Daily Gospel Reflection
Join the Notre Dame family of faith. Receive God’s Word and a unique reflection in your inbox each day.
December 23, 2021
When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child
she gave birth to a son.
Her neighbors and relatives heard
that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her,
and they rejoiced with her.
When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child,
they were going to call him Zechariah after his father,
but his mother said in reply,
“No. He will be called John.”
But they answered her,
“There is no one among your relatives who has this name.”
So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called.
He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,”
and all were amazed.
Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed,
and he spoke blessing God.
Then fear came upon all their neighbors,
and all these matters were discussed
throughout the hill country of Judea.
All who heard these things took them to heart, saying,
“What, then, will this child be?
For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.”
There is nothing quite like the week before Christmas. As a child, it was filled with anticipation and excitement, especially on Christmas Eve Eve as we called it—December 23. So perhaps it is understandable that the gospel for today might be overlooked. We are laser-focused in preparation for December 25, the Nativity, and yet, this quiet passage from Luke offers a profound lesson in faith and love.
It is the story of Elizabeth and Zechariah. I have a sense that Zechariah was like many men. Struck dumb by the angel Gabriel, we can imagine that Zachariah had been a little too sure of himself to the point of being skeptical that Elizabeth would have the promised child.
But today, he listens and supports Elizabeth. Despite cultural traditions, he names the baby John. He sacrifices his namesake out of faith and love. His love for Elizabeth is the greatest lesson and undoubtedly helped shape John the Baptist for his future life of sacrifice.
As I enter the latter stages of my life, I often reflect on my parents. I think about my dad and the sacrifices he made for his family. Like Zechariah, he loved my mother above all else. He was gentle and kind and fun. He shaped us, myself and my four brothers, for our future lives.
I had the privilege of working at Notre Dame for nearly 30 years. In the early years, Father Ted Hesburgh was president of the university. That allowed me to hear his wisdom often. One of my favorite recollections was his observation that the greatest gift a father can give his family is to love his wife, the mother of the family.
I think that is what Zechariah ultimately chose to do. I know my father did. I cannot think of a greater Christmas gift, ever.
Prayer
Lord, we hear in today’s Gospel about the birth of John the Baptist. He was to go before you, clearing the way and lighting up the path you were to follow. Now it is our turn to prepare the way for others to find you by the way we lead our lives. Give us the courage and zeal of John to do so. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. John Cantius was a brilliant Polish scholar who cultivated a life of holiness just as much as he cultivated the life of his mind.
He was born 1390 in Poland, and attended Krakow Academy, where he eventually earned a doctorate. He was ordained a priest three years after graduating, and went on to teach sacred Scripture and physics. His work helped pave the way for insights from Galileo and Newton.
He was a popular professor, and some of his colleagues were jealous of his rapport with students. They spread false rumors about him, and he was moved to a parish in a remote, small town. He was terrified of his new role, but took it seriously, working diligently and patiently with the people to whom he was assigned. It took eight years for his name to be cleared, and when it was time for him to return to the university, the people from the small parish mourned his loss—they followed him out of town for several miles, asking him to remain with them.
John made four pilgrimages from Poland, traveling by foot to Rome three times and once to the Holy Land. He was known for a simple lifestyle—he only possessed and ate what he needed, and gave generously to the poor.
The story is told that once, as he sat down to his dinner, John saw a beggar passing by in the street. He stood up and immediately went outside with his bowl of food and gave it to the beggar, saying nothing.
“Fight all error,” he would tell his students, “but do it with good humor, patience, kindness, and love. Harshness will damage your own soul and spoil the best cause.”
John died at the age of 83, and his tomb remains a popular pilgrimage place in Krakow.
St. John Cantius, you were the professor who made your life a study in holiness, pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. John Cantius is available for use under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Last accessed November 7, 2024 on Wikimedia Commons.
