Dear friends in Christ
The opening chapters of the Gospel of St Mark give us clear and concise insights into the mission of Our Lord. He begins by proclaiming that the Kingdom of God has come and then gives the signs by His miracles of healing. Every one of us stands in need of healing. This need comes about by our response to hearing the words of Jesus. He has come to address dysfunction at every level: social and personal. Indeed, we may reflect back over almost a year in which we have seen so many cases of suffering in mind, body and soul. We think of the tragic loss of life that has occurred and all those families—many known to us—who have experienced the loss of ones they love. Jesus comes to heal, as much now as He did when He walked on this earth. Healing comes in many forms but the reality is that life is finite, it has a limit, and the ultimate healing for the Christian believer is the healing which comes at death. Death is the final healing which ends the suffering of life on earth. It is a healing, because it brings us into communion with the One who is the object of all our loves and desires. This last year has taught us to let-go of many things that we thought were so precious and needful. There is only one thing necessary: to love God and be united with Him. This relationship will help us navigate all of the trials and pitfalls of life and give us the serenity only He can provide.
With just one more weekend now before Lent—Ash Wednesday is 17th—we ought to be giving some consideration to our personal Lenten discipline, otherwise it will creep-up on us before we know it! We might feel that we have had enough mortification over the last months without inventing more penance, but we all still need the period of Lent to prepare well for Easter. One of the exercises I suggest we could do during Lent in this Year of St Joseph, is prepare to make a Consecration to this great Saint and Patriarch. Begin on Monday 15th February and end on the Solemnity of St Joseph, 19th March. Over thirty-three days we could invoke his intercession by a prayer such as his Litany. An excellent resource I found for this is the new book: Consecration to St Joseph by Fr Donald Calloway; you can find it on Amazon. It will give you a great insight into the Saint and help you perform a great spiritual work this Lent.
Thursday is the Solemnity of Our Lady of Lourdes, our Patroness. Commemorating the date of the first apparition (there were eighteen) in 1858. This is a day on which we can call on the help of our heavenly Mother for protection of our sick and suffering, and all of us, who call upon her help at this time.
May Jesus, Mary and Joseph assist us!
Msgr Kevin Hale