Daily Gospel Reflection
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December 6, 2023
At that time:
Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee,
went up on the mountain, and sat down there.
Great crowds came to him,
having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute,
and many others.
They placed them at his feet, and he cured them.
The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking,
the deformed made whole,
the lame walking,
and the blind able to see,
and they glorified the God of Israel.
Jesus summoned his disciples and said,
“My heart is moved with pity for the crowd,
for they have been with me now for three days
and have nothing to eat.
I do not want to send them away hungry,
for fear they may collapse on the way.”
The disciples said to him,
“Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place
to satisfy such a crowd?”
Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?”
“Seven,” they replied, “and a few fish.”
He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground.
Then he took the seven loaves and the fish,
gave thanks, broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds.
They all ate and were satisfied.
They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets full.
One of the most famous spots on Notre Dame’s campus is the Sacred Heart of Jesus statue on “God-quad,” facing the dome. As I read today’s gospel, I am reminded of how I often sat at the feet of that statue to pray and think while I was a student.
On warm fall days, I sat cross-legged on the stone, glancing up at the statue with Jesus’ arms outstretched and then back down at my assigned reading. One cold, gloomy afternoon, I sat at the feet of Jesus with my legs hugged to my chest after I got some heartbreaking news. I returned to Jesus’ feet while in graduate school, thrilled with the joy of study and the summer beauty of the campus. I met someone, and when we took walks on campus, we occasionally paused at the feet of Jesus. Then, one gray April day, he proposed there. I found a lot of comfort “at the feet of Jesus” on Notre Dame’s campus and often still imagine sitting with Jesus in prayer now.
When people are placed at Jesus’ feet in this passage from Matthew, he cures them. And he notices their needs. His “heart is moved with pity” when he sees their hunger. He feeds them, and abundant generosity overflows.
This Advent, I pray that we all will sit at Jesus’ feet and find the pattern of today’s gospel in our prayer life. I pray that Jesus will heal our hurts, that his heart will be moved with pity when he sees our need, and that he will give us the bread we need for our journey.
Prayer
Lord, you fed the hungry crowd with ample servings of bread and fish. But you gave them other nourishment as well—the beautiful words you spoke and the miracles you worked. Look on us today in need of such nourishment, food for the body and food for the soul. Be with us in our needs. Amen.
Saint of the Day

Nicholas is one of the most-loved and venerated saints in our tradition and is reportedly one of the most commonly painted saints. He was bishop of Myra, a city in what is now Turkey during the Church's turbulent fourth century. Legends of his life have filled in the large gaps in historical knowledge about his life.
One of the most famous stories celebrates Nicholas' generous gift-giving. Nicholas' parents died when he was young and left him with a large inheritance. Nicholas resolved to use the money for charitable works and learned of a man who had fallen into poverty. This man had three daughters, but because he could not support them nor provide a dowry for their marriage, he was going to sell them into slavery.
Nicholas learned of this family’s situation and, under the cover of darkness, tossed a bag of gold through the family’s window. The oldest daughter was soon married. The saint returned and performed the same act of kindness for the second daughter. When he approached to help the youngest daughter, the man was waiting for him and when he recognized Nicholas, he was overwhelmed with gratitude, prostrating himself before the bishop in thanks.
After being chosen as bishop of Myra, Nicholas was imprisoned and tortured during the persecutions of Christians in the early fourth century. When the Christian emperor Constantine released Christians from prison, Nicholas returned to Myra, where he confronted pagans and those who distorted the faith among the people in his region.
According to tradition, Nicholas attended the Council of Nicea in 325, which established Christ as truly one in being with the Father, not a subordinate deity. Legend has it that Nicholas became so infuriated with Arius, who opposed the idea that Christ was fully equal to the Father—"there was a time when the Son was not," as his rallying cry went—that Nicholas slapped him across the face.
Because, for a long while, Nicholas was the only major saint located with his particular region of Turkey, there was fierce competition for his relics among the towns near Myra, and his remains were transported from town to town. The reliquary chapel in the Basilica, which, indeed, holds some relics of St. Nicholas, contains a stained glass image of his relics being transferred to Italy, where they putatively rest today. A recent discovery, however, shows that his body has returned to Turkey. Today's featured image shows St. Nicholas as bishop and comes from the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art on campus.
St. Nicholas is the patron saint of Russia and Greece and is also the patron saint of children and newlyweds. Catholics in Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands developed the custom of giving presents in his name on today, his feast day. Catholics still put out their shoes for sacks of gold coins, candies, or small gifts. Eventually, this practice of giving gifts on St. Nicholas Day grew into our contemporary American custom of giving gifts on Christmas Day.
St. Nicholas, whose generosity has inspired Christians for ages—pray for us!
To learn even more about Saint Nicholas, watch this video lecture from the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame.
Image Credit: Italian, Portrait of a Figure Wearing a Mitre; Saint Nicholas, 18th century, pencil on laid paper. Raclin Murphy Museum of Art, Gift of Luigi Gregori, AA1972.031.169.