"A [preacher] who does not love art, poetry, music and nature can be dangerous. Blindness and deafness toward the beautiful are not incidental; they are necessarily reflected in his [preaching]." — BXVI
08 March 2014
06 March 2014
Mendicancy in action. . .
Mendicant Thanks to Shelly R. and Ms Claire for the recent visits to and purchases from the Wish List!
I'm starting to gather material for the fall 2014 classes at NDS and the books help my budget tremendously. . .
Fr. Philip Neri, OP
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05 March 2014
Pope Benedict on secularism
While doing some research for my article on secularism for the Times-Picayune, I've run across a lot of good stuff that I can't use b/c of space limitations. Fortunately, HancAquam isn't so limited!
It is imperative that the entire Catholic community in the United
States comes to realize the grave threats to the Church’s public moral
witness presented by a radical secularism which finds increasing
expression in the political and cultural spheres. The seriousness of
these threats needs to be clearly appreciated at every level of
ecclesial life. Of particular concern are certain attempts being made to
limit that most cherished of American freedoms: the freedom of
religion. BXVI, ad limina visit of US bishops in Rome, 2012.
The lack of a hermeneutic of faith with regard to Scripture entails more than
a simple absence; in its place there inevitably enters another hermeneutic, a
positivistic and secularized hermeneutic ultimately based on the
conviction that the Divine does not intervene in human history. According to
this hermeneutic, whenever a divine element seems present, it has to be
explained in some other way, reducing everything to the human element. This
leads to interpretations that deny the historicity of the divine elements. BXVI, Verbum Domini, 2010, 35(b).
. . .the secularized hermeneutic of sacred Scripture is the
product of reason’s attempt structurally to exclude any possibility that God
might enter into our lives and speak to us in human words. Here too, we need to
urge a broadening of the scope of reason.
In applying methods of historical analysis, no criteria should be adopted which
would rule out in advance God’s self-disclosure in human history. BXVI, Verbum Domini, 2010, 36.
Secularization, with its inherent emphasis on individualism, has its most
negative effects on individuals who are isolated and lack a sense of belonging.
Christianity, from its very beginning, has meant fellowship, a network of
relationships constantly strengthened by hearing God's word and sharing in the
Eucharist, and enlivened by the Holy Spirit. BXVI, Sacramentum caritatis, 2007, 76.
It must be
acknowledged that one of the most serious effects of the secularization just
mentioned is that it has relegated the Christian faith to the margins of life as
if it were irrelevant to everyday affairs. The futility of this way of living –
"as if God did not exist" – is now evident to everyone. Today there is a need
to rediscover that Jesus Christ is not just a private conviction or an abstract
idea, but a real person, whose becoming part of human history is capable of
renewing the life of every man and woman. Hence the Eucharist, as the source and
summit of the Church's life and mission, must be translated into spirituality,
into a life lived "according to the Spirit." BXVI, Sacramentum caritatis, 2007, 77.
. . .what is essential is a correct understanding of the just autonomy of
the secular order, an autonomy which cannot be divorced from God the Creator and
his saving plan. Perhaps America’s brand of
secularism poses a particular problem: it allows for professing belief in God,
and respects the public role of religion and the Churches, but at the same time
it can subtly reduce religious belief to a lowest common denominator. Faith
becomes a passive acceptance that certain things “out there” are true, but
without practical relevance for everyday life. The result is a growing
separation of faith from life: living “as if God did not exist”. This is
aggravated by an individualistic and eclectic approach to faith and religion:
far from a Catholic approach to “thinking with the Church”, each person believes
he or she has a right to pick and choose, maintaining external social bonds but
without an integral, interior conversion to the law of Christ. Consequently,
rather than being transformed and renewed in mind, Christians are easily tempted
to conform themselves to the spirit of this age (cf. Rom 12:3). We have
seen this emerge in an acute way in the scandal given by Catholics who promote
an alleged right to abortion.
On a deeper level, secularism challenges the Church to reaffirm and to pursue more actively her mission in and to the world. As the Council made clear, the lay faithful have a particular responsibility in this regard. What is needed, I am convinced, is a greater sense of the intrinsic relationship between the Gospel and the natural law on the one hand, and, on the other, the pursuit of authentic human good, as embodied in civil law and in personal moral decisions. In a society that rightly values personal liberty, the Church needs to promote at every level of her teaching – in catechesis, preaching, seminary and university instruction – an apologetics aimed at affirming the truth of Christian revelation, the harmony of faith and reason, and a sound understanding of freedom, seen in positive terms as a liberation both from the limitations of sin and for an authentic and fulfilling life. In a word, the Gospel has to be preached and taught as an integral way of life, offering an attractive and true answer, intellectually and practically, to real human problems. The “dictatorship of relativism”, in the end, is nothing less than a threat to genuine human freedom, which only matures in generosity and fidelity to the truth. BXVI, Apostolic Visitation of the US, 2008, Response to Questions.
