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.

TUESDAY AFTER EPIPHANY, Saint John Neumann, January 5

Beloved, let us love one another,
because love is of God;
everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.
(1 Jn 4:7-10)

When Jesus saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them,
for they were like sheep without a shepherd;
and he began to teach them many things. 
. . . . Those who ate of the loaves were five thousand.
(Mk 6:34-44)

The theme of “manifestation” continues with the Feeding of the 5,000 in Mark’s gospel which reveals the tenderness of the Lord, “his heart was moved with pity for them.” The First Letter of John speaks a lot about Love, and then reveals that Love does not consist in that we have loved God, but rather that God has loved us by sending us the Son. Today is the feast of Saint John Neumann, bishop of Philadelphia.