Tag: Mark Joseph

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You are Where You Are…Now What?

 

The age-old question is “how an all-loving God allows evil in this world”, including the tragedy that all of us experience at some point in our lives. An inferred aspect of that question is “why do these things happen to me, good or bad, and what am I to make of them?”

As you know, I work at Franciscan University of Steubenville, where there and previously, I’ve had the opportunity to lead teams through strategic planning processes. Over the years, I’ve always begun the process with having all the team members present their lifelines, so as to get to know each other more personally. Simply stated, one’s lifeline is the identification and description of critical or pivotal events in one’s life. Having prepared, in 10 minutes, each person describes their most impactful experiences, starting from their youth. For many, this will often include aspects of their faith journeys.

I’ve also incorporated the idea of our “Why” into this process, both individually and for the organization. We’ll talk more about this, as introduced by Simon Sinek in his 2009 book, Start with Why, in next week’s blog.

Related to our “why”, which is our purpose, cause, or belief, according to Simon, it is important to understand our lifeline…all those things that have occurred in our lives. Why did they take place? What lessons are we to learn? What are we to do going forward?

Here’s the reality…every single, individual thing (occurrence) in your life is CRITICAL to who you are today. My wife and I often joke that it would be so nice to eliminate this tragedy or that wound. That’s not the way it works…thank God. You wouldn’t be who you are today without experiencing every single thing…the good, the great, the wonderful, as well as the bad, the terrible, and the ugly. Part of my prayer of gratitude every morning is the line above, in addition to the line below.

We are were we are because it’s where we’re supposed to be. We are who we are because it’s who God is making us to be. Every single occurrence, again…good or bad, goes into who we are.  We all have God-given gifts, talents, and passions. How we use those and maximize our God given purpose are a result of our experiences. God gives us the opportunity to make a ministry out of our mistakes, our messes.

So, given the above, pray through your lifeline. Write it down, maybe in a prayer journal…start one if you don’t have one. Share your lifeline with someone else. Remember it for next week, as we do a deeper dive into our “why”. And take to prayer what God is calling you to do.

As always, please contact me at [email protected] with questions, comments, 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

Living in the Bubble

I’ve come to believe most (maybe all) things we truly engage in are about encounter and community. Take sports or a hobby…we have a first encounter or introduction, most often followed by support like training, coordination, events, i.e. games. Experienced in person or online, community is affirming.

The same is true with our faith. To be truly engaged, there’s been an encounter…with Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Encounter can then also be one on one with others. Examples of community are worshipping together (for Catholics…Mass), small groups, like-minded friends, ministry or mission work, etc. All are affirming.

I have the privilege of working at Franciscan University of Steubenville, in the Office of Outreach and Evangelization. As part of my work, I travel the country for our Steubenville Conferences. I get to associate with the best of the best Catholic authors and speakers, all holy people. I’m honored to call our regional partners friends, all joy-filled people committed to sharing the love of Christ. Every year, I see literally thousands and thousands evangelized.

I run into others outside of work who I’m connected to through my faith. Our church, even with its challenges, has so much to offer. Pre-COVID, my wife and I were part of a vibrant Parish (we need to get back to that). I belong to a small group, a free, online Steubenville Discipleship Quad. All of my friends are on my same journey of loving God, loving others, and sharing our faith.

I fondly refer to all of the above as my “bubble”, the bubble. I love living in the bubble. In that bubble, I have encounter…with Jesus and with others one on one. I also have community…all of us heading in the same direction, the right direction.

 

It’s a Crazy World

We live in a crazy world, that has gotten crazier over the last six months. I refer to it as bizzarro world. What’s going on is unimaginable…or at least it was 12 months ago for most Americans.

Given society’s challenges, I thank God for the bubble. I’m incredibly appreciative of my encounters (including and especially with Jesus) and my community. It’s hard to imagine life without both. My bubble is my safe place, the joy filled experiences, where authentic relationships live, where common bonds are had because common beliefs are shared.

All of us are called to go outside the bubble as well, where we love God, love others, and share our faith. It’s our call from Jesus in the Great Commandments and Great Commission. It’s also our passion, given the gift of Christ we’ve been given. While I love being in the bubble, I know I have to go outside it…to help it grow.

Given that you’re reading this blog, I assume you have your version of the “God” bubble. Maybe the above is suggesting a new or expanded context for you. Go outside your bubble. It’s our calling. That said, embrace your bubble. Grow the relationships within your bubble. Engage. Encounter. Enjoy community and be affirmed by it. God is great. Your bubble is a great place to experience Him and others on the journey.

