Barnabas Powell's Blog, page 54
January 5, 2022
Good News? It Depends
OK, I’ve got good news and bad news, and, it turns out it’s the same news. Confused? Don’t be. One man’s Good News is another man’s bad news, and, as usual, it depends on the condition of your desires and your perspective. Take the financial markets, for instance. When bonds are cheap and the market is down, some folks think it’s a disaster while others are making money. It just depends on how…
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January 4, 2022
Have You Seen God?
Christ is born! “To Make the Invisible Visible.” These were the words of a catechist to a catechumen when he was asked why would God become a man? The Christian Faith is unique among all world religions in this mystery of God in the Flesh. Oh, to be sure some religions have gods they can see, and other religions insist their god can never be seen, even going so far as to…
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January 3, 2022
The Kingdom Is At Hand!
Alexander Graham Bell once said, “Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.” And that is so very true. Why do you think the Church always has us prepare for the great Feasts of the Faith with a time of fasting and preparation? Because you truly miss the depths and profound wisdom of these feast days without a period of time of intense and purposeful attentiveness. Because of this, the great…
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December 31, 2021
Happy New Year!
May God bless and keep you and your family at the beginning of this New calendar Year. As we say at the beginning of the Church Year on September 1st: “You who created all things in Your infinite wisdom, and set the times by Your own authority, grant Your Christian people victories. Blessing our comings and goings throughout this year, guide our works according to Your divine will.” Start the New Year…
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You Can’t Have Two Masters
I always found it funny and even cute when I saw the old Hollywood trick of putting an angel on one shoulder of the hero and a devil on the other shoulder. Then the hero had to choose between the two! But, really, it isn’t as funny as it is revealing. It really does illustrate the internal struggle we all have when deciding which path to take in our priorities, behaviors, and…
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December 30, 2021
Empty Talkers
Have you ever heard the expression “beat the air?” It’s been around a long time in English and it means to “continue futile attempts” and “fight to no purpose.” St. Paul used this idea in 1 Corinthians when he said that he didn’t “run aimlessly” and he didn’t “fight like a boxer beating the air.” I get it. There have been times in my own life where I felt like I was…
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December 29, 2021
All One Origin!
Christ is born! Fear is an emotion that has both a psychological and physical response. When I am afraid, my knees knock; my hands sweat; my mind races; and my heart beats faster, all in response to fear! Funny how my body reacts the same way to being in love! I’m just teasing. But, seriously, fear motivates so many of our actions and reactions. I know people who spend their whole lives…
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December 28, 2021
Are You Thirsty?
Christ is born! Glorify Him! My doctor looked at me and said “Father, your body is thirsty! You need to drink more water!” What I mistook for hunger was actually my body being thirsty! Wow, what a revelation. So, it is with our lives. We can mistake our thirst for God as a thirst for safety or security or even fame. All the while we act on these mistaken ideas and we…
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December 27, 2021
Stephen, Full of Grace and Power
Christ is Born! “That boy is so hard-headed he wouldn’t even notice a rock hitting him between the eyes.” My grandmother had a way with words, but I’ve known people like this; so set in their ways that not even plain evidence would move them to change their ways. They were frozen in their thinking. But that kind of attitude can create some real problems for people, especially when they ignore clear…
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December 26, 2021
The Nazarene
Christ is born! What a busy time of year! As I was preparing for liturgy this morning, I was contemplating my schedule and caught myself becoming distracted from the time of prayer that the liturgy calls me to embrace. I had to exercise my will to banish this distraction so that I could singularly focus on the prayer at hand. And, to varying degrees of success, I was able to refocus my…
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