Daily Gospel Reflection
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February 4, 2023
The Apostles gathered together with Jesus
and reported all they had done and taught.
He said to them,
“Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.”
People were coming and going in great numbers,
and they had no opportunity even to eat.
So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place.
People saw them leaving and many came to know about it.
They hastened there on foot from all the towns
and arrived at the place before them.
When Jesus disembarked and saw the vast crowd,
his heart was moved with pity for them,
for they were like sheep without a shepherd;
and he began to teach them many things.
When reading today’s gospel, I cannot help but identify with the fatigue the Apostles must have felt after “all they had done and taught.” It seems that Christ, too, recognized their need for respite in inviting them to “come away” and “rest a while.”
I also can’t help but chuckle when, despite the Apostles’ efforts to get away and rest, others who needed them found a way to arrive at their place of retreat before them.
It reminds me of a teacher running back to their classroom to have a 10-minute lunch between classes only to find a student waiting there with a question. How about the parent sneaking away from young children and pets for a bathroom break only to be needed again as soon as they close the door? Perhaps even the first responder working late when desperate calls for help never seem to end. There is simply something all too relatable about the Apostles’ plight.
The unending need for help in our world today and the limited resources available can leave us feeling constantly overwhelmed, exhausted, and in need of retreat. And each time we think that we have done all we can, we find ourselves confronted with yet another challenge in need of resolution. Despite our best efforts at self-care and maintaining balance in our daily lives we sometimes need something more.
This gospel passage reminds us that the Apostles’ true place of rest that day was in Christ Jesus. As we continue to walk with the people God places in our lives, whoever they may be, may we always remember that Christ is with us. He is our refuge, and we will always find what we need in his loving presence and example.
Prayer
Dear Lord, as we go about our homes and work, let us bring your presence with us. Let us speak your peace, your grace, your mercy, and your perfect order to all we meet. Give us a fresh supply of strength to do our work. Let even our smallest accomplishments bring you glory. When we are confused, guide us. When we are burned out, infuse us with the light of the Holy Spirit. Thank you for being our source of life! Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Andrew Corsini’s mother had a dream when he was born. She saw herself give birth to a wolf, which then ran into a church and was changed into a lamb.
Andrew lived his early life as a wolf of sorts—he lived in 14th century Italy and spent his time with troublesome friends pursuing vice and extravagance. His mother never stopped praying for him, however, and told him that he had been dedicated to the service of God through the intercession of Mary.
The rebukes from his parents shamed him, and gave him a desire to live up to their expectations. He went to pray in a Carmelite monastery, and was so moved by grace that he decided to enter that order. His friends tried to convince him to leave and rejoin them, but he stayed.
Andrew was ordained a priest in 1328, and after traveling and preaching, as well as furthering his education, he was chosen to lead the monastery he had joined. He was known as a holy man who could foresee the future and heal the sick. He healed people who were suffering from moral sickness as well—one of his cousins was a hardened gambler who converted his ways thanks to Andrew.
In 1349, Andrew was elected bishop, but he did not want to accept, so he hid himself in a distant cloistered monastery. A child discovered him, and he was forced to accept the role. As bishop, he doubled his disciplines, sleeping on the floor and carefully guarding who he listened to. He took care of the poor in a special way—he washed the feet of poor people every Thursday, for example, and never turned away anyone seeking money or food.
Andrew was also known to be able to effectively resolve conflict, so the pope sent him to a nearby region where the nobility were quarrelling with the people and he was able to make peace.
St. Andrew died at the age of 71, and so many miracles happened around his death that he was immediately declared a saint by popular demand. The pope formally canonized him in 1629, an event that is depicted here in an illustration from the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art on campus. St. Andrew’s relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.
St. Andrew Corsini, your humility overcame a rebellious childhood, and you tried to avoid your election as bishop by hiding—pray for us!
Image Credit: Agostino Ciampelli (Italian, 1565-1630), Canonization of St. Andrea Corsini (detail), ca. 1629, ink and wash on paper. Raclin Murphy Museum of Art: Gift of Miss Agnes Mongan, 1980.070.