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.
Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you, just as you gave him authority over all people, so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him . . . . I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me, because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours and everything of yours is mine, and I have been glorified in them. And now I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, while I am coming to you.” (Jn 17: 1-2, 9-11a)
The 17th chapter of the Fourth Gospel has been called the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus. And it is interesting in that we get to “overhear” Jesus praying. And what a prayer! Like an Old Testament king praying for the troops before a battle, Jesus prays for the disciples. As the Letter to the Hebrews says: Jesus lives to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25).
Jesus said to his disciples: “In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.” (Jn 16:33)
There was a film made in the 1950’s about the Catholic missions in North Carolina. It was called “In the Footsteps of the Tarheel Apostolate.” The final scene was of a priest celebrating Mass at an overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The priest elevates the host, and then comes the voice over: “The Dream—Every North Carolinian a Catholic.” The Lord conquered the world—but he never said that we would nor that we should try. On the contrary, the Lord said that we would have troubles in the world . . . but not to be afraid.
The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. 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)
The Great Commission is the gift of the Risen Lord. The Ascension marks the ending of the earthly ministry of Jesus, and the beginning of our own. The Risen Lord entrusts the ministry to us and sends us out to make disciples, to baptize and to teach what we have received. And the promise: I am with you always!
Jesus said to his disciples: “I came from the Father and have come into the world. Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” (Jn 16:28)
The Easter Season of Fifty Days is drawing to a close. As we seek to understand these troubling times and to find the Lord in the midst of pain and suffering, we hold on to the hope that the Risen Lord will not abandon us, but will continue to pour out abundantly upon us the Spirit of Love.
Jesus said to his disciples: “Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy. When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. (Jn 16:20-22)
My friend, Father Larry Richardt, always said that what was coming must be spectacular . . . because the birth pangs are horrendous! With everything that is happening in the world today, let’s hope that Father Larry is right!