On a deeper level, secularism challenges the Church to reaffirm and to pursue more actively her mission in and to the world. As the Council made clear, the lay faithful have a particular responsibility in this regard. What is needed, I am convinced, is a greater sense of the intrinsic relationship between the Gospel and the natural law on the one hand, and, on the other, the pursuit of authentic human good, as embodied in civil law and in personal moral decisions. In a society that rightly values personal liberty, the Church needs to promote at every level of her teaching – in catechesis, preaching, seminary and university instruction – an apologetics aimed at affirming the truth of Christian revelation, the harmony of faith and reason, and a sound understanding of freedom, seen in positive terms as a liberation both from the limitations of sin and for an authentic and fulfilling life. In a word, the Gospel has to be preached and taught as an integral way of life, offering an attractive and true answer, intellectually and practically, to real human problems. The “dictatorship of relativism”, in the end, is nothing less than a threat to genuine human freedom, which only matures in generosity and fidelity to the truth. BXVI, Apostolic Visitation of the US, 2008, Response to Questions.
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Advice to Preachers & Listeners
Some advice/notes for the preacher:
The preacher preaches
to himself first. Preach “we” and “us” not “you
people.” You struggle, fail, succeed, fall, get up, soar, wallow,
succeed again. Use your struggles/successes.
Preach the gospel in
front of you. What's the Good News in these readings? And what
does it mean for us right now in these circumstances?
Avoid the temptation
to scratch itchy ears. Preaching what you think we want to
hear can be safe, popular, and ultimately damning.
Challenge, provoke,
encourage by preaching the truth. We are stronger than you
think. We are also confused, worried, and tempted to despair. Hold up the ideal.
Point out and
celebrate in unambiguous terms our relationship with God. In
every homily, tell us how being in love with God changes us. How
failing to love hurts us.
Preach struggle and
victory. Note the details of struggling to follow Christ but
keep our eyes focused on Christ's victory (and ours in him).
Preach with passion.
Let us know that you believe what you're preaching.
Stay fresh. Read
good novels, good homilies; keep up with pop culture and the Church
Fathers.
________
Feedback to your pastor:
You
don't have to Occupy the Pulpit to get good preaching!
Silence
= Approval. If no one speaks up, then Father will think all is well.
Encourage
your pastor by pointing out what you found helpful/useful in
his homily. Let him know that you were listening. Send him a note.
Encourage him to publish
his homilies in the bulletin.
Tell him what sorts of
things you need to hear. Can you address personal prayer and how to
do it better? How do I love more and better? I'm confused about
this teaching, can you explain it?
If his homilies seem
ill-prepared, challenge him—charitably—to be better prepared.
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Making our gratuitous lives sacrificial
Ash Wednesday 2006
Fr. Philip N. Powell, OP
St Albert the Great Priory, Irving, TX
Fr. Philip N. Powell, OP
St Albert the Great Priory, Irving, TX
Even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning. Rend your hearts! Not your garments.
Where do we begin this pilgrimage of forty days? How do we get this time away, this time apart from worldly obsession started?
What jumpstarts our Lenten pilgrimage is first an awareness of our dependence on God for absolutely everything. That we exist at all is contingent, totally conditioned on the goodness of God. Our lives are gratuitous, freely given, radically graced.
Begin this Lenten trek, then, in humility and give God thanks for your life.
If your Lenten pilgrimage is going to produce excellent spiritual fruit you cannot spend these forty days wallowing in sorrow, self-pity, and mortal deprivation. We deny ourselves always if we would grow in holiness, but this isn’t the kind of denial that looks like the public posturing of the Pharisees. Our Lenten denial is the self-emptying of Christ, that is, our best work at doing what Jesus did on the cross. Lenten denial is about making our gratuitous lives sacrificial. We sacrifice when we give something up and give it back to God.
Therefore, turn your heart over to God. Give your life back to Him. Repent of your disobediences, rejoice in His always ready forgiveness, and then get busy doing His holy work among His people.
If your Lenten trek is going to be about little more than pious public display, don’t bother with Lent this year. Jesus teaches his disciples that performing righteous deeds for show—fasting, giving alms—will win you nothing from our heavenly Father. He calls those who strut around showing off their piety hypocrites. It’s a show, pure theater. Nothing but thin drama for public consumption. He says, “[…] when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to be fasting[…].”
Jesus’ admonition here is about our tendency to think that we’re doing something substantial when really all we’re doing is something very superficial. Does that rosary around Madonna’s neck really mean she venerates the Blessed Mother? Does the cross of ashes most of us will wear today mean that we’re truly humble before the Lord? That we’re wholly given over to repentance, to a conversion of heart, and a life of holy service? If that cross of ashes is going to be a mark of pride for you today or a temptation to hypocrisy, wash it off immediately. If that cross of ash is going to be the sum total of your witness for Christ today, wash it off immediately. In fact, when you fast, wash your face!
