Welcome
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.
Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, June 23
Alleluia (Lk 1:76)
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
You, child, will be called prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062322-day.cfm
The birth of a child invites us all to reflect on what this child will become. The birth of John the Baptist is no different. To prepare the way of the Lord is a good description of the portrayal of the ministry of John the Baptist in the Scriptures. To prepare the way of the Lord is a good description of the work we are called to and of the work of disciples in every age.
Wednesday, Week XII, Ordinary Time
The high priest Hilkiah informed the scribe Shaphan, “I have found the book of the law in the temple of the LORD.” (2 Kgs 22:8-13; 23:1-3)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062222.cfm
Israel was divided into two kingdoms, north and south, since the time of Solomon. When the northern kingdom fell (722 BC), which was described in Monday’s reading, refugees flooded the southern kingdom, Judah and its capital, Jerusalem. The Book of the Law (the Book of Deuteronomy) was most likely brought by the refugees when they fled. Its “discovery” in the Temple in Jerusalem filled the southern kingdom with hope and renewed faith. Of course, the southern kingdom itself will fall some 136 years later in 586 BC.
Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, June 21
Jesus said to his disciples: “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.” (Mt 7:6,12-14)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062122.cfm
Saint Aloysius found that the way to life led him to care for others—not very popular thing to do in a time of plague. And, of course, he died of plague at the age of 23. The church has always admired apostolic zeal especially in the young. Saint Aloysius is one of the patron saints of those living with AIDS and of those who care for them.
Monday, Week XII, Ordinary Time
Jesus said to his disciples: “Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.” (Mt 7:1-5)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062022.cfm
In a time of such division in the political world as well as in the ecclesiastical realm, these words from Jesus will probably not be received as Good News. In fact, they never have been. But instead of being discouraged . . . we keep the faith and continue to work for a more humane world and a kinder, gentler church.
The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, 2022--Father's Day
I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks,
broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes. (1 Cor 11:23-26)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/061922.cfm
The oldest account of the Institution of the Eucharist is this passage from Saint Paul. The formula: "I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you . . . " indicates material that Paul has learned and in turn hands on to us. Today’s photo is of a mosaic showing the Divine Pelican. The pelican became a Eucharistic symbol of Christ because of a medieval legend it was believed that in times of want, a mother pelican would pierced its own breast to feed its young. Happy Father's Day to all!
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Saturday of the Blessed Virgin Mary, June 18
Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. (Mt 6:24-34)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/061822.cfm
Saturdays are traditionally devoted to the Virgin Mary. In her Magnificat, the Mother of Jesus reminds of God’s values: God who lifts up the lowly and casts down the mighty; God who sends the rich away empty, but fills the hungry with every good thing.
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Friday, Week XI, Ordinary Time
When Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son was dead, she began to kill off the whole royal family. But Jehosheba, daughter of King Jehoram and sister of Ahaziah, took Joash, his son, and spirited him away, along with his nurse, from the bedroom where the princes were about to be slain. She concealed him from Athaliah, and so he did not die. For six years he remained hidden in the temple of the LORD, while Athaliah ruled the land. (2 Kgs 11:1-4, 9-18, 20)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/061722.cfm
When I was just a kid, the story of the boy-king, Joash, caught my imagination: to hide out in the temple of the Lord until he was ready to receive the crown.
