Daily Gospel Reflection
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January 26, 2019
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.”
Will there be enough for me?
As the youngest of five children, I remember sitting at the family dinner table waiting for the basket of dinner rolls to be passed around and anxiously wondering, “will there be enough for me?”
In the spiritual life, there is always enough; in fact, there is an abundance!
Jesus is the lamp on the lamp stand, the Light of the World. He the source of all joy, all goodness, and all that we need.
Today, Jesus is encouraging us to consider how we can find abundance by reflecting his light to those we encounter.
This Advent, I made a retreat at Cloisters on the Platte in Gretna, Nebraska, where I was encouraged to make a spiritual accounting of the gifts and talents I have received from God. I wrote a list of all that is good in my life, recognizing Our Lord as the source of this abundance. Later, I was encouraged to list ways I could use my gifts and talents to be the “lamp” of Christ for others.
Thinking less often about our own needs and more about filling the needs of others does not always come naturally. When we fix our gaze upon the face of Jesus faithfully each day, however, this attitude becomes more intuitive.
We are called to reflect Christ’s radiance for everyone in our lives. It doesn’t have to be heroic. It can be phoning a relative just to say “hello”, visiting an elderly friend, or simply being fully present when engaging with family at home. As we make shining Christ’s light a daily habit, each day will bring us new opportunities to detach from our needs and care for others’.
When we put our focus into using the goodness we have received for others, we find that there is truly always enough.
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. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Sts. Timothy and Titus were two of St. Paul’s closest associates—he called them his “sons” in Christ—and they helped him establish and encourage new Christian communities in the early Church.
Timothy was born and raised in Galatia, which is in modern-day Turkey, and his Jewish mother embraced faith in Jesus. Timothy was raised with a firm education in Scripture, and when Paul visited his town to preach, the elders recommended Timothy to him. Paul had already dispatched his companion Barnabas on a mission and needed a helper, so he adopted the young Timothy as his assistant.
Timothy accompanied Paul in his travels and went on independent trips to offer support to communities Paul had been in touch with. He became Paul’s closest friend and most faithful follower— he was imprisoned with Paul for two years and Paul entrusted him with his most important tasks.
Paul entrusted the Christian community in Ephesus to Timothy, naming him their first bishop. The Church has preserved two of the letters Paul wrote to Timothy as part of the New Testament. Timothy was martyred around the year 97 for opposing a ritual ceremony in honor of a pagan god. The townspeople paraded around with clubs during the rite, and when Timothy confronted them, they killed him.
Titus was born a Gentile and was converted by Paul, and went on to serve as Paul’s secretary. Like Timothy, Paul sent Titus out to various Christian communities to encourage and support them. Paul eventually established Titus as bishop of Crete, which was a notoriously difficult community, and one of his letters to Titus is preserved in the New Testament. Titus spent most of his life in Crete—he died there at the age of 94.
Relics of both Timothy and Titus rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica, and the statue of Timothy pictured here stands above an entrance to Howard Hall on campus.
Sts. Timothy and Titus, Paul’s faithful helpers who encouraged growth in the early Church—pray for us!