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.
Azariah stood up in the fire and prayed aloud: “For your name’s sake, O Lord, do not deliver us up forever, or make void your covenant. Do not let us be put to shame, but deal with us in your kindness and great mercy. Deliver us by your wonders, and bring glory to your name, O Lord.” (Dn 3:25, 34-43)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032222.cfm
The words of the Scriptures become the words of prayer and lead us to faith and trust in God to deliver us. With their country in flames, the peopel of Ukraine still pray. As their national anthem proudly states: "Ukraine's not dead yet!"
When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong. But he passed through the midst of them and went away. (Lk 4:24-30)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032122.cfm
Who would have thought that little Nazareth would be filled with anti-immigrant fervor? Yet, they wanted to kill Jesus for speaking about the faith of foreigners. We pray for Ukraine.
When the LORD saw him coming over to look at it more closely, God called out to him from the bush, "Moses! Moses!” He answered, “Here I am.” God said, “Come no nearer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. I am the God of your fathers, “ he continued, “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.” Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. But the LORD said, “I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt and have heard their cry of complaint against their slave drivers, so I know well what they are suffering. Therefore I have come down to rescue them from the hands of the Egyptians and lead them out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey.” (Ex 3:1-8a, 13-15)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032022-YearC.cfm
That God and the world hear the cries of the Ukrainian people and rescue them, let us we pray to the Lord. Today's video is of Ukrainians praying the psalm for Good Friday, Psalm 31: In you, Lord, I take refuge, let me never be put to shame.
Behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. (Mt 1:16, 18-21, 24a)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031922.cfm
How important is the role of Saint Joseph in the life of the Holy Family. He is seen as the protector of the church. We ask the prayers of Saint Joseph for the people of Ukraine.
Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes?’” (Mt 21:33-43, 45-46)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031822.cfm
The passage from the Psalms that Jesus quotes “The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone” is the key text used by the early church to proclaim the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus. It is the Responsorial Psalm of the Easter Vigil and Easter Day. We continue praying for Ukraine.
