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What’s Next in Life? 

I’m now almost 60, entering what seems like a different season of life. Life you, I’ve experienced many seasons in the past, each with their joys and their challenges. Although not always the case, a different season sometimes means a different direction. And sometimes a tweak to a current direction. 

Attending Mass recently, I saw an old friend, a Deacon who is quite busy doing ministry having retired from his full-time professional life. When he asked me if I had considered the same, it got me thinking. I retired from the professional world 10 years ago, when I started work for Franciscan University of Steubenville. As Vice President of Outreach and Evangelization, I can’t imagine leaving for at least another 10 years. Not that there aren’t challenges…there are a lot, especially coming out of COVID. But I’m invested in the mission, love the University, and continue to be desirous of doing ministry. I feel that I’m where God wants me to be. 

Related to the above and on a personal basis as well, I continue to be passionate about sharing the love of Christ, that gift of encounter that changed my life forever. That’s why I continue to do these blogs and the occasional talk, sharing my story and the lessons I’ve learned…all real-life stuff to help people no longer be overwhelmed, instead leading lives of peace, joy, and fulfillment. 

© Steubenville Conferences, Franciscan University of Steubenville 2022

With the Steubenville Conference Office being part of my organization, my summers are very busy. Easily bored, I’d spend weekend time other times of the year on ministry stuff, some University related and other for my personal ministry. Still being passionate about it all, something is changing. Not my focus…I still want to work for the Church and do ministry, but the intensity. I don’t want to run as hard as I used to. I love my wife, who is my best friend…and I want to be spending more time with her, sometimes just hanging out, while at other times doing the things we enjoy doing. We kid around that we’re all we got…Thank God!!!

BTW, as I’ve indicated before….you don’t have to be in ministry to do ministry. In fact, I believe most often more can be accomplished outside the Church than from within. EVERYONE, whether they know it or not, deeply yearns for the love of Christ. You, me….we can do that everywhere.

So what’s the point to the above, other than being a stream of consciousness in my life. First, as I reflect, including on the more challenging parts of my life, I live in this place of gratitude for all the seasons of my life. I’ve been blessed abundantly in many ways. And even in the tough times, I firmly believe that all is per God’s grand plan for my life, helping me to be my very best. “No pain, no gain…no Cross, no crown”. As I’ve said before, I wouldn’t be who I am or doing what I do…without all those experiences. Praise God!!!

Second is “surrender”. For the longest time, I thought it was “Mark’s will be done”. I had it wrong. Today I endeavor to live “God’s Will be done”. I recently read an ebook by Bishop Barron on discernment. He points to several things, including prayer, reading Scripture, and participating in the Sacraments, all to help us understand God’s Will for our lives. He states that what God wants for you and me is the path of greatest love. Love as per the Catechism is willing the good of another. The Bishop poses some questions for each of us:

  • What makes love more prominent in your life? 
  • What makes it easier in your life to love? 
  • What path will open the greatest capacity for love? 
  • What’s the demand of love in the present moment? 
  • What is the path of greatest love?

Your answers to the above, according to the Bishop, are what God wants you to do. With this as guidance, how do I take my life and discern where specifically God wants me, what He wants me to do? For me, not necessarily changing the big things, but the holy moments in life. How about you? How can you apply this to your life?

Whether it’s a new season or mid-season, an attitude of gratitude is a great thing. And my lived experience is that following God’s Will is the only path to peace, joy, and fulfillment. 

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

Is Heaven For Real?

Last month marks the 3rd anniversary of my father’s passing. At his funeral, really a celebration of his life, I made the point as part of his eulogy that if we believe what we believe (and I do), that he is in a much better place. My dad didn’t fear death. Near the end, he repeatedly said to my brothers and me, “I’m tired, I want to go home to our Lord”. When I said to him, “Dad, that’s not easy to hear”, he responded with, “it’s very easy to say”. In a great place spiritually, he was looking forward to what he understood to be Heaven.

In our increasingly more secular world, it must be so sad for so many, who don’t believe in God and as such, can’t believe in Heaven. Without faith, there is such a finality to death. That’s it. The end. As Christians, we know there is so much more.

