Now is the Acceptable Time …2 Cor. 2: 6

Friday January 15, 2021 Year of St. Joseph

Take a good look at this picture of a stained glass window in Youngstown..St. Pat’s on Oak Hill to be exact.  Take a good long look at it.  (PAUSE: I mean it!)

Mary is on the left; Joseph on the right, and Jesus in the middle.  Mary pondering.  Joseph wondering.  Jesus focusing.  (Interesting that Jesus is being held, not by either of his early parents, but by the angel.) As Mary pondered all things in her heart, and Jesus focused on the work of the Heavenly Father (even in this window, embracing the tiny cross with his arms), Joseph seems to be wondering.  “What is the mission?  What is my mission?  What am I supposed to do?  How can I do what I have to do unless I know what it’s all about?”   “Come on…give me the details, would ya!?”  Joseph is just like us! 

Last night, DeAnna and I watched another episode of our latest NetFlix series.  As it came to a conclusion for the night, one of the characters is exasperated and blurts out:  “Why didn’t I know the whole story?  Why didn’t I know the whole plan?”  The response of her partner is classic. “You didn’t need to know everything.  All you needed to do was your part.  And you did it.”

We are just like Joseph and Joseph is just like us. I am sure going to Egypt was not cake walk.  The trip to Bethlehem must have seemed like one compared to that rugged journey.  Then, years later, to be told in a dream no less, to go home.  I am sure, even doing his duty, Joseph must have wondered, “what’s the plan?”

After the return from Egypt, there is no mention of Joseph in the Gospels, other than his connection to Jesus, as father. (Mt 13:55, Mk 6:3, Lk 4:22 and Jn 6:42).  So critical and pivitol was Joseph to the incarnation and the economy of Salvation, you would think that there would be more.  But no.  That’s it.  And not even a word.  Joseph has no lines in the Cosmic Salvific Play.

But I return to the line from Netflix: “You didn’t need to know everything.  All you needed to do was your part.  And you did it.”  All Joseph needed to do what his part.  And his part was essential.

We have heard that word used a lot this year.  Essential Jobs…essential workplaces…essential businesses…and essential workers. WELL..we are just like Joseph.  We don’t know the whole plan.  We don’t know all the details.  But we do know this.  Jesus Christ has come in the Flesh and He preached the Kingdom of God, suffered for all of our sins and rose triumphant from the grave…ascended to HIS Heavenly Father and sending the Holy Spirit, He calls us to do our part. To proclaim that He is the way and the truth and the life.

Like Joseph, we have an essential part in the Plan of Salvation.  Just do it.

St. Joseph, Pray for us

Friday January 8, 2021

Gabriel’s annunciation to Mary of her unexpected and exceedingly incredible divine pregnancy seems to the casual reader to be an exciting start to God’s redeeming action.  Mary’s “fiat”  “be it done to me as you say” was not in any way passive.  No.  She was taking on the full weight of the Heavenly conception. 

But So was Joseph.  Joseph’s first annunciation came from his angel, his betrothed, Mary.  She most likely was the one to tell him that she was with child…and then the incredible story of the angel’s words and the Divine sonship.  The weight of this message first laid heavy on his heart.  We know what he decided to do. “Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,^* yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly.” (Mt 1:19)

But Joseph had his own annunciation.  The angel came to him in a dream and not only revealed the truth of the child in his beloved’s womb, but the name Joseph was to give him.

What is our lesson from St. Joseph today?  Not all problems need simple quick solutions. Because some problems are possibilities in disguise.

1. No matter how good or righteous we think we are, or best intentioned with our choice, we need to make room for God and His word in our life and choices.
2. St. Joseph’s dream teaches us that God always has something more in store for us, if we simply do our part and trust in His Love.  Joseph needed to both trust Mary and trust God.

St. Joseph, pray for us.

January 1, 2021 in the Year of St. Joseph

Listen up!  Our year starts with a blessing.   The First Reading from Mass today (Numbers 6:22-27) proclaims (pronounces) the great blessing given from God himself to Moses and in turn to Aaron and his sons:

The LORD bless you and keep you!
The LORD let his face shine upon
you, and be gracious to you!
The LORD look upon you kindly and
give you peace!
So shall they invoke my name upon the Israelites, 
and I will bless them.

