 Morning everybody. Man, it's so good to be with you. I mentioned I'm a priest of the Diocese of Pittsburgh and just had an assignment change. I've had a bunch of assignments. There's a lot of changes going on in Pittsburgh so I've had four different assignments in the past six years and I was my last assignment. I was pastor of three parishes and it was just awesome like we were kind of growing during COVID. We were booming. Our doors were open. There was a lot of really great things going on and so I said bye to, I was celebrating my last masses, saying bye to them, moving to my new place. I guess about three weeks ago now and I'll tell you this because it's funny and I was preaching and you know people are crying and it's like really sad. It was the first time I was a pastor so I was there for one year and just a lot of really, a lot of really beautiful things happened and I was preaching and preaching. I was talking about like heaven trying to give them a word of consolation like in heaven like we'll all be doing it like if we just conform our lives to Jesus on earth like we'll all go to heaven where there will be no transfers right and instead of saying that I said and if we just conform our lives to Jesus like we'll go to heaven where there are no bishops you know and people literally started clapping I was like no, no, no, no, this is being live streamed. Do not clap. They got loud and I was like that's what no one is like a little Freudian slip right there so this is what the bishops like oh really you know you're now the chaplain to the you know I find the first reading so encouraging like at the birth of Moses right we know that Jesus Christ is the new Moses right but I just find both of these births the old Moses and the new Moses to be so incredibly encouraging and I find them to be so encouraging because they're so kind of wild they happen in such difficult strange challenging brutal circumstances you know like sometimes the voice of discouragement in our lives can be so loud that it drowns out the voice of encouragement you guys know this especially in ministry like the voice of the devil is always the voice of discouragement the voice of God is always the voice of encouragement and so much of our lives are dictated our happiness our joy our fruitfulness and ministry is determined by what voices we're listening to amen it's like I find in the confessions that I'm hearing so often like that that guy just went to confession to me now I'm just kidding and I just find like the devil's getting us with anger right now in a sense of a need for justice right but it's it's beautiful like the gospel teaches us this justice his mind says Lord vengeance is mine that's what the Lord says so I don't have to be the one to administer the justice amen like that's up to God so I can let go but back to the first reading this is how the birth of Moses came about and that's how the gospel of Matthew starts with the birth of Jesus how did it come about well yesterday we heard that a king arose in Egypt who knew not Joseph right and what does the king do he starts getting really suspicious and he starts getting afraid fears the root of all sins but Bishop Barron says the opposite of love is not hate it's fear hate is the root of fear so he becomes afraid and he gets all the people to become very afraid and so they start to oppress the Israelites right and they start to oppress them and then they enslave them and then they go like a step further it ends by saying that Pharaoh commanded that all the midwives would take every male baby that was born and throw the children into the river see this is why it's so helpful to have series like The Chosen or Mel Gibson's The Passion because so often we go through these ratings like okay but imagine this is the circumstances where the savior of the Israelites who's can deliver them from slavery and bringing them into the promised land was born so two life leave nights get together most his parents right and they can see this child and can you imagine they can see the baby's born it's a boy the mom mothers come on you you can relate to this father but we all can relate to it so Moses is born she has to hide him for three months can you imagine the terror every cry oh please quiet all right if you guys have seen the quiet place right remember when she's like giving birth she's trying not to scream she's holding on that this is what it would have been like like they find this child they're going to kill my boy they're going to kill my baby boy and so she's hiding him for three months and then she realizes she can't hide him any longer so she does this mothers come on she takes him makes this basket out of papyrus puts bitumen pitch in it puts him in the water and leaves him and his sister can't abide it right she's staying by and if her daughter comes to submit do you want somebody to nurse her for you yeah this is God's providence do you see God is not asleep amen he's not asleep he's working in all of this yeah I'll take the child to nurse him but then he gets older and he's got to give the child back right this is how the birth of Moses this is how the salvation of the Israelites was worked out in the providential plan of God in the messiness and the mock in the you know fast forward to the new moses I love one of my favorite lines in scripture is that exactly