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.

WEDNESDAY AFTER EPIPHANY, January 6

Beloved, if God so loved us,
we also must love one another. 
. . . .
God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. 
(1 Jn 4:11-18)

But when they saw him walking on the sea,
they thought it was a ghost and cried out. 
They had all seen him and were terrified. 
But at once he spoke with them,
“Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!” 
(Mk 6:45-52)

The First Letter of John seems to repeat over and over again, “We must love one another.” And for good reason, sometimes we forget that it means nothing to say that “God loves us” if we don’t in turn love one another. And to terrified disciples in every age, the Lord simply reminds us, “Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!”