Thoughts From Fr. Mark

(Sometimes you look at something and find a different idea. I used the quotes in an earlier article but when I came upon them in a saved document…other ideas rolled around in my head. The wonder of God. Thanks for reading)

“Live in such a way that all may know that you bear outwardly as well as inwardly the image of Christ crucified, the model of all gentleness and mercy. For if a man is united inwardly with the Son of the living God, he also bears his likeness outwardly by his continual practice of heroic goodness, and especially through a patience reinforced by courage, which does not complain either secretly or in public. Conceal yourselves in Jesus crucified and hope for nothing except that all men be thoroughly converted to his will.” (St. Paul of the Cross)

The quote above reminds us of that what we do is who we are and what we do is a reflection of our inward unity with love. And this is God’s hope, that we may all be what we do and have the inward unity of love…this is what Jesus did and does in our life and the life of every Christian.
This idea is deeply embedded in our Judeo-Christian culture. I remember as a child hearing this expressed in so many areas of life including this wonderful phrase from a cartoon, where Popeye the Sailor Man says, “If I’m not me, who am I. And If I’m somebody else, why do I look like me?” It is the gift of self reflection and more importantly the examination of our soul in contemplation where we begin to recognize the person God has created us to be.
We know, in our modern culture, how we are often encouraged to depict our lives as different then they are or how we put on false fronts in order to impress others or hide realities we would rather not show to the public. It is a lie we are asked to live to find a “life style” and detach who we are and force our lives into a false reality that ultimately is empty of true meaning and only lead us into a darker corner hidden away from truth.
To “conceal yourselves in Jesus crucified” is a reminder to embrace the cross, to take up our cross and follow Jesus to the source of life. It is there in the heroic goodness we find the courage to be patient and take time to discover who we truly were made to be in the image and likeness of God. As the philosopher Simone Weil writes, “We do not obtain the most precious gifts by going in search of them but by waiting for them. Man cannot discover them by his own powers, and if he sets out to seek for them he will find in their place counterfeits of which he will be unable to discern falsity.“ (p.73 Simone Weil from “Waiting for God”)
We discover our true self, our true mission, our true vocation in the quiet moments of waiting and listening to the whisper calling us to open our hearts to one another in love. It is in the bountiful and abundant love God offers to us we find our true self. This discovery leads to the peace of heart and the contentment of life, not in the material outward sense, but in the life lived with purpose and joy. It is becoming the authentic self…the person God created us to be.
We pray for the gift of the Holy Spirit to enflame our hearts as Jesus desired the world to be set on fire (Lk 12:49) with his mercy and in his love we participate with him in the mission on which we are sent. “Don’t forget that Jesus never works alone. He invites you to share in his magnificent labor of love and its rewards. He has a special role for you, a part for you to play in this drama of salvation and all you have to do is say “yes.”” (p 33 Matthew Leonard from “Louder than Words”)
What is our part? It is first sitting and being with God. What is our part? Celebrating the gift of life with joy within a community of love. What is our part? Humbly recognizing our need for God and seeking the face of Jesus Christ in each and every person. It is here we truly discover who we are and what our part is as a member of the Body of Christ.
What is our part? When we know in our hearts the truth of the words St. Paul writes to the Corinthians and where we can say with him, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.” (1 Cor 15:10) or as Popeye would say, “I yam what I yam and that’s all what I yam. Popeye The Sailor Man”
God Bless

As Catholics we believe that Joseph and Mary lived and chaste married life: chaste in purity and celibate in not having sexual relations as husband and wife. This often sounds strange to the modern ear…in truth it has sounded strange to many people, Christians included, throughout the past 2,000 years. Archbishop M. de Langalerie in his book “The Month of St. Joseph” reminds us of a great truth in recognizing “St. Joseph: model of Virginity” as one of the icons of Joseph we can look at in the path for holiness in this unique and gracious way.
To be honest the subject of virginity isn’t always popular. But as we understand and know through the teaching of the Church, the path of holiness is founded in our choosing to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him. (Lk 9:23) And as the Second Vatican Council teaches in “The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church: Lumen Gentium” that the primary vocation of each Christian is holiness.

