Sunday, July 05, 2015

Joe Hall, a saintly young man.




The new pastor at my parish mentioned him at Mass.  I was deeply impressed by Joe's story.  I was immediately taken by the following quote from Joe, expressing his surrender to God's loving providence, which allowed cancer to be part of his life:

“My prayer to God is, ‘Give me Your vision, so that I can look at this appropriately.’
“What’s the one thing that you can’t imagine letting go of? Find a way to develop separation from that thing. Take the desire for separation to prayer and say, ‘Lord, help me not to take identity in any particular thing, and help me not to place hope in anything other than You.’” - Joe Hall, Thoughts

That's incredible.  Pondering that statement, one realizes it is an act of heroic faith.  It seems to me it is applicable to so many situations, states, and conditions in one's life.

Joe Hall, 26, died March 27, 2015.
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6 comments:

  1. Angela M.2:23 AM

    So profound.

    Our pastor of nearly 13 years is moving to another parish - I sent him the quote. I think it's appropriate for any big change/stress in one's life.

    Thanks for this post.

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    Replies
    1. Terry Nelson10:15 AM

      We just got the best new pastor! I'm so excited - Mass is according to the rubrics - real vestments - the priest sings - plain chants the prayers. Not that Mass was bad before - but now it is perfect. His homily was alive - full of faith. I'm so happy! He's a member of a local fraternity of priests, the Companions of Christ - they are so solid, it's refreshing.

      Delete
    2. Angela M.3:58 PM

      Met our new priest for the first time yesterday. He seems very approachable, prayerful and faithful to the Magisterium. Thanks be to God! Our old priest was great too and we will miss him dearly.

      Delete
  2. Yaya1:52 PM

    That sounds good to me. A gift to lift up and affirm one's walk with our Lord Jesus is welcomed always. At my parish we are in transition as well.
    Please pray for us.

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  3. Scott Woltze5:01 PM

    It's definitely worth watching the whole series--though watch it at netusa.org/prayforjoe because youtube doesn't seem to have all the videos.

    It was a great reminder of how we crave control in our lives, how little we truly abandon ourselves to divine providence.

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  4. bill bannon9:47 AM

    WOW...identify....wow.

    ReplyDelete


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