Daily Gospel Reflection
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April 10, 2019
Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him,
“If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples,
and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham
and have never been enslaved to anyone.
How can you say, ‘You will become free’?”
Jesus answered them, “Amen, amen, I say to you,
everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.
A slave does not remain in a household forever,
but a son always remains.
So if the Son frees you, then you will truly be free.
I know that you are descendants of Abraham.
But you are trying to kill me,
because my word has no room among you.
I tell you what I have seen in the Father’s presence;
then do what you have heard from the Father.”
They answered and said to him, “Our father is Abraham.”
Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children,
you would be doing the works of Abraham.
But now you are trying to kill me,
a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God;
Abraham did not do this.
You are doing the works of your father!”
So they said to him, “We were not born of fornication.
We have one Father, God.”
Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me,
for I came from God and am here;
I did not come on my own, but he sent me.”
In today’s Gospel, we are asked to face stubbornness in our hearts. As creatures debilitated by sin, we tend to cling to the stem of a wilted daisy while God offers us a rose garden in full bloom.
Jesus opens his conversation with the Jews in today’s Gospel with an invitation to true freedom and they resist. Like them, when we close our hearts to the truth of God, we are pretending our own ideas and judgment are better for us. We cling to our own freedom, which in reality is the very shackle that holds us back from the joy we find in God alone.
The secular understanding of freedom today sets us on a search that only leads us in circles. In today’s culture, freedom is doing what we want, when we want, for whatever reason we want, as long as we are not hurting anyone. This false sense of freedom draws us into selfishness because it invites us to cast away the truth for which God made us: to love God and our neighbor. Loving someone is so much more than simply not hurting them.
Recently I learned the Latin phrase amplexus verbi, which means “embracing the Word.” God gave us free will and if we use it to hold tight to the Word, instead of choosing sin, we will experience the true freedom Jesus is speaking about here. We are called to loosen the grip on our self-embrace and cling instead to our Father who loves us.
Pray with me today, and let us ask God to help us release our death grip on that wilted daisy, so that we may be free to wander the rose garden perfumed with God’s glory.
Prayer
Jesus, you promised that the truth would set us free. Draw us into the mystery of your love for us, a love that frees us from the lies that keep us bound in sin and self-deception. May we embrace the new life that comes from Baptism and live in the freedom of the children of God. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Magdalene of Canossa was born in 1774 to a very wealthy family in Verona, Italy. When Magdalene was only five years old, her father died in an accident, and she and her siblings were placed under the guardianship of their uncle Girolamo. Their family was an influential group of Italian nobles, and from a young age, Magdalene was brought up immersed in the Italian church. In 1791, Magdalene joined the Carmelites, trying to discern her religious vocation, but soon she left the convent, feeling dissatisfied with the Carmelite way of life.
Magdalene returned home to run the family estate, where her family entertained Napoleon several times. Napoleon and his army upset the social equilibrium of Europe, and many of the vulnerable and poor were left in even more dire situations. Magdalene saw the suffering and cultural upheaval all around her and felt that it was her call to serve the needs of those around her. She continued to study under the Carmelites as she made plans to found a new society.
Using her large inheritance, Magdalene founded the Canossian Daughters of Charity, who ministered to the people living in the slums of Verona. Someone donated an old convent to Magdalene, and then they added convents in Venice and Milan. Pope Leo XII gave his blessing to the new congregation in 1823. A zealous Italian priest, Francesco Luzzi, worked with Magdalene to found the Canossian Brothers of Charity, for men who wished to join in Magdalene's mission of care for the poor.
Magdalene died on April 10, 1835. But her order has thrived, spreading throughout the world, from Italy to India, and has added saints like Josephine Bakhita to its ranks.
Magdalene was beatified by Pope Pius XII in 1941 and canonized over forty years later by Pope John Paul II in 1988.
St. Magdalene of Canossa, who used her great wealth to care for the poor—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Magdalene of Canossa is in the public domain. Last accessed February 17, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
