Tag: Love

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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 [email protected] 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

There’s a Jesus Revolution

Several weeks ago, I went to see Jesus Revolution, an absolutely wonderful movie that’s based on a true story. It was the cover story of Time Magazine on June 21st, 1971. You can read the article here. 

Greg Laurie, still the Pastor of Harvest Church in Southern California, wrote the book which the movie is based on. It’s the story of a failing Church and a struggling Pastor named Chuck Smith (Kelsey Grammer), who is introduced to a hippie preacher named Lonnie (played by Jonathan Roumie of Chosen), by his daughter. Chuck does the unthinkable by inviting Lonnie into his Church to preach, also inviting his hippie friends and a band to do what wasn’t considered true Church music. 

More and more hippies then attended services, with the Church growing so much that they had to build a big tent. Baptisms were done in droves, in the Pacific Ocean. One of my favorite scenes in the movie is when Pastor Chuck addresses the hippie congregation by saying (paraphrasing), “no matter what sin you’ve committed, no matter what sin you’re currently living, you’re welcome here, where you’ll experience forgiveness and freedom”. WOW!!!!!!!!!! One of many times I teared up…pure joy. You may have heard before, “the Church is a hospital for sinners, not a hotel for saints”. Do yourself a favor…go see Jesus Revolution. 

Relate the above to what went on at Asbury University, where a revival was sparked by students spontaneously staying after a regularly scheduled chapel service on February 8, 2023. Following the gathering, Asbury President Kevin Brown sent out a brief two-sentence email: “There’s worship happening at Asbury. You’re welcome to join. An estimated 70,000 visited the campus for the revival through February 19th. 

I don’t know if you see it, but something’s happening. There’s a thirst, a hunger that people have. And they’re acting on it…including our Catholic Church. You may have heard of the launch of the National Eucharistic Congress, that will culminate in a revival in Indianapolis, in July 2024…with 80,000 in attendance. I’m honored to be on the programming team…it’s going to be a great gathering. 

I’m also privileged to work at Franciscan University of Steubenville, where we see this enthusiasm for our faith all the time. If you’ve never been, come visit. You’ll see a campus full of students truly on fire for our Lord. Come to one of our Steubenville Conferences and be blown away by what you experience. I guarantee you, you’ve never seen a Liturgy celebrated like at Steubenville. Our conferences are truly life changing, clearly the work of Jesus. 

In 1969, then Fr. Joseph Ratzinger said, “From the crisis of today the Church tomorrow will emerge a Church that has lost much. She will become small and have to start afresh, more or less from the beginning”. Prophetic words from our last Pope. The world, including our country, is in crisis. Not unique to all of Christianity, the Catholic Church has suffered significant losses. The statistics show that far fewer have a faith life compared to past generations. 

Stipulating to the above, people are seeking. They don’t always know what it is they’re looking for, but they’re looking. They’re yearning to fill the God sized hole they have in their chests. We know there’s only one answer…and that’s JESUS!!! 

What to do…love God, love your neighbor, and share the love of Christ. What else? Go see Jesus Revolution. Engage in the National Eucharistic Congress. Come to a Steubenville Conference. All will be life-changing…I guarantee it. Invest in your own faith journey. And then go light up the world. 

Btw, you can listen to a brief interview of me by Drew Mariani on Relevant Radio, on all of this here. (from minute 40 thru 47ish) 

As always, please email me at [email protected] 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 Satan Doesn’t Want You to Know

You were made for Greatness; God made you for Greatness. Three of many, many examples from Scripture include:

  • Jeremiah 1:5 – “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. And before you went forth from the womb, I sanctified you. And I made you a prophet to the nations”.
  • Jeremiah 29:11 – For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”.
  • John 10:10 – Jesus said, “I have come so that they may have life, and have it more abundantly”.

Did you know that you were made for greatness? Have you ever heard (or read) it before…and if so, was it ever detailed for you? Do you know what greatness means for you? Do you know how to achieve it? Do you know the process for identifying it in yourself and for your life?

Satan’s Plan for Your Life

Or like most, is it Satan’s plan for your life that you have a clearer understanding of, that of the secular world, which would have you believe that your greatness can be found in what I refer to as the 4 Ps:

  • Prominence
  • Possessions
  • Pleasure
  • People (using them, not authentic relationship)

Matthew Kelly, who I’ve noted before as one of my favorite Catholic authors and speakers, has a line which I love repeating. It goes something like…

You can never have too much of what you really don’t need.

