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.

SATURDAY, WEEK XXIII, TIEMPO ORDINARIO—Most Holy Name of Mary, September 12

The cup of blessing that we bless,
is it not a participation in the Blood of Christ?
The bread that we break,
is it not a participation in the Body of Christ?
Because the loaf of bread is one,
we, though many, are one Body,
for we all partake of the one loaf.
(1 Cor 14:16-17)

Our communion in the Body and Blood of Christ satisfies the deepest hunger of the human heart. And today as we celebrate the Most Holy Name of Mary, we remember her hymn of praise as she blesses the One who fills "the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty" (Lk 1:53).