Joe in Omaha, NE

This past Sunday, I went to St. Joseph's Church in Omaha for Mass. I truly was a beautiful church. I particularly loved the stained-glass which depicted scenes in Joe's life:

Returning Home and the Eucharist

In the Roman Rite, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) either tomorrow or this coming Sunday. A couple months ago, I had a post (House of Loreto) about the House of Loreto in Italy--the house of the Holy Family that was miraculously transported from Israel to Italy. St. Therese of Lisieux stopped at the House of Loreto on her pilgrimage to Rome. She wrote about this stop in her autobiography, particularly on receiving the Holy Eucharist there, A Story of a Soul (Chapter 6):

On to Loreto with my heart full of joy; Our Lady certainly chose an ideal setting for the Holy House, everything poor and simple and primitive, the women still in their charming national costumes, not as elsewhere in the latest Paris fashions, and I was enchanted. But what of the Holy House itself! This very roof had once sheltered the Holy Family; Our Lord's divine eyes had gazed upon these walls; the earth had known the sweat of Joseph's toil, and Mary had here borne Jesus in her womb, then in her arms; how deeply I was moved! I saw the little room where the Annunciation took place and put my Rosary in the bowl once used by Jesus as a child. What enchanting memories these are!

The greatest joy of all was to receive Jesus in His own house and become His living temple in the very place where He had dwelt on earth. According to the Roman custom, the Blessed Eucharist is only reserved at one altar in each church, and the priest only gives Communion to the faithful from there; in Loreto this Altar is in the Basilica which enshrines the Holy House like a priceless diamond in a casket of white marble. This would not do for us; it was in the diamond, not merely in its casket, that we wished to be given the Bread of Angels. Father, docile as ever, followed the rest, but his daughters, who were more independent, made for the Santa Casa itself. A priest with special dispensation was saying Mass there, and we told him what we wished so much to do. This considerate priest at once asked for two small hosts and placed them on the paten. You can guess what a joy that Communion was, a joy beyond words. So what will an eternal Communion be like in the House of the King of Heaven?

The joy of that will never be clouded by the sadness of farewell; there will be no need to steal fragments from the walls which His presence sanctified, for His house will be all our own forever and ever. It is not His earthly house He wants to give us. He shows us that only to make poverty and the bidden life dear to us. It is His palace of glory that He is keeping for us, and we shall see Him then, not in the guise of a child or under the form of bread, but as He is, radiant in His infinite beauty.

St. Joseph on Fire

I'm sure that Joe must have felt as if his own house was on fire when he found Mary to be pregnant. This past May 1st (coincidentally, Feast of St. Joseph, the Worker), the church of St. Joseph Parish in Phoenix, Arizona caught fire. You can check out pictures here. But very much like their patron, the did not allow the fire in their life to extinguish their worship of God. Now, they continue to celebrate the Mass and other sacraments.

If you are willing and able, you can donate to help with the reconstruction of their church in honor of Joe. You can do that either online at the parish website, or I'm sure that you could mail them a check:

St. Joseph Catholic Church

11001 N. 40th Street

Phoenix, AZ 85028

As in all things every little bit counts... most especially prayers!

Traveling to Bethlehem

I'm writing this post early because this week, I'm on an actual 8-day silent retreat--meaning, no internet! Yeah!!! Please, pray for me and the other men with me.

Last week, I shared a little about the Coptic feast of the Entrance into Egypt, but we know that this was not the first time the Holy Family had to travel.

I love this icon written by Brother Claude Lane, O.S.B. particularly because Mary is clothed the same as when she appeared at Guadalupe. You can learn more about the particular symbolism in this icon here. The last little section connects the Holy Eucharist with Joe. There will be more on this connection next week!

By the way, did you know that the Aztec symbols in the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe indicate that she was pregnant. You can learn more about the symbolism in the Guadalupe image here.

Go Into the Desert

I've found it very interesting that in the Roman Rite, we do not celebrate a memorial of the Holy Family's flight into Egypt when King Herod tried to kill the infant Jesus--especially during these times when refugees are in the news frequently.

