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.

XV ORDINARY SUNDAY

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavens,
as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world,
to be holy and without blemish before him in love.  (Eph 1:3-14)

Chosen and blessed in love . . . that’s who we are. Maybe that’s what is meant by “original blessing.” Sometimes we forget that before there was ever a history of sin in the world, there was a history of grace. And God’s grace that chooses and blesses us lifts us up in love that never ends.