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Memorial Day and Jesus

Memorial Day is when we remember and mourn the loss of all those who died while serving in the U.S. Military. These are men and women who gave their lives for ours’. Most who have served over our country’s history, have gone into the military voluntarily. That means that they made the conscious decision to willingly sacrifice their lives for ours’. Wow!!!

As we approach the 20th anniversary of 9/11, Memorial Day seems to be even more of a reminder of sacrifice. I recall hearing stories of people whose lives so changed when those planes hit the twin towers, that they signed up to go fight overseas. We had hundreds of first responders run towards danger, not away from it on September 11th, 2001, many of whom lost their lives.

We see the same thing in our police officers, who have been under attack lately. Yet every morning, they get up, put on the uniform, and leave their homes for what could be the last time. When others are in danger, they run towards it, never knowing the eventual outcome…running towards the danger nonetheless.

We’re further reminded of the sacrifice by all the veterans who come home significantly wounded. They’ve lost limbs, in addition to friends in battle. Although scarred more than just physically, they’ve not lost their spirit. All of them, every single one, says they’d do it again.

So how does all of this relate to Jesus. When beginning to write this blog, my mind immediately went to John 15:13, where Jesus says, “no one has a greater love than this, that he lay down his life for his friends”. In verse 14, Jesus states that we are His friends, followed in verse 16 where He says, “you have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you…I have appointed you so that you may go bear fruit”.

In the Great Commandments (Matthew 22:35-40, Mark 12:28-34) and the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), which I love siting, Jesus “commands” us to love God, love our neighbors, and share our faith. Not mere suggestions from our Lord, they’re our greatest call. Jesus is our greatest example of sacrifice, with His torturous death on the Cross. He’s also our best example of the Great Commandments and Great Commission…love God, love others, and share our faith.

Our veterans and first responders are also great examples of the Great Commandments. You can’t run towards danger without a love of God. And they certainly love their neighbors.  Our veterans, including those who lost their lives, are true heroes. So are our first responders.

That doesn’t mean that the rest of us don’t have the same opportunities to serve. There are numerous heroes in our society, many who aren’t veterans or first responders. The question is, are you among them? Am I among them? Are we willing to lay down our lives, to bear fruit? We do so by loving God, loving our neighbors, and sharing our faith. And in doing so, not only are you a hero, often unspoken of course, but you’ll be living a life of peace, joy, and fulfillment!!!

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!!!

Remember…God Made You for Greatness!!!

Mark Joseph

P.S. If you’d like to support our veterans and first responders, my wife and I love the Tunnels to Tower Foundation (https://t2t.org).

 

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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 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

The Boiling Frog and the Church

A quick internet search dispels the myth of the boiling frog. Who knew? From Wikipedia, “the boiling frog” is a fable describing a frog being slowly boiled alive. The premise is that if a frog is put suddenly into boiling water, it will jump out, but if the frog is put in tepid water which is then brought to a boil slowly, it will not perceive the danger and will be cooked to death”. Tests indicate that the frog jumps out of the water as the temperature rises and it becomes uncomfortable.

The story is often used as a metaphor for the inability or unwillingness of people to react to or be aware of initiatives or threats that arise gradually”. I don’t know about you, but whether a fallacy or not, I feel like the boiling frog of late. Over the course of the last year, particularly related to COVID, but otherwise too, we have witnessed our government take more and more control over our lives, locally and nationally. While the actual health impact of the pandemic can be debated, what can’t be disputed are the changes we’ve been forced to endure, whether related to our:

  • Churches
  • Restaurants
  • Work
  • Schools
  • Stores
  • Gyms

And the list goes on. In the greatest and freest country in world history, under penalty of law (and shame), we are being forced to act a certain way. We continue to destroy lives and livelihoods.

Don’t get me wrong. My wife and I are taking COVID very seriously, following all the protocols, with it dramatically impacting our lives over the last 12 months. Related, many of us are familiar with Bill Murray’s Groundhog Day, where he lives the same day over and over. We were just commenting on us living Groundhog Week, with it being the same week after week after week. Thank God Spring is right around the corner.

It’s not politically controversial to note that the current administration is in favor of greater government control over our lives, given its stated agenda and actions. Our liberties are decreasing. We’re all the boiling frogs while the rich and powerful appear to be getting more rich and powerful.

So, what does the Church have to say about this. Chapter 2, Article 1 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church addresses The Person and Society. Two paragraphs make the primary points:

  • CCC 1881 – Each community is defined by its purpose and consequently obeys specific rules; but “the human person is and ought to be the principle, the subject and the end of all social institutions.
  • CCC 1883 – Socialization also presents dangers. Excessive intervention by the state can threaten personal freedom and initiative. The teaching of the Church has elaborated the principle of subsidiarity, according to which “a community of a higher order should not interfere in the internal life of a community of a lower order, i.e. family, depriving the latter of its functions, but rather should support it in case of need and help to coordinate its activity with the activities of the rest of society, always with a view to the common good.

I’d invite you to read the entire Chapter…find the Catechism on the internet with a quick search if you don’t have a copy.

