Daily Gospel Reflection
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April 1, 2023
Many of the Jews who had come to Mary
and seen what Jesus had done began to believe in him.
But some of them went to the Pharisees
and told them what Jesus had done.
So the chief priests and the Pharisees
convened the Sanhedrin and said,
“What are we going to do?
This man is performing many signs.
If we leave him alone, all will believe in him,
and the Romans will come
and take away both our land and our nation.”
But one of them, Caiaphas,
who was high priest that year, said to them,
“You know nothing,
nor do you consider that it is better for you
that one man should die instead of the people,
so that the whole nation may not perish.”
He did not say this on his own,
but since he was high priest for that year,
he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation,
and not only for the nation,
but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God.
So from that day on they planned to kill him.
So Jesus no longer walked about in public among the Jews,
but he left for the region near the desert,
to a town called Ephraim,
and there he remained with his disciples.
Now the Passover of the Jews was near,
and many went up from the country to Jerusalem
before Passover to purify themselves.
They looked for Jesus and said to one another
as they were in the temple area, “What do you think?
That he will not come to the feast?”
“If we leave him alone, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our land and our nation.” This line resonated with me as it parallels our ever-present “me-centric” society.
So often, we are guided by the principle of doing whatever is necessary to benefit and protect ourselves, even if it harms someone else. We are often shamed and seen as naive for living in ways that contradict this ideal. However, this does not have to be the norm.
As Christians, we are called to build each other up—not to be jealous of what others have but to be grateful for what we have. We are also called to be a Light of Christ for others, especially now when we are at a critical intersection in our society where we can repave the path and choose to live as Christ intended.
Today, as we are nearing the end of Lent and approaching Easter, I urge everyone to examine their lives. Where are you struggling to speak up for what is right in fear of personal loss or lack of success? Have there been any times of isolation or exclusion of others for personal gain? Any times where you told a little white lie or stretched the truth for personal benefit?
As we go through life, particularly in this Lenten season, may we not be motivated by self-preservation or personal gain. May we not see each other as competition, an inconvenience, or a means to an end but as brothers and sisters in Christ. Brothers and sisters with unique gifts from God that can and should be used to help one another.
Prayer
Father, your beloved Son Jesus was anointed in the Spirit and brought your healing love to our world. We pray that Christ, the light of the world, will sustain us always in faith, hope, and love. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Macarius' legacy is one of working miracles and standing for truth even in the face of torture.
Macarius was born in the ninth century in Constantinople, originally named Christopher. He took the name Macarius when he became a monk.
Eventually, he was selected as abbot of his monastery and became well-known for healing miracles, which is how he earned his title: St. Macarius the Wonder-Worker. Crowds would flock to the monastery to seek cures.
Macarius opposed the emperor’s orders to suppress icons in one of the great iconoclasm controversies. The controversy over icons was a dispute that arose when some misinterpreted the Second Commandment, which forbids the worship of images. The Church has consistently insisted upon the orthodoxy of icons and other religious imagery as a consequence of the Incarnation: Jesus proved that God redeems all of creation, and that all of creation can help mediate God’s presence to us. Icons and religious imagery point our hearts and minds to God and remind us of holy figures, they are not themselves objects of veneration.
Macarius was imprisoned and tortured for defending the use of icons. When the emperor died, the successor released him from prison and tried to win him over. He rejected the new emperor as well and was exiled. He died during this banishment.
The relics of St. Macarius rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Notre Dame's campus, and this prayer is attributed to him:
“To you, O Master, who loves all humanity, I hasten on rising from sleep. By your mercy, I go out to do your work and I make my prayer to you. Help me at all times and in all things. Deliver me from every evil thing of this world and from pursuit by the devil. Save me and bring me to your eternal kingdom, for you are my creator, and you inspire all good thoughts in me. In you is all my hope and to you, I give glory, now and forever.”
The icon of Saint Macarius featured today shows him standing next to a cherub.
St. Macarius, who suffered torture and exile for your defense of religious images—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Macarius is in the public domain. Last accessed February 17, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