Archbishop Langalerie writes, “And you who live the ordinary lives of Christians, and do not feel yourselves called to practice as couples, be faithful in fulfilling all the commandments required of you; for in this way progress will be gained each day, and at last a relative perfection will be attained. Not to advance is to recede. Place yourselves today under St. Joseph’s protection and his holy prayers will serve as support to you.” (p. 87) Each of us, in the call to holiness, is called to a vocation in life. It is important to remember that marriage is the the default vocation of life, but a calling from God it live chastely in the sexual union of man and woman. It is a reminder, the call to holiness is responding to creative goodness to God. Just as marriage is a choice to enter into a relationship of love, so to in the choice of virginity to enter fully and completely into a relationship of love with God and his beloved, the Church.
We know that when a priest is ordained in the Roman Catholic Rite he takes the Church as his one bride, As St. Paul reminds us in Ephesian Chapter 5, Christ’s love for the Church is a model for the spousal relationship and a priest is called to live this same love towards the Church, the people of God. In a similar manner, consecrated women are often referred to as the bride of Christ. In this way they are promised lot the care of Jesus and live in the model of virginity shared by St. Joseph, as a choice to love ever deeper. “St. Joseph, by a continual self-denial and enter abandonment to the will of God, practiced the three virtues of poverty, chastity, and obedience in all that was in them most difficult, pure and elevated.” (p 88) It is in this sacrifice the deeper love is experienced.

The chastity of both married life and the consecrated virginity are equal in the image of God as the path to holiness and the discovery of the deeper and fuller participation in the Body of Christ. This is an idea we need to live and rejoice in because we are all called to seek the will of God in our lives. This is why we need to continue encourage our young people (and old) to listen to the voice of God in following him in the sacrificial gift of life. Because virginity is not simply the absence of a sexual relationship but in the offering of our complete self to the Other in God, whether it is the spouse in a marital relationship or the Church in the vowed consecration to God and also in ordination.
St. Joseph living fully and completely the call of God becomes a model for all women and men living in this vowed virginity. As Archbishop Langalerie writes, St. Jospeh in “The joy of a good conscience, the satisfaction of having fulfilled his duty, and the lot of God were sufficient for him. In this he is a model for religious and all persons engaged by vow to the service of God.” (p 88)

We are all called to a deep unity with God and as “Lumen Gentium” proclaims loudly, to continue to conform our lives to the image of Jesus Christ. St.Joseph chose this path in the unity with his beloved spouse, Mary the mother of the Church and Jesus Christ as the head. I

“To see why virginity promotes genuine human love we need only recall that a profound contemplative communion is the primary reason for consecration. In the very nature of things, one who has achieved this purpose has necessarily achieved also a warm love of neighbor.” (p 84, “And you are Christ’s” by Fr. Thomas Dubay, S.M.)

Pray for vocations.

God bless
Fr. Mark.

When we start out on our religious quest, it is usually because we believe that God will solve our problems and satisfy our needs. He keeps us safe and healthy, helps us over hurdles, and allows us to live our lives with the minimum of pain and inconvenience. In return we obey his rules, but live our own lives and fulfill our own ambitions. We live within the parameters he has set except when it is too inconvenient. We follow our own ambitions and are only motivated to pray when these ambitions are threatened or when we are stimulated by some outside factor like a sermon, a pilgrimage, or a religious film. Our hunger and thirst for God in himself and for what he wants to do in the world is merely theoretical without substance in reality.” (p 47, “The Road to Royal Joy: The Beatitudes and the Eucharist”)

The reflection above is often a hard reality we all must face in our “religious quest.” It is overcoming our egos and base desires and moving beyond into the selfless desire of unitive love with the Most Holy Trinity, the Sacred Heart in the middle. The Father has placed a passion in us to hunger and thirst for justice, peace: for a life within community. When Jesus invites us into His Body, The Body of Christ, this is the moment of choosing which road we will follow in the moment. The righteousness of life is the coming together in choosing to look into the gift of the other and open our eyes to see the face of Jesus looking back at us.

