Daily Gospel Reflection
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January 22, 2022
Jesus came with his disciples into the house.
Again the crowd gathered,
making it impossible for them even to eat.
When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him,
for they said, “He is out of his mind.”
Just as Jesus’ relatives claimed he was “out of his mind,” I’m sure others think I’m out of my mind sometimes. As an OB/GYN, I am called at all hours of the night to give advice or make decisions regarding the health and safety of pregnant women and their babies. I’ve realized over the years that it is a special calling—one I am grateful to receive, but it is not for everybody.
Today is the day of prayer for the legal protection of unborn children. This holds a special place in my heart.
I have the privilege of supporting mothers throughout their pregnancies and deliveries, being the first hands to hold their babies as they take their first few breaths. I also support parents when their babies pass from this world. In all of this, I know I have the responsibility of caring for both mother and baby as Jesus would.
I pray daily for the unborn children whose parents have entrusted me to help them safely deliver their children. Because of this habit, I often find myself instinctively praying an extra “Memorare” over moms and babies who experience a difficult or early delivery. I know God’s hand is there to guide each step of their journey.
Pregnancy, even at the best of times, is a challenging time for many mothers. It is more difficult when the mother-to-be is left without the support, medical care, or love she so rightly deserves.
I would encourage all of us today of all days to hold expectant mothers, babies, and women with babies in heaven in your prayers.
Prayer
Father in heaven, in your infinite wisdom you created the human race in your image. In doing so, you allow us to encounter your beauty and mystery in the face of our brothers and sisters. Help us to see traces of your goodness in the lives of those around us, especially in those whom our society treats as expendable. Your Son teaches us to approach people on the periphery with a radical love, one that can be difficult for others to understand. Help us, heavenly Father, to love and work for the good of all people: for the elderly who are often forgotten, for the poor who discomfort the comfortable, and for the unborn, whose vulnerability demands of us our attention and protection.
Saint of the Day
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has designated today as a National Day of Prayer for the Protection of the Unborn.
People of all faiths—including Notre Dame faculty, staff, students, and alumni—customarily gather in Washington, D.C. to participate in the March for Life on this day. Thousands will gather to witness to what it means to walk with a woman who is pregnant and vulnerable.
Several saints are patrons for the Right to Life movement. St. Maximilian Kolbe is one of them—he was a Polish Franciscan priest who was imprisoned in 1941 and sent to a concentration camp for speaking out against the Nazis. When a fellow prisoner—a husband and father—was selected for execution in the camp, Maximilian stepped forward to take his place. With nine other prisoners, he was locked in a starvation chamber and eventually executed.
Our Lady of Guadalupe is another patron of the Right to Life movement. In 1531, she appeared to Juan Diego, an indigenous Indian living near what is now Mexico City. She appeared to him as an indigenous woman herself and spoke to him in his native language. She left him a miraculous sign—her image imprinted on his cloak. In the image, she appears with a black band around her waist—a custom symbolizing her pregnancy.
Patron saints of the Right to Life movement, pray for us that we might build a culture of life!