Thoughts From Fr. Mark

“Dear families, you too should be fearless, ever ready to give witness to the hope that is in you (cf. 1 Pet 3:15), since the Good Shepherd has put that hope in your hearts through the Gospel. You should be ready to follow Christ towards the pastures of life, which he himself has prepared through the Paschal Mystery of his Death and Resurrection. Do not be afraid of the risks! God’s strength is always far more powerful than your difficulties!” (#18 “The Bridegroom is With You” Pope St. John Paul II)

Our Holy Father reminds us of the dynamic and fruitful blessings of marriage and family even when we endure heartache and suffering in the relations. He offers to ideas to ponder where marriage and family are a “challenging mosaic” and must be filled with “missionary creativity” in the sacramental gift of life. Each family is different and faces different challenges and blessings…the “challenging mosaic” is an understanding of how our hopes and dreams begin to conform to the loving of another deeply, intimately and fully where we strip bare the facade of worldly desires and allow ourselves to be exposed in complete love. It is the mosaic of children with their unique and holy gifts. We also recognize within the family is the classroom of faith and from faith comes the forgiveness and reconciliation practiced in Christian charity.

This week we are celebrating National Marriage Week and the Church rejoices in the gift of marriage and the wonder of family flowing forth from this gift. We also recognize the challenge of marriage and the wounds and hurts that can come from this intimate relationship where the baring of the soul and the opening of our hearts to another can leave us vulnerable and open to great suffering. Yet, as Pope St. John Paul II reminds us we are called to be fearless in following the vocation of relationship and love offered to us.
One of these great mysteries is how we live in this unity of love. In my ministry in Worldwide Marriage Encounter I have seen the grace of God work with such powerful blessing in the married couples who choose to hear and be with each other in hope that my heart also breaks to recieve the grace and blessings as a priest in relationship with my bride the Church.

It is in the challenges of our brokenness and hurt where we discover the grace of God’s healing mercy within our relationship in sacramental love. We prepare ourselves for this sacrifice by offering and receiving the blessing of love. It is in the recognition of a sacrificial love, where suffering will be present side-by-side with joy that we begin to see and know the depth and truth of God’s love for us through the cross of His Son, Jesus Christ.
Pope Francis reminds us that no family is without the need for healing, “I thank God that many families, which are far from considering themselves perfect, live in love, fulfill their calling and keep moving forward, even if they fall many times along the way. The Synod’s reflections show us that there is no stereotype of the ideal family, but rather a challenging mosaic made up of many different realities, with all their joys, hopes and problems. The situations that concern us are challenges. We should not be trapped into wasting our energy in doleful laments, but rather seek new forms of missionary creativity. In every situation that presents itself, “the Church is conscious of the need to offer a word of truth and hope… The great values of marriage and the Christian family correspond to a yearning that is part and parcel of human existence”. If we see any number of problems, these should be, as the Bishops of Colombia have said, a summons to “revive our hope and to make it the source of prophetic visions, transformative actions and creative forms of charity”.” (#57 Amoris Laetitia: The Joy of Love, Pope Francis)

St. John Paul II shares this wisdom, “The love of spouses and parents has the capacity to cure these kinds of wounds, provided the dangers alluded to do not deprive it of its regenerative force, which is so beneficial and wholesome a thing for human communities. This capacity depends on the divine grace of forgiveness and reconciliation, which always ensures the spiritual energy to begin anew. For this very reason family members need to encounter Christ in the Church through the wonderful Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.” (#14 “The Bridegroom is With You” Pope St. John Paul II) The decision to love is discovered in the first decision to accept and love the other in who they are: the good, the bad, the joy and the sorrow. It is awakening the willingness to communicate who we are, even when we are not at our best…even when we sin. God calls us to be healers in relationship. We cannot be in relationships unless we share the gift with God and our spouse, children and entire family.
As we celebrate National Marriage Week, let us take time to renew our marriage and seek God’s divine mercy in our relationships of love.
God bless
Fr. Mark.

