Tag: Mark Joseph

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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 [email protected], 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

Hate the Sin, Not the Sinner

We’ve all heard before, “Hate the Sin, Not the Sinner”. Is that how you handle conflict? Or do you, like me, fail to abide by that practice?
 
I remember living through my first wife’s addiction, confessing to my therapist how upset I was with her. Given the family dysfunction related to addiction, the disease was killing her and it was killing me, emotionally and physically (stress, weight loss, headaches). Gratified to hear that my feelings were normal didn’t mean that they were acceptable. Having heard the above expression previously, it was the first time I really began to understand “hate the sin, not the sinner”.    

In Scripture we read…“do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (Matthew 7:12) and “you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31). Another Scripture verse that speaks to this issue is where Peter asks how often he is to forgive. Jesus responds to him in Matthew 18:22, “I do not say to you even seven times, but even seventy times seven times”.

All of these verses speak to “hate the sin, not the sinner”. As I’ve learned, one of the tricks is to not assume malice. Most often, when someone does something that upsets you, they’ve not done it to intentionally hurt you. It helps to have an attitude of understanding, believing that the other person wasn’t intentionally wanting to harm you, then working to resolve the matter. BTW, all of this is easier said than done. It really takes practice.

My experience would indicate that there’s another factor in all of this, that is the complicity that we may have in the conflict. How have our actions added to the dilemma? What role have we played? How does how we feel about ourselves contribute to the reaction we’ve had? All questions I’ve had to ask myself as I mature in life and in my faith.

Let’s consider a more global issue, i.e. abortion. As Christians, I’m hopeful that we can all agree that it is an intrinsic evil, as identified by the teachings of the Church and documented by the Unite States Conference of Catholic Bishops. After 49 years, Roe v. Wade was finally overturned by the Supreme Court, an answer to many prayers by many people for many years.

With the above, we’ve seen some real ugliness, whether it be personal attacks, protesting that turns violent, pro-life facilities being vandalized, and threats being made.

As Christians, we need to abide by Matthew 7:12 and 18:22, as well as Mark 12:31. We need to recognize that ALL OF US are beloved children of God. We’re also all sinners, each and every one of us. Another verse I’m reminded of here is when Jesus says, “how can you see the splinter in your brother’s eye and not see the board in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3).

It may be easy to hate the protesters sited above. I get it and I’m guilty of it. Their actions are reprehensible. But that’s not what Jesus calls us to do. And the reality is that hating them isn’t going to change them, nor our world.

I’d encourage all of us to try very hard to “hate the sin, not the sinner”. It’s the only way we’re going to change hearts and change our world. I’d also suggest that we examine our role in all things. And always, for guidance and as our greatest example, go to Jesus.

As always, please contact me at [email protected] with comments, questions, concerns, challenges, or prayer requests.

Always remember…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 [email protected].  

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

Five Ways God Speaks to Us (that don’t include prayer)


I recently read the “Bible in a Year”, where the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs are broken up into 365 (one for each day) sections. I’ve done this two-times in the past, the first just reading it, the second praying through it. My focus this year was on the New Testament, wanting to really pray through the verses.
 
When doing it for the first time, I remember being mesmerized by the fact that God was talking to people in the Old Testament on a regular basis. Having never heard the audible voice of God, I said to a couple of friends, “I wish God would talk to me just once in a while”. I recall the two of them answering almost in unison, “He’s talking to you all the time; you just need to pay attention”.   
 
They were absolutely right. A partial list of the ways God talks to us outside of Prayer include:

  1. A conversation you have
  2. Book or verse you read, including Scripture
  3. A song you hear
  4. Something you see, i.e. billboard
  5. Something you experience

I’ve written before about living in a place of gratitude, part of which is believing that everything happens for a reason…there are no coincidences, no mistakes. As such, I believe all happens according to God’s grand plan, for each of us individually as well as for all of humanity.

Consistent with the above, I’d invite you to look for God in everything you do. He’s always there. And He’s speaking to you all the time, whether it be a conversation you’re having, a book, a song, something you happen to see or experience. God is there. He’s present. He’s speaking into everything you do in your life.
 
The above doesn’t negate our need for prayer. God wants to be in relationship with us more than anything else. He being who and what He is, we should want to be in relationship with Him. Prayer is critical. We can’t thrive without it.
 
Having stated the above, God speaks to us in ways other than prayer, namely numbers 1-5 above. Pay attention. God is with you always.
 
As always, feel free to contact me with questions, comments, or challenges at [email protected].
 
God Bless you on your Path to Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment!!!!
 
Mark Joseph