EvangeliNation: Forming Apostles for the Great Evangelization

Welcome to my new series of blogs, vlogs, and podcasts! It is my hope that you will learn something new here to draw you closer to Christ each time you visit. Forming Apostles for the Great Evangelization is what this space is all about. I call it EvangeliNation-- the act of evangelizing the nation. 

Before I move to podcasting and broadcasting though, it seems right to put first things first; it is necessary to say a few words about Saint Joseph, after whom PCSJ is named.

As the month of March begins, we prepare to celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph (March 19), and during this time of Lenten fasting, we "go to Joseph" to provide Bread for us--that is, Jesus Christ, the Living Bread come down from heaven. Saint Joseph was the protector and foster father of this Holy Living Bread, and he is still providing for the Mystical Body of Christ that is the Church. We depend on Joseph to provide for all our needs just as Jesus and Mary did. 

Like the ancient Joseph, who was the son of Jacob (who wrestled with God and so became "Israel"), Saint Joseph was an interpreter of dreams, and this gift was absolutely essential for the preservation of the life of the infant Jesus from the murderous designs of Herod. Just as the ancient Joseph interpreted rightly the dream of the Pharaoh of Egypt, and thereby saved the known world from widespread famine (read Genesis 47:13ff), so the foster father of Jesus saved the life of our Savior because of a dream in which he was told to flee with the child and his mother into Egypt. In this act of faith, Joseph saved the world like his ancient predecessor, for the world and its inhabitants could not have been--and still cannot be--released from the unbreakable cycle of sin and death without Jesus Christ, the God-Man in whom divinity and humanity is reconciled. Next to Mary, the Mother of God, no one else had so much to do with bringing Christ--the Way, Truth, and Life-- to the world than St. Joseph. We have much reason to thank St. Joseph for his faithfulness to grace, his many labors, his courage, and his willingness to follow inspiration received in dreams.

We too have dreams and visions. Mine is to answer the call of the Gospel, to bring the Word to the world. By using the gifts God has richly bestowed upon me, I want to walk with you on a journey of discovery, as together we seek to better know, love, and serve the God who has revealed in the stunning events of salvation history his great Heart of Love. I hope you will join me on this journey of reflection and faith. Perhaps, you will find just the right Word you need to be the best you can be.