Thank you, Father Joe!

Dear Friend,

The image of Father Joe on the front cover of this week’s bulletin strikes me as a gesture of love’s outreach, its stance of openness, and receptivity. Our readings this week sound the theme of forgiveness, and that too is something to which Father Joe’s gentle hands might be calling us.   

As we prepare for Father Joe’s departure, an appropriate reflection to accompany this image might be the words of Father Joe himself. Here’s an excerpt from the conclusion of his book The Basilica of Saint Clare, The Story Behind the Story. Saint Clare’s life provides extraordinary light into the Gospel, and Joe himself has certainly done that for us here at the Mission.  

“Through the medium of the Basilica of Saint Clare we are introduced to an exceptional woman, Saint Clare herself, who remains an inspirational figure and our sister at the same time. Her ideas and fidelity to the Franciscan way of following the Gospel are revealed by this building and its furnishings, ideas such as Sacred Exchange, the Privilege of Poverty, minority, the spirituality of textiles, the Incarnation, mystical marriage…Through her we come to know a feminine, original way of Gospel living, one developed by and for women in response to challenges and differing visions of reality and transcendence.  

“And yet, the bodily senses of hearing and vision are celebrated here and play essential roles by enclosing the deeply personal spiritual insights of Saint Clare in a physical expression – that is, her own life and this building which both memorializes and reveals.”

Thank you, Father Joe, for helping us memorialize and communicate our own history here at the Mission, and for revealing through your own life and words the wise and gentle heart of our Lord. Come back to us soon and we’ll welcome you with open arms!

Gratefully,

Father Dan