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.
Pharaoh’s daughter came down to the river to bathe,
while her maids walked along the river bank.
Noticing the basket among the reeds, she sent her handmaid to fetch it.
On opening it, she looked, and lo, there was a baby boy, crying!
She was moved with pity for him and said,
“It is one of the Hebrews’ children.”
When the child grew, (the mother) brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter,
who adopted him as her son and called him Moses;
for she said, “I drew him out of the water.” (Exodus 2:1-15)
The story of Moses in the Bullrushes is the beginning of the great story of salvation and deliverance. And like all such stories, the beginning can be very simple yet universal, a mother trying to protect her child, trying to give her child a better tomorrow.
Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet
will receive a prophet’s reward,
and whoever receives a righteous man
because he is righteous
will receive a righteous man’s reward. (Mt 10:34-11:1)
One of my favorite spiritual directors was Father Joe McCloskey, S.J. (1932-2016). He always taught the shortcut to holiness: by recognizing the gifts of others we get to claim their reward! In a world where we need all the shortcuts we can get, it’s not a bad way to go through life!
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavens,
as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world,
to be holy and without blemish before him in love. (Eph 1:3-14)
Chosen and blessed in love . . . that’s who we are. Maybe that’s what is meant by “original blessing.” Sometimes we forget that before there was ever a history of sin in the world, there was a history of grace. And God’s grace that chooses and blesses us lifts us up in love that never ends.
Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin?
Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge.
Even all the hairs of your head are counted.
So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. (Mt 10:24-33)
As the old song says, “His eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches me.”
Israel had sent Judah ahead to Joseph,
so that he might meet him in Goshen.
On his arrival in the region of Goshen,
Joseph hitched the horses to his chariot
and rode to meet his father Israel in Goshen.
As soon as Joseph saw him, he flung himself on his neck
and wept a long time in his arms. (Gen 46:1-7, 28-30)
A long hoped-for reunion between a parent and a child, more than 10 years in some cases—well, it doesn’t get much better than that!
