He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” (Mk 16:15)

This weekend we will celebrate the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ into heaven and the words from Mark’s Gospel we read above are the last words spoken by Jesus to us his disciples. This command is still relevant today as it was 2,000 years ago when it was first spoken. And that is what they did following the command of our Lord.
I have spent this past week with our Bishop and many of my brother priests in four days of study. What did we study? Our lives. We looked at who we are and what we are called to do and how these 16 months of pandemic restrictions have affected our ministry and our person as sons of the Living God. This was the first time we had been together during this long time and the community rebuilding was so vitally necessary where the four days did not seem enough and we will continue to work on this ministry.
Our presenter, Fr. Chris, a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia shared with us many insights that are not just necessary for our priestly fraternity but also call each of us to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” The parish staff and leadership at St. Lucy has begun to look at doing much of the same things we talked about during these four days but more and more I am convinced of the need to begin to heal our souls from the woundedness and division these past 16 months have inflicted upon our communities.
And I believe that Pope Francis, in declaring this a “Year of St. Joseph” and where our Diocese of San Jose calls for a jubilee year we have been given a great gift to begin the healing and blessing of life where each of us continues our baptismal mission to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation”
As Pope Francis notes in Patris Corde, “Joseph’s attitude encourages us to accept and welcome others as they are, without exception, and to show special concern for the weak, for God chooses what is weak. He is the “Father of orphans and protector of widows,” who commands us to love the stranger in our midst. I like to think that it was from Saint Joseph that Jesus drew inspiration for the parable of the prodigal son and the merciful father.” (#4) Like St. Joseph we are called to reach out and serve, heal and care for those around us. We may have become strangers in our own way these past 16 months but we are called to accept and welcome God and others into the heart of our love.
This means the entering into a conscious and deliberate decision to seek and include the presence of God in the moments of our lives, not just when it is convenient or in a moment of despair or suffering, but in the little and seemingly insignificant moments of our lives. Pope St. John Paul II shares this bit of wisdom, “What is crucially important here is the sanctification of daily life, a sanctification which each person must acquire according to his or her own state, and one which can be promoted according to a model accessible to all people: “St. Joseph is the model of those humble ones that Christianity raises up to great destinies;…he is the proof that in order to be a good and genuine follower of Christ, there is no need of great things-it is enough to have the common, simple and human virtues, but they need to be true and authentic.” (#24)
The sanctification of daily life is the service in joy and hope of all people. It is an invitation to return to the offer of life Jesus shares with us and St. Joseph chose to embrace. Let us choose to embrace Joseph’s way in living the life of holiness, the gift of sanctity and the grace of family in the life of a true disciple of Jesus Christ.
“ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”(Phil 4:4-7)
God Bless
Fr. Mark