I Have Heard Your Prayer

· Fr. Barnabas Powell
They say there is a point of absolute clarity when a person is facing their own mortality. We’ve heard it all before; “Your life flashes before your eyes.” Of course, this is a moment in human life we humans regularly avoid thinking about. Our mortality isn’t something we like to dwell on. And yet, it is a part of life. St. Ambrose of Optina teaches “You must not be greatly troubled about…

Leave Your Comfort Zone

· Fr. Barnabas Powell
Daring to follow God’s plan for your life is an act of faith that rarely happens by accident. You have to be listening to hear His plans! So how do you develop a lifestyle that makes you attentive to God’s direction for your life? It all starts with being willing to be taught. It begins with your willingness to live a life of repentance. The Scriptures are full of stories about people…

Let Us Make a Name for Ourselves!

· Fr. Barnabas Powell
It is said that the greatest chess players “see” at least 4 moves ahead at all times. This is why they can anticipate their opponent’s moves and be ready for them. But most of us simply don’t think that far ahead in our lives. We clutter our moments with as much noise as possible in an attempt to drown out the silence that makes us uncomfortable. This need for constant stimulation, constant…

An Intoxicated Noah & A Foolish Son

· Fr. Barnabas Powell
Years ago, in my police officer days, I got assigned to the local DUI Task Force. This was a multi-jurisdictional team of officers specifically trained to combat driving under the influence and a direct result of the work of Mothers Against Drunk Driving that had formed in our community. I really loved this assignment because of our extra training and the fulfilling opportunity to really make a difference. One of the most…

There’s Only One Purpose For A Cross – Sunday’s Homily

· Fr. Barnabas Powell
The fact that humans are so very aware of our own mortality means that the fear of death drives much of our intoxication with our passions. But at the center of Great Lent, the Church gives us the image of the Cross to drive us to embrace another way of living that is prepared for death. If you are going to follow Christ in any serious way, you must be willing to…

God Makes A Covenant with a Rainbow

· Fr. Barnabas Powell
It’s an old word, but I like it. The word “covenant” is such a significant word for moderns precisely because we have seemed to have forgotten the power of “covenant.” Our society is gripped by hyper-individualism that seems to be intoxicated with the notion of “rights” “privilege” and “power.” This intoxication has created such chaos that even our very way of knowing our own identity has become confused. We think our identity…

The Precious Blood

· Fr. Barnabas Powell
“Blood is thicker than water.” “He makes my blood boil.” We are related by blood.” So many sayings about “blood” and so many common sayings from culture to culture. It seems we humans are hard-wired to “know” the importance of the life fluid we call blood. And yet it would be a mistake to reduce this life-fluid to mere “scientism” of materialistic functionality. There is a mystery in the blood. And that…

2 Paths; One Good, One Bad

· Fr. Barnabas Powell
“Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence.” This quote by Henry David Thoreau is beautiful. But I have a problem with it since it seems to suggest that any path will do as long as it’s your own path. In fact, it seems our own day has fallen into the false notion that “all paths lead to God.” Of course, nothing could be…

Wise Lips and Foolish Sons

· Fr. Barnabas Powell
My grandmother used to confuse me when she’d comment about a particular friend of my grandfather’s. She’d look at the man as he was driving away from their home after a visit and say “He’s a smart boy but he ain’t got no horse sense.” “Horse sense?” I’d hear that and wonder what in heaven’s name that could mean. It was years later I learned that this was a way of saying that…

Bring Every Thought Captive to Christ – Sunday’s Homily

· Fr. Barnabas Powell 1 Leave a Comment on %s
On this Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas, we are confronted with the mystery of God being BOTH Unknowable AND Knowable, and this mystery invites us to the awesome reality that we can be in true communion with the God Who loves us and comes among us. This spiritual discipline of taming our thoughts allows us to avoid the terrible tragedy of neglecting our Great Salvation. P.S. I know there are focus problems.…