On becoming a heretic

Excellent take-down of that WaPo story on dissident catechists who refused to sign a fidelity oath in the Diocese of Arlington.

One observation that had me cheering:

[. . .] Based on years of reading Post coverage of the many doctrinal battles between liberal and conservative Episcopalians, it appears that it absolutely crucial for conservative Episcopalians to obey their liberal bishops (and everyone heads to secular courts if they cannot work things out), but it isn’t terribly important for liberal Catholics to obey their conservative bishops, even when those bishops are acting in obedience to that Bishop of Rome guy. 

During my many years as a Episcopagan--yes, that's how I identified myself--, I argued that it was crucial for traditionalists in the Episcopal Church to obey the revisionist decisions of the democratically elected General Convention.  

The Holy Spirit was always Do Something New and we couldn't allow obstinate worshipers of nostalgia to prevent us from Moving Forward.  The very idea that 20th century Christians would look backwards for inspiration was abhorrent.  

Every decision of the GC that opened up the church to Our Future, every vote that brought us closer to the Wonders of Full Inclusion made me tingle all over! 

It wasn't until I heard that the Great Process of Revision was leading us to discussions about scraping the Book of Common Prayer in favor of a three-ring binder that I began to question the Wisdom of Permanent Theological Revolution.  

When I sheepishly pointed out to my fellow revolutionaries that the Great Process endangered the one thing that all of us--revisionists and traditionalists--revered, the BCP, I was told that the BCP is oppressive, exclusive, narrow, and a tool of racism/sexism/homophobia.  Not only must we revise the BCP, we must destroy it to serve the Permanent Revolution!  

My friends in the Church, the ones who had preached disobedience to authority and the glories of diversity, difference, and full-inclusion, shut me down and beat me with demands for silence. I learned that diversity and difference really means "diversity and difference that agrees with our agenda."

That's when I put on my swimsuit and came across the Tiber.  And on this side of the river, I found more than a few Episcopagans disguised as Catholics.  They did little to actually hide themselves and behaved exactly like my former friends.  

They rail against institutional authority while using their institutional authority to shut down opposition. They decry the abuse of power while abusing their own power.  They cast themselves as The Oppressed while happily opposing anyone who disagreed with them.  And they snark against the shadowy workings of Old Men in Rome while working in the shadows as a clique all their own.

Thankfully, the Roman Catholic Church isn't run like a parliament, so their revolutionary fervor rarely causes much long-term damage.

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Is that wolf I smell?

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

Wolves. Sheep. Serpents. And doves. There's a veritable Noah's Ark in the gospel this evening, a whole zoo's worth of critters living in Jesus' imagination! In the wolf, there's a predator's singular focus on his prey and the cold cruelty of instinct. In the sheep, there's a docility, an innocence, a need to be protected. Serpents are cunning, calculating, and dangerously patient. Doves are gentle and pure. Jesus says that he is sending us as prey among the predators, so we must learn to be both shrewd and gentle, both cunning and pure. How do we manage that? When we are handed over to be prosecuted for treason or heresy, we need not worry about what we will say in our defense. Jesus assures us, “You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” But if we will be given what to say in our own defense at the moment of greatest need, then why must we like both the serpent and the dove while living as sheep among the wolves? If the Holy Spirit will defend us, and use our voices to do so, then we must be prepared to hear His Word. Before we can speak, we must listen. 

Sheep are notoriously stupid animals. Too stupid to learn much of anything. Wolves are much, much more intelligent, but they are largely driven by predatory instinct and not very obedient. So, Jesus is sending us to live as stupid prey animals among intelligent predators. But we are to be shrewd and gentle. Serpents have a rep for being sly, patient, manipulative, so they would probably make good students but dangerous friends. Doves don't exactly inspire wonder with their smarts, but they are beautiful, and they have a history of showing up at just the right time. Since the Spirit of the Father will be given to us when we need Him, our serpentine cunning and dove-like gentleness aren't really meant to be primary defenses against the wolves. Our primary defense is the Holy Spirit! Shrewdness and gentleness prepare us to receive the Spirit of the Father and to speak His Word. So, our hearing must be astute, and our listening docile—ready to be taught. To receive His Spirit requires docility, and to speak His Word in the Spirit requires ingenuity. To receive His Spirit requires the peace that comes with obedience, and to speak His Word in the Spirit requires the courage, trust, and fortitude that only He can give. 

Wolves will never fear sheep. Nor stop hunting them. So, sheep will always need a shepherd to protect them. The Holy Spirit is our protector, and if we will hear Him speak to us, we will grow in obedience, docility, and faith. This doesn't mean that we should nurture stupidity or timidity and dumbly wait to be rescued. It means that we throw ourselves into the source of Truth itself—God Himself; learn all we can learn about Him from Him; and then, commit ourselves to relying wholly and alone on His care. Are we resolved to being preachers of the truth and teachers of our apostolic faith? Are we fully given over to being wily promoters of God's justice and glowing examples of His mercy? Some of the sheep in the flock smell faintly of wolf. Jesus warns us that there will be those among us who seek to divide the flock, separate off the vulnerable as easy pickings. The Spirit of the Father will never speak with the voice of a hungry wolf, or a sneaky snake. He chooses His sheep—sheep who are prepared with His abundant help to speak His Word, and see it done. So, we listen with sharp ears and docile hearts, ready to learn. That is how we will endure. 

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On the Scandalous State of Catholic Catechesis

Thanks to the archdiocese's Office of Religious Education, I've been teaching basic and advanced certification class for catechists these last few weeks.

Without exception, the veteran teachers in these classes have been attentive, curious, hard-working and. . .surprisingly. . .just a little upset.

Upset!?

Yes, just a little upset.  Maybe surprised is the better word.  In every class so far, I've been told that the information we're covering is largely new to them, or the theology we're using to explain the teachings of the Church is one they've never heard before.

What are you teaching these teachers, Father?!

The Catholic faith.  Plain and simple:  nothing more than the apostolic faith contained in the Creeds, the liturgies, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  Granted, my spin on these is decidedly Dominican-Thomistic, but we are using the most basic texts available to explore what the Church teaches about prayer, the sacraments, and worship.  

And. . .the teachers have found much of what the Church teaches to be. . .surprising.  In every class so far we've had a student-initiated discussion that starts with, "Father, I've been teaching CCD for ____ years and no one ever told me _____!"

Any student of mine from the past knows that the focus of my classes is always the text in front of us.  What does the text actually say?  Why does the text say this?  Why does it say what it says in this specific way?  

Deliberately set aside are questions of personal experience and feelings. For example, in discussing the Real Presence, we look at the relevant paragraphs from the Catechism, etc. and spend our time "unpacking" the language used to teach the truth of Christ's sacramental presence in the Eucharist.  

How we have experienced the Real Presence, or how we feel about the Church's teaching on the Real Presence is entirely irrelevant to the truth of the teaching.  In the initial stages of learning about God's Self-revelation in the Eucharist, our personal take on the revelation matters not one iota.  

Why does this old-fashioned method of closely reading texts cause surprise/wonder among veteran catechists?  They have been taught to teach in a way that privileges experiences and feelings above intellectual content. Are experiences/feelings important to learning the faith?  Absolutely.  But we have experiences of the faith, feelings about the faith.  In other words, the object of our experiences and feelings is the faith, and, in the absence of intellectual content, we are abandoned to do nothing more than tell stories and emote.

When you combine a 40 year legacy of institutional intellectual dissent with an experiential/emotive pedagogy, you get The Current State of Abysmal Ignorance about the Faith. You get a roomful of veteran catechists who are surprised/upset to learn that they never understood the Church's teaching on the basic truths of the faith b/c they were never taught the faith. 