Our Lord wants our contrite heart not our empty gesture. Our Lord wants our repentant lives not our public dramas of piety. When you pray, go to your room and close the door. When you fast, wash your face. When you give alms, do so in secret. Rend your hearts not your garments.
The Lenten pilgrimage we begin today is an excursion into mortality, a chance for us to face without fear our origin and our destiny in ash. It is our chance to practice the sacrificial life of Christ, giving ourselves to God by giving ourselves in humble service to one another. Lent is our forty day chance to pray, to give alms, to fast and to do it all with great joy, smiling all the while, never looking to see who’s noticing our sacrifice.
Remember, brothers and sisters: dust is never proud.
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04 March 2014
The Last Four Things
__________________________________
LENTEN MISSION PREACHING!
"The Last Four Things"
St Ann Church, Bourg, LA
March 8th-11th at 6.30-7.30pm
Sat., Mar 8th Death & Judgment
Sun., Mar 9th* Purgatory
Mon., Mar 10th Hell (confessions available afterward)
Tues., Mar 11th Heaven (confessions available afterward)
* I will be celebrating and preaching at all the Sunday Masses.
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03 March 2014
Thomistic Guide to Spiritual Growth
A Dominican shout-out and mendicant thanks to Ms Claire (a fellow member of the Grammar Nazis Local No. 654) for sending me Kevin Vost's Unearthing Your Ten Talents: A Thomistic Guide to Spiritual Growth from the Wish List.
I started reading the book this morning and it is shaping up to be a great read.
Vost basically writes about most of the stuff I've been trying to write and preach about for the last nine years. His presentation and clarity are far better than anything I've come up with however.
If you're a spiritual director, you will find this book to be extremely useful. It is neatly divided into the theme of The Ten Talents. Each talent is explained in Thomistic terms, not overly technical terms but still true to the source.
He covers the theological virtues, the moral virtues, understanding-science-wisdom, and concludes with a section on applying and perfecting your Ten Talents.
Rest assured, this is not New-Agey, psychobabbly pop-spiritual direction. Good, solid stuff.
Try it!
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02 March 2014
Audio: "Pour out your hearts before Him. . ."
Audio File for 8th Sunday OT: "Pour out your hearts before Him. . ."
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Pour out your hearts before Him. . .and serve Him alone.
8th Sunday OT (A)
Our Lady of the Rosary, NOLA
O
Lord! Why have you forsaken me?
“Rest
in God alone, my soul.” O God! Why have you forgotten me? “Rest
in God alone, my soul.” O Lord! Why have you abandoned me? “Get a
grip already! I haven't forsaken, forgotten, or abandoned you.
Remember, my soul, I AM your rock, your salvation, your refuge and
your strength. I AM your stronghold and your hope. Trust in Me at all
times, O my people! Pour out your hearts before Me, and nothing
will ever disturb you.” So says the Lord to His anxious people.
Pour out your heart before the Lord. And nothing will ever disturb
you. At the center of your love for God and one another – your
heart – who or what takes up the most time and space? That is, when
you carefully consider the source and summit, the foundation and
center of your day-to-day existence, who or what directs your heart
and mind? If that who or what is anyone or anything but Christ
himself, then pour out your heart before the Father, pour out
whatever or whoever it is that directs you, and surrender yourself
once again to Christ. If you are worried that God has forgotten you,
ask yourself: have I forgotten God?
God's
people are anxious. They are afraid that He has forgotten them. So,
He asks Isaiah, “Can a mother forget her infant, be without
tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will
never forget you.” Lay to rest then any worry that God will forget
us. If we are going to worry, let's worry about a very real and
dangerous possibility: that
we will forget God.
That we will abandon the Lord and His covenant with us in Christ.
Pushed and pulled from every side by the seductive forces of a
godless culture, it is all too easy, all too expedient to give up on
the Father and His Christ. He promises that nothing and no one will
ever disturb us. True. But He doesn't promise that nothing or no one
will never try. Whether or not we will be disturbed by this world's
seductions is predictable. Whether or not we will be seduced is also
predictable. How? Ask yourself: who or what sits on the throne of my
heart? Who or what rules you? To put it in gospel terms: whom
do you serve?
Whose call do you answer? If Christ rules your heart; if you serve
Christ and his Church, then there is only one call to answer, one
voice that gets your attention and obedience: “Trust in Me at all
times, O my people! Pour out your hearts before Me, and nothing will
ever disturb you.” Pour out your hearts before Him. . .and serve
Him alone.
Jesus
says it as plainly as it can be said: “No one can serve two
masters. . .You cannot serve God and mammon.” God cannot rule your
heart if your heart is already ruled by a foreign god. . .or a
disordered passion, or an alien creed, or your own ego. The throne of
your heart has room enough for just one Master. Who will it be?
