Guest Posts by Jeff Young

Guest Post: Make Me a May Crown, by Jeff Young

May 25, 2010 By Sarah Reinhard 3 Comments

I’m honored to share this reflection on Mary by Jeff Young, who you may know from Catholic Foodie fame. It’s a joy to read his thoughts on Mary and a pleasure to be able to share them with you. Be sure to check out the Catholic Foodie and Jeff’s consulting business, Mac & Media.

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Mary is really my mother. Really.

At 16 I had a powerful experience of God that showed me without a doubt that He was real and that all this Catholic stuff was real. That experience changed my life, and Mary was right there in the middle of it all.

I prayed the rosary daily. I was aware of Mary with me when I prayed. I talked to her during the day. But, oddly enough, I found it very difficult to relate to her.

I had put Mary on a pedestal. To me she was superhuman.

Mary wasn’t alone; I kept all my favorite saints on a pedestal. When I was in the seminary, at a time of intense discernment, when I was plagued with doubt and confusion about my vocation, I looked to the saints for encouragement and some sense of certainty. But I was terribly disappointed.

Why?

Because I wasn’t anything like them. I struggled with God, with faith, with discernment, with my vocation. In all the stories I read, the saints they were virtually perfect, superhuman. They did not suffer as I suffered. I simply could not relate to them.

I can see now that I was looking at the saints through the wrong pair of glasses. I was blinded by my suffering.

So what changed for me?

I have my wife Char to thank. She’s the one that showed me the real Mary. She doesn’t know that she did this for me. I’ve never told her. (Boy, will she be surprised when she reads this!)

Marriage is such a blessing. My biggest blessing, actually, because it shows me clearly my own humanity. Marriage has curbed my natural tendency toward perfectionism. I now know that God meets me right where I am, in all my human messiness.

Char showed me this. She bore my children. She delivered them, nursed them, held them, cared for them. And she did it all with strength and tenderness. And love.

Char’s example showed me that Mary is human. Mary bore Jesus. She gave birth. She nursed him, held him, cared for him. And she, too, did it with strength and tenderness. She did it with love… even (or especially) in the midst of suffering.

Mary is not on a pedestal. She is right here with me. In my suffering. In my weakness. In what seems to be constant failure. She wipes my cuts and tends my bruises. She helps me stand up after a fall. She hugs me and reminds me that God loves me just as I am, and that she loves me too. Like God, she wants me to grow up big and strong.

Knowing this makes all the difference in the world.

Thank you, Honey, for being a wonderful image and example of Mary to me. I am forever indebted to you. May Mary make my life a “May Crown” for you.

Filed Under: Guest Posts by Jeff Young, Inspired by the Virgin Mary Tagged With: Faith, guest post, Jeff Young, marriage, Motherhood, rosary, Virgin Mary

Guest Post: Fiat! Let It Be Done To Me!

March 25, 2010 By Sarah Reinhard 3 Comments

We have Jeff Young, the Catholic Foodie, to thank for this reflection on Mary, Joseph, and the power of our Yes and No in honor of the Solemnity of the Annunciation of Our Lord. Thanks, Jeff!

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“Behold, I am the Handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word” (Lk. 1:38).

Fiat. Yes. Mary’s yes that resulted in the conception of the Messiah. “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most Hight will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God” (Lk. 1:35).

Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, the great event that ultimately led to our salvation. This solemnity is positioned exactly nine months before the celebration of Christ’s birth, for obvious reasons. It is traditionally believed that as Mary uttered her fiat – at that very moment – she became the Mother of God. We can imagine all of Heaven and earth waiting in anxious expectation for Mary’s answer to God’s invitation. And she said yes.

Yes is such a positive word. We don’t tend to think of it as a negative. But do you know that every yes contains a no? If we say yes to something, then we necessarily say no to everything else. In saying yes to God’s invitation, Mary said no to every other plan or possibility for her life.

This fact really hit home for me as I prepared to get married. As our wedding day approached, I began to realize that saying yes to Char meant saying no to every other woman in the world. And I said that yes with such joy!

On this Solemnity of the Annunciation, I can’t help but think of St. Joseph. He said yes too. Instead of exposing Mary to the Law, he took the words of the angel who appeared to him to heart. He took Mary as his wife. He said yes and he became the father of Jesus.

