Daily Gospel Reflection
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January 11, 2023
On leaving the synagogue
Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John.
Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever.
They immediately told him about her.
He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up.
Then the fever left her and she waited on them.
When it was evening, after sunset,
they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.
The whole town was gathered at the door.
He cured many who were sick with various diseases,
and he drove out many demons,
not permitting them to speak because they knew him.
Rising very early before dawn,
he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.
Simon and those who were with him pursued him
and on finding him said, “Everyone is looking for you.”
He told them, “Let us go on to the nearby villages
that I may preach there also.
For this purpose have I come.”
So he went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons
throughout the whole of Galilee.
The people were looking for Jesus. Yet, they didn’t see him for who he was. In other accounts found in the gospels, Jesus says in various ways, “You look but you don’t see—you hear but you don’t understand.”
In today’s gospel, Jesus commands the demons not to speak because they know who he truly is. Jesus knows that if the word were to get out (which, of course, inevitably, it does) that he is the Messiah, the Son of God, then those things would be set in motion, which would lead to his crucifixion and death.
It makes me wonder, what were those people thinking who went to the door, asking to be healed? Did they know they were encountering God in the flesh? Or did they simply think they were going to some kind of magical miracle worker? At least some must have known that the person they were encountering was more than just a man. And perhaps some knew that Jesus was the one that the prophesies foretold, the one they had been waiting to see for 490 years.
It makes me think of my own experiences of encountering God. They are often so simple and, at the same time, so life-changing that I barely realize the absolute miracle happening at that moment.
Do we really see God when we go to Mass or Adoration and look at the humble Host? Every time that something unexpectedly works out perfectly, in a way that we could never have humanly worked out for ourselves, do we recognize God’s hand at work?
Today, may we go looking for God, like those asking to be healed in the gospel, and may we receive the immense grace of seeing God in every little moment of our day.
Prayer
Lord, in healing Simon’s mother-in-law you restored his family. We need you to restore health to us, and to our family and friends. Please guide us to do all we can to bring healing and comfort to our minds and bodies and to those we love. Remove our anxiety and give us that peace and hope that surpasses human understanding. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Vitalis was a hermit monk in Gaza in the 600s. In his old age, he felt called to travel to Alexandria, Egypt, to serve the many prostitutes there. He would work as a laborer during the day, then hire a prostitute with the wages he earned and ask her to spend the night with him without sin. If she would listen, he would ask her to pray and he would teach her about the faith and her human dignity. He made the women promise not to tell anyone about the evening.
This approach led to much controversy and gossip, but every charge was investigated and he was cleared of any impropriety. It was said that many prostitutes were saved to become wives and mothers.
One night, a man misunderstood Vitalis’ intentions at a brothel, and struck him on the head. The monk managed to return to his hut and died alone there from the wound.
In today's world, a group of nuns who pose as prostitutes to rescue women and children from the human trafficking industry—they are known as Talitha Kum and are active in more than 140 countries.
The relics of a martyr named Vitalis rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica, though there are several martyrs with that name in the canon of saints.
St. Vitalis, you died saving prostitutes from exploitation, pray for us!