Two of the greatest moments, in my prayer, where this hunger is manifested is Joseph at the manger and Mary at the cross. In each of these two moments, the “religious quest” comes in contact with the movement of the Holy Spirit in touching both the Father and the Son. The Catechism of the Catholic Church gives us this example, “The Holy Spirit is the master of the interior life. By giving birth to the “inner man,” justification entails the sanctification of his whole being: ‘Just as you once yielded your members to impurity and to greater and greater iniquity, so now yield your members to righteousness for sanctification. . . . But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the return you get is sanctification and its end, eternal life.’” (#1995 Rom 6:19, 22)

At the stable in Bethlehem, Saint Joseph, kneeling at the manger, chooses to yield to the greater gift. From the moment he knew of the Incarnation, to his explicit yes to accept the role of husband and foster-father, to his care and journey with our Blessed Mother, his life lived and ultimately his happy death with the Son of God and Mary praying with him at his bedside, Joseph was asked to act in justice, choosing to be with and being sanctified by the presence of God in his proper vocation. He lived the words of St. John the Baptist before they were spoken , “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (Jn 3:30) Am I willing to decrease…let go and forgive…choose to serve…to sacrifice…to show mercy…to love the other?

At the cross we hear Jesus speak these words to His Mother. “Woman, behold, your son!” (Jn 19:26) In a few moments she will take the body of her son into her arms as he is taken from the cross but in this she takes us into her arms not in death but in the life that is promised in and through Jesus her son. This exchange of love opens the world to the greater gift of life, going beyond the momentary and entering into an eternity where we become true daughters and sons of the living God. Jesus invites Mary, as he invites each of us, to behold the other in seeing our Lord alive and present in each of us. Mary with love takes the Beloved Disciple, and in turn takes each of us into her embrace, just as she held her son in both life and death, knowing there was more. Am I, like Mary, willing to see Jesus in the other…to take the hurt and sorrowing into my arms…to embrace the difficult with trust…to share life with an open heart…to hear and follow the voice of Jesus no matter where it leads?

Our hunger and thirst for God begins with and invitation to love…to become small and to open our hearts to the greater…this is our true quest.

God bless
Fr. Mark

When people, even Catholics, hear the word “chastity” they often laugh, ridicule and make jokes about this Christian virtue. Chastity is often conflated with celibacy and often thought of as something odd and strange in our modern world where sating the desires of the flesh with quick pleasure and immediate activity often takes the place of a deeper and fuller life in the community.
So let’s begin with a quick quote from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Chastity means the successful integration of sexuality within the person and thus the inner unity of man (woman) in his bodily and spiritual being. Sexuality, in which man’s (woman’s) belonging to the bodily and biological world is expressed, becomes personal and truly human when it is integrated into the relationship of one person to another, in the complete and lifelong mutual gift of a man and a woman. The virtue of chastity therefore involves the integrity of the person and the integrality of the gift.” (#2337) So in other words, it is the human person living in relationship with another human person and the relationship becomes an expression of the greater love of God.

Tradition tells us that Mary and Joseph, in their married life, refrained from sexual intimacy. They led chaste and celibate lives. As Archbishop M. De Langalerie writes in “The Month of St. Joseph”, “The special privilege of being called the foster-father of Jesus Christ and the guardian of the Holy Virgin was a reward of Saint Joseph’s virginity, this was also the inexpressible honor given him of having Jesus repose on his virginal heart. By this first example of virginity given to the world, Saint Joseph became the father and guardian of all who make a similar vow.” (p. 108) This did not mean Mary and Joseph did not have a deep and powerful love, rather it was the a love that was both chaste and virginal. It is here we can see how this transfers into marital relationships in general, remembering the above quote from the Catechism and the joy of chaste intimate love.
Like Mary and Joseph, all husbands and wives are called to chastity. But unlike Mary and Joseph, most are not called to virginal chastity, rather they are called to a chaste love where in their sexual intimacy they seek the good and the holy in their spouse and draw forth this gift, that like St. Joseph in his virginal chastity, becomes guardian of the other’s holiness. The sexual intimacy of the married couple becomes an expression of holiness, a prayer of love, because it is directed solely at the good of the beloved…and toward the Beloved. We become who God has created us to be in the sacramental union.

