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.
A new king, who knew nothing of Joseph, came to power in Egypt. He said to his subjects, "Look how numerous and powerful the people of the children of Israel are growing, more so than we ourselves! Come, let us deal shrewdly with them to stop their increase; otherwise, in time of war they too may join our enemies to fight against us, and so leave our country." (Ex 1:8-14, 22)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/071425.cfm
Ancient Egypt, Nazi Germany, Ku Klux Klan, MAGA USA. The justification for violence against immigrants and those who are different always smells and sounds the same throughout human history. Saint Kateri Tekawitha (1656-1680), the first indigenous saint in the USA was canonized in 2012. The indigenous suffered the scars of European diseases, and the loss of their lands and freedoms. Saint Kateri found refuge in Christ. https://youtu.be/2T1t3iq7uNQ?si=MxghXamM2lnxagDE
There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said, "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you read it?" He said in reply, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." He replied to him, "You have answered correctly; do this and you will live." But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" (Lk 10:25-37)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/071325.cfm
“Who is my neighbor?” is the all important question in a world like ours. In response Jesus gives us the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Who was neighbor to the man in the ditch? The answer comes, “The one who treated him with mercy.” And Jesus replies, “Go and do likewise.” Being merciful is not ‘woke.’ Being merciful is what Christ commands. https://youtu.be/YYjurJyJN7g?si=jtvd4PZpLdK-FWEb
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)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/071225.cfm
Sometimes the Lord has to remind us that each one of us is of infinite value, infinite worth. The Virgin Mary invites us all to sing her hymn of praise for God who raises up the lowly. https://youtu.be/8VmUASVDQgU?si=tT6tVN6z7eg5SDHY
Israel set out with all that was his. When he arrived at Beer-sheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. There God, speaking to Israel in a vision by night, called, "Jacob! Jacob!" He answered, "Here I am." Then he said: "I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you a great nation.” (Gen 46:1-7, 28-30)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/071125.cfm
The message God has for Jacob is simple: Don’t be afraid. It takes faith to step out and follow the path less traveled. It takes faith to trust that God will keep the promise come what may. Saint Benedict (480-547) had such faith. He wrote a rule for monks in community which he called a “school of the Lord’s service.” He taught hospitality as a means to holiness especially when we receive strangers as Christ. I began my journey to priestly ministry with the Benedictine monks of Saint Bernard Abbey in Cullman, Alabama.
Joseph could no longer control himself in the presence of all his attendants, so he cried out, "Have everyone withdraw from me!" Thus no one else was about when he made himself known to his brothers. But his sobs were so loud that the Egyptians heard him, and so the news reached Pharaoh's palace. "I am Joseph," he said to his brothers. (Gen 44:18-21, 23b-29; 45:1-5)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/071025.cfm
The “great reveal” in the rags-to-riches story of the Patriarch Joseph sets up the rest of the story of Genesis and Exodus. God calls us too. Are we listening? https://youtu.be/MrV97eUb4sI?si=fiL1AClecsKq_GR2
