God Bless
Fr. Mark

Earlier this week I received two checks and a can of shaving creme. Later in the week I was given a check and in the payee line had the words, “St. Lucy Fr. Mark debearding.” It was accompanied by a little heart, so I guess that made it okay.
As many of you know my parish, St. Lucy, is in the middle of a mini-campaign “Clean Shave for a Clean Start” with the prize being my “debearding.” It has all been great fun (at least until the razor hits the face) but it is also part of who we are called to be as a Church in our Catholic faith. The Gospel message of Jesus Christ is a message of joy and deep peace where we conform ourselves with God’s blessing and love.
Don’t get me wrong, we are raising this money for a very serious purpose and we vitally need the support of the parish community to reach our goal so we may move forward with confidence in the renovation projects at St. Lucy but we are to do so knowing God walks with us. Pope Francis reminds us of this when he writes, “Hard times may come, when the cross casts its shadow, yet nothing can destroy the supernatural joy that “adapts and changes, but always endures, even as a flicker of light born of our personal certainty that, when everything is said and done, we are infinitely loved”. That joy brings deep security, serene hope and a spiritual fulfillment that the world cannot understand or appreciate.” (Gaudete et Exsultate #125) The “deep security and serene hope” are the gift of unity and joy. Yes, there are difficult moments and financial worries which we all can carry but ultimately in trust and hope we place these doubts into God’s hands allowing Him to lead us forward.
In any campaign, whether it is raising funds, deepening our prayer life or loosing weight we recognize how when we are united with one another we the find strength and courage to move forward. Pope St. John Paul II in writing on the Eucharist describes how this unity flows from our participation in the banquet (the Mass) with all of God’s holy people, “Eucharistic communion also confirms the Church in her unity as the body of Christ. Saint Paul refers to this unifying power of participation in the banquet of the Eucharist when he writes to the Corinthians: “The bread which we break, is it not a communion in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread” (1 Cor 10:16-17). ( Ecclesia de Eucharistia #23) While the campaign can be fun and joyous, like my Mom’s video, without the participation of the Church in moving forward we are never able to fully live in the joy and blessing of our vocational calling to holiness. Holiness comes with a sacrificial joy finding it foundation in our Eucharistic life as St. John Paul II points out, we are “constantly renewed and consolidated by sharing in the Eucharistic Sacrifice, especially by that full sharing which takes place in sacramental communion. We can say not only that each of us receives Christ, but also that Christ receives each of us.” (Ecclesia de Eucharistia #22)
Being united with the other, whether it be family or friends, is an invitation into a conversation of love and joy. It is a blessing of the energy that is found in joy, in the coming together for a common good where even in struggle and pain there is a deep sense of satisfaction. This can never happen in solitude and will never happen in solitude when we are in a daily prayerful conversation with God. As Pope Benedict XVI in his wisdom writes, “When I can no longer talk to anyone or call upon anyone, I can always talk to God. When there is no longer anyone to help me deal with a need or expectation that goes beyond the human capacity for hope, he can help me. When I have been plunged into complete solitude …; if I pray I am never totally alone.” (Spe Salvi #32)
Even in our fears there is the hope and blessing of God’s goodness and love because of His desire to enter more deeply into our lives. I pray deeply for the continued growth in stewardship in our Catholic Church knowing when we share our time, talent and treasure we are made better as a community. I pray daily for others to join us in building a new and greater Church filled with saints and sinners who desire a deeper unity with Jesus Christ. Because even in the trials and tribulations of life we are reminded by our Holy Father Francis, “Like the prophet Jonah, we are constantly tempted to flee to a safe haven. It can have many names: individualism, spiritualism, living in a little world, addiction, intransigence, the rejection of new ideas and approaches, dogmatism, nostalgia, pessimism, hiding behind rules and regulations. We can resist leaving behind a familiar and easy way of doing things. Yet the challenges involved can be like the storm, the whale, the worm that dried the gourd plant, or the wind and sun that burned Jonah’s head. For us, as for him, they can serve to bring us back to the God of tenderness, who invites us to set out ever anew on our journey. (Gaudete et Exsultate #134)

If you wish to donate to the “debearding of Fr. Mark please click on the link below…thank you and God be with you!
Text the word CLEAN to 38470 and pledge today or
https://paybee.io/quickpay.html?handle=stlucy&ppid=33#optionList

