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.

THURSDAY MORNING, 24 DECEMBER: O Virgo Virginum (O VIRGIN OF VIRGINS)

O Virgin of virgins, how shall this be?
For never before or after, has there been any like you.
Daughters of Jerusalem, why marvel at me?
For what you behold is a divine mystery.

In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
(Lk 1:67-79)

Our joyful waiting is almost at an end, as the Canticle of Zechariah proclaims, “the dawn from on high shall break upon us.”