Daily Gospel Reflection
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April 20, 2020
Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.”
Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.”
Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?”
Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Throughout life, I have found myself in Niocodemus’s shoes many times: seeking to understand scripture and teachings about eternal life more clearly. Growing up in Lynchburg, VA – home to famous Evangelical Baptist pastor Jerry Falwell – the topic of salvation was very prominent. Whether I was at school, the grocery store, or my dishwashing job, someone was regularly asking me “Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior?” As a result, I have often sought to understand what it means to be “born again” and to be “saved” and how that meshes with the Church’s teachings around baptism, faith and works.
This gospel is quite central to that debate, as Catholics and Protestants read deeply into Jesus’ words to try and understand how we can achieve salvation. Ironically, in this very reading, Jesus seems to be suggesting that we all should actually focus less on our own understanding. When Jesus says we should hear the wind without knowing where it comes from, it seems he is suggesting we should instead be more focused on experiencing him and his kingdom through the work of the Holy Spirit.
In thinking about how to follow that guidance, I love Nicodemus’s image of re-entering his mother’s womb, even though Nicodemus misunderstands Jesus’ meaning. This calls to mind someone who is a personal role model as it relates to experiencing Jesus and living a life of someone born of the spirit: my own mother (whose birthday is today!). For many years she has poured her soul into service towards others and has impressed upon her children and so many others the importance of caring for those in our community and those on the margins. In her, I truly see someone who is experiencing the kingdom of God. In this time of great societal need, we may all benefit from focusing a little less on understanding why God has the wind blowing the way it is today and a little more on caring for those around us in ways that exemplify being born of the Spirit.
Prayer
O God, like Nicodemus, we sometimes get confused about what it is you are trying to tell us. We thank you for your patience as you move us into a deeper understanding of your will in our life. Help us to be patient this day with others.
Saint of the Day
St. Agnes of Montepulciano became well-known for the supernatural signs that accompanied her growth in holiness.
She was born 1268 to a wealthy family. She joined the convent in her hometown as a very young girl, and vigorously applied herself to prayer and formation. She was wise, even as a youth, and was entrusted with the role of housekeeper for the convent when she was 14.
When a new convent was opened nearby, Agnes was among those who departed to help begin the new community. She inspired a number of other young women to join that new convent, and she was chosen to lead the community as abbess. She was only 15 and had to receive special permission from the pope to take on that role at such a young age.
With such a great responsibility at hand, Agnes practiced a strict discipline with herself—for the next 15 years, she lived on bread and water alone and slept on the ground with a stone for a pillow. Only when she faced a serious illness did she relent these disciplines.
She became well-known for her holiness, and special signs accompanied her prayer. She received several visions—holding the infant Jesus in her arms at one point, and receiving Communion from an angel in another. The nuns in her community saw her lifted two feet off the ground when she was praying. When the convent ran out of food, she could feed the whole community with a handful of bread after she had blessed it.
Most interesting of all, though, was the appearance of manna about her body when she prayed. She would sometimes be consumed in rapturous prayer, and a white, frosty-looking manna would appear on her cloak and in the place where she was kneeling. Her sisters reported that in these instances she looked like she had been outside in a heavy snowstorm.
The people of her hometown, Montepulciano, wanted her to return to them, so she returned to found a new convent and asked that it be placed under the order established by St. Dominic. They built the convent building on a site that had previously held a brothel.
She lived at this new convent until she died, and served as its prioress. Signs of holiness continued to follow her, including prophecies and healings—she miraculously resuscitated a child who had drowned. The community thrived under her guidance until she fell gravely ill at the age of 49.
When it was clear that she would die, her community became distressed, and she told them, “If you loved me, you would be glad because I am about to enter the glory of my Spouse. Do not grieve over my departure—I shall not lose sight of you. You will find that I have not abandoned you.”
Her tomb became a pilgrimage site, and Agnes’ body remained incorrupt there. The great St. Catherine of Siena visited her tomb, and it is said that when she bent down to kiss the foot of Agnes’ body, it lifted itself to meet her lips.
Relics of St. Agnes rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica on campus.
St. Agnes of Montepulciano, you were the prayerful nun who showed supernatural signs of holiness, pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Agnes of Montepulciano is available for use under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International. Last accessed February 21, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
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