4th Week of Easter (M) Fr. Philip Neri Powell OP St. Albert the Great, Irving Yesterday we heard Jesus say that his is the only name under heaven given for the salvation of the human race. This morning we hear him say, “I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved...” Given that we are well-catechized and faithful Catholics, our reaction to these truths is something like: “Yeah. And?” But back in his day such claims were beyond heresy, beyond blasphemy. No mere man could be I Am Who Am, Creator of the universe and Savior of the People. Flesh and bone could not contain the voice tha ..read more

4th Sunday of Easter Fr. Philip Neri Powell OP St. Albert the Great, Irving We know who and what we are but not who and what we will become. This is either comforting or unnerving, depending on whether or not you trust the Father to keep His promises. If you trust God, then you are His child and you will be become something greater. If you don't, then you are not His child and you will become something much, much less. Since we are here this morning, we can assume that we do trust God's promises and that we are indeed His beloved child. What will you and I become? We don't know. John says so ..read more

3rd Week of Easter (W) Fr. Philip Neri Powell OP St. Albert the Great, Irving Yesterday the crowd was yelling at Jesus to perform a miracle. “What can you do?” What tricks can you perform to prove who you are. I thought of that popular song from a few years ago, “Dance Monkey.” Basically, they were poking Jesus with a stick and shouting “dance, monkey!” Rather than dance, Jesus reminded them that God gave Moses and his crew of former slaves manna from heaven. “My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world ..read more

3rd Sunday of Easter Fr. Philip Neri Powell OP St. Albert the Great, Irving He's dead and buried. And now his body is missing. His disciples are confused, angry, disappointed, and deeply worried. Without cell phones or email, they start to gather in small groups to figure out what happened in Jerusalem. What went wrong? What about his promises to free them from slavery to Rome? What about his kingdom and his promise to be with them always? They can't help but be a little embarrassed by their apparent gullibility. He claimed to be the Son of God, yet he died like a criminal on a Roman cross ..read more

Easter Sunday 2024 Fr. Philip Neri Powell OP St. Albert the Great, Irving You know what has happened all across Judea. All across Texas and the United States and the North American continent. You know what has happened all across Europe, Asia, Africa, Central and South America. All across the world's oceans. All across our tiny solar system; our galaxy, and all the galaxies created by the Word from the beginning. The Son of God, who became the Son of Man by the BVM, was crucified in Judea, buried in a borrowed tomb, descended into hell to preach his Good News, and then – as he promised – ros ..read more

Mass of the Last Supper Fr. Philip Neri Powell OP Church of the Incarnation, Irving “Do you realize what I have done for you?” An ominous question for the disciples. Knowing as we do that all but John were horribly murdered for bearing witness to the Gospel, we can be forgiven for thinking the better question would be, “Do you realize what I have done TO you?” What did their teacher and friend do to them? He made them servants. He made them slaves to a way of life that requires them to become divine love incarnate. To the limits of their gifts, they must be living, breathing incarnations of ..read more

Wednesday of Holy Week Fr. Philip N. Powell, OP St. Albert the Great, Irving I will speak kindly of Judas. It has been fashionable among the fashionable to look at Judas and see a man unjustly maligned for his careful act of deceit and betrayal. Aren’t we being just a little too hard on the poor man? He was under a lot of stress! The agony of being the one of the Twelve who would betray his Master and friend must have been horrible to bear. The sweaty nights tossing in his bed, worrying about money problems. The constant gnawing bite of ulcers, watching Jesus intentionally provoke the autho ..read more

5th Week of Lent (W) Fr. Philip Neri Powell OP St. Albert the Great, Irving The Jews think that they have never been slaves to sin b/c they are the children of Abraham. Children of the covenant who have never succumbed to idolatry. Fair enough. Except that Jesus isn't just talking about the kind of slavery that comes with the generational worship of idols. He's talking about the kind of slavery to sin that comes with just being human. A condition every child of Adam and Eve is born into. Because the Jews misunderstand the true nature of spiritual slavery, they misunderstand the true nature of ..read more

3rd Week of Lent (S) Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP St. Albert the Great, Irving A Pharisee and a tax collector go to the temple to pray. The Pharisee marches right into the temple courtyard, but the tax collector stands off at a distance. The Pharisee prays aloud. The tax collector prays silently. The Pharisee recounts his righteous deeds and gives God thanks that he is “not like the rest of humanity—greedy, dishonest, adulterous.” While the tax collector humbly beats his breast in contrition and prays, “O God, be merciful to me a sinner.” Watching from the sidelines, anyone with eyes to see co ..read more

3rd Week of Lent (W) Fr. Philip Neri Powell OP St. Albert the Great, Irving When you order a book from Amazon, it arrives in a package marked “Amazon Fulfillment Center.” When you pay a bill, you may receive a receipt marked “paid in full.” The obligations of a commercial contract are “fulfilled.” That word – “fulfill” – and all its variations means to complete, to be done with, to satisfy. It can also mean to perfect, to make whole again. So, when Jesus says he has come to fulfill the Law, he's saying that he's here to perfect the Law, to bring the Law to completion. Naturally, we need to a ..read more