Daily Gospel Reflection
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August 2, 2024
Jesus came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue.
They were astonished and said,
“Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds?
Is he not the carpenter’s son?
Is not his mother named Mary
and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?
Are not his sisters all with us?
Where did this man get all this?”
And they took offense at him.
But Jesus said to them,
“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place
and in his own house.”
And he did not work many mighty deeds there
because of their lack of faith.
The highlight of this past year for my wife and me was the birth of our first grandchild. I love watching her as she takes everything in. She smiles and waves at everyone she sees, whether we’re in a restaurant, on a walk, or at the zoo. She’s a clean slate; all is new for her, with no preconceptions, judgments, or biases. This will inevitably change, but she has a simple and pure view of the world for now, which is a joy to behold.
In Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth, the people viewed him as the carpenter’s son. They knew his family and knew he came from humble means. When Jesus returned to Nazareth, despite witnessing his miracles, they had a hard time seeing him differently and even took offense at him.
I’m now 61 years old, with plenty of my own biases firmly established. But last year, I had an experience that challenged me to change how I view people. A friend invited me to play music at a four-day Christian retreat, something I have done a number of times in our parish in Pittsburgh. The difference with this particular retreat was the venue—it was held inside a maximum-security state prison, with 25 inmates participating.
I was apprehensive at first, my mind consumed with wondering what crimes these men may have committed. But as the retreat progressed, I got to know them. They had families, jobs, hopes, and dreams. Near the end of the weekend, the men opened a package of letters from the retreat team. It brought many of them to tears. One man said that these were the first letters he had received in ten years, and he would savor them and open one each month over the next year.
Jesus didn’t judge. He was open-minded and called sinners to be his followers—men like those I met on the retreat. Join me in asking God to help us be more open-minded and less judgmental with the people we meet.
Prayer
Lord, we know that the people of Jesus’ day were not the only ones to reject him and his gospel. Even though we bear the name of Christian, we, too, all too easily seek to write and live our own gospels, rather than the one preached by your Son, who is the way, the truth, and the life. Make Jesus and his gospel the true cornerstone of our lives so that built on the rock who is Christ, we may be your Church, your living presence in this world. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Peter Julian Eymard’s devotion to the Eucharist led him to an active life of love of God and neighbor. He was a contemporary of Blessed Basil Moreau, and both priests sought to revive the Church in the wake of the French Revolution.
Peter Julian was born in 1811 to a poor family just after the Revolution. Peter decided to become a priest and joined the seminary against his family’s wishes. He soon got sick, however, and had to withdraw from his studies—he never fully recovered his health.
A few years later, he tried again and was successful in his training—he was ordained a priest in 1834 and joined the Marist Fathers. His life and ministry were marked by a strong devotion to Mary and to the Eucharist, and these were the focus of much of his preaching and teaching.
“We believe in the love of God for us,” he wrote. “To believe in love is everything. It is not enough to believe in the truth. We must believe in love and love is our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. That is the faith that makes our Lord loved. Ask for this pure and simple faith in the Eucharist. Men will teach you, but only Jesus will give you the grace to believe in him. You have the Eucharist. What more do you want?”
With the encouragement of his friend, St. John Vianney, Peter Julian founded two new religious orders dedicated to the Blessed Sacrament. Though the orders struggled at first, they eventually succeeded in bringing about his vision of a united community of people—priests, deacons, sisters, and laypeople—deeply formed by the Mass and prayer before the Eucharist.
Towards the end of his life, he took a long retreat in Rome and received a mystical experience of communion with Christ, which he described in a series of letters and meditative works. He died on this date in 1868 after suffering a stroke in France. His relics rest in the Basilica.
St. Peter Julian Eymard, who loved Christ in the Eucharist, pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Peter Julian Eymard is available for use under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Last accessed March 28, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
