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.

Saint Pius of Pietrelcina, Presbyter, September 23

Now thus says the LORD of hosts:
Consider your ways!
You have sown much, but have brought in little;
you have eaten, but have not been satisfied;
You have drunk, but have not been exhilarated;
have clothed yourselves, but not been warmed;
And whoever earned wages
earned them for a bag with holes in it. (Haggai 1:1-8)

Our riches are like the “bag with holes in it.” We end up cold, unsatisfied and not much to show for all our so-called wealth. The saints point the way to store up treasure in heaven, by living “no longer for ourselves, but for him who died and rose again for us” (Eucharistic Prayer IV).