Daily Gospel Reflection
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January 23, 2023
The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said of Jesus,
“He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and
“By the prince of demons he drives out demons.”
Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables,
“How can Satan drive out Satan?
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
And if a house is divided against itself,
that house will not be able to stand.
And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided,
he cannot stand;
that is the end of him.
But no one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property
unless he first ties up the strong man.
Then he can plunder his house.
Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies
that people utter will be forgiven them.
But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit
will never have forgiveness,
but is guilty of an everlasting sin.”
For they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
Today’s gospel is not the only bewildering mention of Jesus coming like a thief in the night (see Mt 24:43 and 1 Thess 5:2). Why would Jesus want to steal from us and how should we respond to this prospect?
In fact, Jesus comes to take away not our freedom or good qualities, but the wreckage and burdens of our lives. Where Satan wishes to burst into our house, slamming the door behind him to leave us imprisoned in our pride, Jesus stands at the door and patiently knocks, ready to come in. He then binds the strong man of our pride and ruler of this world, Satan, and with him all of the sin and shame that plagues our hearts.
Our response to such a good thief is not to lockdown the property and secure the house, but rather to throw open the windows and the doors and let the king of glory enter.
On this day of Prayer for the Protection of the Unborn, let us turn to God our Father and beg his protection upon his beloved children in the wombs of mothers around the world and in the United States.
Let us seek to share Jesus with those individuals in our lives who support medical abortions in the name of autonomy and freedom, knowing that where the good thief—the Prince of Peace—enters a heart, there the strong man of sin and pride will be bound and unable to threaten life and morality.
Finally, let us ask the Holy Spirit, the breath of God to work unhindered through us as we care for and protect all life so that no one blasphemes against him or those many children growing and developing in the womb whose bodies and souls he animates.
Prayer
God our creator, we give thanks to you, who alone have the power to impart the breath of life as you form each of us in our mother’s womb; grant, we pray, that we, whom you have made stewards of creation, may remain faithful to this sacred trust and constant in safeguarding the dignity of every human life. Through our Lord, Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Marianne Cope, known as St. Marianne of Moloka’i for her work with the lepers of Hawaii, was canonized on Oct. 21, 2012, by Pope Benedict XVI.
Marianne was born in Germany in 1838, and one year after her birth, her family emigrated to Utica, New York. She attended her parish school until eighth grade when her father fell ill and she went to work in a factory to support the family. Her father died in 1862, and, when her siblings were all old enough to help support the family, she left her home to pursue a religious vocation.
Marianne joined an order of Franciscans and spent time educating children of immigrant families. She also helped open two hospitals in the area.
By 1883, Marianne had become Superior General of her order. She received a letter from the King of Hawaii asking for help for those who were quarantined on the leper colony of Moloka’i. The king had asked some fifty other religious organizations for aid and had been declined by all of them.
Marianne accepted the request and took six sisters with her to Hawaii. There, she managed a hospital for victims of leprosy and established another. She cared not only for those with leprosy, but for those impacted by the disease: orphans whose parents had the disease, and clergy who contracted leprosy while working with patients.
She worked tirelessly for these people, even into her old age. Even when Marianne grew old and needed a wheelchair to get around, she still managed to support the lepers there. Despite her many years in close contact with this highly contagious disease, Marianne never contracted leprosy herself. She lived to the ripe old age of eighty, finally passing away in August 1918. Soon after her death, several miracles were attributed to her intercession. St. Marianne Cope is the patron saint of those suffering from leprosy and HIV/AIDS.
St. Marianne Cope, you spent your life caring for the outcast lepers on Moloka’i—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Marianne Cope is in the public domain. Last accessed November 15, 2024 on Wikimedia Commons.