I think it’s appropriate to celebrate today’s solemnity so soon after celebrating the Solemnity of Joseph, Husband of Mary, which was just last Friday, March 19. For me this proximity reinforces the fact that the Holy Family was a real family. They understand intimately all the joys and sorrows that my family experiences. That’s encouraging.

On this great Marian solemnity, God is inviting me to renew my total consecration to Mary, the Mother of God. I first made my consecration to Mary when I was 17. It was July 16, 1987, the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. That was a long time ago. I think it’s time to renew it! Tomorrow I start the preparation according to the method of St. Louis de Montfort. And I am not alone. My wife Char is joining me as I join Sarah Reinhard and many readers of just another day of Catholic pondering. I am excited to say yes to this invitation!

Is God inviting you to something? Will you give your fiat? He wants only good for us. We can certainly trust in that (see Romans 8:28). “Do not be afraid… for you have found favor with God” (Lk. 1:30).

At His invitations in our lives, let us say yes, “…let it be done to me according to your word” (Lk. 1:38).

Filed Under: Guest Posts by Jeff Young, Inspired by the Virgin Mary Tagged With: Annunciation, guest post, Jeff Young, Virgin Mary

Guest Post: Saint Joseph, a Just Man

March 19, 2010 By Sarah Reinhard 3 Comments

We have Jeff Young, of Catholic Foodie fame, to thank for this lovely reflection on St. Joseph, in honor of his feast day today. Thanks, Jeff!

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“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
and abides in the shade of the Almighty
says to the Lord: ‘My refuge,
my stronghold, my God in whom I trust!’” (Psalm 91)

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of St. Joseph, Husband of Mary.

Husband of Mary. Have you ever thought about that? I mean really thought about that?

There are two “familiar” titles of St. Joseph: Husband of Mary and Foster-Father of Jesus. They are “familiar” because they are commonly known. But they are also “familiar” because they have to do with family.

St. Joseph was a family man. He was a real husband. He was a real father. And the Holy Family was a real family.

We call St. Joseph the Foster-Father of Jesus in order to emphasize the fact that Jesus was conceived miraculously. God alone is His Father. But, according to the Law, Joseph was Jesus’ father. Even though Joseph was not the biological father, he claimed Jesus as his own. All the world, at that time, knew Joseph as the father of Jesus.

Why is this important?

In the daily life of the Holy Family, Joseph was a dad to Jesus. He did all the things that dads do. He talked with Jesus, he cared for Jesus, provided for him and Mary. He taught Jesus a trade. Carpentry. They practiced their religion together… faithfully.

As the scriptures say, Joseph was a just man.

The fact that Joseph was a just man leads us to another of the great titles of Joseph that we find in the Litany of St. Joseph: Terror of Demons. Wow! Joseph is the Terror of Demons!

How is it that a man who has dreams of angels, who speaks not one word in the gospels, and who seems so meek and lowly… how can he be the Terror of Demons?

Because he was a just man. Scripture says that “The just man overcomes every misfortune which oppresses him” (Proverbs 24:5). It also says that “The just man appraises the house of the wicked: there is one who brings down the wicked to ruin” (Proverbs 21:12).

Joseph was… No, Joseph IS a just man.

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the just man runs to it and is safe” (Proverbs 18:10). It is the Lord Himself who overcomes the enemy. The Lord works through the just. It is the Lord who scatters His enemies. In Joseph we see Psalm 91 in action. We started out this reflection with a quote from Psalm 91. Here’s where it resumes:

“It is he who will free you from the snare
of the fowler who seeks to destroy you;
he will conceal you with his pinions
and under his wings you will find refuge….”

We would do well to reflect upon Psalm 91 today as we celebrate the Solemnity of Joseph, Husband of Mary. He is the one who protected the Holy Family. He saved Mary from the consequences of the Law. He saved Mary from shame by taking her as his wife. He led his family to safety in Egypt. He brought them back to Nazareth. He provided food and shelter for them. He fathered the Son of God.

In 1847, Pope Pius IX proclaimed Joseph the Patron and Protector of the Universal Church.

Today, I proclaim St. Joseph as the Patron and Protector of my Domestic Church, my family.

St. Joseph, Husband of Mary, Foster-Father of Jesus, Terror of Demons, pray for us!