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.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world. (Eph 1:1-10)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101322.cfm
The beautiful hymn at the beginning of the Letter to the Ephesians is a reminder of our being chosen in Christ before the world began. We are not accidents of human birth, we are chosen by God, of infinite value, of infinite worth. Today’s photo is of the Library of Celsus in ancient Ephesus.
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control . . . . If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit. (Gal 5:18-25)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101222.cfm
To live in the freedom of the Spirit of Christ—we could certainly use a little more of the fruits of the Spirit in our communities: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Perhaps if we live in the Spirit more people would feel welcomed and at home in the Christian community. Today's photo is of my friend, Sister Jeannine Gramick, taken at the 2022 Ministry Conference of OUTREACH, a Catholic faith initiative reaching out to the LGBTQ community. Sister Jeannine has been an instrument of kindness and welcome to those whom the church rejected in the past.
For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. (Gal 5:1-6)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101122.cfm
Faith working through love . . . what a wonderful description of Pope John XXIII who convened the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). The purpose of the Council was aggiornamento (updating). It was Pope John who said, “I’ve never met a person I couldn’t pray with.”
For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. (Gal 4:22-24, 26-27, 31-5:1)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101022.cfm
We have been set free . . . free to be the persons God intended us to be, free to love as Christ has loved us all. It is a constant struggle not to return to slavery. Today’s photo is of our balloon ride in Cappadocia, Turkey.
And one of the lepers, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. He was a Samaritan. Jesus said in reply, "Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?" Then he said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you." (Lk 17:11-19)
How important is our weekly gathering to celebrate the Eucharist (literally “to give thanks”): to give thanks for all that Jesus did to save us, to give thanks for all the blessings we have received. In the gospel story of the cleansing of the lepers, all ten lepers were healed, but only one was saved—the one who returned to give thanks to the Lord.