“There are two ways of waking up in the morning. One is to say, “good morning, God” and the other is to say, “good God, morning”!” (January 20)

Each time I read and ponder the above quote from Bishop Fulton Sheen is smile inside. When I awake in the morning one of my first cogent thoughts is the greeting…”good morning, God!” The reality of the day might then begin to sink in as my thoughts race towards the work and business of the day where the second phrase may come to mind. Happily for me, although I don’t always show it, I am a fairly positive and optimistic person. I seek to find my trust in the will of God working with Him and through Him in my call to the priesthood.
I am also a realist in the knowing of my own faults and failings and that of my bride the Church. To be optimistic in our care for one another doesn’t preclude the knowledge and experience of how messed up things can be. But is an optimism and joy coming from a relationship of love with a God who is merciful and seeks us to come to him.
Which brings us to….

“Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do… But how much love we put in that action.” (January 26) Bishop Sheen reminds us that we are called to love not just in words but in the actions in our life. It is in some ways the phrase we hear at times…it is not about how much time you spend with a person it is what you do during this time together.
Our modern age calls us to distraction. There is not one of us who is not affected by distraction. It may be the television, the cell phone, the tablet, or the noise surrounding us daily in our lives. Are we paying attention to the person in front of us? Are we listening with both ears? Do we choose to love by being present?
God asks us to be present. In our prayer we seek to lessen the distractions be opening our ears and eyes of our soul to hear him speak. We know in faith…God is present always and everywhere. If love begins at home, then our home is the Church and we visit in attentive joy and blessing. It isn’t the big things but the small graces we share and family…or as St. Theresa of Calcutta put the same thought in different words, “We can do no great things, only small things with great love.”

“Love cannot remain by itself – it has no meaning. Love has to be put into action, and that action is service.” (January 27)

The quote follows the one above reminding us of the call to relationship. One of the greatest joys I have learned through my ministry in Worldwide Marriage Encounter, is the call of service of husband and wife. This often goes against the cultural independence where we are called to “do what makes you happy” and finds so many of us searching for momentary pleasure rather than the abiding peace and joy that comes through the sacrificial service of our family, friends and yes, even our enemies.
St. Paul shares this bit of wisdom in his First Letter to the Corinthians where he writes, “If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal” (13:1) Service and care for others is an active gift of self. Husband and wife choose to share who they are to the fullest extent. Yes, many times, as perfectly as we desire and yet we find the abiding peace, joy and love when we move away from the egoistic and selfish action and embrace God’s call to sacrificial love.

“Because God is full of life, I imagine each morning Almighty God says to the sun, “Do it again;” and every evening to the moon and the stars, “Do it again;” and every springtime to the daisies, “Do it again;” and every time a child is born into the world asking for a curtain call, that the heart of God might once more ring out in the heart of the babe.” (January 30)

I remember watching a friend with his child. He was lying on the ground and holding his little boy above him. It was one of those great and joyous moments where he was tossing his son into the air and catching him. The squeals of delight from the little guy filled everyone with happiness and life. His wife warned him that his son had just finished eating and to be careful….but the warning went unheeded as the exuberance of the moment took hold in him as father of this joyous bundle of love….and then it happened in the middle of a squeal of joy…a steam of food came out and onto the father who said something not so filled with joy and….
I think what Bishop Sheen is trying to remind us is that, God, like my friend, will toss the child in joy tomorrow. God will look at the messiness, the failings, the hurt of the world and will…to put a book end on this post…sing out “Good Morning, World” and great each one of us by name. Calling us into a life of hope, joy and love where our faith intersects with his gift of life.

God Bless
Fr. Mark

(All quotes from “The Wisdom of Fulton Sheen”)

Obedience can be a difficult and troubling concept for us as human beings. We see the seeds of disobedience even in the youngest children as they seek to learn and navigate the gift of free will in their lives. Obedience, as a virtue, is the invitation in following the will of God in our lives and grow in the path of holiness. Obedience to both God and worldly authority will often conflict and we must, as Christians, learn to seek to follow the obedience to God’s love and turn away from that which lures us away from God.
St. Joseph, as a model of obedience, as described in “The Month of St. Joseph” by Archbishop M. de Langalerie reminds us of this path to follow both civil and Godly obedience. As he describes it, “Every Christian should render implicit obedience to the commands of God and his Church… Saint Joseph obeyed the mandate of the emperor Augustus in going to Bethlehem; but he had in view an authority far superior to that of a worldly prince, for he recognize the will of God in the command of his earthly ruler.” (P. 91) We are reminded that like St. Joseph we must love God before all else and in doing so will discern his will even in the commands of the world. To follow these commands, as long as they have no conflict with the moral good of God’s will allows us to bring holiness into the life we live.