This is where the reality of the nature of both chaste marriage and the chaste celibate life of priests and consecrated religious intersect and mirror each other. Fr. Thomas Dubay, S.M. reminds us that the call to holiness is a universal call and though he is speaking to the celibate life, it mirrors the chaste love of marriage. “For us “holy” refers primarily to moral goodness: humility, patience, gentleness, temperance, honesty. For the ancient Hebrew it referred first of all to closeness to the All-Holy one, to a being set apart from the ordinary creation and reserved in some special manner for the utterly Other, the Lord himself. Yahweh’s people were “holy” not because they excelled in humility or temperance but because they had been called from the ordinary mass of mankind to a special relationship with the one God.” (P 32 from “and you are Christ’s”) This would have been St. Joseph’s understanding, that he had been called to be set apart, not just in virginal chastity but in his special call to holiness as husband of Mary and foster-father to Jesus the Christ and to live out this “vocation” was to be in a special relationship with our Father in heaven. Or as stated above, St. Joseph becomes who he is created to be.
Once more the Catechism reminds us, “The chaste person maintains the integrity of the powers of life and love placed in him. This integrity ensures the unity of the person; it is opposed to any behavior that would impair it. It tolerates neither a double life nor duplicity in speech.” (CCC #2338) What is this “unity of the person”? Simply the soul and body are united in one purpose…the fulfillment of God will in life. We recognize, because I am one of them, some people are called to the vocation of the chaste celibate life as a priest or person in the consecrated religious life. And these vocations need our support and our young people need to hear this support so we all may find fulfillment in following God’s will in our lives. But to return to the main point, chastity is a virtue for all because it is the uniting of the body and soul in a intimate and passionate relationship with God, in marriage through sexual union in the beloved spouse in sacramental grace and blessing, and in celibate chastity through the deep and profound grace of God’s love in community of the Church.
Final word….all are called to holiness and let the example of St. Joseph fills with the call to be in the “special relationship with the one God.”
God bless
Fr. Mark

“Live in such a way that all may know that you bear outwardly as well as inwardly the image of Christ crucified, the model of all gentleness and mercy. For if a man is united inwardly with the Son of the living God, he also bears his likeness outwardly by his continual practice of heroic goodness, and especially through a patience reinforced by courage, which does not complain either secretly or in public. Conceal yourselves in Jesus crucified and hope for nothing expect that all men be thoroughly converted to his will.” (St. Paul of the Cross)

The quote above reminds us of that what we do is who we are and what we do is a reflection of our inward unity with love. And this is God’s hope, that we may all be what we do and have the inward unity of love…this is what Jesus did and does in our life and the life of every Christian.

