House of Loreto

Perhaps you recall last Monday's "incident" when Pope Francis tried to prevent a number of people from kissing his ring, but that is not what interested me that day (you can find a report of the actually important events of that visit here). It was March 25th, the Solemnity of the Annunciation, when we celebrate Mary's miraculous conception of the Son of God by the Power of the Holy Spirit.

By tradition, the house where that blessed event occurred was miraculously transported to where it is now in Italy, (and yes, you guessed it!, that's where Pope Francis was.)

Here is a short documentary about the house:

Here is a more thorough documentary that you can watch on Amazon.
and here is the Basilica's official website.

Fasting and Hardship with the Holy Family

Only a more than a month before she died (on August 20, 1897), St. Therese of Lisieux shared this little reflection on the Holy Family:

"How charming it will be in heaven to know everything that took place in the Holy Family! When little Jesus began to grow up, perhaps when He saw the Blessed Virgin fasting, He said to her: 'I would really like to fast, too.' And the Blessed Virgin answered: 'No, little Jesus, You are still too little, You haven't the strength.' Or else perhaps she didn't dare hinder Him from doing this.

And good St. Joseph! Oh, how I love him! He wan't able to fast because of his work. I can see him planing, then drying his forehead from time to time. Oh, how I pity him! It seems to me that their life was simple...

What does me a lot of good when I think of the Holy Family is to imagine a life that was very ordinary. For example, [the apocryphal Infancy Gospel of Thomas, 3 says] that the Child Jesus, after having formed some birds out of clay, breathed upon them and gave them life. Ah, no! little Jesus didn't perform useless miracles like that, even to please His Mother. Why weren't they transported into Egypt by a miracle which would have been necessary and so easy for God. In the twinkling of an eye, they could have been brought there. No, everything in their life was done just as in our own.

How many troubles, disappointments! How many times did others make complaints to good St.  Joseph! How many times did they refuse to pay him for his work! Oh, how astonished we would be if we only knew ho much they had to suffer!"

(Taken from St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Her Last Conversations, ICS Publications, 1977, page 159)

Transfiguration of Joe

This week is awesome! Last Sunday we celebrated the Sunday of Transfiguration, yesterday was the Solemnity of St. Joseph, next Tuesday will be the Solemnity of the Annunciation. Today, I'd like to take some time and talk about last Sunday.

Everyday, the Church prays the Liturgy of the Hours, which consists of praying the Psalms five times a day (seven times for some). The first of the "hours" is called the Office of Readings, and in the Office of Readings, we pray three psalms, and two other spiritual readings (one scriptural and the other not). The scriptural reading for last Sunday's Office of Readings, was the exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt (Ex. 13:17-14:9).

Why do I bring this up? because verse 19 says, "Moses also took Joseph’s bones with him." I've already made the point that many theologians and saints believe that this passage offers a reason to believe that Joe was resurrected and assumed body and soul into heaven already with Jesus and Mary (First Rule of Engineering: Make Good Assumptions).

So next question: Why this reading on this day? Last Sunday's Gospel reading was St. Luke's account of the Transfiguration (Luke 9:28-36), where we learn that Jesus, whose body was glorified, was talking with Moses and Elijah about his own exodus.

Furthermore, in the Office of Readings we read from a sermon by Pope St. Leo the Great:
"The whole body of Christ was to understand the kind of transformation that it would receive as his gift. The members of that body were to look forward to a share in that glory which first blazed out in Christ their head.
The Lord had himself spoken of this when he foretold the splendor of his coming: Then the just [righteous] will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father (Matt. 13:43). St. Paul the apostle bore witness to this same truth when he said: I consider that the sufferings of the present time are not to be compared with the future glory that is to be revealed in us (Romans 8:18) In another place he says: You are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory (Colossians 3:4)."

If Joe is a "just/righteous man," (Matt. 1:19) then will he not "shine like the sun..." too?
Did he not suffer greatly? Imagine then the greatness of his glory.
Joe was dead, and his life was hidden with Christ in God. So he too was revealed with Christ in glory.

Solemnity of Joe

Today is the Solemnity of St. Joseph in the Roman Catholic Church. I encourage all of us to pray today (and every day!) the Litany of St. Joseph:


Lord, have mercy.
                Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
                Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
                Lord, have mercy.

Christ, hear us.
                Christ, graciously hear us.

God, the Father of Heaven,
                have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world,
                have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Spirit,
                have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, One God,
                have mercy on us.
Holy Mary,
                pray for us.
Holy Joseph,
                pray for us.

Renowned offspring of David,
                pray for us.
Light of Patriarchs,
                pray for us.
Spouse of the Mother of God,
                pray for us.
Chaste guardian of the Virgin,
                pray for us.
Foster father of the Son of God,
                pray for us.
Diligent protector of Christ,
                pray for us.
Head of the Holy Family,
                pray for us.

Joseph most just,
                pray for us.
 Joseph most chaste,
                pray for us.
Joseph most prudent,
                pray for us.
Joseph most strong,
                pray for us.
Joseph most obedient,
                pray for us.
Joseph most faithful,
                pray for us.

