Well, let me begin by saying thank you. This will be my last Friday letter as the pastor of St. Lucy Parish. I would ask that you indulge me in two ways. One, I will not be talking about St. Joseph and two, I will be a little briefer than I normally am in my Friday writings.

In the second reading at this coming Sunday Mass, St. Paul in the Second Letter to the Corinthians reminds them, as he reminds us today, of the surplus of blessing we are called to bestow upon each other and how “your abundance at the present time should supply their needs, so that their abundance may also supply your needs.” (2 Cor 8:14) It is this interchange of blessing that brings about hope.
As I prepare myself for next Wednesday where at midnight I will cease to be the pastor of St. Lucy Parish and become the pastor at St. Lawrence the Martyr parish I know the abundance of prayers and blessings will following me up the road to Santa Clara will sustain me in my needs. There will be times of sorrow, confusion, frustration with doubt and fear as I step into these new responsibilities. My faith tells me I am not alone. Rather I am surrounded by the prayers and abundant blessings of the communion of saints on heaven and on earth. It is here that I find my peace. In each of my moves, no matter how difficult they seemed and heavy my heart was, I discovered joy and the movement of holiness in the reminder and the reality of your prayers and blessings. It is the wonder of being sent forth in blessing and received in blessing.

What is going to happen now? I know this question is one we all are asking and feeling. A lot of the answer is contained in our working with God in continuing the good and holy work as a parish community. Because just as I am being sent forth and welcomed in blessing, Fr. Ernesto who is leaving St. Lawrence to become pastor of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph has a similar heavy heart infused with the hope and faith in God’s goodness and love at his new parish. And this is what Fr. Rick as he moves down the hill from St. Mary Parish in Los Gatos to our beloved parish of St. Lucy, to be sent in blessing and received in blessing.
When I arrived six years ago it was confusing and difficult and yet the warm welcome and the joyful spirit of St. Lucy comforted my soul.

Once more, I wish to say…thank you and may God bless you and our little part of His kingdom at St. Lucy Parish in Campbell CA.
God Bless
Fr. Mark.

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As we think about St. Joseph as a “model of hope” in our lives it becomes clearer that Christian hope, founded in Jesus Christ, has a much different grounding than hopefulness in the world. As I write to the St. Lucy community this penultimate letter as your pastor, I ask you all to reflect on Christian hope modeled in and through St. Joseph.

I have been thinking a lot about hope these past two months after it was announced I was leaving St. Lucy for St. Lawrence the Martyr in July. There was hope looking back and hope looking forward as I reflected on the blessings shared for the past six years and the blessings to come in the mysterious design of God’s holy will.
Thinking about how St. Joseph lived his life as I pack my boxes, remove the pictures from the walls and put away the many memories, it is wonderful to know he did these same things in looking back in hope. Archbishop M. de Langalerie in his book “The Month of St. Joseph” shares this, “Christianity alone makes hope a virtue, for it alone teaches us the opposite excesses of defiance and presumption…To guard against presumption, we must rely on God alone, and distrust ourselves. Presumption caused St. Peter to deny his divine Master. Let us be penetrated with these thoughts, and dwell on them, and beg of God the virtue of hope through the intercession of St. Joseph, who practiced it in its perfection.” (p 51)
St. Joseph as a faithful and faith filled Jewish man knew the hope of tradition, the coming of the Messiah in the line of King David but he was also aware of the hope found in his pregnant bride, in the voices of the angels, the songs of the shepherds and the gifts of the Magi of the East. It is here St. Jospeh could look forward in a hope based on the lived experience of love.

Are we able to do the same? Yes, this is the example of all the saints but especially St. Joseph in the Christian gift of tradition.
As I pack and say goodbye, I too look back in wonder, see the blessings and the presence of God in the moments surrounding me now and the hope of new graces to come found in my blessed relationship with the community. It is a hope based in and on the lived gift of gratitude and generosity of God and his holy people.

Don’t get me wrong, it is not easy. There are moments of doubt, fear, frustration, anger, sadness at real losses. And yet we know this truth found in Mary’s husband, “Neither earthly joys nor human consolations mingled in the hope of St. Joseph. His future life on earth and in heaven was blended in the one same hope and love.” (p 52) The blending described is the continued searching for the presence of God knowing with certainty he is here with us. He is not playing hide and seek with us but rather helps us to lift the blindness from our eyes. When we, like St. Joseph, know Jesus intimately and are with him each day in prayerful conversation then he becomes a constant image in each and every person we encounter.

Once more, this is not easy and I fail at this so many times I stand in awe and wonder of how God continues to be patient, forgiving and loving with me. Finally St. Joseph reminds us, “We are not obliged to forego all pleasures and joys; but we should not allow our hearts to become attached to them, so that in the enjoyment of them we forget the desire of heaven. The more we seek for earthly happiness, the less we think of heaven; and the practice of hope.” (p 53) If our final destination is Heaven (we hope) then the blessings of earth become more precious not less because they no longer bind us but allow us to be lifted up in joy. There are many small and large blessings surrounding us daily and our challenge is to see them with God as gifts given and shared and not as prizes to be hidden away and placed in storage.
Thank you for your prayers and blessings.
God Bless
Fr. Mark

Today, Friday June 11 2021 the Roman Catholic Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is a wonderful time to reflect on the gift of the healing love pouring forth from the wound seen in the Gospel of St. John, “One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out.” (Jn 19-34)
As we continue to meditate on St. Joseph during this year today we are reminded, like all of us through the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we are “Confirmed in Grace.” Archbishop M. de Langalerie reminds us that in a world full of sin and disordered passions each of us is invited into a renewal of life through the grace poured out on us through our relationship with God through the mercy flowing out of the heart of Jesus.

