Daily Gospel Reflection

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January 17, 2024

Memorial of Saint Anthony - Abbot
Mk 3:1-6
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Jesus entered the synagogue.
There was a man there who had a withered hand.
They watched Jesus closely
to see if he would cure him on the sabbath
so that they might accuse him.
He said to the man with the withered hand,
“Come up here before us.”
Then he said to the Pharisees,
“Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil,
to save life rather than to destroy it?”
But they remained silent.
Looking around at them with anger
and grieved at their hardness of heart,
Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.”
He stretched it out and his hand was restored.
The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel
with the Herodians against him to put him to death.

Reflection

Maureen Ebner '91
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Reflecting on today’s gospel, I am impressed by the courage it took for the man to follow Jesus’ command, to stand up in front of the crowd and stretch out his hand. When I pray, I often imagine myself as one of the characters in the passage, and this time, I become the man with the withered hand.

I imagine that my left hand is withered, useless, and necrotic. I have learned over the years to hide that hand in the folds of my garment to avoid the curious gazes, taunts, or disdain of others. I compensate well with my right hand, so I continue to go to synagogue and try to blend in.

But then Jesus calls me out. He beckons me, and I move toward him with trepidation. “Stretch out your hand,” he tells me. At once I realize my withered hand represents my sinfulness. I feel exposed and ashamed. I have become quite adept at hiding my sins and disguising my imperfections—often justifying my actions or inaction.

The Pharisees look on silently, self-righteously, but I accept the invitation from Jesus to step forward in humility and faith. I stretch out my hand; he takes it and looks at me. I am the only person he sees. He gently asks me to examine my heart and to speak my sins aloud to him in the sacrament of reconciliation so that he might heal me.

As Lent approaches, particularly early this year, let us remember Jesus is waiting for us in the confessional. He wants to breathe new life into our hearts that wither from sin. With his grace, we will never tire of hearing the words “…may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.”

Prayer

Rev. Thomas O’Hara, C.S.C.

Lord God, the fact that your detractors were observing you, hoping for you to make a mistake, did not deter you from being compassionate and loving as you healed the man with the withered hand. Give us today the same boldness to be compassionate and loving, no matter the cost. We pray this to you, Our God and our Teacher. Amen.

Saint of the Day

St. Anthony the Abbot

St. Anthony the Abbot is the famous father of monasticism in the Church—he took the Gospel literally and gave everything away to seek God in prayer.

Anthony was born in Egypt in 251, and when his parents died when he was about 20 years old, he assumed responsibility for the family’s 300 acres and for the care of his sister.

One day at Mass, he heard the words of Jesus proclaimed from this Gospel passage: “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (Mt 19:21). The passage moved him to action, and he walked out of the Church at that moment and gave away all of his property except what he and his sister needed for sustenance.

Later, he heard Jesus’ words from this passage: “Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil” (Mt 6:34). He immediately gave away the rest of their property and entrusted his sister to the care of a convent. He began a simple life on the outskirts of town, embracing only prayer, fasting, and manual labor.

When he was thirty-five, he moved even further out of town to live alone in an abandoned fort. He received rations of bread only a few times a year and spoke to people through a crack in the wall. By this time, he was becoming well-known for his faithfulness and wisdom and people sought him out for counsel and healing.

Feeling disturbed by the crowds who were seeking him out, he went deep into the desert, where he lived by a small spring of water. His life took on a rhythm of prayer and work, a pattern that continues to sustain monastic communities today. Soon, hundreds of people followed his example by going into the desert to live an ascetical life of prayer, and they began to loosely congregate into communities.

During his time in the desert, Anthony became friends with St. Paul the Hermit, whose feast day fell two days ago. The two friends are depicted in murals that face one another in the Basilica, and they are also shown receiving bread from a bird in this woodcut from the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art (seen below). Relics of both of them stand in the reliquary chapel.

Anthony died at the age of one hundred and five. St. Athanasius, who knew Anthony and wrote his story, said, "Anthony was not known for his writings nor for his worldly wisdom, nor for any art, but simply for his reverence toward God." He is depicted here with a book of Scripture that is aflame because God’s word sparked a fire in him to devote his whole life to God.

St. Anthony the Abbot, who sought perfection by giving away everything in order to seek treasure in heaven—pray for us!


Image credit: Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471-1528), St. Anthony Visits St. Paul in the Wilderness, ca. 1503, woodcut. Raclin Murphy Museum of Art: Acquired with funds provided by the Humana Endowment for American Art, 1991.001.157.