Daily Gospel Reflection
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February 8, 2020
The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves.
Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
Jesus is a tired parent, the apostles and the crowds, his toddlers.
Mark describes how the apostles “gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done.” Imagine the eagerness with which the apostles rush to share their accomplishments. “Look, look, lookey at this! At this picture, Lego creation, somersault. Are you watching? Look!”
I can imagine Jesus smiling and saying “well done.” As a parent I say “good job” for a piece of paper with a single marker line across it. The accomplishments might be small, but for the toddler they are sincere. The parent is proud; grateful that the child chose him or her to witness these small accomplishments.
Jesus suggests that his disciples “come away” to a quiet place and rest. But Jesus cannot sneak away. Mark says “many saw them going and recognized them.” I hear the many saying, “Where are you going? What are you eating? Can I go, too?”
Many of us have discovered the elevated level of martial arts skills required to sneak past the sleeping toddler’s room. Perhaps Jesus comes ashore as though walking into the living room, thinking he will have twenty minutes of quiet. Success! Thwarted! He sees the children sitting, snuggling blankets, big, sleepy eyes staring expectantly. Jesus, the gracious parent, has compassion. I, the flawed, tired, exasperated parent, often do not.
But I am not just the weary parent. I am also the toddler. The apostles, the crowds, the hearers of this story and the readers of it today, we are all small children. We all want, and need, to draw near to the Lord, share our accomplishments, thank Him for allowing us to have these accomplishments, and rest with him. Yet we forget the ease and trust with which children ask for help. See how Jesus, even weary Jesus seeking rest, has compassion on his children. Let us not be afraid to become his children again.
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
Imprisoned, St. Jerome Emiliani made a deal with Mary—if she freed him, he would dedicate his life to serving God. That's just what happened.
Jerome was born in Venice, Italy, in 1481. When he was a teenager, his father died, and Jerome ran away from home. It may have been this experience as a homeless and orphaned teenager that allowed Jerome to identify with other abandoned children and devote his adulthood to serving them.
Joining the military pulled Jerome from his wayward path, and he soon rose in rank to command a league of forces in charge of a castle near Venice. When the fortress was captured, he was imprisoned in a dungeon.
There, in the dungeon, he had a lot of time to think, and he gradually learned to pray. He prayed to Mary and promised that if she helped him escape, he would live a life worthy of being called a Christian. She appeared to him in a vision, freed him from his chains, and led him out past his captors. When he returned to Venice, he placed his shackles in a Church as an offering of thanksgiving and a sign of his dedication.
He immediately began studies for the priesthood, and cared for the poor he found in Venice. He was ordained in 1518 amidst an outbreak of a plague, and he continued to care for the sick—especially for children who were orphaned by the sickness. He took these orphans into his own home and fed, clothed, and taught them. He was the first to use a question-and-answer format to teach children the Catholic faith, an approach that became common in catechisms.
He would wander the streets of Venice to bury the dead who had died of the plague that day. Eventually, he caught the fever himself, but survived, and he redoubled his efforts to help those who were suffering. He founded six orphanages, a hospital, and a shelter for prostitutes.
Others started to gather around him to help him, and he established a religious order of priests dedicated to the care of orphans, called the Clerks Regular of Somascha, after the place where they had their headquarters. This order continues his work today in a dozen countries.
St. Jerome is patron saint of orphans and abandoned children, and his relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.
St. Jerome Emiliani, you braved the plague to care for children who were orphaned by it, pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Jerome Emiliani is in the public domain. Last accessed December 5, 2024 on Wikimedia Commons.
