Daily Gospel Reflection
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December 7, 2024
Jesus went around to all the towns and villages,
teaching in their synagogues,
proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness.
At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them
because they were troubled and abandoned,
like sheep without a shepherd.
Then he said to his disciples,
“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.”
Then he summoned his Twelve disciples
and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out
and to cure every disease and every illness.
Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus,
“Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
Cure the sick, raise the dead,
cleanse lepers, drive out demons.
Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.”
How do we understand our personal response to take part in the harvest? For the past seven years, I have lived and worked alongside men discerning this very question. Day in and day out, we are formed by our education, community, and service to become better laborers for this harvest.
As religious, both brothers and future priests, our answer to this call will differ for each one of us. Some will become missionaries, others educators, and still others parish priests. God’s personal invitation beckons a personal response. How awesome it is that God has blessed each of us with a unique skill set to best answer his call. Yet, this response is not only expected from those in religious life.
God calls each member of his church to partake in this harvest. Yet, not everyone in the church is given a seven-year-long formation program to figure out how we can best answer this call. We must look to Scripture. Jesus gives us clear instructions.
We must go out and preach the kingdom of heaven. We must give generously. We can look to Matthew 25 for even further guidance: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, and visit those ill or imprisoned. This is not a call to ponder over in an armchair; it is a call to action to which we must respond! Jesus is clear: there is an abundant harvest waiting wherever we may find ourselves.
How will you respond today?
Prayer
Eternal God, you reveal the mysteries of the kingdom to those who put their faith in your promise of salvation. As we await the coming of your Son in glory, raise up men and women to bring your message of hope to a waiting world. Instill in them an unshakable trust in your divine providence and a zeal for ministry that will inspire your people to a deeper confidence in your saving power. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. 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!