Gird yourselves and weep, O priests! wail, O ministers of the altar! Come, spend the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God! Blow the trumpet in Zion, sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all who dwell in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming; Yes, it is near, a day of darkness and of gloom, a day of clouds and somberness! (Jl 1:13-15; 2:1-2)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101323.cfm
Not a very cheery passage from the Prophet Joel. And given the distressing news of the recent conflict in the Holy Land, many are despairing of any chance at peace in the Middle East. Some folks think that with all the other problems in the world (i.e. the on-going war in Ukraine) we are headed to World War III. But as the Psalmist reminds us it is the Lord who “will judge the world with justice.” We are called to pray, to fast, and to always give thanks to the Lord and sing praise to God’s name.
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.
Friday, Week XXVII, Ordinary Time
