Daily Gospel Reflection
Join the Notre Dame family of faith. Receive God’s Word and a unique reflection in your inbox each day.
April 20, 2023
The one who comes from above is above all.
The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things.
But the one who comes from heaven is above all.
He testifies to what he has seen and heard,
but no one accepts his testimony.
Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy.
For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God.
He does not ration his gift of the Spirit.
The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him.
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life,
but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life,
but the wrath of God remains upon him.
Today’s gospel brings to mind a close friend I had known since my first year as a student volunteering at St. Mary’s Convent. She died years later at the age of 95 amid the isolation of the pandemic. In that first year after her death, my grief withered into guilt for all the unwritten email updates and put-off phone calls I hadn’t made leading up to her final years of life.
A couple of weeks ago, around the second anniversary of her death, a man by the park hollered, “Juice for sale!” And I came across a stall that sold jugs of orange, carrot, mango, and papaya juice, pressed with the ripest colors, shining in the sun.
I remembered that when I used to arrive to volunteer at the convent library, my friend always offered me Minute Maid in a dining hall cup. She would’ve loved this juice stall. I bought myself a cup of orange juice and relived the memories of how my friend had shown me “the one who comes from above” and “is above all” as she lovingly listened to me talk about my studies, hopes, fears, joys, and struggles with depression.
And this is how her testimony of love lives on in me through what I have “seen and heard.” She never rationed her presence—her greatest gift—in our weekly hour together. Giving everything to God, she never claimed spiritual expertise, but she was trustworthy as God is trustworthy. She shared herself lovingly, obliging to every request of “more juice please” until the scent of citrus perfumed our friendship eternally.
I’ve written my reflection in loving memory of Sr. Patricia Ann Thompson, C.S.C, whom I dearly miss. May you reflect on the many people in your own life, and cherish those who “speak the words of God” to you too.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, you love your Son Jesus and give everything and
everyone over to him. May you make of us an everlasting gift to you,
that we may always be grateful and sing your praises with joy-filled
hearts. Amen.
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.
.jpg){kind=link}