Tag: Family

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Celebration of Marriage and Family 

Photo by Jeremy Wong from Pexels

You may recall me mentioning Mary Kate in past posts. She is the creative genius behind Mark Joseph Ministries, making all of our stuff look so good.

I want to congratulate Mary Kate and Greg, who got married this past Saturday. It was a beautiful wedding…the joining of two wonderful people. Cyndi and I want to wish Mary Kate and Greg much health and happiness for the entirety of their lives. May God continue to bless them on their journey!!!

Given their wedding, I thought I’d take the opportunity to give my slant on the importance of marriage and family. Please note that I come to this topic having been divorced from my first wife. We had several challenges and I definitely was not the husband that I’d be proud of today. There are no winners when it comes to divorce, not husband or wife, nor the kids, who are often the ones hurt the most.

I was very blessed to not only receive an annulment from the Church, but to have found my best friend in the world, my wife of the last 11 years, Cyndi. Believe me when I say that I don’t have it totally figured out (just asked my wife), but now understanding what marriage is to be, I truly try my best every day.

In a document published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), which I sited a several weeks ago, it indicates that “the family, founded upon marriage, is the basic cell of human society. The role, responsibilities, and needs of families should be central priorities.  Marriage must be defined, recognized, and protected as a lifelong exclusive commitment between a man and a woman, and as the source of the next generation and the protective haven for children. Children, in particular, are to be valued, protected, and nurtured”.

Why is the above so important? I’d suggest we first reference Scripture. In Mark 10:6-9, Jesus says, “But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female. For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate”.

Blessing of Our Children

In response to His Disciples, who were chastising people for bringing their children to Jesus, He said in Mark 10:14-16, “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it. Then he embraced them and blessed them, placing his hands on them”.

Photo by Jeremy Wong from Pexels

 

Jesus spoke to the importance of marriage and family. Scripture references the topic in other places, i.e. Ephesians, Chapter 5. All of Christianity, including Catholicism emphasizes the critical nature of both. Why?

I think there are two reasons, the first personal. Life is built on relationships and none is stronger or more important than that between spouses. My wife is my best friend. We help each other to be the very best we can be. We in turn try to help our kids, their spouses, and kids, to be the best they can be. There’s no one nor anything more important to us. We’re family.

Second, the family is the foundation of society…the statistics, too many to site here, clearly support its criticality. The healthy family structure, with two parents in the home, is fundamental to success in the numerous ways we can define it. That’s not to say that some families can’t endure separation, i.e. divorce. It is to say that families are much better off when intact (just ask the kids)…and so is society. And that’s coming from a divorced guy.

In celebration of Mary Kate and Greg, let’s salute marriages and families. Let’s pray for them as well. Dear Lord, we ask you to abundantly bless the families of our world, starting with the parents, that they have healthy, happy marriages.

As always, please feel free to reach out to me at Mark@MarkJosephMinistries.com, with your comments, questions, concerns, challenges, and prayer requests.

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

Mark Joseph

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Weekly Blog

Why are We Losing our Liberties?

Why are We Losing our Liberties?

The New York Post broke a story a week ago about presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son’s pay for play behavior with several foreign countries, including China and Ukraine. The intent of this blog isn’t to argue the merits of this apparent scandal (you can decide that on your own), but to call out the fact that Google, Facebook, and Twitter blocked the story. While their rationale is that the story wasn’t substantiated, these are the same organizations that routinely publish things on Donald Trump that are unsubstantiated. The hypocrisy is so rich that it’s sick. Again, you can agree or disagree, which doesn’t change the message of this blog.

The above is an indisputable fact. Here’s the issue though, democrat or republican, what we’re talking about here is censorship. We’re the United States of America, not Russia or China, not Cuba or North Korea. Unlike these communist countries, who have a history of censorship, we don’t behave that way. We’re Americans and the freedom of the press is critical to our democracy.

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The First Amendment to the US Constitution reads as follows… Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Understanding that we’re people of faith, notice that the First Amendment includes
“respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”. My fear, based on what we’re seeing happen in our country, is that our freedom of religion is next to go. The same people who are squashing our free speech have no tolerance for our religious liberty, as evidenced by the criticism of Judge Amy Coney Barrett for her (our) Catholic faith.

Why is This Happening?

True to my beliefs, I state often that everything happens for a reason. The question then becomes, “why is this happening now”? Why are we where we are as a country? In praying about it the other morning, I thought of repentance as indicated in Scripture. Referencing the Bible, I found:

  • Mark 1:15, Jesus states, “repent and believe in the Gospel”.
  • Luke 13:3, Jesus states, “but unless you repent, you too will perish”.

The above are two of over 100 like verses in the Bible. I think it’s clear. As a society, we have dramatically sinned. We have far fewer attending Church today than decades ago. We’ve removed God from our schools. Our society is hostile towards religion. We’re aborting over 800,000 babies a year. Two thirds of our babies are born out of wedlock. Instead of concentrating on character, integrity, and courage, people are busy chasing prominence, possessions, and pleasure. It seems that the richer our country becomes, the more secular and depraved it is.

There are many, although far fewer as a percentage as compared to past generations, who are passionate about our faith. That said, as a collective society our sins are many and grievous. Clearly, we need to repent.

I’ve indicated before in these blogs that all the answers to life can be found in Scripture and are taught by the Church. Maybe what is happening in America is happening because God has had enough of our pettiness, our hedonist ways. Given where our country has come, in this post Christian time, we need to repent…individually, as the Church, and as a nation.

