Daily Gospel Reflection
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February 5, 2025
Jesus departed from there and came to his native place,
accompanied by his disciples.
When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue,
and many who heard him were astonished.
They said, “Where did this man get all this?
What kind of wisdom has been given him?
What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands!
Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary,
and the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon?
And are not his sisters here with us?”
And they took offense at him.
Jesus said to them,
“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place
and among his own kin and in his own house.”
So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there,
apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them.
He was amazed at their lack of faith.
I had a friend visit me during the IU football game on campus. Naturally, I attempted to find him an affordable ticket, but after the disorienting haze of finals week, it dawned on me that the big game was in 36 hours, my friend had no ticket, and tickets on StubHub were going for at least $500. In desperation, I turned to Notre Dame’s black market on GroupMe. I reached out to a “student” selling $500 tickets for $100. What could possibly go wrong?
After ignoring warnings from my friends, girlfriend, and my own bank, I sent over the money. While I didn’t receive a ticket that day, I humbly internalized the fact that I should have listened to those around me. As embarrassing as this story is, it was a good reminder to check my prideful ways. If I weren’t so headstrong, I would have heeded their advice. But isn’t it so tempting to think we are the exception to the cautionary tale—that our judgment is somehow keener and that we won’t be the one hoodwinked no matter how obvious our ignorance or immediate the peril?
In today’s gospel, we also read about the kind of blindness that comes from pride. When Jesus came to Nazareth, the Nazarites were too stubborn to know what was good for them. Despite Jesus’ divine wisdom and ability to perform wonders, many Nazarites shunned Christ because they already “knew better.” Weren’t they the exception to the crowds privileged with insider knowledge of Jesus’ true origin?
While I would most certainly advise against questionable GroupMe transactions, the real call to action here today is to humble ourselves before others who care for our well-being, especially before God. If you are somebody like me who often brushes off advice given in good faith, today, let us meditate on our dependence on our loved ones and on God.
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, give us today a faith to believe in you. You are the one sent by the Father to reconcile the world and to forgive us of our sins. Perfect our doubts, purify our lips, that we may only speak and act for your glory and praise. Amen.
Saint of the Day

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.