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.
The LORD said to himself, “Never again will I doom the earth because of man since the desires of man’s heart are evil from the start; nor will I ever again strike down all living beings, as I have done. As long as the earth lasts, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, Summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” (Gen 8:6-13, 20-22)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021523.cfm
The Lord’s covenant with creation is a poetic promise of salvation. Unfortunately, the human race seems bent on destroying the very home where we live. Maybe we need to re-read and appreciate the promise of Genesis and God’s covenant love.
The LORD said to Noah: "Go into the ark, you and all your household, for you alone in this age have I found to be truly just. Of the animals, take with you one pair,
a male and its mate . . . Thus you will keep their issue alive over all the earth. Noah did just as the LORD had commanded him. As soon as the seven days were over,
the waters of the flood came upon the earth. (Gen 6:5-8’7:1-5, 10)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021423.cfm
The marvelous story of Noah and the Ark and all the animals has fascinated the church in every age. Of course, the story is one of salvation. In the liturgical calendar the feast of Saints Cyril (826-869) and Methodius (815-885) outranks poor Saint Valentine (226-269), but popular devotion keeps Saint Valentine’s Day notwithstanding.
The LORD asked Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” He answered, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” The LORD then said: “What have you done! Listen: your brother’s blood cries out to me from the soil!" (Gen 4:1-15, 25)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021323.cfm
In October, 1996, I attended the display of the Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt on the Mall in Washington, DC. While there I visited the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. In the Hall of Remembrance (the Chapel) of the Museum, I noticed the Genesis quote engraved on the wall: “What have you done? Hark thy brother’s blood cries out to me for the ground.” i remember looking through the window and seeing the Quilt displayed and saying to myself, “My brother is lying out there on the Mall.” Do we hear our brother, our sister, crying out to us? Or are we like Cain who says, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
As it is written: What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard,
and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him,
this God has revealed to us through the Spirit. (1 Cor 2:6-10)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021223.cfm
We never know what God has in store for us. I am so grateful for my recent visit to the United States and for my safe return to Medellín, Colombia. Today is also the birthday of my Mexican Madrecita, Licha Cabrera (1939-2018). She would have been 84. Licha taught me to love the Mexican kitchen and Mexican culture. God was so good to bring us together in life. May she dance with the angels!
The LORD God therefore banished the man from the garden of Eden and stationed the cherubim and the fiery revolving sword, to guard the way to the tree of life. (Gen 3:9-24)
Jesus summoned the disciples and said, "My heart is moved with pity for the crowd who have nothing to eat. (Mk 8:1-10)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021123.cfm
Guarding the way to the tree of life . . . but, now the way to the tree of life has been thrown open for everyone, and Jesus himself gives us the Bread of Life for all to eat and be satisfied. The message of Lourdes is that God is for the sick and the small.