You also get the occasional catechist who rejects the most basic teachings of the Church and even opposes the notion that the Church has the right and responsibility to teach the faith.  

Case in point:  the Diocese of Arlington recently asked its 5,000 volunteer catechists to sign a declaration of fidelity to the Creed and the magisterium.  Four volunteers refused to sign and resigned.  These women get points for having the integrity to resign.  What's interesting is how the reporter describes one woman who refused to sign the absurdly obvious declaration:

Kathleen Riley knows her beliefs on the male-only priesthood and contraception put her at odds with leaders of her church. But as a fifth-generation Catholic who went to a Catholic school and grew up to teach in one, Riley feels the faith deeply woven through her.

Riley's beliefs do not "put her at odds with leaders of her church."  Her beliefs put her at odds with the apostolic faith. But b/c she feels the faith deeply, her rejection of the Church's ancient teaching on the all-male priesthood and the evil of artificial contraception should not disqualify her from teaching Catholic children their tradition of faith, a faith that cannot be sliced up into discrete parts and digested individually. There's no disputing that Riley feels the faith deeply.  But what exactly is she having feelings about?  What is the object of her emotions?  It can't be the faith b/c she doesn't accept the truth of the faith.

The rest of the article trots out all the wearying cliches professional dissidents use to justify their continuing opposition to the Church:  "conscience," "abuse of authority," "polls show most Catholics ignore church teachings," "the bishops vs. the Holy Spirit," ad. nau.  But at the root of the catechetical problem is the widespread rejection of the idea that the faith has intellectual content that can be handed on and the elevation of personal experience and feelings about the faith to the Chair of St. Peter.

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Go find the lost sheep. . .

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

If you are confused after hearing the gospel, please don't think that you are alone! The same teacher who told his disciples to go out into the world and preach the Good News. . .the same teacher who healed Gentiles in the presence of those disciples; talked to an unclean Samaritan woman and fussed at his disciples who told him not to; and even sat down at table with tax collectors and prostitutes over the objections of his disciples. . .the same teacher who set himself the task of breaking just about every purity law on the books and earned for himself a reputation as a dangerous heretic and madman. . .this same teacher is now sending those same disciples out as apostles to proclaim the coming of the Kingdom, and he says to them before they go, “Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” After violating so many Jewish taboos, why is Jesus suddenly so squeamish about his apostles preaching to pagans and Samaritans? Jewish officialdom has rejected him, so why waste time and energy preaching to those who have heard the Good News and said, “No, thanks”? God promised the Messiah to the Jews. And so, to the lost sheep of Israel are the apostles sent. 

How do we reconcile Jesus' words and deeds during his public ministry with his parting orders to the newly minted apostles? The Lord knows something that his apostles do not: the apostolic ministry to preach the Good News will not end when the last of them dies. In fact, their preaching ministry as apostles won't truly commence until the Holy Spirit arrives and sets the whole bunch of them on fire! Given the Lord's inclusive words and deeds in their presence; then, his instructions to limit themselves to the Jews; and then, the Holy Spirit's inspiration to set the whole world on fire with his Word. . .we can safely assume that Jesus isn't limiting their ministry, he's concentrating it; that is, with a truly daunting task ahead of them—evangelizing every living creature—the Lord focuses his apostles on a workable task: just preach to the Jews. If we think this for a moment, it makes perfect sense. Who is better prepared to hear that the promises made by God through His prophets have been fulfilled in the coming of Christ Jesus? 

Hosea sets the scene for us. The nation God gave to His people is decadent, luxurious, ripe to the point of being rotten. The more it prospers under His blessing, the more it turns away from Him to idolatry, erecting altars and pillars to alien gods. They blame their spiritual adultery on political turmoil, and Hosea asks, “Since they do not fear the Lord, what can the king do for them?” Then his prophesies, “Sow for yourselves justice. . .break up for yourselves a new field, for it is time to seek the Lord.” And it is time for those who belong to the Lord to seek His lost sheep; thus, Jesus sends his apostles to those who are in most urgent need of the Good News, those who know the Covenant of Abraham yet live as if Abraham never spoke to God. Peter, James, John go to the lost sheep of Israel and along the way they find more and more lost sheep needing a shepherd. The Holy Spirit will not let them leave these all alone, so the Word—like a wild fire—spreads. And the people of God, those adopted as His children, grows and grows, beyond the lost sheep, into a nation of priests and prophets, a body of apostles sent out to find and rescue the lost, the wounded, those thrown away, anyone who desires to be loved as a creature created in the image of God. Go out, then, and show the world that no one is too small, too poor, too idolatrous, too decadent, too sinful to be called unworthy of the Father's saving mercy! 

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Confessions. . .

OK! OK! OK!

I confess. . .

Had class this morning at St Catherine of Siena. 

Went to the archdiocesan office to pick up a roster.

Came home and had lunch.

Took a nap.  OK!  Took a longish nap.

And didn't write a new homily for this evening's Mass.

I recycled one. . .sorta. . .I edited one, and it wasn't very good the first time I used it.

Happy now?
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Audio file for homily: 14th Sun OT

Recorded today's homily at the 5.30pm Mass. . .

An amazing lack of faith?
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An amazing lack of faith?

14th Sunday OT
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA

Audio File Download

We have just heard read one of the most disturbing sentences found in the New Testament. Left unexplained, this sentence could undermine the legitimacy of the Church, cause irreparable harm to the faith of billions, and hand our enemies the spiritual equivalent of nuclear bomb. This astonishing sentence is almost casually presented, composed with a dangerous indifference to how it might damage Christ's credibility among his future followers—those like us—who will read it and be tempted to despair. That we have not succumb to despair, that the faith of billions has not been harmed, that Christ's credibility has not been damaged is a testament to our ancestors in religion, the men and women who wrestled courageously through the centuries with the demons of doubt, worry, and spiritual cowardice. Mark tells us that Jesus goes home, and he is rejected as a prophet by his hometown neighbors. They doubt his power by questioning his credentials, “Isn't this guy just a local boy?” And they were offended. “So,” Mark casually writes, “[Jesus] was not able to perform any mighty deed there. . .” The Son of God, the Messiah, was not able to bring his Father's mighty power, His reconciling mercy to Nazareth! The Christ is rendered powerless to perform might deeds in his own hometown. 

How does Jesus react to this failure? Mark tells us, “He was amazed at their lack of faith.” That's a charitable description of how the hometown folks greeted their native son. Jesus goes to the synagogue and teaches his Father's Word. Those who hear him teach are astonished by the power and authority of his teaching. But rather than open their hearts and minds to the truth of the good news, they allow Jesus' familiarity, the fact that he is homegrown to confuse their judgment. They recognize his power—“What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands!”—yet they cannot see the hand of the Father through the fog of their contempt. Instead of obeying—listening to—the Word proclaimed with divine authority, they choose to doubt, “Where did this man get all this? Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and are not his sisters here with us?” And b/c they choose to be offended rather than enlightened, they cannot trust; they cannot receive the gift of God's mercy and so no mighty deeds can be accomplished. The Nazareans in the synagogue are astonished by Jesus' teaching and Jesus is amazed by their lack of faith. Despite all the astonishment and amazement flying around, without faith, mighty deeds cannot be done. 

