Daily Gospel Reflection
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December 7, 2022
Jesus said to the crowds:
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
At the center of our galaxy is a supermassive black hole whose weight takes thirty-six zeros to approximate. That’s pretty heavy. So heavy, it’s beyond our ability to imagine. Today, though, our Lord offers us something on the opposite side of the spectrum—something unimaginably, miraculously light.
“My yoke is easy,” he says, “and my burden light.” How can a burden be light? Wouldn’t it be lighter if we just didn’t bear a burden at all? I think the black hole is helpful for our imagination here.
At the center of each human person is a heart, and the heart is filled with a desire for the infinite. Left alone, the heart forms something of a black hole inside each of us, relentlessly consuming any perceived good in sight—whether it’s truly good for us or not.
The way that we theologically articulate this reality is called original sin, and it describes that gravity within each of us towards ourselves. We more commonly call it selfishness, and we know that a life totally centered around the self is in the end a weight too heavy to bear.
Today, Jesus offers us a way out. He tells us to take his yoke, ultimately his cross. “Turn not inward upon yourselves, but come to me,” he says. It is only in the Word—the meaning—made flesh that we can find our own meaning, and it is only in the cross that we find our hope.
At the center of Notre Dame’s campus, we find a different center of gravity than our physical universe. There, we find the statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He stands, arms outstretched and heart opened wide, inviting us: Venite ad me omnes. “Come to me, everyone!”
Today, let us heed his invitation—turning away from the void of selfishness, picking up our cross, and being drawn by the sweet weight of his love.
Prayer
Jesus, we hear the world around us saying your burden is heavy and your yoke is too difficult, but you have told us it’s not. Your burden is light and your yoke is freeing. Serving you is sweetness. Sustain us as we continue in your service. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Although St. Ambrose is a great saint in his own right—he had a brilliant mind, was a political star of his time, and is one of the thirty-seven doctors of the Church—he is perhaps best remembered for prompting the conversion of the great St. Augustine.
He was born to a Roman family of nobility and had several siblings who also became saints: Marcellina and Satyrus. He was educated in Rome and became known as an eloquent and convincing speaker.
He was trained in the law and was noticed by important politicians in Rome. He was appointed the governor of Milan, one of the most important offices in the empire, before he was 35 years old.
Milan’s bishop died and a controversy arose as to who should succeed him. The dispute threatened violence, so Ambrose went to plead with the crowds himself. While he was speaking, a voice shouted, “Ambrose, bishop!” and the whole crowd took up the cry. Both sides of the dispute unanimously proclaimed him bishop of Milan, even though Ambrose was not yet baptized.
Ambrose tried to escape the election by appealing to the emperor, who simply said that he was pleased to appoint governors worthy of being also bishops. Ambrose next tried hiding in the home of a friend who was a senator but was given up. Finally, on this date in 374, he yielded and was baptized. A week later, he was ordained a bishop.
He gave up all of his belongings to the poor, as an example to the people of Milan and so that he could focus on his duties as bishop. He was famous as a teacher of the faith and a scholar of the Bible. His preaching drew crowds, including a young and noncommittal St. Augustine, whom Ambrose taught and later baptized.
In a letter, Ambrose wrote the following about the art of preaching:
"Let your words be rivers, clean and limpid, so that in your exhortations you may charm the ears of your people. And by the grace of your words win them over to follow your leadership. [Let] no word escape your lips in vain or be uttered without depth of meaning."
Ambrose preached often against the Arian heresy. Ambrose's learning and preaching earned him the title "Doctor of the Church," an honorific given to thirty-six other saints who are known for elucidating the faith by their words or example. His relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica and a stained glass window in the Basilica portrays Ambrose confronting Emperor Theodosius, who was responsible for ordering a massacre of 7,000. The emperor repented publicly for his action because of this encounter and was reconciled to the Church. Ambrose later presided over his funeral.
St. Ambrose, whose preaching drew Christians into a deeper life of faith—pray for us!