Financial security? Personal achievement? Social prestige? Jesus
urges his disciples, “Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow
or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father
feeds them.” Then he asks, “Are not you more important than they?
Can any of you – by worrying – add a single moment to your
life-span?” If the Father feeds the birds of the sky so that they
do not worry about food, and if we are more important than they, then
it follows that the Father will care for us as well. When you place
the Father on the throne of your heart, you do not worry. Why? B/c
nothing bad will ever happen to you? No. B/c you will never again
feel want or need? No. Well, why? B/c you will know that whatever
comes will never be, can never be more anxiety-producing than
forgetting the One you serve. With Christ as the source and summit,
the center and foundation of our day-to-day living, nothing and no
one can disturb you.
There's
room enough on the throne of your heart for just one Master. Who will
it be? Financial security? Personal achievement? Social prestige? A
job can be lost, money stolen. Works can be destroyed or bettered by
another. And there's always someone ready to take your place as king
of the social hill. It's all just more junk to worry about. Jesus
reminds us, “So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or
‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’” And
then, sounding very much like he did last week, he adds, “All these
things the pagans seek.” Who are these pagans? They're the ones who
serve Money, Popularity, Vengeance, the Thing of This World – all
passing away as fast as an empty heart can grab them and give them a
crown. This is not who we were made to be – temples to house the
temporary gods of a failing world. We were made – pagans and
Christians alike – we were made for eternity, built to endure the
purifying Love of the One Who made us. But such endurance is only
made real by a decision, a decision to serve the One Who made us, to
serve Him alone. “No one can serve two masters. . .” No one can
survive with a heart divided in two.
Nor
can one with a divided heart be trusted. Paul, writing to the
Corinthians, describes himself and his fellow apostles, “Thus
should one regard us: as servants of Christ and stewards of the
mysteries of God.” A steward holds the keys to the castle and the
treasury, so he must be trustworthy, a servant deserving of his
master's trust. Since we can do nothing good w/o Christ, whatever
trust we deserve as servants is his before it is ours. And given our
very human tendency to fail his trust, it's a good thing that we do
not have to rely on our trust alone! Paul notes that when the Lord
returns to judge his stewards' care of his kingdom, “. . .he will
bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will manifest the
motives of our hearts. . .” What will he see when the light shines
inside? What motives will squirm into view? If Christ rules our
hearts, he will see his serene reflection – perfect love, hope, and
faith. If Christ rules, he will see what the Father sees when He
looks at Christ – a beloved child, a pure soul, perfect trust.
However, if some foreign god or disordered passion or bloated ego
rules. . .well, all he will see is a heart that has chosen to rule
itself, a heart that has chosen to spend eternity primping in a
cracked mirror. If we want to Christ to see himself reflected in us
at the judgment, then he must be the one we serve.
As
Lent fast approaches and we set ourselves on the 40 day trek,
remember all that the Father said to Isaiah, “I haven't forsaken,
forgotten, or abandoned you. Remember, my soul, I AM your rock, your
salvation, your refuge and your strength. I AM your stronghold and
your hope. Trust in Me at all times, O my people! Pour out your
hearts before Me, and nothing will ever disturb you.” Pour out from
your heart whatever or whoever it is that takes you away from your
salvation. Pour out the foreign gods, the disordered passions, the
causal idols of deceit and gossip; pour out anything that stands btw
you and Christ, anyone who threatens Christ's trust in you. Lest we
forget, the Psalmist sings over and over again, “Rest in God alone,
my soul. Rest in God alone.” There is no rest, no eternal rest, in
anyone but Him.
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10 Thoughts on Confession for Lent
Since we're heading into Lent, I though I type out some random thoughts on confession. . .
1). Confession is all about receiving the forgiveness we have all already been given.
We cannot earn forgiveness by works, attitude, or even confession
itself; if we could, it would be a wage not a grace (i.e. a gift).
2). Penance is not a punishment for sin.
Completing the penance you've been given is a sign that you have
received God's forgiveness and resolved not to sin again. This is why I
always assign sin-appropriate psalms as penance.
3). Priests rarely remember the sins of individual penitents.
Some believe that this is a grace from God given so that the confessor
is spared the difficulty of carrying around the memories of sin. Sounds
good to me. Frankly, I think the explanation is more mundane: priests
have heard it all and sin is boring.
4). Explaining your sins in the confessional is unnecessary and time-consuming.
Just say what you did and leave it at that. If more info is needed,
your confessor will ask. Explanations generally come across as attempts
to excuse the sin.
5). Ask for counsel if you need it.
Most experienced confessors will know when counsel is needed, but it
never hurts to ask. Just keep in mind that there are others waiting to
confess!
6). This is your confession, so stick to your sins.
