Daily Gospel Reflection
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January 19, 2020
John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.”
And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.”
It is customary during this time of year to announce our New Year resolutions. Lose extra weight; live more simply; strike a healthy balance between work life and family life. All of these are good, of course. I wonder, though, has our list of new priorities ever included being more attentive to the Holy Spirit present in our daily lives?
Several years ago my son, Joe, was questioning the existence of God. He wanted scientific proof that God was real. He wanted a rational explanation for the mystery of faith. While his questions were appropriate for a twelve-year old, I knew that intellectual engagement on the subject would not satisfy his pre-teen existential angst about life, much less about God. He had to experience God in his life. He had to experience the power of the Holy Spirit for himself.
The “breakthrough” (my words, not Joe’s) happened very subtly and without much fanfare. One Sunday while at Mass after listening to the Offertory Hymn, Joe leaned over to me and whispered, “Mom, that song gave me goose bumps.” I simply responded, “Joe, there’s your proof.” He smiled and stood a little taller.
As John the Baptist reminds us in today’s Gospel, through our Baptism we have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit— God’s endless, ever-present and active love in our lives. For me, and perhaps for many, experiencing the Holy Spirit requires me to deepen my awareness of the sacred all around me. It means that I must resolve to be attentive to God’s love in every sun that sets… in every snowflake that falls…in every flower’s petal that unfolds. But that is not all. As a person of faith, I must also trust that in my most confused moments, when turmoil plagues me, when self-doubt overtakes me, that this, too, is the Holy Spirit inviting me into a deeper, more loving communion.
Some would argue that “goosebumps” hardly prove God’s presence. My son would not be one of those people.
Prayer
Almighty Father, John the Baptist saw Jesus approaching him and recognized him as your Son. Open the eyes of our hearts that we might see the face of Christ in our brothers and sisters, especially in the poor and lowly of the world. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint of the Day
As king of Denmark, St. Canute expanded the Church’s reach and power, and he is remembered as the first Danish saint—and the namesake of Notre Dame’s most famous football coach.
He was born in 1042, and ascended to the throne in 1080. He was ambitious and devout—he appropriated land for the Church and arranged for the support of clergy by enforcing tithes. He was generous in building churches and schools.
Canute was the grandson of another king Canute, who reigned over England, Denmark, and Norway in his age, and the young Canute imagined himself the rightful heir to this territory. He assembled his fleet to invade England in 1085, but was delayed by infighting and the attack was eventually abandoned.
Though he made the Church into a strong ally, he alienated his subjects by strictly enforcing tithes and the observance of feasts. A rebellion arose, and at one point, Canute was cornered by rebels in one of the churches he built. Canute received Communion and confessed his sins, even as bricks were being thrown through the windows. The rebels eventually broke through the doors and stormed inside, slaying Canute at the altar, along with his brother and 17 others.
Though he is noted as a martyr, it is not clear that he died for the faith, and his cause for sainthood might have been politically-motivated. Nevertheless, there were reports of miracles happening at his tomb. He was canonized in 1101, and as the first Danish saint, he is patron of Denmark. St. Canute is also the namesake of Notre Dame football coach, Knute Rockne (who immigrated from Norway).
Relics of St. Canute rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.
St. Canute, patron saint of Denmark and Notre Dame’s Knute Rockne—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Canute is in the public domain. Edited from the original. Last accessed November 22, 2024 on Wikimedia Commons.
