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.
While he was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” (Lk 11:27-28)
Today is the Patronal Feast of Colombia. The Shrine of Chiquinquirá is a center of pilgrimage for the whole country. As Mary says to the Angel, “Let it be done to me according to your word.” https://youtu.be/0P6EVINaVvs?si=aGssitrul49OW8X3
Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” (Mt 9:32-38)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/070825.cfm
Yesterday, my friend, Father Larry Richardt, (1937-2025), died in the Lord. Many of us who passed through Saint Meinrad Seminary knew Father Larry as a spiritual director who accompanied us with wisdom and compassion; as a dear friend who held the precious memories and connections of lives shared in Christ; as a devoted teacher who taught us to “celebrate well.” And by his example, Larry taught us to be priests after the Heart of Christ. https://youtu.be/3fIVTpzi0zU?si=FJ-CvfnCRjwNjdlq
When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he exclaimed, "Truly, the LORD is in this spot, although I did not know it!" In solemn wonder he cried out: "How awesome is this shrine! This is nothing else but an abode of God, and that is the gateway to heaven!" He called the site Bethel. (Gen 28:10-22a)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/070725.cfm
Janua Caeli (Gate of Heaven) was carved over the backdoor of the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mobile, Alabama, that led into the sacristy. In that church I became a Catholic. https://youtu.be/_tsWAL-LFyo?si=pAY3RUh3oCtZhXXW
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Gal 6:14-18)
At that time the Lord appointed seventy-two others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. (Lk 10:1-12, 17-20)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/070625.cfm
The life of a missionary is very difficult. I remember my friend, Father Ted Hochstatter (1949-2022). I attended his ordination and first Mass of Thanksgiving, and I knew then that God would use Fr Ted for a great work. God’s call came to him through Mother Teresa. Father Ted became a missionary priest who worked with Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity in Africa. Father Ted spent over 20 years working with the poorest of the poor in Kenya. We might not be called to go to the ends of the earth to spread the gospel, but we can certainly gossip the gospel right where we are.
People do not put new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved. (Mt 9:14-17)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/070525.cfm
New wine/fresh wineskins. Perhaps we need to give up our old prejudices and hatreds and acquire a new way of thinking and acting if we want to receive the newness of grace that God wishes to pour into us. The Virgin Mary, who was full of grace, reminds us to treasure all these things and reflect on them in our heart. The Virgin of the Grapes is by Pierre Mignard (1612-1695) and is located in the Louvre, Paris.