Checking off the boxes of life. Is that how we choose to live our lives? Often times we can begin something with great love, enthusiasm and enjoyment and as time goes on the routine and the often mundane aspects of whatever it is begins to remove the luster from the action and we begin the just, “check off the box” and move on to the next thing on our list…where we just “check off the box.” And while we can point out many things in life where we do the “checking off” this is not how God has intended us to live.
As a priest I can fall into this temptation and it can even become a sin as I “check off the box” of my ministry. This is why yearly retreats, days of prayer and renewal and good friends are important because they are the checks and balances agains falling into the routines and habits that begin to suck the joy and blessing out of life. It is when we practice the intentionality of knowing God and one another more deeply we form life-giving bonds that do not permit us to live life “checking off the boxes.”
Pope St. John Paul II when reflecting on his 50th anniversary of priesthood wrote this about these relationships, “I was able to grasp more fully how much the priesthood is linked to pastoral ministry and the apostolate of the laity. A close connection, or, better, a mutual correlation, exists between priestly service and the lay apostolate.” (p 54 from “Gift and Mystery”) We are reminded by St. John Paul II of how the connectedness of our mission within the Body of Christ is a life sustaining gift we are called to nurture and cherish. When I am able to be in a communion of service with those who I am called to serve then the checking off of boxes becomes an impossibility as I am confronted with the face of Jesus each day.
And this is true for each and every member of the Body of Christ, young or old, married, single, consecrated or ordained, male or female…it doesn’t matter because we are all called into the same service…just in different ways.
Retreats, taking time away from the ordinary. Retreats can be very formal…at a retreat house or other setting…or they can be informal such as a week at the beach. What makes it a retreat and not simply another vacation is the intentionality of bringing God into the daily movements of the day. I highly recommend a “retreat” experience in the formal sense but if not then when you head off for a week of “vacation” don’t forget to bring God. Take time daily for spiritual reading, prayer with the family, times to share the blessings received that day, laughing with each other in the joy of God’s love and speaking from the heart about the desires and hopes of the future and entrusting them to God.
Days of Prayer, (or hours, or minutes) unite us with God. These aren’t days of sitting down, kneeling and isolation rather they are days of listening to a voice of love. If you are married, if you have children, if you are very busy with work…all of these are challenges but challenges which can be overcome with the desire to love another greater. Prayer, either alone or with others, helps us to reassess where we are at in our life and our relationship to God and others. We should always know why we are going to pray and for whom we are asking God’s intercession and why we are offering thanksgiving. If a husband takes his wife into prayer: offering the gratitude and blessings of their relationship then the desire and gift of service comes more freely as he is able to see her as the treasure of love given by God and not simply another thing to deal with in the day.
Good friends: People who will call your bluff and hold you accountable for your choices. A while back a friend called me and asked if I was available for golf…I looked at my very busy schedule and said,“no.” He then asked the last time I had picked up my clubs (it had been a long time) and when he heard my answer told me he was booking a tee time and to clear my calendar. The resistance was great…even my days off had become work…then I heard his wife in the background call out…”and you can come to dinner. The kids will love to see you.” I think there may have been a conspiracy brewing but ultimately the calendar was cleared, the game was played the dinner was celebrated and the community was joined.
Our Holy Father Pope Francis leaves us with this beautiful reflection from the closing paragraphs of his Apostolic Exhortation “Amoris Laetitia: The Joy of Love” where he writes, “It is a profound spiritual experience to contemplate our loved ones with the eyes of God and to see Christ in them. This demands a freedom and openness which enable us to appreciate their dignity. We can be fully present to others only by giving fully of ourselves and forgetting all else. Our loved ones merit our complete attention. Jesus is our model in this, for whenever people approached to speak with him, he would meet their gaze, directly and lovingly (Mk 10:21). No one felt overlooked in his presence, since his words and gestures conveyed the question: “What do you want me to do for you?” (Mk10:51). This is what we experience in the daily life of the family. We are constantly reminded that each of those who live with us merits complete attention, since he or she possesses infinite dignity as an object of the Father’s immense love. This gives rise to a tenderness which can “stir in the other the joy of being loved. Tenderness is expressed in a particular way by exercising loving care in treating the limitations of the other, especially when they are evident”” (#323)

