May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Gal 6:14-18)
At that time the Lord appointed seventy-two others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. (Lk 10:1-12, 17-20)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/070625.cfm
The life of a missionary is very difficult. I remember my friend, Father Ted Hochstatter (1949-2022). I attended his ordination and first Mass of Thanksgiving, and I knew then that God would use Fr Ted for a great work. God’s call came to him through Mother Teresa. Father Ted became a missionary priest who worked with Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity in Africa. Father Ted spent over 20 years working with the poorest of the poor in Kenya. We might not be called to go to the ends of the earth to spread the gospel, but we can certainly gossip the gospel right where we are.
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, XIV Ordinary Time
