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, WEEK II, ORDINARY TIME—Saint Agnes, Virgin & Martyr, January 21

Responsorial Psalm
R.    Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
“In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
To do your will, O my God, is my delight,
    and your law is within my heart!”
R.    Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
(Psalm 40)

To do God’s will is our delight—is the lesson that the saints try to teach us. Saint Agnes is one of many young women who were martyred during the early persecutions. Their bravery in the face of torture and death is still remembered and celebrated.