But here is the struggle of the Christian life, we are called to actively pursue but at the same time to rest in the peace of Christ. We are challenged to live our faith boldly and heroically and also to wait upon the grace of God is fill our hearts.
“We do not obtain the most precious gifts by going in search of them but by waiting for them. Man cannot discover them by his own powers, and if he set out to seek for them he will find in their place counterfeits of which he will be unable to discern the falsity.” (p.73 Simone Weil from “Waiting for God”)
The temptation in my life is to move before I pray. To make plans before I consult God. To think I must work harder for Jesus rather than to work with Jesus in this time and place. When I am tempted to do this I miss the narrow road, the open gates and the invitations to be with and take the short cut and seek to climb the fence and hop over into the field rather than walk the way of the Cross of Jesus Christ.
I can name a hundred instances (just in the last month) where I put the cart before the horse rather than taking time. I know as I read Sacred Scripture and even a spiritual book that I can tend to fly ahead rather than take my time in prayer and allow the words to soak into my soul. And yes, I can often offer my own two cents into a conversation without really thinking about what is dribbling out of my mouth or if my opinion is truly necessary or profitable in the conversation.
As St. Paul of the Cross reminds us, to be converted to the will of Jesus is to begin to allow him to speak in our hearts and then in our mouth. And this requires a active prayer life involving the time of silence and contemplation to be able to hear the word of God and see His work in front of our eyes so in this we may begin to emulate and participate in this work.
“Don’t forget that Jesus never works alone. He invites you to share in his magnificent labor of love and its rewards. He has a special role for you, a part for you to play in this drama of salvation and all you have to do is say “yes.”” (p 33 Matthew Leonard from “Louder than Words”)
Just as Jesus invited the Twelve and the many other women and men to work alongside him in his earthly ministry, he continues to invite us to the same work, never alone, within the Catholic Church the Body of Christ. Knowing Jesus, is knowing his Bride the Church. The special role begins with the gift of life where we then follow him by listening, sharing and acting in the image of his ministry on earth. Are we willing to hear his invitation, say “yes” and then move forward? It must be in that order or we will ultimately follow the false and counterfeit idols of this world.
God Bless
Fr. Mark

St. Joseph: Patron of a Happy Death

Saint Joseph dwelt with Jesus for nearly 30 years in an intimacy that the angels might have envied and in the capacity of father. We should often reflect on what we owe Saint Joseph in consideration of the numerous graces that he obtained from Jesus for all men, but especially for poor sinners. (p 120)

On this week when we celebrate All Souls Day it is good to remember the happy death of St. Joseph and maybe to ponder our own mortality. People often think this is morbid but as Christians we are reminded again and again that we are made for something greater than our short time on earth. We are made for heaven. I have had this conversation many times with both the young and old where I ask this simple question, “Are you ready to die?” I don’t ask, “Do you want to die today?” because as disciples of Jesus Christ who know neither the hour or day of his return or of our being called from this life we should take time to prepare and be unafraid of what we all must face one day.
The quote above from Archbishop ……in his book, “The Month of St. Joseph” is a reminder that if we like Joseph spend our days in intimate conversations with Jesus, our Blessed Mother and those on earth around us, conversations of love and blessing, then we know the joy and truth of being loved for who we are and the graces in our life overflow in our unity with God.
We can see this in the sacramental life we are called to live where each of the Sacraments we recieve help us to stay in intimate contact with our Lord. We should think about how we come forward to the altar of the Lord, preparing ourselves with every step to hold Jesus, in the Eucharist, gently and lovingly in our hands as we recieve him Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. Or maybe allowing the priest to place him gently on our tongue, allowing this vulnerablity to show forth the greatness of our God in humble reception.

In our sacramental life we begin to let go of the chains of the world and allow ourselves the freedom of a child. In “The Imitation of Christ” we hear these words “Try to live now in such a manner that at the moment of death you may be glad, rather than fearful. Learn to die to the world now, that then you may begin to live with Christ.”” (#23) How do we live now? This is the most important question much like when Jesus is asked the question “But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” (Lk 10:29) If I choose to live my life in seeking Jesus in my neighbor, in seeking to serve my neighbor in joy then how I live my life today becomes an act of love the lived life of the Beatitudes. This is the path for preparing and accepting the happy death.
“The Imitation of Christ” warns of the opposite to this searching for happiness, “The sins and vices in which we are so entangled that we can rarely apply ourselves to the contemplation of heaven are matters for just sorrow and inner remorse,” ( #21) When we spend our time focused on what is temporary rather than eternal, we will fall into despair. The call to holiness is the fulfillment of our most intimate desire and when we choose to contemplate the lesser and baser in the world we live a drudgery. When we see the world as a place of blessing where we are called to care for others as true neighbors and not use others and creation for selfish pleasure it is here we find the contemplation of life through death blessed in grace filled moments.
“He (St. Joseph) died filled with hope in the assurance of a blessed eternity, encouraged by the all-powerful love of Jesus and the sweet words of his immaculate Spouse.” (p 119) As daughters and sons of God we are invited as St. Joseph was to experience a fully lived life in the presence of Jesus and our Blessed Mother Mary where at the moment of death we find ourselves escorted in love to the everlasting feast of heaven and earth.
God Bless
Fr. Mark