Does it seem somehow wrong to you to say that Jesus is rendered powerless by those who doubt him? What sort of god can be stripped of his power to perform miracles by a doubting crowd? All this sounds too much like the myths of ancient Greece where the gods were only as powerful as their worshipers' faith. When the followers of Zeus lost their faith, Zeus' power began to fade. If Jesus is truly the Son of the everliving God, then his power comes to him in virtue of who he is not by way of the faithful. What authority do we mere humans have to render him powerless? The answer: none, none whatsoever. Our faith or lack of faith in no way affects God's ability to do what He wills. However, as our loving Father, He wills that we come to Him in love and not by force. He pours out His love, mercy, hope, all that we need to come to Him freely, but we must come freely. He gives us His love. We freely receive His love. And then, His love is a gift. And it is only a gift when we freely receive it. In other words, for mighty deeds to be accomplished in our lives, we must believe in and place our trust in the promises He has made to us as our loving Father. Doubt, fear, worry, any sort of disobedience, tempts us to suspicion and short circuits our faith. How do we cooperate with God's grace while doubting, fearing, worrying about whether or not He loves us and cares for us? 

We don't; we can't. . .cooperate with God's grace, that is, while worrying, etc. If I had to define doubt, fear, and worry, I'd say that these are spiritual anxieties, diseases of the soul bought on by a lack of faith in God, by the absence of the good habit of trusting that God has fulfilled His promises. When we fail to practice a virtue—a good habit—we tend to find ourselves indulging in a vice—a bad habit. What does the vicious habit of failing to trust in God look like? We could point out our sins, our acts of disobedience—the big lie, the small theft, the vicious gossip, the lustful look. We could also point out all the things we have failed to do—a work of mercy, a hurt left unforgiven, a falsehood left unchallenged. We could also point out the absence of blessings in our lives: where are my friends? My family? My loving neighbors? Any one of these or all of them might show us what the vicious habit of unfaithfulness looks like. But these are just symptoms of a more insidious problem, mere indications that something much deeper is profoundly wrong. What lies beneath our sins, our omissions? 

 We are tempted to say, “Well, it's a lack of faith!” OK. But faith itself is a gift, the technical term is “infused virtue.” God infuses in us from the instant of our conception the good habit of trusting in Him. We are gifted with the ability to trust Him even before we are born. So, how do we end up lacking in something that's bonded to our DNA? We don't. We can't. We can no more remove faith from who we are as persons than we can recode our DNA at will to become crawfish or dinosaurs. When Mark notes that Jesus is “amazed at their lack of faith,” he means that Jesus is stunned by their unwillingness to cooperate, to work with the gift of faith that his Father has given to them. Jesus' friends and neighbors have faith as a matter of being human; they are simply unwilling to set aside their pride and work with the seed of trust already planted in their hearts. What lies beneath their stubbornness, urging them toward vicious suspicion, is the Enemy whispering, “You don't need faith; you just need a little sweat and some old-fashioned determination, and you can live your life just as you please. You can have it all on your own. You don't need God. In fact, here's a little secret: you can become a god without God!” That whisper echoes down to us from the Garden and it sounds very much like the hissing of a serpent. 

You can become a god without God. All you need is enough money, enough influence, enough power, enough celebrity, enough freedom from your created nature. . .and voila!. . .you're a god, a being beyond the merely human, beyond the mewling herd. And all this transformation will cost you is your soul and along with you soul goes your personhood, your humanity, and your place in the holy family as an adopted child of God. Why do we sometimes find it so difficult, even repellant, to cooperate with God's gift of faith? Because when we cooperate with His graces, we freely accept that everything we have and everything we are is a gift from Him and we are thus totally and irrevocably dependent on Him. We call that dependence humility—the good habit of knowing that and acting on the truth that we are dust, from our origin to our end, we are dust. BUT! We are dust gifted with the freedom to believe and trust in our Creator. And when we believe and trust in our Creator, mighty deeds are accomplished in His Name and for His greater glory. 

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You eat, you go home!

 I swear. . .



. . .I've never been to this place!
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Bringing to mind all that is missing

13th Week OT (S)
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA

John's disciples find Jesus and ask him, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?” Good question. I wonder why they want to know. Are John's disciples looking for a teacher who's not dragging his students through the desert and serving them nothing to locusts and honey? Or maybe they're disguising a spirit of prideful competition with a question about discipline? Team John is more disciplined than Team Jesus, so tell: why are your players so spiritually lazy, Jesus? Or maybe, and probably, they simply want to know more about Jesus' understanding of how and why we fast. Whatever their motivations for asking the question, Jesus does what he always does when asked to explain himself. He doesn't. Instead, he takes the question as an opportunity to push the questioner further along and under and shows him what lies at the bottom of his query. What lies at the bottom of this question about fasting? From Jesus' response, we can see that there is a connection btw fasting and mourning, a link of btw feasting and living. There is no need for the wedding guests to fast while the groom is still with them. We feast while he's with us, and we fast after he's gone. 

If it is true that we feast while Christ is with us, and we fast after he's gone, then what do we do if he is both with us and not with us? The Church has thrived for centuries w/o Christ walking and talking among us. We live in the days after his death, resurrection, and ascension. So, we fast in mourning. However, b/c Christ sent us the Holy Spirit and established his Church, we know that he is always with us, whenever and wherever two or more are gathered in his Name. So, we feast in celebration. Being faithful citizens of New Orleans, we understand all-too-well the connection btw living and feasting. We do both quite well! What better way to give God thanks for His generous gift of human life than to tuck into some jambalaya, biscuits, and bread pudding? But what is the link btw fasting and mourning? One of the most memorable culinary events in the life of a family occurs at a funeral. We eat at funerals as if carbs and sugar will dry up our tears and bring the dead back to life. The line that Jesus draws btw the fast and the funeral seems a bit twisted if not downright knotted up. It helps to remember that both fasting and mourning brings to mind all that is missing. 

Bringing to mind all that is missing for Christians is about more than mere remembering. Memorials are common markers for noting people and events. We memorialize war heroes, literary giants, athletes. Photo albums, keepsakes, tombstones bring to mind both the living and the dead. For the disciples of Christ, fasting brings to mind both Christ's presence and his absence; both his life and his death. When we fast, we recognize—thing about again—our dependence on God, our adoption as His children through Christ. And we remember—become members again—of his Body, the Church. When we fast from food, we fast for a memory and that memory is made present, made real. When we fast from whatever it is we are fasting from, we fast for a reason, a purpose and that reason is to mourn, to lament the absence of all that is missing. Christ is not with us, so we fast. Yet, he is always with us, so we feast. We cycle through the year fasting and feasting, remembering and recognizing that he is gone, he is here, and he will be among us again. At the bottom of the question about fasting lies humility—our absolute dependence on God. Without Him, there would be no feasting at all. 

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You're a sinner? Welcome to the Church!

13th Week OT (F)
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA

I trace the call to priesthood back to 1981 during a high school trip to Mexico. The road I took to the Dominicans and ordination was long, pot-holed, twisted, and plagued by dangerous temptations and even more dangerous choices. Allowing the romance and idealism of youth to overwhelm good sense, I ran that road with my eyes closed and my mouth open. Though never doubting my vocation, I often and intensely resisted God's not-so-gentle prodding toward priesthood. Among the reasons for delaying the decision for 17 years was my obvious unworthiness for the office. There's no need for details, but let's just say that my life before the Dominicans would have made the young Augustine blush and the soldier Ignatius flinch. Very little about who I was back then indicated that God could use me to serve His people as a Dominican friar and priest. I imagine that the tax-collector, Matthew feels much the same way when Jesus comes along and says, “Follow me.” And I imagine that most of you jump a little when Jesus says, “Hey you, sinner! Come on, we've got work to do!” You want to resist. Rattle off your sins. Tell him how unworthy you are. How dumb or inarticulate or shy you are. He knows all that already. My advice: just go. He's not going to stop calling just b/c you won't answer. 

