Author page: Fr. Barnabas Powell

Christ is risen! You should have seen the look on their faces when I told them what we needed to raise to accomplish our task! The looks ranged from the shocked to the sceptical to the angry! It seemed impossible for us to reach our goal without some "donor on a white horse" riding to our…

Christ is risen! Outrageous! Did you hear what he just said? Unbelievable! Completely out of bounds, provocative, and meant to offend. There is simply no justification for such rhetoric! Unless, of course, it's true. They say that truth is always a defense against the charge of slander! With our "eternally offended" society of "hate" speech and an ever…

Christ is risen! She had her eyes closed and her fingers in her ears and she kept saying "la, la, la, la, la, I can't hear you!" You see I had uttered the ancient and hated words "Sweetie, it's time for bed." And she didn't want to go to bed, but rest is what she needed. She…

Christ is risen! Being raised in the 70's, my brother and I were direct witnesses to the changes in society as norms were challenged and changed. Some of these changes and challenges were absolutely necessary. How can anyone defend the reduction of talented people, no matter what their skin color, their gender, or their economic status,…

Christ is risen! "All by myself, don't want to be all by myself anymore..." So sang Eric Carmen in 1975. The song was loosely based on the second movement of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor. It tells the story of a young man all alone as he is stood up at the altar…

Christ is risen! What is the regular rhythm of your life? Looking at your daily routine, what does it teach you about your "habit" of prayer and devotion? The questions are not meant to bring shame or confrontation, but revelation. St. Basil taught that to know God one must get to know one's self without falling…

Christ is risen! Timing is everything! I took a stand up comedian class once in trying to develop my public speaking skills, and this point was driven home over and over again. Timing is everything. What's true in comedy is also true in life. I can't tell you how many times I tried to "force" something to…

Christ is risen! "If it were easy, everybody would do it!" Yep, I've heard that before. And it's true! In fact, most of the truly worthwhile efforts in my life have been difficult. I can't remember one thing that was easy for me ever becoming something I couldn't live without! Important things usually are difficult, require…

Christ is risen! Sometimes explaining things to kids is easier than explaining deep concepts to adults. Children seem to be able to grasp deep ideas with a matter-of-fact joy that all too often is just not possible for we "grown ups." And that's because the kids haven't yet been jaded by disappointment, pain, and fear. To be…