Thoughts From Fr. Mark

Just some odds and ends this week. As you know I have made a move once more in my priesthood and just like every time there is an adjustment and time of reassessment of life as you try to fit into life the newness of a parish, the loss of a parish and the difference that comes from the move. One of the adjustments for me is my writing time. You get into a rhythm and find your time to put down your thoughts, begin the outline of your writing and then begin to craft and put into words what you are reflecting on that week. In the move this is, by the very nature of change, changed. The almost natural and organic movement of writing begins to become fragmented and to sit down and write at different times, and even different spaces becomes a greater struggle.

After six weeks at St. Lawrence the Martyr Parish this is a reality that is I am dealing with and so my normal Friday letters have become not just published on Fridays but often on other days as I strive to find discover a new rhythm.
(And all that was written three weeks ago)
The three week break I have taken has helped to renew my batteries surely. Yet the rhythm continues to be something I am searching for. One of the bonuses is I have taken time to write down many ideas and thoughts and hopefully these will bear fruit in the future.
As I do my Holy Hour each morning and in other times of prayer next to the tabernacle at St. Lawrence I also sit next to a wonderful relief of St. Joseph, yes it is the Year of St. Joseph, and it is a reminder of how often he must have sat and gazed upon our Lord and Savior in wonder and love. And this of course is one of the comforts that I take in the change…my call to steadiness in prayer. Believe it or not, it is one of the promises each priest makes at his ordination…to pray for the Church in a very specific way. To become united with the joys and sufferings, the celebrations and troubles of the Church, the Body of Christ, in prayer, then being called out to serve and share in the life of the Church.

This is one of the blessings St. Joseph, as he keeps vigil in prayer with me during my Holy Hour, helps me to understand and live a little more deeply (I pray) each day. The chaste and holy grace of marriage he was called to share with Our Blessed Mother, invited him into a deeper participation of the mystery of God’s indescribable love he saw in the child growing first in the womb of Mary and then in the home they made together. His work as foster father and carpenter were always seen in through the light of life and love presented before him each day in the interaction of family that becomes the prayer of life we are all called to enter into as brothers and sisters to the same Christ.
No matter what the disruptions in life bring, and these past months have been a great disruption in our world, we, when we take time in conversation with our Lord Jesus, find a foundation that never crumbles and remains constant and grace filled.
God Bless
Fr. Mark

I can hear his joyful voice cry out these words, “Let the Church say “Amen!”” so clearly as I write these words it seems strange. My brother in Christ, Fr. Paul Ageyman Mensah has returned to our heavenly Father. May he be at peace.

“Let the Church say “Amen!”” I first got to know Fr. Paul when he came to the Diocese of San Jose. I was still studying at St. Patrick Seminary and there would be this short, joyous and loud priest at different functions and meetings. You could see, even before you knew him, the joy of God living in his heart so loudly it could not be contained.

When I was assigned to be pastor at St. Catherine of Alexandria Parish in 2009, Fr. Paul was one of the two parochial vicars at the parish. I had been a priest for a little more than 4 years and he had so such more experiences. It was humbling being a the “boss” of someone who had many more talents and so many more insights into how to be both a priest but also how to care for the people of God. It was a great blessing to be able to ask the harder questions and learn a little more about what it meant to be both priest and a man of faith.

“Let the Church say “Amen!”” Then there was his mission…Awaso Hope Project…bringing education to a small village, his village in Ghana Africa. It was a passion that consumed so much of his time and effort as he raised money and support for this mission in his life. His dream was how education would change the world starting in a little village in Africa. He was obsessed by this call, God’s call to reach out to those who are often left behind in poverty. He offered his life in joyful determination to offer the gift of education that had been given to him to all people.
In my one year with him in Morgan Hill he constantly questioned me about what would be best, as he picked my brain from my experience as a teacher. I shared with him all I had and I know many teachers and principals were grilled in the same manner as he saw his dream coming to fruition, even as setbacks and doubts sometimes filled the time.

“Let the Church say “Amen!”” Then he left and went back to his first love, his people, he went home to Awaso. The many parishioners throughout the Diocese of San Jose and in Canada, where he had first served when coming to North America, prayed for, donated and volunteered at helping him and the school begin and then thrive with all the bumps, bruises and missteps any new project and mission has at its foundation. Groups of parishioners would go over and learn more and share their experiences.

