Daily Gospel Reflection
Join the Notre Dame family of faith. Receive God’s Word and a unique reflection in your inbox each day.
February 1, 2024
Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two
and gave them authority over unclean spirits.
He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick
–no food, no sack, no money in their belts.
They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic.
He said to them,
“Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there.
Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you,
leave there and shake the dust off your feet
in testimony against them.”
So they went off and preached repentance.
The Twelve drove out many demons,
and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
As I was meditating on today’s gospel for a few days before writing this reflection, I had a dream. I was taking the subway into New York City, but in order to get into Manhattan, we all had to exit the subway and cross an angry body of water with big waves in individual inflatable rafts.
Somehow, I miraculously managed to hang onto my phone, wallet, and keys, despite the giant waves tossing me all about, but then lost them in the exit process. I was frantically looking for them, since now I was in the big city with no phone, no wallet, and no keys! How would I possibly get home to my husband and kids in Indiana!? In the end, a kind stranger helped me call my husband and get help.
When I woke up, I thought immediately of how radical Jesus’ great commission of the Twelve truly was. They were sent to go forth to cities all across their world and preach the Good News, but they were to take nothing with them—that’s radical trust in God’s providence.
I currently work in parish ministry, and I plan many events that teach the Good News and “preach repentance.” Even when the message is simple, the event planning is not; there is always a long list of preparations. And in my domestic life, we have savings accounts and retirement plans and plenty of food in the freezer.
Neither my ministry nor my personal life bears any resemblance to the radical simplicity Jesus calls the Twelve to live. But that isn’t my vocation. To do that, I’d be a Franciscan, a Little Sister of the Poor, or a Poor Clare. Instead, I’m the house that receives the apostles and provides them the hospitality they need to preach the Good News.
This great commission is really a two-sided sending forth: in every town through which the apostles pass, God was calling another family to welcome them in and listen with open hearts.
Prayer
Lord, today you send your disciples out on a mission, to spread the good news that the kingdom of God is now among us. You sent them two-by-two. Grant us both the zeal to spread the message of your gospel wherever you have placed us in life, and grant us the support and encouragement of companionship in faith, so that we may never lose heart in our daily efforts on your behalf. Amen.
Saint of the Day

St. Brigid was one of the greatest leaders and evangelists Ireland has known.
She was born in 453 near Dundalk, Ireland, and her parents were baptized by St. Patrick—she grew up hearing the great saint preach.
Her father was an Irish chieftain and her mother was a slave in his court. Brigid had a tender heart and could not bear to see others go hungry or cold, and she would often help them by giving away things that belonged to her father. When he protested, she replied, “Christ dwells in every creature.”
Unconvinced, he tried to sell her to another nobleman. While they bargained, she took her father’s treasured sword and gave it to a leper. Her father was so angry, he was about to strike her when she explained that she gave the sword to God through the leper. The nobleman was a Christian and Brigid’s action impressed him—he prevented her father from striking her. Her father had had enough and gave Brigid her freedom.

Brigid’s mother was in charge of the dairy of the kingdom but was aging. Brigid took over responsibility for the work there (hence her patronage of dairy workers), but often gave away what they produced. Nevertheless, the dairy prospered and her mother was freed as well.
A marriage was arranged for her, but she refused and went to her bishop to promise her life to God. She went on to found convents all over Ireland that became centers of learning and spirituality. She took on the authority of an abbot with them and traveled extensively across the island, even in the poor transportation conditions of the time, which led to her patronage of travelers.

Her relics rest in the reliquary chapel of the Basilica, and she is depicted in stained glass in the Dillon Hall chapel. The chapel in McGlinn Hall is named after her, and a statue of her stands there. With St. Patrick, she is a patron of Ireland.
In 2009, the Notre Dame Folk Choir established an initiative that continues to serve the Church in Ireland, called the House of Brigid, or Teach Bhride in Irish. The program invites recent college graduates to live as an intentional lay community for one year, dedicating themselves to the service of the Catholic Church in Ireland and to spiritual and personal formation.
St. Brigid of Kildare, patron saint of Ireland who saw God in all creatures—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Brigid of Kildare is in the public domain. Last accessed January 30, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.