Mirror of patience,
                pray for us.
Lover of poverty,
                pray for us.
Model of artisans,
                pray for us.
Glory of home life,
                pray for us.
Guardian of virgins,
                pray for us.
Pillar of families,
                pray for us.
Solace of the wretched,
                pray for us.
Hope of the sick,
                pray for us.
Patron of the dying,
                pray for us.
Terror of demons,
                pray for us.
Protector of Holy Church,
                pray for us.

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world,
                spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world,
                graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world.
                have mercy on us

He made him the lord of his household.
                And prince over all his possession

Let us pray,
O God, in your ineffable providence you were pleased to choose Blessed Joseph to be the spouse of your most holy Mother; grant, we beg you, that we may be worthy to have him for our intercessor in heaven whom on earth we venerate as our Protector: You who live and reign forever and ever. 
Amen!

Joe, the Protector

Last week, I had the blessed opportunity to travel to Rome on pilgrimage, and it truly was amazing how many churches were there. But what surprised me more was the number of images of Joe throughout the city!

One of my favorites is in the Basilica of St. Andrew of the Valley. It is an altarpiece entitled: La Vergine con il Bambino Gesù e san Giovanni Battista; San Giuseppe vede l'angelo annunziargli la fuga in Egitto by Ercole Antonio Raggi (1675). I love this image because of the significance of the gazes between the figures. At the bottom left we see Mary holding the Christ-child with the young John the Baptist. Mary is looking to Jesus while Jesus and John are looking at each other. On the bottom right, we see Joe alone looking to the heavens, and more specifically to God the Father and the Holy Spirit, Who are looking at him along with the angels. Joe is holding out his hands as if to receive the message and to pass it on to Jesus, Mary, and John the Baptist. This is the unique role of Joe in the holy family.

I recently heard someone make the comment that God sent angels to the Joe, only as messengers, even though they could have easily have acted as the Holy Family's protectors as well, but God chose to use Joe as the defender and protector of Mary and Jesus. Joe not only does the Lord's will, but he does it well. We too can be like Joe. There are many things that we are called to do in this life that God could easily do for us. Instead, He prefers to allow us to cooperate (co-operate/work-with) with His plan. The question is are we as eager and quick to do so as Joe was?

As a side note, did you know that Pope Francis placed the Vatican under the particular patronage of Joe on July 5, 2013 - less than half a year in his pontificate?

Lent: Our Journey to Bethlehem

Today, we begin lenten journey of fasting, which I would like to suggest is our annual journey to Bethlehem. The name 'Bethlehem' literally means 'House of Bread', and why would anyone go to a house of bread, if one had plenty of bread? We lack bread—not just any bread, but the "living bread that came down from heaven" (John 6:51). In other words, we are running short on the life of Christ, and we need to travel year after year and replenish ourselves; this is one reason why we as Catholics need to receive Communion at least (frequently is encouraged) once during this time of Lent and Easter.

I'm reminded of a scene from The Nativity Story, one of my favorite movie renditions of the Infancy Narratives (you can watch it here). There is a scene (01:02:20 - 01:06:00) that demonstrates the role Joe has in our journey to Bethlehem. At the beginning of the scene, there is another traveling family whose donkey stumbles and falls. Joe says to Mary, "Their animal is weak."

Following this scene, Mary and Joe break for the night, but before sleeping, they partake of the simple meal of bread. Joe prays a traditional Jewish prayer that can be translated as "Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, for through your goodness we have received the bread we offer you: fruit of the earth and work of human hands, it will become for us the bread of life." (If this prayer sounds familiar, it's because the priest prays this prayer at every Mass; although, you might not hear him all the time.) Then Joe breaks the bread and gives half to Mary, he takes a bite from the other half and then puts the rest of his half into his satchel bag.

We then take a quick break to watch the three magi re-find their bearings (which is what we do in the Mass), and then we're back to the Holy Family. In this part of the scene. Joe takes that piece of his half of the bread and gives it to their donkey. Joe feeds the donkey from his half of the bread! He's probably been doing this the whole trip, which is why Mary and Joe's donkey is not weak, like the other family's.

This scene is significant because it visualizes what happens at every Mass. Joe is the priest, we are the donkey, and Mary is the whole Church. We are only able to travel through Lent with the difficulties of our lenten practices (indeed, all of life), because we are fed the Bread of Life by the hand of the priest, who took bread, broke it, and gave to us some from his part.

So, as we begin and enter into this Lenten Journey—our journey to Bethlehem—let us turn to Joe who does give to us the nourishment that gives us strength to continue to encounter the Lord face-to-face!

