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.

FRIDAY, WEEK XXV, ORDINARY TIME

(God) has made everything appropriate to its time,
and has put the timeless into their hearts,
without man’s ever discovering,
from beginning to end, the work which God has done.
(Eccl 3:11)

Probably one of the most popular passages of the Book of Ecclesiastes or even of the Scriptures. It is often requested for funerals. The key to the whole passage is this last verse: that God has placed the “timeless” in our hearts. The passage echoes Saint Augustine’s beautiful prayer:

O Lord you have made us for yourself,
our heart is restless until it rests in you.
(Saint Augustine of Hippo, Confessions)