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.
Beloved: Remain faithful to what you have learned and believed, because you know from whom you learned it, and that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are capable of giving you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. (2 Tim 3:14-4:2)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101622.cfm
I am always grateful for my grandmother and my mom, both of whom taught me the stories of Jesus. I remember always my first Sunday School teacher, Mrs. Strong. She sat in a big chair and we children were all gathered around her on little chairs as she told us the most wonderful Bible stories. Perhaps that’s why I’m a priest today.
Brothers and sisters: Hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and of your love for all the holy ones, I do not cease giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him. (Eph 1:15-23) https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101522.cfm
Saint Teresa of Jesus, better known as Teresa of Ávila, is one of the great teachers of the church in the spiritual life:
Let nothing disturb you.
Let nothing make you afraid.
All things are passing.
God alone never changes.
Patience gains all things.
If you have God you will want for nothing.
God alone suffices.
Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 33)
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Blessed the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he has chosen for his own inheritance. From heaven the LORD looks down; he sees all mankind.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101422.cfm
Nationalism parading as Biblical faith is contrary to the teaching of the church. There is a reason that in the creed (the profession of faith) we say the “catholic” church. Catholic means universal, for all peoples of all times. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us: All are called to belong to the new People of God (CCC 831). Today's photo is of our pilgrimage companions with our Egyptian guide, Ramzy.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world. (Eph 1:1-10)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101322.cfm
The beautiful hymn at the beginning of the Letter to the Ephesians is a reminder of our being chosen in Christ before the world began. We are not accidents of human birth, we are chosen by God, of infinite value, of infinite worth. Today’s photo is of the Library of Celsus in ancient Ephesus.
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control . . . . If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit. (Gal 5:18-25)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101222.cfm
To live in the freedom of the Spirit of Christ—we could certainly use a little more of the fruits of the Spirit in our communities: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Perhaps if we live in the Spirit more people would feel welcomed and at home in the Christian community. Today's photo is of my friend, Sister Jeannine Gramick, taken at the 2022 Ministry Conference of OUTREACH, a Catholic faith initiative reaching out to the LGBTQ community. Sister Jeannine has been an instrument of kindness and welcome to those whom the church rejected in the past.