Joseph was no stranger to this passage and the depth of its meaning and purpose.  God’s Holy People are blessed through God’s Holy Sacrifice.  This prayer was prayed daily at the temple at the end of sacrifices made to worship God the Most High.

Today the Church celebrates the wife of Joseph, Mary as the Mother of God.  Always in the background, Joseph too is celebrated as the Father of God…the Word made flesh.  Image how Joseph taught Jesus that blessing.  Imagine how Joseph introduced the Word of God to the word proclaimed in the synagogue.  Imagine how Joseph witnessed to his son what it meant to be faithful and dedicated to God and his mother.  Sacred Scripture tells us that Jesus “grew and became strong, filled with wisdom, and the favor of God was upon him.” (Lk 2:40,52)

Think about this…who did Jesus first call father? Papa, Dada?  It was Joseph! And Joseph had to have influenced Jesus’ reality of fatherhood.  And it is through that same Jesus, who called Joseph dad, that we are redeemed! Jesus learned “sonship” from Joseph, and we gain “sonship” through Jesus.  The Second Reading for today liturgy reminds us of that reality.  (Gal 4: 4-7)

Brothers and sisters:
When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son,
born of a woman, born under the law, 
to ransom those under the law, 
so that we might receive adoption as sons.
As proof that you are sons, 
God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, 
crying out, “Abba, Father!”
So you are no longer a slave but a son, 
and if a son then also an heir, through God.

Sooooo….listen up!  Here are at least two points of reflection for us.

Like Joseph, we have something to share.  Joseph shared both his lineage and his life with the Savior of the World!  Joseph shared the blessing of himself.  So too, we have blessings to share…by our work, our words, our actions, our witness…our lives of faith. Let’s do it.

What do we share in common with Joseph?  We are sons and daughters of a loving Father.  God revealed himself as “Abba.”  This is the image of care, mercy, sensitivity and tenderness.  We have all seen it.  A new mom or dad helping a child walk…at the first misstep, what do we see. The immediate reach of hands to catch, grab, hold.  This is God our Father.  As we begin this year, which will have its share of missteps among the blessings, reflect on that image.  Our God has a reach to catch, grab and hold us. 

St. Joseph, pray for us!

Had enough of 2020 yet? This year certainly has been the most upside down, topsy-turvy, uncertain and unexpected as I can ever remember. It’s like swimming in the Ocean against the waves. I feel like a kid with a bully on top of me making me cry out uncle. UNCLE already.

As a people, nation and community we have continued to face an unseen virus and its consequences— it seems to mirror another disease with which we continue to struggle: Injustice and racism. Marches and protest erupt out of the angst of inequality and disparity. Anger and Frustration come from not being included and heard. No mask can protect a person or community from that reality.

The First Reading from today’s liturgy comes from the Prophet Isaiah. The prophet paints a picture of JUSTICE. If injustice is the disease, the Messiah is the cure. He shall embody everything desired by the poor, afflicted, downtrodden, those who are the focus of gossip and derision. Tough justice …but not just that. This long awaited Messiah will also bring harmony, peace. Messiah will not only bring justice—with his coming is restoration.

Read it for yourself! Believe it!

IS 11:1-10

On that day. A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,and from his roots a bud shall blossom.

The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him:

ASpirit of wisdom and of understanding, A Spirit of counsel and of strength,

A Spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD, and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD.

Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide,

But he shall judge the poor with justice,and decide aright for the land’s afflicted.

He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.

Justice shall be the band around his waist, and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.

Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; The calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them.

The cow and the bear shall be neighbors, together their young shall rest; the lion shall eat hay like the ox. The baby shall play by the cobra’s den,

and the child lay his hand on the adder’s lair. There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain;

for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD, as water covers the sea.

On that day, The root of Jesse, set up as a signal for the nations, The Gentiles shall seek out,for his dwelling shall be glorious.

