Daily Gospel Reflection
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January 20, 2026
As Jesus was passing through a field of grain on the sabbath,
his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain.
At this the Pharisees said to him,
“Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?”
He said to them,
“Have you never read what David did
when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry?
How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest
and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat,
and shared it with his companions?”
Then he said to them,
“The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.
That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”
Today, we celebrate the founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross on the anniversary of his death, and he indeed is a father for all of us who turn to him. Throughout his life, Father Moreau offered himself, his daily prayer, his little penances, and his daily crosses in love for his dear brothers and sisters in Holy Cross.
Father Moreau was a young priest when he surrendered to the plan of Divine Providence and gave everything he had to the fledgling association of priests and Brothers of St. Joseph, much like the grain of wheat that “unless it falls into the ground and dies, does not bear fruit.” (Jn 12:24)
Today, the fruit of the Congregation of Holy Cross has spread worldwide in the mission of making God known, loved, and served, and thus saving souls through education and evangelization, and the sanctification of young people, especially the poor.
During this Holy Cross Heritage Month and particularly today, the priests and brothers of the Congregation of Holy Cross unite their prayers before Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. You are invited to find some time to rest in prayer, too! Chapels in every country in which Holy Cross serves are honoring a practice of 40 hours of Eucharistic Adoration, primarily to ask God for: Blessed Basile Moreau’s canonization, Father Moreau’s intercession in our ministries at St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal and the Shrine of Blessed Basile Moreau in Le Mans, France, an increase in vocations to consecrated life in the Holy Cross Family, and finally, God’s grace in strengthening our missionary spirit and zeal.
Father Moreau constantly exhorted that there is no better or more effective prayer than for us to adore and rest in Jesus Christ in the blessed sacrament. This is how we come to see the Son of Man as Lord even of the sabbath. It is our intimate union with Him, not our own amazing accomplishments, that determines how we will be a powerful force for good to change the world.
Editor’s Note: January is Holy Cross Heritage Month, celebrating the nearly 200-year-old mission of the Congregation of Holy Cross in making God known, loved, and served. This January, we invite you to celebrate in a special way with us, the beautiful work that God has begun at holycrossmonth.org
Prayer
Good and gracious God, in your Divine Providence, you chose Blessed Basil Moreau to help make you known, loved, and served throughout the world. Supported by his prayers and example, we ask that you make our faith ever stronger so we, too, may transcend our weaknesses and limitations to do great things in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Blessed Basil Moreau founded the Congregation of Holy Cross—the order of priests and brothers that founded the University of Notre Dame.
Basil Anthony Marie Moreau was born near Le Mans, France, in 1799, and would be forever affected by the spiritual upheaval caused by the French Revolution. Church property was seized, priests were executed and arrested, and religious communities were expelled from France. Basil Moreau's hope was to fill this vast spiritual and educational gap.
In 1821, Moreau was ordained a priest for the diocese, later becoming a seminary professor teaching philosophy and theology, while enthusiastically continuing his pastoral duties.
By 1835, Moreau had organized a group of young and energetic “auxiliary priests” whose mission was to travel the diocese, assisting in educational and spiritual growth programs at parishes. That same year, the bishop asked him to oversee the Brothers of St. Joseph, a community of educators. Two years later Fr. Moreau merged the priests and brothers into one association, which took its name from the small French town outside of Le Mans where it was based, Sainte-Croix. The new order's name became Congregatio a Sancta Cruce (hence the initials that follow the name of every Holy Cross religious—C.S.C.), which literally means "Congregation of Holy Cross."
The cross soon became an integral part of this community’s spirituality. The motto of the congregation is Ave Crux, Spes Unica, which means "Hail the Cross, Our Only Hope"—calling on the community to "learn how even the Cross can be borne as a gift."
Blessed Moreau’s vision was to give this association “one heart, one soul” by modeling it after the Holy Family and bringing into it a group of sisters who would also be involved in education and evangelization.
Reflecting his congregation’s zeal to make God known, loved and served, Moreau started sending members to other countries, including Algeria, Canada, Bangladesh, and the United States. He sent seven young men—six brothers and Father Edward Sorin—to the United States, where, in 1842, they founded the University of Notre Dame.
Moreau later resigned as Superior General mid crises and controversies and disagreements with Fr. Sorin. Moreau lived his last days estranged from his community, and Fr. Sorin was the second man elected to succeed Moreau as superior general. Moreau died in Le Mans on January 20, 1873.
On September 15, 2007, Fr. Moreau was beatified in Le Mans, France, the city where he lived and died, the home of the Congregation’s Mother Church and the sacred place where he is buried.
Blessed Basil Moreau, founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross who sought to make God known, loved, and served—pray for us!