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, The Seventh Day in the Octave of Christmas, December 31

Children, it is the last hour.
(1 Jn 2:18-21)

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
(Jn 1:1-18)

You can’t say the Liturgy doesn’t have a sense of humor. Here on the last day of the year 2020, the Liturgy tells us it’s the “last hour.” But even more, on this last day of the year, the Liturgy gives us the “Last Gospel.” Most of us wouldn’t remember that the Prologue to the Fourth Gospel was read following the final blessing of low Mass. So we are told it is the “last hour” and we get the “Last Gospel” to close out 2020. The song today is Faltan 5 para las 12 (It's 5 Minutes to Midnight).