You know you’re getting old when you start marking significant moments in your life by decades and not by years! It’s hard to believe it was 25 years ago. If I close my eyes I can re-live that time in vivid detail. Looking back, I can say that the pain of that time was life-changing. And now that pain, as unwelcome as it was then, is an anchor of trust.

Twenty-five years ago I was face to face with darkness…I was depressed.

I remember going late one night into the chapel to pray, or just to be. In the silence of the moment the words from a song that was played is it meditation hymn at Mass came to settle into my heavy soul. Holy Darkness.

How could this darkness or depression be in any remote way called “holy”? But it was. This darkness lead me deeper within myself and closer to the one who makes all things holy. Just like walking into a pitch black room, knowing where the light switch is, but not being able to see it, I needed to trust. The switch hadn’t moved. Trust was needed to walk in darkness.

As little children, what do we do? We as our parents to turn on the lights… in the basement…in a dark room or closet. We need light. We fear the dark. We hesitate. We need light.

The first candle on the Advent wreath reminds us that Jesus Christ is the light of the world. He leads us through darkness toward himself — miraculously then, we become light.

As Advent begins, I thought I’d offer the words of that song for reflection…darkness compels us to grasp for light. Don’t grasp…trust! Ask your Heavenly Father to turn it on.

Holy darkness

Holy darkness, blessed night. Heaven’s answer hidden from our sight As we await you, O God of silence. We embrace your holy night

I have tried you in the fires of affliction. I have taught your soul to grieve. In the barren soil of your loneliness. There I will plant my seed

In the deepest hour of your darkness I will give you wealth untold. When the silence stills your spirit. Will my riches fill your soul.

Holy darkness, blessed night Heaven’s answer hidden from our sight. As we await you, O God of silence. We embrace your holy night.

As she finished mopping the floor, squeezing out the mop and emptying the bucket, the strangest words fell from her lips, “I’m so happy I’m here.” Her new boss looked at her curiously and said “really?” And she began to relate to him where she was just one year ago. Addicted. Homeless. Penniless. And mostly ALONE.

“What a difference of year makes! I’m clean and sober for the longest time I can remember. I have a place to live, a warm bed, and food. I have a job and money in my pocket. I have friends, people care about me and I care about them. And I’m four months pregnant and I know it’s going to be OK.”

This was not a bunch of Pollyannish words from someone oblivious to reality. These words were the bedrock of a reality that was so low at one point nothing could shove her lower. They were words of hope born of a reality as pregnant as her. She was worthy.

Advent is a time to recognize where we are RIGHT NOW—and an opportunity to remember WHERE we WERE! And where we are called to go. Past tense only serves to modify the present and encourage movement toward to the future.

Jesus Christ, only Son of the Eternal Father came then and comes NOW for us…in our unwillingness makes us worthy…in our sin…makes us clean…in our doubt gives us clarity….weakness, courage…sadness, joy…He was is and will be the answer to the question of our lives. “O God, who am I?” The voice of God answers with the WORD made flesh. “You are mine as HE is!”

But we forget don’t we? Life gets in the way. Schedules and deadlines, pride and position, greed or self interest, independence and individuality over the needs of the other or community. Our litany of selfish directions or good intention never fail (ironically the never satisfy either.)

As the first Advent was God’s journey toward us, today our Advent journey is multifaceted. Sure, it to remember the first, but it is recapture it NOW. It is to get ready, prepare all over again for Jesus to visit us… to be Emmanuel…to be teacher…to be brother and friend…to be messiah and savior of our lives…RIGHT NOW.

Then the words of Isaiah in the first reading of this first week of Advent become ours: “You, LORD, are our father,
our redeemer you are named forever.
Why do you let us wander, O LORD, from your ways”

In order to get back on the path from which we’ve wandered, we need to examine where we are walking. What needs to change to stop the wandering and get back on the path?

Ask. Go deep. Meet God there. It is a time to be pregnant and unafrid and cry out: Come Lord Jesus! Maranatha!

Happy Easter! Blessed Easter!

This message has been stirring within me for a few days now. I’ve wanted to share it. To those who read it and are personally involved I hope it brings you comfort and joy filled hope and a deeper faith…it did for me.

