Daily Gospel Reflection
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January 13, 2019
The people were filled with expectation,
and all were asking in their hearts
whether John might be the Christ.
John answered them all, saying,
“I am baptizing you with water,
but one mightier than I is coming.
I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
After all the people had been baptized
and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying,
heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him
in bodily form like a dove.
And a voice came from heaven,
“You are my beloved Son;
with you I am well pleased.”
“The people were filled with expectation.”
I love this phrase from today’s Gospel. I love language that speaks of how we are filled up with good things—we are encouraged (have our hearts put in us), we are inspired (have the breath of life put in us), and we, too, are often inspired, encouraged, and filled with expectation by grace all around us.
As we stand at the threshold of a new year, I survey my own life, reflecting on what fills me with keen expectation right now. I just celebrated the grand opening of my new massage business, which is a hopeful and exciting moment in itself. But even more significant than this moment is the expectation that led up to it.
A few years ago, when I met the women with whom I now work, I had no way of knowing that I would soon embark with them on a career-changing journey to become a massage therapist. Yet, I remember being filled with a keen sense of anticipation.
My business’ grand opening was attended by a dear friend with whom I once opened a preschool. I recall that the first time I met her, I was also filled with that same sense of expectation, which has become, for me, a signal from God of new possibilities on the horizon. The fulfillment of that expectation became our preschool, the lasting friendship of our children, and our collective growth in peaceful parenting.
God participates in what we do in the world because the work we do is important. Our work can inspire and encourage others to recognize the greatness of God and the beauty of the world. As we move into the new year, let us pause to identify the ways in which grace is filling us with keen expectation, because that expectation is sure to lead us to inspired action.
Prayer
Most loving God, help us today to remember that the same Spirit who descended upon Jesus came upon us when we were baptized. Enkindle our hearts with the fire of your love so that we can hear you speak to our souls, “you are my beloved with whom I am pleased.” Guide our words and actions to speak your belovedness to the people we meet today. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Saint of the Day
St. Hilary was hailed by the best minds of his age as an “illustrious” teacher and a “most eloquent man”—high praise from St. Augustine and St. Jerome, two of the greatest theologians the Church has ever known.
He lived in the fourth century and was born and raised in Gaul, what is now France. His family was not Christian, and Hilary came to the faith through intellectual study. His curiosity and reasoning led him to refute polytheism, and when he started seeking one God, he found Scripture. The story of Moses, where God’s identity is revealed as “I am who am,” captivated him, and he immersed himself in the other writings. He was baptized as an adult in his 30s.
Before his conversion, he was married and had a daughter, and his family followed him when the people chose him as bishop of Poitiers. He adamantly refused his selection out of humility, but that just made the people want him more.
As bishop, his learning served the people of his region, and the Church as a whole. He wrote a commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, which still exists, and was an effective orator and poet. He once said that it was the work of his life to use all of his gifts to announce God to the world. He encouraged people to begin and end every action with a prayer.
Hilary fearlessly sought and defended truth—an important quality during his age, which was marked by the Arian heresy, a strain of thought that distorted the nature of Jesus. Because of his opposition to this heresy, and the political forces behind it, he was cast into exile for three years. He departed from Poitiers with an attitude as though he were leaving for a vacation—he welcomed the dangers and hardships he would face and kept his attention focused on God alone.
During his exile, he continued to write; one of his most important works from that time was about the Trinity. The earliest hymns we have in the Latin tradition can be traced to Hilary.
When he was restored to Poitiers, he was welcomed with a great celebration among the people. He was known as a gentle and friendly man, but was unflinching when he faced those who obstinately opposed the true faith.
Hilary died in 368, and was declared a doctor of the Church, a title given to 38 saints who are known for elucidating the faith by their words or example. He is patron saint of children with disabilities, mothers, and sick people; his relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.
St. Hilary of Poitiers, you are the doctor of the Church who is patron saint of children with disabilities, pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Hilary of Poitiers is in the public domain. Last accessed November 14, 2024 on Wikimedia Commons.
