My Brother Joseph reflections are now located at All is Gift. Last year, with permission from my principal, I started writing weekly (or biweekly) short email reflections for my co-ministers at the Catholic high school where I teach. I assumed anonymity in the nom de plume of Brother Joseph because it was not about me […]
From Br. Joseph — What is a person? Classical Christian theology and philosophy defines a person as one who has the ability to know, to love, and to choose (to will). This is the image of God in which we are made. (The angels, our spiritual kinsmen, are also persons made in the image of […]
From Br. Joseph — We have all seen pictures of the crucifixion. There is one particular picture, a bit different from most, which I want to describe. The viewpoint of the picture is from above the Cross, a little higher than His right hand and a little behind, looking downward over Jesus on the Cross, […]
From Br. Joseph — There are two sides to faith, just as there are two sides to a coin. One side of the “coin of faith” looks externally, that is, it looks outside of our selves to others for examples and models of living faith. They are witnesses, and it is in accepting their experiences, […]
From Br. Joseph — From today’s Gospel reading, John 3:16-17: God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son,so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be […]
From Br. Joseph — This is the last reflection of a series on seven signposts. The first reflection began Lent, and now this one bridges us into the Easter season and beyond. Signposts give us direction. They point to some place. They involve action, movement. Many signposts call us to remember something important, some thing […]
From Br. Joseph — This is the sixth reflection on seven signposts for the season of Lent (and for all seasons). Pray always. Prays always; if necessary, use words. Our words in prayer are very important, be them words of gratitude or of amazement, words for forgiveness, or words of need for others or for […]
From Br. Joseph — This is the fifth reflection on seven signposts for the season of Lent (and for all seasons). Gravitate to humility. This signpost points in the exact opposite direction the world points by pointing to the First Beatitude, the Beatitude from which all the Beatitudes spring forth—blessed are the poor in spirit. […]
From Br. Joseph — This is the fourth reflection on seven signposts for the season of Lent (and for all seasons). Signposts give us direction. They point to some place. They involve action, movement. Many signposts call us to remember something important, some thing that is already there but is often covered up by the […]
From Br. Joseph — This is the third reflection on seven signposts for the season of Lent (and for all seasons). Surrender to grace. This signpost comes from a line in the book, The Lord by Romano Guardini. (A highly recommended book full of short, deep reflections on nearly every episode of Jesus’ life.) Although […]
From Br. Joseph — This is the second reflection on seven signposts for the season of Lent (and for all seasons). Signposts give us direction. They point to some place. They involve action, movement. Many signposts call us to remember something important, some thing that is already there but is often covered up by the […]
From Br. Joseph —
From Br. Joseph — Here is a simple prayer to start each day during Lent. As with all prayer, liturgy, worship, and spiritual reading, it is to draw us deeper into relationship with God, our Father. Father, I call upon You to be with me. I invite You into my heart, into my […]
From Br. Joseph — All is gift. Even your next breath is gift if you think about. Everything involves a choice, especially how we spend our time. Is it our time or God’s time? Here is a reflection/prayer on time from Michael Quoist: I went out, Lord. People were coming and going, Walking and running. […]
From Br. Joseph — At some point in every faith journey, one finds him or her self taking an inventory of their core, central beliefs. Some of these beliefs are held very tightly, some loosely. The more central a belief, the more one aligns his or her identity. Paula D’Arcy describes her seven central beliefs […]
We so often pray from a sense of need. In Scripture, Your son Jesus always prayed from a sense of Your abundance. And so Father, we too pray in Your abundance. Father, please bless all of the children born this year, their parents and siblings, and their future friends. May they all be drawn into […]
From Br. Joseph — The young boy asked, “Why Christmas?” His father replied, “You know, it’s December 25th, the season when everyone puts up Christmas trees and decorates everything in red and green. We hang Christmas lights on the house and…” “Yes, I know all that Dad. Not when is Christmas. Why Christmas?” The father […]
From Br. Joseph — I will raise up a prophet like you among their kinsmen, and will put my words into his mouth; he shall tell them all that I command. If any man will not listen… (from Deuteronomy) A colleague addressed me yesterday in the hallway with a warm smile and a friendly, “Hey […]
From Br. Joseph — At the still point of the turning world… …at the still point, there the dance is. (T.S. Eliot) From the book God Calling, today’s entry (Nov. 27) reads: Not our wills but Thine, O Lord. Man has so misunderstood Me in this. I want no will laid grudgingly upon My Altar. I […]
From Br. Joseph — There is a philosopher’s axiom that says, “Whatever is received is received according to the mode of the receiver.” In other words, how you see is what you see. This is best illustrated by a little story. A fat, overweight Buddha was sitting under a tree one day. An arrogant, young […]
From Br. Joseph — Meister Eckhart, a 14th century German mystic, once wrote, “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.” From Ronald Rolheiser’s book, The Shattered Lantern: The original sin of Adam and Eve, the prototype of all sin, is presented as a failure […]
From Br. Joseph — Hope keeps faith alive, and faith rekindles hope when all seems lost. At one point in Hannah Hurnard’s allegorical book of the spiritual journey, “Hind’s Feet on High Places”, the protagonist is having a particularly tough time. The Shepherd, an obvious symbol for Christ, says to her: Don’t you know by […]
From Br. Joseph — St. Jerome, best known as the translator of the Bible into Latin from Greek and Hebrew, is reported to have had a vision of the child Jesus. In the vision, Jesus asked Jerome why he had not given Him everything. Jerome was puzzled. “Lord,” he protested, “I have devoted my life […]
From Br. Joseph — Most people are familiar with the poem “Footprints in the Sand” by Mary Stevenson. Here’s a different set of footprints (author unknown)… — — — — — — — Now imagine you and the Lord walking down the road together. For much of the way, the Lord’s footprints go along steadily, […]
From Br. Joseph — There is a moment in each day that Satan cannot find. (William Blake) I saw this quote the other day. My mind searched for a specific time or moment to label as “Satan free.” Was it in those precious few moments just after waking before the thoughts of the day rush in? […]