I was privileged to visit and see the beauty and wonder of the country, the people and most of all their faith. To celebrate the Sacraments with the community, to help plant the fields that would feed the children and workers and to talk to the parents and children was awe-inspiring and something I will never forget. I could talk about the school and work for hours but I would direct you to awasohope.org which has a in-depth look at what is happening and how it is moving forward.

One of the things I best remember is his yearly visit back to San Jose and his fund raising activity. One of the first things he would always do was visit the Hawaiian BBQ for a chicken dinner. I am not sure why, but it was always a blessing to share a meal with him. The second was his fundraising efforts. I asked him once, how he was so successful? His answer was simple, “Tell a story of hope and do it joyfully.” This is what he did. It wasn’t an act but his deep trust in our Lord Jesus and the hope and joy the Gospel message brings to the world.

“Let the Church say “Amen!”” This is how Fr. Paul proclaimed the Gospel and lived his life as a priest and a man of faith: with joy and hope. His laughter was contagious, his smile unending and his graciousness a blessing to all people. He chose to serve in this humble way, in a small village in Ghana, his village the place he was given to by our Heavenly Father. The last time I saw Fr. Paul was in 2019 because of the COVID travel restrictions. He lived to see his first class head off to high school, something we take for granted, but in this small village in Ghana, a victory beyond all telling. Fr. Paul Ageyman Mensah may have died but his hope in Jesus, his joy in Jesus lives on in the children, the parents, and each community in which he served.
Thank you brother and may the embrace of our God enfold you and keep you safe.
God bless and “Let the Church say “Amen!””
Fr. Mark

ps…if you wish to share a story about Fr. Paul I invite you to do so in the comments below.

One of the important things we believe as Catholics is the honoring of God on the Sabbath. Granted this comes to us through our Jewish heritage and all Christians are called, by the Third Commandment, to make special effort to keep holy this day of prayer and family.
Some of my earliest memories were of the family gathering around the breakfast table after Sunday morning Mass and sharing this feast of a meal as one family. It was a day when we would often visit my dad’s Mom, Grandma Mary, and see many cousins spending the day in play and family activity. I don’t think that during those wonderful days of memory I was thinking about how these activities “honored” the Lord’s Day and kept holy this Sunday sabbath. I can, looking back, see how it developed and honored the joy and peace of the family.
What does this have to do with justice? One of the definitions of justice includes, “a genuine respect for others/people.” I believe this is what occurs when we keep holy and honor the day of where family and relationship comes as the first and foremost action of the day.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, in his book “Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times” tells us, “The Sabbath is one way of setting limits to the market and its mindset, focusing on the dimension of time. There are other ways, too: values such as loyalty that are not sacrificed to the pursuit of profit; aspects of happiness that derive not from what we earn or own or buy but from what we contribute toward to the lives of others; and gratitude for what we have rather than yearning for what we do not have.” (p. 114)
Rabbi Sacks reminds us of the importance of remembering that human life, human dignity and human relationships are not based on an economic foundation only but rather on an inherent goodness of who we are created in God’s image.
St. Joseph in following keeping the sabbath showed forth this model of justice in his care for and respect of his wife, Our Blessed Mother, and Jesus. Stepping back for the work of the carpenter to spend a day of prayer, rest and family activity is a sign of directing his actions, as we should direct ours, to the growth in holiness in following God’s commandments. Justice reminds us to order our lives not for the simple use of God’s creation but to be good stewards in caring for others. Archbishop M. de Langalerie reminds us of when we order our lives on seeking God’s justice we follow St. Joseph’s example, “An honest man may be guided solely by the uncertain light of reason; and he may be governed by a conscience that is perhaps influenced by public opinion. A just man, on the contrary, is directed by the Word of God, by the will of God, as clearly demonstrated in the church, and he relies on the assistance of grace for the accomplishment of the divine will in himself.” (p. 23)
If we return to my example of Sunday when I was a young boy in the late 60’s and early 70’s we see what it meant by being governed by the Word and will of God. In truth, my family, like many families, bowed to the pressure of the world and while our Sunday obligation remained constant and our visiting and sharing family meals continued, we also began to scatter and “do our own thing” as my siblings grew into teenagers and began leaving home. The public opinion wasn’t some national pressure but rather that of peer groups and the seemingly more “fun” activities outside of family.

