Candlemas Day coming on February 2 marks the very first time when Blessed Mary and Joseph bring Jesus into the holy temple. Forty days have passed since His birth. Mary enters full of joy seeking to receive her new Mother blessing. Joseph as always, is at her side. Anna looks on lovingly at the child Mary holds in her arms. All of a sudden the prayerful silence is broken. The loud cry of an old man’s voice echoes throughout the temple. “Where is He?” “Where is the Child so that I may behold him?” Old Simeon was waiting inside the temple for years. But this day was different. Something wonderful was taking place not far from where he sat. The sounds of a Child fill his heart with magnificent splendor. The infant Jesus. He goes from room to room frantically searching for where the…
Faith is indeed a choice. I understand what it means to tragically lose someone you love in just a few breaths. To experience the permanent taking away of another human being you adored with your soul in a matter of seconds. After the September 11, 2001 attack, my life instantly became a devastating, heart exploding blur. I did all I could to spiritually and physically cope with the indescribable and profound loss of my younger brother James taken from our family that day. Only 26, James was a young apprentice just two weeks into his training as an IBEW Local Union electrician. I was the only person on the outside world able to speak with him just after the planes hit the South Tower. Through God’s grace, we were brought together to speak by phone three times. James and so many others were trapped on the 105th floor…
Several weeks after the 9/11 attack, my brother John took me down to the family viewing area at Ground Zero. John works with the Local Union and had been searching for our younger brother James nonstop. As we worked our way deeper into the site, I was completely gripped by the incredible mass of destruction all around me. Dust covered recovery workers were fiercely digging and searching for loved ones. We moved slowly and very carefully. Upon entering the safe viewing area built for family members, the ash covered eyes of a recovery worker looked up momentarily and met mine. Not a word was uttered. We spoke through our tears and brokenness. Standing in rows, workers moved whatever debris they could, hoping to find people alive. Among the thousands missing was our own brother James. He was 26 years old and had just started working for the Local Union…
As we live through all the uncertainty in our world, we can be strengthened by our Lord’s prayers. In John 17:9 Christ prayed to his Father saying “I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 The Lord prayed for those whom God gave him. His lambs. Those who hear…
How do you define leadership? The answer changes depending on who you ask. Some define leadership as influence. Possessing the ability to positively influence others through trust earned over time. Others see the mark of a leader in the ability to inspire a team to work together, acknowledging and leveraging the unique strengths of each member. Leadership is not position according to Maxwell. History lifts up those who demonstrated real courage to stay true to his or her beliefs in the face of darkness. George Washington, Abe Lincoln, Mother Theresa and Martin Luther King are all examples of great leaders who lived and died for what they believed. And what about you and me? The Gospel brims with every day people who answered God’s call to lead others through great tribulation. Each was tasked with carrying out the seemingly impossible assignment. Alone and afraid, they carried out what…