I’ve been wondering what the experience of the death on the cross, of their friend and leader really did to the apostles and disciples? And moreover, what was the incredible emotional impact that the women at the empty tomb experienced? Or the emotions or thoughts of the apostles after hearing their story?

I sort of had this experience in reverse.

When I was ten years old, I was sitting at my desk in 4-B. At OLCS grade school, an announcement came over the loud speaker. It announced the death of a student, one of my classmates, my best friend Joey. At first, I remember feeling instant shock, then I exploded in tears. I remember the teacher telling me to go out into the hall, as the other students just stared at me. Then I heard Joey’s sister scream and cry!

It seemed like all hell had broken loose in my brain and body. Then, another announcement came over the loud speaker. The previous announcement was a mistake. It was not Joey who died. He was not dead. He was alive. But lingering within me was a reality that I had not grasped before. Joey was alive, but he was going to die. I had not realized that. I had never been told that. Never understood that. I don’t know what date that announcement miscue was made, but Joey did die soon thereafter. It was a very hollow experience and sad experience. It changed me.

On Good Friday, the first followers of Jesus had a similar experience. Although he told them he would suffer and die; He told them about the cross; He told them about betrayal and suffering and his rising from the dead; and like Aten year old boy, they didn’t get it. They didn’t realize or want their friend to die. Moreover, they had no clue what resurrection really was. But they knew what death was. They knew what death meant. Death had taken their friend. That announcement was made loud and clear from a Roman cross.

Through the shock of tears and sadness another message comes. He is not dead. He is alive. He is risen. The apostles heard that good news from the women who went to anoint a body that was not there. He is risen. He is alive. A new reality was about to dawn on them.

It wasn’t until I was in my early 30s that I could bring myself to visit Joey’s grave. His mother was kind enough to go with me. I had no idea what my reaction would be. As we stood there, Joey’s mom said to me, “I come here every once in a while, not as often as I use to. This place is just a touchstone. I come here because, as a mother, this is the last place I put him. But I know he is not here.”  Yes. He was not here. While it was a special moment, it was not as emotional as I thought it might be.

A few days later was Easter Sunday. I came to the cemetery early in the morning. It was so early, I had to climb the fence. The gate was locked! I made my way to joe’s grave with a single rose. As I approached his marker, I could feel the tears coming. I was wondering where they were coming from. Placing the rose at his grave I burst into uncontrollable tears. I must have cried for a good two minutes. Suddenly those tears became laughter!! I was laughing! Not at my silliness, but at a new understanding—a true new reality — I knew that Joey was not here. He was not dead. He was alive. Alive in Christ.

Donna, Joey’s mom, was just like Mother Mary. I am sure she took disciples to the empty tomb to assure them that her San was not there. He is risen. He is alive…indeed He is the resurrection and the life.

For the first time in my life, I truly knew what the apostles and disciples must have felt like on that first Easter! Their tears had turned to joy. The emptiness of their hearts was replaced by the full revelation of an empty tomb. I knew and felt the reality that MY REDEEMER LIVES! I knew what my faith had always assured me. Christ has died. Christ is risen and Christ will come again.

What did they expect? He said he would die. He said he would be rejected. He said he would be abandoned… but he also said he would rise. He also said we would rise with him.

This is what we can expect.

Happy and blessed Easter!

“What day is it?” It’s hump day. [enter camel stage right]

Just what is hump day? It is the day on which we breathe a little easier knowing that Friday and the weekend is just a few days away. Hump day is a hope filled shout that we are almost there.  At the same time, we realize that right now there is work yet to be done. While we still have to wait for the weekend, and to say “thank God it’s Friday,” we put our heads down to the task at hand.

Is there a hump day in Holy Week? Of course, there is. In Holy Week, this Wednesday is for both doing and waiting. As Lent moves to the Sacred three days of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter, with its great vigil, we still journey toward it on Holy hump day.  Spiritually, we are almost there…we are almost home.

My thoughts take me to a time when I was in college and in the seminary. It was my junior year.  There was a lot going on at the time.  I was earnestly praying for clarity and direction.  I was crying out to God. I was petitioning and asking God to just show me the way…give me a sign…give me something…throw me a bone!   That is all I asked and I would follow.

