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.
For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures; that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures; that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. After that he appeared to James, then to all the Apostles. Last of all, as to one born abnormally, he appeared to me. (1 Cor 15:1-11)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/091924.cfm
Today we have another piece of catechesis from the early church that Paul has been taught. And like the teaching about the Eucharist, Paul begins with the same formula: “I handed on to you what I also received.” Paul, in turn, has taught this to the Corinthians. Of course, Paul adds the final part to the teaching: “Last of all, he appeared to me.” How important are the teachings we receive!
So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Cor 12:31-13:13)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/091824.cfm
Paul’s Hymn to Love is probably the most famous passage in all of his letters. It is also one of the greatest challenges to live. To say that love never fails means we are definitely talking about God’s love. Would that our frail human love could mirror the love that never ends.
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one Body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit. Now you are Christ's Body, and individually parts of it. (1 Cor 12:12-14, 27-31a)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/091724.cfm
Baptism doesn’t erase our differences, rather it makes us one in the One Body of Christ because we share the one Spirit. Saint Hildegard (1098-1179) was filled with the Light of the Holy Spirit and fostered a practical spirituality. Attached is a YouTube link to a very short BBC production entitled Hildegard of Bingen starring Patricia Routledge. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlziyM3xWWs
For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, "This is my Body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my Blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes. (1 Cor 11:17-26, 33)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/091624.cfm
Like the martyrs Saints Cornelius and Cyprian, we remain faithful to the Breaking of the Bread and the proclamation of the death of the Lord until he comes. Today’s photo is of Fr Cyprian Davis, OSB (1930-2015). Father Cyp, as we called him, was professor of church history at Saint Meinrad Seminary. HIs ground breaking work, The History of Black Catholics in the United States, seeks “to highlight what has been hidden, and to retrieve a mislaid memory.”
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well, " but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead. (Jas 2:14-18)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/091524.cfm
The Letter of James says it like it is—we have to put faith in action, otherwise it’s good for nothing. As Jesus taught us, “Love God, love neighbor.” Today’s photo is of my young Jesuit friend, Chris Smith. And what follows is his article about the squad of holy women who nurtured his faith.
https://thejesuitpost.org/2021/07/the-holy-squad-of-women-who-nurtured-my-faith/https://thejesuitpost.org/2021/07/the-holy-squad-of-women-who-nurtured-my-faith/
