Tag: Challenges

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Weekly Blog

Standing His Post 

I had the privilege to be on the Board of Catholic Men’s Fellowship (CMF) of Pittsburgh for several years, serving along-side some wonderful men who became good friends. At that time, one of the primary things CMF did was put on its Annual Gathering of Catholic Men. Then COVID hit, having a negative impact on all events…boy do I know that story in working in the Steubenville Conference Office at Franciscan University. 

On Saturday, September 23, I had the opportunity to reunite with several of my CMF brothers at the 15th Annual Gathering of Catholic Men. Having stepped away in 2017-18, it seems like a lifetime ago and yet we just picked up where we left off. It was wonderful being with brothers in Christ, sharing in and being part of the fellowship which bonded us back then. It was a good example of community, the importance of brotherhood, especially in this crazy world we’re living in today. 

That crazy world is a great segue to Mark Houck, who in my opinion stole the show on that Saturday. That’s not an easy thing to do being preceded by Chris Stefanick and Ennie Hickman, two of the best speakers in the Catholic world…btw both of them did a great job, delivering their own impactful messages. That said, it’s difficult to compare with the story told by Mark Houck. 

As you might remember, in 2020 Mark was arrested at gunpoint; 20+ FBI agents surrounding his house, banging on his door at 6:30AM, with his wife and 7 small children at home. All this actually happened on September 23rd (Feast Day of Padre Pio), 3-years to the day of the Gathering just a little over a week ago. Mark told the gruesome story, including how he was mistreated by the FBI that day all the way up to him being acquitted after refusing a plea deal most people would jump at. 

Hopefully CMF will have it up on its YouTube channel soon. I’d encourage spouses to watch it together, as my wife and I did. 

There are so many things I could talk about from Mark’s story that day, but the point which continues to resonate with me is Mark “standing his post”. As he said, just showing up, doing his job, doing what the Lord calls him to do. His examples were that of a husband and father. A pro-lifer who for more than a decade has been praying every Wednesday at the same abortion clinic. A ministry guy who’s helped men for years through his apostolate, The Kings Men…doing great stuff which I’ve experienced firsthand.  

Mark made an observation about how we’ll ultimately be judged by our Lord, Him looking at that gap between the life we led and that which God anticipated for us with all the graces He gave us individually. Did we do what he called us to? Did we stand our post? Did we show up? Did we do our job? 

My “schtick” is the love of Christ. My catch phrase is that in “understanding and internalizing the unconditional love of Jesus Christ, the unimaginable is achievable”. There’s a lot there that requires a lot of unpacking. One of those points is this…when you truly know the love of Christ, you have to give it away. 

I walked away from Mark’s talk convicted. Like you, I’m on this journey. What does it mean to stand my post, to show up, to do my job…do what the Lord calls me to do? In the end, how is our Lord going to look at my “gap”? Please keep me in your prayers as I pray for you. And let us together pray for Mark Houck and his family. 

You may have heard…Mark is running for US Congress. Given what I know about Mark, his walk and his experiences, I couldn’t feel any better about endorsing him. He’s an example for us all, standing his post, doing what our Lord has asked him to do. I’d invite you to join my wife and me in supporting Mark’s candidacy financially…. 

As always, please email me at Mark@MarkJosephMinistries.com with questions, concerns, comments, or prayer requests. 

God Bless you on your Path to Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment!!!

Remember…God made you for Greatness!!!

Mark Joseph

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Weekly Blog

The Journey Isn’t Easy

Have you ever been in a rut, maybe for an extended period of time? I feel like that’s me. As I’ve expressed previously, it’s been a tough couple years professionally while our conference ministry is still recovering from COVID, especially the last 12 months. Recently I’ve been reminded of some lessons, principally the importance of:

  • Humility
  • Gratitude
  • Love 

Humility

Pride is considered one of the gravest of sins. And it’s certainly the root of most evil. Pride impacts our thoughts, decisions, responses (reactions), and actions. It’s not something we necessarily express or experience intentionally but develops in us over time. Pride creates in us this feeling that we’re always right…and when not agreed with, believing we’re under attack. 

Humility is the opposite of pride. In short, it’s understanding that there’s only one God and we’re not Him. To me, it’s internalizing that it’s not us in doing the things we do, but God working through us. Our gifts and talents are given to us by Him. He calls us to live out a specific purpose on this earth. We need to rely on Him, His Will for what that is and what we do. All of this is related to humility. 

These concepts don’t easily play themselves out in the moment, during the occasional tough conversations we have. I know that’s true for me. Btw, my biggest sin of my past was pride. I’m finding I’m still pretty good at it today…something I’m not proud of (no pun intended). Prayer is so important, as is study of our faith, and interacting with others on this journey. 

Gratitude

We’ve discussed it before…it’s so important to have an attitude of gratitude. It helps us with humility and fighting against pride. Before I go to bed, I’ve reestablished the habit of thinking through my day and being grateful for all the things that occurred…taking them to prayer.   