One night I went to the chapel to pray and to be honest, was not in any mood to be there.  I tried to quiet myself in God’s presence…nothing.  I then reached for my Bible.  It fell out of my hands and hit the floor.  (I couldn’t even do that right!)  As I reached down to retrieve it, the sacred scriptures were open to the Book of the Psalms.  Specifically, Psalm 40 caught my eye.  As I read it, I felt like it had been written just for me.

I waited, I waited for the Lord;
   who stooped to me and heard my cry.
 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
   out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
    and gave me a firm place to stand.

The 18-verse psalm ends with this encouragement:

But may all who seek you
    rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who long for your saving help always say,
    “The Lord is great!”

But as for me, I am poor and needy;
    may the Lord think of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
    you are my God, do not delay.

The answer to my prayer was not necessarily the one I was seeking, but the one I needed.  I needed to trust. TRUST.  Trust in the love of God…  Trust that he knows me.   Trust that he hears me. Trust that he has and will again, STOOP TO HEAR MY CRY. 

So, we wait. So, we put our head down and plow forward with trust in Him.

What day is it?  It’s HOLY HUMP DAY!!!!

I’ve always been a lover of history. It was always one of my favorite subjects in school. Mr. Eisert was one my favorite history teachers. He was the first instructor to invite students to think critically about things. For that, I am forever grateful.

As an adult I’ve been really Interested in with some would call “curious history” or the stuff they didn’t teach you in school. Like the “Spanish Flu”, the pandemic of the last century (Jan 1918 – Dec 1920.). I Never heard about it I was in school. I actually stumbled upon it literally. I found out about it for the first time when I went to visit my father’s grave. A few rows over from his plot, there is a memorial list all of this lost to the pandemic and a common grave for the poor who succumbed to the disease. I remember standing there looking at all the names etched on this large headstone. To be honest for me it just became a curious fact, an interesting thing just to look up and dig into.

Today, not yet a century since the official end of the forgotten great pandemic, we find ourselves in our own. This is now our history. In an encouraging message that Queen Elizabeth II recently broadcast to the people of her United Kingdom, she spoke great words of hope. Let me paraphrase. She said that her hope was that as people look back at our generation, they would see the courage which was our response in the face of adversity. They will see that we triumphed. A queen who has ruled longer than any other, and is no stranger to challenge, change and adversity, is calling us to hope. There will be an end. And what shall we as individuals and as a community look like? She is calling her people — all of us to a noble standard. Thank you, your majesty! You’ve certainly earned the title.

This is our current “history” as it were… but this week, this Holy Week, the emphasis for us believers is to His Story. A truth of ultimate hope.  It is the truth; it is not fiction. It’s not a fantasy. It’s not a myth. It’s not a nice human explanation for all the bad things that happened to us. It’s the truth. Jesus is the Historic Face of the Invisible God.  His life and passion and death cannot be erased.  It’s a fact. It really happened. It’s as scientific and verifiable as the daily briefings we get on this virus—more so! This week we celebrate the victory of Jesus Christ son of God and son of man Who by his cross and resurrection destroyed death and restored life… Eternal life.

We are called annually in our Lenten journey and now specifically in the midst of what we don’t know, to focus upon that which we do! We have a savior. We have a messiah. We have Good News. We have been delivered from bondage to sin and idols to embrace freedom in Him. In Jesus our brother we are not only reconciled to the eternal Father we are made His sons and daughters through adoption! Jesus bore the weight of our sins on the cross. What was born was our eternal relationship to the Holy Trinity itself.

In the power of the Holy Spirit we are united in grace, fellowship and love. Our mission here is to proclaim that message by our lives—in our words our deeds or generosity our care our compassionate and loving proclaiming of the truth.

We are all in this together.

Reflect on this: Romans 5: 1 – 11

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access [by faith] to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in hope of the glory of God.

Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us.

For Christ, while we were still helpless, yet died at the appointed time for the ungodly.

Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die.

But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.

How much more then, since we are now justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath. Indeed, if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, once reconciled, will we be saved by his life.Not only that, but we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Yes. Good news! We are all in this together!