Think about that in your life. Take it to prayer (seriously). If we’re honest, none of the 4 Ps make us happy. None of them fulfill us.

Satan definitely wants you to believe in the 4 Ps, striving to achieve them at all costs. What he doesn’t want you to know (or believe in) is the truth below…because if you do, he won’t be able to succeed in his primary strategies of division, deceit, and destruction.

God’s Plan for Your Life

Here’s the truth. God loves you more than you’ll ever know, no matter what you’ve ever done. Think about that in your life. Take it to prayer (seriously). He conceived of YOU thousands and thousands of years ago…

  • Making you with a very specific purpose
  • With special gifts and talents
  • He doesn’t make junk; He doesn’t make mistakes – YOU’RE a “10”
  • He made you in His image and likeness
  • God made you according to His grand plan, individually and as part of all of humanity
  • God wants you to be happy; He wants you to be fulfilled
  • God made you for GREATNESS!!!

Greatness can only be achieved in realizing and living your God-given purpose, coupled with using (maximizing) your God-given gifts and talents. You see…you weren’t a mistake; you weren’t an accident, nor any kind of coincidence. You were very intentionally conceived of thousands of years ago, put on this earth for a specific reason, part of God’s grand plan. And participating in that plan is the ONLY way for you to have a life of Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment.

So say “yes” to Jesus. Engage, internalize, and abide in Christ’s love. Your life will never be the same. Satan will have lost. And you will have won, knowing the love of Jesus Christ and living the Will of God.

As always, feel free to reach out to me at [email protected].

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

Mark Joseph

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Weekly Blog

What’s Your Lenten Plan? 

How do you spend Lent? What are the things you do or don’t do, that are different from other times of the year? Why do you do such things? What impact do they have? Could this Lent be different…maybe better? 

Lent comes every year, beginning on Ash Wednesday (which is today) and lasting 40 days to Holy Thursday. For many people, including Catholics, Lent is ignored. For others, I think Lent is about the 1-2 things they give up. It was for me for years, to varying degrees of success. Back then, I don’t know that I fully got it, the meaning of Lent. 

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Lent is a time during which “the Church unites herself to the mystery of Jesus in the desert.” As per the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), it’s a season of prayer, almsgiving, and fasting, in preparation to celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection at Easter. The USCCB goes on to say we are called to a true inner conversion of heart as we seek to follow Christ’s will more faithfully. 

Given my journey and believe me I don’t have it all figured out, the primary thing is improving in what we’re already doing. Take prayer…how do I do it more and do it better? Like everything I’ll share here, what is the next thing you can be doing to enhance your spiritual life? If you spend no time in prayer each day, try 5 minutes. If you spend 10 minutes, how about 15? You get the point. Pick the stretch goal for you and do it daily. 

You could choose additional ways to pray or extend the time you do each form of prayer. Examples are rote prayer, reading Scripture, quiet time with our Lord. Should you desire, I have plenty of prayer resources I can pass along to you. 

I’ve fasted periodically, really beginning to do it more this past year. Fasting means different things to different people and health issues can impact what you do. I just heard an incredibly inspiring talk on fasting, where the book, Fasting, was suggested…here’s a link. Do an internet search to find additional information. Again, how can you take what you’ve been doing, no matter how much or little, to the next level? That’s my goal this lent. 

Almsgiving is the giving of one’s time, money, and possessions to those who are less fortunate. Again, what have you done in the past that you can enhance this Lent? 

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I’d like to close by referring to the USCCB from above, where it says related to Lent, “we are called to a true inner conversion of heart as we seek to follow Christ’s will more faithfully”. 

Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving…all of these spiritual practices are designed to lead us into a deeper relationship with Jesus, making us more holy, and providing us with the only path to peace, joy, and fulfillment. 

Some quotes to ponder as we enter this Lenten season: 

  • “God never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking his mercy” – Pope Francis
  • “Nothing great is ever achieved without much enduring” – St.
  • “Apart from the cross, there is no other ladder by which we may go to heaven” – St. Rose of Lima
  • “Unless there is Good Friday in your life, there can be no Easter Sunday” – Blessed Fulton J. Sheen

As always, please email me at [email protected] 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