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.

Monday, Advent III

The utterance of Balaam, son of Beor, the utterance of the man whose eye is true, The utterance of one who hears what God says, and knows what the Most High knows, Of one who sees what the Almighty sees, enraptured, and with eyes unveiled. I see him, though not now; I behold him, though not near: A star shall advance from Jacob, and a staff shall rise from Israel.   (Num 24:2-7, 15-17a)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121624.cfm
As far back as the Book of Numbers we encounter these haunting words of Balaam about a star and the one whose coming the star announces. As we come to these final days of Advent, the Star becomes a sign of the one we await.