Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come. But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first." (Mk 10:28-31)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/053023.cfm
A hundred times more . . . houses and lands, well, not so much, but brothers and sisters and mothers and children in abundance. Hard times (persecutions) go with the territory if you stand with the people the Lord loves, but after 45 years of priestly ministry it has truly been worth it all. Saint Joan of Arc (1412-1431) would agree! Today’s picture is of my mom, Norma, standing by the statue of the execution of Saint Joan of Arc near the Church of Sant'Alessio on the Aventine Hill, Rome, January 15, 1989.
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 Joan of Arc, Virgin, May 30
