Daily Gospel Reflection
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December 15, 2022
When the messengers of John the Baptist had left,
Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John.
“What did you go out to the desert to see — a reed swayed by the wind?
Then what did you go out to see?
Someone dressed in fine garments?
Those who dress luxuriously and live sumptuously
are found in royal palaces.
Then what did you go out to see?
A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
This is the one about whom Scripture says:
Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
he will prepare your way before you.
I tell you,
among those born of women, no one is greater than John;
yet the least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he.”
(All the people who listened, including the tax collectors,
who were baptized with the baptism of John,
acknowledged the righteousness of God;
but the Pharisees and scholars of the law,
who were not baptized by him,
rejected the plan of God for themselves.)
A voice caught my ear as I was leaving a work function in early November. “Miss, could you spare $20.00 for a room at the shelter?” I grimaced as a familiar tension squeezed into my chest, creating tumbled thoughts.
My mind raced: “Don’t stop and give her money. You don’t know what she’ll use it for. Who cares what she’ll use it for. You spent $20 on Starbucks yesterday. You have the money. She could be dangerous, aren’t you afraid? You’re in the middle of a well-lit street. What will your colleague think? Fr. Greg Boyle says we must stand on the margins with the marginalized, or the margins won’t disappear.”
Finally, I turned, introduced myself, and asked her name. She said, “Linda.” My courage began to rise, “Linda, if you point me to an ATM, I’d be honored if you’d allow me to give you $20.” As she led me to an ATM, I learned she is a mother, a grandmother, and a survivor of domestic abuse.
She was saving to buy her granddaughter a doll for her birthday. With each word, Linda broke down the invisible societal walls separating us, inviting me into her life. I relaxed and settled into a friendly chat before exchanging hugs and parting ways.
Hearing Jesus’ challenge to the crowd today, “What did you go out to see?” brought this experience to mind and forced me to examine the lens and attitude I bring to my interactions.
“Did I go out to see” the surface-level stories and appearances that often prompt me to judge people as rude, incompetent, intimidating, or even dangerous? Or “did I set out to see” each human, in all their complexity, through the eyes of God’s love?
I pray that everyday we remember to see with eyes of love.
Prayer
Lord, John the Baptist was no reed swayed by the wind. He prepared the way before you by his preaching, and died a martyr’s death. Now it is up to us to continue your work of salvation by the lives we lead and the witness we give. Help us do so with faith and courage. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Virginia Centurione Bracelli was an Italian woman in a struggling marriage until the death of her husband freed her to dedicate all of her resources to serving those most in need in her community.
She was born in 1587 in Genoa to a family of nobles. Though she felt a calling to dedicate her life to prayer and service in a religious community, she was given in marriage to a well-known and wealthy young man, Gaspare.
The couple had two daughters, but Gaspare’s attention was divided by pursuits of pleasure. Living harshly shortened his life, and Virginia found herself a widow by the time she was 20. Her father tried to arrange a second marriage, but she refused and made a vow of chastity.
While she remained obedient to her father in other matters, and never disregarded the care of her own children, she began to share her available time and resources with those in need. She felt called to serve God through the poor, and dedicated half of her wealth to those who lacked what they needed for a dignified life.
When her daughters had grown and accepted marriages, Virginia turned her full attention to helping orphans, the elderly, and the sick. War, epidemics, and famine all brought many suffering people to her doorstep. She began to go a step further, traveling to disreputable areas of the city to seek out those in danger, especially women.
An empty convent stood near the town, and she was given permission to rent it to care for children who were orphaned and suffering from a plague and famine. Other women came to join her in service. Within three years, some 300 were receiving care there, and the center was recognized as a hospital. She organized the women who came to help her into a community, and spent the rest of her life supporting their work to serve God through the poor.
Nobles and government officials called upon her to help mediate differences, and she gathered people to find ways to fight systems of inequality in the region. Despite all of these engagements, she never lost sight of the poor—she always had time and assistance to offer them, and continued to seek them out. She died on this date in 1651, and was canonized by Pope. St. John Paul II in 2003.
St. Virginia Centurione Bracelli, you served God through the poor, pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Virginia Centurione Bracelli is in the public domain. Last accessed November 21, 2024 on Wikimedia Commons.