this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about and then all hell breaks loose like this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about everything worked out perfectly they had the perfect bishop at the perfect time in the perfect pastoral council on the perfect you know it's like no it's like that's not how the birth of Jesus Christ came about this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about they were betrothed but before they lived together Mary's found with child Joseph he's decides divorce or quietly he's a just man he's about the divorce or quietly an angel appears to them can you imagine the consternation Mary Joseph how many a time all these decides not to go angel of the Lord appears do not be afraid he okay he's not afraid takes Mary and his wife now they call a census really a census like this is horrible timing and now we're on our way to Bethlehem she's nine months pregnant ever on my donkey like this is not good really you met Joseph like come on remember he's gone like remember that part couldn't you make a little smoother don't we do that Father Jacques Philippe says we have to stop imagining the life of earth is the life of heaven where there's no trials and no tribulations and no challenges we keep pining after that that's the life of heaven not the life of earth it's the life of heaven we're on a journey you know that the word parish comes from the word parochia it means pilgrims on a journey we're not home yet amen and so Joseph and Mary are now in Bethlehem and now what happens oh now finally it works out great everything's okay a herit is searching for the child to destroy take him to Egypt come again like what would lay okay so now we're on our way to Egypt and guess what they hear about the massacre of the innocence this is how the birth of Jesus Christ comes about I'm reciting these stories to you because I think it should be tremendous courage for you again the voice of discouragement can be so loud look at the circumstances look at the world we don't know if a man is a man or a woman is a woman anymore everything that's going on 70 percent of Catholics not coming at your you know we're not believing the true presence of you like you guys know all the stats better than I know the stats it's so easy to be come discouraged let me just talk about your personal lives for a second I mean maybe you are in that your marriage isn't quite what you and your kids they're not practicing the faith and I'm a DRE and how my kids not been in a woman child is is same-sex attraction I don't know what to do with it and the other kids and the person but what's going on in your own heart I just want to say to you like he hasn't forgotten you you've been remembered and that's why I love the good thief on the cross Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom to be remembered is to be remembered it means to be put back together I want you today to remember that you have been remembered all he does all day long is remember you just remembering you this is what God's doing with you right now like hi God he's like hey guys you know that's why these little kids are so cute I was saying by having a youth camp I jumped on the bus to say bye to the kids real quick and I jumped off and they said father Joe you have to stay with us you have to stay with they said we're your biggest fans I said all right I'll stay you know me and a bunch of little kids on a bus he's not asleep in your personal lives he's with you he loves you let's just talk about your ministry he's with you there too it's like you know see as those chronic those of Narnia as Len is on the move as Len is on the move there is no reason for us to be discouraged but look at all the circumstances I know the circumstances did you not hear Moses did you not hear how the birth of Jesus Christ came about the birth of Jesus Christ comes about and the birth of the new Moses that is the saving of the Israelites comes about in the midst of the muck and the difficulty and the challenges of life you guys know the oyster and the pearl thing sand gets in the oyster and it irritates the oyster and that's how the pearl is born I loved our response or real song that said Lord I'm in the abysmal swamp you know it's like that's a great prayer I was driving down here I was like thinking about my circumstances like Lord I am in the abysmal swamp like pull me out of the swamp Lord Lord I need you oh I need you every hour I need you my one defense my right oh god how I need you then we call on the name of Jesus right Jesus and what does he say in response Joseph Thomas Sally he's calling your name this morning want your heart to rise to be encouraged I am working in your life personally and I am working in your ministry so our response to that has to be I will trust him even when it looks dark even when I'm taking my baby and hiding it in the water Job says this though he should kill me I would still trust him let's let our hearts be firm core ma'am my heart is firm Lord and as trust for you if we do that we stay faithful we stay humble like Joseph like Mary like Moses most of the time although he just murdered somebody today but God's still working amen used to murder to liberate Israel we stay humble we stay faithful God will bear great fruit in our lives and the lives of our families and our ministries amen