Joseph's Closet

Over the last five months, we have had the opportunity - through the graces and blessings of the Holy Spirit - to have visited over 2,400 homes in our community. During this time, we have been witness to a significant level of suffering, sometimes physically, most often financially, emotionally and spiritually. When possible we have provided assistance and support by way of empathetic and merciful dialog, prayer (both on-site and via our prayer ministry), and economic assistance.

The economic assistance has consisted of gift cards, (12 to date), clothing and basic furnishings necessary to daily living, and in three instances, short-term accommodations for homeless individuals while we worked to relocate them to more stable living conditions, simultaneously working to connect them with social service agencies. Most recently we supported efforts for a young single mother-to-be by helping to coordinate and provide some needed items for this individual and her child.

"awesome-sauce"

Approaching a woman early today as she was playing with 4 young children in her driveway, we introduced ourselves, the purpose of our visit and commented about the beauty of seeing her in the yard with these four joy-filled children, all strutting around merrily on their tricycles. She smiled warmly, thanked us and then asked, “why do they make you do this”? Not quite fully understanding the nature of her question I asked her to explain to which she said, “why does the church make you do this, go door-to-door?”. We explained that we choose to do what we are doing because we believe in prayer and that regardless of whether people are believers in God or otherwise, the vast majority of them always welcome prayer on their behalf. We continued by saying that Christ calls us to “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15), and that this journey has been extremely rewarding. She then offered some information about herself and her family and asked if we would pray for them, as she extended her hand and thank us for what we are doing. As we started to depart, one of the children, a girl perhaps no older than 4, called us to us and said, “be careful on the road so you don’t get hit”; we smiled, thanked her and promised we would stay close to the side of the road, which met her absolute approval.

"...nobody goes door-to-door anymore."

As I approached a home yesterday, while other Team members engaged residents on the opposite side of the street, I was met with a look of shock, followed by a burst of nervous laughter after introducing myself and stating the purpose of my visit. Asking what I had missed, I was informed that the two women – a mother and a daughter, were just discussing their faith journey (both are members of the Charlton Baptist Church) and how sad it was that “nobody goes door-to-door anymore”. It was within moments of that discussion that I entered their driveway after rounding a thicket of bushes extending out onto the street blocking any view they would have had of our presence in the neighborhood.  Immediately, one of the remarked about “God always giving us what we need, when we need it”, as the three of us entered into a beautiful discussion of faith, Jesus Christ and His message of love.

“Jesus, I trust in You” …well…sort of.

Christianity at its core, is based upon trust, trust in Jesus Christ, in His love for us, in His promise of salvation, in His forgiveness, in His “unfathomable Divine Mercy”, and in the knowledge that He is with us “always, until the end of the age”. (Matthew 28:20). So vital is this principle that the Psalmist implores us in Psalm 37:3,5 to “Trust in the LORD and do good…Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will act”.

But how many of us truly “trust in the Lord”? How many of us despite our regular attendance at Mass, reading of Scripture, participation in Eucharistic Adoration, and daily devotions such as the Rosary, Divine Mercy Chaplet, or any number of Litanies are really nothing more than shallow water swimmers whose “trust in the Lord” is really confined to the four walls of the Church, or the four walls of our family and friends, the four walls of our prayer group or the four walls of our comfort zone? 

"...simply love first"

We as Catholics are blessed with a richness and fullness to our faith that all too often, we unfortunately constrict, constrain, and confine in a manner that Jesus Christ never intended. We have an amazing triad of divinely inspired dogma, doctrine and devotions that when properly embraced, truly set us free to be Christ to our brothers and sisters. Sadly however, too many Catholics become so entrenched in dogma, doctrine, and devotions (i.e. Rosaries, Chaplets, Jesus Prayer, Novenas, litanies, etc.) that their hearts are unable to see what the eyes of Christ call us to envision. 

If our dogma, doctrine or devotions are not drawing us out into the uncertainty of the deep waters, then we reduce them to serving merely as barriers that confine us in the shallows where safety abounds.  If our doctrine, devotions or dogma do not draw us out of our comfort zones into those places we’d much rather avoid, then we reduce them to nothing more than a straight-jacket that constrains us into ourselves. If our devotions, doctrine, or dogma do not physically draw us into the darkness of the world to shed light, then we reduce them to nothing more than a ‘lamp hidden away under a bushel basket’ (see Luke 11:33), whose light is constricted, serving no purpose and having no value.

How can we call ourselves Christians if we are not fully willing to abandon the safety of the shallow water and follow Him? A great lesson that we can learn from our Protestant brothers and sisters is to simply LOVE first, last, and always, then the triad of our faith, (dogma, doctrine, devotions) can serve in the manner truly intended, as a set of wings that enable us soar limitlessly, rather than as a set of shackles that confine us to the four walls of our comfort zone.