One way of looking at the Church is to see her as a collection of those who are called to serve in spite of their obvious unworthiness. The Church is a hospital for the sick not a spa for the healthy. In fact, we're Christians because we're also sinners. Coming to Mass is hardly scandalous behavior even though all you people are sinners! Jesus himself socializes with sinners and gets called out for doing so. What's the big deal? Sick people need healing, so Jesus is going where he's needed. But when Jesus eats with prostitutes and tax-collectors, he's doing more than just scandalizing the self-righteous scribes; he's making himself—a rabbi—ritually unclean. More to the point, Jesus is sacrificing his standing as a ritually clean teacher of the Law so that he might reach those who most need to hear word of his Father's mercy. When the scribes object to his ministry in the messy lives of these sinners, Jesus says, “Go and learn the meaning of the words, I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” What God wants from us is for us to give His mercy the use of our bodies here on earth. Our words, deeds, thoughts—all from each of us. And that's our sacrifice: to set aside our doubts and worries about being worthy of Christ and just follow Christ! 

But, Father, I'm not very smart. I'm not in a state of grace. I'm not good with words. People don't like me. I'm too shy. And Jesus answers, using the favorite word of my teenage nieces, “Whatever.” OK. So, you're a dumb, shy, inarticulate and unlikeable sinner. Peter denied even knowing Jesus. Matthew was a traitor to his people by collecting taxes for the Romans. Paul killed Christians as heretics. Judas sold Christ to his enemies. And the whole lot of disciples ran like rabbits and hid when their beloved teacher was executed. So, whatever, dumb, shy, inarticulate, and unlikeable sinner. Welcome to the Church. Now, get to work! That's our sacrifice: give up sinning AND give up using our sins as an excuse not to do what we have been called to do. Jesus was willing to sacrifice his religious standing as a rabbi in order to bring God's word of mercy to the dredges of Judea. Can we find the courage to sacrifice our excuses for not being bodies for God's mercy? Forgiven sinners should be the first to shout to the rafters: we're forgiven, all of us are forgiven! 

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Coffee Cup Browsing

Nuns on a Bus received funding from atheist Soros.  Keep up the great P.R., sisters!

Another fake "hate crime."  It's time to repeal these laws against UnGood Think.

John XXIII was not the revolutionary that Cafeteria Catholics think he was.

Priorities: CA circles the economic bowl, SanFran Dem proposes law to further weaken the family.

What the Court decision on ObamaCare did and did not say is constitutional.  Excellent. 

Wait!  I thought the Catholic Church was the enemy of science and medicine?

To wit:  a report from the Modern Science/Ancient Faith Conference.

Some good news about priests:  The 10 Most Amazing Priests!

Nine recent violations of our religious liberties. Remember: even when they lose, they win. Making the faith seem "extreme" is a slow process.  Every attempt is a win for the Enemy.

Woman who thanked B.O. for ObamaCare was a plant.  Figures.

10 suggestions for Catholic evangelization via social media.

On the need for clear distinctions:  liberation theology and the newly appointed chief of the CDF.  

Man Candles: a review.  Having an uber-sensitive nose, I'm a fragrance freak.  Maybe I need to look into these candles.  Do they make them votive-sized?
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Smash the Scale!!!

I didn't weigh in yesterday.  Decided to suspend the Wednesday weigh-ins for a couple of weeks while I adjust to a lower carb diet.  Nothing drastic!  Just cutting a few servings of bread, pasta, etc.

Maybe in two weeks I can climb on The Scale and be surprised.

Fr. Philip, OP

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Are you an intercessor?

13th Week OT (Th)
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA

The folks in the crowd are struck with awe when Jesus says to the paralytic, “Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home," and he does! Matthew tells us that the crowd “glorified God who had given such authority to men.” As praiseworthy as this demonstration of divine authority is, there's something else going on in this story that deserves more attention than it usually gets, something that we might just breeze over in a hurry to get to Jesus' confrontation with the scandalized scribes. What moves Jesus to heal the paralyzed man? Is it the man's obvious faith? No. Is it Jesus' compassion for his disability? Nope. Matthew tells us that Jesus entered the town, “and there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, 'Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.'” Our Lord is moved to heal the man's paralysis because the people who brought him to be healed believe in and trust in Jesus' authority to forgive the man's sins and restore him to wholeness. We aren't told whether or not the man himself is faithful. Whether he is or isn't doesn't seem to matter to his healing. Jesus forgives and heals the man because his friends have faith; and out of love for him, they ask that he be healed. Thus, we are shown the power of intercessory prayer and the need for God's faithful priests to be intercessors. 

As a faithful priest, do you intercede for those in need? When we are baptized into the Body of Christ, we are made priests, prophets, and kings to serve one another in love so that God's love in us might be made perfect. Only a tiny percentage of God's priests are ordained as servant-leaders. The overwhelming majority of Catholics serve God and His people through their baptism as members of the Body. As baptized priests, you share in the ministry of the ordained priesthood by mediating, sacrificing, and interceding. You mediate God's presence as a living sign of His love and mercy. You sacrifice yourself so that you might grow in holiness. And you intercede for those in need. The special ministry of the baptized priest is exercised not in what you do but in where you do it: in the world, wherever you find yourself at any given moment. You are an intercessor at Wal-Mart, at home, at work, in your car. Those faithful souls in the crowd lift the paralyzed man onto his stretcher and carry him to Christ, confident that the Lord will forgive him his sins and bring him to wholeness. They offer his sins to Christ in sacrifice, and Christ makes him holy. It is because they believe and trust in the authority given to Christ that the man is restored. 

So, how do you go about interceding for others? Is there a formula or a liturgy for interceding? Yes and no. Yes, there is a formula and a liturgy for intercession. We call it “the Mass.” We even have a rite within the Mass called “the Intercessions,” or the “Prayer of the Faithful.” This is your chance to turn your full, conscious, and active attention to those in need and to bring them into the sacramental presence of Christ for his forgiveness and healing. So, yes, there is a formula and a liturgy for intercession. And, no, there isn't. Anytime, anywhere you lift up a broken soul—using any words that move you—anytime, anywhere you offer in sacrifice the hurt, the despair, the wounds of another, you mediate (stand between) that person and God, interceding on their behalf as a priest of God. By offering them up, both you and the one you offer grow in holiness and God's love is made just that much more perfect in you. You are—we all are—members of One Body, the Church, and we all share in the intercessory priesthood of Christ. Your priesthood is strengthened here, and tested, tempered out there in the world when you intercede for those in need. Therefore, make your faith into a steel blade and keep it sharp on the whetstone of prayer.

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"We hold these truths. . ." (Updated)

A concise commentary on the Declaration of Independence. . .this well-worth the 10 mins or so it will take to read.  Excellent information and explication.

Excerpt:

What are “unalienable,” or more commonly, “inalienable rights”?  Inalienable rights are those you cannot give up even if you want to and consent.  Unlike other alienable rights that you can consent to transfer or waive.  Why inalienable rights?  The Founders want to counter England’s claim that by accepting the colonial governance, the colonists had alienated their rights.  The Framers claimed that with inalienable rights, you always retain the ability to take back any right that has been given up.

Read the whole thing.

UPDATE:  This is why the internet was invented:  The Declaration of Independence, Fixed.

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Solution to all of our problems. . .

Making the rounds on the intertubes this morning. . .

Hee-lar-ious!
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Freedom from, freedom to. . .

