see him die as just a man, as this morning's sin-offering, we would have to prepare another victim to sacrifice for tomorrow's sins. If we were to see him die as a god, then nothing human is healed by his dying. Holy Thursday teaches us to see our Lord's death in truth. He is a heretic to the Jews. A criminal to the Romans. Just a man to Jew and Gentile alike. But for us, he is the Son of God and the Son of Man, offered once for all on the altar of the Cross as a sin-offering for the whole world. “When perfected [through obedience], he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him. . .” 

Holy Thursday teaches us how an execution became a sacrifice and how a sacrifice becomes a on-going feast for giving thanks. When Jesus and his disciples gather in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, they are doing more—much more—than honoring an ancient Jewish custom. For three years now, Jesus has reminded his disciples—in word and deed—that everything he says and does is moving them all toward a single goal: the fulfillment of the Covenant btw Abraham and God the Father. Every sermon, every hostile exchange with the Pharisees, every healing miracle, everything he has said and done fulfills scriptural prophecy and points to his birth as the coming of the Kingdom. This last celebration of Passover in Jerusalem is no different. It too is a prophetic sign of who and what he is for us. When Jesus and his friends recline at table to begin the feast, they know that what they are remembering is God's rescue of His people from centuries of Egyptian slavery. Bread for the feast is unleavened b/c there is no time to wait for it to rise. The wine is watered b/c they need to be clear-headed for their escape. They are girded for travel and lightly packed. Jesus lifts the bread and says, “This is my Body.” He lifts the cup of wine, “This is my Blood.” At that moment, what were the disciples thinking? Knowing full well what the Passover means—freedom from slavery—did they understand that the Lord was telling them that their ancestral meal of remembrance was now a feast of freedom? That eating his Body and Blood would free them from sin and death? Later, after Jesus' execution, did they make the connection btw ritually sacrificing a lamb in the temple with his sacrifice on the cross? 

Holy Thursday teaches us that the Roman execution of Jesus is a Jewish sacrifice that the Risen Christ transforms into a feast of thanksgiving—a New Covenant Passover celebration that celebrates our rescue from slavery to sin. How does a Roman execution become a Christian feast? When the one executed is the Son of God and Son of Man. When the one whose body and blood we eat and drink is presented to God as a sacrifice, a sin-offering made once for all. And when we are commanded to remember this sacrifice, to participate in it by taking into our own bodies the Body and Blood of the one sacrificed for us. Holy Thursday teaches us that Jesus the Christ has fulfilled the promises and obligations of the Covenant made btw Abraham and God the Father, establishing for us a New Covenant of grace, of freely offered forgiveness for all of our offenses. Knowing this, “. . .let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and favor and to find help in time of need.” 

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Keeping Scandals Quiet. . .for the children

Oh! If only women could be TV producers! If only married men could be TV hosts! None of this would've ever happened. . .yea, right.

This is bad enough on its own, but the scandals aren’t limited to Doctor Who. As the Daily Mail notes, this story is emerging shortly after accusations that longtime BBC television host Jimmy Savile molested as many as 450 people in his lifetime, making him one of the UK’s “most prolific sex offenders,” according to the NSPCC charity group.

The more we hear about what was going on in the era of sexual liberation, the more the Catholic  scandals look like a symptom of the times rather than a special pathology of the Church. The BBC was apparently a hotbed of abuse for underage female and male fans, and revelations about abuse in schools, the Boy Scouts, Jewish organizations and other institutions in which adults regularly interact with youth keep coming to light.

Expect round-the-clock media coverage of these scandals. Expect ringing calls for radical reform in the TV industry training programs. Expect righteous denunciations of hypocrisy  every time a TV talking head makes a moral judgment. . .

Or, expect pretty much what we heard and seen already about these scandals. . .not much.

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A new article from HPR

Check out the most issue of Homiletics and Pastoral Review. . .

My friend, Ann "Not a Mushroom" Morrill,* has published a wonderful article titled, "Darkness, the Theological Virtues, and Finding the Inflection Point."