Each day in our lives we are challenged to see gratitude, blessing and abundance in our Heavenly Father’s gift of life shared through creation. It is a reminder of the power of the blessings of God seen in the Beatitudes offered to us by Our Lord Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel. (Mt 5:1-12) where we are invited to enter into the blessedness of sacrificial love. In “The Month of St. Joseph” we hear, “His share of family inheritance during his existence on earth was poverty, exile, persecution, and the Beatitudes of the Gospel. Do we understand and appreciate the blessings of the new law of love? Have we tasted of happiness purchased by them? Are we circumcised in heart so as to joyfully endure poverty and suffering and find therein that holy, inexpressible, hidden sweetness praised by the infallible Word of Almighty God?” (p 39-40)
Too many times in our lives we focus on the negative, the hurtful and the pain and suffering we endure, yet, St. Joseph in his life reminds us that when we are focused on God’s gift of life then we are able move into a different vision of the world where we become healing ministers and are healed by the Divine Physician Jesus Christ.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” (Mt 5:8) This is the gift St. Joseph sought each day, along with the other Beatitudes, the pureness of heart, united to his beloved spouse Mary, in caring for Jesus. It is seeing each other in the blessedness in which we are all created in the image of our Father in heaven. It is by this unity we can strive to open our heart to be consumed by Divine Love.

“He derived an abundance of precious graces from his constant relations with Mary and with Jesus Christ, the source and giver of all graces, and the mediator between God and man. St. Joseph was not elated by these many mysterious favors. He faithfully cooperated with them, thus meriting an increase of grace.” (p 41)
Being united to Jesus is recognizing Mary as Mother of God…Seeing the presence of God in our cooperation with divine grace.
The prayer below is a prayer that I have prayed daily for over 20 years in consecration to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. When we invite him into our heart, like St. Joseph did through his unity with him as his foster father, then we truly experience the life giving gift of love and are confirmed in grace.

God Bless
Fr. Mark

Merciful Jesus, I consecrate myself today and always to Your Most Sacred Heart. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus I implore, that I may ever love You more and more. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust in You! Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us! Sacred Heart of Jesus, I believe in Your love for me. Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like your heart. Amen

St. Joseph: Model of Interior Recollection…what do we mean and how can we follow in this blessing of prayer and knowing God. In Thomas à Kempis’ spiritual classic “The Imitation of Christ” he begins his reflections with these words,“Every man naturally desires knowledge; but what good is knowledge without fear of God? Indeed a humble rustic who serves God is better than a proud intellectual who neglects his soul to study the course of the stars. He who knows himself well becomes mean in his own eyes and is not happy when praised by men.” (#2)

We are all searching for something greater and this can lead us in two directions: the search for the material and finite or the search of the eternal. There are goods in both of these searches but only one will fill and satisfy the longing of our souls. This search is not about letting go of the complexity of life but in the embracing of life and knowing God will be discovered in all things.
When I think about and pray with St. Joseph, I imagine the quiet person who opens his heart continually to seeking the greater of unity. We often hear how St. Joseph was a talented and magnificent carpenter and yet rather than seeking the glory of putting himself forward, where we could see arrogance or boastfulness we see rather the humbleness and gentleness in looking towards his home where our Blessed Mother and the Divine Son could be found. Where true happiness and joy could be found.
We see this in the miracle of the mysterious carpenter who built the impossible staircase in the Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe New Mexico. Once more, if you have faith in the story (link below), this anonymous carpenter built something to give glory to God first and foremost then slipping away without taking any adulation or praise for himself. It is knowing the heart of the beloved and serving him through his beloved wife Mary that is St. Joseph’s interior gift of love.
Moving back to “The Month of St. Joseph” by Archbishop M. de Langalerie his reflection reminds us, “The habit of prayer produces in the soul an interior recollection, which keeps the mind fixed on God, and prevents our begin to absorbed in exterior occupations…Let us consider how profound and tranquil must have been the life of St. Joseph, who, whether at work, alone or with companions, had his heart and mind centered on God. “ (p 19)
Can we imagine what it must have been like to work with St. Joseph, to play with him, to have a beer with him, to simply talk and share life stories with the foster-father of Jesus? The gratitude and generosity of life and love flowing from the man with whom the author of life and the very heart of love resided within his home but also, and most importantly, resided within in the home of his soul.

The interior recollection is seeking to be present to God in each moment. This isn’t impossible, but it takes practice and a heart open to sacrificial love. And the interior prayer and recollection is vital to grow in being present to God and seeking the presence of God daily and in each moment.
From “The Imitation of Christ” once more, “If you wish to learn to appreciate something worth while, then love to be unknown and considered as nothing.” (#2) Like St. Joseph we are called to be unknown as we allow others to see in our lives the presence of God. We are remembered because others know God through or lives, through the gift of love. Let us, with our Mother Mary and her holy spouse Joseph truly learn the worthwhile gift of knowing the one true God.

God Bless
Fr. Mark

https://aleteia.org/2016/07/06/the-staircase-st-joseph-built-in-new-mexico/