Daily Gospel Reflection
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January 6, 2026
When Jesus saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them,
for they were like sheep without a shepherd;
and he began to teach them many things.
By now it was already late and his disciples approached him and said,
“This is a deserted place and it is already very late.
Dismiss them so that they can go
to the surrounding farms and villages
and buy themselves something to eat.”
He said to them in reply,
“Give them some food yourselves.”
But they said to him,
“Are we to buy two hundred days’ wages worth of food
and give it to them to eat?”
He asked them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.”
And when they had found out they said,
“Five loaves and two fish.”
So he gave orders to have them sit down in groups on the green grass.
The people took their places in rows by hundreds and by fifties.
Then, taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven,
he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples
to set before the people;
he also divided the two fish among them all.
They all ate and were satisfied.
And they picked up twelve wicker baskets full of fragments
and what was left of the fish.
Those who ate of the loaves were five thousand men.
Reflection
Brother André Bessette, C.S.C., achieved sainthood by doing something profoundly simple: he answered the door. As the porter at the Collège Notre-Dame in Côte-des-Neiges, a residential borough of Quebec, he welcomed every visitor who came to transact business or just to call. Yet, his welcome was far from ordinary; he possessed an extraordinary ability to see deeply into the souls of those he greeted.
He saw past immediate appearances and beheld the pain and illness within each person. Moved with pity, he offered guidance, telling them to “go to Joseph,” and often provided oil for a healing anointing. Millions came to see “Joseph’s little brother.”
His life challenges us to examine our own daily encounters. We meet many people every day, and often their struggles are not readily apparent. Are our interactions merely transactional, or do we strive to see beyond the surface? Are we moved with pity for the inner turmoil others might be hiding? The inspiring call of Brother André’s life is to embrace a deeper welcome. Do we welcome strangers as sisters or brothers? Do we comfort the afflicted, extend ourselves to the lonely, and care for the basic needs of others?
When we open our hearts and lives to compassion, we imitate André’s sainthood. Like him, when we answer the door with pity and love, we admit the risen Christ into the world and transform simple greetings into sacred encounters.
Prayer
Lord, you fed the hungry crowd with ample servings of bread and fish. But you gave them other nourishment as well—the beautiful words you spoke and the miracles you worked. We stand in need of such nourishment—food for the body and food for the soul. Be with us in our needs today. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. André Bessette is the first saint from the Congregation of Holy Cross, the religious community that founded the University of Notre Dame. In the United States, his feast day falls on the date of his death, January 6, but in the Congregation of Holy Cross and in Canada, his memorial is perpetually transferred to January 7.
Alfred Bessette was born in the town of Mont-Saint-Grégoire in Quebec on August 9, 1845, and he was orphaned by the time he was 12. He had to work to support himself and had little formal education, but from an early age, he had a lively faith and a strong devotion to St. Joseph. After a few years trying to find work in the United States, he returned to Quebec, where his childhood pastor encouraged him to consider a vocation to religious life. He sent Alfred to the Holy Cross Brothers with a note that said, “I am sending you a saint.”
Upon entering Holy Cross, Alfred took the name André and was assigned as doorkeeper of Notre Dame College in Montreal. Among his many duties, he greeted visitors and tended to their needs. Eventually, many people began to experience physical healings after praying with Brother André.
His reputation began to spread. So many people flocked to see him that the Congregation allowed him to see sick people at a trolley station across the street. The crowds got larger, more cures were reported, and Brother André became increasingly well-known. Through it all Brother André remained humble, often seeming confused that people would lavish such praise on him. He knew that the real source of these miraculous cures was St. Joseph’s intercession.
His desire to increase devotion to St. Joseph inspired him to found a shrine to his favorite saint across the street from Notre Dame College. He saved the money he earned from giving haircuts at five cents apiece, eventually earning the $200 he needed to construct a simple structure. This shrine opened in 1904, and in 1909 Brother André was released from his duties as doorkeeper and assigned full-time as the caretaker of the Oratory of St. Joseph.
The Oratory attracted large numbers of pilgrims, and plans were made to construct a large basilica. Brother André’s full-time ministry for the rest of his life was to receive the long lines of sick visitors who flocked to the Oratory to see him. He became known as the “Miracle Man of Montreal”, and thousands of miraculous healings were attributed to his intercession over the following decades.
Brother André died on January 6, 1937, at the age of 91. During the week that his body lay in state outside of St. Joseph’s Oratory, it is estimated that one million people braved the bitter Montreal winter to pay their respects. The basilica was eventually completed and remains a major pilgrimage site, attracting more than two million visitors a year. The side chapels are filled with the crutches of people healed through St. André’s prayers.
The reliquary chapel on campus contains relics of Br. André, and he is depicted in statuary and stained glass in many parts of campus. Our featured stained glass image is in the chapel in the Stinson-Remick Building. The first statue of St. André is from the chapel in Columba Hall, the residence for Holy Cross brothers on campus. The second statue adorns the front of the Eck Visitor's Center, the home of the Notre Dame Alumni Association and FaithND. His presence there reminds us that we carry out his ministry of service and hospitality to the Notre Dame family and the world. The image of the statue is from 2010, when it was adorned with wreath and garland on the occasion of his canonization. The portrait of Br. André is the work of Holy Cross priest, Ron Raab, '78, '82 M.Div.
St. André Bessette, C.S.C., who was devoted to St. Joseph and who welcomed the sick with the hospitality of Christ—pray for us!
To learn even more about Saint André Bessette, C.S.C., watch this video lecture from the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame. To view, personalize, and share a digital card with a prayer to St. Andrè, click here.