Daily Gospel Reflection
Join the Notre Dame family of faith. Receive God’s Word and a unique reflection in your inbox each day.
April 27, 2022
God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him will not be condemned,
but whoever does not believe has already been condemned,
because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God.
And this is the verdict,
that the light came into the world,
but people preferred darkness to light,
because their works were evil.
For everyone who does wicked things hates the light
and does not come toward the light,
so that his works might not be exposed.
But whoever lives the truth comes to the light,
so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.
One of my grandchildren recently discovered how to reach and operate light switches. He delighted in his newly found power. The darkness was not as scary as it once was now that he knew how to to turn the light back on, but he still clearly preferred the light.
In today’s gospel, choosing between spiritual light or darkness is not child’s play. God lets us decide whether to commit to the light or stay in the shadows through free will. This is not a one-time decision with a master switch. Rather, we are faced with countless opportunities every day to flip the switch on or off—to live the truth of Christ or take the cover of darkness.
The Jesuit philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin noted, “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.”
We were brought into this world as spiritual beings within human bodies to exercise free will to accept the love of God’s saving light. As spiritual beings, we yearn for the light knowing that it is our eternal destiny. Yet, in our human experience, we are often drawn to the darkness to hide our sin. Whenever we stumble in weakness, it is with humility and courage that we return to the light and ask for God’s reconciling forgiveness.
Like an innocent grandchild, our souls naturally love the light. When we remember that we are spiritual beings having human experiences, we allow our inner radiance to become one with the light to dispel darkness.
With Easter joy and conviction, let us sing, “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!”
Prayer
Lord Jesus, we have done many things that we are ashamed of, things that we would prefer be kept hidden. Yet we also need to remember that no sin is greater than your love for us. So please grant us the courage to stop hiding and come out into the light of your forgiveness and mercy. 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.