In the Coptic Orthodox Church, which is centrally in Egypt, this feast is of particular importance. Imagine that Jesus, Mary, and Joe visited and stayed in your country for several years. I would find that to be of particular importance too!

The Coptic Church celebrates the Holy Family's entrance into Egypt every year on June 1st, which they call the 24th of Pashons and is coming up this Saturday. The icon on the above is a Coptic icon. Check out this other blog post explaining the significance of Egyptian images in it.

Here are two other icons of the flight into Egypt:

 

Notice the difference in how Joe is depicted. In the first icon, Joe is depicted as an elderly man and there is a young man following; the young man is St. James, who is Joe's biological son by previous marriage according to the usual tradition that Joe was elderly. Also, notice that even though Joe is elderly in this icon, he's still carrying Jesus on his shoulders--giving witness to the tradition that even if Joe was elderly, he remained physically strong.

This past Monday, I started a 9-week spirituality "program," although, it feels more like a quasi-academic retreat. It has been a major part of the Catholic Tradition to consider times of retreat like going into the desert to pray. So, I ask for your prayers as I join the Holy Family in going into the desert for these next 8 1/2-weeks.

Joe and the Priest

Last Saturday, I had the privilege of witnessing the priestly ordination of nine men. During which, I was reminded of a short section of St. John XXIII’s Apostolic Exhortation, Sacrae Laudis:

The recent Christmas festivities brought us during those holy days closer, not only to the Mother but to her spouse, dear St. Joseph, both on their way to Bethlehem, towards the accomplishment of the great mystery of the Word that was made flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). Who is more worthy than the priest to be on familiar terms with St. Joseph 'to whom was given not only to see and hear God but to carry him, kiss him, dress him and guard him'? Therefore, on the occasion of his feast, on the nineteenth of March last year, we entrusted also to St. Joseph the supreme task of protecting this Council (Le Voci), as he had already been proclaimed Patron Saint of the Universal Church by the first Vatican Council on 8 December 1869.***

Let us pray for our priests, seminarians, and for an increase of men answering the call to discern priestly ministry!


***Interestingly, this decree was actually published on 8 December 1870 (not 1869) as Pope St. John XXIII wrote in his encyclical Le Voci (which by the way is a great summary of the 19th-20th century papal decrees regarding Joe).

Whatever you ask the Father in my name

In Terror of Demons, I shared a quote from St. Teresa of Avila's Autobiography in which she wrote that Joe had answered all of her petitions to God through him without fail. I can honestly say that this has largely been my experience too.

Just a couple days ago, I was struck by what Jesus said to his disciples, "Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you." (John 16:23) I've said many times already that Joe, as Jesus' earthly father, is the perfect icon of God the Father. If this is so, then it makes sense why he has been found to be a powerful intercessor in every case. I would go so far as to say that Jesus also says to us, "Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask Joseph in my name he will give you."

If you want to know the Father's Heart, “Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you.” (Gen. 41:55)

Joe at Theology on Tap|Heights

As promised, here is the video recording of Fr. Boniface's talk at Theology on Tap|Heights if you couldn't be there (or if you just want to rewatch it).

Joe went to Steubenville

If you couldn't make it to Fr. Boniface's Theology on Tap | Heights talk last Wednesday, you seriously missed out! I hope that the recording will be posted soon so that I can share.

But don't worry too much. Instead, you can watch a round-table discussion that Fr. Boniface was a part of as a part of the Franciscan University Presents project...

Joe the Builder

Today is an awesome day! First and foremost we continue our celebration of Our Lord’s Resurrection in the Easter Season. Today, we also celebrate the feast of St. Joseph the Carpenter today on May 1st.

At the Last Supper, Jesus told his disciples, “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way.” (John 14:1-4)

Why do I share this? First, Joe was a carpenter in this life; so, why could he not be a carpenter in Eternal Life? Second, what if Joe really was assumed body and soul into heaven?

Do you think it’s possible (if not probable) that Jesus and Joseph are working together to build the Father’s house for us? I find it to be a humbling thought that Jesus and Joseph might be working on my heavenly bedroom or yours right now.

Pure speculation… but one I like to think about.

And what is “the way” that Jesus spoke about at the Last Supper? To Jesus, through Mary, with St. Joseph!