NB.  I always get the Mass readings from the USCCB website. . .they didn't have the readings for today's votive Mass on the site, so I didn't know that there were any votive readings!  It's the bishops' fault!

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

Two hundred and thirty-six years ago today, the Founders of our republic signed the Declaration of Independence, in which they invoke the “Laws of Nature and Nature's God,” “their Creator,” “the Supreme Judge of the world,” and “Divine Providence” in order to separate the British colonies of America from the rule of Britain's king, and to declare themselves a people thus freed from tyranny. Having declared that God created man with “certain unalienable Rights,” including “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” the signers catalogue the King's offenses against these natural rights, dissolve all political connections with Crown, and proclaim the colonies “Free and Independent States.” From this moment, the United States began as an civic experiment: a constitutional republic guided by a definition of freedom forged and tempered in 18th century Europe. To be free in America and to be free in Christ are not the same sort of freedom. However, the best possible way to be free in Christ is to be free in America. As Americans, we are “free from” any number of tyrannical restraints. As Christians, we are “free to” follow Christ along his path to holiness. 

The signers of the Declaration of Independence declared the colonies “free from” unjust laws, burdensome taxes, foreign military interventions, and the arbitrary will of a king so that the citizens of the colonies might be “free to” pursue the life, the liberties, and the happiness granted to them by their Creator. As a fundamental document of the American revolution, the Declaration continues to teach us what it means to be free citizens of a free nation. However, the rousing patriotic rhetoric of a political document cannot free a single human soul from the chains of sin. Take, for example, the gospel reading this morning. Matthew tells us that two demon possessed individuals haunted a cemetery, and that they “were so savage that no one could travel by that road.” The way was blocked by the Enemy, the adversary of freedom through Christ. No edict of the king, or imperial warrant from Rome would clear the way for travelers. Jesus removes the demons, freeing those souls from the burden of sin. The way is cleared by Christ so that we are free to follow him. And we are at our freest when we follow him in the pursuit of holiness. We are freest when we pursue that state of perfection in Christ that we were created to achieve. 

In the past few months we have heard a great deal about religious freedom, the right to practice our religion, and the continuing efforts of our government to restrict or abolish these rights and freedoms. You might think that this is a demonic plot against the Church, or a convenient political ploy to get votes, or a necessary limit on the exercise of citizens' rights. Whatever it truly is is ultimately irrelevant to the truth of the Gospel. If our political freedoms can be restricted by edict, our freedom in Christ can never be. If our rights as citizens can be violated by judicial fiat, our natural rights as children of God can never be. We are freed by Christ from the slavery to sin so that we might follow after him. And we can follow after him from home, from school, from church, from jail, or from the hospital. We can pursue holiness in the freedom of Christ despite the laws of men, despite the politicians, and despite the bureaucratic red-tape. Both our rights as citizens and our freedoms as men and women of Christ are unalienable, inseparable from who we are as creatures of a loving God. As Americans, today, we celebrate our “freedom from” secular tyranny. As Christians, always, we celebrate the “freedom to” live and preach the Good News of Christ Jesus! 

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Anniversary

Eight years ago today, four Dominican students were ordained deacons and three Dominican deacons were ordained priests at Blackfriars Hall, Oxford by Bishop Malcolm Mahon, OP.  I was one of those Dominican students to be made a deacon.

Our ordinations brought to conclusion the best year of my Dominican life to date:  study, prayer, and community among the Oxford friars of the English Province!

My one regret about leaving Rome:  I won't be able to spend my annual two months lazing about Blackfriars in the fall.  Sigh.

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Ask the Friar

Ive been teaching classes for the archdiocese's catechists' certification program these past two weeks.  

We're taking this week off for July 4th celebrations.

So. . .this is a good week to Ask the Friar Questions!

Go for it. . .

P.S.  Ask them soon b/c the Master of the Order is visiting the priory on Friday. . .

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An urgent message, patiently delivered

13th Week OT (M)
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA

When faced with the anxious problems of our panicky Western culture, the Church often seems less than eager to offer immediate solutions. While westerners run around like demented squirrels hopped up on triple shot espressos—causing chaos for themselves and the rest of the world—the Church plods along like a sleepy grandpa turtle, waiting for the rest of us to drop from exhaustion and hoping that the alleged crisis will pass. More often than not, that exactly what happens. Sleepy Grandpa Turtle smiles and continues along at his leisurely pace. Why does the Church seem so untroubled by the trendy pandemonium that we in the West feel is about to overwhelm us? Notice what Jesus does when the crowds threaten to overwhelm him: he flees across the sea. You can hear him saying to the disciples, “Aight, boys. Just get in the boat and row.” When a scribe—sounding a little desperate—says, “I'll follow you wherever you go,” Jesus gives us a hint about why his Church seems immune to cultural panic. He says, “. . .the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” The Body of Christ, the Church, exists everywhere and everywhen. There's no hurry in eternity. 

Just after Jesus orders his disciples across the sea, a scribe and a disciple proclaim an urgent need to stay with the Master. Jesus tells the scribe that the Son of Man has no place to rest. When the disciple asks Jesus to wait for him to bury his dead, Jesus says—rather enigmatically—“Let the dead bury the dead.” The scribe is declaring his desire to follow Christ regardless of his destination. The disciple wants Jesus to linger a bit longer so he can run off and to perform his familial duties. Two different responses to Jesus' order to depart and two different answers from Jesus. Both men want to stay with the Master, but neither seem to understand anything that Jesus has taught them. Had the scribe understood Jesus, he would know that the Son of Man is present wherever two or more gather in his name. Had the disciple understood Jesus, he would know that the Son of Man is present whenever anyone heeds his invitation to “follow me.” Proclaiming the Good News is both an urgent task and a patient process. We are given an imperative to complete and then told to persevere. The world's salvation is an emergency, and the Church's mature response to this crisis is diligence. 

What does all this mean for us, the Boots on the Ground? Unsurprisingly, it means that our most potent tools in building up the Church are faith and obedience—absolute trust in God's promises and hearts and minds radically attuned to His will. If we fall in with the world, we too become over-caffeinated squirrels scurrying around like we're being chased by terriers. Panic is not a form of Christian witness. On the other hand, we can't just sit back on the world's veranda, sipping Mint Juleps and watching creation go to hell. Laziness and indifference aren't good witnesses either. So, we follow Christ wherever he goes, and we “let the dead bury the dead.” In other words, we diligently plod along, spreading the truth of the Gospel despite the demands of the world, despite the frenzied squirrely scrambling-around that the crowds seem to love. Our eyes are squarely focused on eternity, the long-game. Christ is always with us—everywhere, every-when. And because he is always with us, we are urgently compelled to preach his Good News and, at the same time, diligently, patiently wait for the seeds we plant at his command to germinate, sprout, and blossom. There is no hurry in eternity. But for now, we've got an urgent message for the world. 

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No Sunday Homily, Father?

This is the deacons' weekend to preach. . .so, no homily from yours truly!
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Why we fight. . .

Ss. Peter and Paul
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA

Peter has the keys and Paul has a sword. With these two devices, Peter and Paul preached the Gospel—the keys unlock the gates of heaven and the sword fights the good fight. Both these men were martyred for the faith by the Roman emperor, Nero. Peter was crucified and Paul beheaded. Though they share a martyr's death and a Christian's faith, Peter and Paul were startlingly different sorts of men. Peter was a fisherman, a working-class man with little or no education beyond what most Jewish men of his day received. Paul was a rabbi, a very well-educated Roman citizen with deep ties to the Gentile world. Peter spent his days with other fishermen, discussing tides, catches, and market prices. Paul likely spent his days teaching, public speaking, and rubbing elbows with the political and religious elite. Peter knew Christ personally as a teacher. Paul never met Jesus. Both were students of the Master, commissioned apostles, adventurous preachers, and, ultimately, martyrs for the teachings of Christ. With the keys to heaven and a sword for the fight, Peter and Paul founded an apostolic Church, a Church we have inherited as sons and daughters of the Father. How do we follow them in spreading the Good News? 

