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.

THE NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY—September 8

The Book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. (Mt 1:1)

I love the genealogy of the Lord . . . if you have ever spent any time researching your family roots, you know what I mean. Matthew’s version is simply fascinating with all these wonderful names

. . . and the gospel writer traipsing through the whole history of salvation. Of course, nine months ago, we celebrated the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and now the great joy of her birth. And to think that by our baptism we’ve become part of this great family tree of the Lord!

The picture today is of the church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Tepoztlán, Morelos, México. I celebrated Mass there every Sunday during my sabbatical year in México.