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.

TUESDAY, WEEK XVIII, ORDINARY TIME—Saint John Vianney, Priest, August 4

Thus says the LORD: See!  I will restore the tents of Jacob, his dwellings I will pity; City shall be rebuilt upon hill, and palace restored as it was. From them will resound songs of praise, the laughter of happy men. . . . . You shall be my people, and I will be your God. (Jer 30:18-22)

Not war, woe and pestilence but a promise of restoration . . . “You shall be my people, and I will be your God.” Today is the feast of Saint John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests. He always referred to our Lord as “our good God.” In the middle of this pandemic we need a word of hope, we need to hear the laughter of children and the elderly, we need to sing songs of praise once again. Perhaps we could use Saint John Vianney's prayers today!