You cannot confess for your kids, your spouse, your neighbors, etc.
And please avoid using your confession time to complain about your kids,
your spouse, your neighbors, etc.
7). Faithfully assisting at Mass (actually participating) absolves venial sins. Why else would we recite the Confiteor and the celebrant pray for our absolution?
8). If you are unsure about whether or not X is a sin, ask. Remember: mortal sins are acts of disobedience that "kill charity" in your heart. You cannot sin mortally through accident or ignorance. Don't turn a venial sin into a mortal "just in case."
9). Keep your eye on the clock and the line.
Make a thorough confession but balance your thoroughness with economy.
Others are waiting. One way to do this (if there's a long line) is to
stick to your mortal sins and save the venial sins for Mass.
10). Tell your confessor that you will pray for him. . .and then go out there and pray for him!
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Ласкаво просимо українці
The "Welcome Russians" post from last night prompted a rush of visits from the Ukraine!
So. . .WELCOME UKRAINIANS!
Я молюся за вас.
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01 March 2014
Добро пожаловать россияне!
Page views last
month: top 10 countries. . .I'm surprised at the number of views from Russia!
* Sorry to the Canadians. . .Google Translate hasn't added "Canadian" to their program yet.
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US | 9847 |
Russia | 691 |
UK | 505 |
Canada* | 375 |
Germany | 284 |
Ukraine | 245 |
Portugal | 225 |
Brazil | 193 |
France | 182 |
China | 117 |
* Sorry to the Canadians. . .Google Translate hasn't added "Canadian" to their program yet.
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Why do people hate the truth?
St. Augustine, The Confessions, Book 10.23.34:
34. Why, then, does truth generate hatred, and why does [your] servant who preaches the truth come to be an enemy to them who also love the happy life, which is nothing else than joy in the truth--unless it be that truth is loved in such a way that those who love something else besides her wish that to be the truth which they do love. Since they are unwilling to be deceived, they are unwilling to be convinced that they have been deceived. Therefore, they hate the truth for the sake of whatever it is that they love in place of the truth. They love truth when she shines on them; and hate her when she rebukes them. And since they are not willing to be deceived, but do wish to deceive, they love truth when she reveals herself and hate her when she reveals them. On this account, she will so repay them that those who are unwilling to be exposed by her she will indeed expose against their will, and yet will not disclose herself to them.
Simply put: "People hate the truth for the sake of whatever it is that they love more than the truth. They love truth when it shines warmly on them, and hate it when it rebukes them.”
34. Why, then, does truth generate hatred, and why does [your] servant who preaches the truth come to be an enemy to them who also love the happy life, which is nothing else than joy in the truth--unless it be that truth is loved in such a way that those who love something else besides her wish that to be the truth which they do love. Since they are unwilling to be deceived, they are unwilling to be convinced that they have been deceived. Therefore, they hate the truth for the sake of whatever it is that they love in place of the truth. They love truth when she shines on them; and hate her when she rebukes them. And since they are not willing to be deceived, but do wish to deceive, they love truth when she reveals herself and hate her when she reveals them. On this account, she will so repay them that those who are unwilling to be exposed by her she will indeed expose against their will, and yet will not disclose herself to them.
Simply put: "People hate the truth for the sake of whatever it is that they love more than the truth. They love truth when it shines warmly on them, and hate it when it rebukes them.”
"The constant mischief of the progressive left. . ." It will backfire.
Excellent article from Peggy Noonan in the WSJ, "America and the Aggressive Left."
She quotes a tweet: "Can the government compel a Jewish baker to deliver a wedding cake on a Saturday? If not why not?"
Good question. Here's a few more:
Can the gov't force a gay-owned bakery to bake an anniversary cake for the Westboro Baptist Church that reads: "Happy Anniversary! God Hates Fags!"
Can the gov't force a Muslim-owned barbershop to provide services to a woman?
Can the gov't force a Jewish-owned grocery store to sell pork?
Can the gov't force an atheist bookstore to sell fundamentalist Christian books?
If not, why not?
Of course, once you realize that opposition to the recently vetoed Arizona law protecting religious freedom was based on hysterical doomsday rhetoric and intentional misrepresentations, you'll see that the goal here is not tolerance or inclusion but increased gov't power and control over individual consciences.
This is nothing new. Kings, parliaments, dictators, and bureaucrats hate a well-formed, individual conscience. It limits their power, thus wounding their egos.
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Secularist freedom: "a perverse and evil significance"
I've been asked to write a Lenten article for the Times-Picayune on the theme, "secularism diminishes culture."
Thought I'd based the article on two paragraphs from JPII's 1995 encyclical, Evangelium vitae:
20. [. . .] To claim the right to abortion,
infanticide and euthanasia, and to recognize that right in law, means
to attribute to human freedom a perverse
and evil significance: that
of an absolute power over
others and against others.