I remember reading this chapter last March thinking as I began how Archbishop M. de Langalerie in his book “The Month of St. Joseph” would talk mostly about how St. Joseph was invisible in the Gospel except in the few passage. This was of course noted but what he many focussed on was the structure of family life and how Joseph lived this life hidden as so many parents are in their journey as a family.
His first area was in the house with work, Jesus choosing carpentry as his lively hood following his foster father’s example, the affection and gratitude, the fatherly counsel and care and ultimately the “rendering mutual service” (p 71) in sharing the life in the home. Second was the life of faith in both the sabbath observance and how this unity of the family prepares us for the separation that will occur and the dangers that often follow along this life. And finally it is where the, “Family ties are strengthened and affection nourished by the mutual interchange of thought…instruction given children, and the thousand other acts tending to attract the heart. Picture to yourselves the interior of the Holy Family at Nazareth. See Jesus, Mary and Joseph at their meals, at work, and in conversation.” (p 72)

The model of the hidden life for St. Joseph, as it is for all parents, is the small acts of blessing and thanksgiving, the pin pricks of suffering and worry the fill our days and nights but ultimately we place in God’s embrace our trust in turning over our children to God’s care. The hidden life is visible but always seeped in the deeper mystery of the relationship of husband and wife, of parent and child, in the community of the family united in a purpose greater than just the individual glory the world points out and celebrates.
At the center of the hidden life is prayer. Dr. Greg and Lisa Popcak in their book “Praying for (and with) Your Spouse” point out “the most common springboard for your prayer life will be the daily blessings.” (p 75) Knowing the center of the hidden life, for St. Joseph, was Sabbath and prayer. The gathering of family around the wonder of blessing in teaching and living by example the love God has for each one of us. The coming together to let our hearts be filled with joy and blessing, so in absence of our loved ones that will come, the same gifts of love will be present deep within the heart.
What was the hidden life of St. Joseph within the Holy Family, as husband of Mary, as a member of the community both in Egypt and then in Nazareth? Is it simply him being, foster father, husband and a man of God living his vocation in the world? The more I think about it the more I believe this is the hidden life for each us. I remember a friend who had the blessing of meeting both Pope St. John Paul II and St. Mother Theresa of Calcutta where he shared with me this simple thought. They didn’t say a word to him. They simply looked at him and in this he encountered holiness. It was an encounter not with a large sermon or teaching but simply a life lived in communion with God in those daily blessings, those tiny blessings, that surround us in so many different ways, often unnoticed in the hustle and bustle of life, but those little graces from God we are called to share with our brothers and sisters.

St. Joseph, surrounded by the great grace and blessing of the Son of God, Jesus growing up before his eyes, and the union with our Blessed Mother Mary saw also how his smaller and many would say insignificant blessings as part of the greater family. This is our challenge to—to share our blessings, even when we think they aren’t worthy of notice, with others and recognize how blessed we are by seeing God’s gifts surrounding us and accepting them knowing of the greater blessing of our sacramental life of love.
God Bless
Fr. Mark.

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 dictation.
Likewise we ought to read simple and devout books as willingly as learned and profound ones. We ought not to be swayed by the authority of the writer, would 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 are reading of the Scriptures, when we wish to understand and mull over what we are simply to read and pass by.

