Beloved: Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we shall go into such and such a town, spend a year there doing business, and make a profit”– you have no idea what your life will be like tomorrow. You are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears. Instead you should say, “If the Lord wills it, we shall live to do this or that.” But now you are boasting in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. (Jas 4:13-17)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022322.cfm
When I was in language school in Cuernavaca, Mexico, my Mexican Madrecita was horrified when I told her about all the things I was going to do, and talked about my plans for the future. She was always adding “Primero Dios” (God first) or “Si Dios quiere” (If God wants). In the South we used to hear “God willing” a lot more, but these days, not so much. My Mexican Madrecita had a point, just like the Letter of James . . . sometimes we act like we own the whole world, doing whatever we please. Perhaps we all can use a friendly reminder that only “If the Lord wills it (Si Dios quiere or Primero Dios).” Saint Polycarp was a bishop of the primitive church. He was martyred in the year 155.
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 Polycarp of Smyrna, bishop & martyr, February 23
