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.
Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins? Yet not one of them has escaped the notice of God. Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. Do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows. (Lk 12:1-7)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/102023.cfm
There’s an old spiritual that says the whole world is in God’s hands, that you and me, we’re cared for more than we’ll ever know. Is the human race simply a failed experiment? The gospel reminds us to not be afraid, in spite of all our failings, God’s hands still hold us and will never let us go.
For we consider that a person is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Does God belong to Jews alone? Does he not belong to Gentiles, too? Yes, also to Gentiles, for God is one and will justify the circumcised on the basis of faith and the uncircumcised through faith. (Rom 3:21-30)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101923.cfm
Unity in salvation for Jews and Gentiles is a hallmark of Saint Paul’s preaching. God belongs to everyone, Jews and Gentiles, says Saint Paul. John de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues and their companions (d. 1642-1649) were French Jesuit missionaries to North America. They believed that God belongs to the indigenous peoples as well.
Brothers and sisters: I am not ashamed of the Gospel. It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: for Jew first, and then Greek. (Rom 1:16-25)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101723.cfm
Like Saint Paul, Saint Ignatius of Antioch (d. 108) was not ashamed of the Gospel. Like Saint Paul, Saint Ignatius also wrote letters to the churches. Like Saint Paul, Saint Ignatius even wrote a letter to the community in Rome where, like Saint Paul, he was to be martyred for the faith: “I am God’s wheat and shall be ground by the teeth of wild animals so that I may become Christ’s pure bread.” (Letter to the Romans)
The Lord Jesus appointed seventy-two disciples whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest." (Lk 10:1-9)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101823.cfm
The four gospels are anonymous. The names attached to them come from the later church. Today’s celebration is more of a gospel rather than a gospel writer. And the Gospel that we call “according to Luke” is actually a two-part gospel: the gospel itself and its companion volume that we call the Acts of the Apostles. A significant feature in both volumes is the sending out of those who will carry the good news to the whole world. We are called to be the living gospel for all people to hear.
Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an Apostle and set apart for the Gospel of God . . . to all the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Rom 1:1-7)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101623.cfm
The oldest Christian writings were not the gospels but rather the letters. Saint Paul’s letter to the community of Rome was treasured, copied and then shared with other communities. Eventually these letters became the Scriptures we have today.