As always, feel free to contact me at [email protected] 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

What Church Could Be Once Again

Pre-COVID, what’s your experience of Church? Were the pews full? Do entire families attend? Is there a vibrancy?

Many of us are old enough to remember when the Parish was central to family life. As I recall, most of the people on our street attended my boyhood Parish. So did many more, who we got to bond with every Sunday as entire families. With the Masses full, we didn’t just jet out of the parking lot after, but engaged with other families, often around the donut table. Sacraments were flourishing. My parents would go to the New Years’ Eve and Valentine’s Day dances at the Parish with their many friends. There was the summer Parish picnic and other events throughout the year. Father used to come over for dinner and my parents would volunteer at the Parish.

For most of us, those memories are of the past. Christianity has suffered from dramatically decreasing numbers over the last several decades. This trend includes the Catholic Church, with Masses being much less crowded. In many Dioceses, some Parishes are closing or clustering. Statistically our numbers are way down, whether it’s the number of weddings, baptisms, or first communions. Add to that the reduced number of Priests and Religious Sisters. What is on the rise is the number of Parishes without a resident Priest, now 1 in 5 in the U.S., up five-fold over the last several decades.

What the Local Church Can Become

Imagine Parishes where Churches are full for every Mass. Parishioners participant in vibrant and engaging liturgies, in Parishes that are known for their hospitality. The number of volunteers at the Parish is only exceeded by those in small groups. There’s an atmosphere of “family ministry”, where programs not only exist for the entire family, but youth and adults of all ages, at all stations of life. In addition:

  • Religious Education classes are full, led by engaged teachers, who share the love of Christ with their students while providing strong Catholic orthodoxy in a compelling way.
  • With a culture of evangelization and discipleship, the RCIA program ushers in numerous people to the Church every year.
  • Based in a deep spirituality, there is a culture of generosity which includes Parishioners’ time, talents, and treasures, both within the Parish as well as providing service to the community.
  • Parishes are known for their outreach to those in need, attracting people to the faith, and accompanying their Parishioners in their spiritual growth.
  • Parishes are the center of activity for Parishioners and others in the community.
  • Not only are vocations to religious life no longer in short supply, but the elderly are cared for, marriages are thriving, and families are growing in holiness.
  • Significantly more people are living their faith, have hope, and know their purpose in life.

You think the above is a thing of the past, a pipedream? Think again. It can be done. Although they are not in significant number, there are Catholic Parishes, with strong Pastoral leadership, as well as non-denominational Churches, which are “re-envisioning Church” and renewing the spiritual lives of their Parishioners.

What Can We Do?

I don’t know about you, but the parents and grandparents I know who are actively engaged in their faith (me included) have one primary desire, in addition to pursuing our faith. That is passing along the faith to their kids and grandkids. Friends too. It’s Jesus’ desire too, giving us the Great Commandments and Great Commission.

Consistent with Vatican II and the New Evangelization, the laity are called to work with our Clergy, who cannot do it alone. Our Priests need support, assistance, and collaboration in revitalizing our Parishes, making them places of vibrant worship and missionary discipleship.

What do you see as your role? How can you help? What can you do? There’s a lot. Feel free to reach out to me. Happy to chat about it. We can have what we had years ago and to my way of thinking, it’s a pursuit worth pursuing. Amen!!!

As always, feel free to contact me at [email protected] 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

The Unimaginable is Achievable

What’s been your experience with tragedy? Mine was pretty dramatic. I refer to it as the (3) 2X4’s that came across the back of my head. I lost my family as I knew it, I lost my business, and I lost a lot of money along the way. I was a control freak and I couldn’t hold it together anymore.

One March night in 2006, I literally fell to my knees, crying out. I had a life changing experience with our living God that is hard to describe without getting emotional. For the first time in my life, I felt the presence of God, the unconditional love of God, and didn’t feel alone. Having been surrounded by people my entire life, I finally felt like someone had my back. I learned the following lessons that evening and since:

  • The world’s promises have failed absolutely everyone, including me.
  • We’re not meant to go through life alone; God is the only answer for our lives.
  • In understanding and internalizing God’s unconditional love and forgiveness…
    • The unimaginable is achievable
    • There can be heaven here on earth
    • You can live a life of peace, joy, and fulfillment

The above story may sound crazy to you. But it’s true. Having been overwhelmed most of my life, it happened to me. And for the last 15 years, I’ve embraced my God given purpose and have been living a life of peace, joy, and fulfillment.

The above can happen for you too. It really can. It’s time to go big, to be all that God has called you to be. I invite you to attend this free webinar to see how you can accomplish the same things for your life. It starts here.

REGISTER NOW

As always, feel free to contact me at [email protected] 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