If you would profit from it, therefore, read with humility, simplicity, and faith, and never seek a reputation of 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”)
Humility in front of God is one of the greatest things we can learn in our life as a disciple, a Christian, a child of God. the above quote from “The Imitation of Christ” reminds us of this very important and central part of our pilgrim journey.
Don’t be afraid of simplicity. St. Augustine described in his “Confessions” how in his early reading of Sacred Scripture he found it lacking because of the crude nature and blunt pronouncements without the beauty of the poetry and other writings of the day. We can often miss the central message be trying to find more in a biblical phrase or story than God wants us to hear at the moment. I fall into this temptation often as I prepare my homily by saying to myself, “I hear you God, but that doesn’t seem to be the message I want to say.” In truth each time I read a passage of Sacred Scripture God reveals more to me and reminds me of his whisper of love and hope. Choosing to sit with the Word of God and allow it to speak to me rather than I dictating my desire is a lesson relearned over and over again. What God says to us is just that.
Don’t judge the book by the cover. I have many copies of the Bible in my office and in my rooms. Some have very sentimental attachments and some were gifts and others I have used and worked with for many years. Some are very beautifully bound and others the covers are falling off because of use. But when you open them, it is the same Word of God. In “The Imitation of Christ” we are reminded that we are to know the Word of God so that we may hear the his word whether it be from someone who looks impressive or someone who looks much less impressive because both can and do proclaim God, just as the opposite is also true more times than we can count. This is why it is important to immerse our lives in Sacred Scripture. To pray with, to sit with and to search within our hearts the mission and vocation God has given to us in the world.
Today is built on yesterday. We often get caught up in the latest fashion of the days. My high school pictures will attest to the reality that I grew up in the late 70’s and my clothing choices often reflected this truth. But it also is part of who I am. The mission of the Catholic Church is going on two thousand years and remains the same. The invitation to Jesus to follow him remains the same. The presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church remains the same. Knowing our history and listening to the fathers and mothers of the Church are important and life giving. Because we are not building on solely the institution but we are building a relationship with the Most Holy Trinity. It is like a husband and wife whose relationship is built on years and years of joys and sorrows, on sins and blessings, on hopes, disappointments and dreams and is build on mercy, forgiveness and reconciliation. All of these moments contribute to the totality of who they are as individuals and who they are as the Sacrament of love and to remove any one part of this story would lessen the grace now present in their lives.
All of this is just the beginning. Trust, hope and live in the grace of God’s blessing.
God Bless
Fr. Mark

“Whoever fears the LORD has a secure fortress, and for their children it will be a refuge.” (Proverbs 14:26)

One of the great images I enjoy praying before is the image of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Whether it is Mary holding the child Jesus or Joseph, if it is an image of an older Jesus in the company of Mary and Joseph or, perhaps the most loving image of Jesus and Mary in prayer next to Joseph as he returns to his Heavenly Father. When I go the our diocesan Cathedral for a Mass the priest sit in the area where we have this image of the happy death of Joseph directly in front of us. A reminder of how death is at our door step at each moment and we must, like Joseph be always prepared…but to return to the Holy Family and Joseph as its head.

Archbishop M. De Langalerie writes in “The Month of St. Joseph, “He (Joseph) is continually brought before God by the weight of the double responsibility towards the mother and the Child. Joseph was obedient to God in all things.” (p 67) This is a wonderful image of fatherhood, of being a husband in living as a man of grace. St. Joseph chooses to come before God not out of force but in seeking a greater grace and understanding. St. Joseph, in his life and service of God, reminds us how fathers are first and foremost in the care of their wife and children given a double responsibility of showing forth the image of God as Father.

