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.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
Then he spoke of exterminating them,
but Moses, his chosen one,
Withstood him in the breach
to turn back his destructive wrath.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
(Psalm 106)
The story of Moses is the stuff of Hollywood. I remember when I was 7 years old I met Moses . . . well, the actor who played Moses in The Ten Commandments. It was at Disneyland in California. He was with his family, standing in line getting a ticket for a ride. I remember the song about Moses we learned as children.
Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me;
my Lord has forgotten me.”
Can a mother forget her infant,
be without tenderness for the child of her womb?
Even should she forget,
I will never forget you.
(Is 49:8-15)
God will never forget us . . . the Lord like a loving mother always shows us tenderness and compassion. Today is the feast of Saint Patrick who brought comfort to God’s people. Saint Patrick was from Roman Britain. When he was 16 he was captured and taken as a slave to Ireland. He eventually escaped and returned to his home. After he was ordained, he went back to Ireland and spent the rest of his life ministering there. He was the first bishop of Ireland.
Christ, be with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ where I lie, Christ where I sit, Christ where I arise, Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me. (from The Breastplate of Saint Patrick)
The angel brought me
back to the entrance of the temple of the LORD,
and I saw water flowing out
the right side of the temple,
south of the altar.
(Ezekiel 47:1-9,12)
This passage forms an important part of the hymn heard during the Easter Season: Vidi Aquam. The hymn is normally heard during the sprinkling with holy water and recalls our baptism.
Thus says the LORD:
Lo, I am about to create new heavens
and a new earth;
The things of the past shall not be remembered
or come to mind.
Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness
in what I create.
(Is 65:17-21)
New heavens, new earth, new us! That’s the Easter that never ends!
For by grace you have been saved through faith,
and this is not from you; it is the gift of God;
it is not from works, so no one may boast.
For we are God's work of art, created in Christ Jesus for the good works
that God has prepared in advance,
that we should live in them.
(Eph 2:4-10)
We are God’s work of art! We are not junk. We are made in God's image and likeness. Sometimes we really need this reminder!!!
