I rather urge you out of love, being as I am, Paul, an old man, and now also a prisoner for Christ Jesus. I urge you on behalf of my child Onesimus, whose father I have become in my imprisonment, who was once useless to you but is now useful to both you and me. I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you. (PHMN 7-20)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/111424.cfm
This very short and personal letter of Saint Paul to Philemon is a real gem. Onesimus, a runaway slave, is being sent back to his owner who had the right of life and death over him. Although we don’t know how Onesimus was received, I imagine that Saint Paul won the day.
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.
Thursday, Week XXXII, Ordinary Time