I know St. Joseph didn’t have the same pressures or distractions we do as twenty-first century people, but he did live in a time and place where the Roman rulers did not recognize the “Sabbath” and he endured, with Mary, pressure to conform to a invasive culture, while different, were as pervasive as we see today.
Understanding justice as something beyond the juridical, as a virtue of relationship, invites us to spend time with and walk with those around us. I always think of Pope St. Paul VI quote, “If you want peace, work for justice.” This great pope understood the foundation of all relationships was one of seeking justice through knowing and caring for the other. St. Joseph did this over and over again first within the Holy Family then moving out into the world.
We are reminded to strive for the goodness, the holiness in which we are made…to strive to be a just person and not to take the easier way of vice and sin.
“(St. Joseph) was just – – just always, in all things, and towards all persons. Can we render a like testimony of ourselves? Is there not some one virtue, the practice of which we entirely neglected? We frequently declare our natural bent of character as an excuse for the defects over which we should watch with the greatest care, on account of there having become to us a second nature.” (p. 24)
May we seek the courage to be just in growing in the true peace of Jesus Christ.

God bless
Fr. Mark

https://www.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/messages/peace/documents/hf_p-vi_mes_19711208_v-world-day-for-peace.html

“The God of the universe has formed you out of nothing and called you into existence by name. You cannot earn this great gift; you can only receive it. Everything else about what you are trying to decide or accomplish must center on and return to the truth: I am willed and loved, I have a purpose, and God wants me here.
Sit with this reality. Do you believe it? Does it seem too good to be true? This truth may take time to take root in your heart. Pray for the grace to let go of the lies and receive this truth at a deep level: you are willed, you are loved, and you are necessary.” (p. 13 from “Pray, Decide and Don’t Worry”)

In my prayers with St. Joseph I often wonder about the life he dreamed about. What were his plans as a young boy? I wanted to be a United States Marine beginning about the age of five, did St. Joseph have a similar desire as a young boy. As a teen, a young man, in seeking Mary as his wife and then as the foster father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, what were his thoughts and dreams. What ever they were, we do know that he was a model of faith and faithfulness as Archbishop M. de Langalerie describes in his book, “The Month of St. Joseph.”
The quote above comes from a book on discerning our call in life and asking the greater question of what is God’s plan and how best can I follow this plan. Like St. Joseph our plans will be interrupted by God’s greater and more perfect plan but if we walk by faith then we will seek to move forward in trust and hope because we are beginning to know our Father in heaven.

Often we are encouraged, in good faith, to make plans…to map out our life…to make sure we are perfectly ready before we begin. I hear this continually from young men and women who are discerning the married life or are married and planning for children. Happily this isn’t how life usually works…God’s plans may be our plans but we are always seeking God’s plan first and foremost. This means when we plan we always make room for our faith life, especially prayer. “Faith adds to the light of reason by manifesting new objects of knowledge, and it confirms truths of the natural order by its unexceptionable testimony. If the human intellect would gain in strength and power, let it be penetrated by the life of faith.” (p. 27)

St. Joseph is a great example of how this works always seeking to grow a greater love. As a man of faith he didn’t throw out reason or planning but rather knew how to adjust to the new circumstances, the deeper call to faith he was invited to share. Maybe he thought this invitation to follow God in his marriage to Mary and as foster father would bring special worldly blessings, riches and protections. But we know this didn’t happen and yet St. Joseph continued to be the faithful steward of God’s household in caring for and protecting the Holy Family.
This is important because our faith life is a continued invitation to grow deeper in trust and knowledge of our Lord and God’s plan for us. Like St. Joseph we should enter the mystery of God’s love ever more fully, ”He revered the mysteries that were successively revealed to him, and he lived in the hope of the promised Redeemer, ardently desiring and awaiting his coming… Though here on earth we may faintly perceive the greatness of the love that God bears us, it is only in heaven that we shall fully understand its plentitude.” (p. 28) This is a great act of trust…in relying on God to provide. At many of the major decision points in my life I have understood this trust. (Not always because I am a stubborn man) I remember clearly when I was offered a job to teach 7th grade at St. Bonaventure Indian Mission in Thoreau New Mexico. I had never really considered being a grade school teacher but in prayer…it just seemed the right thing to do. Ultimately it led me to my vocation as priest, but in was the act of trust, that somehow this was the right thing to do that brought a breath of peace into the turbulence of life.

“Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.” (Saint Mother Teresa)
It is a great gift to know while St. Joseph was asked to do this great thing, being the foster father of the Son of God, he also did the many small things a husband, a father, a worker does daily in living his life. In understanding in faith how God calls us to be good stewards of the gifts given and to be shared, the small things are so very important. “This life does not consist in the performance of great and singular actions, nor in certain religious practices, even though these practices should form a daily order of exercises. It is a series of acts ever active and always acting. Faith harmonizes the conduct and animates every work… It supports, animates, and strengthens us in our labors and occupations, by teaching us to offer them to the majesty of God, or to honor his infinite bounty. It reminds us of heaven, and detaches us from earth.” (P. 28–29)
If we are always waiting for the perfect moment, the time when we are totally prepared, the day when we do the great and glorious, then we are missing the small moments, the little points of light, the gift of grace drawing us into the greater and more perfect love. St. Joseph as a model of faith reminds us this truth: you have a part to play in God’s plan because “you are willed, you are loved, and you are necessary.”
God Bless
Fr. Mark

ps…links to both the book “Pray, Decide and Don’t Worry” and St. Bonaventure Mission are below.

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Pray, Decide, and Don’t Worry: Five Steps to Discerning God’s Will

“Truth, not eloquence, is to be sought in reading the Holy Scriptures; and every part must be read in the spirit in which it was written. For in the Scriptures we ought to seek profit rather than polished diction.
Likewise we ought to read simple and devout books as willingly is learned and profound ones. We ought not to be swayed by the authority of the writer, whether he be a great literary light or an insignificant person, but by the love of simple truth. We ought not to ask who is speaking, but mark what is said. Men pass away, but the truth of the Lord remains forever. God speaks to us in many ways, without regard for persons.
Our curiosity often impedes or reading of the Scriptures, when we wish to understand and mull over what we ought simply to read and pass by.
If you would profit from it, therefore, read with humility, simplicity, and faith, and never seek a reputation for being learned. Seek willingly and listen attentively to the words of the Saints; do not be displeased with the sayings of the ancients, for they were not made without purpose.” (#5 from “The Imitation of Christ” by Thomas à Kempis)

When I was studying in the seminary my spiritual director asked me to read “The Imitation of Christ” one of the great spiritual classics. The book itself is only around 160 pages and I quickly read through the book and took some notes for our next meeting. During this time Fr. Vincent then asked me to take time and pray with the words and not simply rush through them. I spent the next four years of formation taking this little book to my holy hour, picking it up during the day and scribbling note after note both in the book in in my spiritual journal on the insights and glimpse of wisdom God shared with me. A few months ago, I began this practice once more, to pray with Thomas à Kempis’ masterpiece and listen attentively to the voice of our Lord and Savior speaking words of love.
As we continue to reflect on St. Joseph the quote above reminded me of the deep and profound humility every Christian must develop in listening to the word of God. St. Augustine in this Confessions, another spiritual classic, reminds us of how in his youthful arrogance he dismissed the writings of Sacred Scripture and early Christian writings as childlike, simple and crude and how he sought out the most learned people for knowledge and how he should to live life. We of course know the end of the story as St. Augustine discovers what the quote above shares: we discover God in many different ways and very often in the simplicity of daily interactions.
In Archbishop M. de Langalerie’s book “The Month of St. Joseph” knowing the blessed saint as a model of humility he reminds us, “Humility is the submission of the mind and the heart to the knowledge of our own misery and nothingness… In the first place, frequent reflection on the infinite greatness of God contribute much to this virtue, placing before minds that contrast it naturally arises from the thoughts of his infinite perfections and our own unworthiness.” (p. 83)
Taking time in reflection of the mystery of life, with St. Joseph as our model, is a way of seeing the peaceful simplicity of learning the Word of God from the lips of a child. How did Joseph with Mary study Jesus daily? Can you imagine them, like all parents, marveling as Jesus discovers the spit bubbles that form and then pop and hear the giggles of baby joy. Did they contemplate God’s joy in their life? Did they find the perfection of God in seeing him learn to roll over, to crawl and then take his first tentative steps? Did they, like all parents, realize the beauty of life, through the eyes of a child as our Lord examined bugs, flowers and a puddle in the newness of God’s blessings of life? As a little child Jesus was not a learned author and great teacher in the worldly sense but in the Incarnational Holiness he showed the deeper and more profound wisdom of the simplicity of God’s abundant and infinite love, grace and mercy in each breath, in the simplicity of the complexity of life.

