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.
Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." (Mt 16:24-28)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/080924.cfm
Edith Stein was a Jewish convert to Catholicism and later entered the Carmelite Order with the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. She was a philosopher and enriched the church with her great wisdom. She died in the Holocaust of WWII at Auschwitz-Birkenau. https://youtu.be/rEMHC_iJ1Ek?si=A2LLlhBTB-j7jZ4Y
The days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (Jer 31:31-34)
And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. (Mt 16:13-23)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/080824.cfm
In our final reading from the Prophet Jeremiah, we hear the promise of a new covenant, written in our hearts, so that everyone can know the Lord. Peter wasn’t chosen for his lovely vestments, nor for the fragrance of his favorite incense, nor for his ability to turn a catchy theological phrase. Peter was chosen because he knew Jesus. Saint Dominic invented a completely new religious order . . . one devoted to proclaiming the Word of God.
With age-old love I have loved you; so I have kept my mercy toward you. Again I will restore you, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin Israel; Carrying your festive tambourines, you shall go forth dancing with the merrymakers. (Jer 31:1-7)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/080724.cfm
Age-old love . . . after all the harsh preaching, the prophet Jeremiah proves to really be a softie after all. And of course, the promise of restoration . . . with music and dancing no less. Saint Sixtus (215-258) was the bishop of Rome, and his companion martyrs are the six deacons of the city of Rome: Agapitus, Felicissimus, Vincentius, Magnus, Januarius, and Stephanus. The seventh deacon is Lawrence whose feast day is on August 10. The early church of Rome suffered the loss of its bishop and all seven of its deacons.
Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; from the cloud came a voice, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone
but Jesus alone with them. As they were coming down from the mountain, he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone, except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what rising from the dead meant. (Mk 9:2-10)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/080624.cfm
There are some things that we can only full appreciate or understand from hindsight. The Transfiguration is one of them. Only in the light of the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus did Peter and the others understand what had happened on the mountain. We remember all those who died on this day in 1945 at Hiroshima, Japan.
Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied. (Mt 14:13-21)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/080524.cfm
The Feeding of the 5,000 in Matthew’s gospel highlights the importance of all the feeding stories in the gospels as well as the table ministry of Jesus. The Eucharist as we have it today comes directly from these stories. Saint Mary Major is one of the four major basilicas of the city of Rome: Saint Peter in the Vatican (November 18), Saint John Lateran (November 9) and Saint Paul Outside the Walls (November 18).