As related to potential pride and lessons learned, what is God trying to teach me (you) through challenging times? This has been something I’ve been struggling with. Pride can lead to self-pity…not a good characteristic. In faith, we need to understand that all things contribute to who God is making us to be, who He’s calling us to be. 

There are a couple expressions my wife and I really love: 

  • “You are where you are because that’s where you’re supposed to be”
  • “No matter where you go, there you are”

It’s every single experience or occurrence in our lives that makes us who we are today. Although it would be nice to be able to do so, you can’t carve out one here or there and still be you. Be grateful…I’m trying to do so daily. 

Love

I like to say that it’s in understanding and internalizing the unconditional love of Christ, that the unimaginable is achievable, we can live heaven here on earth, and there’s a path to peace, joy, and fulfillment. I still believe this to my core, but it’s not one and done. Ongoing conversion is a real thing, a needed thing. 

Born out of God’s love for us, we need to love Him and love others. Matthew Kelly talks about the concept of “holy moments”, which are all the ways to love others. I just watched a video by Fr. Mike Schmitz where he said, “we never need permission to do good”. He followed that up with, “be a person of hope”. Love, love, love them. 

It’s a Journey

Like you, I’m engaged in our faith. I’ve made progress on this journey, all by God’s grace. Yet I’ve still been struggling. As I just said above, it’s not one and done. For us to have a joy independent of substance or circumstance, we need to cling to the Cross. For me, I’ve had to double down on the faith related things I’ve been doing, including surrounding myself by the right type of people, brothers in Christ who speak truth into my life. 

We all fall down…and Jesus is always there to pick us up. We just need to “ask”. 

As always, please email me at Mark@MarkJosephMinistries.com with questions, concerns, comments, or prayer requests. 

God Bless you on your Path to Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment!!!

Remember…God made you for Greatness!!!

Mark Joseph

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Weekly Blog

What’s the Answer?

This kicks off our monthly posts, which we’ll endeavor to get out the first Wednesday of every month. Consistent with the past, we’ll cover real life stuff, relating it back to our faith. Today’s topic…the significant challenges of our world and the answer to it all. 

Are you a “glass half full” person or “glass half empty”? How do you typically see the world? The circumstances around you? Do you experience challenges as opportunity? Or is everything a crisis, a problem that needs solved? What about your view of the world? Our country? How does what is going on in our communities effect you? Are you nervous about it? Or although a concern, it’s nothing to really lose sleep over. 

I don’t know about you, but I see our current world as being in a bad place. Starting with our country, crime and violence have skyrocketed. Deaths from overdoses are through the roof. Depression and addiction are at all-time highs. There’s a homeless crisis in numerous cities. Regardless of what you may think of immigration, you have to admit that we have no idea who’s entering our country along the southern border, by the tens of thousands. It’s a safety concern, not to mention how the vast numbers are stressing our local governments. 

Inflation is out of control. Gasoline is way more expensive than just 2 years ago. With a couple banks having failed, there’s a lot of uncertainty. Recession is probable. There’s a huge shortage of workers, with many having left the labor market. There are supply chain issues, causing shortages of some products. We have an overreliance on China, which has shown itself to be our adversary.   

Then there’s all the geopolitical stuff…challenges around the globe, including China, North Korea, Iran, and Russia. Just two years ago, who would have imagined war in Europe…there doesn’t seem to be an end to the Ukraine conflict. Or such instability in so many places? It’s nuts.  

If paying attention, the above (and more…my list is brief) can really bring you down. It can depress you. One answer may be to ignore it…don’t watch the news; don’t read the articles. I have a couple friends who practice this approach and it seems to work. For me, I prefer being in the know. Once a real political junky, I can’t imagine tuning it out completely, although I watch and read less about it than I used to. 

And I’ve not even mentioned the personal struggles we all have, that are a part of everyday life. 

The Only Answer

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus…our Lord and Savior. The answer, my answer is Jesus. If I didn’t have my faith, I don’t know what I’d do. There are so many thoughts, expressions, and principals I could include here. That said, it’s all about the love of Jesus; the glory and grandeur of God; the strength given us by the Holy Spirit, who dwells within us. 

All the things that are happening globally and locally, even to us personally…God’s got it. Although He doesn’t create it, especially the evil, God isn’t surprised by it. He’s bigger than all of it. God’s love, His Son’s love is bigger than we could ever imagine. The Holy Spirit is there for us day by day, every hour and every minute. 

There’s a difference between knowing the above intellectually and experiencing a real peace in your life. I believe it begins with understanding and internalizing the unconditional love of Jesus Christ, followed by being heavily engaged in our faith. To me, that includes having an active prayer life and participating in the Sacraments, particularly the Eucharist and Confession; reading Scripture and other faith based books. All of it helps me in staying closer to God and being at a place of peace. 

