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.

Saints John de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues, Priests, and Companions, Martyrs, October 19

Blessed are those servants
whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.
Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself,
have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them. (Lk 12:35-38)

If the Lord finds us ready when he comes, he will serve us! Today is the feast of the North American martyrs who were found vigilant when the Lord came. The martyrs are St. Jean de Brébeuf (1649), St. Noël Chabanel (1649), St. Antoine Daniel (1648), St. Charles Garnier (1649), St. René Goupil (1642), St. Isaac Jogues (1646), St. Jean de Lalande (1646) and St. Gabriel Lalemant (1649). The eight were Jesuit missionaries who died in Canada and upstate New York.