An excerpt:

According to many Catholic theologians, there are two purifications in the spiritual life: a purification of the sense, and a purification of the spirit. The purification of the sense is brought on by loss of friends, fortune and the like.  In this, we are deprived of consolations in order to bring us to trust in God more than in our own resources. In this purification, temptations, which involve chastity and patience, are frequent.

The purification of the spirit involves the higher levels of the soul, so the temptation involved in it are against the theological virtues.  These temptations are, by their nature, greater than temptations involving patience, although patience is also involved in their resolution.

Go read the whole thing! And please leave Ann a comment. . .

* I misspelled Ann's last name in the original post.  Now corrected!
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Just let it go

NB. Didn't get to preach this one. . .today's Mass was for the schoolchildren of St. Dominic's. I didn't know this. . .so, I had to wing it.

Wednesday of Holy Week 2013
Fr. Philip N. Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA

Just two days ago, Jesus allowed Lazarus' sister, Mary, to anoint his feet with funereal oil. A prophetic sign that his last week among us had begun. Yesterday, he sat at table with his most trusted friends and watched as Satan took possession of Judas, his betrayer. He prophesied to Peter that he would deny him three times before dawn. Today, Judas, in a moment of panicked clarity, realizes that Jesus knows who will sell him to his enemies. . .for the price of a murdered slave. “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” Jesus answers, “You have said so.” Was he disappointed by this betrayal? Angry? Resigned to its inevitability? Even his warning—“woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed”—sounds a little weak in the face of such a monumental backstabbing. What are we witnessing here? The Son of God emptied himself to become the Son of Man—the first kenosis. Like us in all things but sin. Now, the Son of Man is emptying himself to make room for the sins of the whole human race: every sin ever committed, that's being committed, that will ever be committed. The week before his death on the cross is the week Jesus spent pulling our sins from us. This is our week to let those sins go. 

If you haven't found the courage yet to gather up all your sins and give them to Christ for disposal on the cross, let the events of this holy week harden your resolve to do so. Perhaps you think that confessing your sins is a sign of weakness? That receiving God's mercy and completing a penance is a waste of time? Christ spent his lifetime gathering up the diseases, broken bones, weeping lesions, and blackened hearts of men. He spent his thirty-odd years among us doing nothing else but going out and advertising his Father's freely offered mercy to sinners. Was he lying? Was he crazy? Even when his most trusted friends stabbed him in the back with their petty greed and fear, he kept on pulling in every dark moment of human loss, pain, madness, despair. Even when his own blood ran along the beams of the cross and his last few breaths escaped his lips, he took on the rebellion and thievery of Dismas. Perhaps your sins are greater than those committed by Judas, or Peter? Maybe your rebellions and denials are darker, deeper? If you haven't found the courage yet to gather up all your sins and give them to Christ, let the events of this holy week harden your resolve to do so. 

Reclining at table with the Twelve, Jesus says, “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” Eleven of his disciples are shocked. One is not. That one says, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” Is Judas being genuine here? Maybe he thinks that his betrayal isn't really all that bad. He's a hero for bringing down a heretical rabbi! Or maybe he knows exactly what he's doing but somehow he manages to set aside this act of treachery and pretend that he hasn't already sold his soul for silver. Judas is the model human sinner. Rarely do we boldly sin; that is, rarely do we act against God's will and revel in the act, daring the consequences. We are more likely to sin shamefully, then make weak excuses for our failures. Like Judas, we can look Jesus in the eye and say with false innocence, “Surely it is not I, Lord?” If we sin like cowards, then we must confess like heroes! In the face of fear, rejection, injury to our pride, we must lay a daredevil's claim to our disobedience, and then hand it all over to Christ. We are not forgiven b/c we deserve to be. We're forgiven b/c we are loved. Despite it all, we are loved and there can be nothing weak or small or shameful about returning that love heavy-loaded with gratitude. Make this week, this Holy Week, all about releasing your grip on sin. Just open your fists and let it all go.

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Books!

Many mendicant thanks to the generous soul who sent me Diogenes Allen's Spiritual Theology.

FYI: someone bought two books from the Wish List that never arrived:

How to Make Homilies Better, Briefer, and Bolder: Tips from a Master Homilist 

and

Knowing The Love Of Christ: An Introduction to the Theology of St. Thomas Aquinas

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