We were gentle among you, as a nursing mother cares for her children. With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our very selves as well, so dearly beloved had you become to us. (1 Thes 2:7b-9, 13)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/110523.cfm
What a powerful description of ministry! It resonates with me as I look back over 45 years as a priest, but it’s not an image you hear much about in seminary. In fact, Pope Francis was sharply criticized for encouraging mothers to breastfeed their crying infants if they got hungry during the two-hour service of baptisms in the Sistine Chapel. As the pope said to the mothers present, "And if your children are crying because they are hungry, then go ahead and feed them, just as Mary breastfed Jesus.”
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.
Sunday, Week XXXI, Ordinary Time