God Bless
Fr. Mark

Each morning when I begin my Office of Readings I begin with two simple phrases: “O Lord, open my lips—and my mouth will proclaim your praise” followed by “The Lord is Risen, Alleluia.” These two short prayers remind me, as they remind the Church, of why we open our eyes, our hearts and live our lives each day. It is a call to live and proclaim why we choose to serve in joy.
If you have been reading me for a while you know the struggles and joys of serving our holy Church. Ultimately, we always serve with hope where my lips and voice are called to recall my heart and the heart of all to the service of the Joy of the Gospel, as our Holy Father Francis reminds us over and over again.
A part of the joy is to find fun and laughter in service of God…which gets me to the beard that resides on my face…the beard which I have offered to God on behalf of the people of God…the beard that I hope will put a lot of “fun” in the fundraiser at my parish St. Lucy.
Believe it or not the beard has been a source of much controversy in the life of the Catholic Church. You can even go to the Catholic Encyclopedia and there is a whole article on the pendulum of opinions on the wearing of beards by priests and clerics. Every morning when I sit at my prayer altar and look up at the images of the saints that hang on the wall before me I see many bearded saints, men of great holiness whom I call upon to pray with me and saints whom I hope to emulate in my call to serve God’s Holy people. If you want to read a short history I will place a link below to the online Catholic Encyclopedia.
My reasons for a beard are complicated and with a bit of vanity on the top. My first beard began shortly after my discharge from the Marine Corps. Four years of shaving and short haircuts found its rebellion in not shaving and allowing my hair to grow to a proper length. The beard disappeared when I started working but came back in full and complete vengeance when I studied in Germany while attending Holy Names College (now University) and from that year on (1988) I have had a beard on my face, with a few minor exceptions, for the last 30 years.
Why the beard? Some of it involves a contrary spirit to the times. When I began the beard it wasn’t a common practice as it is today. I liked my face better with a beard. Yes, there is vanity. But mostly it has become the reality of how comfortable I am with my beard…it has become a part of me. I like to say it gives me a sense of courage, wisdom and uniqueness (yes, more vanity) I feel I would not have if I shaved my beard….but I will…for a price.
When this fun fundraiser was proposed…I was a bit, well really more than just a bit, resistant to the idea. But each time we shared the idea with someone the laughter and joy, much like at Mass last Sunday, ultimately drew my heart to be open to the joy, the fun, the blessing that will occur. What am I truly sacrificing…check out the link to the “Catholic Gentlemen” below. Humbly I will walk forth clean shaven, when we make our goal, and share the joy by leaving behind the vanity of the beard and sharing the joy of the Gospel.
God Bless
Fr. Mark

Donate to the Clean Shave Clean Start campaign below

https://paybee.io/quickpay.html?handle=stlucy&ppid=33#optionList

An Ode to the Glories of the Beard

https://www.catholic.org/encyclopedia/view.php?id=1610

Lord, grant me patience to allow my children room to grow from their mistakes.
I want so much to protect them and to help them through the hard lessons of this world.
Help us to growing understanding and you find common ground, calmly and patiently growing in unconditional love for you and for one another.
Mary, Mother of us all, help me to be a patient mother.
(from “Talking to God: Prayers for Catholic Women” by Julie Dortch Cragon)