This is the death of true freedom: "Truly, truly, I say to you,
every one who commits sin is a slave to sin" (Jn
8:34).
21. In seeking the deepest roots of
the struggle between the "culture of life" and the "culture
of death", we cannot restrict ourselves to the perverse idea of
freedom mentioned above. We have to go to the heart of the tragedy
being experienced by modern man: the
eclipse of the sense of God and of man,
typical of a social and cultural climate dominated by secularism,
which, with its ubiquitous tentacles, succeeds at times in putting
Christian communities themselves to the test. Those who allow
themselves to be influenced by this climate easily fall into a sad
vicious circle: when the
sense of God is lost, there is also a tendency to lose the sense of
man, of his dignity and his
life; in turn, the systematic violation of the moral law, especially
in the serious matter of respect for human life and its dignity,
produces a kind of progressive darkening of the capacity to discern
God's living and saving presence.
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"heightened from life,/ yet paralyzed by fact"
I'm registered with the Poetry Foundation's "Poem of the Day" program. Here's today's offering from New England's late-born and early-departed Catholic son, Robert Lowell.
Epilogue
Those blessèd structures, plot and rhyme—
why are they no help to me now
I want to make
something imagined, not recalled?
I hear the noise of my own voice:
The painter's vision is not a lens,
it trembles to caress the light.
But sometimes everything I write
with the threadbare art of my eye
seems a snapshot,
lurid, rapid, garish, grouped,
heightened from life,
yet paralyzed by fact.
All's misalliance.
Yet why not say what happened?
Pray for the grace of accuracy
Vermeer gave to the sun's illumination
stealing like the tide across a map
to his girl solid with yearning.
We are poor passing facts,
warned by that to give
each figure in the photograph
his living name.
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28 February 2014
Don 't cry for me. . .
Apologies for the dearth in posting this week. It's been a little crazy!
I have several non-homiletic writing projects to juggle, four mission sermons to compose, paper grading, meetings galore. . .I know, I know. . .I signed up for it.
Anyway, things will definitely pick up posting-wise next week. NDS is out for the Madri Gras holiday (gotta love Nawlins'!), and I'm determined to finish all non-NDS writing projects before I have to dive into writing the annual seminarian evaluations.
So. . .stay tuned.
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23 February 2014
Audio Link: 7th Sunday OT
Do not the pagans think, speak, and do the same?
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Do not the pagans think, say, and do the same?
7th Sunday OT
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
It's
not enough that we do good and avoid evil. Not enough that we cannot
achieve good ends by evil means. Not enough that we show up at Mass
and drop an envelope in the plate. We must do more. A lot more. Jesus
commands, “. . .be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is
perfect.” Why must we be perfect? Even the pagans feed their
children, pay their taxes, and pray to their gods. When we do the
same, how are we any different? When we love only those who love us,
or do favors only for those who favor us, we're no different than our
pagan neighbors. So, what are we testifying to when our witness to
the world is indistinguishable from the daily lives of those who do
not follow Christ? Our holiness has been a priority for God from the
beginning. He gives Moses a message to deliver to His people, “Be
holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.” He demands that we be
better; He demands our best: “Bear no hatred for your brother or
sister; seek no revenge; cherish no grudge; love your neighbor as you
love yourself.” Our Lord sets a high bar for us to clear in our
run toward holiness. When we consider our thoughts, words, and deeds,
how we will witness in the world, we must ask ourselves, “Do not
the pagans think, say, and do the same?”
Do
we think, speak, and act like our pagan neighbors? Recent surveys
show that Catholics think and act almost exactly like their
non-Catholic neighbors on the hot-button issues of the day:
contraception, abortion, same-sex marriage, and co-habitation before
marriage. On hot-button issues internal to the Church – like
obligatory clerical celibacy and the impossibility of ordaining women
to the priesthood – Catholic attitudes differ very little from
non-Catholics. Unfortunately, what this means is that on these
issues, Catholics agree with their pagan neighbors. Now, we could say
that these issues aren't indicative of our identity as Catholics;
that is, disagreeing with the Church on three or four hot-button
questions doesn't put us among the pagans. We are not rejecting God,
Christ, or the Church just b/c we think contraception is OK, or that
two guys in love should be able to marry. God tells Moses to
prophesy, “Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.” Jesus
says, “. ..be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Can “be holy” and “be perfect” simply mean “be like your
pagan neighbors.” Is holiness and spiritual perfection simply a
matter of imitating those who do not follow Christ?
If
our holiness is a matter of mimicking our neighbors, then we need to
ignore God's admonition to Moses. You need to hate your brother and
sister. Seek revenge. Cherish grudges. Refuse help to the poor and
sick. Worship whatever god makes you feel good. That's what the
pagans of Moses' day did. That's what the Romans did in Jesus' day.
