Daily Gospel Reflection
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January 23, 2025
Jesus withdrew toward the sea with his disciples.
A large number of people followed from Galilee and from Judea.
Hearing what he was doing,
a large number of people came to him also from Jerusalem,
from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan,
and from the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon.
He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd,
so that they would not crush him.
He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases
were pressing upon him to touch him.
And whenever unclean spirits saw him they would fall down before him
and shout, “You are the Son of God.”
He warned them sternly not to make him known.
Lake Michigan is a short drive from Notre Dame’s campus and is breathtaking in every season. During my undergraduate years, one of my geography professors conducted research on the sand dunes along Lake Michigan. My classmates and I often accompanied her, but unfortunately for us, this research took place in winter. We hiked along Lake Michigan with sub-zero wind chills, blowing sand and snow, crashing twenty-foot waves, and shifting blue and slate-gray skies. Despite the biting cold, these visits were a perfect retreat from the hustle of campus life and offered moments that nurtured my soul.
Reading today’s gospel, I initially question Jesus’ actions: Why does he withdraw from the people he could be healing? Shouldn’t he embrace the crowd and share the Good News? I think Jesus should do more! But reading again, I see myself in the crowd, bringing my desires for help, healing, and support. While these gifts are evident in other stories, this passage highlights Jesus as a teacher, role-modeling the balance between human needs and divine purpose.
To fully understand this passage, we need to consider the stories that frame it. Before this passage, we learn that the Pharisees are beginning to plot against Jesus. Immediately after, Jesus makes a pivotal decision to appoint the twelve disciples.
In this context, Jesus demonstrates something deeply human. In times of stress, when significant decisions loom and the demands of others feel overwhelming, it is not only acceptable but necessary to pause. Jesus models the importance of withdrawing, recharging, resting, and reflecting—especially after facing challenges and before making critical choices.
Perhaps Jesus just needed a trip to the shore to clear his mind and renew his spirit. Let us accept our human design and recharge and renew our spirit as we face the challenges God has put before us.
Prayer
Lord, in you we trust, and you will not allow this trust to be in vain. You rescue us from stumbling so that here on earth, we will walk in the light of your hope and in the strength of your grace. May we always, through faith, hear your voice and be ready to do your will. 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.