Heaven is referenced multiple times in Scripture and there are numerous books written on the subject. My wife couldn’t find enough of them to read after losing her father 5 years ago. A few of her favorites include:

  • Heaven is for Real, by Todd and Sonja Burpo
  • Proof of Heaven, by Dr. Eben Alexander
  • 90 Minutes in Heaven, by Don Piper

Many Believe The Challenge To Be Too Great

For many, they don’t believe they can get to Heaven, given their understanding of what they need to do during their life in order to attain it. The perception is often…all the things that we need to give up, all the rules we need to follow, in order to get there. People come to believe that they can’t have fun, can’t do what they want, and can’t be who they are if they want to go to Heaven.

To compound things, many have an understanding of Heaven, given how it’s often described or given their own perceptions, that it is something far off, very theoretical, metaphorical, and not practical…that it is incredibly difficult to attain. So the thought becomes, “I need to sacrifice so much here to get to a place I don’t even understand”.

Living Heaven Here on Earth

Here’s the reality, not only is there Heaven as related to our eternity, but we can live Heaven here on earth.

The fact is that it’s impossible (yes, I said IMPOSSIBLE) to find Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment living the life that the world professes. I refer to them as the 4 Ps, prominence, possessions, people, and pleasure. Although all can bring short-term happiness, none can result in long-term joy.

The only way to experience that joy, true peace in your life, is to say “yes” to our Lord, Jesus Christ. Sometimes a decision, most often requiring conversion (topic of past blogs), there is nothing like it. In fact, you can’t find a person who has said “yes” to Jesus who would ever be willing to go back to their old life. No one.

It’s in truly knowing Jesus that you become passionate about sharing the good news of the Gospel. With the passion so deep, you will also endeavor to live the life of Jesus. A Scripture passage that comes to mind is…. Matthew 25:44, “Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to You?” Then He shall respond to them by saying: “Amen I say to you, whenever you did not do it to one of these least, neither did you do it to Me”. We need to see Christ in all and be Christ to all.

Living our faith, these things become our strongest desires. Instead of the 4 Ps, they are what we want to do. Living as described above is not only a life of Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment, but Heaven here on earth.

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

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

Mark Joseph

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Weekly Blog

Clergy Courage

A few weeks ago, my wife and I went back to our old Church, St. Louise de Marillac (now part of St. Catherine of Laboure Parish), for a Mass being offered for my Dad, who died a little over 3 years ago. St. Louise is where my brothers and I went to school…my kids attended there as well. My Mother is still a Parishioner after nearly 50 years. 

The bad news is that the 6PM Saturday Mass that we went to religiously (no pun intended), was sparsely attended compared to 10 years ago, when we moved away. COVID may be partially to blame, but numbers were dwindling before that…potential subject for another blog. The really good news is that the Pastor and Celebrant, Fr. Dan Maurer, gave a great homily on the sanctity of life, specifically referencing the unborn. 

Fr. Dan told the story of his nephew’s baby, who was born prematurely at little over 1 pound. He spoke of the numerous pictures, where he got to see first-hand the baby’s development, finally being released from the hospital and now living a healthy life. He then pivoted, indicating that many in our country would have instead aborted that beautiful little baby, who was deserving of his God given life.

He spoke of the power of prayer, which he indicated had to impact the overturning of Roe v. Wade after 49 years, allowing for the legal (morally reprehensible) killing of 50 million babies during its tenure. Fr. Dan went on to say that while prayer is incredibly important, so is action, indicating that we’re all responsible for taking it, i.e., as things go to the states related to abortion legislation. 

Image: Shannon Ramos / Flickr

After Mass, not rehearsed but independent of one another, my Mother and I both thanked Fr. Dan for his courage. It’s disappointing to me that we infrequently hear our Clergy, including our Bishops, speaking out on behalf of the unborn. Related to our faith, I don’t think there’s a more important issue, one that Fr. Dan pointed to as not just political, but moral and central to what we believe. 

We have an election coming up. As indicated in the past, it’s not my role to tell you how to vote. As Catholics, I’d suggest we all reference what the Church has to say on different issues, including abortion. In a blog, I posted on October 14, 2020, I shared what the Church advocates on numerous issues (summarized below), that include: 

