Daily Gospel Reflection
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August 22, 2023
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich
to enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Again I say to you,
it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God.”
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said,
“Who then can be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said,
“For men this is impossible,
but for God all things are possible.”
Then Peter said to him in reply,
“We have given up everything and followed you.
What will there be for us?”
Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you
that you who have followed me, in the new age,
when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory,
will yourselves sit on twelve thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters
or father or mother or children or lands
for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more,
and will inherit eternal life.
But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
Everything in this passage challenges us to follow the Lord wholeheartedly. One thing that strikes me as strange, though, is the idea that the apostles will judge the twelve tribes of Israel. What does this mean? Who counts as the twelve tribes of Israel? Why do the apostles judge the tribes; I thought people don’t get to judge others because only God can know the heart? The questions continue, but one strikes me as particularly important.
Who are these apostles who will judge?
They include Thomas, who found it difficult to believe in Jesus’ resurrection before seeing him. They include Peter, who denied knowing Jesus—God incarnate—and abandoned him on the day of his death, though he had promised to follow Jesus even to death. Acknowledging their faults, these people might have mercy on a sinner like me.
These are also people who gave everything to follow Jesus. Thomas so firmly believed Jesus’ truth and divinity that he professed the gospel all the way to India. Peter was given immense responsibility as the rock on which the church was founded.
These are people who would challenge me to be wholehearted, but they would also understand my fears and failings. They know the incredible power of God to do the impossible in and through me, and they also know the great weakness I bear within myself.
As we read Jesus’ commands and pray for the grace to follow him wholeheartedly, let us request the intercession of the apostles and Mary, Queen of the Apostles. Let us be comforted by their humanity, by the fact that it was God who worked the impossible in and through them, and it is God who can and will do the same in our own lives.
Prayer
Christ our teacher, you call each of us to be free of the things that enslave us, and enter into the true freedom of the children of God. Open our hearts, that we may accept your invitation, “Come, follow me.” Give us the grace today to commit our whole selves more fully to you. Help us especially this day to overcome any attachments in our lives that prevent us from following you as energetically as we can. Amen.
Saint of the Day

With this feast day the Church proclaims that Mary is Queen of Heaven because she so closely collaborated with Christ in the plan of salvation.
We call Jesus “Lord” and celebrate the feast of Christ the King in November, all the while recalling that his kingship is defined by his willingness to lay down his life for us. This model of leadership through service was taken up perfectly by Mary.
Mary laid down her life for us as well—she set herself aside when she said “yes” to God’s invitation to bear Jesus into the world. From that moment on, she remained close to Jesus, walking with him for every step of his earthly journey—including his ministry, suffering, and death. This closeness is depicted in an image in the Cavanaugh Hall chapel—Mary contemplates a crown of thorns while holding the infant Jesus.
This is why we revere Mary as Queen—we recognize her special place in the plan of salvation, while recalling that her queenship is really a participation in the lordship of Jesus. This is our calling as well—to conform ourselves to Christ by laying down our lives as Mary did.
This feast falls a week after the feast of Mary’s Assumption because major feasts in the Church are celebrated for a period of eight days (known as an “octave”). Mary’s coronation as Queen of Heaven is imagined in several scenes in the Basilica and in chapels across campus. The reliquary in the Basilica contains a fragment of Mary’s veil.
Mary, Queen of Heaven, you laid down your life with Christ, pray for us!