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.
Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”
(Lk 1:39-56)
The Visitation is an intimate exchange between to important women in the Scriptures reflecting on God’s mysterious, joyful plan of salvation.
Then Jesus approached and said to them,
"All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age."
(Mt 28:16-20)
Our experience of God as a community of persons, yet one only God, is a mystery that invites us to delight in what we cannot fully comprehend but that we know to be true.
Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 19)
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
They are more precious than gold,
than a heap of purest gold;
Sweeter also than syrup
or honey from the comb.
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
Sweeter than honey from the comb . . . what a description of the Lord’s commands!
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I chose you from the world, to go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord. (Jn 15:16)
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Hopefully, we do bear lasting fruit and don’t end up like the poor fig tree that Jesus cursed.
Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?”
The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.”
Jesus told him, ‘Go your way; your faith has saved you.”
Immediately he received his sight
and followed him on the way.
(Mk 10:46-52)
Blind Bartimaeus is a wonderful story of crying out in faith and subsequent healing . . . but the key is that Bartimaeus “followed him on the way.”