In a practical way I think the best way to describe this is through this experience. I visited a friend and his wife once for a bbq and as I entered their home i was greeted by hugs and then the offer of a drink and we went to the backyard where he was readying the bbq. During the next twenty minutes or so, he moved from that task to being wrestled to the ground by his three small children, heeding the request of his wife to get something from the garage, returning the bbq, seeking to hold an adult conversation with me, answering the random questions of a 5 year old and finally finishing in helping to set the table and being gracious the whole time. I know that this is in some ways an idyllic depiction of the day, and be assured in other visits it didn’t always go this smoothly, but it was the image of fatherhood in action as the head of his family.
“Being obedient to God in all things” for St. Joseph, as it is for all fathers, is to recognize the grace and blessings with the moment and share them with joy to the best of our abilities.
I know I could write the same about mothers in different ways, but this is about St. Joseph so as our Holy Father Francis reminds us, “Fathers are so necessary as examples and guides for our children in wisdom and virtue. Without father figures, young people often feel orphaned; left adrift at a critical moment in their growth and development.” (Pope Francis) and from the great basketball coach John Wooden “The best thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.” 
St. Joseph….pray for us.
God Bless
Fr. Mark.

The way of perfection passes by way of the Cross. There is no holiness without renunciation and spiritual battle. Spiritual progress entails the ascesis and mortification that gradually lead to living in the peace and joy of the Beatitudes:
“He who climbs never stops going from beginning to beginning, through beginnings that have no end. He never stops desiring what he already knows.” (St. Gregory of Nyssa) (CCC #2015)
Archbishop M. de Langalerie on the 13th day of “The Month of St. Joseph” shares with us the idea of St. Joseph as “Model of Patience and Mortification” to help us along our spiritual journey. We can admit that the word “mortification” can bring up some strange ideas and images in our brain but mortification in the best Christian sense is as the Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us in the quote above to be a tool to lead us on a path of holiness.
The spiritual battle we are engaged in is real and even though St. Joseph in his earthly life did not, as Mary did, experience the reality of the cross, he did know the foreshadowing of the suffering, and using this suffering as a mortification in perfecting his heart to live the blessing of the Beatitudes in his daily life.
St. Joseph as a faithful Jew knew the history of redemption and we, following him in the Judeo-Christian tradition, also know, through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, the reality of this saving mystery. In this way we are invited to ponder a reality and not delve into fantasy when we ponder the Cross. As Archbishop de Langalerie reminds us, “Without imagining unknown perils, he knew enough of the Incarnation and Redemption to be convinced that the Savior of the world would pay a great price for our ransom. His soul, as well as that of Mary, was pierced by the words of Simeon, and reflection often brought to his mind the mysteries of which he was an intimate participator.” (p 56)
Through our prayers and the sacramental life we are called to live as disciples, we experience a reality callings us into a deeper and fuller relationship with our God. We don’t look at the world without hope but recognize how our need for forgiveness and reconciliation invites into a reality and truth where we must, if we truly trust in the cross, bear the testimony of the suffering and death of Jesus.
This is where patience and mortification become tools of faith. We await the coming of Jesus into the fullness of the kingdom. We can become impatient and frustrated if we do not practice the mortification of emptying our hearts to allow Jesus to fill us with the graces needed to complete our journey. One of the simple ways of mortification is the practice of fasting, choosing to suffer in the renunciation of something, like meat on Friday, to make space in an intentional way for the presence of Most Holy Trinity. The voluntary acceptance of this mortification is the choice to allow God to fill us, not because we are mandated, but because we are in love. This witness and testimony opens us to the service of our sisters and brothers and a life of mercy through living the Beatitudes.
“The thought of testifying our love for God, and manifesting our gratitude for His benefits to us, and our happiness in being allowed to endure pains and sacrifices for Him in commemoration of the sufferings, sacrifices, and offenses that He endured for us should incessantly incite and inspire us to bear patiently all the sufferings, pains and sacrifices in life.” (p 57)
The challenge we all face is that the act of mortification can become mechanical and just one more thing to do. For example, I choose not to eat meat on Friday throughout the year. I can do this often without thinking about it and in many ways without “suffering, pain or any sacrifice” at all in my life. In prayer and through reflection I am, as we all are, invited into a deeper and more intentional sacrifice of recognizing the why we make the choice, not just doing it. What is the why?
“Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  For whoever would save his life[g] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” (Mt 16:24-26)