Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven who also had a sharp sickle. Then another angel came from the altar, who was in charge of the fire, and cried out in a loud voice
to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Use your sharp sickle and cut the clusters from the earth’s vines, for its grapes are ripe.” So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and cut the earth’s vintage. He threw it into the great wine press of God’s fury. (Rev 14:14-19)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/112222.cfm
Today’s reading gave rise to the phrase, “the grapes of wrath,” a phrase used very effectively in the Civil War anthem, The Battle Hymn of the Republic, and in the title of John Steinbeck’s famous novel, The Grapes of Wrath. At times we forget that God is not mocked, that there will be a judgment, not just the judgment of history, but a divine judgment, and we will have to answer for “what we have done, and what we have failed to do.” Saint Cecilia is the patron saint of church musicians. Today is the 59th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
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 Cecilia, virgin & martyr, November 22
