Daily Gospel Reflection
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April 27, 2020
[After Jesus had fed the five thousand men, his disciples saw him walking on the sea.] The next day the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there. They also saw that Jesus had not got into the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone.
Then some boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?”
Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.”
Then they said to him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
As a family physician during this global pandemic, I can’t help but be drawn to the question in this gospel asked by the people searching for Jesus – “What must we do to perform the works of God?”
Since the first positive cases of coronavirus were reported in New Mexico, I have been asking myself, “What is my role in all of this?” I have been blessed with a set of skills as a clinician to care for patients who are ill with this virus. I’m an educator at our medical school. My students need me, too, don’t they? And then my heart begins to race as I think about my family – my kids, my husband, my parents. They really need me, right? For the first time in my career, I have asked myself, on a daily basis, questions about duty and courage because of the different levels of risk that I might encounter in whichever one of the professional roles I might be asked to assume.
But my work as a physician does not put me in a unique position at this moment in history as I ask these questions. Human beings across the globe are asking, “What should I do to help?” We are given guidance to this question in Jesus’ response to the people in this gospel: “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” We are called to believe in and emulate Jesus. Daily examples of this are seen at this time of crisis – from nurses working grueling 18-hour shifts caring for patients with CoVid-19 to children creating rainbow-themed artwork as symbols of hope for the world. We are called to believe in the hope of the resurrection. And then, we do what we can, just as Jesus would.
Prayer
Help us to realize, Lord, that the work we do today is also work that in some way gives life to others. Our work brings your kingdom closer to fulfillment and is vital to your hopes and dreams for all of us. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Zita is a popular Italian saint whose extreme popularity far outstrips her humble life.
Zita was born around the year 1212 in the Tuscan region of northern Italy. To help out her impoverished family, Zita took a position in the household of a wealthy landowner. Zita was not always treated with kindness and respect, and she was often overburdened with work from her employers and the other servants who worked with her.
Despite the ill-treatment, Zita remained patient and kind towards all her coworkers. Through her persistent charity, Zita managed to persevere in a Christ-like joy. Her witness inspired her employers to become more devoted Christians. Zita went to Mass each morning, which gave her the energy to persevere in love, even in the midst of pain.
One commonly told anecdote about Zita recounts the presence of angels at her work station in the kitchen. Zita left her work one morning to care for a family in need. Other servants in the kitchen, hoping to get her in trouble, reported to the Fatinelli family that Zita had left her post, accusing her of shirking her work and being lazy. When Zita's employers came down to the kitchen to investigate, they found angels in the kitchen, baking the bread in Zita's place.
Zita died on April 27, 1272. She had lived to be sixty years old. The Fatinelli family immediately started praying to Zita and invoking her aid. Through their intercession, Zita became a widely invoked saint. Over 150 miracles were credited to her before Zita was canonized in 1696.
In 1580, Zita's body was exhumed and found to be incorrupt. Since then, it has been on display for veneration at the Basilica in Lucca. For centuries, families have baked a loaf of bread on St. Zita's feast. You can participate in this tradition by baking one of the bread recipes for St. Zita's day with your family or friends.
St. Zita, patron saint of household workers and finding lost keys—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Zita is available for use under a Creative Commons license. Last accessed February 21, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