Son of David, Do Not Fear

Next week, we begin the season of Lent, so I thought it would be good to offer some reflection on the infancy narrative before we being. I came across this article entitled, Joseph, Son of David, by Fr. Nicholas Solak, an Orthodox Priest. I strongly encourage you to read the entire article, but here are some quotes that I consider thought-provoking:

• How often we forget that we belong to God. So often we allow ourselves to be guided by fear and shame.
• He [God] offers us a righteousness far beyond our own when we accept that we are “sons of David.” We are part of the divine genealogy.
• Joseph does not rely on his own righteousness but rather is simply open and responsive to his divine vocation as “Son of David.” He is one who belongs to God, and he abandons his own ways in order to follow the Lord.
• Celebrating the Feast of our Lord’s Nativity in the flesh is a time for us, like Joseph, to offer our fear to the Lord. It is a time for us to recognize that our true vocation is a divine vocation, a time for us to embrace this divine calling fully and to become “sons of David.” Let this Feast of our Lord’s Nativity be a time for us joyfully to actualize in our lives the festive shout, “God is with us!”

This Lent, let us not be filled with fear. Instead, let us imitate Joe who "did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him" (Matthew 1:24).

St. Joseph's Oratory, Montreal

I was recently reminded of a pilgrimage to Montreal that I went on almost 5 years ago during my first year of seminary. In Montreal is the Oratory of St. Joseph that was begun by St. Andre Bessette, who called himself the "St. Joseph's little dog". 

Today, it stands as a testimony of the incredible and powerful intercession of Joe, and it's HUGE! I highly recommend it as a pilgrimage destination. Here are a few pictures of the Oratory from that trip:

This is the interior of the original chapel that still stands to the side of the Oratory Basilica.

Joe, the High Priest

I came across this icon of the Holy Family several months back, and it greatly intrigued me because Joe is clothed in the vestments of a Greek bishop. Since encountering the icon, I have been thinking a great deal about why he would, or should, be clothed as bishop. I think I might finally have an answer.

Last week, I shared St. Francis de Sales analogy of two mirrors and the sun for the Holy Family. I'm currently in a class entitled "Sacraments and the Christian Mystical Tradition" and in this course we're reading a short book written by Dr. David Fagerberg entitled Consecrating the World: On Mundane Liturgical Theology. In this book, Dr. Fagerberg speaks about the proper understanding of the term 'hierarchy', which comes from two Greek words: hiereus (priestly/sacred) arche (source of power). Then, quoting from Dionysius's Celestial Hierarchy, Chapter 3:

The aim of Hierarchy is the greatest possible assimilation to and union with God, and by taking Him as leader in all holy wisdom, to become like Him, so far as is permitted, by contemplating intently His most Divine Beauty. Also it moulds and perfects its participants in the holy image of God like bright and spotless mirrors which receive the Ray of the Supreme Deity — which is the Source of Light; and being mystically filled with the Gift of Light, it pours it forth again abundantly, according to the Divine Law, upon those below itself.

In other words, the hierarchy should be seen as a series of mirrors that each receive the Light of Christ from another and shares the same Light with another. The first mirror in the hierarchy is Mary; the second is Joe, all the way down to you and I. Joe is clothed as a bishop, that is a high-priest, because he is the first to receive the Light of Christ from another mirror (i.e. Mary, who receive the Light of Christ, not from another "mirror", but from Christ Himself). We too are called to be priests who sanctify this world (as Dr. Fagerberg write throughout his book).

For this reason I have begun to extend the phrase "To Jesus, through Mary" to "To Jesus, through Mary, with Joseph."

Joe, the second mirror

Last week, I shared St. Francis de Sales' analogy of the date-palm tree for Joe. This week, I'm sharing another analogy that de Sales offers in this conference: Joe as a mirror. This analogy should not be surprising though; after all, Joe is invoked as the "mirror of patience" in his litany. Simply put, as a mirror does not emit any light of its own but only reflects light from a source, Joe too does not emit any light of his own but only reflects that light, which is the Light of the World (John 8:12). Joe, however, does not reflect the Light directly. He receives the Light of the World from Mary, who is also a mirror. Here is what de Sales writes:

Oh divine union between Our Lady and the glorious St. Joseph! By means of this union, that Good of eternal goods, Our Lord Himself, belonged to St. Joseph as well as to Our Lady. This is not true as regards the nature which He took in the womb of our glorious Mistress, and which had been formed by the Holy Ghost of the most pure blood of Our Lady ; but is so as regards grace, which made him participate in all the possessions of his beloved Spouse, and which increased so marvelously his growth in perfection; and this through his continual communication with Our Lady. For although it is true that she possessed every virtue in a higher degree than is attainable by any other pure creature, yet it is quite certain that the glorious St. Joseph was the being who approached most nearly to that perfection.

And just as we see that a mirror placed opposite to the rays of the sun receives those rays perfectly, and another mirror placed opposite to the first, though it only takes or receives the sun's rays by reflection, yet reflects them so absolutely that you can scarcely judge which receives them directly from the sun and which only by reflection, so it was in the case of Our Lady. She was like a most pure mirror, receiving on a spotless surface the rays of the Sun of Justice, which poured into her soul all virtues in their perfection. All these virtues and perfections were then absolutely reflected in St. Joseph, so that it almost seemed as if he were as perfect, and possessed all virtues in as high a degree, as the glorious Virgin our Mistress.

More coming up next week...