These reflections are a result of more than 40 years of ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. Most of these years I spent in the Diocese of Charlotte which covers Western North Carolina. Now I am retired, and live in Medellín, Colombia where I continue to serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Medellín.
Gird yourselves and weep, O priests! wail, O ministers of the altar! Come, spend the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God! Proclaim a fast, call an assembly. (Joel 1:13-15; 2:1-2)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101025.cfm
This passage sounds a lot like Lent, and for good reason: the Prophet Joel is read on Ash Wednesday to call us to prepare for the great day of redemption. In the midst of all the problems we face in the world, we need a reminder that the Passion and Resurrection of the Lord is our hope. We know that the sufferings we endure lead to gospel joy. https://youtu.be/RaH2OWndHjk?si=vcfgY7oqG3xN_k2J
And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. (Lk 11:5-13)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/100925.cfm
This passage does not offer us a celestial grab bag: we get anything we ask for. No, what God offers is the Holy Spirit. https://youtu.be/Hi9OdZWwf9A?si=qNg0zF9ggxYa7T-o
Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples. (Lk 11:1-4)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/100825.cfm
It should be no surprise that John the Baptist was also a person of prayer and had disciples. The prayer that Jesus gives us is short, simple and direct: Kingdom come, daily bread, forgiveness, and deliverance. With this prayer we can ask for what we need and then rest in God's arms, trusting in divine providence. Psalm 131 reminds us: “Like a child rests in its mother’s arms, so will I rest in you.” https://youtu.be/ZUAZIiJWqY0?si=5ZzBR_wKd14iUybC
Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. (Lk 10:38-42)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/100725.cfm
The Martha and Mary story is interesting, but this is not just any ole village. Martha and Mary live in Bethany. And why has their brother, Lazarus, been erased completely? Perhaps the others were jealous of the very close friendship that they had with the Lord. We know that the Lord wept for his friend Lazarus who had died and then raised him from the dead. In his love for us, his beloved disciples, the Lord will call us by name to be by his side for ever. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. https://youtu.be/SRFFdyygSAE?si=OGm5FQP4jFoZBShp
“Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers' victim?" He answered, "The one who treated him with mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise." (Lk 10:25-37)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/100625.cfm
The commandment to love God and love neighbor trips us up every time. The parable of the Good Samaritan starts out apparently as an anti-clerical joke (the priest and the levite pass by on the other side). But Jesus quickly turns the tables on us when the hero is not a simple layman, but rather the enemy of the man dying in the ditch. Jesus says, "Go and do likewise." Unfortunately, we would rather destroy our enemies rather than save them. https://youtu.be/YYjurJyJN7g?si=9b7exJzi0ncEC7Xl
