Selfish ambition. Disorder. Every foul practice.

25^th Sunday OT

Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP

OLR, NOLA

When I first read the readings for this Mass, I smiled. The Holy Spirit is very much with us still! But as I began to pray over the readings and mull over what I would preach about, my smile turned into a grimace, and I got incredibly uncomfortable. Given the current mess in the Church, we can't hear James' questions w/o squirming just a little. “Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from?” he asks. “Is it not from your passions that make war within your members?” We have to blush a bit when we hear James say, “Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice.” Jealousy. Selfish ambition. Disorder. Every foul practice. Indeed. And what are we to make of the disciples' silence when Jesus asks them what they are bickering about? Every mom and dad knows that silence. The kids are arguing over something trivial or embarrassing. It is at once comforting and disconcerting that our ancient readings almost perfectly describe our contemporary ecclesiastical tragedy. Fortunately, Jesus gives us – you and me – a way out: “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.”

The disciples go silent when Jesus confronts them about their bickering. Instead of listening carefully to his teaching about his death and resurrection, instead of admitting their fear of and ignorance about their teacher's future, they choose to argue about who's the greatest among them. We know that they know they are doing something foolish b/c. . .well, their embarrassed silence. But why is arguing about who's the greatest a problem? Simply put: ambition is one of the deformed offspring of pride, the deadliest of the deadly sins. Ambition tempts us to seek glory for the sake of glory. It teases us with promises of adulation, respect, and power. It creates in us a festering arrogance that thrives on deceit, theft, abuse, and manipulation. Ambition serves itself first and always, and serves others only when doing so promotes a greater ambition. In the corporate world, we hear the ambitious called “ladder climbers.” In the world of the Church, we say that ambitious clergy have “scarlet fever,” an unhealthy desire for clerical promotion, a desire that runs roughshod over their promise to serve. The disciples are laying out their ambition for all to see. When Jesus sees it, he shows them a child and admonishes them, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me. . .”

You don't have to be a theologian to see where some among the clergy went wrong. Ambition for higher office breeds a lust for power and influence. Power and influence breed deceit and manipulation. Deceit and manipulation breed a need to control who knows what and when. And so on and on and on. You end up mired in a morass of trading favors, blackmail, extortion, and trying to silence whistle-blowers. Instead of serving God's people to the limits of their gifts these men chose to serve themselves and their deviant needs, leaving thousands wounded and permanently scarred. And the subsequent cover-ups reveal a whole new layer of ambition – the challenge to “get away with it” and continue on like nothing at all has happened. Jealousy. Selfish ambition. Disorder. Every foul practice. The rot is deep, but it is not deeper than the reach of God's grace. The scandal casts a huge shadow over the Church. But no shadow survives direct sunlight. Ambition is a subspecies of Pride and the antidote to Pride is humility – yours, mine, ours together as a witness to the might of God's justice and His mercy.

The most common question I get about this mess is: “Father, what can the laity do?” Some want to withhold donations. Write letters. Protest outside bishops' residences. I remind them that this is a spiritual war not a political campaign. Spiritual wars are fought with spiritual weapons: prayer and fasting. Growth in holiness. Cultivating personal humility to oppose pride. Service to others in the name of Christ. Worthy reception of the sacraments. Spiritual wars are fought on many levels all at once: the cosmic level, the national level, the diocesan and the parochial, and especially, the personal level. When was your last visit to the confessional? Are you reading your Bible? Praying the rosary? Fasting when you can? Doing good works for the greater glory of God? Are you nurturing self-righteous anger? A desire for vengeance? You are a member of the Body of Christ, and the spiritual health of Christ's Body is measured by the spiritual health of her members. What you can do for the Church is to get well spiritually. Be a shining witness to the world of exactly how powerful God's mercy really is. You can – through your prayer and witness – stand against the darkness that threatens to overwhelm many of our brothers and sisters in the Church. Receive them as children of the Father. . .and receive Christ in turn. 

 

Our problems are far from over. And the Enemy is looking to recruit complacent, despairing Catholics who can't see a way out. The way out of this mess is to follow Christ. To Jerusalem and to the Cross. Yes, there will be suffering and pain, but the Truth will set us free.

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Choose to Follow Christ!

24^th Sun OT

Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP

OLR, NOLA

There's no way out of this. I'm sorry. But there isn't. Peter tries to get out of it. And Jesus calls him “Satan.” I mean, we can get out of it – get out of having to deny ourselves; out of picking up our crosses – we can. But if I choose to avoid the painful parts of following Christ, I will save my life now only to lose it later. . .and forever. When Jesus asks Peter, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter correctly answers, “You are the Christ.” Jesus isn't playing a trivia game. He's not giving Peter a pop-quiz to check his reading comprehension. Jesus is asking Peter – the Rock – to choose his path, to choose the Way he will live and die and live again. Peter chooses correctly. . .at first. After Jesus prophesies about how he will suffer and die at the hands of his enemies, Peter takes Jesus aside and rebukes him. Mark doesn't tell us why Peter does this, but we can imagine. Peter loves Jesus. He doesn't want to believe that the Christ, the promised Messiah will be tortured and executed by those who hate him. Fair enough. But Jesus rebukes Peter in turn, naming him “Satan” – accuser, betrayer, enemy. Like many of us at different points in our lives, Peter is happy about the idea of Christ but not so happy about actually following Christ. . .following him all the way to the Cross.

