Daily Gospel Reflection

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February 5, 2024

Memorial of Saint Agatha - Martyr
Mk 6:53-56
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After making the crossing to the other side of the sea,
Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret
and tied up there.
As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him.
They scurried about the surrounding country
and began to bring in the sick on mats
to wherever they heard he was.
Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered,
they laid the sick in the marketplaces
and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak;
and as many as touched it were healed.

Reflection

Kevin Fitzsimmons '17, M.Ed.
Program Manager for Campus Ministry
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Working on a college campus for several years, I’ve sometimes overheard alumni, friends, and parents comment about what the students of today lack compared to “the good ol’ days.” More often than not, however, I am surrounded by delightful, hard-working colleagues who focus on the unique gifts, talents, and personalities our diverse student body brings to Notre Dame.

One strength of today’s young people I admire greatly is their ability to recognize when they need help. I have been struck on multiple occasions during this school year by stories from friends and colleagues around campus who have found their way into supporting roles for a student just because they reached out and asked. And on top of that, they also encourage each other to take care of themselves when they see others struggling. As a hard-working, driven, “I can do it on my own” kind of person, I have much to learn from these gifts our students naturally bring to the table.

Jesus’ followers in today’s gospel also know the value of seeking the help they need. Once they recognize Jesus, there’s no moment to waste before they scurry around to get close to God. Seriously, when was the last time any of us scurried for Jesus? And even better than that, they aren’t rushing to be first in line for Jesus’ miraculous healing touch! Instead, they are racing to grab those they know and love who need the most help to beg the Lord just to allow them to touch a tassel on the end of his cloak.

When we see someone in need this week, may we imitate the disciples in Mark’s Gospel and the students of today’s generation—may we run to bring that person to the help and healing love of Christ.

Prayer

Rev. Louis Delfra, C.S.C.

Jesus the Christ, when the people of Gennesaret saw you, they recognized your healing power and the love and power of your teaching. Wherever you enter our lives, help us to recognize you and to be open and responsive to the healing and the Gospel message you offer us. Give us the grace to be instruments of your healing and grace in the lives of others. Amen.

Saint of the Day

St. Agatha

St. Agatha is one of the most famous virgin martyrs in the Catholic tradition. Like many early saints, it can be difficult to know what aspects of her legend are historically accurate, but her witness to the faith is undoubtedly a source of ongoing inspiration for us today.

It is said that she was a young, beautiful girl from a rich and well-known family in the early Church. As young girl, she resolutely declared herself a Christian in the midst of a persecution and promised her life to God.

A Roman official who admired her beauty tried to blackmail her. He threatened to charge her as a Christian unless she consented to sex with him. She refused, so he placed her in a brothel. There, she denied customers, and was thrown into prison, where she was beaten and tortured.

None of this succeeded in turning her from her faith, and she was sent back to her cell without food or drink for four days. There, she was comforted by a vision of St. Peter, who filled her dungeon with heavenly light.

She was further tortured until death. One of the tortures she suffered was to have her breasts cut off, which is why she is patron against breast cancer.

St. Agatha is named in one of the Eucharistic prayers at Mass and her relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica. Her image was created by Matthew Alderman '06 and is used here with his permission. In it, she holds a smoldering bowl and a metal snipper. She is honored in Sicily because devotion to her has stopped eruptions of the nearby volcano, Mt. Etna. By extension, she is patron saint of guilds of bell makers, either because fire alarms use bells, or because the casting of a bell involves lava-like molten metal.

Her feast day is a major celebration for the people of Sicily, where she was martyred, both because of her protection and because she is an emblem of the people's struggle against Roman rule. The motto below her image reads, Mentem sanctam spontaneam, honorem Deo et patriae liberationem, which translates to, "A Saintly and spontaneous mind, love of God and liberation of the homeland."

St. Agatha, patron saint for protection from breast cancer and fire—pray for us!


Image Credit: Illustration by Notre Dame alumnus Matthew Alderman, who holds exclusive rights to the further distribution and publication of his art. Used here with permission.