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.
Hold on to the word of life, so that my boast for the day of Christ may be that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. But, even if I am poured out as a libation upon the sacrificial service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with all of you. In the same way you also should rejoice and share your joy with me. (Phil 2:12-18)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/110624.cfm
In this passage from the Letter to the Philippians, Saint Paul is facing his own martyrdom. Reviewing his life in Christ, he doesn’t complain about the race he has run nor all the labor he has done, rather he rejoices. When we have done all that we can do, the rest is in God’s hands. As my grandmother would always say with a smile, “Do the best you can, that’s all the angels can do!”
Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 22)
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
I will fulfill my vows before those who fear him. The lowly shall eat their fill; they who seek the LORD shall praise him: “May your hearts be ever merry!”
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/110524.cfm
On a day when many hearts are filled with anxiety concerning the elections in the United States, the scriptures remind us that God has a plan beyond anything we can imagine: God will raise up the Crucified and give Him the Name above every other name; the hungry will be filled with every good thing; our hearts will be merry; and we will praise the Lord in the great assembly. As Psalm 30 reminds us: Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.
If there is any encouragement in Christ, any solace in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and mercy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing. (Phil 2:1-4)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/110424.cfm
Saint Paul’s Letter to the Philippians is filled with optimism and joy. Paul invites the community (and us) to complete his joy by being united in mind and heart. Saint Charles Borromeo (1538-1584) was present at the Council of Trent (1545-1563) that followed the Protestant Reformation. Instead of bemoaning the problems facing the church, Saint Charles chose optimism and went to work to correct them. Today’s photo is of the Cathedral of Milan, where Saint Charles was archbishop.
One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?" Jesus replied, "The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these." (Mk 12:28b-34)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/110324.cfm
Having grown up with the politics of hate and division in segregated Alabama of the 1950’s and ’60’s, I was freed from the racism of my classmates by the faith and example of my mother and grandmother. My family taught me the stories of Jesus and how to live the greatest commandment that Jesus gave us: to love God and love neighbor. As we prepare for elections in the United States this Tuesday, we pray for the wisdom from above so that we may choose wisely those who will serve us in positions of trust and will help us to build a more perfect union.
If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power over him. (Rom 6:3-9)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/110224.cfm
Give rest, O Christ,
to thy servants with thy saints,
where sorrow and pain are no more;
neither sighing, but life everlasting.
(Russian Kontakion for the Departed, Orthodox Liturgy). Today's photo is of my grandmother and her brother at Bethel Cemetery, Leavenworth, Kansas.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen. And may their souls, and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.