Don’t get me wrong, learning the complex is good and important in so many ways…I spent 4 years in college, two years in grad school, two years in the teaching credential program and 5 years in seminary. I love to read and learn more and more and more about our Church and God’s love for her. But I have also learned to see in the simple things of life how God presents himself as Father in so many different ways. To see God where we are, right now, in this place and not searching for Him in the distant logic of trying to figure it all out before we humbly present ourselves to our Father, rather we pray “Lord I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” (from the Roman Missal)
“Let us contemplate Saint Joseph in the different conditions in which he was placed by divine Providence, and see his lowly humility! Not a word of complaint ever escaped him; no regret for the departed grandeur of his family; no thought of complacency on the mission fulfilled by him; he considers himself only as a servant and dispenser of the things confided to him.” (p 85)
Like St. Joseph, God has given each of us a mission. It may not be as important as being the foster father and protector of Jesus and the head of the Holy Family, but our mission, our calling is important and vital to God’s plan of salvation. Take time to listen in prayer. Take Sacred Scripture or find a good spiritual book and for the next year pray with it daily. It will change your life…it changed mine.
God Bless
Fr. Mark
small advert….you can listen and pray with the Bible by subscribing to “A Bible in a Year” podcast from Ascension Press….https://ascensionpress.com/pages/biy-registration?utm_source=google

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“The miracle is not that we do this work, but that we are happy to do it.” St. Mother Theresa

It doesn’t seem that this should be too difficult in our lives, that is, remembering the presence of God, and yet in many discussions with good and faithful Catholics, listen in confession and watching and observing the world (and a little looking in the mirror) we often forget that we are in God’s continual and loving presence being showed with love and devotion.
In Archbishops M. de Langalerie’s book “The Month of St. Joseph” he writes to us to remember how St. Joseph is a model for this necessary action in our lives as children of the one true God.

“We Christians have reason to rejoice in the privilege of being able to study the life of Christ in the Gospel, and in receiving Him in the Holy Eucharist. We may, at every instant, find consolation in this sweet and divine presence.” (p 37) While St. Joseph lived the Gospel (good news) daily in his love and interaction with Jesus and Mary, he also studied the Gospel, chose to live the Gospel in service and protection and like Mary pondered what this all might mean. This life of service, literally carrying the Gospel in the Word of God Jesus Christ, watching over and being blessed by this mysteries is a privileged place but we must also remember, in the Eucharist, in our sacramental life, we too are asked to carry Jesus forth and to care for and protect him but our living example to those around us.
“The mind and heart of St. Joseph, initiated as he was into the mysteries of the Incarnation and Redemption, must have been continually occupied with thoughts of God—His providence, His love for Man, His omnipresence, and his other infinite attributes, all of which were revealed to St. Joseph.” (p 36) You can imagine, even with the trials and tribulations, the travels and exile, St. Joseph and the Virgin Mary experienced during the first days of their marriage, the mystery of the Incarnation continued to illuminate the hope they lived in loving each other and the Son of God with their whole heart and all their actions. They lived what was proclaimed in the Gospel of St. John, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (Jn 3:16) If we truly believe this is true then the practice of the mediative and contemplative knowledge of God’s presence becomes practical and life giving in our relationships together placing God at the center.
How can we do this practically in our own lives. Christina and Javier Llerena, who do ministry in marriage and marriage preparation share this advice, “Let your love come through your actions. Being life-giving is going the extra mile when you might have to move your needs aside temporarily. However, these acts of service in relationships build trust and intimacy. Think of them as wise investments—they give more than they take in the long run.” (p 139 from “Boundless Love: Healing Your Marriage Before it Begins”)

Being attentive to our relationships on earth are fruitful when we know the presence of God is constant and grace-giving to our love. The knowledge of God’s presence should and must stir us to an active life of sacrificial love in service of those who are both near and far. In contemplating the heavenly we see the generosity of God’s love in the world surrounding us, even when it is filled with the pain of sin. The extra-mile is the way of the cross in unity with Jesus as was St. Joseph bound to Jesus as foster father and spouse to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
“This attention to the presence of God is the ladder of perfection in every state and condition of life…it suffices to consider that St. Joseph was more impressed with heavenly thoughts than the angels could have been; that he was favored with intimate communications from God more frequently than they were; and that his whole life was animated by faith. (p 35-36)
How attentive are we to the presence of God at home, at work, at play and in the quiet moments of solitude? It is easy to look out on a beautiful vista and feel the awe of God’s creation…but how do we see this same awe in a room full of arguing children? In an office with grumpy or difficult co-workers? Or, after an argument with our spouse? It is in these moments when the conversation with Jesus, the little hug from Jesus, the simply seeing Jesus is offered toward the other in the “going the extra mile” of our lives filled with the joy of the presence of the Gospel, the presence of Jesus Christ.