This weekend our country celebrates Mother’s Day, a day of great blessing and joy for many families who celebrate mothers, both new and old, in their role in the cooperation in God’s plan for families in the world. I begin this article with a prayer because it is in prayer that the Christian mother finds herself united more closely with God the Father and the earthly father of the child or children in her life.
Prayer, we know, is an essential link to our life with God. It is our daily conversation and our intimate time with our God in living our lives and sharing the daily graces and sufferings, the daily blessings and struggles as we seek to follow Him through our Lord Jesus Christ. But it is also true, when we bring our prayers to God for family, and in a special way for our children we find our connection with God not only strengthened but our connection and intimacy with spouse, children and family grows in strength and unity.
I know we understand this on a deep level where it almost seems natural as we journey through life…we hope and pray our young people grow in grace and peace in their lives but I also know just as we often put prayer on the back burner in our own lives for many reasons they busyness of the world often distracts us from truly offering prayer to God for those we love in all circumstances of our lives.
I remember at a Worldwide Marriage Encounter meeting several years ago how a couple shared the story of prayer and dreams for their children. They shared how they struggled with their children with arguments and stress filling the days. As they began to pray God inspired them to share their prayers with their children…not just the earthly desire for safety, good grades and a successful future but more importantly for their desire for them to grow in holiness, happiness and fruitfulness apart from the material. It is a reminder to us all: we are more than our material successes and failures, we are children of God. “Perhaps there is no greater gift we can give our children than the gift of our prayers. As parents we, almost without thinking, nursed their bodies and their minds throughout our daily activities with them, but it is in the praying fervently for our children that we can help the life of grace flourish within their souls, aiding God in transforming them into the children He desires them to be.” (from “A Parent Who Prays” by Katie Warner)
On this Mother’s Day weekend we are constantly reminded of how our mothers have prayed for us and hoped for our growing closer to God as the ultimate goal in our lives. We are reminded how God, the giver of all life, transforms us and invites us into a unity of love and grace.
Let us recall the gift of life where we are made in God’s holy and divine image. Archbishop Fulton Sheen reminds us of how each child, born into the world, through the mother’s life-giving love is made in the image of God seen in the incarnation of Jesus Christ. “Motherhood recalls that the best lives are those in which the physical and the spiritual development are never separated, as in the mother and in her child’s education; both grow together. Precisely because of the soul, there is body development at each instant. The Christian mother is like Simeon, who took the forty-day-old Divine Child into his arms. But the true picture is not that he bore the Child, but the Child bore him. The mother, too, will see herself not merely physically bearing a child, but the Child, composed of the body and soul inseparably, bearing her.” (from “Three to Get Married” by Bishop Fulton J. Sheen)
Happy Mother’s Day!
God Bless
Fr. Mark

As I begin the 58th year of my life it is a great blessing to share my ministry with so many wonderful people. It is always interesting to look back to see where God has led you to be and to look forward in the hopefulness of blessing and peace that Jesus Christ offers to us.
The month of May always starts with my birthday and the recognition how the Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker fills my life with joy. And the greater joy for the Diocese of San Jose was the transition to a new bishop, Bishop Oscar Cantú, who began the shepherding of our local Church on the 1st of May. As I have talked about before, the whole of my priesthood and my training in seminary has been under the watchful eye of Bishop Patrick and so for the very first time in my priesthood I will have to remember a different name in the Eucharistic prayers but also learn the new blessings that come with a new bishop in the diocese. But a few things will remain the same, in the Decree from the Second Vatican Council, “Christus Dominus: Concerning The Pastoral Office of Bishops in the Church” we are reminded that pastors and priests, under the guidance of the bishop have two important missions. First and foremost is care of souls, “In exercising this care of souls, pastors and their assistants should so fulfill their duty of teaching, sanctifying and governing that the faithful and the parish communities will truly realize that they are members both of the diocese and of the universal Church…Moreover, the care of souls should always be infused with a missionary spirit so that it reaches out as it should to everyone living within the parish boundaries. If the pastor cannot contact certain groups of people, he should seek the assistance of others, even laymen who can assist him in the apostolate.” (#30)
There is a lot of church speak in the above passage but the main thrust is as our Holy Father Pope Francis puts it, to “smell like the sheep” to “go out to the boundaries” and especially to listen and proclaim the Gospel message with joy and hope. To be “infused with missionary spirit” is the invitation to be open to seeking new ways to talk with our brothers and sisters, both Catholic and non-Catholic in the example of Jesus Christ. In doing this we fulfill the second mission, “In the exercise of their teaching office it is the duty of pastors to preach God’s word to all the Christian people so that, rooted in faith, hope and charity, they will grow in Christ, and as a Christian community bear witness to that charity which the Lord commended.’ (#30)
But wait, there is more…”Christus Dominos” as do so many of the Church teachings, reminds us of the call to all baptized Christians to do the work of evangelization. It is perhaps the greatest joy that I experience is this work of evangelization with the people of the parish as their wisdom, enthusiasm and joy fill the Church with the breath of life and the hope of a more peaceful future. The whole point is of course a universal truth that has been lived out through the ages in our Catholic Church: it is made up of the living stones of individuals and families called to serve God. Popes come and go. Bishops come and go. And yes, pastors and priests come and go. But who remains is Jesus Christ…yesterday, today and forever…as we pray so very often. The gift we each bring, no matter our place within the Body of Christ, is a gift of blessing and love. Each of us is invited and called to share in the building of the Kingdom of God’s holy Catholic Church. How are you going to use your gift(s) today?
God bless…He is Risen Alleluia
Fr. Mark