Daily Gospel Reflection
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December 15, 2025
When Jesus had come into the temple area,
the chief priests and the elders of the people approached him
as he was teaching and said,
“By what authority are you doing these things?
And who gave you this authority?”
Jesus said to them in reply,
“I shall ask you one question, and if you answer it for me,
then I shall tell you by what authority I do these things.
Where was John’s baptism from?
Was it of heavenly or of human origin?”
They discussed this among themselves and said,
“If we say ‘Of heavenly origin,’ he will say to us,
‘Then why did you not believe him?’
But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we fear the crowd,
for they all regard John as a prophet.”
So they said to Jesus in reply, “We do not know.”
He himself said to them,
“Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
Many times, I struggle to grasp the messages of Jesus in the gospels. It feels as though Jesus speaks in a complex language, almost as if he assumes everyone can follow him with ease. Other times, he uses parables, some of them quite challenging, to confront our own doubts and life situations.
In this passage from Matthew, Jesus does not answer the elders of the people directly. Instead, he leads them to question the authority with which Jesus teaches and acts. He does not cast doubt on his mission or his power, but he does probe the intentions of those who challenge him. Reading this episode, I realize that Jesus does not wish to confuse us, but to prompt us to reflect on who he is and how we might recognize his presence when it challenges our expectations and sensibilities.
Even so, I admit that it is often difficult for me to appreciate the message of Jesus fully. My wife, who studies the Bible with dedication, helps me comprehend better the legacy Jesus left us. Despite my lack of understanding, my faith keeps me drawing closer to him, seeking his comfort and giving thanks for the gifts he pours upon us.
Applying Christ’s challenge to us today, I believe we should make a more intentional effort to walk toward a deeper engagement with the gospel and to discover with humility and perspective what meaning it holds for us. In doing so, we can allow ourselves to be touched by his message of grace. Doubts remain, answers do not always come, or results may not be what we expect. But my personal challenge in this season of consolation is to let his Word transform us and fill us with hope rather than fear or accusation.
Prayer
Protect me from desiring an authority that masks my fear and selfishness. Guard me from the seduction of power and importance. Save me from clinging to my needs and direct my spirit to move with the authority of your son’s love.
Saint of the Day
Maria Crocifissa di Rosa was the founder of the religious order the Handmaids of Charity and a woman whose deep devotion to Christ Crucified inspired her order of sisters. Maria was born as Paola Francesca di Rosa to an affluent family of Brescia, Italy on November 6, 1813.
Although her family was wealthy, they were not exempt from hardship. Paola’s mother died when Paola was only eleven, imprinting on the young Paola the knowledge that the cross was a part of each Christian’s life.
Paola was educated by the Visitation Sisters in her youth, but left school in her teenage years and began to assist her father in running his household and estates. By the age of nineteen, Paola had taken over her father’s spinning mill, and befriended the many young women who worked there, and had to live far from their homes in the country to work at the mill during the week. Paola’s work at the mill earned Paola her father’s deep respect and esteem for his strong, competent daughter.
In 1836, when Paola was in her early twenties, a cholera epidemic broke out in Brescia. Paola transformed herself into a nurse, caring for women and children afflicted by the disease. She became a well-known and well-loved figure at the hospital in Brescia.
Paola left the mill and made caring for women her full-time occupation. She directed a home and school for orphaned girls and a home for women who were deaf and mute.
In 1840, Paola founded the community, The Pious Union, that eventually became the religious congregation Handmaids of Charity when it was approved by Pope Pius IX in 1850. She took the name Maria Crocifissa di Rosa, as a sign of the importance of the cross in the Christian life. Maria’s own spirituality and her order are sprung from her deep understanding that all Christian life is modeled off of Christ’s cross. And love for Christ Crucified and the desire to ease his sufferings led Maria and her companions to care for the poor and suffering in hospitals, and the wounded on the battlefields of Northern Italy.
Maria Crocifissa’s guiding motto for her order was: “Charity without limits for the sick who represent Jesus Christ.” The Handmaids of Charity’s charism to this day echoes this founding sentiment. They seek to bring hope to those who are sick or dying, through their faith in Christ, which manifests itself in their works of charity. All they do is for, with, and in Christ.
Maria Crocifissa died in Brescia on December 15, 1855, at the age of forty-two. She was canonized just under one hundred years later by Pope Pius XII in 1954. Her order of sisters, the Handmaidens of Charity, continues to serve the poor and suffering in Italy and throughout the world.
St. Maria Crocifissa di Rosa, burning with love for the suffering Christ present in the poor—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Maria Crocifissa di Rosa is used with permission from Catholic Online. Last accessed November 1, 2024.