Today’s Thoughts: For a little more than a week now we have been making our way through the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel. This chapter is central to John’s revelation of the mystery of the Eucharist.
In yesterday’s Gospel, Jesus declares that his flesh and blood is in the Eucharist. Today, the disciples remark that Jesus’ words are a “hard saying.” Jesus does not soften his words because he is looking for faith. Faith is trusting when we do not understand. The basis of faith is not belief in a mystery but belief in the person of Jesus. We are faced with the same challenge as the disciples. Theological mysteries have been revealed to us which we do not intellectually understand but which we accept because we trust the person of Jesus. There may be circumstances and situations in our lives which we cannot understand and for which trust in Jesus is also necessary. Just as Jesus was moving the disciples to another level of faith, so are we invited to grow in faith. In order to do so we need to ask ourselves a question. “Are we willing to trust in Jesus to take us to the next level? Jesus’ questioning of the disciples about staying or going also applies to us. Perhaps, Peter speaks for all of us, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Perhaps put a different way, “Jesus if not you who? If not here where? If not faith in you what?” Our question for today - Are we willing to stay and let Jesus give ultimate meaning to our lives? Have a blessed, holy, safe and healthy Saturday everyone!
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Today’s Thoughts: It is May 1st the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker. Before I reflect a little on today readings let me take a few moments to consider our feast today. This feast in honor of St. Joseph always takes me back to my childhood. Our parish in Port Vue, PA, was named St. Joseph. It honored St. Joseph as the Worker. Out in front of the school building (our church we in the basement of the school) was a statue of St. Joseph with the tools of the trade in his hands, carpenter’s tools, the tools of a man who worked with his hands.
It was a wonderful image for the parish as most of the people in the parish worked for the steel industry. They worked in the many steel mills that ran along the rivers of Western Pennsylvania. It was a blue-collar town, a town of families, a town of workers. The ethic of family life and working hard was a daily part of my world growing up. This is not to say that I lived in “Camelot,” that everything was perfect and life for everyone was wonderful. There were struggle, problems, heartaches and sadness along with the joys, hopes and the good times of life. But St. Joseph the Worker as the patron of the parish spoke to a simple vision of life that the people of Port Vue and many other towns tried to live out. I returned to my hometown many years later. The church building was still there and so was the statue of St. Joseph. However, like in many places it was no longer St. Joseph’s Parish; it had been merged with another parish in the area and was now called St. Mark’s. The statue was in disrepair do to years of neglect, much like my hometown which was now struggling because the steel industry was long gone. It was still a blue-collar town; it was still a town of families but also a town struggling to find hope and a vision for the future. Perhaps more than ever my hometown needed St. Joseph’s spirit. Unfortunately, as a side note to this reflection the building that was once called St. Joseph’s Church and School was closed for good this past March. There was to be a closing mass on Thursday March 19, 2020 but because of the Covid-19 Virus the mass was canceled. Another sad moment in the memory of my life! If I might vent another frustration of mine. Today the bishops of Canada and the United States are going to re-dedicate both countries to the protection of the Virgin Mary the Mother of God. Now I understand why they are doing this because this is the first day of May a month traditionally dedicated to Mary, however it makes me a bit frustrated. Now I value Mary tremendously in my life but why can’t the bishop wait until tomorrow to re-dedicate our countries to Mary? Why can’t we let St. Joseph have his day? And my last question might be why can’t we dedicate our countries to St. Joseph? Perhaps in these times more than ever we need St. Joseph’s spirit of patience, strength, determination and perseverance. Just a thought! Today we celebrate a feast that honors the spirit of St. Joseph, a simple man who in a quiet, yet strong way, responded to God’s invitation. His skills as a worker and a father are not always honored or valued. Yet he lived on, he said “yes” to God’s invitation. He lived his life with honor, hard work and love for those around him. He was a blue-collar worker, a family man, an ordinary person who let God do extraordinary things with his life. As a Church, we sometimes let his image fall into disrepair. He becomes an afterthought in a world of glitz and glamor saints. Yet, St. Joseph will always remind us that everyone is created in the image and likeness of God which makes each of us special and important to the work of God in the world! One of my grandfathers and my uncle were gifted with the name Joseph and they were simple hard working men too and on this feast of St. Joseph I remember them and honor them in a special way. As for our readings for today - I am often struck when reading our faith story how God seems to select the most unusual, undeserving or unique people to proclaim his message. Think of St. Joseph, or the Samaritan Woman at the well or Saul from our first reading today. These are three people you would not expect God to choose. St. Joseph a simple laborer, no one special, the Samaritan woman seems to have her own problems with relationships and fitting in while Saul is breathing murderous threats. Not people I would pick to watch over my son or proclaim the Good News, but God does! It seems every time Jesus is encountered by someone; they are sent on a mission to proclaim the Good News. Jesus chooses the Samaritan woman to proclaim his message to the town folks and he chooses Saul, who becomes Paul, to proclaim his message to the Gentile world. Encountering Jesus means being missioned, being sent. . Often in a less spectacular way we too encounter Jesus daily. In the people we meet and in the things we do. Our every daily encounters with Jesus, which takes place differently from day to day and from person to person, are our opportunities of being missioned just like Paul was, as the Samaritan woman was. Yes, not in a spectacular way, but rather while we are “minding our own business,” as Paul and the Samaritan woman were “minding their own business”. Our journey through the Easter Season reminds us that the Risen Lord is always looking for us, always waiting to encounter us in our daily lives. We can be “minding our own business” but Jesus will often walk into our life and send us forth to proclaim the Good News! Have a blessed, holy, safe and healthy feast of St. Joseph the Worker Friday everyone! |
Fr. Paul R. Fagan, C.P. "Preacher on the Run"Just a few thoughts to help you on your journey through life...let me know from time to time what you think... Archives
April 2024
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