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 Patrick, bishop, March 17

I, the LORD, alone probe the mind and test the heart, To reward everyone according to his ways, according to the merit of his deeds. (Jer 17:5-10)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031722.cfm
The Lord knows us better than we know ourselves . . . and still loves us unconditionally. Saint Patrick was enslaved by Irish pirates, escaped, and then returned to Ireland as a missionary. He is the Apostle to Ireland. “Christ, be with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ where I lie, Christ where I sit, Christ where I arise, Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me” (from The Breastplate of Saint Patrick).