Both Moses and Jesus understood holiness to mean something like
“setting yourself apart from the pagans.” Maybe in the 21st
century, holiness means something like “don't imitate the
collective suicidal impulses of those who are ruled by the world.”
That's not all that holiness means for us, of course, but it's a
start. Jesus starts with the Mosaic Law and then proceeds to fulfill
that Law by revealing its soul. “You
have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate
your enemy.' [that's the Mosaic Law] But
I say to you, love your enemies.” [That's the Law of Love]. The
soul of the Law is love. And we begin our run towards holiness by
setting ourselves apart in Christ, by consecrating ourselves in his
sacrifice. We cannot achieve the holiness God wills for us by
imitating the fads and fashions of our pagan neighbors.
So,
how do we set ourselves apart from the world short of fleeing to a
monastery in Montana? How do we live and move in our pagan culture
and at the same time resist its influence? Paul gives us a few hints
in his letter to the Corinthians. He writes, “Do you not know that
you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”
Did you know this? As baptized and confirmed followers of Christ, you
are walking, talking temples of the Holy Spirit! Each one of us is a
sacred location, a holy place and person housing the living spirit of
the living God. In virtue of our baptism in Christ and our
confirmation in the Spirit, we are – each one of us – a priest, a
prophet, and a king, vowed to sacrifice, witness, and serve. And when
we sacrifice, witness, and serve, we do so with the power and
blessing of the Spirit Who dwells within us. As followers of Christ,
we are not allowed to run and hide in the face of opposition or
oppression, nor are we allowed to collapse under the pressure of our
pagan culture. We are charged with being Christ – priest, prophet,
and king – in the world, among the world. Sacrificing for,
witnessing to, and serving the least among us.
Jesus
says that we are to be salt and leaven, the ingredients that nourish
his Word and bring it to harvest. We cannot be salt and leaven and at
the same time imitate the impulsive suicidal behavior of our secular
culture. This isn't a political observation, or a talking-point in
the on-going culture war. This is about our holiness, our growth
toward the perfect that Christ expects of us. To achieve this
holiness we must be in the world but not of it; meaning, we cannot
run or hide from evil nor can we make friends with evil in exchange
for just being left alone. Jesus teaches us not to resist evil, “turn
the other cheek.” This isn't surrender or cooperation; it's a
steadfast refusal to fight evil on its own terms. Return evil for
evil? Jesus asks, “Do not the pagans do the same?” Kill unwanted
children? “Do not the pagans do the same?” Reject the gift of
life b/c another life might be expensive, inconvenient, or a
disruption? “Do not the pagans do the same?” Believe that natural
law can be altered by courts or legislatures? “Do not the pagans
do the same?” To be holy and to witness to holiness for the sake of
others, our yes to Christ must mean Yes! Our no to the world must
mean NO! But that NO! does not mean that we enclose ourselves in
self-righteousness, or prissy aloofness, or a self-satisfied
certainty. It means that we mourn for the world and seek its rescue
in Christ.
As
we rapidly approach Lent, it seems fitting to repeat Paul's warning
to the corrupt church in Corinth: “Let no one deceive himself. If
any one among you considers himself wise in this age, let him become
a fool, so as to become wise. For the wisdom of this world is
foolishness in the eyes of God. . .” Take that warning with this
assurance: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and
that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” Christ fulfilled the Law by
revealing the soul of the Law: divine love. He shows us the power of
sacrificial love from the Cross, defeating sin and death by rising
from the tomb, and bringing us all to the way of perfection. You are
a living temple of the living God and your run toward holiness begins
by following Christ. Not the dominant culture. Not your pagan
neighbors. Not a political party. Christ. Follow Christ. And become a
fool in the eyes of the world.
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22 February 2014
Becoming God with God's Help
NB. A 2011 homily using tomorrow's readings. I'm working a new homily!
7th Sunday OT
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Joseph Church, Ponchatula
One thing we know for sure about
God: He ain't shy about demanding that we do great things. He ain't
shy about demanding that we become a great people. But His demands for
our greatness always come with an offer of help; He never simply demands
perfection and then leaves us on our own. Since His help has often
come in the guise of an invading army or a series of plagues or the
mysterious puzzles of prophecy, we might think it better that He
withdraw His help and let us do the best we can all by ourselves. But
divine expectations are best met with divine assistance, especially if
we are the ones who are expected to excel. Given our limits, our
tendencies to falter, we know that the higher the expectation, the
greater the need for help. If what God says to Moses in the Book of
Leviticus is to be believed, then the only help for us is for God to
make us gods: “Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy.” Jesus
repeats this demand, “. . .be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is
perfect.” We are to be holy and perfect as God Himself is holy and
perfect. Can you imagine what sort of help we are going to need to meet
this expectation?! God will indeed have to make us into gods. And
this is exactly the help He offered us when He sent His only Son to live
and die among us as one of us. He's offered His help—once for all—on
the cross. Are you ready to receive it?