God Bless
Fr. Mark

“If we wish to serve God and love our neighbor well, we must manifest our joy in the service we render to Him and them. Let us open wide our hearts. It is joy which invites us. Press forward and fear nothing.” St. Katharine Drexel

“Prayer is the only channel through which God’s great graces and favors may flow into the soul; and if this be once closed, I know no other way He can communicate them.”
St. Teresa of Jesus

The switch is moving forward and I am now unpacking the boxes that only a few days ago I was packing. I walked around the rectory and church of St. Lucy one last time on July the 1st making sure I hadn’t left anything behind, (I am sure I have) handing over my keys and garage door opener and driving away to my new home at St. Lawrence the Martyr Parish. What has seemed like a long two months of preparing to move seems to have come so quickly to a conclusion and passes by in a small short breath.
In this year of St. Joseph, I, in the hubbub of the day, often think of the home in Nazareth and how full of prayer it was, how full of peace, how full of joy and how full of love. This is where the call to prayer becomes so vital and transforming as our lives are disrupted and tossed about in the whirlwind of the moment life becomes if it is not grounded in faith and trust in a loving God.
In Archbishop M. de Langalerie book, “The Month of St. Joseph” he reminds us, “It is important to frequently recall to our minds that prayer is essential to the practice of all the virtues, to the avoidance of sin, and in general to the fulfillment of our duties.” ( p. 15) The blessing of prayer, especially in times of disruption, isn’t the avoidance of life but rather the ability and desire to enter into the wonder of life with all the pain and suffering, with all the celebrations and joys. What did Mary and Joseph talk about on the way to Bethlehem or as they fled to Egypt? Did they pray along the way? I have a friend who without fail, when he places the key in the ignition of his car, he then crosses himself and says “St. Christopher…pray for me.” And many of us have the experience of driving along and praying the Rosary as we head to our destination…it isn’t just about “killing time” but rather asking God to be with us on the journey. Now I know Mary and Joseph didn’t have the Rosary to pray but did they recite some psalms or other prayers learned in childhood.
“Prayer must be accompanied with confidence, humility, and fervor. Prayer is, in itself, an act of humility; for in soliciting favors from God, or when returning thanks for those already received, we find ourselves penetrated with a knowledge of our own unworthiness and misery, and our absolute dependence on God.” (p 15) These three small attitudes, confidence, humility and fervor (love) are part and parcel of our faith in God. If we see this through the eyes of St. Joseph we are able to recognize the pathway of blessings.

Knowing we are called by God into holiness should fill us with the confidence necessary to take up our cross, our vocation, our prayer with trust. Joseph, called by God as each one of us are called, took up his duty as husband, foster father and protector of the Holy Family. He could only do this with humility knowing for whom he was called to care for and protect. In doing this he offered his love, complete and without reservation to his wife and our Lord Jesus Christ. When we look at our life, do we move forward in these same actions. Our dependence on God leading us to these attitudes of blessings seeking to give, receive and share these gifts of life from God with gracious love and humility knowing in confidence we are beloved by God.
“We will find our models in this exercise in the humble cottage at Nazareth. It cannot be deemed rash to assert that Jesus, Mary and Joseph frequently practiced this holy exercise, nor can it be too much to consider Mary and Joseph as being the first to receive from the lips of Jesus that prayer which He Himself is the author.” (p 16) Did Mary and Joseph ask there son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, this life giving question: “Teach us to pray?” In their daily life they watched him enter into deep and peaceful times of conversation with our Heavenly Father. Did they ask, “How do we talk to the Father?”
Prayer is the fount and foundation of our lives. We cannot live without prayer. To seek guidance, to ask questions and to practice over and over again leads us into a more intimate relationship with God and his holy people. Pray and pray always.
“Prayer draws into the soul the Holy Spirit, and raises man to Heaven.”
St. Ephraem of Syria
God Bless
Fr. Mark

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