Do I still worry at times? Yes. Do I not sleep at night periodically? Yes. Those are the times when I double down on prayer. We live in a crazy and scary world, but thank God for God. The only answer is Jesus.  

As always, please email me at Mark@MarkJosephMinistries.com with questions, concerns, comments, or prayer requests. 

God Bless you on your Path to Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment!!!

Remember…God made you for Greatness!!!

Mark Joseph

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Weekly Blog

When the Miracle Doesn’t Come

On February 23, just 4 weeks ago, we lost Amber VanVickle, dear wife to Dave and loving mother of 5 children, including 2 with special needs. Amber was special for many reasons. But she was most special for her love for Jesus and her embracing of the Cross.  

The age-old question of Christianity is how an all-loving God allows tragedy in our lives. Amber eloquently answers that question below, in an article published in the National Catholic Register (NCR), originally in 2019 and then posted again after her death. You can find it and more on Amber at here. 

Before getting to the article, which is well worth the read and reflection (I’ve read it 10 times), I’d like to point you to a couple other things. 

Dave and Amber were interviewed prior to her cancer diagnosis. The subject was “Finding God in the Midst of Suffering” and is definitely worth the 8 minutes. Other articles authored by Amber, all worth reading and reflecting on, can be found at the NCR link above, just after the main post. 

Finally, if you’d like to support Dave and the kids, please go to: 

When the Miracle Doesn’t Come

In Amber’s words…”I remember distinctly a night that had a great impact on my soul, a night that led to a great searching and seeking.

It was late. I was sitting amid beeping machines around the hospital bed of my newborn daughter. She had just had extensive back surgery for severe spina bifida, only a few days old. She was more tubes and bandages than sweet baby-soft skin. I sat with a broken heart in quiet questioning to our Lord. We had prayed for a miracle that had not come, and the result had been nothing less than torturous — physically for our daughter, in every other way for us.

At this same time, a beautiful miracle had occurred for an acquaintance of ours. Like the miracles of old — a life-giving, awe-inspiring, faith-enriching healing. We rejoiced in it with all our hearts. A letter soon circulated that this miracle occurred, firstly, because of God’s great love for the couple. As I read the letter late that night, sitting next to my daughter, my heart broke even deeper. What did it mean for us that the miracle had not come? Did God not love us?

It’s easy for us to read the Gospel accounts and see only the thread of one miracle story after another. But there are hidden golden threads that seem too often unnoticed, and it seems as if our Lord utters them in quiet desperation: ‘You seek me… because you ate your fill of the loaves,’ ‘Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe,’ and ‘Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.’

Perhaps the Lord is telling us that his love is not measured simply in the physical, in the miracles and the healings, but perhaps even more so, in the absence of those. That his love is shown, even more deeply, in the crosses, the trials and tempests of our lives, in the seeming absence of his power and love. That God permits sorrow and suffering for the very end of drawing us into himself, for an intimacy and sharing-in that could not be achieved any other way than through a share in his passion: ‘You seem, Lord, to give severe trials to those who love you, but only that in the excess of their trials, they may learn the greater excess of your love.’

Too often the spiritual life, that continuous road of handing our lives, hearts and wills to God, is depicted as an effortless adventure, that when we turn to God all will be well. Many times I’ve heard, ‘Just sit back and wait and see what the Lord does!’ as if a firework show awaits around every corner. But as St. Teresa of Ávila says, “They deceive themselves who believe that union with God consists in ecstasies or raptures, and in the enjoyment of him. For it consists in nothing except the surrender and subjection of our will – with our thoughts, words and actions – to the will of God.”

God is a consuming fire, a fire that ‘breaks, blows, and burns and makes us new,’ as John Donne writes. God’s love is one that enflames but also one that purifies.

‘For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried. You brought us into the net; you laid affliction on our backs; you let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us forth to a spacious place.’

The absence of God’s miracles does not signify the absence of his love but the very presence of it, an offering of it and invitation to greater intimacy, a sharing in his life so efficaciously achieved by the stripping and fire of the cross: as St. Teresa Margaret writes, ‘Since Your life was a hidden life of humiliations, love and sacrifice, such shall henceforth be mine.’

Perhaps the sadness and frustration we hear in the voice of Christ is because of his desire for true love, a love that flourishes in the dark valleys as well as the peaks of life, a love that is not dependent on getting ‘our fill of the loaves,’ a love that is pursued and sought not because of signs and wonders but because of who he is, a love that is tested and tried and found pure and true. He gives us this opportunity of love through the cross and sufferings, even more so than his miracles. As St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus prays, ‘O Lord, you do not like to make us suffer, but you know it is the only way to prepare us to know you as you know yourself, to prepare us to become like you… because you wish that my heart be wholly yours.'”

As always, please email me at Mark@MarkJosephMinistries.com with questions, concerns, comments, or prayer requests. 

God Bless you on your Path to Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment!!!

Remember…God made you for Greatness!!!

Mark Joseph