SUNDAY, December 6 Advent 2

To how many people from your past would you say that? Most of us are thankful for people we have known, but of how many people is every memory one of thanksgiving? For me, it's a short list, but a list that glistens with grace. Some of those on my list have died, but to those who remain in this life, I today resolve to call or write every one of them to say to them, "I thank my God every time I remember you."

Those words are part of a letter written by St. Paul to a congregation he had founded. How many pastors would say that to their former parishioners? I have served in several congregations during my forty years of ministry, and I brighten up whenever I think of three of them, even of the disappointments I experienced in those places. That's because I knew I was loved there (and of course I loved the people in return). I'm going to find a way, after these many years, to tell those who still live in those places that I thank God every time I think of them. And if you are a lay person, is there a priest somewhere who might like to receive such a message from you?

PRAY for the Diocese of Western Mexico (Mexico)

Baruch 5:1-9 or Mal 3:1-4; Canticle 4 or 16; Luke 3:1-6