In closing, related but slightly divergent, there’s no moral equivalent between the sanctity of human life, i.e. abortion, and any other issue, the former being intrinsic evil as per our faith.

God Bless America!!! John 14:6, Jesus is the truth, the way, and the light.

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

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

 

Mark Joseph

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Weekly Blog

The Scripture Verse Women Like the Least

I’m sure most women know it before I even identify it….Ephesians 5:22, “wives should be subordinate to their husbands”. Currently doing the “Bible in a Year”, I read and pray through several verses every day. Today was this one, surrounded by several others, which really put it into context.

As I’ve indicated on several occasions, I’m not a Scripture scholar nor theologian. So, although I’m sure that there is biblical rationale to the above verse, I’m not arguing that here, but making a broader point. Ephesians 5:21 precedes verse 22, stating “be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ.” Here St. Paul indicates that husbands and wives need to rely on one another, as peers and partners.

Please stick with me here. I’m making some points, but need to site some more Scripture to do so.

My favorite verse from Ephesians is 5:25, “husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her”. Here’s the thing…Jesus was crucified on the Cross, the most torturous death he could have experienced, for the Church, for us. St. Paul is saying that a husband must be willing to die for his bride. I don’t know about you, but I think it’s pretty special when anyone is willing to die for me. Most husbands I know, as protectors and providers, are literally willing to die for their wives and their children. I know it was true of my Dad and it’s true of me.

Ephesians 30-33 read, “…because we are members of his body”. For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the church. In any case, each one of you should love his wife as himself, and the wife should respect her husband.

Photo by Asad Photo Maldives from Pexels

To me, the above means that we’re a team…wives and husbands. One flesh, inseparable, unlike any other relationship that exists, incredibly unique and very special. As husband and wife, we are always to be there for one another, loving and supporting each other.

With the divorce rate today, no different among Catholics and other Christians as compared to others, we don’t live this truth. I was guilty of this, having been divorced from my first wife. Fortunate to receive an annulment and now married to my best friend for the past 11 years, here’s the big difference. We don’t see divorce as an option. Like any couple, we have our issues. Everything isn’t perfect…just ask my wife. But there’s no “out”. Understanding what St. Paul states above, trying to live it, actively pursuing our faith together and being blessed by God’s grace, we know we’ll survive…and most of the time we thrive.

My wife is my #1 priority. Like our parents before us, we do everything together. We joke that “we’re all we got”. Although we have others in our lives, our Mothers, our kids, other family and friends, there’s a certain reality to that statement. Whether here in Pittsburgh or Nevada and Arizona, where we love spending time, we’re all we need, knowing each other’s love and knowing the love of Christ.

Society is built on the family. Strong families are a result of solid marriages. Although we may not agree with every word of every verse, I think we can take some lessons from St. Paul in Ephesians 5:21-33.

As always, please feel free to contact to me at Mark@MarkJosephMinistries.com, with questions, comments, concerns, or challenges. I’ll even take prayer requests.

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

Mark Joseph

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Weekly Blog

Satan Must Be Pleased

Given what’s occurring in our country, I thought I’d write about two things this week that have been on my heart:

  • Destructive nature of Division
  • Importance of Unity

Regarding the first point, Jesus tells us in Matthew 12:25 “Every kingdom divided against itself will become desolate. And every city or house divided against itself will not stand”,

Abraham Lincoln made a very similar point, on June 16, 1858. When running for the US Senate and addressing the issue of slavery, Lincoln said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand” (recognized by many as related to Jesus’ message in the Gospels).

Our country is about as divided as it can be. Most can’t believe what is happening, whether in our streets, in our government, within our Churches, or our families. We as a nation are divided and individuals are divided.

Unless things change dramatically, it’s difficult to see how we’re going to recover from this moment in history. The words of both Jesus and Abraham Lincoln would appear to ring true.
I’m sure our country’s adversaries are enjoying what’s happening. So is Satan, who must be very pleased, with one of his primary strategies being division, in addition to deception, diversion, discouragement.

Photo by Brett Sayles from Pexels

Importance of Unity

The older I get, the more I point to Scripture and the Church for the answers to life. Related to unity (and all other things), examples are numerous:

  • Jesus prayed for our unity prior to Him being arrested and crucified, in John 17:20-21, “I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,Anchor so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us”.
  • The Catechism of the Catholic Church states in paragraph 817, “Where there are sins, there are also divisions…where there is virtue, however, there also are harmony and unity, from which arise the one heart and one soul of all believers”.
  • Colossians 3:12-14, “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do, and over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection”.
  • 1 Corinthians 3:4-8, Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.

Tying the above together, Jesus prayed for our unity, knowing its importance. Sin (we need to resolve to be better) creates division, whereas virtue (we need to resolve to be better) causes harmony and unity. We need to forgive others with compassion and kindness. Lastly, we need to love, as characterized above.

Given what’s transpiring in our country, I continue to discern what God is calling me to do. Regardless of where my prayer takes me, from the above I think it’s obvious that I need to first love those around me and bring unity wherever I can, balanced by the truth of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Please join me in praying for our country!!!

As always, feel free to contact me with questions, concerns, or comments at Mark@MarkJosephMinistries.com.

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

Mark Joseph

P.S. Cling to the Cross….our only source of TRUE PEACE!!!