In the Second Vatican Council document “Lumen Gentium: Dogmatic Constitution on the Church” we are called, as a Church and as individuals to become a mirror of Jesus Christ. This is true for each member, both young and old, “For all their works, prayers and apostolic endeavors, their ordinary married and family life, their daily occupations, their physical and mental relaxation, if carried out in the Spirit, and even the hardships of life, if patiently borne—all these become “spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ”. Together with the offering of the Lord’s body, they are most fittingly offered in the celebration of the Eucharist. Thus, as those everywhere who adore in holy activity, the laity consecrate the world itself to God.” (LG #34)
Obedience too God’s will finds itself in the seemingly mundane works of life. And while Joseph was called through the census to make a journey, as difficult and arduous as it may have been with a pregnant wife, as first and foremost an offering of sacrifice to God while obeying the law of the time.
We too are called to make these spiritual, and sometimes physical journeys, as an act of obedience where, with faith and trust, we see the hope of the will of God being accomplished in a myriad of different ways. In this we are drawn and in turn draw others into the blessing of God’s presence in the Eucharist as the source of life and the fulfillment of Gods promise of love.
“Each individual layman must stand before the world as a witness to the resurrection and life of the Lord Jesus and a symbol of the living God. All the laity as a community and each one according to his ability must nourish the world with spiritual fruits. They must diffuse in the world that spirit which animates the poor, the meek, the peace makers—whom the Lord in the Gospel proclaimed as blessed. In a word, “Christians must be to the world what the soul is to the body.” (LG #38) Why are the Sacraments so very important? The gift of God’s grace, flowing through the Sacraments, allows us to do the work we must do as followers of Jesus Christ. Our prayer life, which seeks union in the sacramental life of the Church invites us into a more intimate relationship with God.

When I began my first teaching job in New Mexico one of the first things I learned was the need to pray. To pray before, during and after the day. I fell in love with the daily Mass with the missionaries before school began. I loved to take time in prayer before the children came through the door and after they left the door. I was given the example of a prayer life that infused the day with the knowing presence of God and something I hope I passed on to all my students. It wasn’t that prayer made the day less full of the struggles of teaching sixth grade but it did place the power of the Holy Spirit in those moments of struggle, conflict and hurt that pass through the life of both student and teacher.
The obedience to God in prayer and to the curriculum of the school day brought life and purpose to the work . As St. Joseph did in his first act of obedience in taking Mary into his home, “The merit of one act of obedience may be extended to a series of acts and serve to consecrate them all to God; sometimes one act devotes in entire life to God.” (P. 92)
We often miss how hard that first act of loving obedience was in the live of St. Joseph. He was heartbroken at the news of the pregnancy and yet, in trusting the greater plan of God, he was able to act in love towards God and Mary by accepting his new role. Did St. Joseph know the outcome? No, but he chose to trust as we are called to do because in the obedience of love, the trust in our call to mission we find the treasure in the field or the pearl beyond price in the market. (M 13:44-46) And in this discovery are we willing to go and sell all that we have to obtain this treasure of faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
This is who we are called to be, disciples obedient to the will of God in doing our work in the world, caring for the poor, the broken and the undesired in the world, to bring hope and joy in the world through following first and foremost the commandments of God’s invitation to love.
God Bless
Fr. Mark

“The Scripture assures us that he (Saint Joseph) executed the orders of God at the instant that they were made clear to him… What a source of grace is opened for us if we submit properly to the will of those authorized by our heavenly Father to command us! Love was the motive and principle of obedience of Saint Joseph.” (P. 92)

The followers of Christ are called by God, not because of their works, but according to His own purpose and grace. They are justified in the Lord Jesus, because in the baptism of faith they truly become sons of God and sharers in the divine nature. In this way they are really made holy. Then too, by God’s gift, they must hold on to and complete in their lives this holiness they have received…They must follow in His footsteps and conform themselves to His image seeking the will of the Father in all things. They must devote themselves with all their being to the glory of God and the service of their neighbor. In this way, the holiness of the People of God will grow into an abundant harvest of good, as is admirably shown by the life of so many saints in Church history. #40

Society of Sinners

“Oh the glory of the Church, its uniqueness, is that it lives perpetually on the vitality and realism of its own repentance, its contrition, and its plea for God’s help and forgiveness.