In his homily celebrating these two foundational saints, our Holy Father, Benedict, writes, “. . .Peter and Paul, much as they differ from one another in human terms and notwithstanding the conflicts that arose in their relationship, illustrate a new way of being brothers, lived according to the Gospel. . .Only by following Jesus does one arrive at this new brotherhood.” By following Christ and his Gospel, we can arrive at a “new brotherhood.” Not a novel way of being friends, or a superficial means of claiming a “churchy” kinship. But a radically different way of understanding who and what we are to one another through our adoption by the Father in Christ. Because we have died and risen in the baptism of Christ, we are made to be the heirs of the Father's kingdom. As heirs, we inherit all that He has to give. To the Church, He has bequeathed His kingdom—the keys to open heaven's gates for all and the sword to fight against this world's errors and temptations. Our first step in spreading the Good News is make sure all God's creatures know that they are invited to the feast. The next step is to guard this invitation and those who have accepted it with all the strength of our faith and all the courage gifted to us by the Spirit.

After Christ gives the keys of heaven to Peter, he assures the disciples that “the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against [the Church].” If this is true, why resist evil? Why fight against the powers and principalities of the world? The last victory has gone to Christ. He won the war against death on the Cross. That evil cannot prevail against the Church is not a promise or a prediction. It's an historical fact. When Christians believe and behave as if we might lose the war against evil, we reveal a dangerous lack of faith in the Church and not only the Church but in Christ himself. You and I might be defeated by evil, so we fight. But never believe that there is a chance the Body of Christ will fall. When we fight to promote the Gospel and protect those who follow on the Way, we fight to ensure that the Father's invitation to the feast continues to be heard. Peter and Paul died for the faith so that His offer of eternal life might live on to this day. Our witness might not be as violent as theirs, but it is no less effective. Who will see Christ through you today, tomorrow? Who will ask you for the keys to heaven? 

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Mandate for Dummies

 That $2.35 will be $23.50 in about five years.

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Faith + Works = Holiness

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

Not everyone who says, “'Lord, Lord' will enter the Kingdom of heaven.” Not everyone who attends daily Mass, recites the rosary, belongs to the altar guild, or serves as a communion minister will enter the Kingdom. Not everyone who wears a scapular, prays the Daily Office, gives lots of money to the Church, or wears a religious habit will enter the Kingdom. But Lord, didn't we follow the rules, keep our noses more or less clean, vote for the right politicians, and stayed awake during the Sunday homilies? But Lord, didn't we help out at the homeless shelter, pray in front of the abortion clinic, report liturgical abuses, and wash the altar linens? I solemnly declare to you, “I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.” Evildoers?! OK, maybe we weren't the holiest Catholics in the parish. . .but we never did evil! How can you call us “evildoers”? Your good works were built on the sands of publicity not on the rock solid foundation of conversion, repentance, fraternal love, and a commitment to the pursuit of holiness. Even an evildoer will perform good works if he thinks that doing so will make him look good. What an evildoer will not do is turn to the Lord in love and beg to be transformed! 

What we have in our gospel reading this evening is the classic problem of figuring out how to balance Works with Faith. Historically, Catholics have favored good works over faith, believing that good works can only come from a faithful soul. Protestants have tended to favor faith over good works, believing that a faithful soul will perform good works. Catholics want to see faith working in the world. Protestants want to see works grounded in faith. We know—as do our Protestant brothers and sisters—that ultimately both faith and works are required for holiness. Where we place the emphasis, however, very often determines how fervently we believe and how hard we work. What does Jesus want from us as his disciples? He wants both fervent faith and hard work. He wants it all; or rather, he wants all of us. All of each one of us. He wants us to cry out, “Lord, Lord!” and he wants us to care for the least of his among us. He wants us to love deeply, passionately, and without limits. And he wants that love to manifest in the world through our words, thought, deeds, and emotions. In other words, he wants us to come to him with a whole heart and a whole mind, undivided, and sharply focused on both speaking his Word and doing his Word. Faith without works is useless. Works without faith is empty

Our rock solid foundation for balancing faith and works is the prophetic witness of Christ himself, “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.” We know the importance of a solid foundation! And maybe a few feet of elevation as well. When the hurricanes come, we want our homes to stand up to the might of the storm. Likewise with our pursuit of holiness. The stronger our foundation in faith, the tougher our witness will be when the storm hits. Good works performed for show are easily washed away. Faith kept hidden away will not be missed. So, the question is: why do we perform the good works we do? How do we show our faith? If we are working in the world for the greater glory of God, then our works naturally demonstrate a profound faith. However, a profound faith kept private can never be a proper witness. If you will give the Lord all that he wants, you will give him all you have and are—heart, mind, body, soul, everything that was first given to you. 

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ObamaCare ruling no favor to B.O.

Everyone else is blathering on about today's Supreme Court ruling on ObamaCare, so I might as well blather some too. . .

The Court majority has done B.O. no favors with this ruling.

First, the individual mandate was upheld as constitutionally valid under Congress' power to impose taxes. Romeny and the GOP can now enter the 2012 campaign season with a potent weapon:  B.O. has set yet another precedent--the largest tax hike on the middle-class in U.S. history.  

Second, the majority opinion explicitly rejects the administration's claim that the mandate is valid under the Commerce Clause.  This means that the Court has said that the Commerce Clause is not infinitely malleable. . .something the Left has long believed and hoped to have validated in this decision.  They didn't get their wish.

Third, the Court severely limits the ability of the Feds to punish states financially for refusing to participate in the B.O. Medicaid shell-game.  IOW, states that do not want to help finance ObamaCare by taking on more of the costs of Medicaid don't have to.  This means that the cost of ObamaCare just skyrocketed.

Fourth, by leaving most of the law intact and labeling its funding mechanism a tax, the Court has returned the ultimate fate of ObamaCare back to the political arena.  Romney's and the GOP's new campaign slogan:  Repeal ObamaCare & Obama 2012.

Now, the 2012 presidential election is a referendum on both B.O.'s handling of the economy AND his signature piece of legislation.  

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Fr. Philip Neri at 4 y.o.

Here's a Christmas pic of part of my family from 1968.  I'm the only one smiling.

This was taken at my grandparents' house in Lynn, MS.  My grandfather, Clyde Mitchell, is in the center.  He died last year at 98 y.o.!
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Fat Report

Scale says, "326, fatso."

Yup.  Still fat.  Still stuck.  I can only surmise that someone out there isn't praying hard enough!  I mean, it can't be MY fault.  ;-)

Sigh.
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What sort of fruit do wolves produce?

12th Week OT (W)
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA

The flock is fairly warned by Christ to beware false prophets, those ravening wolves who sneak in among us disguised as faithful sheep! We're to be on guard against these creatures b/c they cause spiritual chaos among the faithful. For pleasure and profit, they lie, cheat, steal, and inflict deep and lasting wounds on the Body. Jesus gives us only one criterion for sussing out the wolves among us, “By their fruits you will know them.” Let's leave it to the imagination to picture what sort of fruit a wolf produces. We get one more hint about identifying the wolves. Jesus asks, “Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?” Obviously, no, they don't. Grapes comes from grape vines and figs come from fig trees. If you want grapes, find grape vines. If you want figs, find a fig tree. Likewise, if you want the true fruits of the Spirit, go the Tree of Life, Christ in his Church. False prophets play at being a church, play at being spiritual, play at profound teaching; but, ultimately, they can't hide the stink of falsehood. The question is: how to recognize these beasts before they lead you astray? 

