Daily Gospel Reflection
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August 7, 2020
Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?
“For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
On our first visit to the campus of Notre Dame, we watched the video “Any Given Day” during the information session. A quote from Carl Ackermann, a professor in the Mendoza College of Business, resonated with us profoundly. He said: “I hope that I’m right, because I’m making a big, big bet on the hearts of my students. If the students merely accumulate the money and then they use it for material things, I will have failed.”
Our society prioritizes material possessions over just about anything else. We are ruled by idols such as status and money. But today’s gospel tells us that in order to save our lives and live again, we must do the opposite. We must give our lives to the Son of Man or else taste death. We must follow God by denying ourselves and by committing ourselves to serve others. He warns that if we gain the world, we may never get back our lives again. Taking up the cross to follow Jesus does not allow us to play it safe. We must risk it all for Christ. We must shout the Good News.
Inspired by this gospel passage we pray to have more faith and to give more of our lives to Jesus. Our wedding song is “Follow You, Follow Me” by Genesis. This song expresses our commitment to follow one another as husband and wife in the sacrament of marriage and also our commitment to help each other follow God and to allow God to lead us in life. We now have two sons at Notre Dame who will begin their senior and sophomore years in a few days. We love being a Notre Dame family and we pray that their education will teach them how to truly follow God.
Prayer
God of all wisdom and grace, you call us to proclaim the truth of our faith wherever your Spirit leads us. Give us courage and determination to follow your Son, even to the cross. May our lives reflect your radiance as you lead us into your promise of everlasting life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Cajetan lived in the early 1500s in Italy, at a time when the Church was marked by corruption and indifference. In response, like an effective team captain rallying other players, he reenergized a community of priests who reformed the Church with their zeal and service to the poor.
He was born in 1480 to noble parents, and attended the University of Padua where he dedicated himself to studies and prayer. He received doctorates in civil and canon law and returned to his hometown, where he was appointed a senator. After a time, he discerned a call to the priesthood, and was ordained when he was 33.
He began to gather other priests around him to care for the poor and sick. Because Cajetan was of noble status, he could have selected anywhere to minister—at court, or in the hierarchy at the Vatican. Instead, he sought out the priests who were living and working among the people of the streets. Though this offended his friends, he persisted. He even founded a bank to offer poor people an alternative to loan sharks.
The group founded a hospital for those suffering from incurable diseases. He told his brother clerics that in church “we try to serve God by worship; in our hospital we may say that we actually find him."
The Church itself was sick at that time—many of the clergy were corrupt and indifferent. Cajetan and his community of brother priests decided to formalize their efforts as a religious community dedicated to zeal and to spreading authentic faith through their personal witness. They preached, cared for the sick, encouraged people to receive the sacraments frequently, and urged pastors to live a dedicated life of service.
He spent the rest of his life working to reform the Church and mediating civil conflicts. His community of priests went on to play a key role in the reformation of the Church. When he fell ill in 1547, his doctors ordered him to lay on a mattress instead of the bare boards he used for his bed. “My savior died on a cross,” Cajetan said. “Allow me at least to die on wood.”
St. Cajetan’s relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica. He is patron saint of workers and of those seeking employment.
St. Cajetan, who led priests and rallied the Church with his zeal and commitment to the poor, pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Cajetan is in the public domain. Last accessed March 28, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
