The Truth Is Rarely Popular

· Fr. Barnabas Powell
Christ is risen! I have some acquaintances that are academic lay theologians and they never cease to amaze me with their regular “insights” that “Well, we know this has been believed a long time, but did you know about these exceptions that really mean that what we’ve always believed is not quite right.” It’s almost comical how regular this desperate need to be “creative” and find the “grey” especially in the moral…

The Corruption of The Straight Way

· Fr. Barnabas Powell
Christ is risen! Let’s face it, ideas matter. Words matter. The current fad of “lived experience” as a way to insist that truth is relative is a linguistic trap filled with all kinds of dangers to our society. But it has always been the desire of the evil one to corrupt the straight path of the Faith. In fact, the evil one is fine with just a slight “adjustment” to your way…

A New Definition of “Normal”

· Fr. Barnabas Powell
Christ is risen! American author and humorist Patsy Clairmont famously said “Normal is just a setting on your dryer.” She was hoping to communicate that many times our idea of what is “normal” is unreachable and a source of shame in our lives. This insight is very much correct. Because we don’t actually scrutinize our definition of “normal” often we miss the opportunity to actually deal with reality. But that doesn’t mean…

Everyone Is Welcome

· Fr. Barnabas Powell
Christ is risen! The New York Times recently had an article talking about the statement of the US Surgeon General concerning the very real societal epidemic of loneliness in our country (See “We Have Become a Lonely Nation” NYT 30 April 2023) In the article the Surgeon General rightly sees loneliness as a health problem leading to all kinds of difficulties. Loneliness is, indeed, both a spiritual and physical problem in our…

God Doesn’t Show Partiality

· Fr. Barnabas Powell
Christ is risen! I grew up in the volatile 1960s when the Civil Rights movement was really getting traction. I watched as a boy as marches and riots occurred around the country and our nation struggled with throwing off the scourge of racism. By the way, how is it possible that the pigmentation of someone’s skin could make them less human than someone else? It was a troubled time. And, as usual,…

We Bring You “Good News!”

· Fr. Barnabas Powell
Christ is risen! She started crying as I shook her hand. She was trembling and crying, and I was both confused and troubled. Her husband stepped in to save the day by explaining “Father, she is very excited to meet you. We were going through a very difficult time when our family found your videos on YouTube. We watched your videos and then started getting the daily devotionals, and it touched us…

Take Up Your Mat and Walk! Sunday Homily

· Fr. Barnabas Powell 1 Leave a Comment on %s
On the Sunday of the Paralytic, we are confronted with the invitation of Christ to hear His invitation to be healed and then act on His healing. Why is this society suffering from this mad chaos? What’s wrong? We seemed to be paralyzed by chaos! What is the sickness? What’s wrong with this culture? It has every bit to do with the broken will of humans gripped by sin.

You Have to WANT to Hear

· Fr. Barnabas Powell
Christ is risen! “Can you hear me now?” That famous commercial question was meant to show that one cell phone carrier was better than another. Of course, those were the days of dropped calls and out-of-range service areas. I, personally haven’t had that kind of problem in quite some time. But, there also seems to be a deep problem with listening in our lives. While we certainly can hear a lot, the…

Are You In The Light?

· Fr. Barnabas Powell
Christ is risen! We’ve heard so much about “light” and “darkness” and stories of people having near-death experiences and seeing a “light” at the end of a tunnel and being drawn to that “light.” And not to mention the common fear of children of the dark, the popularity of “night lights” (we even have a night light that has a “stained glass” version of an icon of the Theotokos in our daughter’s…

I Was Blind But Now I See!

· Fr. Barnabas Powell
Christ is risen! In 1772 one of the most beloved and widely known Christian songs ever was written. I dare say that most if not all of us know the song “Amazing Grace.” But, did you know it was written by a man who was a slave trader? in 1772 a man named John Newton survived a horrific shipwreck. Being rescued at sea, he finally made port at Donegal, Ireland. He sat…