We start with a fairly standard definition of prophecy, “[Prophetic] knowledge must be supernatural and infused by God because it concerns things beyond the natural power of created intelligence; and the knowledge must be manifested either by words or signs, because the gift of prophecy is given primarily for the good of others, and hence needs to be manifested.” The gift of prophecy originates with God; is a kind of supernatural knowledge; is made known by signs or words; and is given to be shared for the good of others. With this definition in mind, the Church understands a prophet to be someone gifted by God with a supernatural knowledge of future events who reveals and shares this knowledge for the benefit of others. This definition would include all the prophets of the Old Testament and several figures in the New—Zechariah, Elizabeth, the Blessed Mother, Anna, Simeon, and John the Baptist. To each of these men and women God reveals a once hidden knowledge concerning His divine plan for humanity. Then each shares what they have been shown. The key question for us now in discerning true from false prophecy is: Is what this alleged prophet telling us consistent with what has already been revealed in ages past? Truth cannot contradict truth. Inconsistency always smells like a hungry wolf. And it is the ministry of the Church to ensure that the apostolic faith remains consistent and uncontradicted within the flock. 

If the truth of a contemporary prophecy must be judged against already established prophetic truths, how can anyone credibly claim to be a modern prophet? All baptized Christians share in the priestly, kingly, and prophetic offices of Christ. We are all prophets. This truth has led some to believe that they exercise the powers of a prophet apart from Christ. With Christ, we are true prophets, proclaiming the Good News along with Mary, Elizabeth, John the Baptist. Apart from Christ, we are false prophets, proclaiming a lie. All that we require for our salvation has been revealed in scripture. All that we require for our growth in holiness has been revealed in Christ Jesus and taught by his Church. Anyone who tells you that you need something other than scripture, Christ, and his Church for your salvation or your holiness is a salesman trying to sell you fresh fruit from a rotten tree. Or even better: a ravening wolf pretending to be a sheep. So by their fruits you will know them. And (ahem) what sort of fruit do wolves produce? 

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Coffee Cup Browsing

That B.O. speech: ". . .no oratory will make up for a flawed record and a vague, fissiparous, and unappealing agenda."  Fissiparous?  Look it up.  I had to!

The God Problem:  "An iron logic strangely hovers about our existence. We are free to act in almost any way we decide. We are not however free to deny the consequences of our acts."

Another atheist bites the dust!  (But in a good way. . .)

All your wedding gifts are belong to Me.

Muslims stoning Christians in. . .Egypt? Sudan? Indonesia?  Nope.  Michigan.

Vatican reports on fostering priestly vocations. . .let's not forget the importance of early liturgical service. . .say, an all boys altar server corps!

A desire to be trendy, Big Gov't bureaucracy, and a failure to consult the troops.  Result?  A $5 billion camouflage uniform that shines like a beacon.

An O.P. friar: ". . .a quasi-religious zeal to eliminate soda, salt, and saturated fat on the one hand, and the toleration—nay, promotion—of grave offenses against human dignity and health on the other."

Watch this young, orthodox priest deconstruct a LCWR supporter before your very eyes.  It's an embarrassing display. . .for her.  NB. who's listening and who's not.

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Gamble on mercy instead

12th Week OT (M)
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA

Let's get to the nitty-gritty of Jesus' admonition against being judgmental by making an essential distinction: there is a difference btw “judging an act to be immoral” and “judging to person to be immoral.” For example, the Church has always believed that the direct killing of innocent life is an intrinsically morally evil act; therefore, regardless of intent or circumstance, abortion may never be called good. Now, let's say a Catholic female friend of yours procures an abortion and tells you about it. You respond, “Abortion is a mortal sin.” She yells at you, “Get the splinters out of your own eye before you judge me!” How do you answer her? You can take the easy way out and back off immediately, allowing her judgment of you to shut you up. Or, if you're feeling the Spirit's courage, you might say, “I'm not judging you. I'm judging the act of procuring an abortion.” If you want to violate the Lord's admonition not to judge, you could respond, “You are guilty of murder and need to go to confession immediately!” Just know: “. . .as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.” 

 Now that we've made the distinction between judging an act and judging a person, let's look carefully at what Jesus teaches about making judgments. First, as Christians, are we forbidden from judging acts? No, we're not. In fact, we are often required to judge the morality of an act before we do it. Is it moral for me to deceive this person under these circumstances? The cashier gave me too much change: is it moral for me to keep it? Is smacking this person up side the head moral? I'm late for work: may I speed? We are free to deliberate on the morality of acts b/c we are obligated as Christians to behave morally. Are we forbidden from judging persons? No, we're not. But there's a catch. A big catch. Jesus says to remove the splinter from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from mine. If your eye is free of splinters, then start removing splinters from mine! Here's the catch: you will be judged as you judge, and the measure you use to measure me will be used to measure you. So, make sure that the standard you use to judge me is one that you yourself can live up to. Hypocrisy is the art of applying one standard to yourself and a completely different standard to others. And we all know what Jesus thinks of hypocrites! 

Why do we so consistently ignore or twist Jesus' teaching on hypocrisy? He asks, “Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?” Well, it's certainly easier for me to worry about your faults than my own. If I pay too much attention to my sins, I might actually have to think about confessing them, and that's no fun. It's also easier for me to accuse you falsely of being judgmental if I don't want to repent of my favorite sin. Judge not lest ye be judged! That's part of the teaching. . .the part that supposedly lets me off the hook for sinning when you bring the sin to my attention. You might have several yards of lumber in your eye when you point out the toothpick in mine. The fact that you're a sinner too doesn't mean I'm a saint. It just means that we are both sinners. So, what's a good Christian to do when a friend is sinning? Take a careful inventory of your own moral life. Pay very, very careful attention to your motivations for wanting to point out a friend's sin. And then decide if you are willing to be judged by the standard you think proper for your friend. No one is perfect. But no one is purely evil either. Gamble on mercy—that's the measure Christ uses, whether we deserve it or not. 

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Remember John and unstick your tongue (UPDATED)

Nativity of John the Baptist
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA

Audio File Link

Elizabeth, a woman advanced in years, gives birth to a son. After wrangling with family and friends over what to name him, Elizabeth's husband, Zechariah, approves (in writing) the name she has chosen, and the boy is named John. With the child properly named, two events immediately follow: 1) Zechariah's punishment for doubting the word of God's angel about Elizabeth's pregnancy is lifted—his tongue is unstuck; and 2) “fear came upon all their neighbors.” These two events, following as they do upon the naming of this child, reveal to us the significance of the birth of Christ's herald: the name John means “God shows Himself to be gracious.” God, through the ministry of John the Baptist, reveals Himself to merciful, ready to forgive the transgressions of those who repent. Zechariah's tongue is freed so that he might pour blessings and praise upon the Lord. And the neighbors are filled with fear b/c everything they have ever believed, everyone they have ever known is about to change, radically, irrevocably change. John arrives among God's people to announce the coming of the Christ, the one who will break our chains and pierce our hearts. 