Let us not claim moral virtue for church members or for the Church.

Let us rather glory in the fact that the Church is a society of sinners who claim no virtue but humbly rest their broken and burden lives upon the grace which God has eternally revealed in Christ Jesus.”

By Charles Clayton Morrison

Poetry often brings forth beauty in a few brief words as the poet crafts images that are seemingly impossible from the blunt words of normal speech by arranging and forming a beauty and truth beyond the mere words on the paper. The “Society of Sinners” helps us form such an image of the Church, at once beautiful but also full of the reality of who we are as a people, sinners and yet redeemed in Jesus Christ.
This short poem came to mind as I was looking at some of the material for the Universal Synod begun by our Holy Father Pope Francis. He has asked the Church to look outward and inward and seek to discover where the movement of the Holy Spirit is guiding our Church in this age. The temptation I have, as do many, is to see the Church and the holy people of God in one of two ways and in truth both of these are of worldly origin and not the reality of God’s vision and blessing upon his people.
Charles Péguy describes it perfectly when he writes how the world seeks to divide us into the camps of the “perfect” and the “irredeemable” where the people placed in these places are of our choosing and not God’s choice. He writes,

“There are two formations, there are two extractions, there are two families of saints in heaven. God’s Saints come out of two different schools.The school of the righteous and the school of the sinner.
The wavering school of sin.Fortunately in both cases God is the schoolmaster.”

(Charles Péguy, “The Portal of the Mystery of Hope” p. 87)
It is as the prophet Isaiah writes, “and as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride so shall your God rejoice in you.” (Is 62:5)

The temptation is to fear the warts and wrinkles of the Church will somehow diminish Her mission of the salvation of souls and the call to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. The defensiveness can be to “claim moral virtue” abandoning the self introspection needed to “humbly rest their broken and burdened lives upon” Jesus Christ. Or on the other hand fall into the despair and hopelessness of other side fear where grace is muted and the vision of redemption is seen dripping from the stingy and miserly closed fist rather than the open hand of generosity and blessing. Where sin is the master and God is placed into a corner to be brought out only on rare occasions. When we are able to see, as Péguy notes, the Church as “the wavering school of sin” we understand how God calls us to the humbleness of trust in His will is the sign of faith needed to enter into a fuller conversation needed in the Synod process.
Pope Benedict XVI shared this pearl of wisdom, “The purpose of the Church’s turning toward the world cannot be to dispense with the scandal of the cross, but exclusively to render its nakedness accessible anew.” (Joseph Ratzinger) Many people, I included, have some trepidation about the synod process but I also have great trust in the power of the wisdom of the Holy Spirit to lead us closer to the cross of Jesus Christ in proclaiming the good news of forgiveness and reconciliation. It is, as the poem above notes, a time to practice the grace of being “a society of sinners who claim not virtue but humbly rest” in the blessing of God’s grace. If we choose not to be afraid of the warts and failures of call to discipleship and rather on the reality choosing to seek the good and joyful of God’s grace and peace in the midst of the world wishing to divide and destroy the unity our faith calls us to live, then we truly become the Church God creates us to be..
“The Church may be ugly, the singing may be out of tune, the priest corrupt and the faithful inattentive. In a sense that is of no importance. It is as with a geometrician who draws a figure to illustrate a proof if the lines are not straight and the circles are not round it is of no importance. Religious things are pure by right, theoretically, hypothetically, by convention. Therefore their purity is unconditioned. No stain can sully it.” (Simone Weil, “Waiting for God” p 139–140)
God Bless
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