So, which will be it for you: the idea of Christ, or actually following Christ? What's the difference? Choosing the idea of Christ means thinking good thoughts about Jesus. Being content with the occasional trip to church. Maybe wearing a cross or a crucifix. Hanging a framed picture of the Sacred Heart in my home. Choosing the idea of Christ might mean I can recite a couple standard Catholic prayers – “Our Father,” “Hail Mary.” It means having a generalized sense of myself as someone who identifies as a Christian. . .as opposed to identifying myself as a Buddhist or a Muslim or an atheist. The idea of Christ doesn't really change that much about how I live my daily life; how I treat my family, my friends, my co-workers. It doesn't influence my moral choices, or in any way disturb my material comfort. In other words, by choosing the idea of Christ I can easily slide into the flow of the world without stirring up any opposition; without being seen as a problem for others. I can pass as a good citizen of this world while thinking of myself as a worthy member of Team Jesus, hoping that I'm never sent it to actually play. Choosing the idea of Christ means privacy, anonymity; a life without sacrifice.

Choosing to actually follow Christ is quite different. As Peter and the other apostles soon discover. It was the idea of Christ that moved Peter to rebuke Jesus. To deny him three times in the Garden. It was actually following Christ that put Peter on a cross in Rome, crucified upside down. Following Christ means denying myself. It means taking myself out of the center of life, replacing me with Christ. It means setting aside my wants, my preferences, my “felt needs.” It means removing from my heart and mind the choices the world has made for me and putting on the heart and mind of Christ – the heart and mind of sacrificial love. Following Christ means becoming alter Christus, another Christ. It means picking up my cross – the instrument of my suffering and death – and carrying it with me. Not as a reminder or a punishment. But as a source of strength and perseverance. While the idea of Christ leaves me to live in comfortable silence, following Christ compels me to teach and preach the Truth of the Good News. I am moved at the core of my being to shout about the Father's mercy to sinners. To tell the world about the new life He has given me. Following Christ is public, prominent; it is a life of sacrificial love.

The Church – the Body of Christ, you and me – the Church during these dark days of scandal and public ridicule must double and triple-down on following Christ. The desire to hide out and keep quiet in the face of media attention is understandable. But if there was ever a time for the followers of Christ to be publicly recognizable as such, publicly committed to the Gospel, it is now. St. James tells us that our faith is empty if we do not put that faith to work. If your faith is a vague notion floating around harmlessly in your head, now is the time to grab it and relocate it to your hands and feet and your tongue. Put your faith to work, following Christ, getting behind him and doing what he did, speaking out about the mercy you've been given; teaching others about the freedom you've received from your Heavenly Father. The Church as an institution that chooses the idea of Christ is dead. It always has been and always will be. The Church follows Christ. The Church – the Body of Christ – denies herself, picks up her Cross, and follows Christ. Do not leave yourself behind. Choose to follow Christ!

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Gratitude Cures Envy

23^rd Week OT (M)

Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP

St. Dominic Church, NOLA

One of the standards ways of interpreting our Gospel scene is to contrast the rigid, law-abiding Pharisees with the humane and merciful Jesus. The Pharisees are happy to see a man with a withered hand suffer if it means following the Law of the Sabbath. While Jesus is keen on showing us that mercy always triumphs over the Law when needs must. Nothing particularly wrong with that interpretation. But it doesn't tell us much about why the Pharisees are spying on Jesus. It doesn't tell us what motivates them to seek his destruction. For example, is it pride that compels them? Do they see Jesus as a threat to their self-worth? Or maybe it's wrath. They're angry with him for presuming to do what they claim only they can do. Of course, there could be several different motivations. But if I had to pick one, I'd pick the capital sin of envy. Aquinas teaches us that envy is the sorrow I feel about another person's gift when I falsely believe that that gift has been taken from or withheld from me. The Pharisees and scribes see Jesus' gift of healing and they are envious b/c they falsely believe that that gift should be theirs. 

 

Why would they believe that they should possess this gift of healing? They are religious leaders. Spiritual guides. They know Scripture. They are placed closer to God in virtue of their holiness, their righteousness under the Law. They wield popular political influence. So, they should be the ones healing withered hands not this jump-up prophet from some podunk backwoods town! But here's the problem with envy: you and I have no right to the gifts we receive. God freely gives His gifts and we freely receive them. So, the Devil wins when I spend my time envying your gifts rather than cultivating my own. The Devil also wins when I spend my time following you around trying to catch you using your gifts at the wrong time or for the good of the wrong person. So while my gifts are being destroyed through neglect, you're using yours for the greater glory of God! What's left for me but to be enraged? If I would follow Christ, I would cease coveting your gifts and give thanks to God for my own, asking Him for the strength and perseverance to cultivate what He has already given me. As is always the case, gratitude to the Father prevents a multitude of sins.

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