Zechariah, Elizabeth, their family, friends, and neighbors all know that the long-promised Messiah is coming. More than 800 years before, the prophet, Isiah, sang one of his four Servant Songs, foretelling the coming Christ: “Listen, O distant peoples. The Lord called me from birth, from my mother's womb he gave me my name. He made of me a sharp edged sword [. . .] He made me a polished arrow [. . .] You are my servant, he said to me [. . .] through whom I show my glory.” The Christ will arrive as a sharp edged sword to cut the bonds of sin. He will fly to God's people as a polished arrow to pierce their hearts so that they might die and rise with him. But freeing the people from sin and taking them into death and new life is not the end of Christ's purpose. Isiah continues to sing, “It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant, [. . .] I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” Christ's mission will not limited to those chosen in the covenant with Abraham. Christ comes as a light to all the nations so that the offer of the Father's mercy might be heard to the ends of the earth. John, he through whom “God shows Himself to be gracious” is just the beginning. 

For what exactly is John just the beginning? John's birth presages the birth of Christ, and the birth of Christ signals a new birth for all of creation. When Zechariah doubts the word of God's angel about his wife's miraculous pregnancy he is doing more than just questioning the integrity of a divine messenger. No doubt believing himself to be just an average senior citizen doing average senior citizen stuff day after day, Zechariah is told that his elderly wife, known to be barren, is to bear him a son, a son named John who “will be filled with the holy Spirit [. . .] turn the [. . .] disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord.” And like any guy anywhere in the world in these circumstances, he balks at the news and asks, “Are you kidding me? My wife's an old lady!” And because he fails to remember who he is—a priest of God in God's temple—and b/c he flagrantly casts doubt on the entire prophetic heritage of his people, Zechariah is stuck speechless so that his doubt may not be spoken again. It is not until he names his son, John, “God shows Himself to be gracious,” that his tongue is freed to give God thanks and praise. 

We know that John's birth presages the birth of Christ, and the birth of Christ signals a new birth for all of creation. And we know that Zechariah's tongue is freed once he confesses God's abounding mercy. But why are the neighbors afraid? Luke tells us that Zechariah immediately begins blessing God when his tongue is unstuck, and “then fear came upon all their neighbors. . .” As neighbors will do, they spread the news of John's birth, and “all who heard these things took them to heart, saying, 'What, then, will this child be?'” What will John be? If “John” means “God shows Himself to be gracious,” who will he become? If they remember their ancient prophetic heritage, they know all too well that John is the one who sharpens the sword of Christ and polishes his arrows. He is the one who warns that the light of righteousness is about to shine; the one who come before the salvation of the world. They are afraid b/c John is now among them to preach repentance and to baptize those who repent with the waters of mercy. For them, in their disobedience, John is an angel and a monster—a messenger of light from God and a beast sent to tear their world apart. Everything they believe and everyone they know is radically changed. 

Here we are 2,000 years after the death and resurrection of Christ, celebrating the birth of God's monstrous angel, John the Baptist. Luke tells us in Acts that John would conclude his preaching by saying, “'What do you suppose that I am. I am not [the Christ]. Behold, one is coming after me; I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.'” John knew his ministry. He knew his mission. From the first moment that he met Jesus while both were still in their mothers' wombs, John knew that it was his task to run before the Christ, announcing the Good News of his advent. Why celebrate his birth in 2012? His mission is accomplished. Christ is born. The light of the nations has dawned and salvation is freely received by anyone who repents. We celebrate John's birth b/c it is all too easy to forget our prophetic heritage; to set aside the ancient voice of God and misremember the promises He made ages ago. If we forget, our tongues become stuck in ignorance and we cannot offer Him thanks and praise for His gifts. We cannot bear witness to His goodness in our lives. We cannot ask for what we need, nor receive what He has given us. If we forget John, we forget that God shows Himself to be gracious to us, and we cannot show His graciousness to others. If we forget John, we forget that we ourselves are heralds of the Christ, and we forget that we too were born to bear his banner to the world. 

When you bear Christ's banner to the world, your family, friends, and neighbors may stare at you in fear and ask, “What, then, will this child be?” Who is this person claiming to be a follower of Christ? If you will bear his banner as a herald, you must unstick your tongue and pour out blessings and praise on God. John was imprisoned, tortured, and eventually executed for his righteousness. Expect no less if you will be a herald of Christ. If you will be a herald of Christ, you will tell the truth; always do the right thing; preach the Father's boundless mercy; and love, with great abandon, you will love. Expect defiance, argument, ridicule, insults, even violence. Expect the powers of this world to name you a criminal, a rebel, a bigot. At every moment, expect the darkness to come and tempt you with its easy oblivion. Just remember John, he through whom God shows Himself to be gracious. And while you remember, never forget to unstick your tongue and give your voice to the Word of salvation: Christ has come to right the world with his love. He has come to cut our bonds to sin and to pierce our hearts with his mercy.

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Leave tomorrow to God

11th Week OT (S)
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA

Back in the 90's—my grad school days—a popular theme developed among social and literary theorists: the rise of “panic culture.” Innovative technology was evolving so fast that theorists imagined us to be a nation on the verge of a nervous breakdown! Unable to keep up with the dizzying changes in the rules of the game, we were running ourselves ragged in a panic just to survive. While simultaneously gulping venti espressos and calming herbal teas, we watched Prozac start the psychotropic medications revolution. Our despair became a mental illness rather than a spiritual deficit. Drug abuse, addictions, sexual experimentation, and extremist identity-politics were just the side effects of our national panic. If your life wasn't swirling in chaos, you weren't adapting; and if you weren't adapting, your were dying. Having rejected the ordering principles of right reason and legit moral authority, we were left with nothing but our unfettered passions and our socially constructed truths. No one stopped to ask the one question that might've focused our panic and calmed it: “Can you add a single moment to your life-span by worrying?” No. So, seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness. 

What causes us to worry? In his book, The Face of God, Roger Scruton describes the scientific worldview, “We are by-products of a process that is entirely indifferent to our well-being, machines developed by our genetic material and adapted by natural selection to the task of propagation”(2). According to the evangelical atheists who preach materialist science as religious dogma, we are nothing more than “survival machines in the service of our genes”(2). If this is true, or if we believe it to be true, then our panic is more than justified; it's a natural survival response to a chaotic environment. But if the worldview that Scruton describes is false, or only a part of the truth, then our cultural anxiety betrays an astonishing lack of faith in not only our own ability to survive as moral creatures but also in God's providential care for us. Jesus goes straight to the heart of the problem when he asks, “Can you add a single moment to your life-span by worrying?” Why are you worrying about food, drink, clothes? “All these things the pagans seek,” he says. “Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness. . .” 

We are not by-products of a process that is entirely indifferent to our well-being. We are loved creatures created by a loving Creator who built into our genes a desire to seek Him out and live according to His love. If you choose to live your life as a day-to-day struggle to survive in order to pass on your genes, then worry is an excellent survival skill. Fear will increase your chances of survival by making you averse to taking dangerous risks. However, if you choose to live your life as a day-to-day quest for righteousness, then worry is a deadly affliction. Fear will rot your trust in God and encourage you to gather earthly treasures as insurance against God's possible failures. If the god you worship can fail, then he/she is unworthy of your worship. Why attach yourself to a deity, an idol that can falter? And more importantly, why lay claim to the name Child of God if you have no intention of trusting in His loving-care? We cannot serve God the Father and our worry. Two masters of a single soul leaves that soul confused, chaotic, panicked. Seek the Kingdom and God's righteousness, and abandon all your anxieties. They are parasites, deadly distractions from your quest. Leave tomorrow to take care of itself. And God the Father will take care of you. 

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