So, as always, here’s the $64,000 question. What are we to do? Here are some ideas:

  1. Do your own research, identifying the issues. We can’t solve for something we don’t understand.
  2. Pray about it:
    1. What are we witnessing being done by our government versus the teachings of the Church?
    2. What is the Lord calling us to do, collectively and individually?
  3. Take action:
    1. Given your God given talents and treasures, how is our Lord asking you to spend some of your time?
    2. Love God, love others, share our faith

Point 3b speaks specifically to the Great Commandments and the Great Commission, spoken to us by Jesus. My sense is that if we as Christians spent more time on these three things (love God, love others, share our faith), the rest, including everything above, would take care of itself.

As always, please feel free to 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!!!

Remember…God made you for Greatness!!!

Mark Joseph

 

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Weekly Blog

What Is Your Super Bowl?

Super Bowl LV was just played this past Sunday. Although slightly different given our year of COVID, it was still the event of the year. There’s no single thing in the U.S. with more buildup, expectation, or pageantry. The commercials, half-time show, features of the host city, star power, big money…these things are only outdone by the players on the teams and what they do on the field.

Both coaches have interesting stories. Andy Reid was the long-time head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, who led them in nine playoff runs, six division titles, five NFC Championship Games (including four consecutive appearances from 2001 to 2004), and one Super Bowl appearance. Ultimately released from Phili, he won his first Super Bowl last year with the Kansas City Chiefs. I’m a big Andy Reid fan.

Bruce Arians and his family have moved all over the country, with him coaching with many teams at both the college and professional levels prior to finally becoming a Head Coach. He was the Steelers Offensive Coordinator, when they beat his eventual team, the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII. Having retired from Arizona as its Head Coach after 5 years in 2017, he signed a 4-year deal with Tampa Bay in 2019. Bruce has a big, bold personality and is known for the saying, “no risk it, no biscuit”. I love Bruce’s attitude.

Then come the quarterbacks. I’m not sure anything more can be made of their matchup or them individually…Brady, the 43-yearold who’s arguably the best of all time, now winning 7 Super Bowls and appearing in 10 (more than anyone in history on both counts) versus the young Mahomes who has the ability to make just about anything happen on the field, including the supernatural, winning his first Super Bowl last year.

Add to the above the Belichick/Brady debate…who needed who/who made who? Interesting that the Patriots had a less than impressive season without Brady while he just played in another Super Bowl with his new team.

In addition to the coaches and quarterbacks, both teams have tremendous talent and big personalities, too many to mention. Since 2009, there are at least 100mm people who watch the Super Bowl, with the peak at 115mm taking place in 2015. The Super Bowl is unquestionably a great event. It makes for a great evening, maybe even the entire day. While my wife and I watched alone at home, many have Super Bowl parties. A quick internet search indicates that roughly 28 million pounds of chips, 1.25 billion chicken wings, and 8 million pounds of guacamole were consumed this past Sunday. Wow!!!

Here’s my question for you…what’s your Super Bowl? The Super Bowl of your life. Although I’m a lifelong football fan, it’s my observation that so many of us pray to the god of football. We’ve become consumed by it. Pre-game. Post-game. During the game or at the water cooler the next day.

It might not be NFL football for you. It could be another sport. A hobby. It could be your obsession with what I refer as the 4Ps, possessions, pleasure, prominence, or people (using them, not authentic relationship).

What if as a nation, or as the world, we had as much enthusiasm for Jesus as we do the Super Bowl (or whatever your thing is). What if that were your reality? What would the impact be? Here’s what I know…the happiness that a Super Bowl win brings (even for the players, even for Tom Brady) is fleeting. So are the 4Ps.

I’m reminded of the line, “you can never have too much of what you really don’t need”. Think about that line. Here’s the reality…you’re never going to fill that God sized hole in the center of your chest with a Super Bowl win, a bonus at work, a nice car, or new house.

Jesus is the only thing (One) who can fill that hole.

Back in February, 2019, I posted a blog titled, “Tom Brady Isn’t Jesus Christ”. He wasn’t then and he’s not today, regardless of his 7 Super Bowl wins. There’s only one Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, who gave His life for ours’.

God loves you more than you ever know, no matter what you’ve ever done. He proved that to us by sacrificing His only begotten Son. Jesus proved it on the Cross. They gave us the Holy Spirit to live within us, helping us to be all that God made us for…GREATNESS!!!

Super Bowls are fleeting. So are the 4Ps. There’s only one Path to Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment, and it starts with embracing Jesus and living life in the Holy Spirit. The formula is this:

  • God loves you, knows what is best for, and wants to see you happy
  • God designed you a very specific way, with unique talents, for a specific purpose
  • Jesus called on us to love God, love others, and share our faith (Great Commandments and Great Commission)

Embrace the above, do what Jesus says, live God’s will…knowing that He knows what will make you happy and wants you to be so, you’ll be living the Super Bowl of your life on a consistent basis. Not that problems will never arise, but only in knowing the love of Christ, independent of substance or circumstance, will you experience JOY…to me, that’s the Super Bowl.

As always, feel free to contact me at Mark@MarkJosephMinistires.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