To the Band of Brothers: May 2, 2023

I know, I know… it seems an eternity since the last time I sent a Band of Brothers email. You probably noticed, not because you haven’t seen the email in your inbox, but because your mother or father hasn’t forced you to read one or listen to it as he or she reads it for you in the car on the way to school. Those emails may be annoying to you sometimes because whatever lesson is communicated just adds fuel to your parents’ fire about how right they are and how Fr. Willie agrees with whatever lesson they try to teach you. I hate to say it, but chances are they are correct on that one. My only hope is you will realize it sometime in the near (or distant) future.

 

So, why the lapse in emails? One simple answer, I haven’t had much to say. I don’t mean there aren’t things going on or lessons still to be learned. I mean, I haven’t experienced the great motivation to sit down and write something of substance. I don’t want to flood your inbox with asinine messages just for the sake of sending something. You guys get enough of those already from a lot of asinine sources out there. I just haven’t had the Holy Spirit move me to write anything.

 

I have wondered what the reason for the “dry spell” could be. I don’t think I am in desolation because my prayer has been great. This Lent and Easter have been awesome, especially with my pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I mean, there is no way you can be in the land of Jesus and not be inspired by what you see and experience. You would have to be heartless and dead from the neck up not to be moved by walking the cobblestone streets of Jerusalem or standing on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Desolation is not the cause.

 

I thought maybe it was just writer’s block. You know, the creative juices are simply not flowing, and nothing comes to mind. It’s not easy always coming up with something. That’s true, but so many things happen when you work at Belen and have the privilege of speaking with you guys that it produces a lot of material for at least a weekly email. To be honest, you guys are the source of most of my material. It could be sheer laziness, but I don’t think that’s the case either because, again, Belen keeps me on my toes, and I can’t afford to be lazy.

 

So, what is it? I got to thinking maybe it's just good on occasion not to say anything. Why do we always have to say something? Maybe what the Lord is trying to tell me is there are times when silence is truly golden. I am always concerned about saying the right thing or taking advantage of every moment to communicate. Maybe this time around, God was just saying to take a break and let my actions and not my words do the talking.

 

This was especially made real for me yesterday when we celebrated the feast day of St. Joseph the Worker. We have a feast day for this great saint; it’s March 19, when the universal Church recognizes the life of the foster father of Jesus. But yesterday, May 1st, the Church celebrated his role as a worker and provider for Jesus and His glorious mother, the Virgin Mary. Joseph was all about silence. Do you realize that in the whole of the Bible, you don’t have a single thing written about what Joseph said? He never speaks. We, of course, have the words of Jesus, and various apostles, and we also have the words of Mary, but from Joseph, we have nothing.

 

If you read the gospel of St. Matthew, you get so much of Joseph as the one who God calls to take care of Mary and her Son. The angel appears to him on several occasions and Joseph responds not with a single word, but with powerful action. The gospel tells us that every time Joseph gets up and does exactly what the Lord asks him to do. He doesn’t question, he doesn’t complain, he has no discourse, just simple action. Joseph speaks wonders with his commitment to God, to Mary, and to Jesus. He protects his holy family and provides for them silently. He teaches Jesus a trade and we can clearly deduce he taught him to pray and be a good and faithful son of Israel. Joseph took him to the Temple, stood by him at his bar mitzvah, traveled with him to Jerusalem, and presented him in the Temple. All of this he does faithfully without speaking a single word deemed important enough to make it into the Scriptures.

 

Joseph is an example of a man who assumed his vocation and responsibilities without ever complaining or making some bold statement. He is the personification of allowing his actions to speak louder than his words. That’s why sometimes it is better to simply be silent. We don’t always have to have the last word. We don’t always have to give some grand speech. We don’t always have to post on social media, respond to some comments, or make some waves. Silence oftentimes is an expression of confidence and true power.

 

Now, does that mean you are now exempt from receiving my emails? I don’t think so. I am sure when the time is right and God sees it fit, the emails will come. When they do, I will try my hardest to be sure they are for a good reason. The fact is your parents need to have their great life lessons reinforced by my little emails. So, for now, just chew on this one for a little while.

 

Auspice Maria.