  • Human Life – all human life, from the unborn to the elderly, is to be protected. 
  • Promoting Peace – Catholics must work to avoid war and promote peace. 
  • Marriage and Family Life – Marriage is to be between one man and one woman; the family structure is fundamental to society and is to be protected. 
  • Religious Freedom – US policy should promote religious liberty vigorously, 
  • Preferential Option for the Poor and Economic Justice – Welfare policy should address both the economic and cultural factors that contribute to family breakdown. 
  • Health Care – Affordable and accessible health care is an essential safeguard of human life and a fundamental human right. 
  • Immigration – Recognizing a nation’s right to control its borders and maintain the rule of law, immigrants are to be treated fairly and compassionately. 
  • Catholic Education – Parents, the first and most important educators, have a fundamental right to choose the education best suited to the needs of their children, including public, private, and religious schools. 
  • Promoting Justice and Countering Violence – An ethic of responsibility, rehabilitation, and restoration should be a foundation for the reform of our broken criminal justice system
  • Combatting Unjust Discrimination – It is important for our society to continue to combat any unjust discrimination, whether based on race, religion, sex, ethnicity, disabling condition, or age, as these are grave injustices and affronts to human dignity. 
  • Care for Our Common Home – Protecting the land, water, and air we share is a religious duty of stewardship. 
  • Communications, Media, and Culture – Regulation is needed that respects freedom of speech yet also addresses policies that have lowered standards, permitted increasingly offensive material, and reduced opportunities for non-commercial religious programming. 
  • Global Solidarity – The United States has a unique opportunity to use its power in partnership with others to build a more just and peaceful world. 

Fr. Dan suggested we need to take action. Whether that’s voting, caring for those in need, or working to promote the Church’s pro-life position, we are called to act as guided by our prayer. Both are important. The question I’ll leave us with…what are you doing; what am I doing to be the change you/we want to see? 

As always, please feel free to contact me at Mark@MarkJosephMinistries.com, with questions, comments, concerns, or challenges. Prayer requests are welcome too.  

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

God Made you for Greatness!!!

Mark Joseph

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Weekly Blog

Losing Those Close To Us

Today is three years since my Dad died, and I miss him dearly. With the exception of my wife, there’s probably no one I talked to more frequently. He was always there, my biggest fan and advocate. I wrote about him on October 23rd, 2019. 

My Dad didn’t die suddenly, but was failing over a period of time. The same was true for my father-in-law and most of the people I’ve lost in my life. Now 59 myself, the list is extensive, including all my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and others…most where it wasn’t a surprise by the time they reached the end. I have a cousin, Eric who died almost 30 years ago at the age of 30, from Hodgkin disease. With him beginning his cancer journey at age 9, it wasn’t a surprise, although very sad and felt different given how young he was. 

My father and mother

Jim Sweeney, acclaimed offensive lineman at Pitt, followed by the New York Jets and the Steelers, just suddenly died at age 60. I had the privilege of knowing Jim, playing high school football with him and reconnecting when in our early 40s. With all his success, you’d never meet a more humble person than Jim. What a great guy, who will be missed by many. 

Jim was a shock. The deaths of the others, as indicated, were expected. Brian, a friend who I’ve known for almost 30 years, is in a different category for me. Still with us while fighting a cancer that has progressed significantly, it’s tough to watch. Maybe it’s different because Brian is 10 years younger than me. Or because I’m of the age where my own mortality is more relevant. Or knowing the age of his kids, sensing what this is doing to his family. 

I say “watch” above figuratively because I’ve not seen Brian often (couple times) since his diagnosis. I feel badly in not being more present to him. We talk and text periodically. I pray for him and his family often. None of it seems like enough.

Where am I going with this?

What’s my point? I think it’s three things…love, gratitude, and reflection. Taking the last first, I think we can learn a lot in reflecting on the lives of others. What are the lessons for us? Their impact on our lives? The things they may have done differently. We can also reflect on how we interacted with them…the things we would change for the future with others. 

Born out of that reflection should be gratitude…for their lives, our relationships, and the lessons learned. When talking about death and suffering, it’s sometimes difficult to have an “attitude of gratitude”, understanding as I often say, “everything happens for a reason, according to God’s grand plan”. Believing that God doesn’t create these things, it’s my lived experience that He allows them to bring a greater good, have us grow closer to Him, and internalize His unconditional love. 

Lastly is love, which arguably always comes first. Above all else as Jesus tells us in the Great Commandments, we’re called to love…love God and love our neighbors. While still on this earth, we need to love them, love them, love them, which can take many forms. That love can’t wait till they’re gone. We need to act. I need to act, not letting the busyness of life get in the way, not being distracted by the unimportant. 

Here’s my encouragement to all of us. Life is precious. Life is short. Let’s love each other, including those sick, suffering, or in need. Let’s be grateful for the lives of others, and our relationship with them. Let’s continue to learn all that we can from those who go before us, so we can live the lives God calls us to. 

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

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

Remember…God made you for Greatness!!!

Mark Joseph