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.

“I know your works;
I know that you are neither cold nor hot.
I wish you were either cold or hot.
So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold,
I will spit you out of my mouth.
For you say, ‘I am rich and affluent and have no need of anything,’
and yet do not realize that you are wretched,
pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.
. . . .
Behold, I stand at the door and knock.”
(Rev 3:1-6,14-22)

Yes, we all love the image of the Lord knocking at the door . . . and we usually skip over the other verses, “I will spit you out of my mouth” and “you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” Of course, we rarely see ourselves as the Lord sees us. We live with lots of delusions, some of us really enjoy them. Today is the feast of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary who had no problem looking into the mirror and spending her life in serving the poor.