The question I'm asking sounds a
bit strange, so let me make it perfectly clear: you are ready to be
made into God? This really isn't such a strange question. The idea
that we “partake in the divine nature” is an ancient Catholic tradition;
it's as old as Christianity itself. The idea that the divine can dwell
in the human is even older. In the Word Made Flesh, Jesus Christ, we
have one person with two natures—one human, one divine. If we can
believe that the Son of God was born of a virgin and lived and died
among us, then it really isn't all that difficult to believe that we are
saved from eternal darkness by becoming one with the Father through the
His incarnated Son. Writing to the Corinthians, Paul puts the question
succinctly: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that
the Spirit of God dwells in you?” What other work do we have as
Christians than to allow the Spirit of God to be poured into us,
overflowing into anything, anyone we touch? Our wisdom becomes His
wisdom; our love becomes His love; our hope becomes His hope. We become
holy and perfect in the only way we can: we become God. . .with God's
help. Without His help, we fall into the same trap that fell Adam and
Eve, that hapless couple who believed the serpent when he told them that
they could become gods without God. What did the serpent tell Adam and
Eve that they needed? Knowledge. Not divine knowledge but worldly
knowledge. Having enough worldly knowledge would not only enlighten
them but it would transform them into gods as well.
They fall for it. And so do we.
Paul writes to the Corinthians, “Let no one deceive himself. If any
one among you considers himself wise in this age, let him become a fool,
so as to become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in
the eyes of God. . .” Now, Paul uses “wisdom” rather than “knowledge”
here. Knowledge and wisdom are not the same thing. Wisdom comes with
the right use of knowledge. Knowledge is a tool; wisdom is an attitude.
When Adam and Eve disobeyed God in their pride, they came to know the
difference between good and evil. What they choose to do with this
knowledge is what makes them wise or foolish. Paul is exhorting the
Corinthians to reject the kind of wisdom that comes from worldly
knowledge alone, that is, wisdom based on knowledge that ignores God as
the world's creator. He is not telling them to reject knowledge about
the world but rather to reject the idea that you can be wise all the
while denying that God is the world's creator. True wisdom—godly
wisdom—starts with a spirit overawed by the presence of God in His
creation. Wisdom based on worldly knowledge demands that we start with
the world and work only within our human limitations, leaving God aside.
What God demands of us in our progress toward His holiness and
perfection is that we see, hear, taste, feel, and think through our
trust in Him. In other words, we start by acknowledging that we are His
creatures, and then we see, hear, taste, feel, and think of everything
we encounter as a revelation of God Himself. This is how we start. But
it isn't how we finish.
The gospel set aside for today
is a continuation of last Sunday's reading. That reading ended with
“Let your Yes mean yes and your No mean no. Anything else is from the
evil one.” Jesus showed us then and he shows again today the difference
between worldly wisdom and the wisdom of his Father. He sets one side
against the other: “You have heard it said. . .but I say to you. . .”
You have heard it said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”
But I say to you, “Offer no resistance to one who is evil.” You have
heard it said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I
say to you, “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
Why? Why would any sane person living in the real world offer no
resistance to evil, love their enemies, and pray for those who persecute
them? Jesus answers, “[so] that you may be children of your heavenly
Father. . .” Worldly wisdom tells us that it is wise to fight evil, to
hate our enemies, and to pray of their defeat. In a world without God, a
world where there is nothing beyond death, nothing higher than the law
of Might Makes Right, we would be foolish indeed to forgive, to show
mercy, and to pray for our enemies. But we have vowed to pursue
holiness and perfection with God's help. And this we cannot do if we
are mired in the foolishness of the world. Think for a moment about the
standard God has set for us. Jesus says that we must do these
ridiculous things in order to be the children of our heavenly Father b/c
“he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall
on the just and the unjust.” If can't choose who gets God's sunlight
and who gets His rain, how could we possibly decide who it is that He
should love and forgive? And if we are saved by becoming God, then our
love and forgiveness must fall on the bad and the good, on the just and
the unjust alike. That's quite a demand. An extraordinarily high
expectation. Thanks be to God that we have His help!
The question remains: are you
ready to receive His help and become God? To be holy as He is holy? To
be perfect as He is perfect? St. Thomas Aquinas, quoting St. Irenaeus,
wrote, “God became Man so that Man might become God.” Our only hope of
achieving the holiness and perfection demanded of us is to surrender
ourselves to the wisdom of God, and follow His Christ in all things. At
the end of the day, our surrender is sacrificial love, giving of
ourselves wholly in love for the sake of another. At the very least,
this means restraining your pride—hourly, daily—and giving God thanks
for every chance you have to be loving, forgiving, and merciful. All
of us belong to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ himself
belongs to God.
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