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.
One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?" Jesus replied, "The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these." (Mk 12:28-34)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032825.cfm
Love neighbor can never be separated from Love God. In one sense they are the same commandment and “the first of all the commandments.”
When you speak all these words to them, they will not listen to you either; when you call to them, they will not answer you. Say to them: This is the nation that does not listen to the voice of the LORD, its God, or take correction. Faithfulness has disappeared; the word itself is banished from their speech. (Jer 7:23-28)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032725.cfm
The “dumbing down” of society is a part of raw control. Conspiracy theories, distrust of science, eliminating support for education and independent inquiry, all lead to closed minds and outright ignorance and a people easily manipulated. When we refuse to listen, when we can’t admit our mistakes, we are seriously deluded and incapable of change. Yet the Lord still invites us: Repent, and believe in the Good News. Today’s photo is from the new Netflix series, Adolescence.
Moses spoke to the people and said: “Take care and be earnestly on your guard not to forget the things which your own eyes have seen, nor let them slip from your memory as long as you live, but teach them to your children and to your children's children." (Dt 4:1, 5-9)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032625.cfm
“Remember the graces”—that was the advice the old monks always shared with us youngsters. And as the old grandpa in the movie Avalon (1990) said, “We must tell the story. For when we stop remembering, we forget.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her. (Lk 1:26-38)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032525.cfm
As my spiritual director, Fr Joe McCloskey, S.J. (1932-2016), used to say: All creation holds its breath awaiting Mary’s response to the Angel of the Lord. What will be our response to the Lord’s invitation? We will say Yes as Mary did?
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/032425.cfm
When Jesus goes to his hometown synagogue and begins preaching about God intervening on behalf of foreigners, his local townsfolk want to kill him. Sounds a lot like what’s happening today. Hatred of foreigners, hatred of immigrants, never get the Jesus seal of approval.
