Exploring the depth of our prayers
Work is valuable, and I think that people are starting to recognize this. Right now there are way too many people out of work, unable to live out their vocation for the larger contribution to society.
And it’s not about making money.
God put Adam and Eve in the Garden to work the land and tend His creation. From the dawn of humankind, this has been honored by our Maker.
Continue reading “St Joseph the worker”
We don’t hear much about Joseph at all. He’s the quiet father figure, protecting his wife and child from evil.
When Mary became pregnant with the Son of God, we hear this:
Continue reading “Saint Joseph, spouse of Our Lady”When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
Matthew 1:18-24
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.
I’m wondering about the strength of my faith, and of Our Faith – the Church. There are a lot of Catholics talking about the post-Christian society, the ills of Vatican II, and so on.
It’s so easy to get sucked in by this.
Continue reading “Faith”“When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
Luke 18:8
There are times when my faith falters.
R. Lord, come to my aid!
Psalm 40:14b, 40:3
The LORD heard my cry.
He drew me out of the pit of destruction,
out of the mud of the swamp;
he set my feet upon a crag;
he made firm my steps.
R. Lord, come to my aid!
Certainly there are times when I’m feeling tested by uncertainty and doubts. Perhaps not directly my faith in God, exactly, but more about how much I can trust Him to protect me through my trials.
Continue reading “Come to my aid!”
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last,
Rev 22:14
the beginning and the end.”
Everything that I do, everything I understand, is based on time. My own time – my life – started at a particular point and will end at a particular point. And time goes in exactly one direction.
I enjoy science fiction and time travel stories, but still … that’s just tweaking around the edges. The idea of true eternity just blows me away.
Continue reading “Eternity”
Our wonderful prayer to St. Joseph brings up so many thoughts about my own role in my family and the world.
Protector.
Support.
Helper.
Defender.
Continue reading “Joseph”
Blessed are those who ….
In today’s Gospel, we have the amazing Beatitudes. Some say that these are the most powerful and deep teachings of Christ, even more fundamental than miracles and forgiveness and love.
It’s hard for me to say.
Continue reading “Blessed”
Today is a new year, and the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. What a perfect way to start afresh!
This very phrase is something to ponder deeply. We don’t believe that Mary existed before God the Father and somehow gave birth to Him. That might be similar to Rhea being the mother of Zeus.
No, we believe that Jesus is God and is with God the Father. Which means that Mary, the mother of Jesus, is mother of God as incarnated in our world.
Continue reading “Mother of God”
So much of our prayers can be summed up in the Holy Family, and we should be honored that God gives our own families as a small image of the Trinity itself.
That’s truly phenomenal.
Continue reading “The Holy Family”
In 1889, Pope Leo XIII asked all the faithful to add the Prayer to St. Joseph to the end of our Rosary during the month of October.
Our holy Mother Mary is the paragon of human holiness, of course, and worthy of our eternal devotion. But I have to confess that her spouse, Joseph, is easier for me to relate to.
It’s partially because he seems to just be a quiet guy doing the best he can in the background.